California Experience Research Articles

Lessons from the California experience

AbstractThe state with the largest public higher education system in the nation takes important steps toward establishing a statewide accountability model.

Stem Cell Research: The California Experience

Rarely has a field of biomedical research caught the public imagination as dramatically as stem cell research. The idea of transplanting human cells that have been grown in vitro to replace damaged or diseased tissues and to restore function is easy to understand and is appealing in its concept.

Conversation with M. Douglas Anglin

Conversation with M. Douglas Anglin

Sensitivity Analysis of 2002 Design Guide Distress Prediction Models for Jointed Plain Concrete Pavement

The AASHTO 2002 design guide was calibrated with Long-Term Pavement Performance sections scattered throughout the United States but with very few sections from the state of California. To understand the reasonableness of the model predictions for California conditions, a detailed sensitivity study was undertaken. The reasonableness of the model predictions was checked with a full factorial considering traffic volume, axle load distribution, climate zones, thickness, design features, portland cement concrete (PCC) strength, and unbound layers. Satellite sensitivity studies were performed to study the effects of surface absorptivity and coefficient of thermal expansion, which were not included in the primary sensitivity analysis. The findings are summarized from about 10,000 cases run with the software as part of this study. The cracking model was found to be sensitive to the coefficient of thermal expansion, surface absorptivity, joint spacing, shoulder type, PCC thickness, climate zone, and traffic volume. The faulting values are sensitive to dowels, shoulder type, climate zone, PCC thickness, and traffic volume. Although on average both the cracking and faulting models show trends that agree with prevailing knowledge in pavement engineering and California experience, in some cases results were counterintuitive. These cases include thinner sections performing better than thicker sections and asphalt shoulders performing better than tied and widened lanes. It was also found that the models fail to capture the effect of soil type and erodibility index and that the cracking model is sensitive to surface absorption.

Stem Cell Research: The California Experience

It has been nearly a year since the groundbreaking passage of Proposition 71, the law that created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and authorized bonds that would provide $3 billion in funding for stem cell research. As the first anniversary approaches, what is the state of human embryonic stem cell research? At this point, CIRM has yet to produce any research, and in fact it has not even sold any bonds to fund the research. Opponents of Proposition 71, having failed at the ballot box, have taken to the courts. Arguments in state court claim that there is not sufficient state oversight. While the suits meander through the legal system, the bonds cannot easily be sold because of the increased risk of investing in an endeavor that may never even get started. As a result, CIRM has had to scramble for funding to set up its administrative structure and the rules and processes that will govern the research once the lawsuits are dismissed. One of the suits (in federal court) asks for recognition of embryos outside the body as full citizens of the United States with all the rights that children have. If this were to succeed, it would make most IVF and other reproductive technologies illegal--indeed it would mean that the thousands of embryos lying frozen in facilities around the country would become the source of a huge set of state obligations (presumably to find wombs so that each child has an opportunity to develop). Meanwhile, CIRM and California's research institutions have been trying to sort out the ethical, legal, and oversight is- sues they will need to address to conduct stem cell research. This, too, has proved to be a greater challenge than expected. The bioethics community has been so focused on the issue of the moral status of ex vivo embryos that the challenges of how to ethically conduct stem cell research have been largely neglect- ed. The recent report issued by the National Academies of Science, Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research, goes a long way toward filling that void. But the report does not answer every question, and there is still debate over whether all of its recommendations are warranted. Issues that have been largely sorted out include the importance of getting consent from both gamete donors, many key elements in that process, and the need for adequate oversight of clinical trials, including the creation of what the NAS report calls Embryonic Stem Cell Research committees, or other structures that will achieve the same level of oversight. In an essay in Stem Cells this year, Bernard Lo and colleagues made a persuasive case that, prior to dinical trials, gamete donors would likely have to undergo tests that could not be anticipated at the time of donation, so that they, and donors of excess embryos, will likely need to be periodically recontacted. Although the practice of paying oocyte donors remains contentious, both the NAS guidelines and Proposition 71 prohibit paying for either embryos or oocytes. Transparency and Oversight Controversy still simmers over three large questions: how much transparency and oversight is appropriate for state-funded research; what intellectual property and commercialization policies ought to be pursued; and what level of protection should be in place for women who wish to donate oocytes for research purposes. CIRM got off to a rocky start when its first meeting agenda, which was very ambitious, failed to meet California's open meeting standards and had to be shortened. Since then, political battles have raged over the funding priorities being debated by CIRM's Scientific Working Group (which reviews proposed research projects), conflict of interest standards for the working groups and the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC), and the role of the state legislature in overseeing the program. The authors of Proposition 71 wrote it as an amendment to the state constitution and never envisioned that CIRM funds would be embroiled in the politics of the legislative process. …

