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Workplace safety is an important determinant of workers' welfare. Empirical evidence shows the workplace injury rate decreases during recessions. This paper uses detailed administrative Workers' Compensation claims from California to study the relationship between unemployment and workplace injuries at a more disaggregated level. We find that between 2001 and 2012, a 1% increase in the unemployment rate is associated with a 0.2% decrease in the claim rate. In addition, when the unemployment rate increases, the claim rate experiences a significant drop for the subgroups: (i) cuts or struck, (ii) upper/lower extremities or head injuries, (iii) specific injuries, (iv) male workers, (v) young workers, and (vi) insured companies. While the pro-cyclical relationship is strongly persistent across many of the subgroups, the varying magnitudes yield interesting policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1997, thirty-nine members of a religious cult from California, US, committed mass suicide to gain abnormal powers exchanging their present body form. This is popularly known as Heaven's Gate. In 2021, in India, two young women were killed by their learned parents to get abnormal powers by giving-up their present body form. The paper connects such incidences and answers questions like why we feel that our present form of life is worth quitting? Ten eminent personalities from different fields were interviewed. Their responses are presented in a "belief-emotion-behavior," a novel format, analyzing the relationship between the three. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The Western Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (WCAHS) at the University of California, Davis implemented a multifaceted rapid response to COVID-19 in the western United States. This paper describes the center's response from mid-March through June 30, 2020. Methods: A comprehensive needs assessment was conducted with agricultural stakeholders. Agriculture-specific COVID-19 resources were developed and disseminated, and a farmer/employer survey was launched. Results: The WCAHS COVID-19 resources web page, worksite checklist, and training guide were shared on over 50 web pages nationally. As of June 30, 2020, 282 online surveys have been received. Ongoing informal discussions with agricultural stakeholders indicate a disconnect between the experiences of farmers/employers and farmworkers in relation to COVID-19 prevention at the worksite. Initial survey responses indicate that implementing social distancing is one of the greatest challenges at the worksite. Confusion over local, state, and federal guidelines and which to follow is another concern. Conclusion: The WCAHS response to COVID-19, in close collaboration with agricultural stakeholders, represents a useful model for a rapid response to a public health crisis by regional centers. Key elements to its success include rapid personalized communication with a wide range of agricultural stakeholders, an actively engaged External Advisory Board, the development of industry-specific resources and information, recurring and iterative engagement with stakeholders as new COVID-19 information emerged and resources were developed, and the identification of the unique gap WCAHS was positioned to fill. The multipronged dissemination approach enhanced the reach of WCAHS COVID-19 resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article mentions the scope of paper, poster, or round table discussion for those who wish to attend the 2015 Clinical Aphasiology Conference on the clinical management of those with acquired neurologic language disorders to be held in Monterey, California.

Copyright of Canadian Foreign Policy Journal (CFPJ) is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In the recent times, the use of geosynthetic-reinforced soil (GRS) technology has become popular for constructing safe and sustainable pavement structures. The strength of the subgrade soil is routinely assessed in terms of its California bearing ratio (CBR). However, in the past, no effort was made to develop a method for evaluating the CBR of the reinforced subgrade soil. The main aim of this paper is to explore and appraise the competency of the several intelligent models such as artificial neural network (ANN), least median of squares regression, Gaussian processes regression, elastic net regularisation regression, lazy K-star, M-5 model trees, alternating model trees and random forest in estimating the CBR of reinforced soil. For this, all the models were calibrated and validated using the reliable pertinent historical data. The prognostic veracity of all the tools mentioned supra were assessed using the well-established traditional statistical indices, external model evaluation technique, multi-criteria assessment approach and independent experimental dataset. Due to the overall excellent performance of ANN, the model was converted into a trackable functional relationship to estimate the CBR of reinforced soil. Finally, the sensitivity analysis was performed to find the strength and relationship of the used parameters on the CBR value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) vehicles need vehicle-to-vehicle (V2 V) communication to achieve CACC function. When a CACC vehicle follows a manual-driven vehicle (MDV) without V2 V communication, it needs degenerate to adaptive cruise control (ACC). By using real experiments, California PATH program indicated that ACC vehicles are apt to be unstable, which may have negative influence on fuel consumption and traffic emissions. Hence, this paper studies the impacts of the mixed CACC-MDV traffic on fuel consumption and emissions, by taking into consideration partial degenerations from stable CACC vehicles to unstable ACC vehicles. To deal with this, microscopic simulations were adopted by using car-following models. Then, an appropriate emission model was used for evaluating the emission impacts under different CACC market penetration rates (MPRs). In order to obtain reliable evaluation results, the models validated by PATH program using real experimental data were employed as the CACC and ACC car-following models. In addition, we also analytically investigated stability of the mixed traffic flow under different CACC MPRs, in order to explore its relationship with the emission impacts. The results show that the fuel consumption and emissions firstly increase and then decrease with the increase of the CACC MPR. This means the mixed traffic under some ranges of CACC MPRs will produce more fuel consumption and emissions, compared with the full MDVs traffic. It indicates that stability situations of the mixed traffic qualitatively influence the impact trend of CACC MPRs on fuel consumption and emissions. Then, V2 V communication equipments on MDVs are not only encouraging but also essential to avoid the deterioration of fuel consumption and emissions of the mixed traffic flow. From a novel perspective, emission impacts of mixed CACC-HDVs flow are studied by considering partial degeneration from stable CACC to unstable ACC. It showed that stability of the mixed traffic flow qualitatively influences the impact trend of emissions with respect to CACC market penetration rates (MPR). Full V2 V communication environment is essential to reduce fuel consumption and emissions in the mixed traffic flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the role of the wine industry, writ large, in place-making via a case study of the wine industry, from 'grape to