Pricing and Welfare in Health Plan Choice

Prices in government and employer-sponsored health insurance markets only partially reflect insurers' expected costs of coverage for different enrollees. This can create inefficient distortions when consumers self-select into plans. We develop a simple model to study this problem and estimate it using new data on small employers. In the markets we observe, the welfare loss compared to the feasible efficient benchmark is around 2-11% of coverage costs. Three-quarters of this is due to restrictions on risk-rating employee contributions; the rest is due to inefficient contribution choices. Despite the inefficiency, we find substantial benefits from plan choice relative to single-insurer options.healthcare costs, health insurance, government-sponsered health insurance, employer-sponsored health insurance

Forecastle and quarterdeck : protest, discipline and mutiny in the Royal Navy, 1793-1814

This thesis is a study of disputes and conflicts between officers and men in the Royal Navy between 1793 and 1814. The first part is a general introduction to shipboard life and work, discipline, resistance and protest, and to the sailors' culture and politics. The second part is a detailed study of the mutinies on the Culloden in 1794 and the Defiance in 1795, paying particular attention to the organization of the sailors, the strategy of the officers and the function and working of court martials. The third part is a more general history of the sailors' protests and mutinies between 1796 and 1814. These mutinies and protests are situated with regard to the changing balance of forces between officers and men in the Navy as a whole during these years. The thesis is largely based on the verbatim transcipts of court martials in the Royal Navy that are now part of the Admiratly Records at the Public Record Office. It is intended as a contribution to the social history of the Royal Navy and the labour history of the period

Contraction speed and type influences rapid utilisation of available muscle force:neural and contractile mechanisms

This study investigated the influence of contraction speed and type on the human ability to rapidly increase torque and utilise the available maximum voluntary torque (MVT) as well as the neuromuscular mechanisms underpinning any effects. Fifteen young, healthy males completed explosive-voluntary knee-extensions in five conditions: isometric (ISO), and both concentric and eccentric at two constant accelerations of 500°.s-2 (CONSLOW and ECCSLOW) and 2000°.s-2 (CONFAST and ECCFAST). Explosive torque and quadriceps EMG were recorded every 25 ms up to 150 ms from their respective onsets and normalised to the available MVT and EMG at MVT, respectively, specific to that joint angle and velocity. Neural efficacy (explosive Voluntary:Evoked octet torque) was also measured, and torque data were entered into a Hill-type muscle model to estimate muscle performance. Explosive torques normalised to MVT (and normalised muscle forces) were greatest in the concentric, followed by isometric, and eccentric conditions; and in the fast compared with slow speeds within the same contraction type (CONFAST>CONSLOW>ISO, and ECCFAST>ECCSLOW). Normalised explosive-phase EMG and neural efficacy were greatest in concentric, followed by isometric and eccentric conditions, but were similar for fast and slow contractions of the same type. Thus, distinct neuromuscular activation appeared to explain the effect of contraction type but not speed on normalised explosive torque, suggesting the speed effect is an intrinsic contractile property. These results provide novel evidence that the ability to rapidly increase torque/force and utilise the available MVT is influenced by both contraction type and speed, due to neural and contractile mechanisms, respectively

Spatially selecting single cell for lysis using light induced electric fields

An optoelectronic tweezing (OET) device, within an integrated microfluidic channel, is used to precisely select single cells for lysis among dense populations. Cells to be lysed are exposed to higher electrical fields than their neighbours by illuminating a photoconductive film underneath them. Using beam spot sizes as low as 2.5 μm, 100% lysis efficiency is reached in <1 min allowing the targeted lysis of cells

Use of optoelectronic tweezers in manufacturing – accurate solder bead positioning

In this work, we analyze the use of optoelectronic tweezers (OETs) to manipulate 45 μm diameter Sn62Pb36Ag2 solder beads with light-induced dielectrophoresis force and we demonstrate high positioning accuracy. It was found that the positional deviation of the solder beads increases with the increase of the trap size. To clarify the underlying mechanism, simulations based on the integration of the Maxwell stress tensor were used to study the force profiles of OET traps with different sizes. It was found that the solder beads felt a 0.1 nN static friction or stiction force due to electrical forces pulling them towards the surface and that this force is not dependent on the size of the trap. The stiction limits the positioning accuracy; however, we show that by choosing a trap that is just larger than the solder bead sub-micron positional accuracy can be achieved

Assembling and Manipulating Metallic Beads Using Optoelectronic Tweezers

Optoelectronic tweezers (OET) or light patterned dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been proved to be an effective micromanipulation technology for cell sorting, cell separation and cell communications. Apart from being useful for cell biology experiments, the capability of moving small objects accurately also makes OET an attractive technology for other micromanipulation applications. In this work, we demonstrated the use of OET to manipulate conductive silver-coated Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microspheres into different patterns. The silver-coated PMMA microspheres were suspended in deionized water and manipulated by positive DEP force generated by an OET device. It is found that the microspheres can be moved at a max speed of over 3000 µm/s, corresponding to around 4 nano-newton (10-9 N) DEP force, which is at least an order of magnitude stronger than the DEP force imposed on widely-reported glass and PMMA microspheres. Simulations were carried out to clarify the underlying mechanism and it is found that the strong DEP force is caused by the significant increase of the gradient of electric field due to the silver shells of the microspheres. The strong DEP force makes it possible to manipulate these metallic microspheres efficiently with high reliability, which is important for applications on electronic component assembling and circuit construction

