The affects of health shocks and house prices on debt holdings by older Americans

We offer a comprehensive empirical analysis of the debt holdings of older Americans using panel data from the Health and Retirement Study. The average older American household owes a surprisingly large amount of mortgage and consumer debt, even in their late seventies. We find that despite the existence of Medicare, having an acute health shock causes those who do not have mortgage debt to take it, if they have no insurance and we find that a chronic health shock causes those who have no consumer debt to borrow, unless they are insured. On average having insurance just about covers the costs of either type of shock. For those households that own their own home, widowhood results in a considerable reduction in their mortgage. Increases in home prices result in equity release

Does reject inference really improve the performance of application scoring models?

The voter model on Zd is a particle system that serves as a rough model for changes of opinions among social agents or, alternatively, competition between biological species occupying space. When d≥3, the set of (extremal) stationary distributions is a family of measures μα, for α between 0 and 1. A configuration sampled from μα is a strongly correlated field of 0's and 1's on Zd in which the density of 1's is α. We consider such a configuration as a site percolation model on Zd. We prove that if d≥5, the probability of existence of an infinite percolation cluster of 1's exhibits a phase transition in α. If the voter model is allowed to have sufficiently spread-out interactions, we prove the same result for d≥3

Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4: summary report

The research project on Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4 was a major initiative funded by Becta to investigate the use and impact of such technologies in and out of school. The purpose of this research was to help shape Becta's own thinking and inform policy-makers, schools and local authorities on the potential benefits of Web 2.0 technologies and how their use can be effectively and safely realised. This document is he summary of the reports published for this project

Web 2.0 technologies for learning: the current landscape – opportunities, challenges and tensions

This is the first report from research commissioned by Becta into Web 2.0 technologies for learning at Key Stages 3 and 4. This report describes findings from an additional literature review of the then current landscape concerning learner use of Web 2.0 technologies and the implications for teachers, schools, local authorities and policy makers