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Oversimplification of a complex public health issue that serves exploitative industry interests
No full textLJW is funded by a National Health and Medical Research Council Investigator Grant (#2009380). Funding informationPeer-reviewe
Crafting destination stories: enacting and sharing cultural memory for Indigenous tourism
No full textCultural memory, which shapes a collective understanding of historical experiences and influences identity, is crucial in the Indigenous context but has been understudied in tourism. This study examines the role of the Guthi system, a cultural space of Indigenous Newars from Khokana, Nepal, in the construction and sustenance of cultural memory across time and location. Employing a multi-phased qualitative approach, the study reveals how the Guthi system, rooted in the Indigenous Newars’ relational ontologies, integrates spiritual, cultural, and societal elements into a living archive of traditions and practices. The findings elucidate the processes of enacting and sharing cultural memory, demonstrating its impact on collective sensemaking within Indigenous tourism contexts. Moreover, the study identifies key factors influencing this process, including adaptive preferences, path dependence, and Indigenous values, which shape community engagement with tourism opportunities. This novel contribution to Indigenous tourism research illuminates the intricate relationship between cultural memory, collective sensemaking, and the translation of Indigenous knowledge and practices into tourism initiatives.Peer-reviewe
Adaptive Risk Preferences: Unraveling the Impact of Monetary Policy on Output
No full textWe introduce a novel approach for measuring time variation in habit-based preferences using distress risk premia and apply it to estimate empirical targets for calibrating models that link such preferences to the output gap. Employing a popular model that integrates macroeconomic dynamics with habit-based preferences, we find that distress risk premia align most closely with a specification where a 1% monetary policy shock reduces output by 0.6%, reaching its trough after three quarters. These estimates are, however, sensitive to the specific moments of the preference dynamics chosen as calibration targets. Our findings are relevant for recent studies that rely on the preference-output gap link to induce hump-shaped output responses to monetary policy shocks.Peer-reviewe
Contributions of Greenhouse Gases and Anthropogenic Aerosols to Temperature Extremes over Australia
No full textThis study investigates the impacts of greenhouse gases (GHG) and anthropogenic aerosols (AER) on changes in temperature extremes in Australia during the historical period (1950-2014). Using five large ensembles (LEs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 6 (CMIP6), we first analyze long-term changes. As expected, GHG dominate warming but with the signal partially offset by a more subtle AER-induced cooling. However, the AER cooling effect is not evident for cold extremes compared to hot extremes. Based on 40-yr running trends, we find that recent decades show faster warming of hot extremes, likely due to a more rapid increase under GHG combined with a decrease under AER. The AER influence is notable for trends centered in the mid-1980s in southern regions. In contrast, the role of GHG in extreme cold remains uncertain due to limited ensemble sizes. A notable AER cooling appears around 1988 in northern regions. In particular, aerosol optical depth, a proxy for AER strength, shows a decline beginning between 2006 and 2012, which is later than the global trend. Next, an event attribution assessment indicates that the contributions of the two forcings to the risk assessment (as assessed by risk ratio and magnitude shift) are similar to the trends across Australian regions. However, there can be large model differences in risk ratios. Overall, conclusions, particularly regarding AER and the impacts of internal variability, are sometimes less robust due to large intermodel differences and limited ensemble sizes, for which the associated findings should be interpreted with caution.We appreciate Daniel Swain, Chris Paciorek, Gordana Popovic, Boris Beranger, Sjoukje Philip, Nathan Gillett, and Blair Trewin for valuable suggestions and comments and thank Rachael Isphording for providing the code to create a mask file covering Australia. This research/project was undertaken with the assistance of resources and services from the National Computational Infrastructure (NCI) , which is supported by the Australian Government. We thank the World Climate Research Programme's Working Group on Coupled Modelling, which is responsible for CMIP and coordinated CMIP5 and CMIP6. We further acknowledge the climate modeling groups for producing and making available their model output, Earth System Grid Federation (ESGF) for archiving the data and providing access, and the multiple funding agencies that support CMIP and ESGF. L. V. A. and S. E. P.-K. are supported by Australian Research Council (ARC) Grant CE170100023. S. E. P.-K. is also supported by ARC Grant FT170100106.Peer-reviewe
Systematic Review of Vitreoretinal Diseases in Bhutan
No full textUnderstanding disease epidemiology is critical for planning and implementing health programs, particularly in countries like Bhutan with limited resources and data. We reviewed published data on vitreoretinal diseases in Bhutan and found 16 such publications. Of those, two were population-based Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness surveys, and others included hospital-based national survey publications and five case reports. The Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness survey conducted in 2009 reported that posterior segment disorders caused 22.1% of blindness, while a similar follow-up survey in 2018 reported it had reduced to 7.8%. This improvement perhaps was due to national Vitreoretinal services established in early 2012. Hypertensive retinopathy was the most common disorder (18.9%), and other disorders included diabetic retinopathy, diabetic macular edema, retinal detachment, age-related macular degeneration, macular hole, myopic retinal degeneration and vitreous haemorrhage. Even rare disorders like seasonal hyper-acute pan-uveitis, acute retinal necrosis, central retinal artery occlusion, and nephrotic maculopathy had been treated. Bhutan, with its serene environment, is no exception to the varied vitreoretinal disease spectrum. Bhutan needs to focus on changing lifestyles, while still improving human resources and management strategies.Peer-reviewe