glass', in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California, which examines how wine production and consumption has influenced the sociocultural and physical–environmental landscape of the region. Using qualitative field methods and secondary data analysis, the paper investigates the impacts of the 'emerging' wine industry of the Sierra Nevada foothills by engaging with industry actors at all levels. We find that, while not new, wine grape production and winemaking have become increasingly prominent economically and culturally as evidenced by (in)visible infrastructure and growing direct and indirect contributions to foothill counties' economies. Moreover, we argue that, in the Sierra Nevada and beyond, wine growing and winemaking provide a powerful mechanism for identity and material landscape production in the area. The pursuit and construction of the Sierra Nevada foothills as 'wine country' becomes a means through which the place 'makes' itself and, in turn, makes a place for itself across a variety of economic and cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is concerned with the impact of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) on regional productivity in California agriculture. UCCE is responsible for agricultural research and development (R&D), and dissemination of agricultural know-how in the state. We estimate the effect of UCCE on county-level agricultural productivity for the years 1992–2012, using an agricultural production function with measures of agricultural extension inputs alongside the traditional agricultural production inputs at the county level. Results show a positive impact of UCCE through its stock of depreciated expenditures. For an additional dollar spent on UCCE expenditures stock, agricultural productivity, measured as value of sales at the county level, improves by $1–9 per acre of farmland for knowledge/expenditure depreciation rates between 0 and 20 percent. Results suggest that county differences in productivity could affect extension expenditures. The high level of contribution found in the results would be especially useful during a period of political pressure to reduce public spending for agricultural extension in the state. Theoretical implications suggest that agricultural systems with higher level of knowledge depreciation are associated with higher resulting incremental agricultural productivity per an additional dollar spent on UCCE expenditures stock. This suggests that extension policy should consider also the agricultural system (crop mix). We use original budgetary data that was collected especially for answering our research questions from archives of UCCE. We estimate impact of extension at the county level in California, on the value of agricultural sales (of crops and livestock). We developed an extension expenditure stock, using current and past expenditures data, and different depreciation rates, following the theory of Knowledge Production Function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discourse regarding public health problems disproportionately affecting marginalized communities may shape and sustain health inequities. Analyses of news media and public health communications in the wake of infectious disease outbreaks provides opportunities to examine how discourse produces dominant public perceptions about the drivers of health emergencies and who is responsible for protecting community health. Guided by Bacchi's "What is the Problem Represented to Be?" analytic approach, this paper critically examines the discursive construction of problems and solutions in news media (n = 35) and public health communication (n = 18 press releases, n = 1 governmental report) regarding an unprecedented hepatitis A outbreak in San Diego, California, USA (2016–2018) that disproportionately affected people experiencing homelessness. We organize our findings around three elements of problem and solution representation with respect to the outbreak: 1. The inequitable attribution of risk and deservingness; 2. assumptions divorced from socio-structural factors and perspectives of marginalized populations; and 3. political theatre as a means of blame-shifting and (in)action. Overall, our findings suggest that even when structural-level issues were acknowledged within news media and public health communication as undergirding the 'problem' of the hepatitis A outbreak, outbreak discourse focused on individual-level responsibility for both the causes of and solutions to it (e.g. vaccines, criminalization of homelessness), and on shifting blame between government actors. These findings have implications for understanding the role that news media and public health agencies play in shaping public perception of the causes, consequences and solutions to infectious disease outbreaks that disproportionately affect marginalized populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The California mission system linked Spanish Catholic and political institutions. To secure land and convert Indigenous peoples, the Spanish built 21 missions from San Diego to Sonoma in the 18th and 19th centuries. These missions were sites of disease, violence, and mass death. They were also places built by Native people, on Native lands, where they lived, prayed, and were buried. As a result, missions are fundamentally Indigenous places and important touchstones for descendants today. This article examines such meanings in the lives of several Ohlone peoples, Indigenous peoples of the San Francisco-Monterey region. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork with Ohlone tribes, I argue that we can understand relationships they sustain with California missions by considering such places as Indigenous cemeteries, Indigenous churches, and especially both. While dominant narratives restrict "missionized" Indigenous peoples to an irrecoverable past, this paper theorizes California mission as sites of violence, survival, and belonging to homeland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares drinking patterns of Whites and Hispanics who after crossing the U.S./Mexico border drink and do not drink in Mexico. Data came from a household survey of 1,209 adults 18 to 39 years of age in California. Residence near the US/Mexico border increases the likelihood of drinking in Mexico (AOR = 4.57; 95%CI = 2.45–8.52; p <.001). Hispanics (AOR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.26–2.90; p <.01), those who drink more frequently (AOR = 1.05; 95%CI = 1.02–1.09; p <.01) and those who drink six or more drinks in day (AOR = 1.91; 95%CI = 1.26–2.29; p <.01) are more likely than Whites and lighter drinkers to report this behavior. Crossing the U.S./Mexico border to drink is influenced by living close to the border, Hispanic ethnicity, and drinking many drinks in a day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this paper is to propose a compaction control method that facilitates the use of expansive soil, as embankment material for highways in humid climates. Three types of expansive soils, utilised as general embankment fill in Southern China, were selected for investigating the physical, compaction, and shear strength properties. The compaction-control method was proposed based on the compaction curve revealed by the dry preparation method, associated with the corresponding soaked California bearing ratio. The site test and long-term monitoring were conducted in an embankment in Ningming, which was filled with compacted expansive soil controlled by the suggested method. The laboratory test results showed that the maximum dry