33 research outputs found
Ambiguity and Overconfidence
There are two phenomena in behavioral finance and economics which are
seemingly unrelated and have been studied separately; overconfidence and
ambiguity aversion. In this paper we are trying to link these two
phenomena providing a theoretical foundation supported by evidence from
an experimental study. We derive a model, based on the max-min ambiguity
framework that links overconfidence to ambiguity aversion. In the
experimental study we find that overconfidence is decreasing in
ambiguity, as predicted by our model
Epidemiological Investigation of Bovine Ephemeral Fever Outbreaks in Israel
Outbreaks of bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) occurred in Israel in 1990, 1999, and 2004. The main patterns of BEF spread were similar in the 1990 and in 1999 epidemics, and the BEF virus was probably carried in vectors transported by air streams across the Rift Valley and the Red Sea. In the 2004 outbreak, the primary focus of the disease was the southern Mediterranean coastal plain and the disease agent was apparently brought by infected mosquitoes carried from their breeding site in the Nile Delta by the south-western winds. The disease broke out under optimal ecological conditions, among a vulnerable cattle population and spread rapidly; it showed essentially a spring-summer herd incidence and terminated soon after the night average ambient temperature fell below 16°C in late autumn. The herd incidence of the disease reached 78.4%, 97.7%, and 100% in 1990, 1999, and 2004, respectively. The highest herd incidence, morbidity, and case fatality rates were noted in dairy cattle herds in the Jordan Valley, with morbidity of 20%, 38.6%, and 22.2%, and case fatality rate among affected animals of 2%, 8.6%, and 5.4% in 1990, 1999, and 2004, respectively. The average sero-positivity to BEF in 1999 was 39.5%, which matched the morbidity rate. Comparison among the various age groups showed that the lowest morbidity rates were observed in the youngest age group, that is, heifers up to 1 year, with 3.2%, 3.6%, and 4.2% in 1990, 1999, and 2004, respectively. In heifers from 1 year to calving, the morbidity rates were 13.8%, 14.9%, and 28%, respectively, in first calvers 30.8%, 31.6%, and 28.3%, respectively, and in cows 34.3%, 35.7%, and 27.2%, respectively. All affected cattle were over the age of 3 months. It is hypothesized that mosquitoes and not Culicoides spp. are the vectors of the BEF virus in Israel
Bovine Necrotic Vulvovaginitis Associated with Porphyromonas levii
An outbreak of bovine necrotic vulvovaginitis associated with Porphyromonas levii, an emerging animal and human pathogen, affected 32 cows on a dairy farm in the northeast of Israel. Five animals had to be culled. This report appears to be the first that associates P. levii with bovine necrotic vulvovagnitis
Multidrug-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii
A case-control, epidemiologic, and molecular study of nosocomial MDR A. baumannii showed the existence of multiple clones and a complex epidemiologic pattern
The effect of medical students’ gender, ethnicity and attitude towards poetry-reading on the evaluation of a required, clinically-integrated poetry- based educational intervention
Article ID 290541, 5 pages Outbreaks of bovine ephemeral fever (BEF) occurred in Israel in 1990
south-western winds. The disease broke out under optimal ecological conditions, among a vulnerable cattle population and spread rapidly; it showed essentially a spring-summer herd incidence and terminated soon after the night average ambient temperature fell below 16 • C in late autumn. The herd incidence of the disease reached 78. 4%, 97.7%, and 100% in 1990, 1999, and 2004, respectively. The highest herd incidence, morbidity, and case fatality rates were noted in dairy cattle herds in the Jordan Valley, with morbidity of 20%, 38.6%, and 22.2%, and case fatality rate among affected animals of 2%, 8.6%, and 5.4% in 1990, 1999, and 2004, respectively. The average sero-positivity to BEF in 1999 was 39.5%, which matched the morbidity rate. Comparison among the various age groups showed that the lowest morbidity rates were observed in the youngest age group, that is, heifers up to 1 year, with 3.2%, 3.6%, and 4. 2% in 1990, 1999, and 2004, respectively. In heifers from 1 year to calving, the morbidity rates were 13.8%, 14.9%, and 28%, respectively, in first calvers 30.8%, 31.6%, and 28.3%, respectively, and in cows 34.3%, 35.7%, and 27.2%, respectively. All affected cattle were over the age of 3 months. It is hypothesized that mosquitoes and not Culicoides spp. are the vectors of the BEF virus in Israel
Nurses’ authority in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) in Israel- The disparity between policy and Practice
Background: Policy implementation is a fundamental aspect in management. This study examined gaps and barriers in the implementation process of governmental policy with respect to the division of responsibility and authority between physicians and nurses. In this study we aimed to examine the work processes and actual division of labor between physicians and nurses in the Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs) and the disparities between them and the Israeli Ministry of Health policy (MOH) and to examine the attitudes of staff members towards the need for policy changeMethods: A cross-sectional study, conducted among physicians and nurses at 22 NICUs in Israel. 432 recruited (50% rate).Results: A disparity was found between policy and actual practice. Many of the tasks permitted to RNs by law or regulations are not actually performed by them.</p
Effects of husbands' and wives' education on each other's mortality
Education is an important predictor of one's own cardiovascular disease (CVD) and overall mortality. Little is known, however, regarding the effect of other individuals, specifically a spouse, on these risks. In the present study, we examine the contribution of a spouse's educational attainment and the effect of educational discrepancy between spouses on CVD and overall mortality. Data were taken from the Israel Longitudinal Mortality Study, which linked a 20% sample of the 1983 census to mortality records through 1992. The study cohort comprised 37,618 married couples aged 45-69 years. During the 9.5-year follow-up 6058 men and 2568 women died. Overall and CVD mortality hazard ratios were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models. We found that the educational attainment of both spouses were significant predictors of one's own overall mortality. For CVD mortality, however, a wife's educational attainment was a stronger predictor of her husband's risk of dying than his own educational level, while for women a husband's education had little affect. Educational discrepancy between partners did not affect overall mortality and had a varied effect on CVD mortality by sex. Specifically, highly educated women had an almost two-fold increased risk of CVD mortality when married to less educated husbands, while lesser-educated women were not affected by their spouses' educational attainment. Spouses' education adds valuable information when assessing mortality differentials among married persons, and socioeconomic characteristics of one's immediate family are important influences on one's health.Cardiovascular disease Education Mortality Socioeconomic status Spouse Israel