Subsidizing Professional Sports Teams and Building New Facilities: Flagship Projects for Urban Renewal or Corporate Welfare?

Paper: 15 pp. digital file.The issue of taxpayer support of professional sports teams and for building new downtown facilities is a contentious one. Proponents argue this practice is beneficial to the community in terms of municipal revenue, economic growth and job creation because new money is spent in the economy. Further, this new money is subject to an economic multiplier effect, which greatly increases the economic impact of the initial expenditures by creating more jobs and more tax revenue for local governments. Thus, the cost to the taxpayer is said to be much less than the benefits. Many scholars refute these claims and, based on empirical research, suggest that quite the opposite is true. They take issue with the idea of team expenditures as new money, and suggest that the economic multipliers are overstated. They also argue that the cost of ongoing subsidies and capital investment in the construction of new facilities are underestimated. Furthermore, the sustainability of teams and facilities must be questioned in light of rapidly escalating costs; both players’ salaries and ticket prices continue to increase. Fierce competition among cities increases teams’ demands for newer facilities and more funding, leaving cities with small market thresholds out in the cold.Institute of Urban Studie

First Nations/Metis/Inuit Mobility Study, Interim Report Two: Draft One

The First Nations/Métis/Inuit Mobility Study examines the mobility patterns of Aboriginal persons moving into the city of Winnipeg. The intent is to interview the same persons, over successive periods, in order to examine issues and concerns arising as they adjust to living in the city. The intent of the study is to examine the reasons for migration to Winnipeg with the intent of better understanding the factors affecting mobility. A second concern is to identify potential gaps in the provision of services during the time of transition to the city and the subsequent adjustment. A strength of the study is that it examines changes in the circumstances of respondents who remain in the city for an extended period of time. To date, survey participants have been interviewed twice between May 2002 – February 2003. Thus far, approximately 900 interviews have been completed. The First Nations/Métis/Inuit Mobility Study represents the collaborative efforts of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, the Manitoba Metis Federation, Western Economic Diversification, and the Institute of Urban Studies (the coordinating consultant). The study received further support from a steering committee comprised of representatives from a diverse set of government departments

Student Housing Overview: Assessing Issues and Potential Options

report: 59 pp.; ill., digital file.This report sets out for the administration of the University of Winnipeg some of the contexts, considerations and principles necessary when undertaking any future housing-oriented development. The report provides general support for the proposition that – given demonstrated need for affordable and accessible housing in the neighbourhoods surrounding the University of Winnipeg – some kind of mixed-use development – incorporating affordable, accessible housing for a range of household types, as well as other services that would cater to both the student body and residents and organizations of the surrounding communities – would be beneficial to the university and be consistent with both the surrounding community as well as its overall strategic plan.University of Winnipeg. The report concludes with very general recommendation

Evaluation of Stepped Care for Chronic Pain (ESCAPE) in Veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan Conflicts A Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE: Despite the prevalence and the functional, psychological, and economic impact of chronic pain, few intervention studies of treatment of chronic pain in veterans have been performed. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether a stepped-care intervention is more effective than usual care, as hypothesized, in reducing pain-related disability, pain interference, and pain severity. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We performed a randomized clinical trial comparing stepped care with usual care for chronic pain. We enrolled 241 veterans from Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn with chronic (>3 months) and disabling (Roland Morris Disability Scale score, ≥7) musculoskeletal pain of the cervical or lumbar spine or extremities (shoulders, knees, and hips) in the Evaluation of Stepped Care for Chronic Pain (ESCAPE) trial from December 20, 2007, through June 30, 2011. The 9-month follow-up was completed by April 2012. Patients received treatment at a postdeployment clinic and 5 general medicine clinics at a Veterans Affairs medical center. INTERVENTIONS: Step 1 included 12 weeks of analgesic treatment and optimization according to an algorithm coupled with pain self-management strategies; step 2, 12 weeks of cognitive behavioral therapy. All intervention aspects were delivered by nurse care managers. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Pain-related disability (Roland Morris Disability Scale), pain interference (Brief Pain Inventory), and pain severity (Graded Chronic Pain Scale). RESULTS: The primary analysis included 121 patients receiving the stepped-care intervention and 120 patients receiving usual care. At 9 months, the mean decrease from baseline in the Roland Morris Disability Scale score was 1.7 (95% CI, -2.6 to -0.9) points in the usual care group and 3.7 (95% CI, -4.5 to -2.8) points in the intervention group (between-group difference, -1.9 [95% CI, -3.2 to -0.7] points; P=.002). The mean decrease from baseline in the Pain Interference subscale score of the Brief Pain Inventory was 0.9 points in the usual care group and 1.7 points in the intervention group (between-group difference, -0.8 [95% CI, -1.3 to -0.3] points; P=.003). The Graded Chronic Pain Scale severity score was reduced by 4.5 points in the usual care group and 11.1 points in the intervention group (between-group difference, -6.6 [95% CI, -10.5 to -2.7] points; P=.001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: A stepped-care intervention that combined analgesics, self-management strategies, and brief cognitive behavioral therapy resulted in statistically significant reductions in pain-related disability, pain interference, and pain severity in veterans with chronic musculoskeletal pain

Design and methods of the Care Management for the Effective Use of Opioids (CAMEO) trial

Low back pain is the most common pain condition seen in primary care, with the most common treatment being analgesic medications, including opioids. A dramatic increase in opioid prescriptions for low back pain over the past few decades has led to increased non-medical use and opioid overdose deaths. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for chronic pain is an evidence-based non-pharmacological treatment for pain with demonstrated efficacy when delivered using collaborative care models. No previous studies have tested CBT compared to analgesic optimization that includes opioid management in primary care. This paper describes the study design and methods of the CAre Management for the Effective use of Opioids (CAMEO) trial, a 2-arm, randomized comparative effectiveness trial in seven primary care clinics. CAMEO enrolled 261 primary care veterans with chronic (6 months or longer) low back pain of at least moderate severity who were receiving long-term opioid therapy and randomized them to either nurse care management focused on analgesic treatment and optimization (MED) or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). All subjects undergo comprehensive outcome assessments at baseline, 3, 6, 9, and 12 months by interviewers blinded to treatment assignment. The primary outcome is pain severity and interference, measured by the Brief Pain Inventory (BPI) total score. Secondary outcomes include health-related quality of life, fatigue, sleep, functional improvement, pain disability, pain beliefs, alcohol and opioid problems, depression, anxiety, and stress

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Neighbourhoods Alive!: Community Outcomes Final Report

report: 181 pp.; ill., digital file.The following evaluation of the Neighbourhoods Alive! strategy was undertaken in 2005. Neighbourhood outcomes—or present conditions in Neighbourhoods Alive! neighbourhoods as expressed in both quantitative and qualitative terms—are discussed where possible in relation to baseline data spanning 2001-2004, as well as a process evaluation of the community-led model (CLM) as represented by the partnership between the Neighbourhood Renewal Corporations (NRCs) and Neighbourhoods Alive! with the NRCs being the instrument for bringing the community together and Neighbourhoods Alive! providing the tools to support a community-led approach to neighbourhood revitalization in Winnipeg, Brandon and Thompson. Conclusions are drawn as to the strengths and weaknesses of the model and recommendations are provided. Guidelines for the replication of the evaluation are contained within Appendix 3.Neighbourhoods Alive