107159 research outputs found
Sort by
Economics of task‐shifting in surgery: a systematic review
No full textBackground and Aim: Due to the global shortage in the surgical workforce, especially in low‐resource settings, one solution to increase surgical volume is to delegate certain roles of surgeons to other trained non‐surgeon health workers. However, quantifying the costs and benefits of surgical task‐shifting has several challenges associated with it. The purpose of this study was to conduct a critical appraisal of studies on the cost‐effectiveness of task shifting in surgical care. Methods: A systematic review was done using searches on four major electronic bibliographic databases (EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE(R), Web of Science, Econlit) up to June 2021. Studies were selected based on pre‐defined inclusion criteria and relevant data were extracted. Results: A total of 16 studies were eligible for inclusion in the review. 14 of them were done in low‐ and middle‐income countries while the other two, in high income countries. Findings showed that task shifting to non‐surgeons lowers the total cost of surgery and increases coverage without any significant difference in outcome when compared with surgeons. Conclusion: Task shifting in surgical care is considered to be cost‐effective, improving the efficiency and access to surgical care in both low‐ and high‐income countries. Methodological challenges make study findings difficult to generalize. The costs and outcome values are dependent on the choice of comparator, hospital setting, cost items, and surgical procedure included. However, there is a need for more published data in different locations to support evidence for policymaking
Even honest research results can flip - a new approach to assessing robustness in the social sciences
No full textWhen academic studies get things wrong, it is often blamed on misconduct and fraud. Yet as Michael Ganslmeier and Tim Vlandas argue, even good-faith research, conducted using standard methods and transparent data, can produce contradictory conclusions
Why the UK needs more proactive heat risk management
No full textHeatwaves are becoming increasingly common and increasingly intense, with severe consequences. But the state’s response to the impacts of extreme heat continues to be temporary and disjointed. Sara Mehryar and Declan Conway argue that the UK needs to build more heat resilience through urban and infrastructure planning, improved comms on the risks of heat, and the establishment of a National Heat Risk Commission
The impact of novelty examination on the regional distribution of patenting activity in early 20th century Britain
No full textThe late 19th-century reforms to the British patenting system reduced the cost of obtaining a patent from over £100 in 1851 to just £4 by 1883. While increasing accessibility, this cost reduction led to an increase of low-quality patents often replicating previous inventions, raising concerns about the system's effectiveness. As a result, the 1902 policy proposed novelty examination for the first time, increasing the cost by 25%. This paper examines whether the implementation of this policy in 1905 had a differential effect on patenting activity across British regions. Despite the significance of this policy, it has received extremely limited academic attention. This research aims to fill this gap and add to the literature on the regional impacts of patent system reforms in this period. This study employs panel regressions using data on every geocoded patent sealed between 1895-1915 in the PatentCity database with regional employment in 28 industries as controls. Results indicate no change in the regional distribution of patenting activity as a result of the novelty examination. These findings are consistent with those of Nicholas (2011) for the 1883 policy and have important implications for the geography of inventive activity and the distributional impacts of invention policies
How conspicuous is fashion? A quantitative analysis of luxury discourse in Vogue and income inequality, 1910-2000
No full textThis dissertation examines how the representation of luxury in Vogue magazine evolved over twentieth-century America and how its editorial discourse intersected with broader patterns of income inequality. Using a dataset of 1418 issues (1910-2000) of U.S. Vogue, it tracks the frequency of luxury-related terms and correlates them with historical U.S. income share data for the top 1%. This study combines this quantitative approach with close readings of selected issues to examine how Vogue rhetorically and visually constructed the idea of luxury across different historical and socio-economic contexts. The findings reveal a strong alignment between elite income shares and visible luxury discourse from 1910-1970, particularly during the 1920s, when Vogue portrayed luxury as aspirational and overt. After 1970, however, this relationship was disrupted: despite rising elite income, the frequency of luxury terms plateaued or declined. This relationship is further analysed through the frequency of ready-to-wear (RTW) terminology, revealing a dramatic increase in the 1960s, signalling a shift toward more accessible and commodified styles. This transition reflects broader structural changes in the fashion industry and consumer culture, including the rise of mass production, the expansion of department stores, increased access to credit and crucially the democratisation of fashion
Finite-sample non-parametric bounds with an application to the causal effect of workforce gender diversity on firm performance
No full textClassical Manski bounds identify average treatment effects under minimal assumptions but, in finite samples, assume that latent conditional expectations are bounded by the sample’s own extrema or that the population extrema are known a priori—often untrue in firm-level data with heavy tails. We develop a finite-sample, concentration-driven band (concATE) that replaces that assumption with a Dvoretzky–Kiefer–Wolfowitz tail bound, combines it with delta-method variance, and allocates size via Bonferroni. The band extends to a group-sequential design that controls the family-wise error when the first “significant” diversity threshold is data-chosen. Applied to 945 listed firms (2015 Q2–2022 Q1) concATE shows that senior-level gender diversity raises Tobin’s Q once representation exceeds ≈ 30% in growth sectors and ≈ 65% in cyclical sectors
How new guidelines on ESG risks for European banks reduce regulatory complexity
No full textAmid ongoing discussions about alleviating the regulatory burden for firms in the climate and environmental transition, the practical approach to supporting coherence seen in the European Banking Authority’s new Guidelines on the management of ESG risks is an example to follow, writes Agnieszka Smoleńska
Child-centered AI: contextualizing principles and design in HCI
No full textThis forum features practitioner perspectives on designing technologies for and with communities. We highlight compelling projects and provocative points of view that speak to both community technology practice and the interaction design field as a whole. --- Sheena Erete, Edito