unit weight obtained from the dry preparation method was less than that generated from the moist preparation method, while the optimum moisture content acquired from the dry preparation method was greater and closer to its natural moisture content. The moisture content corresponding to maximum CBR was 2% larger than the optimum moisture content. The in-situ monitoring results presented that the moisture content of the constructed embankment was close to its natural moisture content or plastic limit, the maximum settlement was 70.6 mm, and the maximum horizontal displacement was 20 mm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Canadian Journal of Remote Sensing is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper examines how journalists use discursive strategies when covering the complex issue of climate change in The Mercury News, a large regional U.S.A. newspaper in California, a state deeply impacted by this problem. Quantitative content analysis of published texts and semi-structured interviews of journalists uncovered common use of formative discursive elements and the principles of constructive journalism, consistent with the journalists' expressed priorities to help educate readers and make climate change interesting, relevant, and easily readable. The demands for speedy reporting in the digital environment and cuts to newsroom staff affect the use of discursive strategies for climate change coverage and limits opportunities for journalists to specialize. Journalists noted the challenge of conveying topics that are abstract, technical, and embedded with uncertainty to readers who demand definitive and instantaneous information. Such challenges are accentuated by poor connections between academic experts on climate change and the public and the press. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How can university scholars and community activists effectively collaborate to produce generative, empowering, and materially impactful knowledge and actions concerning climate change and climate justice? In this paper, we report on a collaborative effort between climate justice non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and university faculty and students to conduct research to produce innovative ideas and insights about just transitions in California and to support social movement campaigns aimed at actually reducing greenhouse gas emissions by keeping fossil fuels in the ground. This collaboration was jointly initiated by faculty and students at a California university alongside leaders of local social movement organizations dedicated to climate justice, as a response to several proposed development projects that would expand oil extraction and fossil fuel use in that state. We argue that these efforts produced a climate justice gestalt that serves to amplify our productivity, power, and impact well beyond what any single partner could do separately or individually with respect to addressing climate injustices in our region. This is our plan for addressing climate change from an anti-authoritarian, participatory approach that will speak to new developments in the scholarship on climate and environmental justice studies and collaborative research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In late 1970s Paris, San Francisco Nights and Far West, popular institutions in the city's new queer nightlife, helped fashion new sexual norms. They were part of a constellation of California-inspired places that stimulated new imaginings of how queerness could be expressed and embodied. Indeed, large Californian cities, San Francisco in particular, provided a profit model based on queer consumption that participated in the creation of a new queer Paris. As the decade came to an end, the mobilisation of a gay vote in California also fed Parisian activists with the inspiration to organise a queer voting bloc in Paris to influence national elections and lobby for an end to discriminatory, anti-gay sections of the penal code. These re-imaginings of politics and urban economy challenged cherished French universalist ideals. As such, opposition accompanied the embrace of California-inspired visions of queer life. Both support and resistance attested to the growing global power of California, and of the United States. Drawing upon archival research, this paper explores California as a cultural reference, commercial brand, and political aspiration in the construction of a new queer Paris at the end of the 1970s and the dawn of the 1980s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While educational language policies have been shown to have a stronger influence on school-aged children's multilingual outcomes than Family Language Policy, California provides an example of how parental motivation and activism can also have a profound impact on educational language policies. This paper has two goals: first, it provides an overview of the legislative changes that affected California's educational system between the 1970s and the present, which resulted in an overall shift in public opinion and attitudes towards multilingualism and in a transition from promotion-oriented to restriction-oriented to again promotion-oriented educational policies with regards to multilingual education. The second part of the paper exemplifies the agency of Californian families in shaping their children's education by describing the history of an Italian/English two-way immersion programme born out of parental activism. The paper then presents the results of a preliminary study on parental attitudes within the programme, highlighting parents' strong appreciation of multilingualism and their renewed enthusiasm for Italian proficiency, bilingualism, and biliteracy in this Southern California's community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although interest and development of online and distributed learning (DL) has increased in recent years, the social work community has not fully embraced these formats. Many social work students are unable to commute to universities and DL education can provide degree options. A nonexperimental study using a convenience sample was done comparing student outcomes from campus and DL research methods classes with 44 students. Results indicated that final course scores did not statistically differ by course format. Results from this study confirm previous studies' conclusions that online and DL courses are an effective format for social work education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information about the Urban Archives Center at California State University at Northridge, California. The Center was established in 1979 through the efforts of university faculty and concerned community organizations and leaders. The primary purpose of the Center has been to collect the historically significant records of voluntary associations and prominent citizens who have directed growth in Los Angeles County and influenced government and public thinking since the beginning of the 20th century. Major subject areas developed during the Center's first 10 years of operation include, trade, tourism, and urban development; education; minority and ethnic organizations; politics; social services; women of Los Angeles; and recreation, sports and leisure studies. The center sent out 800 questionnaires inquiring about materials being stored in union halls and administrative offices. The responses revealed the existence of a wealth of untapped historical documents as well as the willingness of many labor organizations to participate in an archival program.

