Probing moments of baryon-antibaryon generalized parton distributions at BELLE and FAIR

We analyze the time-like processes gamma gamma -> B Bbar and p p-bar -> gamma M at large Mandelstam variables within the handbag approach for which the process amplitudes factorize in hard partonic subprocesses and annihilation form factor. The latter represent moments of baryon-antibaryon generalized parton distributions. Symmetry relations restrict the number of independent annihilation form factors for the ground state baryons drastically. We determine these form factors from the present BELLE data on gamma gamma -> B Bbar with the help of simplifying assumptions. The knowledge of these form factors allow for predictions of p pbar -> gamma M for various mesons which may be probed at FAIR.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure

PRICING AND HEDGING EUROPEAN OPTIONS ON FUTURES SPREADS USING THE BACHELIER SPREAD OPTION MODEL

The Bachelier model for pricing options on futures spreads (OFS) assumes changes in the underlying .futures prices and spread follow unrestricted arithmetic Brownian motion (UABM). The assumption of UABM allows for a convenient analytic solution for the price of an OFS. The same is not possible under the more traditional assumption of geometric Brownian motion (GBM). Given the additional complexity of methods for pricing and hedging OFS using GBM such as Monte Carlo simulation and binomial trees, it is worth investigating how results from the Bachelier model compare to these other methods. The Bachelier model is presented and then extended to price an OFS with three underlying commodities. Hedge parameters for both models are provided. Results indicate that for OFS with sufficiently low volatility, differences between the Bachelier model and methods assuming GBM are quite small.Marketing,

Rural workers have less access to paid sick days

This brief, using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce (NSCW) survey, analyzes paid sick time rates of workers by place and type of work. Paid sick days provide job protection to workers and a steady paycheck when they need to care for themselves or family members. Paid sick days also help workers with more limited resources who cannot otherwise afford to take a day off. Authors Kristin Smith and Andrew Schaefer report that a greater proportion of rural workers than urban workers (both suburban and central-city) lack access to at least five paid sick days per year. Their analysis suggests that where one works matters, both geographically and by sector, and the quality of the job also matters. The rural disadvantage is particularly pronounced among rural private-sector workers and part-time workers, but even rural full-time workers have less access to paid sick days than their urban counterparts

Who cares for the sick kids? parents’ access to paid time to care for a sick child

This brief analyzes employed parents’ access to five or more paid sick days annually to care for a sick child in 2008. Using data from the 2008 National Study of the Changing Workforce collected by the Families and Work Institute (the most recent data available in the series), authors Kristin Smith and Andrew Schaefer analyze differences in access between employed mothers and fathers by demographic and work-related characteristics. They report that, in 2008, more than one-half—52 percent—of employed parents lacked access to at least five paid sick days to care for a sick child, and lower-earning parents had the least access. Although employed mothers and fathers have similar access to paid sick days to care for their sick children, mothers more often miss work to care for a sick child. Employed parents with paid sick days to care for a sick child are 1.9 times more likely to be very satisfied with their job than those without this access

Families Continue to Rely on Wives As Breadwinners Post-Recession

This brief uses data from the 2013 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey to examine how President Obama’s proposed expanded eligibility and higher credit values might affect tax filers in both rural and urban America. Authors Jessica Carson and Marybeth Mattingly report that proposed changes to the earned income tax credit (EITC) will increase the share of workers without a qualifying child eligible for the EITC equally in rural and urban places, although rural residents are more likely to be eligible under both current and proposed policies. The average increase in the credit is $476, more than double the average current credit, and would be similar for married and single filers without qualifying children in both rural and urban places. The number of unmarried filers who would become eligible for the credit is significantly higher than the number of married filers, in both urban and rural places

Seeing Through the Invisible Pink Unicorn

This paper explores the quasi-religious aspects of the Invisible Pink Unicorn (IPU), an internet based spoof of religion. IPU message boards situate a moral orientation in an ongoing interactional process that sacralizes parody and an idealized form of “free thinking.” We employ content analysis and grounded theory to argue that IPU writers’ parody of religion serves as a ritual act and conclude our discussion by considering the implications of the findings for the literature on ritual

Three in Ten Rural and Urban Medicaid Recipients May Be Affected by Potential Work Requirements

In this fact sheet, authors Andrew Schaefer and Jessica Carson explore whether rural and urban Medicaid recipients would be differentially affected by a work requirement. They focus on Medicaid recipients through a rural/urban lens because rural adults differ from their urban counterparts on a host of demographic characteristics. They report that about three in ten Medicaid recipients could be affected by a work requirement, a share that is similar in rural and urban places. Among Medicaid recipients potentially affected by a work requirement, the majority worked at least part of the previous year or were motivated to work but could not find a job, a share that is slightly higher in rural places than in urban. The especially high share of those already working or looking for work in rural places may warrant additional consideration from legislators representing rural areas. In both rural and urban places, legislators should consider whether the consequences to families losing health insurance coverage outweigh the relative benefits of enforcing work requirements

Employment, Poverty, and Public Assistance in the Rural United States

In this brief, authors Rebecca Glauber and Andrew Schaefer provide a glimpse of the economic and demographic characteristics of life in the rural United States. Using data from the American Community Survey, they compare those living in low- and lower-middle-income counties to those living in upper-middle- and high-income counties. Additionally, they compare counties at the extremes, where median incomes are in the bottom and top 10 percent of the income distribution. They report that nearly 75 percent of low-income rural counties in the United States are in the South. Compared to lower-income rural counties, higher-income rural counties have a larger share of immigrants but a smaller share of non-native speakers. One-fifth of immigrants in low-income rural counties do not speak English, compared to just one-twentieth of immigrants in high-income rural counties. People living in poorer rural counties rely more heavily than those living in more well-off rural counties on public-sector supports, and they are less likely to work. Although policy makers tend to focus on people living in the urban United States, the authors’ results show that those living in the rural United States, and particularly in low-income counties, may have even more to gain from public health insurance and other social safety-net programs