Recession Proof Pills: An Examination of the Relationship Between Recession Economics and Pharmaceutical Expenditures

The first decade of the 21st century proved to be a time of turbulence and volatility in the worldwide economy. Oddly enough, even as Americans’ disposable income decreased, spending on health care steadily increased. Americans spent $249.9 billion on prescription drugs in 2009, contrasted against$120.9 billion in 2000—a 105% increase.1 We may question the overall ramifications of such increases in pharmaceutical sales and the correlation to other economic factors. That is, how was the pharmaceutical sector able to boast gains when the housing market collapsed? One answer is that people place a priority on their health, even with limited resources. A report sanctioned by the World Health Organization illustrates the problem when it states that, “It is hard to gauge the implications of the recession on people\u27s health”.2 In this paper, I examine pharmaceutical sales figures to develop a better understanding of how the Great Recession (2009) affected health care and pharmaceutical expenditures in the United States. A January 2011 Health Affairs article argues that, “In 2009, despite the economic downturn, the number of prescription drugs dispensed rebounded to prerecession rates of growth”.3 While the recession stifled the overall rate of spending on prescription drugs, Americans allocated a greater amount of GDP to pharmaceuticals—$249.9 billion in 2009 contrasted against$237.2 billion in 2008.4 The pharmaceutical industry, then, really dispenses recession-proof pills. Understanding the complexities of recession economics will ultimately illustrate the need for restructuring how pharmaceutical companies produce and government agencies regulate prescription drugs in the United States

An Exposition of Augustine\u27s Theodicy: From Its Influences to Its Modern Application

This paper delineates the thrust of Augustine\u27s theodicy against the broader background of his Christian Neoplatonic outlook. We examine Augustine\u27s initial Manichean influences and see how these beliefs carry over to his mature thought, which is evident in the seventh book of the Confessions. After Augustine\u27s time with the Manicheans, we look at how he was so influenced by the books of the Platonists (libri platonicorum). Although Augustine\u27s position regarding the problem of evil shifts, his idea of the primacy of the soul is still evident in his thought process. To wit, Augustine posits that evil must be considered a privation of the Good, so much so as to reach the point of complete nonentity. Human beings\u27 ability to be corrupted by evils rests in their position as being created ex-nihilo by God. With this creation also comes an inherent mutability. Due to human mutability, Augustine believes that God is not responsible for such evil actions. This paper also contrasts this belief with modern empiricist David Hume\u27s idea regarding God\u27s responsibility for human actions. Hume argues that the volition of all human actions rests in God as Creator of the world. As creator, Hume claims that God places human beings in a position to act. If humans are predisposed to perform evil actions, they cannot be faulted. Augustine would counter that argument by claiming that evil is not a substance. Not being a substance, evil is there not ascribable to God. Ultimately, Augustine\u27s theodicy is based upon the goodness of God

South Korea and Taiwan’s institutional capacity helped U.S. aid to be used well after 1945, while South Vietnam’s Frenchcolonial legacy hindered development

Many theories have been put forward to explain the economic successes of South Korea and Taiwan in the latter half of the 20th century. In new research, Kevin Gray attributes much of this success to U.S. aid, which, he argues, did not take place on a blank slate. Rather, it built on the already considerable state capacity created by Japan’s colonial bureaucracy. Aid to South Vietnam, on the other hand was far less effective due to the fragile legacy of French colonialism, and the failure of land reform which fuelled the domestic insurgency and led to a greater U.S. focus on military aims compared to development

A formally verified proof of the prime number theorem

The prime number theorem, established by Hadamard and de la Vall'ee Poussin independently in 1896, asserts that the density of primes in the positive integers is asymptotic to 1 / ln x. Whereas their proofs made serious use of the methods of complex analysis, elementary proofs were provided by Selberg and Erd"os in 1948. We describe a formally verified version of Selberg's proof, obtained using the Isabelle proof assistant.Comment: 23 page

