The human resource implications of improving financial risk protection for mothers and newborns in Zimbabwe

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Fast multipole networks

Two prerequisites for robotic multiagent systems are mobility and communication. Fast multipole networks (FMNs) enable both ends within a unified framework. FMNs can be organized very efficiently in a distributed way from local information and are ideally suited for motion planning using artificial potentials. We compare FMNs to conventional communication topologies, and find that FMNs offer competitive communication performance (including higher network efficiency per edge at marginal energy cost) in addition to advantages for mobility

Manifesto on small airway involvement and management in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: an Interasma (Global Asthma Association - GAA) and World Allergy Organization (WAO) document endorsed by Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA) and Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN)

Evidence that enables us to identify, assess, and access the small airways in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has led INTERASMA (Global Asthma Association) and WAO to take a position on the role of the small airways in these diseases. Starting from an extensive literature review, both organizations developed, discussed, and approved the manifesto, which was subsequently approved and endorsed by the chairs of ARIA and GA2LEN. The manifesto describes the evidence gathered to date and defines and proposes issues on small airway involvement and management in asthma and COPD with the aim of challenging assumptions, fostering commitment, and bringing about change. The small airways (defined as those with an internal diameter <2 mm) are involved in the pathogenesis of asthma and COPD and are the major determinant of airflow obstruction in these diseases. Various tests are available for the assessment of the small airways, and their results must be integrated to confirm a diagnosis of small airway dysfunction. In asthma and COPD, the small airways play a key role in attempts to achieve disease control and better outcomes. Small-particle inhaled formulations (defined as those that, owing to their size [usually <2 μm], ensure more extensive deposition in the lung periphery than large molecules) have proved beneficial in patients with asthma and COPD, especially those in whom small airway involvement is predominant. Functional and biological tools capable of accurately assessing the lung periphery and more intensive use of currently available tools are necessary. In patients with suspected COPD or asthma, small airway involvement must be assessed using currently available tools. In patients with subotpimal disease control and/or functional or biological signs of disease activity, the role of small airway involvement should be assessed and treatment tailored. Therefore, the choice between large- and small-particle inhaled formulations must reflect the physician’s considerations of disease features, phenotype, and response to previous therapy

Recommendations for The Conduct of Economic Evaluations in Osteoporosis: Outcomes of An Experts’ Consensus Meeting Organized by The European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases (ESCEO) And the US Branch of The International Osteoporosis Foundation

Summary Economic evaluations are increasingly used to assess the value of health interventions, but variable quality and heterogeneity limit the use of these evaluations by decision-makers. These recommendations provide guidance for the design, conduct, and reporting of economic evaluations in osteoporosis to improve their transparency, comparability, and methodologic standards. Introduction This paper aims to provide recommendations for the conduct of economic evaluations in osteoporosis in order to improve their transparency, comparability, and methodologic standards. Methods A working group was convened by the European Society for Clinical and Economic Aspects of Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis to make recommendations for the design, conduct, and reporting of economic evaluations in osteoporosis, to define an osteoporosis-specific reference case to serve a minimum standard for all economic analyses in osteoporosis, to discuss methodologic challenges and initiate a call for research. A literature review, a face-to-face meeting in New York City (including 11 experts), and a review/approval by a larger group of experts worldwide (including 23 experts in total) were conducted. Results Recommendations on the type of economic evaluation, methods for economic evaluation, modeling aspects, base-case analysis and population, excess mortality, fracture costs and disutility, treatment characteristics, and model validation were provided. Recommendations for reporting economic evaluations in osteoporosis were also made and an osteoporosis-specific checklist was designed that includes items to report when performing an economic evaluation in osteoporosis. Further, 12 minimum criteria for economic evaluations in osteoporosis were identified and 12 methodologic challenges and need for further research were discussed. Conclusion While the working group acknowledges challenges and the need for further research, these recommendations are intended to supplement general and national guidelines for economic evaluations, improve transparency, quality, and comparability of economic evaluations in osteoporosis, and maintain methodologic standards to increase their use by decision-makers

Interview with Thomas O. Webb - OH 786

This interview was conducted by Winthrop student, Debbie Mollycheck, for an article for the Johnsonian (student newspaper) that was published on April 26, 1976 titled, “Webb: “Activities Enhance Education.” Debbie Mollycheck is a Winthrop College graduate with a Bachelor of Arts in 1976 and a Master of Science in 1979 and worked for a time as a student editor for the Johnsonian. She conducted this interview with Thoms O. Webb, Jr. who was the Director of the Dinkins Student Center from 1975-2001. The subject of the interview is the Dinkins Program Board which started during the 1975/1976 academic year with 8 sub-committees and the interview starts with an interview of a student who was running for the 1976/1977 President of the Dinkins Program Board. The first 4:14 minutes of the recording are of an unknown student (possibly Debra J. Kimbrell, ’77, who served on the 1975/1976 ATS Committee and served as President of the Dinkins Program Board during the 1976/1977 academic year) who was serving on the ATS Committee or the Special Events Committee the year prior (1975/1976) and then ran for President of the Dinkins Program Board for the 1976/1977 academic year. The first interviewee discusses what the Dinkins Program Board is and the 8 committees that it comprises, their role in organization and what the role of the president is. The recording (00:04:14 – 00:36:01) then switches over to an interview with Dinkin Student Center Director, Tom Webb. Tom Webb discusses the differences between the Dinkins Program Board, the Dinkins Policy Board, and the Dinkins Student Center. He discusses the differences in makeup and the duties of the committees. Tom Webb also discusses the change in social atmosphere that has occurred at Winthrop with the admission of men as students. Webb also talks about the different types of Winthrop students, and the effect that their living situation has on their attendance of Winthrop events.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/1710/thumbnail.jp

Learning by hiring: the effects of scientists’ inbound mobility on research performance in academia

This study investigates the effects of scientists’ inbound mobility on the research performance of incumbent scientists in an academic setting. The theoretical framework integrates insights from learning theory and social comparison theory to suggest two main mechanisms behind these effects, localized learning and social comparison. The authors propose several hypotheses about the conditions that might intensify or weaken such effects. Specifically, the arrival of new scientific personnel is likely to exert stronger positive effects on the performance of incumbent scientists with shorter (cf. longer) organizational tenure; in addition, academic departments with less diversified expertise and with higher levels of internal collaborations likely reap greater benefits from learning by hiring. The empirical findings, based on a longitudinal analysis of a sample of 94 U.S. academic chemical engineering departments, provide empirical support for these contentions

Human Resources and the Resource Based View of the Firm

The resource-based view (RBV) of the firm has influenced the field of strategic human resource management (SHRM) in a number of ways. This paper explores the impact of the RBV on the theoretical and empirical development of SHRM. It explores how the fields of strategy and SHRM are beginning to converge around a number of issues, and proposes a number of implications of this convergence