Time-scarcity, ready-meals, ill-health and the obesity epidemic

In this 3-part paper, we firstly review the interaction of time-scarcity with food-choices, specifically ready-meals, and potential health consequences from their consumption. Secondly we review declared nutrients, in relation to the standard 30% of Guideline Daily Amounts, concluding that popular ready-meals from major UK supermarkets are currently nutritionally haphazard. Thirdly, we present a simple scheme to establish standards for nutritional composition of ready-meals: unless otherwise specified, any meal (the smallest unit of nutrition) as recommended to be eaten or as offered should provide 30%+10% of GDA for energy and pro rata for key nutrients (e.g. sodium, sat fat, vitamin C)

Co-ordination failure, moral hazard and sovereign bankruptcy procedures

We study a model of sovereign debt crisis that combines problems of creditor co-ordination and debtor moral hazard. Solving the sovereign debtor’s incentives leads to excessive ‘rollover failure’ by creditors when sovereign default occurs. We discuss how the incidence of crises might be reduced by international sovereign bankruptcy procedures, involving ‘contractibility’ of sovereign debtor’s payoffs, suspension of convertibility in a ‘discovery’ phase and penalties in case of malfeasance. In relation to the current debate, this is more akin to the IMF’s Sovereign Debt Restructuring Mechanism than the Collective Action Clauses promoted by others

Economics methods in Cochrane systematic reviews of health promotion and public health related interventions.

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The mediating effect of green innovation on the relationship between green supply chain management and environmental performance

The emerging environmental awareness of the public, as well as the implementation of governmental regulations, force organisations to employ corporate environmental practices such as green supply chain management (GSCM) and green innovation. Accordingly, both practices are crucial to achieve professional improvement in the environmental performance of these organisations. However, research on the relationship of GSCM, green innovation, and environmental performance is relatively rare. Therefore, this study is aimed to provide empirical evidence showing that GSCM and green innovation practices significantly improve environmental performance in order to encourage organisations to implement these practices. In addition, this study investigates the relationship between GSCM and green innovation practices and the influence of these practices on the environmental performance in 123 manufacturing organisations with ISO 14001 certification. The results of PLS-SEM revealed that there is a significant and positive relationship between GSCM and green innovation, and the environmental performance. Moreover, green innovation had a positive effect on the environmental performance. Furthermore, green innovation had a mediating relationship between GSCM and environmental performance. Therefore, the present paper confirmed the significant influence of GSCM on boosting the green innovation of organisations and on the manufacturing establishments, which eventually improve the environment. In brief, the outcomes of this study provide enhanced understanding about the significant role of green innovation in the manufacturers for improving their GSCM and organisational environmental performance

Adult domiciliary oxygen therapy. Position statement of the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia (26 April 2007). An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.• Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a stable daytime PaO2 of ≤55 mmHg (7.3kPa) live longer and have a better quality of life if provided with long-term continuous oxygen therapy. • It is reasonable to offer continuous oxygen therapy also to patients with other lung diseases that cause chronic hypoxaemia. • Indications for supplemental oxygen therapy during exercise (ambulatory oxygen therapy) and sleep (nocturnal oxygen therapy) are less clear.Christine F McDonald, Alan J Crockett and Iven H Youn

Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS): design and first-year review

This article describes the motivation, design, and progress of the Journal of Open Source Software (JOSS). JOSS is a free and open-access journal that publishes articles describing research software. It has the dual goals of improving the quality of the software submitted and providing a mechanism for research software developers to receive credit. While designed to work within the current merit system of science, JOSS addresses the dearth of rewards for key contributions to science made in the form of software. JOSS publishes articles that encapsulate scholarship contained in the software itself, and its rigorous peer review targets the software components: functionality, documentation, tests, continuous integration, and the license. A JOSS article contains an abstract describing the purpose and functionality of the software, references, and a link to the software archive. The article is the entry point of a JOSS submission, which encompasses the full set of software artifacts. Submission and review proceed in the open, on GitHub. Editors, reviewers, and authors work collaboratively and openly. Unlike other journals, JOSS does not reject articles requiring major revision; while not yet accepted, articles remain visible and under review until the authors make adequate changes (or withdraw, if unable to meet requirements). Once an article is accepted, JOSS gives it a DOI, deposits its metadata in Crossref, and the article can begin collecting citations on indexers like Google Scholar and other services. Authors retain copyright of their JOSS article, releasing it under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. In its first year, starting in May 2016, JOSS published 111 articles, with more than 40 additional articles currently under review. JOSS is a sponsored project of the nonprofit organization NumFOCUS and is an affiliate of the Open Source Initiative

Predicting discharge location of hip fracture patients; the new discharge of hip fracture patients score

Purpose This paper reports on the development and validity of a new instrument, called the discharge of hip fracture patients score (DHP), that predicts at admission the discharge location in patients living in their own home prior to hip fracture surgery. Methods A total of 310 patients aged 50 years and above were included. Risk factors for discharge to an alternative location (DAL) were analysed with a multivariable regression analysis taking the admission variables into account with different weights based on the estimates. The score ranged from 0-100 points. The cut-off point for DAL was calculated using a ROC analysis. Reliability of the DHP was evaluated. Results Risk factors for DAL were higher age, female gender, dementia, absence of a partner and a limited level of mobility. The cut-off point was set at 30 points, with a sensitivity of 83.8%, a specificity of 64.7% and positive predictive value of 79.2%. Conclusion The DHP is a valid, simple and short instrument to be used at admission to predict discharge location of hip fracture patients

The UK overseas territories: A decade of progress and prosperity?

This article analyses the relationship between the UK and its Overseas Territories since the publication of the 1999 White Paper Partnership for Progress and Prosperity. The article considers the efforts by the UK government to improve links with the territories via a new partnership based on mutual obligations and responsibilities. It focuses on the two most important aspects of the White Paper - governance and economic growth and sustainability. Much has been achieved, but fundamental structural problems in the relationship remain unattended. The article concludes by recommending how the relationship can be improved over the coming years. © 2011 Taylor & Francis

Influence of transnational economic alliances on the IFRS convergence decision in India - institutional perspectives

This study contributes to the literature on global governance by highlighting the importance of not losing sight of the nation state as an important player in the transnational governance arena. Specifically, literature on global (accounting) regulation devotes a great deal of attention to the roles of organisations and agencies with transnational remit (such as global standard setters, donor agencies) while often downplaying the significant impacts of the more traditional cross-country links forged through economic relationships and resource dependencies between national and transnational institutional fields. This was specially noted in the case of the indirect influences of the US’s decision to delay IFRS convergence. While being interpreted as an indirect source of influence, such a decision played a very significant role on the convergence negotiations in India. The study shows how the US influence was channelled through Japan with which India has significant trade and economic relations and, most importantly, holds a joint forum specifically to discuss convergence issues. The consequences of India’s links with countries such as US and Japan in the decision-making process provide a vivid indication of the important roles of cross-governmental relationships in the global governance arena, and also question the position of transnational organisations as pervasive powers in such governance. The study’s findings clearly demonstrate that the pursuit of full IFRS convergence strongly favoured by the transnational forces was invariably challenged in the Indian context by the influences of powerful nation states advocating a more cautious approach