Rules of the game: book review

In Trading & Exchanges: Market Microstructure for Practitioners, SEC Chief Economist Larry Harris has written a must-read for anyone interested in the good, the bad, and the ugly of securities trading.Securities ; Stock market

Is margin lending marginal?

Stocks

Open plan and academe: pre- and post-hoc conversations

There now exists a strong body of evidence that creative workplaces can, in certain circumstances, exert beneficial influences on organisational cultures and outputs. Academia tends to resist such spaces and faculty buildings. The reasons are explored but the reactions of staff are not found to be different from those reported in the literature on general creative spaces. The success or failure of team oriented workspaces is in large part a socially constructed perception influenced by the manner of implementation and management. As elsewhere new workplaces are about new conversations. The cases studied lead to a model of the tensions inherent in workplace redesign.</p

The effect of mixing, radiation, and finite rate combustion upon the flow field and surroundings of the exhaust plumes of rocket engines burning RP1 /kerosene/ and liquid oxygen

Shear layer mixing, hydrocarbon oxidation, and carbon cloud radiation models for liquid rocket engine exhaust plume analysi

Assessing Service Quality in the Ghanaian Private Healthcare Sector: The Case of Comboni Hospital.

The healthcare industry has become a paramount concern for most people in Ghana and the quality of services rendered to the patients in the private hospitals cannot be overemphasized. Patients need quality of services most and are willing to seek better services. The government has been the main provider of health care services in Ghana but recently, some Non-Governmental Organization’s (NGO’s), private individuals and stakeholders also provide health care services which has surged the competitiveness in creating more healthcare facilities in Ghana. This study seeks to explore patients' choice of selecting quality healthcare services and the factors that affect patient satisfaction in private hospitals using the case of Comboni Hospital in Sogakope, Ghana. The study therefore used the quantitative research method to collect the data and SPSS version 22 was used to analyze the data on high-quality healthcare. The SERVQUAL model was used as the measurement scale. Multiple regression analysis was used to reveal the effect of the independent variables (reliability, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, and tangibility) on the dependent variable (patient satisfaction). A detailed description in the analysis and the data processing identified the main factors affecting the general perceptions and patient preferences about their healthcare in the private hospital. The study revealed that there exist a positive result and perception for quality healthcare services without a negative expectation of the patient healthcare being compromised. The study recommends that both the government and the private agencies should consider the important aspects of the hospital’s healthcare management and also the policy and decision makers should have an efficient and effective standard that impact the quality of healthcare assessment in Ghana

Efficiency Effects Zimbabwe’s Agricultural Mechanization and Fast Track Land Reform Programme: A Stochastic Frontier Approach

A development goal pursued by the Zimbabwean government even before the much-maligned fast track land reform programme (FTLRP) was expansion of agricultural production through agricultural mechanization. This goal has been pursued through the acquisition and use of tractors by arable crop farmers in communal and resettlement state land delineated during the period following the launch of the FTLRP. This research project investigated the combined impacts of mechanization and an unplanned land reform on agricultural productivity in the Bindura district of Zimbabwe. The existing land policy and the issue of technical efficiency in agricultural productivity are assumed to be the drivers of the programme. It is likely that these issues will be important considerations in determining the sustainability of the mechanization policy. A multistage sampling technique was used to randomly select 90 farmers in the study area and structured questionnaires were used to collect demographic, investment and production data which were subsequently fitted by means of the Stochastic Frontier Model. Results revealed that mechanization was an important factor in the performance of the farmers who participated in the programme. The results also suggest that availability of land and access to production resources are crucial to farm productivity. Despite these, overall production and productivity remain low and the hyperinflationary situation triggered by supply constraints are only beginning to slightly ease. As the national unity government grapples with the huge task to restore growth in the Zimbabwean economy, it is important that these issues are borne in mind.Technical Constraints, Market Access, Agricultural Development, Induced Innovation Model, The Stochastic Frontier model, The Productive Efficiency and Mandate of Extension, Farm Management,

Performance of Smallholder Agriculture Under Limited Mechanization and the Fast Track Land Reform Program in Zimbabwe

agricultural mechanization, fast track land reform, agricultural development, Stochastic Frontier model, technical efficiency, agribusiness management, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, Land Economics/Use, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Frequency, factors and costs associated with injection site infections: findings from a national multi-site survey of injecting drug users in England.

