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This paper explores service user and staff experiences of a diagnostic trauma assessment within an emotionally unstable personality disorder inpatient population. Findings highlight strengthened therapeutic relationships with minimal adverse effects and support the implementation of trauma-diagnostic assessments within inpatient settings.

The paper outlines landslide mapping and change-detection monitoring protocols based on the successes of ICL-IPL Project 202 in southwestern British Columbia, Canada. In this region, ice sheets, glaciers, permafrost, rivers and oceans, high relief, and biogeoclimatic characteristics contribute to produce distinctive landslide assemblages. Bedrock and drift-covered slopes along the transportation corridors are prone to mass-wasting when favourable conditions exist. In high-relief mountainous areas, rapidly moving landslides include rock and debris avalanches, rock and debris falls, debris flows and torrents, and lahars. In areas with moderate to low relief, rapid to slow mass movements include rockslides and slumps, debris or earth slides and slumps, and earth flows. Slow-moving landslides include rock glaciers, rock and soil creep, solifluction, and lateral spreads in bedrock and surficial deposits. Research in the Thompson River Valley aims to gain a better understanding of how geological conditions, extreme weather events and climate change influence landslide activity along the national railway corridor. Remote sensing datasets, consolidated in a geographic information system, capture the spatial relationships between landslide distribution and specific terrain features, at-risk infrastructure, and the environmental conditions expected to correlate with landslide incidence and magnitude. Reliable real-time monitoring solutions for critical railway infrastructure (e.g., ballast, tracks, retaining walls, tunnels and bridges) able to withstand the harsh environmental conditions of Canada are highlighted. The provision of fundamental geoscience and baseline geospatial monitoring allows stakeholders to develop robust risk tolerance, remediation, and mitigation strategies to maintain the resilience and accessibility of critical transportation infrastructure, while also protecting the natural environment, community stakeholders, and the Canadian economy. We conclude by proposing a best-practice solution involving three levels of investigation to describe the form and function of the wide range of rapid and slow-moving landslides occurring across Canada, which is also applicable elsewhere.

Developments in time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) technology are transforming our ability to monitor the subsurface due to purpose-built monitoring instruments, advances in automation and modeling, and the resulting improvements in spatial and temporal resolution. We describe the development of a novel ERT-based remote monitoring system called PRIME that integrates new low-power measurement instrumentation with data delivery, automated data processing and image generation, and web-based information delivery. Due to the sensitivity of ERT to hydrologic processes in the near surface, we focus on the application of PRIME for moisture-driven landslide monitoring. Case examples are considered of landslides in engineered and natural slopes, including those impacting geotechnical assets in rail and highways, where slope hydrology is seen to be controlled by lithology, vegetation, fissuring, and drainage structures. We conclude by taking a forward look at emerging developments in ERT monitoring relating to hardware, software and modeling, and applications.

In response to differential clinical presentations of survivors of multiple or chronic exposure to trauma, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) has been included in the 11th revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). A growing body of research has explored the prevalence of CPTSD in a range of populations, yet its prevalence in adults diagnosed with Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder (EUPD) has been subject to limited evaluation, including in individuals requiring specialist inpatient care. The International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) was administered to 42 females with primary diagnoses of EUPD admitted to a specialist DBT service. Twenty-eight (66.8%) participants met full diagnostic criteria for either PTSD (11.9%, n=5) or CPTSD (54.8%, n=23). Additionally, PTSD and CPTSD symptomatology were highly prevalent in participants who did not meet the functional impairment criteria. Significant differences in the prevalence of CPTSD were found, dependent on whether a measure of functional impairment was included. This is the first study to explore the prevalence of CPTSD in an inpatient EUPD sample, using diagnostic thresholds. The findings highlight the importance of attending to trauma as well as EUPD-related needs. Theoretical, clinical and future research implications are discussed.

Landslides in the Thompson River Valley, British Columbia, Canada, threaten the serviceability of two railway lines that connect Vancouver to the rest of Canada and the US. To minimise the impact of slope instability on vital transport infrastructure, as well as on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, public safety, communities, local heritage, and the economy, and to better inform decision making, there is a need for monitoring. Since 2013, the Ripley Landslide – a small, slow-moving, translational landslide – has been the focus of monitoring efforts in the Thompson River Valley transportation corridor. In November 2017, a novel Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) monitoring system was installed on the site, providing near-real-time data collection via a telemetric link. 4-Dimensional resistivity models are presented in the context of moisture content and soil suction, two parameters known to influence slope stability in the Thompson River Valley. Here, we discuss the development of laboratory-based petrophysical relationships that relate electrical resistivity to moisture content and soil suction directly, building on relationships developed in the field. The 4-D ERT models were calibrated using these petrophysical relationships to provide insights into the complex spatial and temporal variations in moisture content and soil suction. This study highlights the utility of geoelectrical monitoring for assessing slope stability in the context of moisture-driven landslides.

