Simultaneous ferromagnetic metal-semiconductor transition in electron-doped EuO

We present a general framework to describe the simultaneous para-to-ferromagnetic and semiconductor-to-metal transition in electron-doped EuO. The theory correctly describes detailed experimental features of the conductivity and of the magnetization, in particular the doping dependence of the Curie temperature. The existence of correlation-induced local moments on the impurity sites is essential for this description.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, Phys. Rev. Lett., published version; different behavior of Gd impurities and O defects clarifie

Sustaining the Right to Water in South Africa

human development, water, sanitation

Does the Doctor Need a Boss?

The traditional model of medical delivery, in which the doctor is trained, respected, and compensated as an independent craftsman, is anachronistic. When a patient has multiple ailments, there is no longer a simple doctor-patient or doctor-patient-specialist relationship. Instead, there are multiple specialists who have an impact on the patient, each with a set of interdependencies and difficult coordination issues that increase exponentially with the number of ailments involved. Patients with multiple diagnoses require someone who can organize the efforts of multiple medical professionals. It is not unreasonable to imagine that delivering health care effectively, particularly for complex patients, could require a corporate model of organization. At least two forces stand in the way of robust competition from corporate health care providers. First is the regime of third-party fee-for-service payment, which is heavily entrenched by Medicare, Medicaid, and the regulatory and tax distortions that tilt private health insurance in the same direction. Consumers should control the money that purchases their health insurance, and should be free to choose their insurer and health care providers. Second, state licensing regulations make it difficult for corporations to design optimal work flows for health care delivery. Under institutional licensing, regulators would instead evaluate how well a corporation treats its patients, not the credentials of the corporation's employees. Alternatively, states could recognize clinician licenses issued by other states. That would let corporations operate in multiple states under a single set of rules and put pressure on states to eliminate unnecessarily restrictive regulations

Broadbanding Brunswick: High-speed broadband and household media ecologies

New research from the University of Melbourne and Swinburne University has found that 82% of households in the NBN first release site of Brunswick, Victoria, think the NBN is a good idea. The study, Broadbanding Brunswick: High-speed Broadband and Household Media Ecologies, examines the take-up, use and implications of high-speed broadband for some of its earliest adopters. It looks at how the adoption of high-speed broadband influences household consumption patterns and use of telecoms. The survey of 282 Brunswick households found there had been a significant uptake of the NBN during the course of the research. In 2011, 20% of households were connected to the NBN and in 2012 that number had risen to 34%. Families, home owners, higher income earners and teleworkers were most likely to adopt the NBN. Many NBN users reported paying less for their monthly internet bills, with 49% paying about the same. In many cases those paying more (37%) had elected to do so.Download report: Broadbanding Brunswick: High-speed Broadband and Household Media Ecologies [PDF, 2.5MB] Download report: Broadbanding Brunswick: High-speed Broadband and Household Media Ecologies [Word 2007 document, 5MB

NONFARM EMPLOYMENT IN SMALL-SCALE FOREST-BASED ENTERPRISES: POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Employment and income from non-farm activities are of increasing importance in the rural economy of developing countries. Small forest-based enterprise activities constitute one of the largest sources of such income. They also account for a large part of the total harvest from forests in many areas. Many agriculturalists supplement their income through gathering and trading products such as forest foods, medicinal plants, and fuel wood. Small-scale manufacturing of items such as furniture, baskets, mats, and craft goods constitute substantial informal sector industries. Income from these activities tends to be particularly important during seasonal shortfalls in food and cash crop income and in periods of drought or other emergencies. Ease of access to forest raw materials means that forest-based activities are particularly important for the poor and for women. However, some of the simpler activities provide very low returns to labor, and may thus provide only minimal and short-lived livelihood contributions. Some of the most important saleable forest products face uncertain markets because of growing competition from industrial or synthetic alternatives or domesticated sources of the materials. As demand grows, some activities are also threatened by depletion of, or reduced access to, forest resources. In developing policies in support of sustainable activities, it is therefore important to be able to distinguish between those that have a potential to grow and those that do not. Policy issues include regulations that discriminate against the informal sector, policies that result in the shift from managed to uncontrolled open access use of forest resources, and restrictions on private production and sale of forest products that impede the development of farm-based sources of these products.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

"Bargaining and Fixed Price Offers: How Online Intermediaries are Changing New Car Transactions"

The Internet has introduced a variety of online buying services that expand the reach of sellers and reduce search costs for buyers. In markets in which traditional outlets establish prices through bargaining, these online intermediaries have also altered the price setting process. Perhaps the most well known example is Autobytel.com which provides referral services in the automobile market. By using Autobytel, a buyer can obtain a non-negotiable price offer as an alternative to bargaining with a car dealership. To understand the effect of online referral systems on the price setting process, we construct a theoretical model of oligopolistic price competition in which one dealership has an exclusive contract with a referral intermediary. We derive market conditions under which the fixed price offered through the referral system will or will not be lower than offline (bargained) prices. Our model provides theoretical insights relevant to results in the empirical literature addressing the role that Autobytel and other infomediaries play in online markets.online markets, E-commerce, intermediary, autobytel, pricing