Barriers to Employment and the ‘Hard to Serve’: Implications for Services, Sanctions, and Time Limits

2003 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra K. Danziger ◽  
Kristin S. Seefeldt
Keyword(s):  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Personal Problems ◽  
Time Limits ◽  
Skill Deficits ◽  
Barriers To Employment ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Temporary Assistance

Falling welfare rolls in the US has focussed attention on those remaining on the caseload, variously termed the ‘hard to serve’ or ‘difficult to employ’. Using data from the first three years of the Women's Employment Study, a sample of TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) recipients drawn in an urban county in Michigan, this article examines the barriers that inhibit people moving off welfare. The analysis indicates that the kinds of skill deficits and other personal problems experienced by welfare recipients are not frequently and systematically addressed within the rapid-employment, welfare to work models widely implemented across the USA.

Competition and competitiveness in the US airline industry

2015 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.J. Hannigan ◽  
Robert D. Hamilton III ◽  
Ram Mudambi
Keyword(s):  
Airline Industry ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Operational Efficiency ◽  
Resource Heterogeneity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Firm Strategies ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Core Capabilities

Purpose – This study aims to employ a resource-based lens to explore the competitive implications of firm strategies under conditions of market commonality and shared resource pools. Design/methodology/approach – The firms’ core capabilities in these environments may focus on operational efficiency, as firms seek to compete under significant resource heterogeneity constraints. Findings – Using data from the USA airline industry from 1996-2011, we find that price has a positive relationship with firm performance, whereas quality has a negative relationship. Operational efficiency is a driver of both strategies. Research limitations/implications – The study uses US data. Extending the findings to the global setting may require recognizing other competitive dimensions. Originality/value – Firms that focus on non-core activities perform less well. The results offer insights into an industry that has interested strategy researchers for many years and may suggest an application to other industries with similar characteristics.

Design Equations for Bod Removal in Facultative Ponds

1987 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 187-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Joe Middlebrooks
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Protection Agency ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Plug Flow ◽  
Empirical Models ◽  
The Us ◽  
Non Linear ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Removal Model ◽  
Best Fit

Facultative pond performance data collected for the US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) at four locations throughout the USA and data collected by others were used to evaluate the most frequently used design equations and to develop non-linear design equations. Empirical models were evaluated as well as the classical plug flow and complete mix models. The first order plug flow model gave the best fit of all the rational models. The empirical non-linear models did not fit the data, nor did the other empirical models with the exception being the areal loading and removal model. Attempts to verify the models developed with the USEPA data using data collected by others were not successful with the exception of the areal loading and removal model.

Considering online consumer reviews to predict movie box-office performance between the years 2009 and 2014 in the US

2018 ◽  
Vol 36 (6) ◽  
pp. 1010-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ya-Han Hu ◽  
Wen-Ming Shiau ◽  
Sheng-Pao Shih ◽  
Cho-Ju Chen
Keyword(s):  
Support Vector ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Box Office ◽  
Performance Predictions ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The One ◽  
Box Office Performance

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to combine basic movie information factors, external factors and review factors, to predict box-office performance and identify the most crucial factor of influence for box-office performance. Design/methodology/approach Five movie genres and first-week movie reviews found on IMDb were collected. The movie reviews were quantified using sentiment analysis tools SentiStrength and Stanford CoreNLP, in which quantified data were combined with basic movie information and external environment factors to predict movie box-office performance. A movie box-office performance prediction model was then developed using data mining (DM) technologies with M5 model trees (M5P), linear regression (LR) and support vector regression (SVR), after which movie box-office performance predictions were made. Findings The results of this paper showed that the inclusion of movie reviews generated more accurate prediction results. Concerning movie review-related factors, the one that exhibited the greatest effect on box-office performance was the number of movie reviews made, whereas movie review content only displayed an effect on box-office performance for specific movie genres. Research limitations/implications Because this paper collected movie data from the IMDb, the data were limited and primarily consisted of movies released in the USA; data pertaining to less popular movies or those released outside of the USA were, thus, insufficient. Practical implications This paper helps to verify whether the consideration of the features extracted from movie reviews can improve the performance of movie box-office. Originality/value Through various DM technologies, this paper shows that movie reviews enhanced the accuracy of box-office performance predictions and the content of movie reviews has an effect on box-office performance.