A study of factors impacting landslide displacement rates was conducted on the Ripley Landslide within the Thompson River valley in British Columbia, Canada for the International Programme on Landslides’ project #202. Seasonal and multiyear changes in atmospheric factors cause cyclic fluctuation of matric suction in the vadose zone through changes to the in situ water content. The ingress of moisture is shown to contribute to multiyear and seasonal loss of stability causing increasing landslide displacement rates, often disregarded in slope stability calculations. However, the water content in the unsaturated zone is important, especially in semi-arid to arid climates where the water table is low and large portions of the slope are unsaturated. Additional tools for studying long-term variations in climate and seasonal changes in water content are presented. These tools are used to characterize historical climate and compare several factors that have resulted in changing landslide displacement rates and magnitude. Infiltration of precipitation and snowmelt directly contributes to matric suction loss in the head scarp and is exacerbated by the presence of tension cracks. While groundwater levels are often correlated to changing displacement rates, changes in matric suction can also influence the rates of displacement. Climatic trends over subsequent years alter the long-term soil water accumulation which impacts rates of landslide displacement. By accounting for additional strength, or potentially a loss in strength due to increasing water content, it is possible to develop a more complete understanding of the mechanisms of climate change which drive displacement rates in the translational, metastable earthen slides that dominate the Thompson River valley. These mechanisms can be applied to comparable river valleys around the world.

Landslides along a 10 km reach of Thompson River south of Ashcroft, British Columbia, have repeatedly damaged vital railway infrastructure, while also placing public safety, the environment, natural resources, and cultural heritage features at risk. Government agencies, universities, and the railway industry are focusing research efforts on a representative test site — the very-slow-moving Ripley Landslide — to manage better the geohazard risk in this corridor. We characterize the landslide’s form and function through hydrogeological and geophysical mapping. Field mapping and exploratory drilling distinguish 10 hydrogeological units in surficial deposits and fractured bedrock. Electrical resistivity tomography, frequency domain electromagnetic conductivity measurements, ground-penetrating radar, seismic pressure wave refraction, and multispectral analysis of shear waves; in conjunction with downhole measurement of natural gamma radiation, induction conductivity, and magnetic susceptibility provide a detailed, static picture of soil moisture and groundwater conditions within the hydrogeological units. Differences in electrical resistivity of the units reflect a combination of hydrogeological characteristics and climatic factors, namely temperature and precipitation. Resistive earth materials include dry glaciofluvial outwash and nonfractured bedrock; whereas glaciolacustrine clay and silt, water-bearing fractured bedrock, and periodically saturated subglacial till and outwash are conductive. Dynamic, continuous real-time monitoring of electrical resistivity, now underway, will help characterize water-flow paths, and possible relationships to independently monitor pore pressures and slope creep. These new hydrogeological and geophysical data sets enhance understanding of the composition and internal structure of this landslide and provide important context to interpret multiyear slope stability monitoring ongoing in the valley. University College Dublin

Long-life, long linear geotechnical assets such as road, rail and flood embankments provide vital transport and flood defence infrastructure. Slope failures can close transport networks and cause delays, or can reduce the protection provided against flood hazards. This creates huge economic cost and can cause a risk to life for those using affected transport networks or resident on the floodplain. Where emergency repair is needed, the estimated cost of this is 10 times that of scheduled maintenance making effective asset management an industry priority (Glendinning et al., 2009).However, projected climatic changes pose a threat to the stability of these assets. The most recent IPCC report highlighted projected future changes to temperatures and rainfall. These climatic changes alter the natural cycles of wetting and drying experienced by assets, which results in deterioration of asset performance. Deterioration can occur due to a variety of processes, including crack formation and propagation, downslope plastic strain accumulation and geochemical or mineralogical changes. These ultimately influence the strength, stiffness, permeability and water retention of the soil, which can often mean the construction standard of the asset is not maintained (Stirling et al., 2021).The ACHILLES project aims to improve understanding of how these processes occur and how they may be affected by projected climatic change. Here, we introduce three large-scale field monitoring sites, including a purpose-built trial embankment, flood embankment and highway cutting. These assets are heavily instrumented to measure soil deformation, soil hydrology and local weather conditions, amongst others. Data from these sites are analysed to further understand deterioration processes and inform future design, construction, monitoring and management of these earthworks. We will discuss key insights from this project, including implications for stakeholders.References:Glendinning S, Hall J, Manning L (2009) Asset-management strategies for infrastructure embankments. Proc Inst Civ Eng Eng Sustain 162:111–120Stirling RA, Toll DG, Glendinning S, Helm PR, Yildiz A, Hughes PN, Asquith JD. Weather-driven deterioration processes affecting the performance of embankment slopes. Géotechnique 2021, 71(11), 957-969.

