Valuing the biodiversity gains from protecting native plant communities from bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp rotundata (DC.) T.Norl.) in New South Wales: application of the defensive expenditure method

Valuation of the gains from protection of biodiversity is difficult because the services that provide the benefits do not normally pass through markets where prices can form. But the services sometimes pass through markets where consumers or producers behave in a market-oriented manner, and so the values implicit in this behaviour can be identified and derived. Estimates of the benefits of biodiversity protection are derived from the costs of protecting native plant communities from a major weed in Australia, by following this approach. In 1999, invasion of coastal areas of New South Wales by bitou bush (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata (DC.) T. Norl.) was listed as a key process threatening native plants under the NSW Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995. In accordance with the Act, the Department of Environment and Climate Change prepared a Threat Abatement Plan (TAP) to reduce the impacts of bitou bush on biodiversity at each threatened site. The costs of protecting sites vary closely with the number of priority native species and communities at each site. Following standard economic assumptions about market transactions, these costs are interpreted to provide values the benefits of protecting extra species, communities, and sites. Key words: Bitou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera, threat abatement plan, valuation of biodiversity, benefit-cost analysis, weed control, defensive-expenditure method.Bitou bush, Chrysanthemoides monilifera, threat abatement plan, valuation of biodiversity, benefit-cost analysis, weed control, defensive-expenditure method, Demand and Price Analysis, Environmental Economics and Policy,

Eradication of Exotic Weeds in Australia: Comparing Effort and Expenditure

Weeds have many adverse impacts on agriculture and the environment and therefore are often targets of eradication attempts. Eradication attempts involve large commitments of labour and financial resources over significant periods of time. Using data from 12 Australian weed eradication attempts the authors compare work hours and expenditure on each attempt for various initial-infestation sizes. Analysis of a limited data set shows: (1) that while the eradication effort increases with the initial area of infestation, the effort applied per hectare actually decreases; (2) that application of a greater work effort was not the reason why completed eradications were successful; and (3) that the larger the initial infestation size, the smaller the amount of resources applied per hectare for eradication.weeds, eradication, work effort, expenditure, infestation size, Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Leadership infermieristica nella ricerca sanitaria qualitativa

Esistono prove empiriche solide ed indiscutibili che supportano la conclusione che la vaccinazione di neonati e bambini contro morbillo, parotite, rosolia (MPR) non sia causa di autismo. In Europa, le prove più recenti provengono da uno studio di coorte effettuato su 657.461 bambini nati in Danimarca tra il 1999 e il 2010 che ha concluso che la vaccinazione MPR non è associata a nuovi casi di autismo post vaccinazione né aumenta il rischio di bambini di sviluppare l'autismo (Hviid, Hansen, Frish & Melbye, 2019). Sempre più spesso, tuttavia in svariati contesti sanitari di assistenza primaria, acuta, di comunití  e a lungo termine, gli infermieri incontrano individui che appaiono molto scettici rispetto alle vaccinazioni, nonostante le robuste prove dell'efficacia dei vaccini e l'implementazione di piani internazionali ed nazionali di prevenzione vaccinale. Lo scetticismo nei confronti delle vaccinazioni cosí¬ come i bassi tassi di copertura vaccinale, sono ben documentati in tutta Europa, sia tra le donne alle quali è consigliato di vaccinarsi contro l'influenza e la pertosse durante la gravidanza (Wilson, Paterson, Larson, 2019), come anche negli adolescenti che possono essere vaccinati contro il Papillomavirus Umano (Vaccino HPV) (Karafillakis et al., 2019), ed infine tra gli operatori sanitari rispetto alla vaccinazione contro l'influenza stagionale (Gilardi et al., 2018). Di recente, l'Organizzazione Mondiale della Sanití  (2019) ha identificato proprio nello scetticismo rispetto ai vaccini, una delle dieci minacce principali alla salute globale. Questa minaccia globale rende evidente che oltre agli studi quantitativi che forniscono informazioni sull'efficacia dei vaccini e sulle misure di copertura vaccinale, gli infermieri e gli altri operatori sanitari hanno bisogno di risposte a domande altrettanto importanti, quali: "Quali fattori del sistema organizzativo o sanitario influenzano l'adozione di successo dei programmi di vaccinazioni? "Quali sono i valori e le credenze delle persone nei confronti delle vaccinazioni? "o" In che modo le persone prendono la decisione di vaccinare (o meno)?". Le risposte a queste domande possono essere trovate attraverso la conduzione di studi di ricerca sanitaria qualitativa

