Diminishing Dollars for Social Justice Philanthropy

In the second half of 2008, the United States experienced a severe economic downturn. Often called the global Financial Crisis, it is considered by many economists to be the worst financial crisis since the great Depression. In the United States, the effects of the downturn were felt across every sector of our economy and society.This report both identifies the major immediate impacts of the 2008 financial crisis on social justice philanthropy and takes a look into the future. It aims to provide new and useful information to both funders and nonprofit organizations seeking funds. Foundations active in the social justice arena can use this information to strategize, inside their institutions and with their peers, about ways to bring additional, urgently needed funding to the field. For nonprofits, the information presented here is crucial to their planning efforts and their ability overall to weather the stor

Diminishing Dollars: The Impact of the 2008 Financial Crisis on the Field of Social Justice Philanthropy

Examines the immediate impact of the financial crisis on foundations active in the social justice sector, including 2005-09 trends in assets, spending, and grantmaking and strategies used to cope with depleted assets. Includes projections through 2015

Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help, 2008 Update

Assesses the increase in young adults without health insurance -- their demographics and income levels, causes and implications, and federal and state actions taken -- and suggests targeted policy options to cover students and recent graduates

Rite of Passage? Why Young Adults Become Uninsured and How New Policies Can Help, 2009 Update

Provides an annual assessment of the uninsurance of 19- to 29-year-olds and their demographics, incomes, and health status. Outlines federal and state actions to expand access to coverage and suggests policy options to address the impact of the recession

Unlocking Thesis Data LSE case study

Case study of thesis processes at the London School of Economics and Political Science designed to inform subsequent phases of the Unlocking Thesis Data project. Includes recommendations for LSE to assign ORCID and DOI identifiers at appropriate points in the research student journey

THE IMPACT OF PARENT AND CHILD RESPONSIVENESS ON THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PRINTED MATERIALS IN THE HOME AND CHILD LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Research evidence indicates that both the physical and social environments in children's homes impact their ability to develop language. These factors, however, are rarely considered simultaneously nor is the combined impact of multiple levels of the child's environment often investigated in a single study. The current study considered the direct influence of access to printed materials in the home, child responsiveness, and parental responsiveness on language development two time points in a sample of 71 mother-child dyads. Printed materials were measured using a combination of observation and maternal report. Child and parent responsiveness were measured during an observation task and child language development was measured using the Preschool Language Scale. It was hypothesized that each of these variables would positively predict language development when the child was 10 and 24 months old. The possible moderating effects of both parental and child responsiveness on the association between printed materials and child language development was also investigated. Although the hypotheses were not supported, implications, such as the inclusion of subtypes of parental responsiveness and the need to study these associations within diverse samples are discussed

A Puzzle Involving Galactic Bulge Microlensing Events

We study a sample of 16 microlensed Galactic bulge main sequence turnoff region stars for which high dispersion spectra have been obtained with detailed abundance analyses. We demonstrate that there is a very strong and highly statistically significant correlation between the maximum magnification of the microlensed bulge star and the value of the [Fe/H] deduced from the high resolution spectrum of each object. Physics demands that this correlation, assuming it to be real, be the result of some sample bias. We suggest several possible explanations, but are forced to reject them all,and are left puzzled. To obtain a reliable metallicity distribution in the Galactic bulge based on microlensed dwarf stars it will be necessary to resolve this issue through the course of additional observations.Comment: Submitted to ApJL, table 2 (quite long) will only appear in the on-line version of ApJ

High-throughput detection of ethanol-producing cyanobacteria in a microdroplet platform.

Ethanol production by microorganisms is an important renewable energy source. Most processes involve fermentation of sugars from plant feedstock, but there is increasing interest in direct ethanol production by photosynthetic organisms. To facilitate this, a high-throughput screening technique for the detection of ethanol is required. Here, a method for the quantitative detection of ethanol in a microdroplet-based platform is described that can be used for screening cyanobacterial strains to identify those with the highest ethanol productivity levels. The detection of ethanol by enzymatic assay was optimized both in bulk and in microdroplets. In parallel, the encapsulation of engineered ethanol-producing cyanobacteria in microdroplets and their growth dynamics in microdroplet reservoirs were demonstrated. The combination of modular microdroplet operations including droplet generation for cyanobacteria encapsulation, droplet re-injection and pico-injection, and laser-induced fluorescence, were used to create this new platform to screen genetically engineered strains of cyanobacteria with different levels of ethanol production.This research has received funding from EC within the FP7 DEMA project, grant agreement no. 309086. Both S.A.C. and E.K. are supported by DEMA funding.This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/12/106/20150216#ack-1

Mapping the UK thesis landscape: Phase 1 project report for Unlocking Thesis Data

This report details the work of the first phase (April-July 2015) of Unlocking Thesis Data, where the project carried out a survey of EThOS institutions, interviewed staff at six universities for more in-depth case studies, and synthesised the findings. Overall, there is much appetite for applying DOIs to theses and their data (which includes datasets, software components and other non-textual supplementary files) and ORCiDs to research students. Glasgow, Southampton and East London universities each minted a DOI for an existing thesis, demonstrating the viability of our intent, but the case studies showed there are constraints in both processes and technologies to be addressed before persistent identifiers (PID) for theses can be a nationwide reality in the UK. The project makes five recommendations for further work in a second phase: 1. Hold at least three thesis “clinics” to investigate opportunities and barriers to assigning DOI and ORCiD identifiers in UK universities 2. Engage with system suppliers/vendors to identify opportunities for enhancing software with required PIDs 3. Consult with EThOS formally to understand what needs to change in EThOS systems and processes to harvest and display PIDs and related metadata for theses and their data 4. Evaluate approaches to updating UKETD profile, initially in EPrints, before planning software enhancements 5. Investigate requirements and solutions for those institutions that use EThOS as their first-point repository

Self-employment as a means to women\u27s economic self-sufficiency: Women Venture\u27s business development program

While the feminization of poverty has been widely recognized as a global phenomenon in recent years, the term originated in the United States where the number of women and women-headed households living in poverty is growing. This is especially true in the inner cities where fewer unskilled jobs remain; likewise, in rural communities, many factories have closed, family farming is declining, and few other nonfarm options are available. Today these American women face many of the same obstacles that limit women\u27s economic participation in all parts of the world. This issue of SEEDS focuses on the evolution of WomenVenture\u27s business development program—a model that has provided a way of helping women start businesses and become self-sufficient without incurring overwhelming risks. WomenVenture serves as an example of interest to other organizations seeking to help women become self-employed