Landslides are complex geological hazards that affect all globally settled areas; hence the necessity to understand this hazard for purposes of studying failure mechanisms and managing risk levels. Numerous methods have been explored for characterising the geomorphology and geology of active landslides. In this study we characterise and monitor a well understood field site, Hollin Hill (situated in Lias Group rocks in the southern Howardian Hills, UK), using geomatics (UAV and LiDAR surveys), near-surface geophysics and petrophysical relationships. Time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is an effective tool for monitoring hydrological processes, given that the Hollin Hill landslide is moisture-induced, the field site is instrumented with a permanent (shallow buried) 3D ERT monitoring array. However, monitoring active landslides poses specific challenges regarding time-lapse geophysical methods as the surface topography is distorted with slope movements, which in this case are expressed as centimetre to metre scale lateral and vertical movements that complicate time-lapse resistivity processing. To compensate for the changing slope topography, we incorporate terrestrial LiDAR and aerial photogrammetry surveys to capture the changing slope surface through time. Additionally, lateral movements are periodically recorded with RTK corrected GNSS surveys. For each geophysical survey the topography and positions of the electrodes are interpolated using thin plate splines, and a modelling mesh with unique surface topography is created for each time step in the time-lapse ERT scheme (which uses a baseline constraint). Hence, we develop a time-lapse geophysical model spanning approximately 8 years, which captures both changes in the electrical properties of Hollin Hill and the slope’s geomorphology.To further understand the hydrological state of the landslide, we observe a direct relationship between electrical conductivity (the inverse of resistivity), gravimetric moisture content and soil suction for the relevant lithologies present at Hollin Hill. The resistivity models are partitioned into different lithologies using k-means clustering, and subsequently resistivity is converted to matric suction via a petrophysical relationship. Areas of consistently low resistivity, and by extension high moisture content and low suction, correspond to areas on the landslide which exhibit the most movement. Furthermore, the movements of electrodes are used to estimate the depth of the landslide surface via the balanced cross section method (after Bishop). Low soil suctions occur at the location of the likely slip surface, thus offering insights into the failure mechanisms occurring at the Hollin Hill landslide. This suggests that a combination of the techniques demonstrated in this study could be used to assess active landslide dynamics and hence improve our capacity to forecast movements on unstable slopes.

Deterioration within desiccated, clay infrastructure embankments can originate from two processes: (A) preferential flow through cracks allowing deeper and faster propagation of wetting fronts, and (B) microstructural degradation, reducing soil water retention capacity. These processes are interrelated, and together act to increase surface layer exposure to intense mechanical weathering and therefore, risk of asset failure. Desiccation induced deterioration is set to intensify under future climate change projections, heightening the need to understand how these processes develop within, and deteriorate, embankment fill over time. To address this, long-term hydrological and desiccation crack monitoring of a large-scale slope, constructed within an outdoor lysimeter, has been carried out under both natural, and simulated, climatic conditions. Initial findings illustrate a highly desiccated slope has the capacity to accept a large volume of storm rainfall prior to crack closure. This volume is set to increase due to the progressive aggregation and reduction in SWR behaviour observed within the slope. The importance of antecedent conditions, both in terms of crack geometry and initial degree of saturation, at the onset of rainfall, additionally proved important as it controls the depth and magnitude of VWC change in the slope. Continued monitoring of the slope will aid our understanding of the temporal evolution of these deterioration processes.

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What are the words you do not have? What do you need to say? What are the tyrannies you swallow day by day and attempt to make your own, until you will sicken and die of them, still in silence.— Au...