Manipulating and assembling metallic beads with optoelectronic tweezers

Optoelectronic tweezers (OET) or light-patterned dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been developed as a micromanipulation technology for controlling micro- and nano-particles with applications such as cell sorting and studying cell communications. Additionally, the capability of moving small objects accurately and assembling them into arbitrary 2D patterns also makes OET an attractive technology for microfabrication applications. In this work, we demonstrated the use of OET to manipulate conductive silver-coated Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) microspheres (50 μm diameter) into tailored patterns. It was found that the microspheres could be moved at a max velocity of 3200 μm/s, corresponding to 4.2 nano-newton (10−9 N) DEP force, and also could be positioned with high accuracy via this DEP force. The underlying mechanism for this strong DEP force is shown by our simulations to be caused by a significant increase of the electric field close to the particles, due to the interaction between the field and the silver shells coating the microspheres. The associated increase in electrical gradient causes DEP forces that are much stronger than any previously reported for an OET device, which facilitates manipulation of the metallic microspheres efficiently without compromise in positioning accuracy and is important for applications on electronic component assembling and circuit construction

Pricing and Welfare in Health Plan Choice

Prices in government and employer-sponsored health insurance markets only partially reflect insurers' expected costs of coverage for different enrollees. This can create inefficient distortions when consumers self-select into plans. We develop a simple model to study this problem and estimate it using new data on small employers. In the markets we observe, the welfare loss compared to the feasible efficient benchmark is around 2-11% of coverage costs. Three-quarters of this is due to restrictions on risk-rating employee contributions; the rest is due to inefficient contribution choices. Despite the inefficiency, we find substantial benefits from plan choice relative to single-insurer options.

Afganistan

In Afghanistan: The End of the Occupation, Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale offer a clear and succint view of the last fifty years of Afghan history, ending with the recent defeat and retreat of Western occupation forces. The authors, American-English anthropologists, began their fieldwork in Afghanistan almost fifty years ago, and they write about that country and its inhabitants with exemplary knowledge and exceptional understanding. Their narrative includes the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in 1979, the civil war that followed the Soviet retreat, the seizure of power by the Taliban in the mid-1990s, the US military intervention late in 2001 that removed the Taliban from power, and the next twenty years of American occupation assisted by European powers. Afghanistan: The End of the Occupation was written immediately after the liberation of Afghanistan. With the informatiion it brings to our knowledge and the rejection of stereotypes and prejudice about Afghanistan in general and the Taliban in particular, it has contributed to better understanding of that world-changing event. So far, the text has been translated in eight languages.Afganistan: konec okupacije avtorjev Nancy Lindisfarne in Jonathana Neala jasno in nazorno prikazuje zadnjega pol stoletja afganistanske zgodovine, ki se je zaključila z nedavnim izgonom zahodnih okupacijskih sil iz države. Besedilo je oprto na izjemno poznavanje Afganistana in njegovih prebivalcev, saj sta pisca, ameriško-britanska antropologa, tam začela z raziskovalnim delom pred skoraj petdesetimi leti. Njuna pripoved zajema sovjetsko vojaško intervencijo v Afganistanu, državljansko vojno, ki je sledila sovjetskemu umiku iz države, talibanski prevzem oblasti sredi 90. let prejšnjega stoletja, ameriški napad na državo konec leta 2001, ki je talibane odstranil z oblasti, in nadaljnjih dvajset let okupacije s pomočjo evropskih vojsk. Besedilo je bilo napisano takoj po osvoboditvi Afganistana in s svojo informativnostjo ter zavračanjem stereotipov in predsodkov pomembno prispeva k razumevanju tega prelomnega svetovnozgodovinskega dogodka. Doslej je bilo prevedeno v osem jezikov

Channel integrated optoelectronic tweezer chip for microfluidic particle manipulation

Light patterned electrical fields have been widely used for the manipulation of microparticles, from cells to microscopic electronic components. In this work, we explore a novel electromechanical phenomenon for particle focusing and sorting where the electrical field patterns are shaped by a combination of the light patterned photoconductor and the channel geometry. This effect results from the combination of particle polarisation described by the Clausius–Mossotti relation and the engineering of large electric gradients produced by choosing the channels height to suit the size of the particles being manipulated. The matched geometry increases the distortion of the field created by a combination of the illuminated photoconductor and the particles themselves and hence the non-uniformity of the field they experience. We demonstrate a new channel integration strategy which allows the creation of precisely defined channel structures in the OET device. By defining channels in photoresist sandwiched between upper and lower ITO coated glass substrates we produce robust channels of well controlled height tailored to the particle. Uniquely, the top substrate is attached before photolithographically defining the channels. We demonstrate versatile control using this effect with dynamically reconfigurable light patterns allowing the retention against flow, focusing and sorting of micro particles within the channels. Contrary to traditional designs, this channel integrated device allows patterned micro channels to be used in conjunction with conductive top and bottom electrodes producing optimal conditions for the dielectrophoretic manipulation as demonstrated by the rapid flow (up to 5 mm s−1) in which the particles can be focused