Cracking the Code: An Empirical Analysis of Consumer Bankruptcy Outcomes

Chapter 13 is a cornerstone of the bankruptcy system. Its legal requirements strike a balance between the rehabilitation of debtors through keeping assets and reducing debt, and the repayment of creditors over a period of years. Despite the accolades from policymakers, the hard truth is that the majority of the half-million families each year that seek refuge in chapter 13 bankruptcy will not achieve the debt relief of a discharge. Prior research found that those who drop out of bankruptcy quickly endure the serious financial struggles that they had before bankruptcy—now even worse off for having spent thousands of dollars to seek help. Despite the profound inefficiency of chapter 13 bankruptcy, we previously did not know what differentiates those who succeed in chapter 13 from those who fail. This article is the first study to use a national random sample to predict which debtors obtain a discharge of debt. Using sophisticated statistical techniques that allow us to control for unobservable or unmeasurable effects at the local level, we identify the factors that make completing chapter 13 bankruptcy more likely. We find, among other robust effects, that blacks are more than twice as unlikely to receive debt relief than non-blacks, that those without an attorney have extremely low odds compared to those who hire an attorney, and that families with children fare worse. We also find that the local variations in bankruptcy practice that have been deemed “best practices” do not correlate with higher rates of bankruptcy completion. We discuss the implications of our findings for the millions of families who struggle to repay their debts in bankruptcy, and suggest concrete fixes to increase the efficacy of the consumer bankruptcy system. This article upsets the debate about bankruptcy reform and will help shape policy and practice in upcoming decades

Efficient Photon Coupling from a Diamond Nitrogen Vacancy Centre by Integration with Silica Fibre

A central goal in quantum information science is to efficiently interface photons with single optical modes for quantum networking and distributed quantum computing. Here, we introduce and experimentally demonstrate a compact and efficient method for the low-loss coupling of a solid-state qubit, the nitrogen vacancy (NV) centre in diamond, with a single-mode optical fibre. In this approach, single-mode tapered diamond waveguides containing exactly one high quality NV memory are selected and integrated on tapered silica fibres. Numerical optimization of an adiabatic coupler indicates that near-unity-efficiency photon transfer is possible between the two modes. Experimentally, we find an overall collection efficiency between 18-40 % and observe a raw single photon count rate above 700 kHz. This integrated system enables robust, alignment-free, and efficient interfacing of single-mode optical fibres with single photon emitters and quantum memories in solids

Chromatographic analysis of age-related changes in mucosal serotonin transmission in the murine distal ileum

BACKGROUND: In the upper bowel, alterations in motility and absorption of key nutrients have been observed as part of the normal ageing process. Serotonin (5-HT) is a key signalling molecule in the gastrointestinal tract and is known to influence motility, however little is known of how the ageing process alters 5-HT signalling processes in the bowel. RESULTS: An isocratic chromatographic method was able to detect all 5-HT precursors and metabolites. Using extracellular and intracellular sampling approaches, we were able to monitor all key parameters associated with the transmission process. There was no alteration in the levels of tryptophan and 5-HTP between 3 and 18 month old animals. There was a significant increase in the ratio of 5-HT:5-HTP and an increase in intracellular 5-HT between 3 and 18 month old animals suggesting an increase in 5-HT synthesis. There was also a significant increase in extracellular 5-HT with age, suggesting increased 5-HT release. There was an age-related decrease in the ratio of intracellular 5-HIAA:extracellular 5-HT, whilst the amount of 5-HIAA did not change with age. In the presence of an increase in extracellular 5-HT, the lack of an age-related change in 5-HIAA is suggestive of a decrease in re-uptake via the serotonin transporter (SERT). CONCLUSIONS: We have used intracellular and extracellular sampling to provide more insight into alterations in the neurotransmission process of 5-HT during normal ageing. We observed elevated 5-HT synthesis and release and a possible decrease in the activity of SERT. Taken together these changes lead to increased 5-HT availability and may alter motility function and could lead to the changes in adsorption observed in the elderly

Best Practices for Health Informatician Involvement in Interprofessional Health Care Teams

