BLS Spotlight on Statistics: Women in the Workforce Before, During, and after the Great Recession

[Excerpt] A major factor that contributed to the growth of the U.S. labor force in the second half of the twentieth century was the remarkable increase in the labor force participation rate of women. During this time, the U.S. economy experienced economic growth that increased the demand for labor. Baby boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964) began entering the labor force in large numbers in the early 1960s as they reached working age. Coupled with the rapidly increasing labor force participation rate of women, this resulted in a large influx of women into the labor market. After peaking in 1999, the labor force participation rate of women has continuously declined. During this time, the baby-boom generation aged and the economy experienced the impacts of the severe 2007–09 recession. BLS projects women\u27s labor force participation rate to continue its decline in the 2014–24 decade

Understanding the use value dimensions of outsourced maintenance services

Surviving in long-term outsourced maintenance contracts in current financial situation necessitates better understanding of what customers attribute as value and its dimensions. This paper reports on findings from research undertaken with a supplier of automation products and services and its customers. Structured interviewing technique has been conducted in four customer companies from different industrial sectors at different organizational levels. Value dimensions and their role in different decision making levels are identified

Three Essays on the Implementation of Food Assistance Programs

This dissertation uses experimental and quasi-experimental methods to evaluate policy instruments available to state and local officials administering food assistance programs for improving children’s utilization of services, nutritional intake, and food security. More specifically, this dissertation consists of three chapters pertaining to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In the first chapter, co-authored with Amy Ellen Schwartz, I use large, uniquely detailed longitudinal administrative data on New York City students and schools, including the different lunch menus they offer over time, to present the first plausibly causal evidence on the link between school menus and participation in the NSLP, and their implications for disparities in program utilization across students from diverse backgrounds. Using student and school fixed-effects models, I find that the introduction of new menus increases the share of students participating on both the extensive and intensive margins, and can help to close racial, gender, and socioeconomic gaps in the utilization of school lunch. In one extension, I find evidence that increases in participation are driven by the adoption of newer, more innovative menus. I find no evidence of changes in attendance or adverse weight outcomes. These findings provide evidence in support of the efforts that many school districts are taking to boost lunch participation by reformulating their menus and help to inform the decisions of those considering similar changes. While students stand to gain from participating in school lunch, it is also important that they make the right dietary choices as they make their way through the lunch line. In the second chapter, I use primary data collected through a month-long field and survey experiment I designed and conducted to investigate the efficacy of using cheap material rewards to induce better dietary choices among low-income Black and Hispanic children—who are more likely to be obese than their high-income or white peers—in a school lunch setting. While existing studies have shown material rewards to be effective in the short term and when introduced intermittently, this study shows that their effect can dissipate quickly over time when offered daily. I find no evidence that the introduction of extrinsic incentives crowded out intrinsic dietary behaviors. These findings have implications for the design and implementation interventions using material rewards for improving dietary habits among school-aged children. In the third chapter, I broaden the scope of my research to include SNAP, which helps to safeguard the food security of millions of children. The politicization and racialization of the program have made it a target of reforms that effectively limit its coverage and efficacy, and contribute to its disparate implementation across states and counties in ways that exacerbate social inequity. I designed a large survey experiment evaluating the efficacy of highlighting the child beneficiaries of SNAP for inducing greater public support for the program. I find that emphasizing its child beneficiaries can increase support overall and across key political constituencies, though more so when those children are characterized as White than Black. As an extension, I also examine the generalizability of these findings to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, and again find that highlighting child beneficiaries leads to increases in support, though the estimated effects are less pronounced and even more so dependent on the children’s race. These findings can help to inform the outreach efforts of program administrators. This dissertation adds to the existing literature by providing new insights and expanding on previous work. The results of the first chapter corroborate the many anecdotal accounts suggesting that school menus influence student lunch participation, but also show that other barriers, such as the price of meals or stigma, may be more important. The second chapter extends previous work on using material rewards to induce better dietary behaviors by presenting evidence that they may not be as cost-effective or easy to implement as previously thought. The findings of the third chapter show that providing information on the child beneficiaries of welfare programs can change public attitudes towards them and offer fresh evidence that public opinion of government policy is often based on the demographic groups perceived to benefit from them. This dissertation also highlights the implications that policy instruments can have for social equity and economic equality by focusing on disparities in program utilization, access, and outcomes across race, gender, age, and socioeconomic status. Lastly, it offers guidance for policy makers and program administrators by providing new evidence about the efficacy of various policy instruments available to them for administering food assistance programs

The NASA/industry Design Analysis Methods for Vibrations (DAMVIBS) program: McDonnell-Douglas Helicopter Company achievements

This paper presents a summary of some of the work performed by McDonnell Douglas Helicopter Company under NASA Langley-sponsored rotorcraft structural dynamics program known as DAMVIBS (Design Analysis Methods for VIBrationS). A set of guidelines which is applicable to dynamic modeling, analysis, testing, and correlation of both helicopter airframes and a large variety of structural finite element models is presented. Utilization of these guidelines and the key features of their applications to vibration modeling of helicopter airframes are discussed. Correlation studies with the test data, together with the development and applications of a set of efficient finite element model checkout procedures, are demonstrated on a large helicopter airframe finite element model. Finally, the lessons learned and the benefits resulting from this program are summarized

Evolution & Voting: How Nature Makes us Public Spirited

If one assumes that voters are rational, the most plausible explanation for high voter turnouts seems to be that agents receive benefits from the act of voting itself. We show that public-spirited agents have an evolutionary advantage over those who are not as public-spirited for a range of situations. We also explore conditions under which this kind of altruistic behavior is disadvantageous to agents. The details depend on the costs of voting, the degree to which different types of agents have different preferences over public policies and the relative proportions of various preference types in the population. We conclude that evolution may often be a force that causes agents to internalize the benefits their actions confer on others.

