What fires up my cooking? The choice for a sustainable cuisine: passion and self-transcendence in the restaurant business

The restaurant business is highly unsustainable and the sector contributes to a large extent to environmental pollution. However, some restaurateurs have chosen a more sustainable cuisine. As food sustainability is a contested issue, we have considered several descriptions of food sustainability and have assessed how theseare influenced by a passion for hospitality. Theoretically, the choice for sustainable food can be based on a passion for the hospitality business and a passion for sustainability. Surveys were used to gather data that were analysed using logistic and linear regression models. Findings suggest that some entrepreneurs claim to serve sustainable food, but do not. Others serve only one type of sustainable food, but not the other types. Interestingly, these groups also differ in their motivations for starting their restaurants. The choice to serve sustainable food is negatively influenced by entrepreneurial passion and positively by sustainability passion. Conventional restaurants have a passion for the hospitality industry, while the restaurants that serve sustainable food do not share that hospitality passion, but rather a passion for sustainability. Our research adds to the academic debate on the tensions that restaurateurs and entrepreneurs in general face in their different motivations.Keywords: food sustainability, emotions, entrepreneurial passion, quantitative, sustainable entrepreneurship, value

Investigating spatial concentration of sustainable restaurants:It is all about good food!

This research addresses the role of sustainable demand and psychological and cultural factors in the spatial concentration of sustainable SMEs. We analyze the spatial concentration of sustainable SMEs in the restaurant sector in the Netherlands. We argue that traditional agglomeration theories can partially explain spatial concentration of sustainable SMEs, but are not sufficient in explaining the sub-sector concentration of sustainable entrepreneurs. Demand, psychological and cultural factors could explain sub-sector concentration of sustainable restaurants. We use sustainable entrepreneurship theory to explain this difference. We analyze spatial concentration of sustainable SMEs in three ways. First, we investigate spatial concentration based on all individual locations of sustainable restaurants with an average nearest neighbor analysis. Second, we analyze spatial autocorrelation with use of the Moran's I statistic. Finally, we map the clustering of sustainable restaurants with a Getis-Ord Gi* analysis. We use sustainable restaurants as a percentage of conventional restaurants in a region in the Netherlands. While controlling for conventional clustering, we find a single large cluster of sustainable restaurants. Arguably, this clustering is caused by a spatial variation of demand and individual psychological traits of sustainable entrepreneurs, which together represent a regional culture of sustainable entrepreneurship

Dutch healthcare reform: did it result in better patient experiences in hospitals? a comparison of the consumer quality index over time

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2006, the Dutch hospital market was reformed to create a more efficient delivery system through managed competition. To allow competition on quality, patient experiences were measured using the Consumer Quality index (CQI). We study whether public reporting and competition had an effect on the CQI between 2006 and 2009.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We analyzed 8,311 respondents covering 31 hospitals in 2006, 22,333 respondents covering 78 hospitals in 2007 and 24,246 respondents covering 94 hospitals in 2009. We describe CQI trends over the period 2006-2009. In addition we compare hospitals that varied in the level of competition they faced and hospitals that were forced to publish CQI results publicly and those that were not. We corrected for observable covariates between hospital respondents using a multi level linear regression. We used the Herfindahl Hirschman Index to indicate the level of competition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Between 2006 and 2009 hospitals showed a CQI improvement of 0.034 (p < 0.05) to 0.060 (p < 0.01) points on a scale between one and four. Hospitals that were forced to publish their scores showed a further improvement of 0.027 (p < 0.01) to 0.030 (p < 0.05). Furthermore, hospitals that faced more competition from geographically close competitors showed a more pronounced improvement of CQI-scores 0.004 to 0.05 than other hospitals (p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show that patients reported improved experiences measured by the CQI between 2006 and 2009. CQI levels improve at a faster rate in areas with higher levels of competition. Hospitals confronted with forced public publication of their CQI responded by enhancing the experiences of their patients.</p

Analysis of 22,655 presentations with back pain to Perth emergency departments over five years

BACKGROUND: Back pain is a significant cause of disability in the community, but the impact on Emergency Departments (EDs) has not been formally studied. Patients with back pain often require significant time and resources in the ED. AIMS: To examine the characteristics of patients presenting with back pain to the ED, including final diagnosis, demographics of those attending and temporal distribution of presentations. METHODS: Emergency presentations in the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia, for 2000-2004 were searched using a linked database covering all the major hospitals (Emergency Care Hospitalisation and Outcome Study database). All presentations with the triage code for back pain were extracted and analysed. RESULTS: A total of 22,655 presentations with back pain were identified, representing 1.9% of total presentations. Simple muscular or non-specific back pain accounted for only 43.8% of presentations, with other causes such as renal colic and pyelonephritis accounting for the majority. The young (75 years old) were more likely to have non-muscular causes for their back pain. Muscular back pain presentations occurred mostly between 0800 and 1600, with high proportions presenting on the weekends. Patients with simple muscular back pain spent a mean of 4.4 h in the ED, representing a significant outlay of resources. CONCLUSION: Back pain has a significant impact on EDs, and staff should be alert for another pathology presenting as back pain. There is a need for multidisciplinary back pain teams to be available 7 days a week, but only during the day