Instability of slopes, embankments, and cuttings on the railway network is increasingly prevalent globally. Monitoring vulnerable infrastructure aids in geotechnical asset management, and improvements to transport safety and efficiency. Here, we examine the use of a novel, near-real-time Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) monitoring system for assessing the stability of a railway cutting in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. In 2015, an ERT monitoring system was installed across a relict landslide (grassed) and an area of more stable ground on either side (wooded), to monitor changes in electrical resistivity through time and space, and to assess the influence of different types of vegetation on the stability of transportation infrastructure. Two years of 4-Dimensional ERT monitoring results are presented here, and petrophysical relationships developed in the laboratory are applied to calibrate the resistivity models in order to provide an insight into hydrogeological pathways within a railway cutting. The influence of vegetation type on subsurface moisture pathways and on slope stability is also assessed – here we find that seasonal subsurface changes in moisture content and soil suction are exacerbated by the presence of trees (wooded area). This results in shrink-swell behaviour of the clays comprising the railway cutting, resulting in fissuring and a reduction in shear strength, leading to instability. As such, it is proposed that on slopes comprised of expansive soils, grassed slopes are beneficial for stability. Insights into the use of 4-D ERT for monitoring railway infrastructure gained from this study may be applied to the monitoring of critical geotechnical assets elsewhere.

Resilient railway transportation networks require sustainable, cost-effective management of service operations to meet future socio-economic needs and ensure the protection of the natural environment. Where transportation corridors traverse unstable terrain, critical rail infrastructure is at risk of damage and presents potential local and national economic, social and environmental challenges. Remote monitoring of unstable slopes and infrastructure at risk, using a range of conventional and emerging fixed and automated (i.e. remote) technologies provides the fundamental geoscience required to monitor landslides along a strategically important section of Canada’s national railway network in south-central British Columbia, Canada. Research and development by the Geological Survey of Canada and British Geological Survey provides government agencies, university partners and the national railway companies with vital information to understand geohazard risk, predict landslide movement, improve the safety, security and resilience of national transportation infrastructure, and reduce such risks to the economy, environment, natural resources and public safety.

The cyclic fluctuations of matric suction and its influence on unsaturated soil mechanics in the active zone is largely disregarded in many slope stability calculations. However, the depth of the unsaturated zone can be significant, especially in semi-arid to arid climates where large portions of the slope are not governed by saturated soil mechanics. Additional tools are used to characterize historical climate and compare several factors that have resulted in changing landslide movement rates and magnitude. Infiltration of precipitation and snowmelt directly contributes to matric suction losses in the head scarp and is exacerbated by the presence of tension cracks. While groundwater levels are primarily correlated to changing movement rates in the Thompson River valley, seasonal changes in matric suction can influence the degree to which movement rates change. Climatic events and trends over the past few years alter the long-term soil water accumulation in the valley. By accounting for the additional strength or potentially rapid losses in strength due to increasing water content, it may be possible to develop a more complete understanding of the climate change mechanisms driving changing movement rates in the translational, metastable earthen slides that dominate the Thompson River valley.

Here we describe the development of a novel characterization and monitoring technology for unstable natural and engineered slopes. The system is based on time-lapse electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), which is a geophysical technique used to non-invasively image subsurface resistivity to depths of tens of meters. Resistivity is a useful property because it is sensitive to compositional variations, changes in moisture content, and ground movement. We have developed a low-cost system designed for remote operation, allowing resistivity images to be captured automatically and streamed via a web interface. It comprises four key elements: (1) low-power field instrumentation; (2) data telemetry and storage; (3) automated data processing; (4) and web dashboard information delivery. These elements form the basis of slope condition monitoring approach that provides near-real-time spatial information on both subsurface processes and surface responses. The use of this approach is illustrated with reference to the Ripley Landslide, a case study that demonstrates this approach as a means of spatially tracking complex subsurface moisture driven processes that would be very difficult to characterize using other approaches (e.g. surface observations or intrusive sampling). We propose that this approach could provide sub-surface information in the context of slope-scale landslide early warning systems.