Increasing road construction activities in Nigeria has led to increased demand for lateritic soil (LS), whose properties vary from one location to another, and. The properties of some of this laterite deposits along road alignment can be improved to enable it withstand traffic loads. This paper presents results of the laboratory evaluation of LS stabilised with oil palm fibre ash and cement blends, with a view to determine its suitability as flexible pavement construction material. The mixtures were subjected to British Standard heavy (modified Proctor) compaction energy to determine their strength characteristics. Test results show that the properties of LS improved with oil palm fibre ash and cement treatment. The maximum dry density decreased with corresponding increase in optimum moisture content as the cement content increased from 0% to 6% and the LS content of the mixtures decreased with increased oil palm fibre ash, at a fixed per cent of cement. The peaked California bearing ratio of 190.09% (soaked) recorded for the 80% LS + 14% OPFA + 6% C mix proportion, with 14th day unconfined compressive strength of 785.75 kN/m2, cohesion of 140 kN/m2 and angle of internal friction of 25°, can be used as a base material in road construction. Further work may be encouraged to assess resilient modulus of this material under cyclic load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of sports practice in the re-articulation process of immigrant communities in their places of destination. I will use the case of basketball tournaments held by immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico, in the context of the Los Angeles metropolitan region. This Mexican emigration has settled mainly in southern California, in the United States. While the eventual creation of their immigrant communities is explained by the insertion of immigrants in specific labor niches through their social networks, mainly based on sharing the same hometowns of origin, the role of socio-cultural elements such as sports practice and the formation of immigrant public spaces are also significant factors that make possible this process. The examination of these sports practices reveals its centrality in the conformation of these public spaces and with it the development of identification processes that enables the consolidation of immigrant communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper attempts to study the effects of acidic and alkaline waters on the geotechnical properties of a particular type of clay with low plasticity from the northeast areas of Isfahan that have been evaluated with pH values adjusted from 3 to 8. The remoulded specimens were placed in moulds under the influence of acid and alkaline rains with different pH values and years of precipitation. Atterberg limits tests, soil permeability coefficient, California bearing ratio (CBR) test and unconfined compressive strength (UCS) of soil specimens with various pH values were used to evaluate soil mechanical changes relative to soil with neutral acidity. In order to identify internal structural mechanisms of soil before and after artificial raining on the specimens, scanning electron microscopy and pH drainage tests of specimens were performed. The results of the interaction of rain and soil with shifting from neutral values were evaluated over a period of precipitation fluxes from 1 to 20 years. In overall, the more is the acidity or alkalinity of the artificial rain, the more will increase the Atterberg limits and the soil permeability compared to the soil specimens under artificial rain with pH = 7; and the decreasing trend is observed in UCS values and CBR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much research examining the biological and social-cultural underpinnings of human mate preferences has focused on univariate or bivariate analyses of demographic variables and personality constructs. In this paper, we argue that a multivariate approach more effectively highlights the multifaceted structure and correlates of human mate preferences. To support this claim, we applied several multivariate techniques to data from a large adult sample to (1) examine the major dimensions underlying individual differences in mate preferences, and (2) elucidate how these preferences relate to individual differences in personality. An exploratory factor analysis of an omnibus mate preference questionnaire yielded a 14-factor solution with dimensions mirroring trends in evolutionary psychology and the Big Five personality framework. An inter-battery factor analysis of these dimensions paired with higher-order personality factors provided strong support for the "likes attract" model of partner preferences. Bootstrap confidence intervals for all factor loadings highlighted the robustness of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education and training in global health and social justice is crucial to ensuring the next generation of health professionals are poised to tackle the pressing issues of our time. To develop and implement an intensive summer course on global health and social justice for high school students at the University of Southern California. This paper reviews the course aims and curriculum, its implementation both onsite and online, and reports on student course evaluations and long-term student outcomes. Student satisfaction with the program was extremely high, which endured when the course went virtual during the COVID-19 pandemic. The most popular elements of the course included interactive, game-based activities and guest speakers. Many students reported that the course motivated them to pursue higher education and careers in global health or related fields. More universities should consider offering summer programs or other extension programs targeting high school students in order to meet the increasing demand for global health education. Recommendations for implementing global health courses for younger learners include having an interdisciplinary focus with a range of topics and diverse perspectives; provision of scholarships to allow low-income students and students from abroad to participate; prioritizing the integration of active learning and experiential educational opportunities; and incorporating debriefing and reflection as integral parts of learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper calls for a critical reframing of masculinity as an intersectional construct in the HIV epidemic and in public health. In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a sample of 56 Black men who have sex with men and women in the San Francisco Bay Area. Men described their sexual identities and practices via complex narratives of masculinity that drew on subordinated