Consumption and Income Inequality in Australia

It has been argued that consumption is a more appropriate measure of household wellbeing than income or earnings. Using four Household Expenditures Surveys collected by the Australian Bureau of Statistics between 1975 and 1993, we examine trends in consumption inequality among Australian households and compare consumption inequality with income inequality. We find that consumption is much more equal than income. Further, while both income and consumption inequality rose by statistically and economically significant amounts over the period covered by our survey, consumption inequality rose by much less. For example, the Gini coefficient for equivalent gross income inequality rose by 0.043 (17%) while the Gini coefficient for equivalent nondurable consumption rose by 0.019 (9%). We discuss possible interpretations of these differences. Through a series of specification checks we are able to rule out several ways in which the result might be spurious, or an artifact of our methodological choices. One interpretation of the results is that some income inequality in Australia reflects transitory fluctuations which households can smooth, and that some of the growth in income inequality over the study period reflects an increase in these transitory fluctuations.

Demographic Trends and Consumption Inequality in Australia 1975-1993

We examine trends in consumption inequality among Australian households using the Australian Bureau of Statistics Household Expenditures Surveys collected over the period 1975 to 1993. We find that consumption is much more equal than income and that both income and consumption inequality rose by significant amounts over the period. However, consumption inequality rose by much less (the Gini coefficient for income inequality rose by 17% while that for nondurable consumption rose by 9%). We then examine the effects of demographic trends, specifically population ageing and changing family structures, and find they account for only a minor fraction in the overall growth in economic inequality.

E-mail archiving: all things to all people

Need to preserve selected records in accordance with your retention schedule, remove "old" e-mail from fast storage media, or keep a tamper-proof copy of all e-mail for legal compliance? How do you implement a workable solution that balances risks, is underpinned by policy, and responds to legal, user, and technical pressures

The kinetics of the reaction of superoxide radical with Fe(III) complexes of EDTA, DETAPAC and HEDTA

AbstractTo gain an understanding of the mechanism by which the hydroxyl free radical can arise in superoxide generating systems and learn how different chelaters of iron can inhibit this reaction, a pulse radiolysis kinetic study of the reaction of O−2 with Fe(III)EDTA, Fe(III)HEDTA and Fe(III)DETAPAC (or DTPA) was undertaken. Superoxide reacts readily with Fe(III)EDTA and Fe(III)HEDTA with a pH-dependent second-order rate constant having values of 1.9 × 106 M−1.s−1 and 7.6 × 105 M−1.s−1 at pH 7, respectively. However, the rate constant for the reaction of O−2 with Fe(III)DETAPAC was found to be much slower, the upper limit for the rate constant being 104 M−1.s−1. These results in conjunction with spin-trapping experiments with Fe(II)EDTA, Fe(II)HEDTA, Fe(II)DETAPAC and H2O2 suggests that DETAPAC inhibits the formation of OH by slowing the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) and not by inhibiting the Fenton reaction

E-mail archiving for records management

The business of universities is increasingly transacted by email, and the management and preservation of stored email is an important part of an institution’s records management process. Until recently at Loughborough University email was mostly sent from, and received into, email accounts assigned to individuals, and was stored and deleted by these individuals as they saw fit. Stored email was deleted when staff left. It was backed up for business continuity, but backups were kept for a short time, and not for archive purposes. In 2002 the University successfully bid for funding from JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) under the programme “Study of the Records Lifecycle, specialist electronic studies” for a project to examine institutional email. An overview of the findings of this project is given, along with results of surveys of UK universities in 2003, 2004 and 2006 into their practice in archiving email. In 2006 the University embarked on the process of replacing the staff email system, the intention being to implement email archiving as part of the rollout, drawing on the work of the earlier project which had produced a draft email retention policy for the University. The design of the archiving facility was determined by user consultation and by involving the University senior management in consideration of the risks to being covered. Technical issues to do with the choice of server and supported client platforms also heavily influenced the choice of solution that is now being provided. The University is currently in the early stages of rollout of the email upgrade, and we describe the method we are using to implement the archiving facility

Development of an oral protein subunit COVID-19 vaccine to induce mucosal and systemic immune response

It is widely recognized that mucosal immunization is the most efficient route of delivery to offer protective immunity. Oral administration can boost the economic value of vaccines, make needle-free delivery possible, and allow for safe and convenient self-administration. Despite these critical advantages, there are very few oral or nasal COVID-19 vaccine in development, and none on the market. The main challenge for an efficacious vaccine administered orally is the need for an efficient antigen delivery system into the mucosa. VaxForm has developed a technology that consists of co-adsorbing antigen(s) and a C-type lectin (CTL) receptor agonist to an aluminum delivery particle and encapsulating the vaccine with an enteric polymer to protect it from the stomach acidic environment and enhance stability. Once in the intestines, the protective polymer dissolves, and the CTL agonist targets the microfold (M) cells in the gut associated lymphoid tissues (GALT), allowing efficient delivery of the antigens adsorbed to aluminum particle Please click Download on the upper right corner to see the full abstract

Improving readiness for recruitment through simulated trial activation: the Adjuvant Steroids in Adults with Pandemic influenza (ASAP) trial

Background: Research in public health emergencies requires trials to be set up in readiness for activation at short notice and in anticipation of limited timelines for patient recruitment. We conducted a simulated activation of a hibernating pandemic influenza clinical trial in order to test trial processes and to determine the value of such simulation in maintaining trial readiness. Methods: The simulation involved the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit, one participating hospital, one manufacturing unit and the Investigational Medicinal Product (IMP) supplier. During the exercise, from 15 September 2015 to 2 December 2015, clinical staff at the participating site completed the trial training package, a volunteer acting as a patient was recruited to the study, ‘dummy’ IMP was prescribed and follow-up completed. Results: Successful activation of the hibernating trial with patient recruitment within 4 weeks of ‘arousal’ as planned was demonstrated. A need for greater resilience in anticipation of staff absenteeism was identified, particularly in relation to key trial procedures where the potential for delay is high. A specific issue relating to the IMP Stock Control System was highlighted as a potential source of error that could compromise the randomisation sequence. The simulation exercise was well received by site investigators and increased their confidence in being able to meet the likely demands of the trial when activated. The estimated cost of the exercise was £1995; 90% of this being staff costs. Conclusions: Simulated activation is useful as a means to test, and prepare for, the rapid activation of ‘hibernating’ research studies. Whether simulation exercises can also help reduce waste in complex clinical trial research deserves further exploration