The Ripley Landslide is a small (0.04 km2), slow-moving landslide in the Thompson River Valley, British Columbia, that is threatening the serviceability of two national railway lines. Slope failures in this area are having negative impacts on railway infrastructure, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, public safety, communities, local heritage and the economy. This is driving the need for monitoring at the site, and in recent years there has been a shift from traditional geotechnical surveys and visual inspections for monitoring infrastructure assets toward less invasive, lower cost, and less time-intensive methods, including geophysics. We describe the application of a novel electrical resistivity tomography system for monitoring the landslide. The system provides near-real time geoelectrical imaging, with results delivered remotely via a modem, avoiding the need for costly repeat field visits, and enabling near-real time interpretation of the four-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography data. Here, we present the results of the electrical resistivity tomography monitoring alongside field sensor-derived relationships between suction, resistivity, moisture content and continuous monitoring single-frequency Global Navigation Satellite System stations. Four-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography data allows us to monitor spatial and temporal changes in resistivity, and by extension, in moisture content and soil suction. The models reveal complex hydrogeological pathways, as well as considerable seasonal variation in the response of the subsurface to changing weather conditions, which cannot be predicted through interrogation of weather and sensor data alone, providing new insight into the subsurface processes active at the site of the Ripley Landslide. © 2020 The Authors. Near Surface Geophysics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Association of Geoscientists and Engineers.

Risk-taking behaviours during adolescence have negative short- and long-term health impacts. Maximizing the progress made through child health improvements and preventing the onset of adult ill-health require a much greater focus on health during adolescence. Understanding the biological and social factors that shape both risk and protective factors during adolescence provides the basis for effective prevention strategies. Effective prevention strategies require localized, disaggregated data to respond to heterogeneous life experiences. This paper reports on self-reported risk-taking behaviours among young adolescents growing up in rural communities in New South Wales, Australia. Quantitative analysis was undertaken to explore the relationship between risk-taking behaviour and key social determinants of health, including age, gender, cultural background and socio-economic status. It concludes that cross-cutting early intervention and prevention involving social work, youth work, education and health which...

In October 2016, the State of Vermont signed an unprecedented agreement (The All-Payer Accountable Care Model) with the Federal Government to completely reform how health care is delivered and paid for in Vermont. This innovative agreement builds on sweeping 2011 legislation that set Vermont on a course towards payment reform designed to eliminate the fragmentation, overtreatment, and high costs associated with fee-for-service reimbursement. The strong emphasis on care coordination, preventative care, the patient experience, and population health ensures a crucial and growing role for nurses in this innovative environment and provides a model to inform the nation. Such state-led reform may have particular importance during the Trump administration, given the expected emphasis on state's rights and state leadership.

Testosterone, which induces sexual differentiation of the male fetus, is believed to transfer from males to their littermates in placental mammals. Among humans, individuals with a male twin have been found to exhibit greater masculinization of sexually dimorphic attributes relative to those with a female twin. We therefore regard twinning as a plausible natural experiment to test the link between prenatal exposure to testosterone and labor market earnings. For men, the results suggest positive returns to testosterone exposure. For women, however, the results indicate that prenatal testosterone does not generate higher earnings and may even be associated with modest declines.

Despite its popularity as a fundraiser for charities, very little research has been done on the bidding and revenue properties of the silent auction. This paper examines the consequences of two behaviors common in silent auctions, jump-bidding and sniping, in laboratory experiments with endogenous participation. Our results suggest that deliberative jumping, the result of impatient bidders attempting to telescope time, tends to increase revenue, while deliberative sniping by experienced bidders tends to decrease it. We also show that when charities can encourage jumping and discourage sniping, silent auctions can perform as well as their sometimes more entertaining but more expensive alternative, the English auction.

Data from a recent field experiment suggests that differences in participation rates are responsible for much of the variations in charity auction revenues across formats. We provide a theoretical framework for the analysis of this and other related results. The model illustrates the limits of previous results that assume full participation and introduces some new considerations to the choice of auction mechanism. It also implies, however, that the data cannot be explained in terms of participation costs alone: there must exist mechanism-specific obstacles to participation.

Private institutions of higher education are highly dependent on alumni support to cover operating expenses, fund endowments and fuel large capital campaigns. For example, in 2004, alumni at private liberal arts colleges generated nearly 43% of total voluntary support and funded 21.5% of total institutional expenditures. This paper uses 15 years of detailed data on alumni donations to a private liberal arts college to explore a full range of potential determinants of giving. Results suggest that wealthy alumni who live in states that allow charitable tax deductions are more generous than otherwise similar alumni in states without such subsidies. Alumni contributions also increase in years when the college has achieved greater athletic prestige but fall when academic prestige rises. Furthermore, recent alumni are more influenced by institutional prestige than older graduates. With regard to other determinants, females tend to be more generous, as do alumni living in wealthier neighborhoods within 250 miles of the college. Alumni who have close alumni relatives tend to give more as do alumni who participated in campus activities during their college years. Undergraduate major and occupational sector are also strong predictors of giving behavior.

