Situating care in mainstream health economics: an ethical dilemma?

Standard health economics concentrates on the provision of care by medical professionals. Yet ‘care’ receives scant analysis; it is portrayed as a spillover effect or externality in the form of interdependent utility functions. In this context care can only be conceived as either acts of altruism or as social capital. Both conceptions are subject to considerable problems stemming from mainstream health economics’ reliance on a reductionist social model built around instrumental rationality and consequentialism. Subsequently, this implies a disregard for moral rules and duties and the compassionate aspects of behaviour. Care as an externality is a second-order concern relative to self-interested utility maximization, and is therefore crowded out by the parameters of the standard model. We outline an alternative relational approach to conceptualising care based on the social embeddedness of the individual that emphasises the ethical properties of care. The deontological dimension of care suggests that standard health economics is likely to undervalue the importance of care and caring in medicine

Filament wound metal lined propellant tanks for future Earth-to-orbit transports

For future Earth-to-orbit transport vehicles, reusability and lighter weights are sought for the main propellant tanks. To achieve this, a filament wound tank with a metal liner and an intermediate layer of foam-filled honeycomb is proposed. A hydrogen tank is used as an example. To accommodate mismatches in the expansion of liner and overwrap a design is proposed wherin the liner is configured so that the extension of the liner under pressure matches the expected contraction of the same liner due to the presence of a cryogen. In operation, the liner is pressurized at a rate such that the pressure strain matches the contraction due to decrease in temperature. As an alternate approach, compressive pre-stress is placed in the liner such that it will not separate from the overwrap. A finite element program is used to show stresses in the liner and overwrap for various tank pressures for the pre-stressed liner concept. A fracture mechanics analysis is made of the liners to determine tank life. The tank concept shown has a similar weight to the Shuttle external hydrogen tank, but the filament wound tank is expected to be reusable. Integration of the propellant tanks into a future transport vehicle is discussed

(WP 2019-02) A Road Not Taken? A Brief History of Care in Economic Thought

Care is central to the human experience and part of the social provisioning process. Adam Smith recognized this, associating care with sympathy. Later contributions in the political economy tradition also provide scope for an analysis of care, but none as developed as Smith’s. With the emergence of the current mainstream, care is marginalized. Kenneth Boulding’s analysis provides an opportunity to interrogate care in the economy, but he fails to explicitly acknowledge care. It is left to feminist economics to highlight the centrality of care. An implication is that it challenges the conventional rubric of economic organization predicated on self-interest

Cosmic Vortons and Particle Physics Constraints

We investigate the cosmological consequences of particle physics theories that admit stable loops of superconducting cosmic string - {\it vortons}. General symmetry breaking schemes are considered, in which strings are formed at one energy scale and subsequently become superconducting in a secondary phase transition at what may be a considerably lower energy scale. We estimate the abundances of the ensuing vortons, and thereby derive constraints on the relevant particle physics models from cosmological observations. These constraints significantly restrict the category of admissible Grand Unified theories, but are quite compatible with recently proposed effects whereby superconducting strings may have been formed close to the electroweak phase transition.Comment: 33 pages, 2 figures, RevTe

Trust, Expertise, and E-Commerce Intermediary Adoption

This research investigates how the amount of trust a consumer has in an electronic commerce intermediary and the amount of expertise that consumer needs to acquire in order to be able to use the intermediary affect the intention to adopt the electronic commerce intermediary. The paper analyzes both the direct effects of trust and expertise on adoption intention, as well as the indirect effects through two mediating variables widely used in adoption studies, usefulness and ease of use. These effects are hypothesized to be further moderated by the level of transaction complexity. The results partially support both the direct effects model and the indirect effects model, pointing out that trust and expertise are, as hypothesized by academicians and practitioners alike, important in encouraging adoption of electronic commerce technologies. In addition, the results show that trust and expertise become more important in determining the adoption intention as transaction complexity increases

The origins of species richness in the Hymenoptera: insights from a family-level supertree

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The order Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps, sawflies) contains about eight percent of all described species, but no analytical studies have addressed the origins of this richness at family-level or above. To investigate which major subtaxa experienced significant shifts in diversification, we assembled a family-level phylogeny of the Hymenoptera using supertree methods. We used sister-group species-richness comparisons to infer the phylogenetic position of shifts in diversification.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The supertrees most supported by the underlying input trees are produced using matrix representation with compatibility (MRC) (from an all-in and a compartmentalised analysis). Whilst relationships at the tips of the tree tend to be well supported, those along the backbone of the tree (e.g. between Parasitica superfamilies) are generally not. Ten significant shifts in diversification (six positive and four negative) are found common to both MRC supertrees. The Apocrita (wasps, ants, bees) experienced a positive shift at their origin accounting for approximately 4,000 species. Within Apocrita other positive shifts include the Vespoidea (vespoid wasps/ants containing 24,000 spp.), Anthophila + Sphecidae (bees/thread-waisted wasps; 22,000 spp.), Bethylidae + Chrysididae (bethylid/cuckoo wasps; 5,200 spp.), Dryinidae (dryinid wasps; 1,100 spp.), and Proctotrupidae (proctotrupid wasps; 310 spp.). Four relatively species-poor families (Stenotritidae, Anaxyelidae, Blasticotomidae, Xyelidae) have undergone negative shifts. There are some two-way shifts in diversification where sister taxa have undergone shifts in opposite directions.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggest that numerous phylogenetically distinctive radiations contribute to the richness of large clades. They also suggest that evolutionary events restricting the subsequent richness of large clades are common. Problematic phylogenetic issues in the Hymenoptera are identified, relating especially to superfamily validity (e.g. "Proctotrupoidea", "Mymarommatoidea"), and deeper apocritan relationships. Our results should stimulate new functional studies on the causes of the diversification shifts we have identified. Possible drivers highlighted for specific adaptive radiations include key anatomical innovations, the exploitation of rich host groups, and associations with angiosperms. Low richness may have evolved as a result of geographical isolation, specialised ecological niches, and habitat loss or competition.</p