Tetris is Hard, Even to Approximate

In the popular computer game of Tetris, the player is given a sequence of tetromino pieces and must pack them into a rectangular gameboard initially occupied by a given configuration of filled squares; any completely filled row of the gameboard is cleared and all pieces above it drop by one row. We prove that in the offline version of Tetris, it is NP-complete to maximize the number of cleared rows, maximize the number of tetrises (quadruples of rows simultaneously filled and cleared), minimize the maximum height of an occupied square, or maximize the number of pieces placed before the game ends. We furthermore show the extreme inapproximability of the first and last of these objectives to within a factor of p^(1-epsilon), when given a sequence of p pieces, and the inapproximability of the third objective to within a factor of (2 - epsilon), for any epsilon>0. Our results hold under several variations on the rules of Tetris, including different models of rotation, limitations on player agility, and restricted piece sets.Comment: 56 pages, 11 figure

News Stories of Intimate Partner Violence: An Experimental Examination of Participant Sex, Perpetrator Sex, and Violence Severity on Seriousness, Sympathy, and Punishment Preferences

This study experimentally examines the effects of participant sex, perpetrator sex, and severity of violence on perceptions of intimate partner violence (IPV) seriousness, sympathy toward the victim, and punishment preferences for the perpetrator. Participants (N = 449) were randomly assigned to a condition, exposed to a composite news story, and then completed a survey. Ratings of seriousness of IPV for stories with male perpetrators were significantly higher than ratings of seriousness for stories with female perpetrators. Men had significantly higher sympathy for female victims in any condition than for male victims in the weak or strong severity of violence conditions. Men’s sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition did not differ from their sympathy for female victims. Women had the least sympathy for female victims in the weak severity condition and men in the weak or strong severity conditions. Women reported significantly higher sympathy for female victims in the strong and fatal severity of violence conditions. Women’s ratings of sympathy for male victims in the fatal severity of violence condition were statistically indistinguishable from any other group. Participants reported stronger punishment preferences for male perpetrators and this effect was magnified among men. Theoretical implications are presented with attention provided to practical considerations about support for public health services

Recruitment, Retention, and Evaluation Associated with American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

Healthcare workforce shortages are central to healthcare reform discussions and are critical areas of interest for Indiana State Department of Health (ISDH). The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is a financial incentive program that provides scholarship or loan repayment to primary healthcare providers in return for periods of obligation serving federally designated underserved communities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) increased funding to the NHSC program with the intent of strengthening and expanding the NHSC program capacity. In addition to building workforce capacity, funding was made available to State Primary Care Offices (PCOs) for the coordination and implementation of activities to support NHSC participants, enhance recruitment and retention post-obligation, and evaluation of the impact of ARRA funding for the NHSC program. Indiana Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) Network entered into a contract with ISDH for the purpose of supporting current ARRA-funded NHSC scholars, clinicians, and obligation sites to improve retention and provider satisfaction. In addition, a team of researchers at the Center for Health Policy (CHP) in the Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health, Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) were subcontracted to perform an evaluation of activities outlined in the AHEC contract and evaluate the impact of ARRA funding on NHSC clinician retention, primary healthcare access, and primary care capacity. The NHSC project team, comprised of key personnel from AHEC and CHP, developed and administered surveys, conducted key informant interviews facilitated focus groups to gather data representing perspectives and experiences from ARRA-funded NHSC clinicians and obligation sites administrators to identify key issues and generate recommendations for the Indiana NHSC Program. The NHSC project team was comprised of key personnel from AHEC and CHP. The team developed and administered surveys, conducted key informant interviews, and facilitated focus groups. The activities were carried out to gather data on perspectives and experiences of ARRA-funded NHSC clinicians and site administrators in order to generate recommendations for the Indiana NHSC Program

Data Brief: Indiana Mental Health Professionals 2012 Licensure Survey

Understanding Indiana’s healthcare workforce is critical to ensuring that Indiana residents have access to high quality care, to developing programs that train practitioners to meet future needs, and to recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in Indiana. The mental health workforce in Indiana is composed of social workers, clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists, mental health counselors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric/mental health advanced practice nurses. The data summarized here were collected during biennial license renewals in 2012 and 2013, and in a 2014 survey of psychiatric nurses

Indiana Primary Health Care: Description, Distribution, Challenges, and Strategic Recommendation to Empowered Decision Making

Over the past few years, and in light of the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the result of the 2012 Presidential election, access to health care services has been in the forefront of health care discussions. Driving these discussions are rising chronic disease rates, skyrocketing health care costs, and the ever increasing number of individuals falling into that black hole known as the “uninsured” -- all of which are major burdens on Indiana’s health system. Regardless of ones perspective on health reform, the links between primary health care access, health outcomes, and health care costs are undeniable [1-3]. People with access to primary health care services live longer, healthier lives, and the overall cost of their health care are less than those without access to these services. Ensuring a strong primary health care system across the State of Indiana is crucial to ensuring the health of Hoosiers and improving the efficiency of Indiana’s health system. However, before our current system can be strengthened, it must be understood. This begs the following questions: what is primary care?; why is it important?; who provides these services?; and where are they located? The development and implementation of health policies and primary health care programs that would secure Hoosier health relies on the ability of the State of Indiana to make informed decisions

Controlling TcT_c of Iridium films using interfacial proximity effects

High precision calorimetry using superconducting transition edge sensors requires the use of superconducting films with a suitable $T_c$, depending on the application. To advance high-precision macrocalorimetry, we require low-$T_c$ films that are easy to fabricate. A simple and effective way to suppress $T_c$ of superconducting Iridium through the proximity effect is demonstrated by using Ir/Pt bilayers as well as Au/Ir/Au trilayers. While Ir/Au films fabricated by applying heat to the substrate during Ir deposition have been used in the past for superconducting sensors, we present results of $T_c$ suppression on Iridium by deposition at room temperature in Au/Ir/Au trilayers and Ir/Pt bilayers in the range of $\sim$20-100~mK. Measurements of the relative impedance between the Ir/Pt bilayers and Au/Ir/Au trilayers fabricated show factor of $\sim$10 higher values in the Ir/Pt case. These new films could play a key role in the development of scalable superconducting transition edge sensors that require low-$T_c$ films to minimize heat capacity and maximize energy resolution, while keeping high-yield fabrication methods.Comment: 5 journal pages, 4 figure

Data Brief: Indiana Physician Assistants 2012

The physician assistant (PA) workforce in Indiana is growing quickly. Since 2004, the estimated number of non‐government − employed PAs actively working in Indiana has more than doubled, from less than 400 in 2004 to nearly 900 in 2012

Oral History Interview on Sheff vs. O\u27Neill (with video)

Elizabeth Horton Sheff (born1952) describes her experience as a parent plaintiff (on behalf of her son, Milo) in the Sheff v. O’Neill school desegregation lawsuit, originally filed in 1989. She recalls the early stage of her activism as a member of the Westbrook Village Tenants\u27 Association, working with the attorneys (such as John Brittain, Phil Tegeler), meeting other plaintiffs (such as the Bermudez, Leach, Connolly families), and connections with other activists. She discusses the legal process of the case as well as its long-term successes and limitations. Sheff also describes growing up in the Charter Oak housing project on Flatbush Avenue in Hartford, and the influence of the United Church of Christ on her life

Gateway vectors for efficient artificial gene assembly in vitro and expression in yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae

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