Inflation and the E M S

Since the European Monetary System was instituted in March 1979, there has been a dramatic reduction in the inflation rates of member countries This development is widely attributed to the EMS itself. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the theoretical and empirical basis for such a claim is far from conclusive. On the theoretical side, the paper develops a model which highlights two issues. First, changes in the "rules" of the exchange rate system need not coincide with changes in expectations about Central Bank behavior. In fact, I expectations in France do not seem to have changed until policy makers "got tough" in 1982-83. Second, different researchers have made quite different I assumptions about exactly what "rules" the EMS imposes. The paper shows that how the system works matters in terns of the effect joining will have on inflation. On the empirical side, the paper shows that effects which have been attributed to the EMS are in large part due to the global deflation since 1979 and to the fact that EMS members had relatively low inflation before 1979. However, even these estimates should be interpreted with caution. They are very sensitive to time period and to which non EMS countries are included in the sample.

Access Update, June 2010

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Healt

Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding

[Excerpt] Firefighting activities are traditionally the responsibility of states and local communities. As such, funding for firefighters is provided mostly by state and local governments. During the 1990s, shortfalls in state and local budgets, coupled with increased responsibilities of local fire departments, led many in the fire community to call for additional financial support from the federal government. Although federally funded training programs existed (and continue to exist) through the National Fire Academy, and although federal money was available to first responders for counterterrorism training and equipment through the Department of Justice, there did not exist a dedicated program, exclusively for firefighters, which provided federal money directly to local fire departments to help address a wide variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related needs

Mistriaged Advanced Life Support Patients in a Two-Tiered, Suburban Emergency Medical Services System

Introduction: Emergency medical services (EMS) systems exist to provide prehospital care in diverse environments throughout the world. Advanced Life Support (ALS) services can provide advanced care including 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), endotracheal intubation and parenteral medication administration. Basic Life Support (BLS) can provide basic care such as splinting, wound care and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. ALS can release patients to BLS for transport to the hospital, and this is an area of high risk. Our study examines patients who were triaged and admitted to a critical care location, including an intensive care unit (ICU), cardiac catheterization laboratory, or operating room (OR).Methods: The analysis included data from 2007–2015 of all patients who were triaged. We evaluated demographics, admission diagnoses, and dispositions using descriptive statistics. Diagnoses were grouped into categories based on the system.Results: We found that 372/17,639 (2%) of patients were mistriaged to BLS and admitted to a critical care location. The average age was 64. The most common diagnosis categories were neurological (24%), gastrointestinal (GI)/abdominal pain (15%), respiratory (12%), and cardiac (12%).Conclusion: It is uncommon for patients triaged from ALS to BLS to be admitted to an ICU, catheterization lab or OR, with a rate of 2%. Neurological, GI, sepsis, and trauma diagnoses were the most frequent categories of patient complaints that were mistriaged. This study should lead to further studies to examine this patient population

Macroeconomic policy coordination during the various phases of economic and monetary integration in Europe

Economic Policy;International Economics;EEC;EMS

Access Update, June 2011

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Healt

Mulsemedia: State of the art, perspectives, and challenges

Mulsemedia-multiple sensorial media-captures a wide variety of research efforts and applications. This article presents a historic perspective on mulsemedia work and reviews current developments in the area. These take place across the traditional multimedia spectrum-from virtual reality applications to computer games-as well as efforts in the arts, gastronomy, and therapy, to mention a few. We also describe standardization efforts, via the MPEG-V standard, and identify future developments and exciting challenges the community needs to overcome

Assistance to Firefighters Program: Distribution of Fire Grant Funding

[Excerpt] Firefighting activities are traditionally the responsibility of states and local communities. As such, funding for firefighters is provided mostly by state and local governments. During the 1990s, shortfalls in state and local budgets, coupled with increased responsibilities of local fire departments, led many in the fire community to call for additional financial support from the federal government. Although federally funded training programs existed (and continue to exist) through the National Fire Academy, and although federal money was available to first responders for counterterrorism training and equipment through the Department of Justice, there did not exist a dedicated program, exclusively for firefighters, which provided federal money directly to local fire departments to help address a wide variety of equipment, training, and other firefighter-related needs