The magnetude of the tropospheric response to solar variability

Imperial Users onl

Economic studies showing positive competition effects on hospital performance fully controlled for the factors cited by recent critics

Criticisms have been made of recent influential studies that show improving performance in hospitals operating in more competitive environments compared with hospitals that have a local monopoly on care. Zack Cooper, Steve Gibbons, Simon Jones and Alistair McGuire set the record straight. The claims by Pollock et al are based either on distortions of the original research, or on an apparent lack of understanding of modern economic analysi

Does hospital competition save lives? Evidence from the English NHS patient choice reforms

This paper examines whether or not hospital competition in a market with fixed reimbursement prices can prompt improvements in clinical quality. In January 2006, the British Government introduced a major extension of their market-based reforms to the English National Health Service. From January 2006 onwards, every patient in England could choose their hospital for secondary care and hospitals had to compete with each other to attract patients to secure their revenue. One of the central aims of this policy was to create financial incentives for providers to improve their clinical performance. This paper assesses whether this aim has been achieved and competition led to improvements in quality. For our estimation, we exploit the fact that choice-based reforms will create sharper financial incentives for hospitals in markets where choice is geographically feasible and that prior to 2006, in the absence of patient choice, hospitals had no direct financial incentive to improve performance in order to attract more patients. We use a modified difference-in-difference estimator to analyze whether quality improved more quickly in more competitive markets after the government introduced its new wave of market-based reforms. Using AMI mortality as a quality indicator, we find that mortality fell more quickly (i.e. quality improved) for patients living in more competitive markets after the introduction of hospital competition in January 2006. Our results suggest that hospital competition in markets with fixed prices can lead to improvements in clinical quality

An Investigation into the Corporate Governance of Limited Liability Partnerships in the Professional Services Industry

The researcher would like to acknowledge the help and support that was given by family and friends. There is also recognition that without the co-operation of respondents, who were willing to give up their time and offer their advice, the thesis, would not have been possible. Finally, for their assistance throughout the whole of the dissertation I would like to thank Alistair Bruce, Edward Wray-Bliss and most importantly Tim Bailey

Generalized Quantum Hall Projection Hamiltonians

Certain well known quantum Hall states -- including the Laughlin states, the Moore-Read Pfaffian, and the Read-Rezayi Parafermion states -- can be defined as the unique lowest degree symmetric analytic function that vanishes as at least p powers as some number (g+1) of particles approach the same point. Analogously, these same quantum Hall states can be generated as the exact highest density zero energy state of simple angular momentum projection operators. Following this theme we determine the highest density zero energy state for many other values of p and g.Comment: 9 page

Registered Title and the Assurance of Reliability

The defining feature of systems for registration of title is, of course, that the information about title displayed by the register is in some sense reliable. But reliability need not be seen as a quality of the information itself in the abstract. Systems for registration of title have been designed to serve a variety of social goals and so the reliability of the information in the register may need to be assured only to the restricted classes of person necessary to fulfil the particular social goal that motivated the registration law. The English version of registration is noteworthy for the convoluted means by which it indicates who gets the benefit of the assurance of reliability as well as for the opaque motivations underlying the choice of the particular class of persons in whose favour the assurance of reliability is given. The English land registration system, like many others, famously emerged as a response to the difficulties and uncertainties troubling the investigation of title to land and therefore its key component is a provision which gives a categorical assurance to a purchaser about the state of title that he will receive if the correct steps are followed

Transmitting Power: Radio and Organization in Maoist China

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College

Correction of the Register and Mistake by Omission

Discusses what constitutes a "mistake" justifying correction of the land register under the Land Registration Act 2002, and whether omissions are a valid ground for rectification. Reviews the current statutory position and proposes a system for categorising mistakes by omission, including scenarios involving third-party interventions, a right-holder's failure to apply for registration, and a public body's failure to communicate with the Registry

Skyrmions in the Moore-Read state at nu=5/2

We study charged excitations of the non-abelian Moore-Read liquid at filling factor nu=5/2, allowing for spin depolarization. Using a combination of numerical studies, and taking account of non-zero well widths, we find that at sufficiently low Zeeman energy it is energetically favourable for charge e/4 quasiholes to bind into "skyrmions" of charge e/2. We show that skyrmion formation is further promoted by disorder, and argue that this can lead to a depolarized nu=5/2 ground state in realistic experimental situations. We comment on the consequences for the activated transport.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure