Are Some Deaths Worse Than Others? The Effect of 'Labelling' on People's Perceptions

This paper sets out to explore the extent to which perceptions regarding the 'badness' of different types of deaths differ according to how those deaths are 'labelled' in the elicitation procedure. In particular, we are interested in whether responses to 'contextual' questions - where the specific context in which the deaths occur is known - differ from 'generic' questions - where the context is unknown. Further, we set out to test whether sensitivity to the numbers of deaths differs across the 'generic' and 'contextual' versions of the questions. We uncover evidence to suggest that both the perceived 'badness' of different types of deaths and sensitivity to the numbers of deaths may differ according to whether 'generic' or 'contextual' descriptions are used. Qualitative data suggested two reasons why responses to 'generic' and 'contextual' questions differed: firstly, some influential variables were omitted from the 'generic' descriptions and secondly, certain variables were interpreted somewhat differently once the context had been identified. The implications of our findings for 'generic' questions, such as those commonly used in health economics (for example, the EQ 5D), are discussed.Preferences, Context effects, Affect heuristic

Volatility Transmission: A Linkage Between Grain Markets and Food Companies

Price fluctuations in grain markets can impact profitability and consequently stock price of food companies. There is lack of literature on price and volatility relation between grain markets and food sectors. We employ a multivariate GARCH model to investigate price volatility transmission between publicly traded food companies and grain markets in the United States. Our results show evidence of bidirectional volatility spillover with stronger effects from grain markets to food companies. The degree of volatility spillover from the grain markets to food sectors ranks as follows: processed and packaged goods sector > meat sector > farm sector > dairy sector

Improved scale-down model development case study for raw materials screening

The lack of an adequate scale-down model for the cell culture stages of legacy processes is an ongoing issue across the industry. This presentation will describe an existing scale-down model, the modifications made to it, and an example of the utility of the new model. The scale-down model for Process X was originally developed based on power per unit volume, with minimal modification to accommodate other input parameters. This scale-down model performed significantly differently from the manufacturing-scale process with respect to cell growth, metabolites, and productivity. For example, the productivity in the scale-down model was 3 to 4 times higher than at the manufacturing scale, and the peak viable cell density (PVCD) for the scale-down model was two times the PVCD of the manufacturing scale, while cell viability was also consistently higher in the scale-down model. There was a clear need to develop a scale-down model that takes into account additional scaling parameters and better mimics manufacturing scale to increase understanding of the manufacturing-scale process. Analysis of mixing and sparging parameters indicates that the manufacturing scale results differed significantly from the model. The scale-down model was therefore modified to reduce air flow rates, increase the total volume, and to over-sparge air early in the process to better mimic the manufacturing-scale behavior and trends. These changes resulted in a scale-down model which closely matches the large-scale growth, viability, and metabolite profiles. This scale-down model has been used to successfully screen raw materials which are known to impact the manufacturing-scale process. This improved scale-down model will enable process improvement studies, effective satellite runs, improve understanding of manufacturing-scale results, address deviations, and will help ensure robust production

Trends in U.S. Public Awareness of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (1999-2010): 2009 General Population Toplines

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Trends in U.S. Public Awareness of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities (1999-2010): Study Brief

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The Efficacy of Waste Management Plans in Australian Commercial Construction Refurbishment Projects

Renovation and refurbishment of the existingcommercial building stock is a growing area oftotal construction activity and a significantgenerator of waste sent to landfill in Australia. Awritten waste management plan (WMP) is awidespread regulatory requirement forcommercial office redevelopment projects. Thereis little evidence, however, that WMPs actuallyincrease the quantity of waste that is ultimatelydiverted from landfill. Some reports indicate anabsence of any formal verification or monitoringprocess by regulators to assess the efficacy ofthe plans. In order to gauge the extent of theproblem a survey was conducted of twenty fourconsultants and practitioners involved incommercial office building refurbishment projectsto determine the state of current practice withregard to WMPs and to elicit suggestions withregard to ways of making the process moreeffective. Considerable variation in commitmentto recycling policies was encountered indicatinga need to revisit waste minimisation practices ifthe environmental performance of refurbishmentprojects is to be improved

Examining factors of environmental sustainability programs in institutions of higher education

This study is qualitative in nature and is a single exploratory case study examining the environmental sustainability and strategic planning initiatives of one campus, the University of Illinois at Chicago, of a multi-campus institution with a total of three campuses in the system, the University of Illinois. The purpose of this study was to discern which components of the institution’s strategic planning process initiate and maintain enduring environmental sustainability policies, practices, programs, and initiatives at a medium-sized research institution in the Midwest, situated in a large city. The conceptual framework for the study utilized the principles and underlying assumptions of the identification of components of enduring environmental sustainability policies, practices, programs, and initiatives developed by the Association of University Leaders for a Sustainable Future (ULSF) Sustainability Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ), as well as the features that distinguish strategic planning within institutions of higher education outlined George Keller’s (1983) Academic Strategy: The Management Revolution in American Higher Education. Future research is needed

The effect of volunteers’ care and support on the health outcomes of older adults in acute care: A systematic scoping review

Aim: To examine the available evidence on the effects of care and support provided by volunteers on the health outcomes of older adults in acute care services. Background: Acute hospital inpatient populations are becoming older, and this presents the potential for poorer health outcomes. Factors such as chronic health conditions, polypharmacy and cognitive and functional decline are associated with increased risk of health care‐related harm, such as falls, delirium and poor nutrition. To minimise the risk of health care‐related harm, volunteer programmes to support patient care have been established in many hospitals worldwide. Design: A systematic scoping review. Methods: The review followed the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA‐ScR) (File S1). Nine databases were searched (CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect and JBI) using the following key terms: ‘hospital’, ‘volunteer’, ‘sitter’, ‘acute care’, ‘older adults’, ‘confusion’, ‘dementia’ and ‘frail’. The search was limited to papers written in English and published from 2002–2017. Inclusion criteria were studies involving the use of hospital volunteers in the care or support of older adult patients aged ≥ 65 years, or ≥ 50 years for Indigenous peoples, with chronic health conditions, cognitive impairment and/or physical decline or frailty, within the acute inpatient settings. Results: Of the 199 articles identified, 17 articles that met the inclusion criteria were critically appraised for quality, and 12 articles were included in the final review. Conclusions: There is evidence that the provision of volunteer care and support with eating and drinking, mobilising and therapeutic activities can impact positively upon patient health outcomes related to nutrition, falls and delirium. Further robust research is needed to determine the impact of volunteers in acute care and the specific care activities that can contribute to the best outcomes for older adults. Relevance to clinical practice: Volunteers can play a valuable role in supporting care delivery by nurses and other health professionals in acute care services, and their contribution can improve health outcomes for older adults in this setting

’Too many empty homes, too many homeless’ – A novel design and procurement framework for transforming empty homes through sustainable solutions

The Retro-Tek research project investigates the potential of existing buildings in the UK contributing towards the EU 2050 CO2 target, through a sustainable retrofit programme aimed specifically at empty homes. It proposes a novel design and procurement methodology to bring empty homes back into use, integrate sustainable technologies and materials and offer them back to the market. Along with the obvious environmental sustainability benefits, it also assists communities and areas in need of regeneration, supporting the developments to both help address housing shortages and tackle socio-economic problems with empty, dilapidated dwellings. The project has formed a consortium of stakeholders and established unique design and procurement processes and methodologies relevant to the sustainable retrofit process. Their viability was tested via undertaking two case studies of representative empty homes, establishing results within a measurable data format. The research further developed a commercial output model based on financing, procurement, the supply chain and the project management process and is currently applying for funding to launch a major scheme of bringing 1000 empty homes back in use by 2020.Z.ENV.AB.8322 CR & D Project 8 Retro-Tek (ERDF funded) Sustainable Construction i-Net Collaborative R&D Gran