Up In Smoke: The Place of the Modern American Cigarette

Since its discovery, the use of tobacco products has acted as a form of meditation, social engagement, and reprieve. In the era following the late 1950’s, designated “smoking areas,” whether sequestered informally by social constraints or formally by the law, have led to a culture of very “implaced” cigarette smoking. These have become places of escape, places of exile, and places of compromise. This paper explores what it means to belong, and not to belong, to these places, and the role of designated smoking areas in the formation of our culture

Service delivery for people with hereditary spastic paraparesis living in the South West of England.

PURPOSE: Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP) is an inherited nervous system disorder characterized by development of leg weakness, spasms and stiffness. While generally acknowledged that health and social care services can minimise symptoms and improve quality of life, there is a lack of research exploring this from the perspective of people affected by HSP. This qualitative study explored the users and providers experience of using rural services. METHOD: Focus groups and interviews were undertaken of people with HSP (n = 14), carers (n = 6) and professionals (n = 12), to describe their experience of service provision and to suggest improvements for care. These were taped, transcribed and analysed. RESULTS: Four themes emerged: (1) Diagnosis, symptoms and finding support; (2) Therapy, treatment and the delivery of care; (3) Managing the disease together; and (4) The way forward. CONCLUSIONS: Rehabilitation and support for self-management is valued by those affected with HSP throughout the disease trajectory from diagnosis onwards. Key to this is the development of a partnership approach which includes carers. Single point, well-informed, gatekeepers may enhance the coordination and delivery of care in rural areas. These findings underline current guidance promoting a holistic approach for people with neurological conditions

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a complex comorbidity of lung cancer

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major burden throughout the world. It is associated with a significantly increased incidence of lung cancer and may influence treatment options and outcome. Impaired lung function confirming COPD is an independent risk factor for lung cancer. Oxidative stress and inflammation may be a key link between COPD and lung cancer, with numerous molecular markers being analysed to attempt to understand the pathway of lung cancer development. COPD negatively influences the ability to deliver radical treatment options, so attempts must be made to look for alternative methods of treating lung cancer, while aiming to manage the underlying COPD. Detailed assessment and management plans utilizing the multidisciplinary team must be made for all lung cancer patients with COPD to provide the best care possible.Journal of Comorbidity 2011;1(1):45–5

Estimating Demand with Varied Levels of Aggregation.

The response of consumer demand to prices, income, and other characteristics is important for a range of policy issues. Naturally, the level of detail for which consumer behaviour can be estimated depends on the level of disaggregation of the available data. However, it is often the case that the available data is differently aggregated in different time periods, with the information available in later time periods usually being more detailed. The applied researcher is thus faced with choosing between detail, in which case the more highly aggregated data is ignored; or duration, in which case the data must be aggregated up to the "lowest common denominator". This paper develops a specification/estimation technique that exploits the entire information content of a variably-aggregated data set.Singular demand systems, Linear expenditure system, Almost ideal demand system, Missing data.

Promoting access to primary equity markets : a legal and regulatory approach

This paper examines legal and regulatory measures that can be taken to promote access to the primary market in emerging market economies. While capital market development depends on many factors including, primarily, a favorable macroeconomic environment, an appropriately designed and effective legal and regulatory framework can help to encourage market growth and to increase access to finance for all companies, including small- and medium-sized enterprises. In this paper we identify the basic necessities that underpin a regulatory regime that is cost effective and strikes an appropriate balance between, on the one hand, laws and regulations that may be too restrictive to achieve a supply of capital and, on the other, those that may be so relaxed that investors feel that there is an unacceptable level of risk and do not care to venture into the market. We explore the legal foundations for the successful operation of a primary market for securities and identify disclosure and effective monitoring and enforcement as essential elements of legal protection. We then examine different legal and regulatory approaches for improving access to finance. We discuss measures that can be used by traditional stock exchanges to attract smaller enterprises to their lists as well as recent initiatives to create second boards or divide the main board into different market segments. We also discuss different mechanisms for companies to raise funds outside of a formal stock market listing, including private placements and private equity. Finally, we propose some recommendations for a simple legal and regulatory framework that will help promote access to primary equity markets, via both the traditional exchange as well as other alternatives.Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Financial Intermediation,CorporateLaw,Investment and Investment Climate

Parametric studies with an atmospheric diffusion model that assesses toxic fuel hazards due to the ground clouds generated by rocket launches

Parametric studies were made with a multilayer atmospheric diffusion model to place quantitative limits on the uncertainty of predicting ground-level toxic rocket-fuel concentrations. Exhaust distributions in the ground cloud, cloud stabilized geometry, atmospheric coefficients, the effects of exhaust plume afterburning of carbon monoxide CO, assumed surface mixing-layer division in the model, and model sensitivity to different meteorological regimes were studied. Large-scale differences in ground-level predictions are quantitatively described. Cloud alongwind growth for several meteorological conditions is shown to be in error because of incorrect application of previous diffusion theory. In addition, rocket-plume calculations indicate that almost all of the rocket-motor carbon monoxide is afterburned to carbon dioxide CO2, thus reducing toxic hazards due to CO. The afterburning is also shown to have a significant effect on cloud stabilization height and on ground-level concentrations of exhaust products

The Finite-Sample Properties of Autoregressive Approximations of Fractionally-Integrated and Non-Invertible Processes

This paper investigates the empirical properties of autoregressive approximations to two classes of process for which the usual regularity conditions do not apply; namely the non-invertible and fractionally integrated processes considered in Poskitt (2006). In that paper the theoretical consequences of fitting long autoregressions under regularity conditions that allow for these two situations was considered, and convergence rates for the sample autocovariances and autoregressive coefficients established. We now consider the finite-sample properties of alternative estimators of the AR parameters of the approximating AR(h) process and corresponding estimates of the optimal approximating order h. The estimators considered include the Yule-Walker, Least Squares, and Burg estimators.Autoregression, autoregressive approximation, fractional process,

Using meta-ethnography to understand the emotional impact of caring for people with increasing cognitive impairment.

The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.comThe majority of people with degenerative neurological conditions are cared for within their own families. Cognitive impairment can be a significant and increasing symptom of these conditions. In this article we report how a team of experienced researchers carried out a meta-ethnography of qualitative research articles focusing on the impact of caring for a loved one with cognitive impairment. We followed the seven-step process outlined by Noblit and Hare. Synthesized findings from 31 papers suggest emotional impact is complex and uncertain and varies from day to day. The benefit of using meta-ethnography is that the results represent a larger sample size and a reinterpretation of multiple studies can hold greater application for practice. The results of this study offer an opportunity for nurses to be aware of both the positive and negative sides of caring and being cared for. This knowledge can be used to discuss with patients and carers how best to prepare for decreasing cognition and still maintain a worthwhile quality of life