Scaling Up AIDS Treatment in Developing Countries: A Review of Current and Future Arguments

Until recently, antiretroviral treatment against AIDS was perceived to be beyond the reach of the majority of patients in developing countries. This situation has changed drastically as international funding for AIDS treatment has swelled to several billion dollars a year. What has brought about this change? Analysis of the merit of six arguments often put forward against scaling up AIDS treatment in developing countries makes it clear that the most significant (and perhaps only) real change has been the large reduction in the price of the drugs. Although affordability is obviously a central issue, it is noticeable that most of the remaining arguments continue to be unresolved. This underlines the dangers of proceeding too fast towards treatment goals.     

The Benefits of Reducing Gun Violence: Evidence from Contingent-Valuation Survey Data

This article presents an estimate of the benefits of reducing crime using the contingent-valuation (CV) method. We focus on gun violence, a crime of growing policy concern in America. Our data come from a national survey in which we ask respondents referendum-type questions that elicit their willingness-to-pay (WTP) to reduce gun violence by 30%. We estimate that the public's WTP to reduce gun assaults by 30% equals $24.5 billion, or around $1.2 million per injury. Our estimate implies a statistical value of life that is quite consistent with those derived from other methods.     

Zustandsorientierte Maschinenzuordnungs- und Instandhaltungsplanung

Previous research focuses on preventive maintenance strategies which minimize the costs of break downs and of maintenance activities. Deteriorating machine conditions with the consequence of rising scrap rates and declining productivity are mostly neglected. This paper investigates simultaneous optimization of production and maintenance planning by applying the condition-based maintenance strategy with parallel machines and overlapping capabilities. The presented model allows exploitation of machine wear considering optimal order assignments to machines which is illustrated by a numerical example.     

集成化数据分析在生物标志物发现及个性化医疗上具有优势

过去20年基因组的革命提供给医药公司无以数计的潜在药物靶标。创造强有力的新药来作用这些靶标已经迫在眉睫。然而,大多数低挂水果已经被采摘,药物开发因此变得越来越困难。为了获得美国食品药品管理局(FDA)批准,新药必须证明其安全性和有效性,特别是当新药与现存药物进行比较时。     

Business and legal issues in enterprise collaborations: A German perspective

Virtual and Extended enterprises share a large amount of characteristics. Especially when it comes to the process of their foundation either one is well advised to base itself on a strong network of reliable partners. In this network each of the joining companies that form the Virtual enterprise can concentrate on their core competencies, giving the whole enterprise the chance to be extremely efficient. Bringing together the different partners and managing them is seen as being one of the biggest challenges of the Virtual enterprise. Therefore some partners will have to focus on those managing tasks. It might as well be their responsibility to ensure that no legal conflicts in regard to the foundation, dissolving, production and related topics emerge. This being especially difficult because the efficiency of a Virtual enterprise is strongly dependent on the looseness of its structure. What conflicts can appear in the described environment and how they might be solved is the focus of this article. It will be pointed out that the emergence of Virtual and Extended enterprises should be supported by general terms and conditions. This terms and conditions should be adjustable, offer the chance to establish a legal framework fitting just perfectly to the intended purpose to continuously create, adjust or dissolve Virtual enterprise. As a matter of fact a certain degree of commitment can positively expand the co-operation in a Virtual enterprise which is mainly based on trust.     

Cambodian youth managing expectations and uncertainties of the life course – a typology of biographical management

Globalising changes in recent decades have produced great impacts on young lives, and youth sociologists have been analysing how young people negotiate change and uncertainty in their lives. This article complements existing research by a case study on Cambodia, where young people have in recent years been charged to deal with drastic social changes but in social conditions different from the better known global North. By drawing on data from a study of young rural–urban migrant labour workers' and university students' life experiences and expectations in the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh, we systematically compare their sense making, action strategies and future orientation during their transition into working life. We present a theoretically informed but empirically grounded typology that illustrates three major modes of biographical management: entrepreneurial, traditional and situational, which are linked to different perceptions of uncertainty, future perspectives, action strategies, planning modes and resources available through the family, personal capacity and the larger sociocultural context. We conclude with critical remarks on the extent to which the fulfilment of Cambodian young people's hopes for a better life is shaped by broader social conditions and individual circumstances.     

Permutation tests — A revival?!

It is shown that permutation tests have optimum properties for interesting classes of continuous distributions as well as for discrete ones. General conditions sufficient for uniformly maximal power on subclasses are given. Moreover, a variety of examples is presented. Research supported by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) grant No. Schm 677/5-1