and resourceful adaptations to the structural effects of racism, economic marginalisation and homophobia. By focusing on men whose experience of masculinity operates outside fixed identity categories, the paper draws attention to the intersectionality that is, by necessity, constitutive of men's lived experiences. Findings suggest the value of an integrative framework for understanding Black masculinities as processes and practices simultaneously informed by structural inequalities (racism, economic marginalisation and/or homophobia, in particular) and cultural meanings of gender. By utilising an intersectional approach, public health and sociology can better understand the concurrent resilience and vulnerability of masculinities, while building an interdisciplinary understanding of the symbolic role of Black masculinities in the USA, as well as a means by which to promote health and well-being in and through these gendered contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A calendar of events for San Diego, California is presented which include a paper presentation of Dr. James F. Sumowski on cognitive leisure activity in multiple sclerosis to be held on August 12, 2010 at San Diego Convention Center, a symposium on the assessment of behavioral and neurological function on August 13, 2010 at San Diego Convention Center, and a poster session on HIV on August 14, 2010 the Exhibit hall of San Diego Convention Center.

In this paper, we introduce machine-learning (ML) methods to evaluate one of the key concepts of real estate analysis – the prediction of housing prices in the presence of a large number of covariates. We use several supervised ML tools that are based on regularisation methods – notably Ridge, LASSO, and Elastic Net regressions – and discuss their relative performance in comparison to conventional OLS-based methods. Our empirical results show that the supervised ML methods provide a comprehensive description of the determinants of owner-occupied housing values in the census tracts of California. We find that, compared to the familiar worlds of OLS and WLS, the Ridge, LASSO, and Elastic Net regressions provide relatively better out-of-sample predictions. Among the benefits of shrinkage-based ML methods are their ability to resolve such issues as variable selection and overfitting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the performance of two 18-story steel moment frame buildings (UBC 1982 and 1997 designs) in southern California under plausible San Andreas fault earthquakes in the next 30 years is quantified. The approach integrates rupture-to-rafters simulations into the PEER performance-based earthquake engineering (PBEE) framework. Using stochastic sources and computational seismic wave propagation, three-component ground motion histories at 636 sites in southern California are generated for 60 scenario earthquakes on the San Andreas fault. The ruptures, with moment magnitudes in the range of 6.0–8.0, are assumed to occur at five locations on the southern section of the fault. Two unilateral rupture propagation directions are considered. The 30-year probabilities of all plausible ruptures in this magnitude range and in that section of the fault, as forecast by the United States Geological Survey, are distributed among these 60 earthquakes based on proximity and moment release. The response of the two 18-story buildings hypothetically located at each of the 636 sites under three-component shaking from all 60 events is computed using 3-D nonlinear time-history analysis. Using these results, the probability of the structural response exceeding Immediate Occupancy (IO), Life-Safety (LS), and Collapse Prevention (CP) performance levels under San Andreas fault earthquakes over the next 30 years is evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of low-NOx compressed natural gas (CNG) medium-duty vehicles (MDVs) and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) has the potential to significantly reduce NOx emissions and yield improvements in regional air quality. However, the extent of air quality improvement depends on many factors including future levels of vehicle deployment, the evolution of emissions from other sources, and meteorology. An analysis of the impacts requires modeling the atmosphere to account for both primary and secondary air pollutants, and the use of health impact assessment tools to map air quality changes into quantifiable metrics of human health. Here, we quantify and compare the air quality and health impacts associated with the deployment of low-NOx CNG engines to power future MDV and HDV fleets in California relative to both a business-as-usual and a more advanced fleet composition. The results project that reductions in summer ground-level ozone could reach 13 ppb when compared to a baseline fleet of diesel and gasoline HDV and MDV and could reach 6 ppb when compared to a cleaner fleet that includes some zero-emission vehicles and fuels. Similarly, for all CNG cases considered reductions in PM2.5 are predicted to range from 1.2 ug/m3 to 2.7 ug/m3 for a summer episode and from 3.1 ug/m3 to approximately 7.8 ug/m3 for a winter episode. These improvements yield short-term health benefits equivalent to $47 to $56 million in summer and $38 to $43 million in winter during episodes conducive to poor air quality. Additionally, the use of zero emission vehicle options such as battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell trucks could achieve approximately 25% to 31% higher benefits for an equivalent fleet penetration level due to the additional emission reductions achieved. Implications: The paper provides a quantitative estimate of the air quality and human health benefits that can be achieved through the use of novel compressed natural gas engines (i.e., low-NOx CNG) in medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and provide a comparison with zero emission vehicles. Thus, our findings will provide support for policy development seeking to transform the trucking sector to meet clean air and climate goals given the current struggle policymakers have with selecting between alternative truck technologies due to variance in factors like cost and technical maturity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Natural Fibers is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper explores the challenges faced by unhoused women in accessing general and reproductive health care services in Santa Cruz, CA. Semi-structured interviews with women experiencing houselessness were conducted in Santa Cruz, CA with a focus on their narrative experiences as patients. The overwhelming majority of participants expressed appreciation for clinics that provided support through longer