Regional Coalitions for Healthcare Improvement: Definition, Lessons, and Prospects

Outlines how regional quality coalitions can collaborate to help deliver evidence-based healthcare; improve care processes; and measure, report, and reward results. Includes guidelines for starting and running a coalition and summaries of NRHI coalitions

Diagnosis and Location of Pinhole Defects in Tunnel Junctions using only Electrical Measurements

In the development of the first generation of sensors and memory chips based on spin-dependent tunneling through a thin trilayer, it has become clear that pinhole defects can have a deleterious effect on magnetoresistance. However, current diagnostic protocols based on Andreev reflection and the temperature dependence of junction resistance may not be suitable for production quality control. We show that the current density in a tunnel junction in the cross-strip geometry becomes very inhomogeneous in the presence of a single pinhole, yielding a four-terminal resistance that depends on the location of the pinhole in the junction. Taking advantage of this position dependence, we propose a simple protocol of four four-terminal measurements. Solving an inverse problem, we can diagnose the presence of a pinhole and estimate its position and resistance.Comment: 9 pages, eplain TeX, other macro files included; some versions of TeX epsf may have trouble with figures, in which case try the Postscript or PDF generated automatically by the Archiv

Fire prevention and risk aversion among informal urban dwellers in Cape Town

This paper attempts to provide experimental evidence on fire prevention and risk aversion among urban informal settlers using lottery choice data with real monetary prizes. The paper estimates the risk attitudes of a sample of 174 individuals from an informal housing development in Cape Town. The empirical analysis is performed within the expected utility theory specification, assuming constant relative risk aversion (CRRA) defined over the lottery prize. We tests the hypothesis that risk averse individuals will take precautionary measures in as far as possible to mitigate the risk of fire to their household. We find that individual-level fire prevention measures that are within the means of the households to effect, such as making sure that matches, lighters and paraffin are kept out of reach of children, is correlated with risk aversion, but measures, such as building of homes at least 3-5 meters from the neighbours, does not seem to be within the choice set of low-income informal dwellers. Our results further indicate that subjects who engage in fire prevention/fire safety strategies that require the "most effort" (that are most effective and costly) are significantly more risk averse relative to subjects engaging in fire safety measures that need "least effort". Contrary to expectation, distance from the main road, informal electricity connection, and the use of paraffin for lighting, heating and cooking are not correlated with risk aversion, indicating that irrespective of the risk profiles of decision makers, low-income households are often forced to make choices that increase their exposure to fire hazards

Cohomology for Anyone

Crystallography has proven a rich source of ideas over several centuries. Among the many ways of looking at space groups, N. David Mermin has pioneered the Fourier-space approach. Recently, we have supplemented this approach with methods borrowed from algebraic topology. We now show what topology, which studies global properties of manifolds, has to do with crystallography. No mathematics is assumed beyond what the typical physics or crystallography student will have seen of group theory; in particular, the reader need not have any prior exposure to topology or to cohomology of groups.Comment: 21 pages + figures, bibliography, Mathematica code homology.

Psychodrama with alcoholics : a social work perspective

This thesis consists of a review of psychodrama literature, and an empirical application of the method in a psychotherapeutic context.' The literature review describes the classical psychodrama method, its history, techniques, associated and derivative methods. The descriptive part of the study also reviews applications of psychodrama, sociodrama, and role playing relevant to social work training and practice, with special reference to the field of alcoholism treatment.· The empirical study compares the use of psychodrama and role playing with inpatients receiving treatment in an alcoholism programme

Do Banks Steer Economic Growth in Emerging Markets? Empirical Evidence from Zimbabwe

Tests of the finance-growth nexus to date have not been conclusive on the nature & direction of the relationship between economic growth and financial sector development. A number of studies on the role played by banks in economic development have shown considerable variation across countries. In this paper we empirically examine the causal and nature of relationship between financial sector development and economic growth in Zimbabwe for the period 1980 to 2006; using time series analysis namely Granger Causality tests in a Vector Autoregressive (VAR) framework. All variables were tested for stationarity using the Augmented Dickey–Fuller (ADF) Test and became stationary in levels, 1st difference and 2nd difference. A general uni-directional relationship was found to exist running from banking sector development to economic growth in Zimbabwe hence the supply-leading hypothesis is supported. The study recommends that policy makers should come up with policies that steer continuous growth of the banking sector. In this regard the government could reduce its borrowings from the domestic money market, promote a savings culture by encouraging banks to increase their deposit rates (through moral suasion) and attract more deposits for onward lending to the private sector and improve the country’s low credit risk rating to lure foreign investors. Keywords: Banks, Economic Growth, Unit root Tests, Granger Causality, VA

Stock Market Development and Economic Growth: An Empirical Analysis of Zimbabwe (1989-2014)

The relationship between stock market development and economic growth varies across nations and regions. This relationship is of significance to regulatory authorities, investors and portfolio managers in their operations aimed at enhancing the welfare of the citizens and clients at large. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between these two variables in Zimbabwe for the period 1989 to 2014. The paper employed the Vector Error Correction Model approach after establishing the order of integration (unit root tests) and cointegration between variables. All the variables were found to be stationary at 1% level after first differencing using the Phillips-Peron tests. The long run relationship was negative, whereas the short run coefficients were insignificant. Though contrary to financial theory, the results, to a large extent, testify to what happened during the period. Based on these findings, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and Securities and Exchanges Commission are urged to come up with alternative products to lure new listings from the small to medium enterprises. It is also recommended that all the stakeholders focus beyond the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange to promote economic growth as the firms seem to raise funds from other sources

Thermoelectric Modeling of the Non-Ohmic Differential Conductance in a Tunnel Junction containing a Pinhole

To test the quality of a tunnel junction, one sometimes fits the bias-dependent differential conductance to a theoretical model, such as Simmons's formula. Recent experimental work by {\AA}kerman and collaborators, however, has demonstrated that a good fit does not necessarily imply a good junction. Modeling the electrical and thermal properties of a tunnel junction containing a pinhole, we extract an effective barrier height and effective barrier width even when as much as 88% of the current flows through the pinhole short rather than tunneling. A good fit of differential conductance to a tunneling form therefore cannot rule out pinhole defects in normal-metal or magnetic tunnel junctions.Comment: Revtex, 5 figure