Single Parents' Subjective Wellbeing over the Welfare to Work Transition

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kay E. Cook
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Wellbeing ◽  
Single Parents ◽  
Work Hours ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Psychological Resources ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Successful Work ◽  
Work Transition ◽  
Barriers To Employment

The Australian government purports that employment will improve welfare recipients' wellbeing. However, longitudinal analysis of the subjective wellbeing (SWB) of 135 single parents who were compelled to make the transition from welfare to work revealed that as work hours increased, subjective wellbeing did not improve, and in some cases worsened. Participants who were employed at baseline increased their work hours by an average of 4.75 hours per week; however no change was detected in their SWB. Conversely, participants who moved from not working at baseline to working at follow-up increased their work hours by an average of 15.84 hours per week. For these participants, the change in work hours negatively predicted 20–34 per cent of the variance in SWB. From these data, it is concluded that those parents who were already working were those who faced fewer barriers to employment compared to those who were compelled to work. Those who were previously unemployed may not have the material, social and psychological resources to make a successful work transition.

scholarly journals Are University Rankings Statistically Significant? A Comparison among Chinese Universities and with the USA

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loet Leydesdorff ◽  
Caroline S. Wagner ◽  
Lin Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Chinese Universities ◽  
Fine Grained ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Practical Implications

Abstract Purpose Building on Leydesdorff, Bornmann, and Mingers (2019), we elaborate the differences between Tsinghua and Zhejiang University as an empirical example. We address the question of whether differences are statistically significant in the rankings of Chinese universities. We propose methods for measuring statistical significance among different universities within or among countries. Design/methodology/approach Based on z-testing and overlapping confidence intervals, and using data about 205 Chinese universities included in the Leiden Rankings 2020, we argue that three main groups of Chinese research universities can be distinguished (low, middle, and high). Findings When the sample of 205 Chinese universities is merged with the 197 US universities included in Leiden Rankings 2020, the results similarly indicate three main groups: low, middle, and high. Using this data (Leiden Rankings and Web of Science), the z-scores of the Chinese universities are significantly below those of the US universities albeit with some overlap. Research limitations We show empirically that differences in ranking may be due to changes in the data, the models, or the modeling effects on the data. The scientometric groupings are not always stable when we use different methods. Practical implications Differences among universities can be tested for their statistical significance. The statistics relativize the values of decimals in the rankings. One can operate with a scheme of low/middle/high in policy debates and leave the more fine-grained rankings of individual universities to operational management and local settings. Originality/value In the discussion about the rankings of universities, the question of whether differences are statistically significant, has, in our opinion, insufficiently been addressed in research evaluations.

scholarly journals Measuring the Role of Transportation in Facilitating Welfare-to-Work Transition: Evidence from Three California Counties

2003 ◽  
Vol 1859 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Blumenberg ◽  
Daniel Hess Hess
Keyword(s):  
Central City ◽  
Welfare Recipients ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Spatial Mismatch ◽  
Physical Separation ◽  
Job Opportunities ◽  
Work Transition ◽  
Using Data

Welfare-to-Work transportation programs are premised on a conceptualization of the spatial mismatch hypothesis that focuses on the physical separation between the central city locations of welfare participants, rapidly expanding job opportunities in the suburbs, and the long commutes needed to connect them. Using data from three diverse California counties, welfare recipients’ spatial access to employment was examined. The results indicate that the traditional notion of the spatial mismatch is less relevant to welfare recipients, many of whom live in counties in which the urban structure does not fit the simple model of poor, central-city neighborhoods and distant, job-rich suburbs. Many welfare recipients live in job-rich areas; others live in neighborhoods that are spatially isolated from employment. Therefore, to be effective, transportation policies must be tailored to the diverse characteristics of the neighborhoods in which welfare recipients live.

scholarly journals Redesigning the Welfare Contract in Theory and Practice: Just What Is Going on in the USA?

2003 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALEX WADDAN
Keyword(s):  
Personal Responsibility ◽  
Single Parent ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Welfare To Work ◽  
Single Parent Families ◽  
The Us ◽  
Hard Times ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Underlying Theme

The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act of 1996 was a landmark in American social policy. There were a number of objectives, but the primary purpose was to end the Aid to Families with Dependent Children programme which was a cash benefit paid to poor, very largely single-parent, families. The underlying theme was that AFDC had constituted a ‘something for nothing’ programme which had violated the primacy of work. The Act acknowledged that government had an initial duty to aid those falling on hard times, but also stated that there comes a time when government's obligation diminishes. This legislation has generated much interest in the UK, but there is a danger of important elements of the American story being overlooked. In order to understand, therefore, just what is going on this paper looks at the US welfare-to-work experiment on its own terms. The article looks at the movement behind reform and at why, despite evidence of increased hardship for some, five years on from passage the conventional wisdom is that PRWORA has been a success.

