Bubble Universe Dynamics After Free Passage

We consider bubble collisions in single scalar field theories with multiple vacua. Recent work has argued that at sufficiently high impact velocities, collisions between such bubble vacua are governed by 'free passage' dynamics in which field interactions can be ignored during the collision, providing a systematic process for populating local minima without quantum nucleation. We focus on the time period that follows the bubble collision and provide evidence that, for certain potentials, interactions can drive significant deviations from the free-passage bubble profile, thwarting the production of bubbles with different field values.Comment: 21pages, 8 figures, Revised version modified to include Acknowledgements sectio

A New Look at Racial Profiling: Evidence from the Boston Police Department

This paper provides new evidence on the role of preference-based versus statistical discrimination in racial profiling using a unique data set that includes the race of both the driver and the officer. We first generalize the model presented in Knowles, Persico and Todd (2001) and show that the fundamental insight that allows them to distinguish between statistical discrimination and preference-based discrimination depends on the specialized shapes of the best response functions in their model. Thus, the test that they employ is not robust to a range of alternative modeling assumptions. However, we also show that if statistical discrimination alone explains differences in the rate at which the vehicles of drivers of different races are searched, then search decisions should be independent of officer race. We then test this prediction using data from the Boston Police Department. Consistent with preference-based discrimination, our baseline results demonstrate that officers are more likely to conduct a search if the race of the officer differs from the race of the driver. We then investigate and rule out two alternative explanations for our findings: race-based informational asymmetries between officers and the assignment of officers to neighborhoods.

Morbidity burden and community-based palliative care are associated with rates of hospital use by people with schizophrenia in the last year of life: A population-based matched cohort study

Objective: People with schizophrenia face an increased risk of premature death from chronic diseases and injury. This study describes the trajectory of acute care health service use in the last year of life for people with schizophrenia and how this varied with receipt of community based specialist palliative care and morbidity burden. Method: A population-based retrospective matched cohort study of people who died from 01/01/ 2009 to 31/12/2013 with and without schizophrenia in Western Australia. Hospital inpatient, emergency department, death and community-based care data collections were linked at the person level. Rates of emergency department presentations and hospital admissions over the last year of life were estimated. Results: Of the 63508 decedents, 1196 (1.9%) had a lifetime history of schizophrenia. After adjusting for confounders and averaging over the last year of life there was no difference in the overall rate of ED presentation between decedents with schizophrenia and the matched cohort (HR 1.09; 95%CI 0.99–1.19). However, amongst the subset of decedents with cancer, choking or intentional self-harm recorded on their death certificate, those with schizophrenia presented to ED more often. Males with schizophrenia had the highest rates of emergency department use in the last year of life. Rates of hospital admission for decedents with schizophrenia were on average half (HR 0.53, 95%CI 0.44–0.65) that of the matched cohort although this varied by cause of death. Of all decedents with cancer, 27.5% of people with schizophrenia accessed community-based specialist palliative care compared to 40.4% of the matched cohort (p\u3c0.001). Rates of hospital admissions for decedents with schizophrenia increased 50% (95% CI: 10%-110%) when enrolled in specialist palliative care. Conclusion: In the last year of life, people with schizophrenia were less likely to be admitted to hospital and access community-based speciality palliative care, but more likely to attend emergency departments if male. Community-based specialist palliative care was associated with increased rates of hospital admissions