Academic and nonacademic health informatics (HI) professionals (informaticians) serve on interprofessional health care teams with other professionals, such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, and nutritionists. Presently, we argue for investing greater attention to the role health informaticians play on interprofessional teams and the best practices to support this role

Entrepreneurial Actors in Transport Systems. An Energy Cultures Perspective

Moving to a low carbon economy in New Zealand requires a considerable shift in the current transport system as a whole (Carrington et al, 2014). Indeed, the New Zealand transportation system in has a number of key issues including old vehicle stock, old inefficient ICE engines, lack of rail infrastructure investment, low petrol taxes relative to OECD countries and a focus on road building (Vivid Economics & University of Auckland Business School, 2012). Given the complexity involved, shifting the current transport socio-technical systems (with the reliance on the ICE) will be difficult. Starting a business that relies on shifting such an embedded regime can thus be a hard journey. This report looks at the entrepreneurs operating businesses that challenge the mainstream and dominant transportation regime in New Zealand. They can be considered brave people by introducing new products and services into the market that challenge the reliance on fossil fuels in transportation. This report explores each entrepreneurial venture to understand their operations, what alternatives is being offered and what the barriers are to that venture. With barriers comes opportunities and these entrepreneurs are seeing and seizing opportunities that may have the potential together to shift the regime from its current form into something that is more sustainable for the future

The urban regeneration’s framework for transit villages in Qatar: the case of Al Sadd in Doha

In the past two decades, Doha, the capital city of the State of Qatar, has undergone a rapid urban transformation. In 2013 and 2014, the State of Qatar, respectively, initiated the construction of Doha Metro and launched the Qatar National Development Framework (QNDF), an action plan for managing sustainable urban development at national level. Namely, QNDF emphasizes the importance of linking Doha Metro system with urban growth through transit-oriented developments (TODs), a model maximizing the integration between transport systems and land use, through the development of sustainable, vibrant, livable, compact and mixed-use communities. This research study focuses on Al Sadd, a mixed-use neighborhood located in the center of Doha. Al Sadd is considered a significant site for investigating the extent to which the TOD model can contribute to enhance standards of urban living and fostering a long-term urban sustainability. The strategy for monitoring and assessing the potential benefits of the investigated TOD is grounded on the on-site analysis (based on graph theory) of two indices: (1) built environment diversity and density and (2) travel behavior. The revealed comprehensive approach for the urban regeneration of the Al Sadd TOD is based on a framework for enhancing its (1) mixed-used urban fabric and (2) multimodal transportation systems. In turn, the proposed framework provides insights to move incrementally toward interdisciplinary research and governance for TOD in Qatar and in the globalizing GCC, through a long-term sustainability perspective.The authors would like to acknowledge the research-oriented vision of Qatar University as an academic institute supporting sustainable development in the State of Qatar. This research study was developed as part of two research project schemes: (1) Collaborative Grant QUCG-CENG-1920-4 titled “The Action Plan for the Implementation of Qatar National Masterplan based on Integration of Land Use and Public Transport Systems”, awarded and funded by Qatar University; (2) UREP 23-065-5-001 titled “Sustainable Urbanism for the Urban Regeneration and Preservation of the Cultural-Heritage Site of the Souq Waqif in Doha (State of Qatar)”, awarded and funded from Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF, a member of Qatar Foundation). The authors would like to express their gratitude to the leading planners and architects of Qatar’s Government Agencies and Ministries, namely the Ministry of Municipality and Environment (MME), Qatar Rail (QR), Qatar Museums Authority (QMNA) and Ashghal Public Works Authority for their collaboration, for participating in the meetings, sharing visual data and cardinal documents relevant to the research aims, and for discussing the results and conclusion of this investigation. This paper was subject to a Double-Blind Peer Review process. Once accepted for publication, the journal ‘Environment, Development and Sustainability (ENVI)’ offered the authors the choice to publish this article on open access (OA). The open access (OA) publication of this article was funded by the Qatar National Library. Finally, the authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their comments, which contributed to an improvement of this paper. The authors are solely responsible for the statements made herein