Jean-Paul Sartre and neo-marxism

Between his first philosophical works and his last, Jean-Paul Sartre radically changed his philosophical outlook. The reasons for this change can be found in European history and Sartre's detailed study of twentieth-century protest movements. Between the end of the Second World War and the 1960s, French intellectuals began an intensive period of introspection, examining the complex relationship between History and social justice. Sartre and the group of intellectuals associated with him combined to fight against Stalinism while searching for a new theory of political action. This thesis discusses the abrupt termination of the ethical project that Sartre proposed to base on his original phenomenological examinations, and discusses his and Simone de Beauvoir's first attempts to construct an Existentialist ethic. Sartre changed from being an Existentialist to a Marxist to finally, late in life, abandoning Marxism in favour of a never well-defined philosophy. But in the Critique of Dialectical Reason, the last of his serious philosophical works, he responded to his ex-friends's critiques in the light of his study of Eastern European history, particularly, the Revolution in Hungary. (Abstract shortened by UMI.

Change by Drips and Drabs or No Change at All: The Coming UNDRIP Battles in Canadian Courts

The enactment of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Persons (“UNDRIP”) into Canadian law has long been a goal for Indigenous groups in Canada. Its enactment has been entailed as potentially game changing. Commentators have argued that the incorporation of UNDRIP into Canadian law will produce a wholesale transformation of Canadian law, including providing a veto to Indigenous groups to development on their traditional lands and eliminating the doctrine of discovery. In this paper, I consider various arguments that have been advanced as to how UNDRIP may require changes to Canadian law. I argue, conversely, that Canada’s decision to unequivocally endorse UNDRIP is likely to have profoundly limited consequences for the Canadian legal order, particularly if it is not enacted in the legislation of all provinces. I focus on three particular issues: 1. The mechanism of incorporation of UNDRIP and what specific legislative mechanisms will be used to incorporate UNDRIP into Canadian law; 2. The impact of incorporation or lack thereof of UNDRIP into provincial law; and 3. The role of international law, including soft-law instruments, in the interpretation of the constitution or of legislation in Canada. After considering all three areas of law, I argue that in all three cases, the effects of UNDRIP are likely to be minimal, at least in the short term

Problems with the system-lifeworld binary in Habermas's thought

Dès l'apparition de la Théorie de l'agir communicationnel, les philosophes critiquent le modèle système/monde vécu. Cette théorie de la société repose sur la nouvelle théorie habermassienne de la pragmatique universelle et de son appropriation à la théorie des systèmes de Talcott Parsons. La plupart de ces critiques doutent de la viabilité théorique de d'un modèle binaire de la société. Toutefois, dans cette thèse, je constate l'impossibilité de réconcilier cette nouvelle conception de la société avec les positions politiques antérieures d'Habermas. Il est improbable qu'Habermas aurait pu participer à ces débats tout en défendant sa théorie binaire de la société. Finalement, je constate l'impossibilité de réconcilier ce nouveau modèle théorique avec la théorie du droit développée dans Droit et démocratie. J'arrive à la conclusion suivante : le modèle système/monde vécu doit être modifié ou abandonné

Communicating via Knoxblab

This study is a Uses and Gratifications based look at motivations surrounding long-term participation in an internet discussion forum and perceived effects of this participation on users’ social lives. Members of the Knoxville, TN based web forum “Knoxblab” were interviewed for the study. Participants indicated that the forum is a tool by which social ties are maintained and developed, and they indicated that membership in the forum community is perceived as having positive effects on social activity. Consistent with traditional Uses and Gratifications Theory, results suggest that participants are motivated by reasons related to information sharing and entertainment, though web forums and other forms of computer mediated communication (CMC) expand traditional Uses and Gratifications theory in that users both receive and generate content. Limitations and suggestions for further study are provided

Virtual wind sensors: improving wind forecasting using big data analytics

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2016.Wind sensors provide very accurate measurements, however it is not feasible to have a network of wind sensors large enough to provide these accurate readings everywhere. A “virtual” wind sensor uses existing weather forecasts, as well as historical weather station data to predict what readings a regular wind sensor would provide. This study attempts to develop a method using Big Data Analytics to predict wind readings for use in “virtual” wind sensors. The study uses Random Forests and linear regression to estimate wind direction and magnitude using various transformations of a Digital Elevation Model, as well as data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. The model is evaluated based on its accuracy when compared to existing high resolution weather station data, to show a slight improvement in the estimation of wind direction and magnitude over the forecast data.LG201