Do poor people have a stronger relationship between income and mortality than the rich? Implications of panel data for health-health analysis

Articles developing health-health analysis have used the observation that richer people tend to face reduced mortality risk to estimate the break-even cost per life saved of health regulations. If government requires that the private sector spend more than this break-even cutoff, the risk of dying due to reduced health investment is increased by more than it will be reduced by the direct action of the health regulation. We use panel data to suggest that the relationship between income and the probability of death is greater for poor people than for the rich. As a consequence, break-even cutoffs are roughly twice as large for the richest 20% of the population than they are for the poorest 20%. The nonlinearity in the income-to-mortality linkage also implies that income transfers between income groups which are ignored in traditional cost-benefit analysis will affect the conclusions of health-health analysis significantly.     

辽宁省产业金融的发展现状及问题分析

在产业转型升级和产业与金融集聚融合的背景下,如何正确选择辽宁产业金融发展之路成为社会各界关注的焦点。从产业发展状况、金融服务能力、产融结合三个方面分析辽宁省发展产业金融过程中存在的问题,结合辽宁省自身的资源状况和历史特点探究其成因,据此提出适合辽宁省产业金融发展的思路及对策。     

新世纪以来国内新闻评论研究的回顾与展望

新世纪以来,新闻评论研究的成果数量呈剧增态势,研究领域进一步扩大,研究内容主要集中在新媒体评论以及转型期新闻评论之变化,研究方法渐趋多元化。这些变化与社会转型期舆论多元化、新媒体评论与传统媒体评论间的互动以及其它学科对新闻学研究的影响等几个方面有关。针对当前新闻评论总体研究水平不高,系统性、理论性不强,研究方法以思辨研究为主等问题,学界应在今后研究过程中注重微观与宏观、理论与实践、定性与定量等方面的结合。     

Diagnosing and treating testosterone deficiency in different parts of the world. Results from global market research

Aim. This study analysed variations between different regions of the world in diagnosing and treating testosterone (T) deficiency.

Methods. Physicians were interviewed in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, in Brazil, in Saudi Arabia and South Korea. Items in the survey: 1) reasons/motivation to use or not to use T; 2) what category of patients would not receive T on the basis of these concerns; 3) concerns about prostate pathology in the decision not to provide T treatment; 4) phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE-5) inhibitors are efficacious, but T treatment makes a comeback.

Results. Between 5% and 10% of consulting patients suffered from T deficiency. The fear to induce prostate cancer appeared very powerful. About 68% of physicians associate the use of T more with risks than benefits, more so in Europe than elsewhere. As a result about 35% of hypogonadal men do not receive treatment. The PDE-5 inhibitors are very prominent in the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Of patients suffering from erectile dysfunction, 18% to 29% have T deficiency which is not always diagnosed and treated.

Conclusion. World-wide physicians require more education on diagnosing T deficiency, on the role of T in erectile dysfunction and the relative safety of testosterone treatment.     

Introduction

The present study investigates whether hypothesized cognitive mechanisms of change mediate the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered online for treating depression and anxiety disorders. Articles were included by searching MEDLINE, PsychInfo and PsychArticles databases from January 1980 to March 2011. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (a) randomized clinical trials investigating the role of CBT delivered online, (b) patient sample had clinical or subclinical intensity emotional problems, (c) at least one measure of cognitions was included, (d) the inclusion of a control group, and (e) sufficient data provided to allow calculation of effect sizes. Eleven articles were selected. Results revealed a moderate overall effect size of CBT (d = .67, P < .05) on the combined cognitive and emotional outcomes. A positive impact of online CBT on cognitive factors (d = .69, P < .05) and emotional outcomes (d = .63, P < .05) was independently demonstrated. In conclusion, cognitive-behavioral therapy delivered online can be used as an efficacious treatment for patients with emotional disorders. Assuming causal effects, the data indicate that cognitive factors are an important mechanism of change in online CBT. Future online CBT focusing on changing cognitions are likely to be efficacious.     

Working with Women Associated with Bikie Gangs: Practice Dilemmas

Abstract

Much has been written about bikie gangs, but there is little about the women and children who are part of gang life. The present paper describes domestic violence agency social workers’ ethical practice dilemmas when assisting women who have left bikie gangs to search for a new, safer lifestyle away from the gang culture of drug use and violence, in particular sexual violence. The paper concludes with a discussion of the ethical processes and issues in resolving such practice dilemmas.     

Contested Concepts in Violence Against Women: ‘Intimate’, ‘Domestic’ or ‘Torture’?

Abstract

Ritualistic, overwhelmingly violent bikie gang or cult-inflicted abuse of women, entrenched by co-opting third party cult or gang members, has been referred to as ‘domestic violence’, ‘intimate violence’ or ‘intimate partner violence’. The present article questions the aptitude of these terms to convey the realities of this violence, in light of the experiences of women attending a South Australian domestic violence service, all of whom were escaping violent partners who were members or associates of bikie gangs and cults. The paper asks, ‘is torture an appropriate term for such violence?’ and discusses the impact of social, legal, organisational and human rights parallel states that collaborate to make it almost impossible for these women to escape this violence and make it difficult for social workers to work effectively with them. The paper concludes that the State needs to adopt a human rights rather than legal focus when addressing the issue of violence against women.     

Decision Making in Evidence‐Based Practice: Science and Art

In this article the author reviews problems in the implementation of evidence‐based practices (EBP) and concludes that these derive not only from numerous practical concerns, but also from fundamental epistemological issues. These include an antiquated understanding of the scientific method, involving types of naive inductivism and rationalism. The central argument of this article is that recent developments in the field of naturalistic decision making provide a critical framework for understanding the problems in the implementation of EBP, as well as possible avenues for their resolution. Developments that are reviewed include the use of heuristics, decision trees, case‐based reasoning, as well as an example of a generalized model of expert decision making. Such models increasingly combine situational awareness with critical thinking and metacognitive capacities. They promise to more effectively focus the application of rational and empirical problem‐solving methods, such as EBP, on the most complex problems.     

2013-2014年中国宏观经济预测与分析

“中国季度宏观经济模型(CQMM)”课题组基于2013年2月底国家统计局最新发布的中国宏观经济季度数据,调整并估计CQMM,对2013年和2014年中国宏观经济运行趋势展开预测.结果表明,尽管存在外部市场的不确定性,2013年中国经济增长仍将继续保持稳定增长的态势,GDP预计增长8.23％,CPI可保持在3.11％的水平.经济的稳定增长为进一步调整经济结构及深化改革创造了良好条件.课题组认为,控制政府收入增长速度,与经济增长保持适当比例,提高居民收入水平尤其是中低收入阶层的收入,是调整现有国民收人结构失衡,进而转变经济发展方式的重要政策切入点.     

符合二胎政策妇女的生育意愿和生育行为差异——基于计划行为理论的实证研究

文章通过对"江苏省群众生育意愿和生育行为调查"的2007年基线和2010年跟踪数据中符合生育二胎政策妇女的分析,从社会心理学入手,以计划行为理论为支撑,重新架构生育意愿到生育行为的理论框架,从微观视角来研究当政策赋予人们生育二胎权利时,妇女生育意愿和生育行为之间的差异及其影响因素。研究结果表明,该地区符合生育二胎政策的妇女中,四成妇女的生育意愿高于生育行为,六成妇女的生育意愿等于生育行为,尚没有妇女的生育意愿低于生育行为。当的确面临是否生育二胎的选择时,妇女会进行理性考虑,生育态度、主观规范和行为控制都对生育意愿和生育行为的差异产生显著影响。同时,生育计划的制定是实现生育意愿的重要推动力。