hours, alternative therapies, and appointment reminders. Overall, the interviews indicated that women who had access to a social worker were much more likely to report improved access to satisfactory treatment. These findings suggest that there is not a tangible lack of healthcare services for unhoused women in the local community, but rather a burden of treatment navigation caused by a dearth of information on how to access care. The interviews suggest that this burden can be reduced with social work interventions and service centers that offer health navigation support. By adapting theories of the "burden of treatment," we argue that additional attention must be paid to overcoming the "burden of treatment navigation." For related reasons, we suggest that increasing the availability of social workers would concretely improve health outcomes for unhoused women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusionary housing is considered a powerful local policy tool that can help address housing affordability and social inclusion issues. This paper draws from empirical research conducted in the City of Santa Monica in California to provide fresh insights on a successful innovative inclusionary housing program, the Affordable Housing Production Program (AHPP). This program was established to increase affordable housing production and enable social integration. Based on the Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) of the General Plan, the AHPP seeks to capture some of the increase in land value resulting from planned increases in the intensity of development. Our research shows that the program increased inclusionary housing production by market-rate developers by 15% over the previous inclusionary housing policy. The study finds that land use policies and planning can, through inclusionary housing, help harness the strength of the real estate market to (1) increase affordable housing production, and (2) achieve effective social integration in neighborhoods of opportunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given many potential obstacles, what types of strategic plans and measures for climate protection and/or energy sustainability are more likely than others to be adopted by cities? What are the key internal and external obstacles to adopting and implementing these plans and measures? Based on data obtained from a survey conducted from 2010 to 2011 and other sources, this paper develops a framework derived from political contracting theory and strategic orientation literature to examine how public management obstacles, socio-economic factors, and political factors influence a city's likelihood of having strategic energy sustainability plans and measures in place. Moreover, this paper finds that many California cities remain reluctant to require residents and businesses to comply with more challenging sustainability measures, such as smart-growth land-use practices, and that those cities with a strategic energy sustainability plan already in place tend to be more willing to adopt smart-growth land-use measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era of expanding global educational privatization and shifting policies on how to fund educational facilities in many states in the US, this study engages the lenses of critical policy analysis and fiscal sociology to examine educational privatization in the school facilities industry in California. Employing critical policy document analysis to examine approximately 40 primary and secondary source documents including propositions, bills, government and education codes, facilities reports, and state public debt data, this paper addresses the following research question: How have education finance policies shaped the system of school district facilities financing over time, specifically with regard to the field of private actors involved in the school facilities industry? This paper examines the historical policy context for privatization in school district facilities financing, evaluating how policies have evolved, been implemented, and affected stakeholders over time in the broader neoliberal context. Findings indicate that policies promoting privatization in education finance impact school districts’ abilities to provide equitable facilities to their students. Also, the complex and intermittent process of financing school facilities has facilitated the rise of specialized private actors in the school facilities industry that has now organized to engage in private-sector policy setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Welfare provision for noncitizens has been at the center of political debates. Understanding how Californian noncitizens and undocumented immigrants access health care would provide useful information to guide health policies. Method: The neighborhood-level Census data were used to learn the factors related to insurance coverage. LA County is identified as a case study to understand the status quo of health care access for noncitizen immigrants. Data from the Center for Migration Studies was used to derive the unmet demand of My Health LA, a county program that aims to cover the uninsured. Result: Two main factors that predict the extent of local insurance coverage, especially for noncitizens, are the percentage of Latino foreign-born and their chance of naturalization. The paper also finds that in 2014, approximately 61% of undocumented immigrants and 49% of noncitizens were uninsured in LA county, compared with less than 20% for citizens. Conclusion: Improving health care access among the undocumented would effectively reduce overall uninsured rates. This study advocates expanding county indigent programs to achieve higher health care coverage of the undocumented. Using lower-bound estimates, if My Health LA were to cover the entire potential patient pool, the cap must be increased by approximately 60%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the role of community planning groups and engaged citizens in planning for sustainability in a southern California 'edge city'. Through a case study of San Diego's University Community, a residential and commercial area encompassing the core of the region's bio-tech industry, it illustrates the constructive role that citizens and NGO's can play in sustainable planning. In particular, it highlights the efficacy and also the limitations of formal community planning groups, entities that have received little attention in the literature on sustainability. Using historical methodologies and participant observation, it reveals potential for cooperation as well as conflicts among city planners, planning groups, non-profit organizations and engaged citizens in giving practical application to 'sustainability' in