Defining and Measuring The Creation of Quality Jobs

Our research is intended to support our peers in the Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) industry who, through their financing, have served low-income and other disadvantaged communities for two decades.  While the CDFI industry has been instrumental in supporting job creation across the U.S., we believe that now is the time to focus greater attention on the quality of the jobs created in order to combat rising income and wealth inequality.Through a better understanding of what defines a quality job and a set of practical methods for measuring the quality of jobs created, we believe CDFIs and others in the impact investing community will be better positioned to make more effective investments that support good jobs for workers, businesses, and communities

Tight Lower Bounds for Greedy Routing in Higher-Dimensional Small-World Grids

We consider Kleinberg's celebrated small world graph model (Kleinberg, 2000), in which a D-dimensional grid {0,...,n-1}^D is augmented with a constant number of additional unidirectional edges leaving each node. These long range edges are determined at random according to a probability distribution (the augmenting distribution), which is the same for each node. Kleinberg suggested using the inverse D-th power distribution, in which node v is the long range contact of node u with a probability proportional to ||u-v||^(-D). He showed that such an augmenting distribution allows to route a message efficiently in the resulting random graph: The greedy algorithm, where in each intermediate node the message travels over a link that brings the message closest to the target w.r.t. the Manhattan distance, finds a path of expected length O(log^2 n) between any two nodes. In this paper we prove that greedy routing does not perform asymptotically better for any uniform and isotropic augmenting distribution, i.e., the probability that node u has a particular long range contact v is independent of the labels of u and v and only a function of ||u-v||. In order to obtain the result, we introduce a novel proof technique: We define a budget game, in which a token travels over a game board, while the player manages a "probability budget". In each round, the player bets part of her remaining probability budget on step sizes. A step size is chosen at random according to a probability distribution of the player's bet. The token then makes progress as determined by the chosen step size, while some of the player's bet is removed from her probability budget. We prove a tight lower bound for such a budget game, and then obtain a lower bound for greedy routing in the D-dimensional grid by a reduction

The resilience of post market infrastructures and payment systems Initiatives and perspectives.

The use of non-cash payment schemes is particularly widespread in France where the number of non-cash transactions is in fact well above the European average. Though they have different features corresponding to users’ varying needs (payments may be face-to-face, remote or recurring, for instance), non-cash payment schemes generally consist of an instrument that generates a payment order combined with the technical and organisational arrangements that enable this order to be processed. Putting these arrangements in place requires close co-operation between all participants of the payment «network», i.e., naturally, credit institutions that hold accounts for debtors and beneficiaries, and also their technical service providers. The Everyday Security Act of 15 November 2001 entrusts the Banque de France with a specific task with regard to overseeing the security of non-cash means of payment. This task falls naturally within the purview of central banks, which guarantee both the value of the currency and the stability of payment systems. To carry out its task, the Banque de France analyses the potential threats associated with payment schemes and defines, in consultation with the parties involved, the minimum security objectives designed to prevent the occurrence of payment-specific risk events. To assess the security of a payment scheme, the Banque de France ensures that the parties involved comply with these objectives.

Analysis, by simulation, of the impact of a technical default of a payment system participant.

Payment systems play a very important role in ensuring the safe and efficient transfer of deposits and financial instruments. Consequently, the failure of these systems may have a destabilising impact. Business continuity plans have thus been developed to ensure their robustness. However, their smooth functioning is also contingent on the capacity of participants to submit their payment orders. The Banque de France, in its role of overseer of the French payment systems, conducted a study with a view to enhancing its understanding of the consequences and the impact of the technical default of a participant in such systems. This study, carried out using a simulator of the functioning of the Paris Net Settlement (PNS) large-value payment system, operated by the CRI (Centrale des Règlements Interbancaires), shows that the technical default of a participant in this system has negative consequences on the smooth running of the system. Indeed, a situation in which a major participant, in the wake of a technical incident, is unable to submit its payment orders in a normal fashion to its counterparties in PNS, could further exacerbate congestion in the system and result in almost 10% of payments being rejected among non-defaulting participants. The consequences of a technical default could nevertheless be greatly reduced if the participants set their bilateral sender limits at a lower level than that currently observed and if they reacted rapidly to information indicating a technical default by reducing their bilateral limits with the defaulting participant (defaulter).

