A Growing Hole in the Safety Net: Physician Charity Care Declines Again

Examines reasons for the decline in the number of physicians providing free or reduced cost health care in proportion to the number of uninsured Americans, in the last decade. Includes implications related to the decline in access to medical care

The user structure in Brazil's tropical rain forest

This paper presents quantitative evidence on the relationship between forest conversion and the productivity of agropastoral activities in the Legal Amazon. The extraction of timber products such as wood, fuelwood and charcoal is related to the process of agropastoral expansion in this region with the aim of providing physical coefficients to define intersectoral connections in Brazil's economy. The paper is organized as follows. Section I makes a geographical characterization of the original vegetation types of the region according to its principal geopolitical subdivisions. Section II presents evidence on deforestation rates and gross areas affected. Section III describes the principal sources of deforestation. Section IV describes sectoral activities and land occupation patterns distinguishing between forested and non-forested areas. Section V analyses major determinants of productivity in agropastoral activities following this broad vegetation distinction. Section VI provides gross estimates of wood removal associated with agropastoral expansion, and compares this with wood and fuel production figures. Conclusions are presented in Section VII.

Equivariant infinite loop space theory, I. The space level story

We rework and generalize equivariant infinite loop space theory, which shows how to construct G-spectra from G-spaces with suitable structure. There is a naive version which gives naive G-spectra for any topological group G, but our focus is on the construction of genuine G-spectra when G is finite. We give new information about the Segal and operadic equivariant infinite loop space machines, supplying many details that are missing from the literature, and we prove by direct comparison that the two machines give equivalent output when fed equivalent input. The proof of the corresponding nonequivariant uniqueness theorem, due to May and Thomason, works for naive G-spectra for general G but fails hopelessly for genuine G-spectra when G is finite. Even in the nonequivariant case, our comparison theorem is considerably more precise, giving a direct point-set level comparison. We have taken the opportunity to update this general area, equivariant and nonequivariant, giving many new proofs, filling in some gaps, and giving some corrections to results in the literature.Comment: 94 page

Equivariant Iterated Loop Space Theory and Permutative \u3cem\u3eG\u3c/em\u3e–Categories

We set up operadic foundations for equivariant iterated loop space theory. We start by building up from a discussion of the approximation theorem and recognition principle for V–fold loop G–spaces to several avatars of a recognition principle for infinite loop G–spaces. We then explain what genuine permutative G–categories are and, more generally, what E∞–G–categories are, giving examples showing how they arise. As an application, we prove the equivariant Barratt–Priddy–Quillen theorem as a statement about genuine G–spectra and use it to give a new, categorical proof of the tom Dieck splitting theorem for suspension G–spectra. Other examples are geared towards equivariant algebraic K–theory

Making building codes an effective tool for earthquake hazard mitigation

Legalized gambling is being promoted as the economic development tool of the 1990\u27s. All across America, communities are embracing an industry once relegated to the back rooms of seedy establishments run by shady characters of questionable moral standing. This new-found respect for gambling comes as a result of promised economic benefits and financial rewards that gambling can bestow upon communities, especially those that are economically distressed. Communities in need of an economic shot in the arm see gambling as a key industry that can solve a significant part of their economic ills. Other reasons that communities seek quick-fix economic solutions rather than long term economic development alternatives are related to the nature of our political system and the plight of central cities. Because local and state politicians are elected for only a short time, they believe they must show significant progress if they are to get reelected. In addition, many run on a platform of no new taxes. These perspectives, plus the erosion of the local tax base due to the decline of the middle class in central cities, have caused elected officials to think in more desperate ways to solve their economic problems

Making building codes an effective tool for earthquake hazard mitigation

Legalized gambling is being promoted as the economic development tool of the 1990\u27s. All across America, communities are embracing an industry once relegated to the back rooms of seedy establishments run by shady characters of questionable moral standing. This new-found respect for gambling comes as a result of promised economic benefits and financial rewards that gambling can bestow upon communities, especially those that are economically distressed. Communities in need of an economic shot in the arm see gambling as a key industry that can solve a significant part of their economic ills. Other reasons that communities seek quick-fix economic solutions rather than long term economic development alternatives are related to the nature of our political system and the plight of central cities. Because local and state politicians are elected for only a short time, they believe they must show significant progress if they are to get reelected. In addition, many run on a platform of no new taxes. These perspectives, plus the erosion of the local tax base due to the decline of the middle class in central cities, have caused elected officials to think in more desperate ways to solve their economic problems

Categorical Models for Equivariant Classifying Spaces

Starting categorically, we give simple and precise models for classifying spaces of equivariant principal bundles. We need these models for work in progress in equi- variant infinite loop space theory and equivariant algebraic K–theory, but the models are of independent interest in equivariant bundle theory and especially equivariant covering space theory

AMPHIBIAN AND REPTILE COLONIZATION OF RECLAIMED COAL SPOIL GRASSLANDS

While habitat loss is a major driver of amphibian and reptile declines globally, a subset of post-industrial landscapes, reclaimed and restored, are creating habitat for these animals. In a previous work, we showed that amphibians and reptiles use reclaimed and restored grasslands. In the present work we quantify captures at drift-fence/pitfall trap arrays over two consecutive years and show that several species of amphibians are not only successfully reproducing but that juveniles are being recruited into the population. In particular, 15,844 amphibians and 334 reptiles representing 25 species (14 amphibians, 11 reptiles) were captured at drift fences in 2009 and 2010. Nine additional reptile species were found opportunistically while conducting other research activities at the study site. Out of a total of 8,064 metamorphosing juveniles we detected 126 malformations, a 1.6% rate. The major malformation types were limbs missing (amelia) or foreshortened (ectromely), eye discolorations, and digits foreshortened (ectrodactyly) or small (brachydactyly). Our data show that reclaimed, restored, and properly managed landscapes can support reproducing populations of amphibians and reptiles with low malformation rates, including species in decline across other portions of their range