Is it wrong to rank? A critical assessment of corruption indices

This paper emphasizes the importance of collecting information on corruption, while still stressing critical aspects of the most applied sources of such information, the cross-country composite corruption indices. Are these indices damaging and misleading or are they informative and useful? The paper points to the implication of the lack of a clear distinction between legal and illegal payments or ways of gaining influence. It summarizes the main limitations of Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), underscores the problem of expecting perceptions to be reliable, and discusses the problem of incorrect understanding and usage of the index. Publicity does not necessarily mean progress, and the construction of the CPI should be influenced by the way this index is applied by the public. A final question is whether it is possible to increase the CPI's value by creating incentives for states to improve their achievements under, for instance, the OECD anti-bribery convention.Corruption Index Data

Business corruption, uncertainty and risk aversion

The presence of business-corruption in a market provokes firms to make choices between legal business approaches and illegal bribery. The outcome of a chosen strategy will usually be uncertain at the time the decision is made, and a firm's decision will depend partly on its attitude towards risk. Drawing on the empirical data provided by a survey of 82 Norwegian exporting businesses, the paper proposes a theory about firm's choices between legal and illegal business practices. It begins by describing the risks, uncertainties and benefits attached to bribery, and specifies their impact on firm's propensity to offer bribes. It then demonstrates how risk averse firms can be more inclined to offer bribes than risk neutral, and even risk attracted firms. Although the analysis diverges from existing theory in stressing the differences between illegal and legal forms of rent-seeking, the findings correspond to the results reported in the literature on legal forms of rent-seeking. JEL D81, F23, K40Rent-seeking Corruption Firms Risk JEL D81, F23, K40

Beaten by bribery: Why not blow the whistle?

A recent business survey in Norway reveals that firms rarely react to corruption, even when they have lost important contracts as a result. This disinclination to take action is explored in the light of market structures, business efficiency, judicial institutions and political corruption. The paper develops a theory about how these four variables deter firms from reacting against corruption, and, in particular, how the potential for collusion reinforces the incentives to remain silent. Considered separately, each of the factors are unable to explain the low frequency of anti-corruption reactions between firms. Considered in combination, however, the various impediments suggest a more complete explanation: When conditions in market structure suggest that the best response would be to take action, political conditions may favour inaction. When a potential whistle-blower expects support from local politicians or legal institutions, the given offender may be impervious to sanctions; its role in the market will not be altered by the given case. The sum of precondition for action suggests that firms rarely react against corruption. JEL L10, K42Corruption Whistleblowing Industrial organization Collusion JEL L10, K42

Three decades (1978–2008) of Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS™) practice revised and evidence revisited

The Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Program was developed to teach doctors one safe, reliable method to assess and initially manage the trauma patient. The ATLS principles represents an organized approach for evaluation and management of seriously injured patients and offers a foundation of common knowledge for all members of the trauma team. After 3 decades of teaching (1978–2008) of ATLS worldwide one should intuitively perceive that the evidence for the effect of ATLS teaching on the improved management of the injured patient be well established. This editorial addresses aspects of trauma education with needs for further development of better evidence of best practice

The role of high-mobility group box-1 (HMGB-1) in the management of suspected acute appendicitis: useful diagnostic biomarker or just another blind alley?

Acute abdominal pain is one of the most frequent reasons for admitting patients to the emergency department for surgical evaluation. A wide number of differential diagnoses are available and their pre-test likelihood ratio varies according to the patients' age, gender, duration of symptoms and overall clinical context. While many patients with abdominal pain do not need to be admitted to the hospital wards and even fewer need eventual surgical intervention, the diagnosis of acute appendicitis remains one of the most frequently entertained differential in patients with abdominal pain. In fact, surgery for appendicitis is one of the most frequently performed operations in the Western world. As the authors of the current study point out, the high mobility group box-1 protein (HMGB1) has been known for many years. The study demonstrates in a small pilot that there is a difference in expression of HMGB1 between those with and those without appendicitis. However, is this difference clinically important? Clinically relevant results can only be documented through larger studies comparing its use and expression levels in both healthy subjects, subjects with abdominal pain for other reasons, patients with 'clear-cut' (histopathologically confirmed) appendicitis and in the difficult subgroup of patients with suspected appendicitis and equivocal symptoms

Prehospital cooling in cardiac arrest - the next frontier?

Therapeutic hypothermia (TH) in unconscious survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is now a well-documented part of post-resuscitation care. Implementation of TH into daily clinical practice has been far more successful in the Scandinavian countries than in the rest of the world. Still, many questions remain. One of them is whether prehospital cooling will result in better outcomes

