Defining Poverty as an Eligibility Requirement for Supportive Services

Deciding which individuals qualify as “poor” often depends on how each country or municipality defines the term ‘poverty’. In the United States, program eligibility is often tied to the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), using 100% of the FPL as a cut-off for receipt of services. However, research has shown that incomes of 200% of the FPL and higher are often needed to establish even minimum levels of economic security. Using data from an omnibus health study conducted in 2018 that included 1,581 persons ages 60+ who were asked about their health and service needs, we compared persons making 100% of the FPL or less to persons making 101%-199% and 200%+, respectively. Results show that poor health status and need for services among persons in the 101%-199% are similar to those with incomes less than 100% FPL, and significantly higher than persons with incomes at 200%+ of the FPL.

The Hidden American Nativist Consensus

Nativism has received recent attention because of its salience in American politics, but it dates back to the early days of the Republic. We show nativist sentiments were established in the citizenship-eligibility requirement for the presidency have since been mirrored in the American public’s preferences outside of the executive. We argue that the inclusion of the natural born citizen clause in the U.S. Constitution helped set in motion public expectations for legislative and judicial office holders. Then, with a novel dataset, we show Americans who were not born in the United States have been severely underrepresented in Congress and on the Supreme Court. Finally, using two conjoint designs, we show candidates for Congress and the Supreme Court who fit a nativist mold are preferred by the public across party lines. Overall, we argue a nativist consensus exists in the public which could exacerbate inequalities of representation within American politics.

Is the setting up aid mitigating the generational renewal problem in farming?

This study is the first to evaluate the setting up aid (SUA), in the Rural Development Programme. For Sweden, we investigate if the aid, firstly, speeds up the transition process to become manager of a farm and, secondly, affects income from farming and survival of the farm. The approach builds on a regression discontinuity design and explores an age 40–the eligibility requirement in the SUA. We find that the SUA has an impact on the transition to farm management, as well as it increases income from farming and farm survival. Consequently, the aid is likely to fulfil its aim of attracting young people into farming.

Resisting a Right to Relief: States, Responsible Relative Laws, and Old Age Assistance

Efforts to modernize public assistance via the Social Security Act of 1935 met significant opposition from states. One manifestation of that resistance was state responsible relative laws in the Old Age Assistance program. Responsible relative laws enforced support by adult children as an eligibility requirement; applicants with children deemed able to provide support were either denied aid, or the grant awarded was reduced. These laws are an example of parent dependency policies that sought to enforce or encourage family members, particularly adult children, to support parents in need. States sought to ensure that all financial resources were exhausted before public funds were spent on OAA. Responsible relative laws were an arena of public assistance that remained under state discretion, and many states used them to control costs and contest federal efforts to modernize relief programs and limit state and local authority.

Limitations on Patenting Inventions Based on Marine Genetic Resources of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction

This article discusses limitations on patenting inventions based on marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction. First, it considers that patent protection for these inventions is compatible with losc. Next, it propounds that to further equitable access to new knowledge of the genetic resources, patentability requirements should be shaped to reward human creativity in applying discoveries only. Accordingly, discoveries of naturally occurring dna sequences and the like from the genetic resources should be deemed as a “familiar part of prior art” and that other inventive concepts should be required to meet the patent eligibility requirement. Finally, it contends that it is not justified to require patentees to share any benefits derived from the utilization of inventions based on the genetic resources of the Area.

Acupuncture for Postchemotherapy Fatigue: A Phase II Study

Purpose To determine whether improvement in postchemotherapy fatigue following acupuncture treatment is substantial enough to warrant a controlled trial. Patients and Methods We accrued patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center who had completed cytotoxic chemotherapy but experienced persisting fatigue. Patients with severe anemia, clinical depression, or Karnofsky performance status score less than 70 were excluded. Thirty-seven patients were registered in two cohorts; 31 provided follow-up data. Patients received acupuncture either twice per week for 4 weeks (25 patients) or once per week for 6 weeks (12 patients). The primary end point was change in score on the Brief Fatigue Inventory between baseline and 2 weeks after the final treatment. A baseline Brief Fatigue Inventory score of four or greater was an eligibility requirement for the trial. Results Patients had completed cytotoxic chemotherapy an average of more than 2 years previously. Baseline fatigue scores were high, with approximately half of the sample scoring in the “severe” range. Mean improvement following acupuncture was 31.1% (95% CI, 20.6% to 41.5%), meeting our prespecified criterion for declaring acupuncture worthy of further study. Increasing age was associated with poorer response and failure to complete the study. There was no important difference in improvement following once-weekly and twice-weekly treatments. Conclusion Acupuncture is worthy of further study in the treatment of postchemotherapy fatigue.