Saving Open Space: The Politics of Local Preservation in California

Saving Open Space: The Politics of Local Preservation in California. By Daniel Press. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2002. 197p. 18.95 paper.This book poses two questions: “Why do some communities preserve more open space than others? More specifically, what are the conditions for creating innovative, effective land preservation institutions at the local level?” (p. 1). Daniel Press systematically answers these questions with respect to a single state, California, arguing that its experience offers lessons for all states, inasmuch as “California's experience with rapid growth and land preservation resembles that of the rest of the nation” (p. 50).

Review: PARADISE LOST: California's Experience, America's Future, by Peter Schrag

Book Review| October 01 2005 Review: PARADISE LOST: California's Experience, America's Future, by Peter Schrag PARADISE LOST: California's Experience, America's FuturePeter Schrag Tom Hogen-Esch Tom Hogen-Esch Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Southern California Quarterly (2005) 87 (3): 326–328. https://doi.org/10.2307/41172277 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Tom Hogen-Esch; Review: PARADISE LOST: California's Experience, America's Future, by Peter Schrag. Southern California Quarterly 1 October 2005; 87 (3): 326–328. doi: https://doi.org/10.2307/41172277 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentSouthern California Quarterly Search This content is only available via PDF. Copyright 2005 Historical Society of Southern California Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

A Major State Tobacco Tax Increase, the Master Settlement Agreement, and Cigarette Consumption: The California Experience

We evaluated the combined effects on California cigarette consumption of an additional 50 cent per pack state tax imposed by Proposition 10 of January 1999 and a 45 cent per pack increase in cigarette prices stemming from the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) of November 1998. We used quarterly cigarette sales data for the period 1984-2002 to estimate a time-series intervention model adjusting for seasonal variations and time trend. Over the period 1999 through 2002, the combined effect was to reduce cigarette consumption by 2.4 packs per capita per quarter (1.3 billion packs total over the 4-year period) and to raise state tax revenues by $2.1 billion. These effects were similar to the effects of a 25 cent per pack tax increase enacted by Proposition 99 a decade earlier, although with decreased relative effectiveness as measured by percentage of reduction in cigarette consumption divided by percentage of increase in taxation (-0.44 vs -0.60). A major increase in price through taxation and the MSA provided a strong economic disincentive for smokers in a state with a low smoking prevalence. This effect could be reinforced if part of the MSA payments were devoted to tobacco control programs.

Regulating Big Box Stores: The Proper use of the City or County's Police Power and its Comprehensive Plan: California's Experience

Regulating Big Box Stores: The Proper use of the City or County's Police Power and its Comprehensive Plan: California's Experience

University of California experience and decision

University of California experience and decision

Real Property, Spontaneous Order, and Norms in the Gold Mines

This article contributes to the current debate about why people follow the law even when they are not subject to legal sanctions, as when there are no police and little danger of a lawsuit. Most recent scholarship in this area takes the form of norms theories, suggesting that social norms rather than laws shape behavior and that deviations from the norm are punished by either social or internal sanctions. Robert Sugden, however, proposes that order may develop “spontaneously” in the many areas of life where abiding by the rules minimizes the risk of costly confrontations with others and is thus in the interest of all parties. When this is true, the threat of little or no sanctions plays no role in regulating behavior. This article tests Sugden's theory against a simple property system, that of the California gold mines, in which individual miners held small claims subject to strict work requirements. The evidence of eyewitnesses shows that the stability of the regime did not depend on norms, but on the reasonable prediction that other claim holders would themselves stand up for their rights under the local mining code. Disputes about the rules and their application were submitted to arbitrators, whose decisions were accepted by the parties and did not need to be enforced. The California experience thus provides an example of a stable property regime for which game theory has a more satisfying explanation than do any of the norms theories.