local planning and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College student drinking in on-premises establishments has been associated with heavy alcohol consumption and a range of problems including assault, fighting, risky sex, and drinking and driving. Although more strictly enforcing overservice laws might reduce heavy drinking in on-premises establishments, law enforcement agencies have few resource-efficient tools for doing so, resulting in these laws seldom being enforced. In this paper, we report the results of an evaluation of the Stop Service to Obviously-impaired Patrons (S-STOP) program that was implemented in 303 bars and restaurants in 18 university communities in California using a randomized cross-over design (early vs. delayed implementation). The S-STOP program: (a) deployed pseudo-intoxicated patrons who attempted to purchase a drink when showing obvious signs of intoxication; (b) provided feedback to owners and managers on staff performance; and (c) offered free online refresher training for staff. Overall, alcohol servers in bars and restaurants in these college communities were willing to serve a pseudo-intoxicated mystery shopper 90% of the time. The study found no evidence that S-STOP reduced the prevalence of alcohol sales to apparently impaired patrons during the two intervention stages of the study. The findings highlight the need for developing effective interventions to prevent overservice and should prompt college and university leaders to take the lead in addressing the problem of alcohol overservice at on-premises establishments by working with community leaders, law enforcement, and retailers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the relationship between the early adoption of new technologies, the probability of firm survival, and environmental regulations through a case study of dry cleaners in the South Coast Basin of California (SC Basin). Most dry cleaners use machines that use the toxic chemical perchloroethylene (PERC) to clean garments. PERC vapors are emitted into the ambient air during the dry cleaning process and can cause cancer in people who live and work nearby. In 2002, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) required all dry cleaners in the region to purchase a costly alternative machine that used a non-toxic cleaning solvent by the year 2020. Using bivariate and multivariate analysis, we found that the timing of the early adoption of non-PERC machines among dry cleaners was optimal, ceteris paribus, and adopting early did not have a negative effect on the probability of surviving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2013, the Oxford English Dictionary selected 'selfie' as the word of the year. Since that time, selfies have been much discussed in the media and increasingly in academia. Selfie culture is gendered not only because women take more selfies than men but also because women's selfie-taking is both criticized (as narcissistic) and defended (as empowering) on feminist grounds. In this paper, we draw upon the existing literature on selfies as well as 260, short 'person-on-the-street' interviews with young people (mostly Latinas, mostly in California) about their selfie-taking practices to demonstrate that selfies are indeed a gendered genre and an important if the overlooked form of gendered media production in a postfeminist context. The data reveal the disciplinary function of the narcissism narrative for young women, their navigation of gendered and sexual double-standards as well their understandings of 'publicness' when posting selfies, their ambivalence about feedback, and their commitment to individualized notions of empowerment realized through 'control' of the gaze. We argue that self-production is never simply about the self because cultural filters are at work that shape in systematic ways how women envision and enact female subjectivity and visibility. Our goal is not to determine whether selfies are good or bad; rather, we explore what they suggest about the gendered politics of self-production for young women of color in the new 'gaze economy' of social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether being treated for COVID-19 related complications or otherwise, patients, families, and healthcare providers are all enduring various impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The inpatient Palliative Care Service at the University of California, Los Angeles, has observed prevailing themes of isolation, rapid decision making, and multifaceted distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper discusses lessons learned and provides resources to mitigate these additional complexities to care being provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The Relational Neurobehavioral Approach (RNA) is a set of non-aversive intervention methods to manage individuals with brain injury-related aggression. New data on interventions used in the RNA and on how the RNA interventions can be used with patients with acquired brain injury (ABI) who have differing levels of functional impairment are provided in this paper. Method: The study was conducted over a 6-week period in a secure 65-bed program for individuals with ABI that is housed in two units of a skilled nursing facility (SNF). Implementation of the RNA was compared between two units that housed patients with differing levels of functional impairment (n¼65 adults). Since this was a hierarchical clustered dataset, Generalized Estimating Equations regression was used in the analyses. Results: RNA interventions used to manage the 495 aggressive incidents included the following: Aggression ignored, Closer observation, Talking to patient, Reassurance, Physical distraction, Isolation without seclusion, Immediate medication by mouth, Holding patient. Different interventions were implemented differentially by staff based on level of functional impairment and without use of seclusion or mechanical restraint. Conclusions: The RNA can be used to non-aversively manage aggression in patients with brain injury and with differing levels of functional impairment. Programs adopting the RNA can potentially manage brain injury-related aggression without seclusion or mechanical restraint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces research papers presented in the inaugural conference of the University of California Council of Women's Programs and published in the 1989 issue of the 'Women's Studies' journal. Relationship between the study of women and social movements; Zavella's discussion on the effect of the problematic relationship between feminism and the Chicano movement on Chicana studies; Roberta Fernandez's analysis of Helena Maria Viramontes' story, 'The Cariboo Caf,'.

Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) can potentially improve the performance of the transportation system by reducing human errors. This paper investigates the safety impact of CAVs in a mixed traffic with conventional vehicles at intersections. Analyzing real-world AV crashes in California revealed that rear-end crashes at intersections are the dominant crash type. Therefore, to enhance our understanding of the future interactions between human-driven vehicles with CAVs at intersections, a simulation framework was developed to model the mixed traffic environment of Automated Vehicles (AV), cooperative AVs, and conventional human-driven vehicles. In order to model AVs driving behavior, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and cooperative ACC (CACC) models are utilized. Particularly, this study explores system improvements due to automation and connectivity across varying CAV market penetration scenarios. ACC and CACC car following models are used to mimic the behavior of AVs and cooperative AVs. Real-world connected vehicle data are utilized to modify and tune the acceleration/deceleration regimes of the Wiedemann model. Next, the driving volatility concept capturing variability in vehicle speeds was utilized to calibrate the simulation to represent the safety performance of a real-world environment. Two surrogate safety measures are used to evaluate the safety performance of a representative intersection under different market penetration rate of CAVs: the number of longitudinal conflicts and driving volatility. At low levels of ACC market penetration, the safety improvements were found to be marginal, but safety improved substantially with more than 40% ACC penetration. Additional safety improvements can be achieved more quickly through the addition of cooperation and connectivity through CACC. Furthermore, ACC/CACC vehicles were found to improve mobility performance in terms of average speed and travel time at intersections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper describes the methodology and sample characteristics of the Neuropsychological Norms for the U.S.-Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP-NUMBRS) Project, which aimed to generate demographically-adjusted norms for a battery of neuropsychological tests in this population. The sample consisted of 254 healthy Spanish-speakers, ages 19-60 years, recruited from the U.S.-Mexico border regions of Arizona (n = 102) and California (n = 152). Participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery assessing multiple domains (verbal fluency, speed of information processing, attention/working memory, executive function, learning and memory, visual-spatial skills and fine motor skills). Fluency in both Spanish and English was assessed with performance-based measures. Other culturally-relevant data on educational, social, and language background were obtained via self-report. Demographic influences on test performances were modeled using fractional polynomial equations that allow consideration of linear and non-linear effects. There were no significant demographic differences between participants tested in Arizona and California. Age and gender were similar across education ranges. Two thirds of the sample were Spanish dominant and the remainder were considered bilingual. Individual articles in this Special Issue detail the generation of demographically adjusted T-scores for the various tests in the battery as well as an exploration of bilingualism effects. Norms developed through the NP-NUMBRS project stand to improve the diagnostic accuracy of neuropsychological assessment in Spanish-speaking young-to-middle-aged adults living in the U.S.-Mexico border region. Application of the present norms to other groups should be done with caution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The overarching purpose of this paper was to explore the legal resolution of companion animal custody disputes in the event of a couple's divorce or dissolution of a cohabiting union. I conducted content analysis on court cases throughout the U.S. between 1944 and 2019 and on policies enacted between 2016 and 2019 in Alaska, California, Illinois, and New Hampshire, the only states to date that have implemented legislation stipulating how companion animal custody disputes should be legally resolved. Results indicate that the law is moving away from a legal standard that defines animals as personal property to one concerned with the best interests, well-being, or care of companion animals and the strong emotional attachments of individuals to them. The implications of these court cases and legislation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The original description of the fan worm Parasabella fullo (Grube, 1878) is brief and mainly focused on the color. This paper provides a redescription based on syntype material from northern Japan kept at Museum für Naturkunde of Berlin and new records in California (USA). Diagnostic characters used in redescribing the species are the shapes of inferior thoracic notochaetae, ventral thoracic shields and dorsal collar margins. Although this Japanese species was collected on vessels' hulls in California, it is not clear if and where the species is established here, due to past difficulties in identification without well-defined characters. Nevertheless, a resident population appears to exist in the region, given the species occurrence on local recreational vessels. The redescription provides information to distinguish it from the local Californian indigenous species Parasabella pallida Moore, 1923. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing interest in the potential of source water protection to address chronic challenges with small systems and rural drinking water provision. Such a planning and management approach to increasing safe drinking water access, however, will likely require leveraging multi-stakeholder collaborative governance venues to this effect. This paper investigates the prospects of doing so using the case of California's groundwater reform process known as the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act or SGMA. Interviews with drinking water stakeholders from small low-income communities in the San Joaquin Valley show how existing power and resource disparities limit the prospects of integrating rural drinking water priorities into regional planning. Long-term, more fundamental changes will be needed to meaningfully transform water management in this direction. Short-term state intervention is needed to protect equity and public good goals, raising potential contradictions between devolved water management and improved drinking water access that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]