The Tradeoff of the Commons

We develop a model of scarce, renewable resources to study the commons problem. We show that, contrary to conventional wisdom, property rights can often be less efficient than a commons. In particular, we study two effects: (1) waste which arises when individuals expend resources to use a resource unavailable due to congestion and (2) the risk of underutilization of the resource. We provide necessary and sufficient conditions for each effect to dominate the other when the cost of determining the availability of a resource is low

Self‐reported drug allergy in a general adult Portuguese population

Clin Exp Allergy. 2004 Oct;34(10):1597-601. Self-reported drug allergy in a general adult Portuguese population. Gomes E, Cardoso MF, Praça F, Gomes L, Mariño E, Demoly P. Serviço de Imunoalergologia, Hospital Maria Pia, Porto, Portugal. [email protected] Abstract AIM: To estimate the prevalence of self-reported drug allergy in adults. METHODS: Cross-sectional survey of a general adult population from Porto (all of whom were living with children involved in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood-phase three), during the year 2002, using a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of self-reported drug allergy was 7.8% (181/2309): 4.5% to penicillins or other beta-lactams, 1.9% to aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and 1.5% to other drugs. In the group 'allergic to beta-lactams', the most frequently implicated drug was penicillin G or V (76.2%) followed by the association of amoxicillin and clavulanic acids (14.3%). In the group 'allergic to NSAIDs', acetylsalicylic acid (18.2%) and ibuprofen (18.2%) were the most frequently identified drugs, followed by nimesulide and meloxicam. Identification of the exact name of the involved drug was possible in less than one-third of the patients, more often within the NSAID group (59.5%). Women were significantly more likely to claim a drug allergy than men (10.2% vs. 5.3%). The most common manifestations were cutaneous (63.5%), followed by cardiovascular symptoms (35.9%). Most of the reactions were immediate, occurring on the first day of treatment (78.5%). Only half of the patients were submitted to drug allergy investigations. The majority (86.8%) completely avoided the suspected culprit drug thereafter. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that self-reported allergy to drugs is highly prevalent and poorly explored. Women seem to be more susceptible. beta-lactams and NSAIDs are the most frequently concerned drugs. PMID: 15479276 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE

The linked survival prospects of siblings : evidence for the Indian states

This paper reports an analysis of micro-data for India that shows a high correlation in infant mortality among siblings. In 13 of 15 states, we identify a causal effect of infant death on the risk of infant death of the subsequent sibling (a scarring effect), after controlling for mother-level heterogeneity. The scarring effects are large, the only other covariate with a similarly large effect being mother’s (secondary or higher) education. The two states in which evidence of scarring is weak are Punjab, the richest, and Kerala, the socially most progressive. The size of the scarring effect depends upon the sex of the previous child in three states, in a direction consistent with son-preference. Evidence of scarring implies that policies targeted at reducing infant mortality will have social multiplier effects by helping avoid the death of subsequent siblings. Comparison of other covariate effects across the states offers some interesting new insights

Meaning in hoarding: perspectives of people who hoard on clutter, culture, and agency

Hoarding has become increasingly prominent in clinical practice and popular culture in recent years, giving rise to extensive research and commentary. Critical responses in the social sciences have criticised the cultural assumptions built in to the construct of ‘hoarding disorder’ and expressed fears that it may generate stigma outweighing its benefits; however, few of these studies have engaged directly with ‘hoarders’ themselves. This paper reports on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with ten individuals living in England, who received assessment and intervention for hoarding from Social Services. Their narratives drew on the cultural repertoire of values and discourses around waste and worth, the mediation of sociality and relationships through material objects, physical constraints on keeping order, and the role played by mental health. Analysing these perspectives anthropologically shows how dominant models of hoarding, such as the DSM-5 paradigm, potentially lend themselves to reductionist understandings that efface the meaning ‘hoarding’ may have and thereby deny agency to the person labelled as ‘hoarder’. More culturally informed analysis, by contrast, affords insights into the complex landscape of value, waste, social critique, emotion, interpersonal relationships and practical difficulties that may underlie hoarding cases, and points the way to more person-centred practice and analysis

Valence Quark Distribution in A=3 Nuclei

We calculate the quark distribution function for 3He/3H in a relativistic quark model of nuclear structure which adequately reproduces the nucleon approximation, nuclear binding energies, and nuclear sizes for small nuclei. The results show a clear distortion from the quark distribution function for individual nucleons (EMC effect) arising dominantly from a combination of recoil and quark tunneling effects. Antisymmetrization (Pauli) effects are found to be small due to limited spatial overlaps. We compare our predictions with a published parameterization of the nuclear valence quark distributions and find significant agreement.Comment: 18pp., revtex4, 4 fig

e-VLBI observations of Circinus X-1: monitoring of the quiescent and flaring radio emission on AU scales

A recent detection of the peculiar neutron star X-ray binary Circinus X-1 with electronic very long baseline interferometry (e-VLBI) prompted the suggestion that compact, non-variable radio emission persists through the entire 16.6-day orbit of the binary system. We present the results of a high angular resolution monitoring campaign conducted with the Australian Long Baseline Array in real-time e-VLBI mode. e-VLBI observations of Circinus X-1 were made on alternate days over a period of 20 days covering the full binary orbit. A compact radio source associated with Circinus X-1 was clearly detected at orbital phases following periastron passage but no compact radio emission was detected at any other orbital phase, ruling out the presence of a persistent, compact emitting region at our sensitivity levels. The jet was not resolved at any epoch of our 1.4-GHz monitoring campaign, suggesting that the ultrarelativistic flow previously inferred to exist in this source is likely to be dark. We discuss these findings within the context of previous radio monitoring of Circinus X-1.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 7 pages, 5 figure

Law in social work education: reviewing the evidence on teaching, learning and assessment

This paper presents the findings from a systemic review of knowledge relating to current practice in the teaching, learning and assessment of law in social work education. The research comprised an internationally conducted systematic review of the literature, together with a survey of current education practice in the four countries of the UK. Two consultation events sought the views of a range of stakeholders, including the perspectives of service users and carers. Set in the context of debates about the relationship between law and social work practice, this paper identifies the common themes emerging from the review and offers an analysis of key findings, together with priorities for future directions in education practice

The first resolved imaging of milliarcsecond-scale jets in Circinus X-1

We present the first resolved imaging of the milliarcsecond-scale jets in the neutron star X-ray binary Circinus X-1, made using the Australian Long Baseline Array. The angular extent of the resolved jets is ~20 milliarcseconds, corresponding to a physical scale of ~150 au at the assumed distance of 7.8 kpc. The jet position angle is relatively consistent with previous arcsecond-scale imaging with the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The radio emission is symmetric about the peak, and is unresolved along the minor axis, constraining the opening angle to be less than 20 degrees. We observe evidence for outward motion of the components between the two halves of the observation. Constraints on the proper motion of the radio-emitting components suggest that they are only mildly relativistic, although we cannot definitively rule out the presence of the unseen, ultra-relativistic (Lorentz factor >15) flow previously inferred to exist in this system.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters. 6 pages, 4 figure