Quality of schooling and inequality of opportunity in health

This paper explores the role of quality of schooling as a source of inequality of opportunity in health. Substantiating earlier literature that links differences in education to health disparities, the paper uses variation in quality of schooling to test for inequality of opportunity in health. Analysis of the 1958 NCDS cohort exploits the variation in type and quality of schools generated by the comprehensive schooling reforms in England and Wales. The analysis provides evidence of a statistically significant and economically sizable association between some dimensions of quality of education and a range of health and health-related outcomes. For some outcomes the association persists, over and above the effects of measured ability, social development, academic qualifications and adult socioeconomic status and lifestyle

Long-term effects of school quality on health and lifestyle: evidence from comprehensive schooling reforms in England

Members of the National Child Development Study cohort attended very different types of secondary schools, as their schooling lay within the transition period of the comprehensive education reform in England and Wales. This provides a natural setting to explore the impact of educational attainment and of school quality on health and health-related behavior later in life. We use a combination of matching methods and parametric regressions to deal with selection effects and to evaluate differences in adult health outcomes and health-related behavior for cohort members exposed to the old selective and to the new comprehensive educational systems

Assessments and Computational Simulations in Support of a Time-Varying Mass Flow Rate Measurement Technique for Pulsatile Gas Flow

This thesis covers the correction, and verification, development, and implementation of a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for an orifice plate meter. Past results were corrected and further expanded on with compressibility effects of acoustic waves being taken into account. One dynamic pressure difference transducer measures the time-varying differential pressure across the orifice meter. A dynamic absolute pressure measurement is also taken at the inlet of the orifice meter, along with a suitable temperature measurement of the mean flow gas. Together these three measurements allow for an incompressible CFD simulation (using a well-tested and robust model) for the cross-section independent time-varying mass flow rate through the orifice meter. The mean value of this incompressible mass flow rate is then corrected to match the mean of the measured flow rate( obtained from a Coriolis meter located up stream of the orifice meter). Even with the mean and compressibility corrections, significant differences in the measured mass flow rates at two orifice meters in a common flow stream were observed. This means that the compressibility effects associated with pulsatile gas flows is significant in the measurement of the time-varying mass flow rate. Future work (with the approach and initial runs covered here) will provide an indirect verification of the reported mass flow rate measurements

Simulation-based Inference in Dynamic Panel Probit Models: an Application to Health

This paper considers the determinants of a binary indicator for the existence of functional limitations using seven waves (1991-1997) of the British Household Panel Survey(BHPS). The focal point of our analysis is a consideration of the relative contributions of state dependence, heterogeneity and serial correlation in expanding the dynamics of health. To investigate these issues we apply static and dynamic panel probit models with flexible error structures. To estimate the models we show strong positive state dependence, with the effect for men around 150% of the effect for women.

Early Retirement and Inequality in Britain and Germany: How Important Is Health?

Both health and income inequalities have been shown to be much greater in Britain than in Germany. One of the main reasons seems to be the difference in the relative position of the retired, who, in Britain, are much more concentrated in the lower income groups. Inequality analysis reveals that while the distribution of health shocks is more concentrated among those on low incomes in Britain, early retirement is more concentrated among those on high incomes. In contrast, in Germany, both health shocks and early retirement are more concentrated among those with low incomes. We use comparable longitudinal data sets from Britain and Germany to estimate hazard models of the effect of health on early retirement. The hazard models show that health is a key determinant of the retirement hazard for both men and women in Britain and Germany. The size of the health effect appears large compared to the other variables. Designing financial incentives to encourage people to work for longer may not be sufficient as a policy tool if people are leaving the labour market involuntarily due to health problems.health, early retirement, hazard models

Context Aided Tracking with Adaptive Hyperspectral Imagery

A methodology for the context-aided tracking of ground vehicles in remote airborne imagery is developed in which a background model is inferred from hyperspectral imagery. The materials comprising the background of a scene are remotely identified and lead to this model. Two model formation processes are developed: a manual method, and method that exploits an emerging adaptive, multiple-object-spectrometer instrument. A semi-automated background modeling approach is shown to arrive at a reasonable background model with minimal operator intervention. A novel, adaptive, and autonomous approach uses a new type of adaptive hyperspectral sensor, and converges to a 66% correct background model in 5% the time of the baseline {a 95% reduction in sensor acquisition time. A multiple-hypothesis-tracker is incorporated, which utilizes background statistics to form track costs and associated track maintenance thresholds. The context-aided system is demonstrated in a high- fidelity tracking testbed, and reduces track identity error by 30%

The role of congruecy within the participant sport involvement and loyalty process.

