Psychological and Socio-Economical Determinants of Health: The Case of Inner German Migration

A substantial body of research has shown worse health conditions for East- vs. West-Germany in the wake of reunification. In the present study, we investigate how these differences between the two formerly divided regions developed and what maintains them. Specifically, we consider the associations between health status, income satisfaction, and health-related locus of control. In a quasi-experimental and longitudinal study design, we are particularly interested in the differences between individuals who stayed in East-Germany and those who were born in the East but migrated to West-Germany. To this end, we examined data from seven waves of the Saxony Longitudinal Study (2003–2009). Specifically, we tested a cross-lagged panel model with random effects, which evinced very good model fit. Most parameters and processes were equivalent between individuals who stayed in East-Germany vs. moved to West-Germany. Crucially, there was the expected pattern of positive correlations between health, income, and locus of control. In addition, we found substantially lower values for all three of these variables for the individuals who stayed in East-Germany (vs. moved to West-Germany). A possible explanation is the increase in socio-economic status that the internal migrants experienced. These findings present an important contribution of research in order to foster a better understanding on the social dynamics in Germany related to internal/domesticmigrants and implications in the context of health outcomes (e.g., significantly more unemployment in East vs. West-Germany), especially since almost 20–25% of East-German citizens migrated to West-Germany. Until now, there are no similar studies to the Saxony longitudinal project, since the data collection started in 1987 and almost every year an identical panel has been surveyed; which can be particularly useful for health authorities. The study mainly focuses on social science research and deals with the phenomenon of reunification, approaching several subjects such as mental and physical health, quality of life and the evaluation of the political system. Yet even though many people have experienced such a migration process, there has been little research on the subjects we approach. With our research we deepen the understanding of the health consequences of internal migration

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Colored Local Type Inference

We present a type system for a language based on F# , which allows certain type annotations to be elided in actual programs. Local type inference determines types by a combination of type propagation and local constraint solving, rather than by global constraint solving. We refine the previously existing local type inference system of Pierce and Turner[PT98] by allowing partial type information to be propagated. This is expressed by coloring types to indicate propagation directions. Propagating partial type information allows us to omit type annotations for the visitor pattern, the analogue of pattern matching in languages without sum types

Ertragsbilanz und Portfoliotheorie der Wechselkurse: Eine grafische Illustration

Trade Balance and Portfolio Theorie of Exchange Rates: A Graphic Illustration Although exchange rate theory has made substantial advances in recent years with the portfolio or asset market approach, even now many students still find themselves confronted with textbooks and lectures with choose, at least as a point of departure, the traditional exchange rate explanation using the familiar supply/demand diagram used for the goods markets. This flow approach was gradually displaced with the introduction of portfolio theory by an asset-holding approach to exchange rate explanation. The latter requires that at all times the exchange rates assume a level at which economic entities are still just prepared to hold assets in various currencies. That on this basis trade flows are in many instances unjustifiably neglected has been demonstrated in a diversity of research studies. The object of the present essay is to explain the exchange rate-determining role of the trade balance within the framework of the portfolio approach in the simplest possible, didactically easily accessible manner. Since a trade balance disequilibrium leaves the offers of assets in the currencies involved unaffected, any exchange rate change must be attributed to shifts in the demand for assets. The latter may occur because an unsquared trade balance may be connected with asset redistributions between home and abroad. The decisive factor for the exchange rate is the currency form in which it is desired to build up or reduce assets at home and abroad. The usual exchange rate reaction to a trade balance disequilibrium occurs when – at the original exchange rate – people at home and abroad have a preference to execute the great majority of asset changes in their own currency. This result can be derived in a simple manner with a graphic presentation. Graph analysis also seems to make it evident that with other preference constellations an abnormal reaction of the exchange rates is possible

Colored Local Type Inference (colored version) (black and white version)

We present a type system for a language based on F-sub, which allows certain type annotations to be elided in actual programs. Local type inference determines types by a combination of type propagation and local constraint solving, rather than by global constraint solving. We refine the previously existing local type inference system of Pierce and Turner [ Local Type Inference, POPL 98] by allowing partial type information to be propagated. This is expressed by coloring types to indicate propagation directions. Propagating partial type information allows us to omit type annotations for the visitor pattern, the analogue of pattern matching in languages without sum types

Zinssätze und Inflation in der Schweiz: Ein alternativer Test des Fisher-Effektes

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