L2 regularity of measurable solutions of a finite-difference equation of the circle

We show that if $\varphi$ is a lacunary Fourier series and the equation $\psi (x) -\psi (x + \alpha) = \varphi(x), x \bmod 1$ has a measurable solution $\varphi$, then in fact the equation has a solution in L2. This work of Michel Herman (1942-2000) appeared only as a preprint of the Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, dated May 1976. It was turned into TEX format by Claire Desescures. Minor editorial work was done by Albert Fathi

Velocity-changing collisional effects in nonlinear atomic spectroscopy and photon echo decay in gases

A general theory of atomic dipole coherence under the influence of collisional phase changes, inelastic effects and optically active atom velocity changes, including those due to anisotropic interactions is presented. Velocity change effects are obtained in closed form. Line shapes appear as convolutions of standard pressure broadening contours with velocity-change contours. Width and shift parameters for the He-broadened Na D lines at 2 m bar pressure, 380 K are calculated, as are He-induced photon echo decay rates for these lines. Overall agreement with xperiment is reasonably good

The communication, speech and gesture of a group of hearing-impaired children

The communication skills, speech and gesture of 20 hearing-impaired children were assessed. The children were all being educated in a school using an oral/aural approach. Assessment result comparison indicated the importance of assessing gesture and speech separately for these children and comparing the use of both skills. More informal and formal assessment of gesture and the tools to complete this task effectively are needed to ensure that these children's communication skills are described accurately

Initiation of non-tropical thunderstorms by solar activity

Correlative evidence accumulating since 1926 suggests that there must be some physical coupling mechanism between solar activity and thunderstorm occurrence in middle to high latitudes. Such a link may be provided by alteration of atmospheric electric parameters through the combined influence of high-energy solar protons and decreased cosmic ray intensities, both of which are associated with active solar events. The protons produce excess ionization near and above 20km, while the Forbush decreases a lowered conductivity and enhanced fair-weather atmospheric electric field below that altitude. Consequent effects ultimately lead to a charge distribution similar to that found in thunderclouds, and then other cloud physics processes take over to generate the intense electric fields required for lightning discharge

Investigating Voting Rights in Colorado: An Assessment of Compliance with the National Voter Registration Act in Public Assistance Agencies

The goal of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) is to increase participation in federal elections by reducing barriers to voter registration and requiring states to play an active role in registering their citizens.Since the NVRA first went into effect in 1995, millions of citizens have registered to vote or updated their registration using services required by the Act. However, there is still much work to be done to fulfill the goals of this legislation. Colorado, like many states, has significant room for improvement in the number of its citizens who are registered to vote.Project Vote's analysis of Census Bureau data finds that approximately 900,000 eligible voters in Colorado remain unregistered. Despite this shortcoming, we detail in this report evidence indicating that Colorado has not fully complied with important portions of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) - and state law implementing the NVRA - that could register thousands, if not tens of thousands, of new voters this year alone. Those provisions, located in Section 7 of the Act, require voter registration to be provided in public assistance offices throughout the state.This report, one in a series of reports on NVRA compliance in the states, reviews Colorado's voter registration performance in public assistance offices and examines possible explanations for the state's consistently poor results since the NVRA was enacted. We conclude that many public assistance offices are failing to offer voter registration as required by federal and state voting rights laws. Recommendations for improving Colorado's compliance with these important laws are provided at the end of this report. Fortunately, officials in Colorado have recently begun to take steps to improve their NVRA compliance.The cooperation of Colorado's Secretary of State's office and Department of Human Services with Project Vote's NVRA technical assistance staff is a welcomed sign. If Colorado's actions take a similar course to those in states such as North Carolina, which has been working with Project Vote and Demos to improve agency registration, we can expect to see significant increases in the number of voter registration applications originating from Colorado's public assistance agencies

Representational Bias in the 2008 Electorate.

Representational Bias in the 2008 Electorate reviews the story of who was eligible to vote, who was registered to vote, and who did vote in the 2008 general election. Analyzing the November Voting and Registration supplements of the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, the report offers detailed information on registration rates and voting behavior based on key demographic factors, including race/ethnicity, age, gender and marital status, income, education, residential mobility, and disability status. The report also provides registration and turnout rates for each state, with comparative rankings. By comparing this data with those from other recent elections, the report presents a picture of the growing electorate in the United States, and identifies the changes in the extent to which participation in our federal elections is -- and is not -- representative of the population that is eligible to vote in America

Performance Indicators for Section 7 of the NVRA

The 1993 National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires states to register citizens through public assistance agencies, making participation easier and more accessible for millions of low-income Americans. However, the evidence is compelling that many states are in poor compliance with the public assistance agency registration requirements of the NVRA. Indeed, state election and agency officials often admit that compliance is lacking, and agency offices are often found without the necessary training and forms.Efforts to improve compliance with the NVRA must first grapple with the question: "How many registrations should a particular state or the nation produce from public assistance agencies?" To address this question, and place agency data in context, this memo provides the following estimates:(1) the percent of agency clients that need to register to vote,(2) the number of people interacting with agencies, and(3) the performance history of agencies that are complying with the law.State-to-state comparisons show that many states are performing poorly, and many states are performing below their own performance levels from just a few years ago. Nationwide, these steep declines in agency voter registration performance occurred during a period of significant increases in participation in the Food Stamp Program, one of the largest programs required to comply with the NVRA. Some states also perform better at agency registration than states with greater need. All of these factors suggest that the poor results are a matter of administrative performance and not a lack of need.If all states had performed in 2006 at a level that many states did just a few years ago, close to 1.8 million more registrations would have taken place