Human response to aircraft noise

The human auditory system and the perception of sound are discussed. The major concentration is on the annnoyance response and methods for relating the physical characteristics of sound to those psychosociological attributes associated with human response. Results selected from the extensive laboratory and field research conducted on human response to aircraft noise over the past several decades are presented along with discussions of the methodology commonly used in conducting that research. Finally, some of the more common criteria, regulations, and recommended practices for the control or limitation of aircraft noise are examined in light of the research findings on human response

Changes to the Tax Exclusion of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums: A Potential Source of Financing for Health Reform

Examines eight options for limiting the tax exclusion of employer-sponsored health insurance premiums. Compares, by income level, estimated effects of various caps and indices on tax revenues and after-tax incomes in the first year and over ten years

Health Savings Accounts and High-Deductible Health Insurance Plans: Implications for Those With High Medical Costs, Low Incomes, and the Uninsured

Considers the advantages and disadvantages of health savings accounts and high-deductible health plans, including implications for people with high medical needs and for efforts to contain healthcare costs. Lists alternative cost-containment strategies

Health Care Spending Under Reform: Less Uncompensated Care and Lower Costs to Small Employers

Estimates the implications of the House reform bill passed in 2009 for coverage distribution, cost of uncompensated care for the uninsured, and employers' net costs by firm size, and individual and family spending by income. Considers budgetary benefits

Premium and Cost-Sharing Subsidies Under Health Reform: Implications for Coverage, Costs and Affordability

Using the Urban Institute's simulation model, estimates household financial burdens under House and Senate healthcare reform bills. Compares coverage and affordability under various reform options by source of coverage, income, healthcare needs, and age

Limiting the Tax Exclusion of Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance Premiums: Revenue Potential and Distributional Consequences

Serious efforts to forge a budget agreement in 2013 will increase the likelihood that lawmakers will seek changes to tax provisions in order to raise revenue. The exclusion of employer-sponsored health insurance premiums and medical benefits from taxable income could be a target, since this exclusion reduced federal tax revenues by $268 billion in 2011 alone -- by far the largest federal tax expenditure. Moreover, the exclusion disproportionately subsidizes those with higher incomes. Yet proposals to change the tax exclusion of employer-sponsored insurance have provoked intense debate. This brief provides estimates of the revenue potential and distributional consequences of a new policy option. The policy analyzed here would impose a cap, or dollar limit, on the aggregate cost of employer-sponsored health coverage excluded from income and payroll taxes. The cap would be set at the 75th percentile of the sum of premiums and other medical benefits, and would be indexed, or allowed to grow over time, by a five-year average of the rate of GDP growth. The goal in choosing the level and indexing for the cap was to select a policy that would make a significant contribution to debt reduction, but would be distributionally equitable. This brief answers four critical questions related to the 75th percentile cap on the exclusion of premium and medical benefits:What are the estimated new tax revenues related to this policy in 2014 and 2014 -- 2023?How many people would pay higher taxes in each quintile of income?How much would taxes increase for those paying higher taxes?What are the characteristics of employers whose employees are likely to pay higher taxes?The evidence shows that the 75th percentile tax cap would produce$264.0 billion in new income and payroll tax revenues over the coming decade while still preserving 93 percent of the tax subsidies available under the current policy. Across all tax units, 15.7 percent would pay higher taxes under the 75th percentile cap on the exclusion of premium and medical benefits in 2014, with this share increasing to 20.0 percent by 2023. Although tax units across the entire income distribution would experience some tax increases, these increases are considerably smaller and less prevalent at lower income levels. The policy change would affect public-sector employees to a greater extent than private-sector employees. In addition, among private-sector employees, those in the financial services/real estate or professional services industries would be affected to a greater extent, while employees in other industries such as the retail industry, would be affected to a lesser extent. Establishments with a union presence have only a modestly higher share of employees with premiums above the 75th percentile premium, compared to the average across all establishments

Health Insurance in Nonstandard Jobs and Small Firms: Differences for Parents by Race and Ethnicity

Focuses on the higher rates of small-firm and nonstandard employment and of uninsurance regardless of job type among Latino/Hispanic and African-American parents. Considers healthcare reform provisions' effects on their insurance costs and coverage rates

Russians Back Protests, Political Freedoms and Putin, Too

Presents survey findings about Russians' reaction to the December 2011 parliamentary and March 2012 presidential elections and subsequent protests, attitudes toward democracy, and views of leaders, nationalism, and Russia?s global image

Medicaid Spending Growth Over the Last Decade and the Great Recession, 2000-2009

Analyzes Medicaid enrollment and per-capita spending growth by service and compared with other areas of the healthcare system. Examines contributing factors, potential program cuts as a result of states' budget woes, and implications for the safety net

An Investigation of the Optimal Sensor Ensemble for Sensor Fusion

This thesis continues the research begun by Storm, Bauer and Oxley in 2003 into the fusion of classifiers. It examines the fusion of up to three correlated classifiers using three different fusion techniques. The overall objective was to determine the optimal ensemble of classifiers to maximize the expected classification accuracy. The ISOC fusion method (Haspert, 2000), the ROC Within fusion method (Oxley and Bauer, 2002) and a Probabilistic Neural Network were the three fusion techniques employed in these set of experiments. Performance of the classifiers and the fusion methods is measured via ROC curves. Two possible configurations of feature correlations were examined. The expected true positive value relative to a prior distribution of correlation levels for each configuration was then used to compare the classifiers and the fused classifiers performance and thereby allowing for the selection of an optimal ensemble