Auctions are a popular way to raise money for charities, but relatively little is known, either theoretically or empirically, about the properties of charity auctions. We conduct field experiments to see which sealed bid format, first price, second price or all-pay, raises the most money. Our experiment suggests that both the all-pay and second price formats are dominated by the first price auction. Our design also allows us to identify differential participation as the source of the difference between existing theory and the field.

Using data on annual giving (between 1990 and 2004) for more than 22,000 active alumni from a highly selective liberal arts college, the authors employ a probit framework to analyze the likelihood of giving and a tobit framework to analyze the determinants of alumni generosity. Both the micro-level analysis and the statistical methodology allow the authors to test for differential impacts (by gender, age, or undergraduate involvement) of sports participation or a winning season on the propensity to give as well as on the generosity of alumni contributions. The results indicate that athletes are more likely to give and that they are more generous than their nonathlete counterparts, especially younger alumni who participated in one of the college's historically most successful high-profile sports. A winning season in this particular sports program also leads to greater alumni giving and more generous gifts.

Studies of child labor in developing countries have largely relied on data collected through national household surveys. But government-sponsored household surveys are arguably prone to both sample selection bias and reporting bias. In this paper, we compare the demographic and labor market characteristics of working street children obtained from the 2000 Tanzanian Integrated Labor Force Survey, a government-sponsored household survey, with the results obtained in a 2004 survey of working street children in the city of Mwanza in northern Tanzania. Our comparisons help illumine the potential biases introduced when child labor studies rely on household samples; specifically, we show that children in the non-household based survey work longer hours, have lower educational attainment and suffer worse health outcomes than their counterparts in the government-sponsored household survey. This suggests that studies based on national household surveys may significantly underestimate both the extent and the consequences of child labor.

Objective. This article examines the role of relationship lending in the automobile loan market at a community development credit union (CDCU) and at a traditional community bank. Method. Data collected from actual car loan applications are used in a probit analysis to estimate the importance of selected demographic, financial, and loan-specific variables on the probability of loan approval at the two types of financial institutions. Results. We first show that the community bank relies on credit scoring, not relationship lending. Relationship lending is, however, a critical factor in the loan decision at the CDCU. Low-income households with strong ties to the CDCU are likely to receive loans, despite poor credit histories. Conclusions. If consolidation, deregulation, and technology move mainstream financial institutions away from relationship lending and toward credit scoring, CDCUs will occupy an increasingly critical niche for low-income households.

This paper provides information about the economics PhD job market by providing a case study of one particular buyer in the 2005 job market for economists. Specifically, it provides information on the nuances of the market such as what is going on in buyers' minds when they select who to interview, and when they ask interview questions. It also distills some advice to job seekers from that case study.

As consolidation, deregulation, and technological advances transform the financial services industry, it is generally believed that community banks provide relationship-based banking services for small businesses, family farmers, and depositors of low to moderate wealth. Using data from actual loan applications to a rural community bank (not too dissimilar to It's A Wonderful Life's ‘Bailey Building and Loan Company’ in Bedford Falls), the role of relationship lending in the market for home mortgages is examined for a financial institution with a long-perceived tradition of character lending. No evidence is found that prior account holders are given any advantage in the approval process for a home loan. Nearly all of the loan decisions are based on objective criteria such as personal wealth, debt obligations, and credit score. This has obvious implications for historically underserved consumers who are often rationed out of a credit market that allocates loan funds based solely on credit scoring techniques.

Childhood celiac disease (CD) is considered rare in the United States. Consequently there are few data concerning its clinical presentation. A validated questionnaire was distributed to families of children with CD. One hundred forty-one children with biopsy-proven CD were included in the study. We found significant differences in the clinical spectrum of children based on their infant feeding history. Exclusively breastfed children were significantly less likely to report failure to thrive (69% vs 88%, p

This paper explores the demand for child schooling in Pakistan, using the Pakistan Integrated Household Survey (1991). There have been few such studies for Pakistan, a country with relatively low enrollment rates and education levels, high illiteracy, and a large disparity between male and female education. Additionally, this study focuses on two potential sources of bias in the estimation of the demand for schooling. First, studies that do not distinguish between currently enrolled children and those who have completed their schooling subject their estimates to a form of censoring bias. Second, studies that exclude children who have left the household from their samples may introduce sample selection bias if the decisions to leave home and to attend school are related. This study finds evidence of both “censoring” and “sample selection” bias in the demand for child schooling in Pakistan.