Performance of classification systems for age-related macular degeneration in the rotterdam study

Purpose: To compare frequently used classification systems for age-related macular degeneration(AMD) in their abilty to predictlate AMD. Methods:Intotal,9066participantsfromthepopulation-basedRotterdamStudywere followedupforprogressionofAMDduringastudyperiodupto30years.AMDlesions weregradedoncolorfundusphotographsafterconfirmationonotherimagemodalities andgroupedatbaselineaccordingtosixclassificationsystems.LateAMDwasdefinedas geographicatrophyorchoroidalneovascularization.Incidencerate(IR)andcumulative incidence(CuI)oflateAMDwerecalculated,andKaplan-Meierplotsandareaunderthe operating characteristics curves(AUCs)wereconstructed. Results: A total of 186 persons developed incident late AMD during a mean follow-up timeof8.7years.TheAREDSsimplifiedscaleshowedthehighestIRforlateAMDat104 cases/1000 py for ages 75 years. The 3-Continent harmonization classification provided the most stable progression. Drusen area >10% ETDRS grid (hazard ratio 30.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 19.25–46.91) was most prognostic of progression. The highest AUC of late AMD (0.8372, 95% CI: 0.8070-0.8673) was achieved when all AMD features present at base line were included. Conclusions: Highest turnover rates from intermediate to late AMD were provided by the AREDS simplified scale and the Rotterdam classification. The 3-Continent harmonization classification showed the most stable progression. All features, especially drusenarea,contribute to late AMD prediction. Translational Relevance: Findings will help stakeholders select appropriate classification systems for screening,deep learning algorithms, or trials

Market structure and hospital–insurer bargaining in the Netherlands

In 2005, competition was introduced in part of the hospital market in the Netherlands. Using a unique dataset of transactions and list prices between hospitals and insurers in the years 2005 and 2006, we estimate the influence of buyer and seller concentration on the negotiated prices. First, we use a traditional structure–conduct–performance model (SCP-model) along the lines of Melnick et al. (J Health Econ 11(3): 217–233, 1992) to estimate the effects of buyer and seller concentration on price–cost margins. Second, we model the interaction between hospitals and insurers in the context of a generalized bargaining model similar to Brooks et al. (J Health Econ 16: 417–434, 1997). In the SCP-model, we find that the market shares of hospitals (insurers) have a significantly positive (negative) impact on the hospital price–cost margin. In the bargaining model, we find a significant negative effect of insurer concentration, but no significant effect of hospital concentration. In both models, we find a significant impact of idiosyncratic effects on the market outcomes. This is consistent with the fact that the Dutch hospital sector is not yet in a long-run equilibrium

The Dutch health insurance reform: switching between insurers, a comparison between the general population and the chronically ill and disabled

Background: On 1 January 2006 a number of far-reaching changes in the Dutch health insurance system came into effect. In the new system of managed competition consumer mobility plays an important role. Consumers are free to change their insurer and insurance plan every year. The idea is that consumers who are not satisfied with the premium or quality of care provided will opt for a different insurer. This would force insurers to strive for good prices and quality of care. Internationally, the Dutch changes are under the attention of both policy makers and researchers. Questions answered in this article relate to switching behaviour, reasons for switching, and differences between population categories. Methods: Postal questionnaires were sent to 1516 members of the Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel and to 3757 members of the National Panel of the Chronically ill and Disabled (NPCD) in April 2006. The questionnaire was returned by 1198 members of the Consumer Panel (response 79%) and by 3211 members of the NPCD (response 86%). Among other things, questions were asked about choices for a health insurer and insurance plan and the reasons for this choice. Results: Young and healthy people switch insurer more often than elderly or people in bad health. The chronically ill and disabled do not switch less often than the general population when both populations are comparable on age, sex and education. For the general population, premium is more important than content, while the chronically ill and disabled value content of the insurance package as well. However, quality of care is not important for either group as a reason for switching. Conclusion: There is increased mobility in the new system for both the general population and the chronically ill and disabled. This however is not based on quality of care. If reasons for switching are unrelated to the quality of care, it is hard to believe that switching influences the quality of care. As yet there are no signs of barriers to switch insurer for the chronically ill and disabled. This however could change in the future and it is therefore important to monitor changes.