Judges as Tort Law Un-Makers: Recent California Experience with 'New' Torts

Part of the DePaul Law School's 1999 Clifford Symposium, this article explores the role of as lawmakers by examining the tort law decisions of the California Supreme Court for the past 15 years -- the final three years that Chief Justice Rose Bird sat on the court and the twelve years after she was removed from office. The article presents the sea change in tort law thinking, doctrine and results that have taken place over this period of time -- essentially through the abandonment of notions of enterprise liability (Calabresi thinking about cheaper cost avoiders and cheaper loss spreaders). One theme of the article is that whereas the Bird court made law (in some cases creating what might be termed new torts), the court has unmade that law by its change of direction and outright overruling of existing doctrine. A counter-theme is that it was the Bird court that unmade tort law (by moving the law from clearer doctrine that was to be decided by judges to vague legal standards to be decided by juries), and it is actually the court that is making tort law (by adopting rules, or re-introducing old rules, that take decisions away from juries and give them to judges).

State Budget Deficit Dynamics and the California Debacle

This paper analyzes the recent experience with state budget deficits in the United States, with an in-depth analysis of the California experience. Compared to prior recessions, states were slower to make adjustments in taxes and spending this time. The paper explores a variety of reasons for this difference including changes in the legal, political, and institutional environments, the unusual increase in capital gains revenue during the boom preceding the recession, and the inherent difficulties in forecasting revenues, particularly those derived from capital income. As the case study from California illustrates, states made long term commitments from temporary revenue sources and were required to make budgetary decisions in the face of very incomplete information about current and projected tax receipts.

How many patients with infrarenal aneurysms are candidates for endovascular repair? The Northern California experience.

To determine how many patients with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) meet the anatomical selection criteria for AneuRx stent-graft repair in community hospitals of Northern California. The records were reviewed of 220 AAA patients (171 men, 49 women) who were considered for endovascular repair by the treating vascular surgeon at 28 community hospitals in Northern California between January and October 2001. Contrast computed tomographic angiography (CTA) and selective arteriography were performed at each institution and reviewed by a centralized, independent image-reading center. Selection criteria determined by the manufacturer and published in the indications for use were applied to each set of imaging studies. The number of patients who met inclusion criteria were recorded, as were the anatomical characteristics of each aneurysm. The mean aneurysm size in the 220 patients was 55.3 +/- 0.7 mm. Among these patients, 122 (55%) were judged to be candidates for endovascular repair and 98 (45%) were considered ineligible. The primary anatomical reason for ineligibility was a short infrarenal neck in 43 (44%) patients, followed by a large proximal neck diameter (25, 25%), iliac aneurysms (10, 10%), extremely tortuous or calcified neck (7, 7%), iliac occlusion (6, 6%), and small distal aortic bifurcation and accessory renal arteries (5, 5%). Four (4%) patients were classified as non-candidates due to poor quality imaging. There was no difference in aneurysm diameter (54.0 +/- 0.8 versus 57.1 +/- 1.2 mm, p=NS) or age (72.2 +/- 1.2 versus 74.6 +/- 2.2 years, p=NS) between candidates and non-candidates. However, proportionally more men (60%) than women (39%) were eligible for endovascular repair with the AneuRx stent-graft (p<0.05). All 122 patients who were considered candidates for endovascular repair were treated, with successful stent-graft placement achieved in 121 (99%). Fifty-five percent of patients considered for endovascular AAA repair in community hospitals in Northern California met the anatomical selection criteria for the AneuRx stent-graft. Men appeared to be twice as likely to meet the eligibility requirements as women. Unfavorable infrarenal neck anatomy was the primary exclusion criterion for endovascular repair in this community setting.

