R&D and Price Elasticity of Demand

This note explores the relationship between the price elasticity of demand and the R&D intensity of the product. We introduce the concept of R&D intensity into a standard Dixit-Stiglitz/Krugman-type setting. R&D activity is treated as a fixed cost of production. Within this framework, sectors with a higher R&D intensity show a lower price elasticity of demand. This proposition is confirmed by an empirical investigation of export demand for manufactured goods from major industrialised countries. Consequently, real exchange rate changes have an impact on the commodity structure of exports.R&D intensity; Price elasticity; Exports

The prevalence and nature of the use of preconception services by women with chronic health conditions: An integrative review

© 2015 Steel et al. Background: There is growing evidence that preconception care may have an important role in preventing short and long term adverse health consequences for women and their offspring. This is particularly the case for women with chronic health conditions due to the rising prevalence of chronic disease in global populations. With this in mind, this paper presents an integrative systematic review of contemporary research outlining the use of preconception services and practices by women with chronic health conditions. Methods: A search was conducted through PubMed, CINAHL, AMED, and Maternity and Infant Care databases which identified 672 papers examining preconception care and preconception services for women with chronic health conditions. Fourteen papers which were written in English, presented original research, and reported on the prevalence or nature of use of preconception care by women with chronic health conditions were included in the review. Critical appraisal of study quality and thematic categorical grouping of identified papers was undertaken. Results: Current research evidence, as identified through this review, examines three major topic areas: the prevalence of preconception care practices, use of services and characteristics of users; knowledge of the value and impact of preconception care and availability of preconception services for women with chronic health conditions; and women's attitudes, approaches and experiences of preconception care and preconception services. Prevalence estimates of engagement with preconception care range between 18.1% and 45%, with most studies focusing on women with type 1 or 2 diabetes. Significant gaps in women's knowledge of preconception care for women with chronic health conditions were also identified. Women with chronic health conditions reported experiencing emotional distress as a result of their engagement with preconception care services. They also commonly described feeling a need to employ discipline to comply with preconception care programs, and experiencing a fear of pregnancy complications. Conclusion: Future research requires a broad and sophisticated approach to research design and analysis, improved consideration of temporal changes to women's health behaviour, representative samples to more effectively inform health policy, and a deeper understanding of women's motivations, attitudes and perceptions of preconception care to assist in the development of tailored preconception health services

R&D and price elasticity of demand

This note explores the relationship between the price elasticity of demand and the R&D intensity of the product. We introduce the concept of R&D intensity into a standard Dixit-Stiglitz/Krugman-type setting. R&D activity is treated as a fixed cost of production. Within this framework, sectors with a higher R&D intensity show a lower price elasticity of demand. This proposition is confirmed by an empirical investigation of export demand for manufactured goods from major industrialised countries. Consequently, real exchange rate changes have an impact on the commodity structure of exports

Factors influencing women's decisions to drink alcohol during pregnancy: Findings of a qualitative study with implications for health communication

© 2014 Meurk et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Background: Despite Australian guidelines advising abstinence from alcohol during pregnancy, a relatively high number of Australian women continue to drink alcohol while pregnant. While some call for greater advocacy of the need for abstinence, others have expressed concern that abstinence messages may be harmful to pregnant women and their unborn babies due to the anxiety they could provoke. We present findings on women's deliberations over drinking alcohol during pregnancy, particularly their emotional dimensions, to inform debates about public health messages and practitioner-patient discussions regarding alcohol use during pregnancy.Methods: Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 40 women in their homes. Our sample comprised women aged 34-39, drawn from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health, living in the Greater Brisbane Area who were pregnant, or had recently given birth, in 2009. An inductive qualitative framework analysis approach was used to identify and interpret themes explaining why pregnant women choose to drink or not.Results: Women generally described drinking small amounts of alcohol during pregnancy as being a low risk activity and talked about the importance of alcohol to their social lives as a reason for continuing to drink or finding abstinence a burden; sensitisation to the judgements of others was not widespread. Women predominantly assessed the risk of their drinking in terms of the kinds of alcoholic beverages consumed rather than alcohol content. In reflecting on the advice they recalled receiving, women described their healthcare practitioners as being relaxed about the risks of alcohol consumption.Conclusions: The significance of alcohol to women's identity appeared to be an important reason for continued alcohol use during pregnancy among otherwise risk averse women. Anxiety about alcohol consumption during pregnancy was not widespread. However, obstetricians were an important mediator of this. Health messages that dispel the notion that wine is a " healthy" choice of alcoholic beverage, that provide women with strategies to help them avoid drinking, that advise the broader public not to pressure women to drink if they do not want to, and educate women about the effects of ethanol on maternal and fetal bodies, should be considered

Parallax and Kinematics of PSR B0919+06 from VLBA Astrometry and Interstellar Scintillometry

Results are presented from a long-term astrometry program on PSR B0919+06 using the NRAO Very Long Baseline Array. With ten observations (seven epochs) between 1994--2000, we measure a proper motion of 18.35 +/- 0.06 mas/yr in RA, 86.56 +/- 0.12 mas/yr in Dec, and a parallax of 0.83 +/- 0.13 mas (68% confidence intervals). This yields a pulsar distance of 1.21 +/- 0.19 kpc, making PSR B0919+06 the farthest pulsar for which a trigonometric parallax has been obtained, and the implied pulsar transverse speed is 505 +/- 80 km/s. Combining the distance estimate with interstellar scintillation data spanning 20 years, we infer the existence of a patchy or clumpy scattering screen along the line of sight in addition to the distributed electron density predicted by models for the Galaxy, and constrain the location of this scattering region to within about 250 parsecs of the Sun. Comparison with the lines of sight towards other pulsars in the same quadrant of the Galaxy permits refinement of our knowledge of the local interstellar matter in this direction.Comment: 12 pages, includes 4 figures and 3 tables, uses AASTeX 5 (included); ApJ submitte

A longitudinal study of the bi-directional relationship between tobacco smoking and psychological distress in a community sample of young Australian women

Background. Tobacco smoking and poor mental health are both prevalent and detrimental health problems in young women. The temporal relationship between the two variables is unclear. We investigated the prospective bidirectional relationship between smoking and mental health over 13 years

An analysis of the X-ray emission from the supernova remnant 3C397

The ASCA SIS and the ROSAT PSPC spectral data of the SNR 3C397 are analysed with a two-component non-equilibrium ionization model. Besides, the ASCA SIS0 and SIS1 spectra are also fitted simultaneously in an equilibrium case. The resulting values of the hydrogen column density yield a distance of \sim8\kpc to 3C397. It is found that the hard X-ray emission, containing S and Fe K$\alpha$ lines, arises primarily from the hot component, while most of the soft emission, composed mainly of Mg, Si, Fe L lines, and continuum, is produced by the cool component. The emission measures suggest that the remnant evolves in a cloudy medium and imply that the supernova progenitor might not be a massive early-type star. The cool component is approaching ionization equilibrium. The ages estimated from the ionization parameters and dynamics are all much greater than the previous determination. We restore the X-ray maps using the ASCA SIS data and compare them with the ROSAT HRI and the NRAO VLA Sky Survey (NVSS) 20 cm maps. The morphology with two bright concentrations suggests a bipolar remnant encountering a denser medium in the west.Comment: 20 pages, aasms4.sty, 3 figures To appear in ApJ (1999