Atmospheric Research and Monitoring Study of Hazardous Substances

Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources

Stability criterion for bright solitary waves of the perturbed cubic-quintic Schroedinger equation

The stability of the bright solitary wave solution to the perturbed cubic-quintic Schroedinger equation is considered. It is shown that in a certain region of parameter space these solutions are unstable, with the instability being manifested as a small positive eigenvalue. Furthermore, it is shown that in the complimentary region of parameter space there are no small unstable eigenvalues. The proof involves a novel calculation of the Evans function, which is of interest in its own right. As a consequence of the eigenvalue calculation, it is additionally shown that N-bump bright solitary waves bifurcate from the primary wave.Comment: 28 pages, LaTeX, submitted; author info at http://www.math.unm.edu/~kapitul

Social Protection of Atypical Employees and the Transition to a Service Economy

Atypical work, i.e. part-time and fixed term employment, has become the new norm in many industrialised countries. Welfare states, however, were traditionally designed to accommodate the needs of standard workers in manufacturing. This study examines to what extent welfare states have adapted to the proliferation of atypical work in the period of 1990 to 2008. Since the rise of atypical work is closely related to deindustrialisation and an increasing role of services in developed economies, the study also deals with the question how the specific design of welfare schemes has incentivised growth or stagnation of various service sectors

The women in Byron\u27s Don Juan

In the year 1818 when George Gordon, Lord Byron set himself the task of finding a hero for his forthcoming poem, he significantly enough chose the legendary Spaniard Don Juan. Here he was dealing with a character who has stood the test of time, having been a popular favorite for at least two-hundred years before Byron wrote. Here, too, he was working with a character who, by his notorious conduct, must have endeared himself to Byron

Pillars Of Prosperity: Leveraging Regional Assets To Grow Minnesota's Economy

Minnesota has always been rich with assets -- a skilled labor force, good jobs in diverse industries, globally competitive companies, and abundant lakes and parks that provide a high quality of life for the people who call it home.However, to maintain its strong economy and quality of life, Minnesota must adapt to fast-changing trends in the global economy, trends that affect each of the state's regions and communities differently.This report explores how the state of Minnesota -- the governor's administration together with the Minnesota Legislature -- can partner with regional networks to foster economic growth and extend prosperity to greater numbers of Minnesotans

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT IN POST-MENOPAUSAL WOMEN: A MIXED-METHODS APPROACH

The percentage of obese adults in the U.S. has more than doubled since the late 1970.s. A large percentage of adults, especially women, are trying to lose weight at any given time. Although recommended weight-loss strategies combine reduced caloric intake with physical activity, the actual strategies used can vary. This dissertation uses a mixed-methods approach to investigate weight, weight loss, and body image in post-menopausal women ages 50 to 64. Quantitative data were analyzed from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and semi-structured interviews with 81 women in Kentucky. Qualitative data was gathered from in-depth interviews with eight Kentucky women focusing on life-course factors that affect weight and perception of weight. Over 70% of the Kentucky subjects had attempted weight loss in the last year; 47% of the NHANES women had done so. The most common weight-loss strategies of the Kentucky sample were .ate less food. and .exercised.; in the NHANES samples, the most common choices were .ate less food. and .ate less fat.. In the Kentucky sample, feeling that one is in control of one.s own weight was associated with having joined a weight loss program. Exercise and restaurant frequency and were the most significant predictors of the weight outcomes investigated. Increased exercise was associated with an increased likelihood of being normal weight, gaining less than 10 pounds in the last 10 years, and gaining less than 30 pounds since age 25; decreased restaurant frequency was associated with all of these outcomes in the Kentucky sample. The in-depth interviews revealed that making good food choices, having others as role models, and the desire to be attractive were seen as positive influences on weight. The consumption of .bad. foods, stress, health problems that prevent exercise, menopause, and age were seen as negative influences. The qualitative data also strongly suggested that childhood weight, and past reactions of others to one.s weight, influence perception of current weight. It is the responsibility of women and the public health sector to make the most of these acknowledged motivators and minimize the perceived barriers to reverse the increasing obesity levels in the U.S

Unemployment Among Young Adults: Exploring Employer-Led Solutions

Younger workers consistently experience higher unemployment and less job stability than older workers. Yet the dramatic deterioration in employment outcomes among younger workers during and since the Great Recession creates new urgency about developing more effective bridges into full-time employment for young people, especially those with less than a bachelor's degree. Improving the employment status of young adults and helping employers meet workforce needs are complementary goals. Designing strategies to achieve them requires insight into the supply and demand sides of the labor market: both the characteristics of young people and their typical routes into employment as well as the demand for entry-level orkers and the market forces that shape employer decisions about hiring and investing in skill development. A quantitative and qualitative inquiry focused on the metropolitan areas of Chicago, Ill. and Louisville, Ky