Evolution & voting : how nature makes us public spirited

We reconsider the classic puzzle of why election turnouts are persistently so high even though formal analysis strongly suggests that rational agents should not vote. If we assume that voters are not making systematic mistakes, the most plausible explanation seems to be that agents receive benefits from the act of voting itself. This is very close to assuming the answer, however, and immediately begs the question of why agents feel a warm glow from participating in the electoral process. In this paper, we approach the question from an evolutionary standpoint. We show for a range of situations, that public-spirited agents have an evolutionary advantage over those who are not as public-spirited. We also explore conditions under which this kind of altruistic behavior is disadvantageous to agents. The details depend on the costs of voting, the degree to which different types of agents have different preferences over public policies and the relative proportions of various preference types in the population, but we conclude that evolution may often be a force that causes agents to internalize the benefits their actions

Assessing the value dimensions of outsourced maintenance services

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the diverse nature of tangible and intangible value dimensions that contribute to customers' perception of value from outsourced maintenance services. Design/methodology/approach - A multiple case study approach has been adopted. Repertory grid, an in-depth structured interviewing technique, has been used in order to draw out the respondents' hidden constructs in evaluating outsourced maintenance services. Data have been collected from four customer organizations of outsourced maintenance services, and a total of 33 interviews have been undertaken. Findings - The paper has identified a range of tangible and intangible value dimensions that are of importance in maintenance outsourcing decision making. The most important value dimensions for maintenance outsourcing were found to be specialist knowledge, accessibility (of the service provider), relational dynamic, range of products and services, delivery, pricing and locality. Although the paper has identified the most important value dimensions the paper also emphasizes the need to take into account the full range of value dimensions in order to understand the whole value pattern in an organization. Practical implications - The results will be of use for maintenance service providers to help them to improve value-adding capacity of maintenance services. The results can also be applied by customers to help them assess the value they receive from outsourced maintenance services. Originality/value - A different perspective on maintenance outsourcing value is provided. The value patterns in different organizations and the viewpoints of respondents in different organizational roles are described. The dynamic nature of these tangible or intangible values over time and their interrelationships has also been explored

Quality assurance program for prototype stereotactic system developed for Neptun 10 PC linac

Background: A prototype stereotactic radiosurgery set was designed and constructed for a Neptun 10 PC linac that is currently being used at Imam Reza hospital in Mashhad. Materials and Methods: A complete qualit y assurance program was designed and performed for the constructed system including isocentric accuracy test, localization accuracy test, dose delivery accuracy test and leakage radiation test. Target simulator, control alignment device and plexiglass phantom which were parts of the developed hardware were used to fulfill quality assurance program. Results: The average isocentric shift resulted from the gantry rotation and couch turning were respectively obtained to be 1.4 and 2 mm. The average localization error in the three coordinates was found to be 2.2 mm. The total treatment uncertainty due to all of the probable errors in the system was equal to 4.32 mm. The dose delivery accuracy test was carried out, the result indicated a 3-7% difference between the given and measured dose. Conclusion: The quality assurance tests showed consistent performance of the constructed system within the accepted limits; however, some inconsistency might exist in certain cases. The safety of SRS method is increased when the overall uncertainty is minimized and the treatment of the lesions adjacent to critical organs is avoided

Comparison of Indoor and Outdoor Dose Rates from Environmental Gamma Radiation in Kurdistan Province

Abstract: Background & Aims: Studying about background radiation is important because human beings are continuously exposed to these radiations which leave energy in tissues and the transferred energy leads to undesirable biologic effects. The level of background radiation differs in indoor and outdoor places. Since, people spend more time indoors, in this research environmental gamma dose rate for indoor and outdoor places of Kurdistan towns was determined and compared. Methods: To estimate dose rate at outdoors, four stations in the length of main directions and one in the center of each city were selected. To estimate dose rate at indoors, two stations in each town according to the type of buildings were selected. In each station gamma dose rate was measured for one hour by RDS-110 servimeter at one meter height from the earth. Results: The average of outdoor and indoor environmental gamma dose rate for Kurdistan towns obtained as follows: Baneh 134 (SD=5), 166 (SD=25) nSv/h, Bijar 113 (SD=17), 141 (SD=8) nSv/h, Divandareh 110 (SD=8), 134 (SD=12) nSv/h, Saqez 105 (SD=12), 134 (SD=11) nSv/h, Sanandaj 110 (SD=12), 133 (SD=4) nSv/h, Qorve 114 (SD=20), 160 (SD=4) nSv/h, Kamyaran 92 (SD=4), 115 (SD=14) nSv/h, Marivan 110 (SD=9), 122 (SD=18) nSv/h. Conclusion: Data shows that indoor dose rates in Baneh (%24), Bijar (%24), Divandareh (%22), Saqez (%28), Sanandaj (%21), Qorveh (%40), Kamyaran (%25) and Marivan (%11) exceed outdoor dose rate in these towns. Keywords: Environmental gamma, Dose rate, Indoor, Outdoo

Finite element modeling of the higher harmonic controlled OH-6A helicopter airframe

An MSC/NASTRAN finite element model of the higher harmonic control configured OH-6A helicopter fuselage was developed. This finite element model was verified by performing various model checkouts and correlation with results from a ground vibration test