Exploration and evaluation of offshore repurposing concepts

Økende etterspørsel etter ressurser, en global miljøkrise og politiske uroligheter krever nye måter å drive forretning på, og løsningen kan være å skape et fungerende forhold mellom økonomisk utvikling og økologiske systemer ved å innføre sirkulære strategier. Ettersom et økende antall offshore ressurser går inn i de senere livssyklusstadiene, kan norsk olje- og gassindustri utforske alternativer for å spare nedstengningskostnader for installasjoner og redusere karbonfotavtrykk. En mulig, ny ide som er verdt å studere, er alternativ bruk av strukturer og topsides for nye næringer som et kostnadseffektivt alternativ til den tradisjonelle dekommisjonerings- og resirkuleringsmetoden. Derfor er hensikten med denne oppgaven å utforske og evaluere mulige, norske konsept for alternativ bruk av offshore ressurser som i dag brukes innen olje- og gassindustrien. Det første målet er å utforske gjenbrukskonsepter og identifisere beslutningskriterier ved tematisk analyse av en litteraturgjennomgang og kvalitativ forskning. Det andre målet er å evaluere hvert gjenbrukskonsept ved å konstruere en beslutningsmatrise basert på identifiserte beslutningskriterier. Flere konsepter har blitt utforsket og evaluert, som for eksempel offshore oppdrettsanlegg, transformatorstasjoner, hydrogenproduksjon, hoteller, CCS, rigger-til-skjær. De mest fremtredende, identifiserte beslutningskriteriene var type platform, bevegelighet, tilgjengelig teknologi og ekspertise, markedspotensial og miljørisiko. En beslutningsmatrise med tekniske, økonomiske og miljømessige beslutningskriterier bekrefter at oppdrettsanlegg og transformatorstasjoner for offshore vindparker var foretrukne gjenbrukskonsepter. Denne oppgavens resultater kan veilede videre introduksjon og utvikling av sirkulære strategier i en tradisjonell industri, og potensielt gi veiledning i å finne innovative løsninger på aktuelle utfordringer.Increasing demand for resources, a global environmental crisis and political disruption demand new ways of doing business, and the solution may be to create a workable relationship between economic development and ecological systems by the introduction of circular strategies. As a growing number of offshore assets are entering the later lifecycle stages, the Norwegian oil and gas industry may explore options for saving decommissioning costs of installations and reducing carbon footprints. A viable, unexplored option worth studying is the repurposing of structures and topsides for new industries as a cost-efficient alternative to the traditional decommissioning and recycling approach. Thus, the purpose of this thesis is to explore and evaluate Norwegian repurposing concepts for offshore assets currently within the oil and gas industry. The first objective is to explore repurposing concepts and extract decision criteria by thematic analysis of a literature review and qualitative research. The second objective is to evaluate each repurposing concept by constructing a decision-making matrix based on identified decision criteria. Several concepts have been explored and evaluated, such as offshore fish farms, substations, hydrogen production, hotels, CCS, rigs-to-reefs, and more. The most prominent decision criteria during this study were asset type, movability, available technology and expertise, market potential and environmental risk. A decision matrix with technical, economic, and environmental decision criteria confirms that fish farms and substations for offshore wind parks were preferred repurposing concepts. This thesis results may guide further introduction and development of circular strategies in a traditional industry, and potentially provide guidance in finding innovative solutions to current challenges

Successful use of therapeutic hypothermia in an opiate induced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest complicated by severe hypoglycaemia and amphetamine intoxication: a case report

The survival to discharge rate after unwitnessed, non-cardiac out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is dismal. We report the successful use of therapeutic hypothermia in a 26-year old woman with OHCA due to intentional poisoning with heroin, amphetamine and insulin

Cellular metabolism in colorectal carcinogenesis: Influence of lifestyle, gut microbiome and metabolic pathways

The interconnectivity between diet, gut microbiota and cell molecular responses is well known; however, only recently has technology allowed the identification of strains of microorganisms harbored in the gastrointestinal tract that may increase susceptibility to cancer. The colonic environment appears to play a role in the development of colon cancer, which is influenced by the human metabolic lifestyle and changes in the gut microbiome. Studying metabolic changes at the cellular level in cancer be useful for developing novel improved preventative measures, such as screening through metabolic breath-tests or treatment options that directly affect the metabolic pathways responsible for the carcinogenicity

Prognostication after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, a clinical survey

Background: Numerous parameters and tests have been proposed for outcome prediction in comatose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survivors. We conducted a survey of clinical practice of prognostication after therapeutic hypothermia (TH) became common practice in Norway. Methods: By telephone, we interviewed the consultants who were in charge of the 25 ICUs admitting cardiac patients using 6 structured questions regarding timing, tests used and medical specialties involved in prognostication, as well as the clinical importance of the different parameters used and the application of TH in these patients. Results: Prognostication was conducted within 24–48 hours in the majority (72%) of the participating ICUs. The most commonly applied parameters and tests were a clinical neurological examination (100%), prehospital data (76%), CCT (56%) and EEG (52%). The parameters and tests considered to be of greatest importance for accurate prognostication were prehospital data (56%), neurological examination (52%), and EEG (20%). In 76% of the ICUs, a multidisciplinary approach to prognostication was applied, but only one ICU used a standardised protocol. Therapeutic hypothermia was in routine use in 80% of the surveyed ICUs. Conclusion: Despite the routine use of TH, outcome prediction was performed early and was mainly based on prehospital information, neurological examination and CCT and EEG evaluation. Somatosensory evoked potentials appear to be underused and underrated, while the importance of prehospital data, CCT and EEG to appear to be overrated as methods for making accurate predictions. More evidence-based protocols for prognostication in cardiac arrest survivors, as well as additional studies on the effect of TH on known prognostic parameters are needed