The endurance event industry has been experiencing a recent popularity boom, where number of events produced and event participants continue to reach record levels. Running USA (2013a; 2013b) has reported the number of finishers in the largest 100 timed running events has grown 77 percent in the last 14 years. A major factor in this current boom is the emerging number of non-traditional running events. Nonexistent a decade ago, non-traditional endurance events, such as obstacle-course races and a variety of themed runs, have flooded the market. For example, Tough Mudder, founded in 2009 (Branch, 2010), has grown to over 3.5 million participants worldwide in just its first five years (Widdicombe, 2014). The variety of offerings available in the endurance event market has not only assisted with growth with the endurance event segment of participatory leisure sport, but it has also spurred cross-category competition. Interestingly, while endurance events have never been more popular or more accessible, health behaviors in the United States are at an all-time low (Healthy People, 2013). American society has been plagued with an overabundance of sedentary behavior and other poor health habits resulting in dire consequences. However, mass participatory endurance events, such as marathons and obstacle course events, and their supporting services represent a potential population-based intervention that may have the capacity to offer positive influence on both healthy and unhealthy populations (Funk, Jordan, Ridinger, & Kaplanidou, 2011; Murphy & Bauman, 2007). These events have not only been shown to possess the ability to increase physical activity (Murphy & Bauman, 2007), they also have the potential to promote positive attitudes towards exercise from individuals across a range of fitness levels (Funk, et al., 2011). To further investigate this recent growth and the potential endurance events have to act as a positive health intervention, by attracting and retaining participants, the purpose of this study was to investigate the process individuals undergo while becoming involved in a leisure endurance sport activity and the role self-congruity between individuals and their functional and symbolic associations perceived with the activity plays in this process. Specifically, this study was designed to investigate the associations individuals have toward endurance events and the role these associations have in the process of involvement by developing increased attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Additionally, constructs of self-congruity with endurance event functional and symbolic associations perceived by non-endurance event participants and participants were analyzed as to how they were associated with different levels of involvement. Data were collected from current members of endurance running groups and undergraduate students in the United States. Results revealed both non-endurance event participants and endurance event participants considered both types of endurance events, traditional and non-traditional, to share obstacles for participation. Additionally, both event types required their participants to demonstrate an array of physical and mental demands, while still finding sources of enjoyment for participation. However, unique obstacles for participation, such as potentially dangerous and unpredictable, in non-traditional endurance events were considered by traditional event participants. Another area where the two event types differed was in the perceived rewards for participation. Both groups considered traditional endurance event participation to be rewarding, but the non-endurance event participant group did not recall any rewards for non-traditional event participation. Results also indicated significant differences were present in each of the four types of congruity (functional congruity, stereotypical user congruity with ideal self, stereotypical congruity with actual self, and brand personality congruity) based on level of endurance event involvement. Overall, scores of congruity grew in coordination with the Psychological Continuum Model level of the individual. Specifically, those within the highest involvement level, allegiance, displayed significant differences between all other levels along each congruity score. No significant differences existed between those occupying the attraction and attachment levels within each congruity measure. Implications of this study are useful for individuals interested in further understanding the process an individual undergoes while becoming involved in a physical leisure activity such as endurance event participation. First, a segmentation strategy utilizing involvement level produced valuable and descriptive points of differentiation which may be used to generate effective marketing strategies. Second, constraints to activity participation should be minimized through marketing efforts to encourage involvement level elevation. Third, highlighting the benefits of activity participation should be used to encourage involvement level elevation. Finally, efforts to increase the overlap of how an individual perceives the activity with their own self-image and the benefits of activity participation should assist with increased involvement

Distribution System State Estimation in the Presence of High Solar Penetration

Low-to-medium voltage distribution networks are experiencing rising levels of distributed energy resources, including renewable generation, along with improved sensing, communication, and automation infrastructure. As such, state estimation methods for distribution systems are becoming increasingly relevant as a means to enable better control strategies that can both leverage the benefits and mitigate the risks associated with high penetration of variable and uncertain distributed generation resources. The primary challenges of this problem include modeling complexities (nonlinear, non-convex power-flow equations), limited availability of sensor measurements, and high penetration of uncertain renewable generation. This paper formulates the distribution system state estimation as a nonlinear, weighted, least squares problem, based on sensor measurements as well as forecast data (both load and generation). We investigate the sensitivity of state estimator accuracy to (load/generation) forecast uncertainties, sensor accuracy, and sensor coverage levels.Comment: accepted for presentation at the IEEE 2019 American Control Conferenc

Pre-electoral Debate: The Case of a Large Election ∗ (Preliminary and Incomplete)

The model presented in this paper captures some of the effects of a pre-electoral debate on the incentives for information acquisition of voters that belong to different ideological strands. We introduce the option to publicly share information into a fairly standard model of information aggregation through an election with costly information acquisition. We find that this option dramatically changes the incentive to acquire information. Without the option to share one’s signal no extremist has any incentive to acquire information. With this option present the extremists ’ incentive to acquire information is even stronger than the independents ’ incentive. In equilibrium this extra incentive leads the extremists acquire more information than the independents. We use this to explain the empirically observed correlation between extremism and information