Leveraging Regional Assets: Insights from High-Growth Companies in Kansas City

As a typical Midwestern city, Kansas City and its successful entrepreneurs often are overlooked in economic development studies. We find, however, compelling evidence that the region has ample entrepreneurial success to celebrate, study, and share since numerous Kansas City area firms have appeared on Inc.magazine's list of the fastest-growing companies. We recently interviewed the founders of some of these firms in the city's information technology, biotechnology, and business services sectors about their views on the strengths and viability of Kansas City's entrepreneurial ecosystem. We gained valuable insights for area policy and economic leaders. Key findings of our interviews include:-Lack of venture capital or angel investment does not hinder the growth of Kansas City firms. Only a small percentage of the high-growth firmsinterviewed reported receiving investment from Venture Capital or Angel investors. Instead, most high-growth firms were self-financed or received financial assistance from founders' close friends and families. Some bootstrapped by adapting their firms to customer needs to achieve growth, while others scaled up only as revenues increased and additional customers were found. No matter how they were funded, the firms successfully grew their revenue. -Kansas City firms enjoy a substantial pool of talent in the region. Growing firms often have a long-term employee development strategy to hire young people and train them to be first-class professionals, including technical experts. Entrepreneurs also find the region's low cost of living and strong, Midwestern work ethic to be major strengths.-Most Kansas City entrepreneurs find support from customers, vendors, and/or collaborating firms in the region. This finding runs somewhat contrary to Swiss researcher Heike Mayer's recent conclusion that firms in the Kansas City region are disconnected. These regional connections lead to the firms' innovations and growth. -A number of high-growth firms serve only the Kansas City area or a limited market of regional cities, yet they see this limited regional focus as a business strength. Entrepreneurs and their support community should take note that a firm does not have to capture a national or global market to be highly successful. -Most Kansas City entrepreneurs report that locally based mentors have played a significant role in their success. Whether through informal or 2 formal channels, connecting experienced entrepreneurs to aspiring or nascent entrepreneurs and allowing mentor-mentee relationships to grow organically should be goals of the city's entrepreneurial support community. Further research is needed on how best to create and implement local mentorship programs

Tasmania together and growing Victoria together : can state plans deliver environmental sustainability?

Sustainability has always been a contested term, environmental sustainability in particular. It presents challenges and opportunities for policy making at all levels. This paper suggests that state plans have a key role to play in the pursuit of sustainability. It argues that, in theory, sustainability requires well integrated, interactive, informed and informing, as well as institutionalised policy processes. It reviews state plans in Tasmania and Victoria to analyse their capacity for delivering sustainability. Tasmania Together and Crowing Victoria Together are very different plans, so very different conclusions are drawn here, however we find that both of them lack the explicit political and policy commitment to sustainability that is required to turn rhetoric into state planning practice.<br /

Reviews

Mark Kerr, How to Promote your Web Site Effectively, London: Aslib/IMI, ISBN: 0–85142–424–4. Paperback, 87 pages, £13.99

Diagnostic accuracy of the Ottawa 3DY and Short Blessed Test to detect cognitive dysfunction in geriatric patients presenting to the emergency department

ObjectivesCognitive dysfunction (CD) is a common finding in geriatric patients presenting to the emergency department (ED). Our primary objective was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of the Ottawa 3DY (O3DY) and Short Blessed Test (SBT) as screening tools for the detection of CD in the ED. Our secondary objective was to estimate the inter-rater reliability of these instruments.MethodsWe conducted a prospective cross-sectional comparative study at an inner-city academic medical centre (annual ED visit census 86 000). Patients aged 75 years or greater were evaluated for inclusion, 163 were screened, 150 were deemed eligible and 117 were enrolled. The research team completed the O3DY, SBT and Mini-Mental State Exam (MMSE) for each participant. Descriptive statistics were calculated. Sensitivity and specificity of the O3DY and SBT were calculated in STATA V.11.2 using the MMSE as our criterion standard.ResultsWe enrolled 117 patients from June to November 2016. The median ED length of stay at the time of completion of all tests was 1:40 (IQR 1:34–1:46). The sensitivity of the O3DY was 71.4% (95% CI 47.8 to 95.1), and specificity was 56.3% (46.7–65.9). Sensitivity of the SBT was 85.7% (67.4–99.9) and specificity was 58.3% (48.7–67.8). The receiver operating characteristic area under the curve was calculated for the O3DY (0.51; 95% CI 0.42 to 0.61) and SBT (0.52; 95% CI 0.43 to 0.61) relative to the MMSE. Inter-rater reliability for the O3DY (k=0.64) and SBT (k=0.63) were good.ConclusionIn a cohort of geriatric patients presenting to an inner-city academic ED, the O3DY and SBT tools demonstrate moderate sensitivity and specificity for the detection of CD. Inter-rater reliability for the O3DY and SBT were good. Future research on this topic should attempt to derive and validate ED-specific screening tools, which will hopefully result in more robust likelihood ratios for the screening of CD in ED geriatric patients.</jats:sec