Bayesian Optimized Design for O-Band Bottom-Up Grown Microring Lasers
No full textOn-chip coherent laser sources are crucial for enabling photonic integrated circuits, yet progress has been hindered by the complex interplay between material quality, device geometry, and performance metrics. We combine high-throughput characterization, statistical analysis, experimental design, and multiobjective Bayesian optimization to accelerate the design process for low-threshold, high-yield III–V microring lasers with room-temperature operation at communication wavelengths. We demonstrate a 1.6 × reduction in threshold over expert-designed configurations, achieving a 100% lasing yield in optimized fields, over 250 rings that emit within the O-band, and a field-median threshold as low as 33 μJ cm–2 pulse–1.UKRI Future Leaders Fellowship scheme [MR/T021519/1] and EPSRC (UK) grant [EP/V036343/1]. K.H. acknowledges funding from the MAT-GDT Program at A*STAR via the AME Programmatic Fund by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research under Grant No. M24N4b0034 and the AISG grant number AISG3-RP-2022−028.Peer-reviewe
Seneca's Tragic Hydrophobia: The Case Of Tantalus
No full textThis article rereads the representation of Tantalus within Seneca’s Thyestes as a metaphor for hydrophobic conditions. The first section contextualizes Tantalus within Senecan drama and explores his connection to hydrophobia in both medical and literary discourses. In the second section, the article’s focus shifts to Tantalus’s punishment, pointing out how it resonates with descriptions of hydrophobic behavior that can be found in medical sources (particularly Celsus and Caelius Aurelianus). The last section examines the ethical implications of Tantalus’s hydrophobia against the general structure and meaning of the Thyestes, as well as Seneca’s moral philosophy.Peer-reviewe
Essays on Monetary Policy, Housing, and Asset Choices
No full textThis thesis comprises four chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the thesis and provides an overview of the three essays that examine monetary policy transmission through housing markets and asset choices.
To understand how monetary policy affects housing markets, we first examine the traditional transmission channels alongside a less-studied supply-side mechanism. Chapter 2 investigates the transmission of monetary policy to housing markets through interest rate and permit channels. Using national time series data and individual mortgage records, we find that a 100 basis point increase in the Federal Funds Rate leads to a 15-19 basis point rise in mortgage rates. Our local projections analysis shows that contractionary monetary policy leads to a total decline of approximately 4.5% in real housing prices after five years, with the direct effect accounting for 5% decline and the permit channel providing a modest countervailing force of 0.5%. The transmission exhibits significant heterogeneity across metropolitan areas and borrower characteristics.
While the first essay focuses on empirical evidence from housing markets, how does access to financial intermediation affect household portfolio choices and the distributional consequences of monetary policy? Chapter 3 studies how banking services as liquidity intermediation affect household portfolio choices and the distributional consequences of monetary policy in a heterogeneous agent model with unemployment risk. We extend established frameworks to include competitive banking services that facilitate liquidity exchange between households. Banking enables substantial portfolio rebalancing towards higher-return assets, with the aggregate money share of total wealth falling by 16.5 percentage points. However, this rebalancing is highly heterogeneous, with wealthy households substituting towards illiquid assets whilst low-asset households maintain higher money shares for employment insurance. Welfare gains are substantial but vary considerably across household types.
Beyond traditional price and interest rate effects, housing markets may be affected through changes in market liquidity that have received limited attention in the literature. Chapter 4 introduces housing market transaction time, measured by days on the market, as a channel for monetary policy transmission. Using high-frequency monetary policy shocks and comprehensive mortgage data, we find that a one-standard-deviation contractionary monetary policy increases days on market by over 2% within eight quarters. Importantly, cities experiencing greater increases in transaction times face steeper declines in house prices and larger increases in mortgage rates, revealing an amplification mechanism that exacerbates debt overhang problems during housing market downturns
Cybersecurity lessons from the Vastaamo psychotherapy data breach for psychiatrists and other mental healthcare providers
No full textObjective: The Vastaamo psychotherapy data breach in Finland is perhaps the largest cybersecurity incident in mental healthcare to date, resulting in significant patient harm. There are specific lessons for mental healthcare providers from an analysis of the incident. Method: Case study of this specific electronic health record data breach, based on detailed media reporting. Results: The issues raised include: the importance of governance of the cybersecurity of sensitive personal patient data, such as compliance with legislative requirements on privacy and data security; specific security measures such as de-identification of data, data protection via passwords, multi-factor authentication, firewalls and encryption; and timely and effective communication, and support of those who have been affected. Conclusions: The implications for mental healthcare providers, including psychiatrists and trainees, are that, within their capability, providers need to assess the efficacy and robustness of cybersecurity of electronic health record systems they use, and carefully consider the information that is recorded to minimise exposures such as in the Vastaamo breach.Peer-reviewe
What Would Be Required for Large Scale Acceptance of Block Time?
No full textIt is argued that if a future confirmed physical theory were to show that belief in Dynamic Time is mistaken, a majority of people in Western countries would still hold this belief. Reasons are offered as to why this is so together with the types of evidence that would be necessary to convince most people that Dynamic Time is incorrect.Peer-reviewe