Instituciones y Cambio Economico: El Caso de Baja California

This work analyzes economic changes, some institutional transformations, and advancements in certain indicators of social well-being following the political alternation in the Mexican state of Baja California. The study uses an institutional approach, under the supposition that the political alternation and the institutional transformations that followed it were insufficient to generate structural changes in growth and development patterns. By evaluating and analyzing value-added functions and constructing and studying indicators of institutional change and social well-being, the research found evidence that supports the working hypothesis and reveals important implications for the federal level, where the political alternation after 2000 puts a new stamp on national politics, which could be analyzed in light of the Baja California experience.

The evolution of health education: the Kaiser Permanente Southern California experience.

This article conveys the history of establishing the health education program, the current delivery model, and the lessons learned from the process including practical applications for the practice setting. The evolution of health education in Kaiser Permanente reflects its history and describes the continued need for and relevance of health education. The era of the patient as the passive recipient of care is being replaced by an emphasis on the patient as a partner in care. Every health education program emphasizes shared responsibility and encourages active participation by the patient, family, and other social supports. Multiple modalities of self-care and/or self-management resources and services increase member access to needed health education, health promotion, and prevention information that facilitate lifestyle behavior changes for better health and simultaneously improve organizational clinical outcome measures. Ongoing efforts align health education with regulatory requirements and the organization's commitment to culturally and linguistically appropriate patient information.

Initial Kaiser Permanente Southern California Experience Embracing the New Technology of Transcatheter Closure of Atrial Septal Defects.

As a result of individual physicians' initiative, transcatheter closure of secundum atrial septal defects-a new procedure-was made available to patients in the Kaiser Permanente (KP) Southern California Region soon after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved use of the AMPLATZER Septal Occluder. This ingenious device and the procedure for its implantation are described along with results of implantation in our initial 51 pediatric and adult patients. These results are compared with other published results. The clinical implications of using this new procedure are major: Many pediatric and adult patients with atrial septal defects can now benefit from nonoperative closure of these defects. On the basis of these observations, we attest to the commitment of Permanente physicians to incorporate technical advances into medical practice and to assess KP's experience using the new technology.

Trends in physician participation in Medicaid. The California experience.

Physician participation rates in Medicaid vary widely across the country, and, overall, there has been a decline in recent years. We performed an evaluation in California of whether the expansion of Medicaid managed care and a physician payment increase were associated with an increase over time in the percentage of physicians caring for Medicaid patients. Surveys performed before and after these strategies were used did not reveal an increase over time in physicians' participation in California's Medicaid program. Budgetary constraints will force policy makers to confront the priorities of the Medicaid program, to question the policy objectives for physician participation in Medicaid, and to consider more far-reaching reforms in Medicaid and the overall health care system.

Geologic Hazard Abatement Districts: California's Experience with Hazard Mitigation through Special Purpose Districts

Abstract This month, we feature two perspectives on the use of special purpose districts by California communities to mitigate landslides and other geologic hazards. Daniel Curtin, Jr. and Shawn Zovod have been involved in establishing many such districts, and advocate them as an important community tool in addressing those hazards. Sanjay Jeer, a senior researcher for APA, recognizes the potential usefulness of such districts, but takes a more cautionary view of when and where they can be effective. APA will publish a Planning Advisory Service Report by Mr. Jeer on “Landslide Hazards and Planning” later this summer.

Planning Truck-Only Lanes: Emerging Lessons from the Southern California Experience

Recent efforts to develop truck-only facilities in the United States are discussed. The rationale for truck-only highways is described, and the history of efforts to separate trucks and automobiles on the nation's roadways is presented. The truck lane program of the Southern California Association of Governments is one of the most ambitious programs of its type in the United States. Preliminary analysis of truck lanes for SR-60 and I-710 is described. SR-60 is an east–west corridor linking downtown Los Angeles with the warehouse and manufacturing districts of the San Gabriel Valley and the Inland Empire. 1-710 is the major access route to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Both freeways each have one of the highest truck volumes in California, and truck mobility on these corridors is a significant problem. Truck lane projects on SR-60 and I-710 are in the feasibility analysis stage and much has been learned in these early studies. Various issues are addressed, including the trade-off between limiting access to improve operational costs and limit capital costs, need to generate demand, time-of-day distribution of truck traffic and its relationship to potentially benefit truck mobility, and need for improved analytical tools. Also described are issues related to facility design and configuration, demand analysis, and toll analysis.