Integrating ethical enquiry and health technology assessment: limits and opportunities for efficiency and equity

This paper aims at discussing some contributions, limitations and opportunities that efficiency and equity studies could make to form a better understanding of ethical issues involved in health technology assessment (HTA). Prenatal detection of Down syndrome is used as a case study for further discussions regarding efficiency and equity, as well as other ethical principles including beneficence, non-maleficence and autonomy. The development and use of adequate methods and the need for context appraisal are two imperative issues in this field of knowledge. The analysis of ethical implications in HTA should account for both. Economic evaluation methodologies have great potential in the assessment of some key ethical principles such as efficiency and equity but are of limited use concerning other fundamental principles. Social and individual values play a prominent role in this respect.     

Quality strategies in supply chain alliances of disposable items

This paper studies a single-product distribution channel where a supplier manufactures items of a given type, some of which are defective, that are sold by a retailer who only detects a subset of the defective items, passing the rest along to customers. We conjecture the structure of the demand and cost functions, assuming customers to have a decreasing marginal aversion to bad quality while both the supplier and the retailer make marginally increasing efforts to avoid bad quality. This allows us to deduce several implicit parameters of a cost model based on observable data, such as the share of the channel margin. Once the parameters of the model are available, we analyze the result of vertical integration. Although we confirm the well-known fact that vertical integration improves the quality perceived by the customer, we characterize the supplier's decision of whether or not to provide a better quality in terms of the individual channel margins. As an alternative, we derive the conditions under which the supplier and the retailer may devise a mutually beneficial transfer contract that simultaneously increases their profit and improves quality.     

Improved model selection criteria for SETAR time series models

The purpose of this paper is threefold. First, we obtain the asymptotic properties of the modified model selection criteria proposed by Hurvich et al. (1990. Improved estimators of Kullback-Leibler information for autoregressive model selection in small samples. Biometrika 77, 709–719) for autoregressive models. Second, we provide some highlights on the better performance of this modified criteria. Third, we extend the modification introduced by these authors to model selection criteria commonly used in the class of self-exciting threshold autoregressive (SETAR) time series models. We show the improvements of the modified criteria in their finite sample performance. In particular, for small and medium sample size the frequency of selecting the true model improves for the consistent criteria and the root mean square error (RMSE) of prediction improves for the efficient criteria. These results are illustrated via simulation with SETAR models in which we assume that the threshold and the parameters are unknown.     

Fast parallel $$\alpha $$-stable distribution function evaluation and parameter estimation using OpenCL in GPGPUs

\(\alpha \)-Stable distributions are a family of probability distributions found to be suitable to model many complex processes and phenomena in several research fields, such as medicine, physics, finance and networking, among others. However, the lack of closed expressions makes their evaluation analytically intractable, and alternative approaches are computationally expensive. Existing numerical programs are not fast enough for certain applications and do not make use of the parallel power of general purpose graphic processing units. In this paper, we develop novel parallel algorithms for the probability density function and cumulative distribution function—including a parallel Gauss–Kronrod quadrature—, quantile function, random number generator and maximum likelihood estimation of \(\alpha \)-stable distributions using OpenCL, achieving significant speedups and precision in all cases. Thanks to the use of OpenCL, we also evaluate the results of our library with different GPU architectures.     

Sexual Functioning in Spanish and Portuguese Young Adults: Initial Validation of the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale

Objectives: The authors conducted an initial validation of the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale (ASEX) and examined the sexual function of Spanish and Portuguese young adults. Methods: Participants were 523 Spanish and 595 Portuguese heterosexual young adults who completed a background questionnaire, the ASEX, and measures of sexual sensation seeking, excitation, and inhibition. Results: The ASEX showed good reliability and validity. Participants reported good sexual function. The most prevalent difficulties in men were related to desire and orgasm, and to orgasm and satisfaction in women. Conclusions: This is a psychometrically sound instrument to assess sexual functioning in Spanish and Portuguese young adults.     

Portuguese Scientists’ Migration: a study on the 2008 crisis aftermath

In the economic and social aftermath of the 2008 crisis there has been an important and growing new wave of highly qualified Portuguese emigration comprising scientists. No or very few public policies have been designed to reverse this phenomenon, risking the consequences of brain drain. International literature argues that professional reasons are central to scientists’ decision to migrate, even after the 2008 crisis. Spending some time in a foreign country to study, research, or teach, is perceived as a common step in an individual academic trajectory and an advantage for a successful professional career in academia. It is also encouraged by European Union policies. Twelve individual portraits of Portuguese scientists living in central Europe reveal how important other factors are to the migration decision‐making process. These factors include the economic crisis, student mobility programmes, and the current Portuguese scientific system revision.     

Ridge Regression and Generalized Maximum Entropy: An improved version of the Ridge–GME parameter estimator

In this article, the Ridge–GME parameter estimator, which combines Ridge Regression and Generalized Maximum Entropy, is improved in order to eliminate the subjectivity in the analysis of the ridge trace. A serious concern with the visual inspection of the ridge trace to define the supports for the parameters in the Ridge–GME parameter estimator is the misinterpretation of some ridge traces, in particular where some of them are very close to the axes. A simulation study and two empirical applications are used to illustrate the performance of the improved estimator. A MATLAB code is provided as supplementary material.     

Sexual Beliefs and Sexual Functioning: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Distraction

Dysfunctional sexual beliefs are vulnerability factors for sexual dysfunction. This cross-sectional study aimed to test the mediating role of cognitive distraction on the relationship between dysfunctional sexual beliefs about sexual functioning shared by men and women and sexual function. The authors used a sample of 421 cisgender heterosexual participants involved in a monogamous relationship. The hypothesized mediation model was tested using a bootstrapped cross product of coefficients approach. Results showed a significant negative, indirect effect between dysfunctional sexual beliefs and women's sexual function through cognitive distraction. The discussion of this study highlights the importance of cognitive factors in sexual functioning.     

Surveillances,Social Management,and Architectural Morphologies: An approach to the Prison and the Hospital in 19th Century Spain

Surveillance is one of the key aspects of the economic and social system in which we live. Its relevance is growing, due in part to technical advances and in part to complex social dynamics and the magnitude of certain conflicts. In this article we discuss the analytical framework formulated by Bauman, in which he contrasts the concepts of liquid and solid surveillance, and we introduce the concepts of inquisitive and coercive surveillance. We examine the genesis and evolution of both types of surveillance by analyzing public health and penitentiary strategies, particularly in 19th century Spain, as well as those of their respective institutions—the hospital and the prison—with special focus on their spatial manifestations and the divergence between the paths taken in the health‐care and penitentiary spheres.     

Organizational cynicism: Spillover effects on supervisor–subordinate relationships and performance

Organizational cynicism has grown in contemporary Western organizations. However, its impact on interpersonal relationships and consequently on organizational functioning remains understudied. The present study addresses these gaps by: a) exploring the spillover effect of organizational cynicism on supervisor–subordinate relationships, and b) examining if the spillover effect extends to employee performance. Specifically, it examines if affective commitment to the supervisor mediates the relationship between the PSS × organizational cynicism interaction effect and performance (i.e., mediated-moderation). Data were collected from both employees and supervisors (N = 274) from 45 organizations. Our results generally support our hypotheses. This study provides evidence that organizational cynicism interferes in the relationship employees develop with their supervisors, with consequences to performance. This study opens new avenues for research on organizational cynicism and carries implications for theory and practice.