scholarly journals Trends and geographical variation in population thriving, struggling and suffering across the USA, 2008–2017: a retrospective repeated cross-sectional study

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e043375
Author(s):  
Carley Riley ◽  
Jeph Herrin ◽  
Veronica Lam ◽  
Brent Hamar ◽  
Dan Witters ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Geographical Variation ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Life Evaluation ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Worthy Goal ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Over Time

ObjectivesWell-being is a holistic, positively framed conception of health, integrating physical, emotional, social, financial, community and spiritual aspects of life. High well-being is an intrinsically worthy goal for individuals, communities and nations. Multiple measures of well-being exist, yet we lack information to identify benchmarks, geographical disparities and targets for intervention to improve population life evaluation in the USA.DesignUsing data from the Gallup National Health and Well-Being Index, we conducted retrospective analyses of a series of cross-sectional samples.Setting/participantsWe summarised select well-being outcomes nationally for each year, and by county (n=599) over two time periods, 2008–2012 and 2013–2017.Main outcome measuresWe report percentages of people thriving, struggling and suffering using the Cantril Self-Anchoring Scale, percentages reporting high or low current life satisfaction, percentages reporting high or low future life optimism, and changes in these percentages over time.ResultsNationally, the percentage of people that report thriving increased from 48.9% in 2008 to 56.3% in 2017 (p<0.05). The percentage suffering was not significantly different over time, ranging from 4.4% to 3.2%. In 2013–2017, counties with the highest life evaluation had a mean 63.6% thriving and 2.3% suffering while counties with the lowest life evaluation had a mean 49.5% thriving and 6.5% suffering, with counties experiencing up to 10% suffering, threefold the national average. Changes in county-level life evaluation also varied. While counties with the greatest improvements experienced 10%–15% increase in the absolute percentage thriving or 3%–5% decrease in absolute percentage suffering, most counties experienced no change and some experienced declines in life evaluation.ConclusionsThe percentage of the US population thriving increased from 2008 to 2017 while the percentage suffering remained unchanged. Marked geographical variation exists indicating priority areas for intervention.

Measurement Invariance of a Universal Behavioral Screener Across Samples From the USA and Germany

2018 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gino Casale ◽  
Robert J. Volpe ◽  
Brian Daniels ◽  
Thomas Hennemann ◽  
Amy M. Briesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Measurement Invariance ◽  
Student Behavior ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cross Cultural Comparison ◽  
School Based ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Universal Screener ◽  
Confirmatory Factor ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Usa

Abstract. The current study examines the item and scalar equivalence of an abbreviated school-based universal screener that was cross-culturally translated and adapted from English into German. The instrument was designed to assess student behavior problems that impact classroom learning. Participants were 1,346 K-6 grade students from the US (n = 390, Mage = 9.23, 38.5% female) and Germany (n = 956, Mage = 8.04, 40.1% female). Measurement invariance was tested by multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) across students from the US and Germany. Results support full scalar invariance between students from the US and Germany (df = 266, χ2 = 790.141, Δχ2 = 6.9, p < .001, CFI = 0.976, ΔCFI = 0.000, RMSEA = 0.052, ΔRMSEA = −0.003) indicating that the factor structure, the factor loadings, and the item thresholds are comparable across samples. This finding implies that a full cross-cultural comparison including latent factor means and structural coefficients between the US and the German version of the abbreviated screener is possible. Therefore, the tool can be used in German schools as well as for cross-cultural research purposes between the US and Germany.

Sanctions of the USA and the Policy of Bank of Russia:double Blow to the National Economy

2014 ◽  
pp. 13-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Glazyev
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Economic Sanctions ◽  
Capital Flight ◽  
Practical Advice ◽  
The Us ◽  
Monetary Authorities ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Simultaneous Adoption ◽  
The Eu

This article examines fundamental questions of monetary policy in the context of challenges to the national security of Russia in connection with the imposition of economic sanctions by the US and the EU. It is proved that the policy of the Russian monetary authorities, particularly the Central Bank, artificially limiting the money supply in the domestic market and pandering to the export of capital, compounds the effects of economic sanctions and plunges the economy into depression. The article presents practical advice on the transition from external to domestic sources of long-term credit with the simultaneous adoption of measures to prevent capital flight.

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