BACKGROUND: Injection site infections among injecting drug users (IDUs) have been associated with serious morbidity and health service costs in North America. This study explores the frequency, factors and costs associated with injection site infections among IDUs in England. METHODS: Unlinked-anonymous survey during 2003/05 recruiting IDUs from community settings at seven locations across England. Self-reported injecting practice, symptoms of injection site infections (abscess or open wound) and health service utilisation data were collected using a questionnaire, participants also provided dried blood spot samples (tested for markers blood borne virus infections). Cost estimates were obtained by combining questionnaire data with information from national databases and the scientific literature. RESULTS: 36% of the 1,058 participants reported an injection site infection in the last year. Those reporting an injection site infection were more likely to be female and aged over 24, and to have: injected into legs, groin, and hands in last year; injected on 14 or more days during the last four weeks; cleaned needles/syringes for reuse; injected crack-cocaine; antibodies to hepatitis C; and previously received prescribed substitute drug. Two-thirds of those with an injection site infection reported seeking medical advice; half attended an emergency department and three-quarters of these reported hospital admission. Simple conservative estimates of associated healthcare costs range from pound 15.5 million per year to as high as pound 30 million; though if less conservative unit costs assumptions are made the total may be much higher (pound 47 million). The vast majority of these costs are due to hospital admissions and the uncertainty is due to little data on length of hospital stays. CONCLUSION: Symptoms of injection site infections are common among IDUs in England. The potential costs to the health service are substantial, but these costs need more accurate determination. Better-targeted interventions to support safer injection need to be developed and evaluated. The validity of self-reported symptoms, and the relationship between symptoms, infection severity, and health seeking behaviour require further research

Living a burdensome and demanding life: a qualitative systematic review of the patients experiences of peripheral arterial disease

<div><p>Background</p><p>Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) has a significant negative impact on the quality of life of individuals. Understanding the experiences of people living with PAD will be useful in developing comprehensive patient-centred secondary prevention therapies for this population.</p><p>Aim</p><p>The aim of this study is to identify first-hand accounts of patients’ experiences of living with PAD.</p><p>Methods</p><p>Six databases (CINALH, PsyclNFO, MEDLINE, AMED, EMBASE, Social citation index/Science citation index via Web of Science (WOS)) and reference lists of identified studies were searched until September 2017 (updated February 2018). Qualitative studies reporting patients’ account of living with PAD were eligible for inclusion. A framework thematic synthesis was implemented.</p><p>Results</p><p>Fourteen studies with 360 participants were included. Pain and walking limitation were recurrent among the varied symptom descriptions. Patients’ ignorance and trivialisation of symptoms contributed to delays in diagnosis. Inadequate engagement in disease understanding and treatment decisions meant patients had poor attitudes towards walking treatments and unrealistic expectations about surgery. Depending on symptom progression, patients battle with walking impairment, powerlessness, and loss of independence which were a source of burden to them. Lack of disease understanding is central through patients’ journey with PAD and, although they subsequently began adaptation to long term living with PAD, many worried about their future.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Disease understanding is vital across the illness trajectory in patients with PAD. Although certain experiences are common throughout patient journey, some might be unique to a particular stage (e.g. unrealistic expectation about surgery, or rationale of walking in spite of pain in a supervised exercise program). Given that PAD is an overarching construct ranging from the mildest form of intermittent claudication to severe critical limb ischemia with ulceration and gangrene, consideration of important patient constructs specific to each stage of the disease may enhance treatment success. Systematic review registration CRD42017070417.</p></div