The Development of the Irish Private Health Insurance Market and Evidence of Selection Effects Therein

This paper tracks the development of the Irish private health insurance market, both in terms of its legislative background and the development of competition. Literature on adverse selection and risk selection is then reviewed. Data from two surveys of consumers are then analysed to determine whether evidence exists of adverse selection or risk selection in the Irish private health insurance market. Both of these issues are relevant in the context of the debate over risk equalisation in the market in Ireland.Private health insurance, adverse selection, risk selection

Heterogeneous and homogeneous effects in the thermal cracking of hydrocarbons

Imperial Users onl

Astrophysics and cosmology confront the 17 keV neutrino

A host of astrophysical and cosmological arguments severely constrain the properties of a 17 keV Dirac neutrino. Such a neutrino must have interactions beyond those of the standard electroweak theory to reduce its cosmic abundance (through decay or annihilation) by a factor of two hundred. A predicament arises because the additional helicity states of the neutrino necessary to construct a Dirac mass must have interactions strong enough to evade the astrophysical bound from SN 1987A, but weak enough to avoid violating the bound from primordial nucleosynthesis

Microhabitat of hatchery rainbow trout

March 1969.Includes bibliographical references (pages 35-36).Covers not scanned.Print version deaccessioned 2021.Hatchery rainbow trout, wild rainbow trout, or wild brown trout were introduced into a flume that simulated a natural stream. Fish were observed hourly and parameters of the selected microhabitat locations were measured. Fishes differed in water velocity of microhabitat areas selected, water strata utilized, and degree of thigmotaxis exhibited. Hatchery rainbow trout selected areas along side of the flume or above a structure and along side of the flume that had a water velocity of 0.9 ft/sec (27.4 cm/sec). They utilized the middle of the water column, were positive rheotactic, and were not thigmotactic. Wild rainbow trout utilized the same areas in the flume, but the water velocity was 0.7 ft/sec (21.0 cm/sec). They utilized the bottom of the water column, were positive rheotactic, and were thigmotactic. Resident trout affected only subtle changes in the parameters of the microhabitat selected by nonresident trout. Displacement of nonresident hatchery rainbow trout took place only after resident brown trout had been in the flume for 7 days. Resident hatchery trout displaced nonresident brown trout after 3 days in the flume; thus, indicating faster acclimation to flume

Creating an employment ready graduate:stakeholder perspectives of internship programmes and their ability to enhance the graduate employability skills set

Purpose: The aims of this research are to examine stakeholder perspectives of the use and usefulness of graduate attributes which are embedded into the curriculum of a UK university and to evaluate the potential of these graduate attributes to go beyond institutional pedagogy and enhance the employability skills set of graduates.Design/methodology/approach: The research used a mixed method to elicit perspectives of a University’s graduate attributes, interviewing employers and surveying students using a self-assessment tool and convenience sampling approach. Findings: The research found that there are key attributes for the success of University-led graduate attributes which include engagement from stakeholders with those attributes, commitment from teaching staff towards the development of identified attributes, appropriate time to align and embed attributes into the curriculum and with the needs of stakeholders and a framework which compliments institutional research and is properly resourced (Al-Mahood and Gruba, 2007). No one graduate attribute works in isolation, they have to be part of a measured and balanced model or framework to address the multi-faceted nature of graduate employability. The research reveals that work-based initiatives were the most valued by graduates and employers alike, which are arguably easier to teach as it is learning by doing as opposed to developing generic softer skills which are not valued highly by graduates in respect to employment. The findings support existing research that graduates value graduate attributes which involve work based learning activities as a means to gain employability skills and employment. Practical and social implications: The research findings should provide Universities and Colleges from both within and out with the UK with a blueprint from which to create or refresh existing University led graduate attributes. Originality/value: The findings from this paper consolidate existing research in the area of graduate employability and take research forward in the areas of graduate attributes, the measurement of these attributes and their currency in terms of employability and employer synergy

Astrophysical and cosmological constraints to neutrino properties

The astrophysical and cosmological constraints on neutrino properties (masses, lifetimes, numbers of flavors, etc.) are reviewed. The freeze out of neutrinos in the early Universe are discussed and then the cosmological limits on masses for stable neutrinos are derived. The freeze out argument coupled with observational limits is then used to constrain decaying neutrinos as well. The limits to neutrino properties which follow from SN1987A are then reviewed. The constraint from the big bang nucleosynthesis on the number of neutrino flavors is also considered. Astrophysical constraints on neutrino-mixing as well as future observations of relevance to neutrino physics are briefly discussed

Origin of density fluctuations in extended inflation

The density fluctuations (both curvature and isocurvature) that arise due to quantum fluctuations in a simple model of extended inflation based upon the Jordan-Brans-Dicke theory are calculated. Curvature fluctuations arise due to quantum fluctuations in the Brans-Dicke field, in general have a nonscale-invariant spectrum, and can have an amplitude that is cosmologically acceptable and interesting without having to tune any coupling constant to a very small value. The density perturbations that arise due to the inflation field are subdominant. If there are other massless fields in the theory, e.g., an axion or an ilion, then isocurvature fluctuations arise in these fields too. Production of gravitational waves and the massless particles associated with excitations of the Brans-Dicke field are also discussed. Several attempts at more realistic models of extended inflation are also analyzed. The importance of the Einstein conformal frame in calculating curvature fluctuations is emphasized. When viewed in this frame, extended inflation closely resembles slow-rollover inflation with an exponential potential and the usual formula for the amplitude of curvature perturbations applies