Considering consumer choice in the economic evaluation of mandatory health programmes: A review

Objective: Governments are increasing their focus on mandatory public health programmes following positive economic evaluations of their impact. This review aims to examine whether loss of consumer choice should be included in economic evaluations of mandatory health programmes (MHP). Method: A systematic literature review was conducted to identify economic evaluations of MHP, whether they discuss the impact on consumer choice and any methodological limitations. Results: Overall 39 economic evaluations were identified, of which 10 discussed the loss of consumer choice and 6 attempted to place a value on the loss of consumer choice. Methodological limitations included: measuring the marginal cost of compliance, unavailability of price elasticity estimates, the impact of income effects, double counting health impacts, biased willingness-to-pay responses, and "protest" responses. Overall it was found that the inclusion of the loss of consumer choice rarely impacted on the final outcome of the study. Conclusion: The impact of MHP on the loss of consumer choice has largely been ignored in economic evaluations. Its importance remains uncertain due to its infrequent inclusion and significant methodological limitations. Further research regarding which methodology is best for valuing the loss of consumer choice and whether it is important to the final implementation decision is warranted. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd

Computer Literacy for Life Sciences: Helping the Digital-Era Biology Undergraduates Face Today's Research

Computer literacy plays a critical role in today's life sciences research. Without the ability to use computers to efficiently manipulate and analyze large amounts of data resulting from biological experiments and simulations, many of the pressing questions in the life sciences could not be answered. Today's undergraduates, despite the ubiquity of computers in their lives, seem to be largely unfamiliar with how computers are being used to pursue and answer such questions. This article describes an innovative undergraduate-level course, titled Computer Literacy for Life Sciences, that aims to teach students the basics of a computerized scientific research pursuit. The purpose of the course is for students to develop a hands-on working experience in using standard computer software tools as well as computer techniques and methodologies used in life sciences research. This paper provides a detailed description of the didactical tools and assessment methods used in and outside of the classroom as well as a discussion of the lessons learned during the first installment of the course taught at Emory University in fall semester 2009

Cost Effectiveness of a Community-Delivered Consultation to Improve Infant Sleep Problems and Maternal Well-Being

© 2018 Objectives: To evaluate the cost effectiveness of a community-delivered consultation aimed at improving infant sleep and maternal well-being. Methods: A decision-analytic model was developed that compared the costs and benefits of an infant sleep consultation with usual care. The effectiveness of the consultation was based on clinical evidence, and improvements in maternal quality of life were estimated by mapping the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores to published utility scores. Cost effectiveness was calculated as the incremental cost per quality-adjusted life-year gained (QALY). Results: The statistically significant improvements in mean Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale scores at 4- and 16-month follow-ups were used to estimate the benefit in terms of QALYs. The modeled results demonstrated that the infant sleep consultation is low-cost (A$436), more effective in terms of QALYs gained (0.017), and cost-effective. The estimated incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was A$ 4031/QALY gained. The main drivers of the model were the use of early parenting centers and nurse training costs. Conclusions: Community-based nurse-delivered infant sleep consultations aid infant sleep, improve maternal quality of life, and are cost-effective compared with usual care and lead to improvements in quality of life through a reduction in postnatal depression

Do Women Ask?

Women typically earn less than men. The reasons are not fully understood. Previous studies argue that this may be because (i) women ‘don’t ask’ and (ii) the reason they fail to ask is out of concern for the quality of their relationships at work. This account is difficult to assess with standard labor-economics data sets. Hence we examine direct survey evidence. Using matched employer-employee data from 2013-14, the paper finds that the women-don’t-ask account is incorrect. Once an hours-of-work variable is included in ‘asking’ equations, hypotheses (i) and (ii) can be rejected. Women do ask. However, women do not get

Do Women Ask?

Females typically earn less than males. The reasons are not fully understood. This paper reexamines the idea that women ‘don’t ask’, which potentially assigns part of the responsibility for the gender pay gap on to female behavior. Such an account cannot readily be tested with standard data sets. This paper is the first to be able to use matched employer-employee data in which workers are questioned about their asking behaviour. It concludes that males and females ask equally often for promotions and raises. The paper’s empirical results suggest, however, that while women do now ask they ‘don’t get’

Art+Politics

For the exhibition Art + Politics, students worked closely with the holdings of Gettysburg College\u27s Special Collections and College Archives to curate an exhibition in Schmucker Art Gallery that engages with issues of public policy, activism, war, propaganda, and other critical socio-political themes. Each of the students worked diligently to contextualize the objects historically, politically, and art-historically. The art and artifacts presented in this exhibition reveal how various political events and social issues have been interpreted through various visual and printed materials, including posters, pins, illustrations, song sheets, as well as a Chinese shoe for bound feet. The students\u27 essays that follow demonstrate careful research and thoughtful reflection on the American Civil War, nineteenth-century politics, the First and Second World Wars, World\u27s Fairs, Dwight D. Eisenhower\u27s campaign, Vietnam-War era protests, and the Cultural Revolution in China. [excerpt]https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/artcatalogs/1009/thumbnail.jp

Fishing the georges river: Cultural diversity and urban environments

The Georges River runs through the heart of Sydney’s most culturally diverse population, including long-established Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic communities as well as the many more recent immigrant communities that have developed since the 1980s. Most people in all these communities are in working-class employment (if they have jobs at all), are living in densely packed suburbs and, despite some gentrification on the margins, still have significant disadvantages in educational and social infrastructure. As well as being a large river with scenic parklands threading along its lower estuarine reaches, the Georges River is also the focus of intensifying ethnic conflicts which often spill over into the media. The names of the river’s suburbs – Cabramatta, Liverpool, Bankstown, Macquarie Fields and Lakemba – are well known around Australia for their tensions. Yet, recent surveys of Australian attitudes to cultural diversity have demonstrated a widespread endorsement of the desire to reach across cultural differences despite the effect of international events and the media in increasing the hostile polarisation between ethnic groups (Ang et al. 2002, 2006). This paper will ask whether considering the area’s complex relationships and tensions through the lens of ‘everyday’ activities might allow us to understand those conflicts more clearly