A Bayesian Evidence Synthesis for Estimating Campylobacteriosis Prevalence

Stakeholders making decisions in public health and world trade need improved estimations of the burden‐of‐illness of foodborne infectious diseases. In this article, we propose a Bayesian meta‐analysis or more precisely a Bayesian evidence synthesis to assess the burden‐of‐illness of campylobacteriosis in France. Using this case study, we investigate campylobacteriosis prevalence, as well as the probabilities of different events that guide the disease pathway, by (i) employing a Bayesian approach on French and foreign human studies (from active surveillance systems, laboratory surveys, physician surveys, epidemiological surveys, and so on) through the chain of events that occur during an episode of illness and (ii) including expert knowledge about this chain of events. We split the target population using an exhaustive and exclusive partition based on health status and the level of disease investigation. We assume an approximate multinomial model over this population partition. Thereby, each observed data set related to the partition brings information on the parameters of the multinomial model, improving burden‐of‐illness parameter estimates that can be deduced from the parameters of the basic multinomial model. This multinomial model serves as a core model to perform a Bayesian evidence synthesis. Expert knowledge is introduced by way of pseudo‐data. The result is a global estimation of the burden‐of‐illness parameters with their accompanying uncertainty.     

Catastrophe Risk Models for Evaluating Disaster Risk Reduction Investments in Developing Countries

Major natural disasters in recent years have had high human and economic costs, and triggered record high postdisaster relief from governments and international donors. Given the current economic situation worldwide, selecting the most effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) measures is critical. This is especially the case for low‐ and middle‐income countries, which have suffered disproportionally more economic and human losses from disasters. This article discusses a methodology that makes use of advanced probabilistic catastrophe models to estimate benefits of DRR measures. We apply such newly developed models to generate estimates for hurricane risk on residential structures on the island of St. Lucia, and earthquake risk on residential structures in Istanbul, Turkey, as two illustrative case studies. The costs and economic benefits for selected risk reduction measures are estimated taking account of hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. We conclude by emphasizing the advantages and challenges of catastrophe model‐based cost‐benefit analyses for DRR in developing countries.     

Naturing the Nation: Aliens,Apocalypse, and the Postcolonial State

The purpose of this study is to understand how the British Canadian Frank Schofield transformed himself into an established missionary scholar and nobleman in Korea. The study employs its framework from the structure of cultural exchange itself in its survey of Schofield's career. It examines the relevant aspects of Korean and Western cultures, and the characteristics of Schofield who linked them. The case, including themes significant both to Korean and Western cultures, such as the importance of spirituality, an emphasis on education, and the ideals of justice and love, explains reasons for his success as a cultural mediator between Korea and the West. It reveals that the flow of information and ideas between Koreans and Schofield illustrates the ability of intercultural contact to influence the initiating as well as receiving culture. It suggests that such a distinction between sender and receiver may carry little ultimate significance. Finally, it argues that individuals of different cultures can convey information and ideas effectively only if the conveyer learns about the target individuals for the information and ideas, and communicates on the basis of that knowledge, as intercultural communications occur between the individuals of different cultures.     

Editorial

Drawing on texts written by young people aged 14–17 years in a school context in response to an invitation to write a page describing themselves and their vision of Ireland and to use the reverse side creatively for drawings, poems or songs, this article illustrates the methodological difficulties of exploring globalization and individualization in such texts. The indicators of globalization were global entertainment and consumer culture, global technology, references to international travel, and global concerns. The indicators of individualization were the absence of references to structural location, or the presence of references to choices, hopes or plans and related images. There were insurmountable methodological difficulties in differentiating between individualization in these terms and stereotypical ways of ‘doing boy/girl’. Hence, the typology that was created focussed on the global content of the main texts and back pages and their gendered content.     

Human resource practices of multinational organizations in Belgium

This study uses data from a survey of 117 large organizations located in Belgium to examine the relationship between corporate ownership and personnel practices. Results obtained from multivariate analyses supported the general hypothesis that personnel policies and practices vary as a function of ownership and nationality. For example, foreign-owned firms are found to be more advanced in their adoption of methods to gain employee loyalty and commitment than domestic enterprises. In addition to ownership effects, the moderating effects of some key organizational characteristics were examined. This shows that large differences exist with respect to the human resource practices used in firms as a function of management philosophy, creative strategy and industry sector.     

Partings and impartings: Toward a nonmedical approach to interruptions and terminations

It is the thesis of this paper that therapy offers a sequence of opportunities for the patient to experience a comfortable oscillation between togetherness and parting: thepetit partings within each hour, those moments of silence or withdrawal, partings at the end of hours, vacations, spontaneous interruptions (when allowed), and, ultimately, termination. A nonauthoritarian method particularly respecting and fostering the patient's self-determination is proposed.     

The identity transformation of biological parents in lesbian/gay stepfamilies

This paper investigates the identity transformation of lesbian and gay biological parents in homosexual stepfamilies. I explore previous models typically used to describe gay and lesbian identity formation, arguing that these models provide little understanding of the experiences of those who have been previously married and have children. Lesbians and gays who leave heterosexual unions and form homosexual stepfamily units undergo a series of transformations. The results show that the transition is relatively positive and less internally stigmatizing and stressful than that experienced by younger, childless lesbians and gays.