Nursing Leadership in Qualitative Health Research

There is undisputable, robust empirical evidence that supports the conclusion that immunizing infants and young children with the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccination does not cause autism. In Europe, the most recent evidence comes from a nationwide cohort study of 657,461 children born in Denmark between 1999 and 2010 which concluded that MMR vaccination is not associated with any clustering of new cases of autism following vaccination and that it does not increase any child's risk for autism (Hviid, Hansen, Frish & Melbye, 2019). Increasingly however, across primary, acute, community and long-term care contexts, registered nurses are encountering individuals who are hesitant to immunize, despite the evidence of vaccine effectiveness and implementation of national immunization programs. Vaccine hesitancy, as well as low vaccination coverage rates, are well documented throughout Europe, whether it be among women recommended to receive influenza and pertussis vaccination during pregnancy (Wilson, Paterson, & Larson, 2019), adolescents eligible to receive the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine (Karafillakis et al., 2019), or health care professionals and the uptake of the seasonal influenza vaccination (Gilardi et al., 2018). Recently, the World Health Organization (2019) identified vaccine hesitancy as one of the top-ten threats to global health. This global threat makes it apparent that in addition to quantitative studies that provide information about the effectivenessof vaccines and measures of vaccination coverage, nurses and other health care professionals need answers to equally important questions, such as: "What organizational or health system factors influence the successful uptake of immunization programs?" "What are individuals' values and beliefs towards vaccinations?" or "How do individuals make the decision to vaccinate (or not)?" The answers to these questions can be found through the conduct and use of qualitative health research

Understanding the Blogging Practices of Women Undergoing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): A Discourse Analysis of Women’s IVF Blogs

Infertility and its associated treatments, including in vitro fertilization (IVF), can have a profound impact on the emotional health and well-being of women desiring to become mothers. Researchers have measured the impact of infertility and described the experience of infertility and its treatment, leaving the rich descriptions of the IVF experience as captured in women’s blogs to be explored. This discourse analysis describes the blogging practices of women undergoing IVF, exploring both the content and function of the IVF blog discourse. Data were collected from the text of seven women’s blogs (n=1,149 blog posts) and resulted in four main functions of the discourse: creation of and connection to a community, emotional support, blogging as therapy, and creation of an IVF resource. Findings suggest that blogging can have a positive impact on the psychosocial consequences experienced by women in fertility treatment

Critical Approach to Reflexivity in Grounded Theory

A problem with the popular desire to legitimate one’s research through the inclusion of reflexivity is its increasingly uncritical adoption and practice, with most researchers failing to define their understandings, specific positions, and approaches. Considering the relative recentness with which reflexivity has been explicitly described in the context of grounded theory, guidance for incorporating it within this research approach is currently in the early stages. In this article, we illustrate a three-stage approach used in a grounded theory study of how parents of children with autism navigate intervention. Within this approach, different understandings of reflexivity are first explored and mapped, a methodologically consistent position that includes the aspects of reflexivity one will address is specified, and reflexivity-related observations are generated and ultimately reported. According to the position specified, we reflexively account for multiple researcher influences, including on methodological decisions, participant interactions and data collection, analysis, writing, and influence of the research on the researcher. We hope this illustrated approach may serve both as a potential model for how researchers can critically design and implement their own context-specific approach to reflexivity, and as a stimulus for further methodological discussion of how to incorporate reflexivity into grounded theory research

Qualitative Health Research Involving Indigenous Peoples: Culturally Appropriate Data Collection Methods

Historically, health research involving Indigenous peoples has been fraught with problems, including researchers not addressing Indigenous research priorities and then subsequently often failing to utilize culturally appropriate methods. Given this historical precedence, some Indigenous populations may be reluctant to participate in research projects. In response to these concerns, the Government of Canada has developed the Tri-Council Policy Statement (TCPS2): Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada, which stipulates the requirements for research collaborations with Indigenous communities. Utilizing this policy as an ethical standard for research practices, this paper describes, critiques and synthesizes the literature on culturally appropriate oral-data collection methods, excluding interviews and focus groups, for use with Indigenous people in Canada. Results suggest that photovoice, symbol-based reflection, circles and story-telling can be methodologically rigorous and culturally appropriate methods of collecting data with this population. Suggestions are made for researchers wishing to use these methods to promote respectful and collaborative research partnerships with Indigenous peoples in Canada

Radiometer offsets and count conversion coefficients for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) spacecraft for the years 1984, 1985, and 1986

A compendium is presented of the ground and inflight scanner and nonscanner offsets and count conversion (gain) coefficients used for the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) production processing of data from the ERBS, NOAA-9, and NOAA-10 satellites for the 1 Nov. 1984 to 31 Dec. 1986