Scattering Cancellation Using Dipolar Arrays

In this talk, we present a strategy for cancelling the scattered far field of a dipole interrogating a perfect conducting plane. The interrogating dipole acts as a monostatic radar (an interrogator collocated with receiver) and for the scattering cancellation effect we are using a distribution of infinitesimal dipoles located above the target. We assume that the interrogating dipole is located at (0,0,????). The goal is to determine the current feed required for the defending dipoles to cancel the scattered far field on a patch around the interrogating dipole while having a near zero effect on the field elsewhere. We mention that the additional effect of very small fields outside a small patch around the interrogating dipole could lead to other important applications such as field focusing, for example. We shall present some numerical simulations of this strategy applied to the scattering cancellation of the interrogator’s magnetic far field, starting with the specific case of a vertical interrogating dipole, in which the cancellation was done using vertical dipoles of appropriate currents. We then consider the general case of an arbitrarily-oriented interrogating dipole. In this set-up, cancellation was achieved using dipoles oriented in the ????,j and ???? directions with appropriate currents.Honors CollegeMathematics, Department o

Corruption in the U.S. Pharmaceutical Industry

A story that has to be told too often is that of the people who cannot afford lifesaving medications, and as a result do not survive. Doctor Nicky Mehtani says that the inability of a patient to afford their medication can be a common cause of death. This is an answer not accepted by grieving family members who have lost a loved one. It is estimated that more than a fourth of people in the United States needing medical treatment struggle with payment or simply cannot afford to pay for the lifesaving medications that they need (Mehtani, 2018). Deteriorating American business ethics today have led to both corrupt and illegal decision making by the pharmaceutical industry that leaves a lasting impact on American consumers. The Cornell Legal Information Institute defines corruption as “a dishonest, fraudulent, or even criminal act of an individual or organization, using entrusted authority or power to make a personal gain or other unethical or illegal benefits” (p. 1). Corrupt actions in the pharmaceutical industry erode trust in the business sector, weaken democracy, and hamper economic development and democracy. In addition to corrupt actions, companies within the pharmaceutical industry make illegal decisions often. This is an industry that needs reform due to human lives being at stake. People across the globe benefit from the work of the pharmaceutical industry daily. For example, the discovery and production of insulin has saved the lives of people with diabetes. Prior to the discovery of insulin, diabetes was considered a death sentence. Discoveries such as this one are crucial to the treatment of life threatening diseases. Without modern age companies to research new drugs to bring to market to cure common health problems, the world life expectancy would be on the decline. This industry does work that saves lives of people around the globe, but in a dynamic space when considering business ethics. While the pharmaceutical industry helps create drugs that can improve life expectancy, eradicate disease, reduce pain and suffering, and boost the global economy, there is a lack of trust between the American people and the pharmaceutical industry (Burke, 2020). As an industry that is meant to help discover cures for disease and create drugs to promote public health, confidence in the industry should be high. In reality, the corrupt and illegal actions of companies in this business sector have created a low sense of confidence in big business. While I recognize the necessity of this industry and all of the public good that comes from “big pharma,” the aim of this thesis is to dive deeper into the flaws of the pharmaceutical industry. Key stakeholders of the pharmaceutical industry include patients, the government, physicians, insurance providers, “big pharma” companies, and society as a whole. Understanding the industry\u27s flaws is important because the public knowledge of corrupt pharmaceutical industry practices is crucial to combat unethical practices and in turn promote public health for the greater good of society. I do this through understanding how the monopolistic “big pharma” operates, analyzing the relationship between big business and government, looking into regulations that are in place about drug pricing and availability, looking at past cases of how companies’ actions have affected patients, and researching where the industry is headed in the future

Attraction: The Secret of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership

The Secret, reveals that the single attribute that ensures success is one that every great educator has always had in his repertoire. Rhonda Byrne (2006, 4) says that “the greatest teachers who have ever lived have told us that the law of attraction is the most powerful law in the Universe.” Byrne points to poets, musicians, artists, and thinkers like Shakespeare, Beethoven, da Vinci, Socrates, Plato, and other legends. But lesser mortals, teachers and administrators in the field, also have known that “attraction” is the secret to school success. Jon Saphier and Robert Gower (1987, 2) put forth this idea over two decades ago—power of attraction versus power of authority. For teachers, it was the attraction attributes—encouragement, enthusiasm, praise, humor, and dramatizing—that harvested winning behavior