Savannah Lou

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/4296/thumbnail.jp

Fact or fable: Increased wellbeing in voluntary simplicity

The value of a simple life has been espoused by writers and thinkers throughout time. In the modern era, it has been proposed as an antidote to modern stressors and as a path to wellbeing. The simple life — or voluntary simplicity as it has become known — is a lifestyle whose hallmark is reduced consumption. Personal growth and ecologically responsible behaviours are also integral components. If voluntary simplicity is a path to increased wellbeing, then society stands to benefit if the lifestyle becomes more widely adopted. This review asks the question, is there empirical evidence for an association between voluntary simplicity and improved wellbeing? Using a systematic approach, peer-reviewed literature regarding the wellbeing outcomes of simplifiers was located, resulting in four studies containing a total of 3,233 participants. A comparison of the four studies is given and the strengths and limitations of the present state of research in the area offered. It is concluded that the putative association between voluntary simplicity and improved wellbeing does exist, although important questions remain to be resolved by future research

Using preferential trade access to promote global development goals: the case of beef and market access to Norway from Namibia and Botswana

Using market access to achieve developmental aims has long been held as a key tenet of global development policy. Using a case study approach based on interviews along and across the beef value chain between Namibia, Botswana, and Norway, this article addresses the question of whether market access to high value markets for livestock products has developmental benefits. The costs and benefits of using market access for beef products as a developmental policy tool are identified and the key role played by international meat traders in both upgrading and rent capture discussed

Cost-benefit analysis of foot and mouth disease control in Ethiopia

Foot and mouth disease (FMD) occurs endemically in Ethiopia. Quantitative insights on its national economic impact and on the costs and benefits of control options are, however, lacking to support decision making in its control. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to estimate the annual costs of FMD in cattle production systems of Ethiopia, and to conduct an ex ante cost-benefit analysis of potential control alternatives.<br/><br/>The annual costs of FMD were assessed based on production losses, export losses and control costs. The total annual costs of FMD under the current status quo of no official control program were estimated at 1354 (90% CR: 864–2042) million birr. The major cost (94%) was due to production losses. The costs and benefits of three potential control strategies: 1) ring vaccination (reactive vaccination around outbreak area supported by animal movement restrictions, 2) targeted vaccination (annual preventive vaccination in high risk areas plus ring vaccination in the rest of the country), and 3) preventive mass vaccination (annual preventive vaccination of the whole national cattle population) were compared with the baseline scenario of no official control program. Experts were elicited to estimate the influence of each of the control strategies on outbreak incidence and number of cases per outbreak. Based on these estimates, the incidence of the disease was simulated stochastically for 10 years. Preventive mass vaccination was epidemiologically the most efficient control strategy by reducing the national outbreak incidence below 5% with a median time interval of 3 years, followed by targeted vaccination strategy with a corresponding median time interval of 5 years. On average, all evaluated control strategies resulted in positive net present values. The ranges in the net present values were, however, very wide, including negative values. The targeted vaccination strategy was the most economic strategy with a median benefit cost ratio of 4.29 (90%CR: 0.29–9.63). It was also the least risky strategy with 11% chance of a benefit cost ratio of less than one.<br/><br/>The study indicates that FMD has a high economic impact in Ethiopia. Its control is predicted to be economically profitable even without a full consideration of gains from export. The targeted vaccination strategy is shown to provide the largest economic return with a relatively low risk of loss. More studies to generate data, especially on production impact of the disease and effectiveness of control measures are needed to improve the rigor of future analysis.<br/

Intensity of COVID-19 in care homes following Hospital Discharge in the early stages of the UK epidemic

BackgroundA defining feature of the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries was the tragic extent to which care home residents were affected, and the difficulty preventing introduction and subsequent spread of infection. Management of risk in care homes requires good evidence on the most important transmission pathways. One hypothesised route at the start of the pandemic, prior to widespread testing, was transfer of patients from hospitals, which were experiencing high levels of nosocomial events.MethodsWe tested the hypothesis that hospital discharge events increased the intensity of care home cases using a national individually linked health record cohort in Wales, UK. We monitored 186,772 hospital discharge events over the period March to July 2020, tracking individuals to 923 care homes and recording the daily case rate in the homes populated by 15,772 residents. We estimated the risk of an increase in cases rates following exposure to a hospital discharge using multi-level hierarchical logistic regression, and a novel stochastic Hawkes process outbreak model.FindingsIn regression analysis, after adjusting for care home size, we found no significant association between hospital discharge and subsequent increases in care home case numbers (odds ratio: 0.99, 95% CI 0.82, 1.90). Risk factors for increased cases included care home size, care home resident density, and provision of nursing care. Using our outbreak model, we found a significant effect of hospital discharge on the subsequent intensity of cases. However, the effect was small, and considerably less than the effect of care home size, suggesting the highest risk of introduction came from interaction with the community. We estimated approximately 1.8% of hospital discharged patients may have been infected.InterpretationThere is growing evidence in the UK that the risk of transfer of COVID-19 from the high-risk hospital setting to the high-risk care home setting during the early stages of the pandemic was relatively small. Although access to testing was limited to initial symptomatic cases in each care home at this time, our results suggest that reduced numbers of discharges, selection of patients, and action taken within care homes following transfer all may have contributed to mitigation. The precise key transmission routes from the community remain to be quantified

Chemical Composition of Faint (I~21 mag) Microlensed Bulge Dwarf OGLE-2007-BLG-514S

We present a high-resolution spectrum of a microlensed G dwarf in the Galactic bulge with spectroscopic temperature T_eff = 5600 +/- 180 K. This I~21 mag star was magnified by a factor ranging from 1160 to 1300 at the time of observation. Its high metallicity ([Fe/H] = 0.33 +/- 0.15) places this star at the upper end of the bulge giant metallicity distribution. Using a K-S test, we find a 1.6% probability that the published microlensed bulge dwarfs share an underlying distribution with bulge giants, properly accounting for a radial bulge metallicity gradient. We obtain abundance measurements for 15 elements and perform a rigorous error analysis that includes covariances between parameters. This star, like bulge giants with the same metallicity, shows no alpha enhancement. It confirms the chemical abundance trends observed in previously analyzed bulge dwarfs. At supersolar metallicities, we observe a discrepancy between bulge giant and bulge dwarf Na abundances.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, 5 tables, submitted to Ap

Editors' Note

Editors' Note for the Proceedings of the 2020 Annual Meeting on Phonology (AMP 2020), held at the University of California, Santa Cruz in September 2020

Can trade preferences stimulate sectoral development? The case of Namibian and Botswanan beef exports to Norway

Namibia and Botswana each hold over two million head of cattle, and where small-scale, communal production is an important livelihood for the majority of farmers engaged in livestock. An important tension in each country has been balancing the livelihood demands of predominately smallholder-oriented systems on the one hand with the regulations and investments needed to facilitate and preserve market access for exports on the other. While both countries have made many significant investments in biosecurity to access lucrative markets in the European Union and Norway, the preferential trade arrangements that facilitate exports are controversial. In particular, the use of quotas has politicized the beef trade in both supplying and end markets. This has led to questions in various quarters as to whether such quotas sufficiently regulate and manage trade to meet both developmental objectives on the one hand and Norwegian desire to limit certain imports on the other