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    Inequality, inequity and the rise of non-communicable disease inChina

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    Background: Rapid economic growth in mainland China has been accompanied in recent years by rising levels of inequality and a growing burden of non-communicable disease (NCD), though little is known at present about the relations between these forces. This thesis makes use of data from a large sample of older men and women in Guangzhou, one of China’s most developed cities, to examine the relations between inequality, inequity and non-communicable disease. Objectives: This thesis addresses two research questions: what is the relationship between inequality/inequity and non-communicable disease in China; and what are the implications of this relationship for health policy in China. These two questions lead to two working hypotheses: first, that inequalities may be both a cause and consequence of NCDs in China, potentially creating a vicious cycle which reinforces inequality and inequity; and second, that reducing dependence on out of pocket payments as a source of healthcare finance may help to prevent the continuation of the inequality-NCD cycle. Methods: I used data from the Guangzhou Biobank Cohort Study (GBCS), including 30,499 men and women aged 50 or over from Guangzhou and multi-variable regression methods to examine associations of socioeconomic position at four life stages (childhood, early adulthood, late adulthood and current) with several health outcomes: self-rated health, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, metabolic syndrome and markers of immunological inflammation (white blood cells, granulocytes and lymphocytes). These analyses related to the hypothesis that inequalities may be a cause of non-communicable disease in China. I also examined whether inequity may be a consequence of non-communicable disease by measuring whether horizontal inequity (deviation from the principle of equal access to healthcare for equal need) was greater for treatment of NCDs than for general healthcare. I tested this using both concentration index methods and multi-variable regression models. For comparative purposes, I conducted these analyses in data from three settings: Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Scotland (UK). Results: I found that socioeconomic deprivation across the life course was associated with poorer self-rated health, higher risk of COPD, higher white cell and granulocyte cell counts and (in women only) higher risk metabolic syndrome and higher lymphocyte cell counts. I also found evidence of pro-rich inequity in utilisation of treatment for three major non-communicable conditions (hypertension, hyperglycaemia and dyslipidaemia) in Guangzhou, whilst there was no evidence of inequity in general healthcare utilisation (doctor consultations and hospital admissions) or treatment of gastric ulcer. Conclusion: My findings gave qualified support for the idea that socioeconomic inequalities may contribute to some, though not all, non-communicable diseases in China. Moreover, the mechanisms which link socioeconomic inequality to NCDs in China remain unclear. My results also supported the suggestion that a rising burden of non-communicable disease may contribute to greater pro-rich inequity in healthcare utilisation, especially for conditions which are chronic and asymptomatic. As rates of NCDs continue to rise in China and other developing countries, policies to prevent and treat common NCDs may be improved by a clearer understanding of how inequality is related to non-communicable disease.published_or_final_versionCommunity MedicineDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph

    Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis

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    The present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed

    Variations on the Author

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    “Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship

    Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis

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    We provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis

    Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts

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    We conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more sophisticated methods

    Author Index

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    koamabayili/VECTRON-author-checklist: VECTRON author checklist

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    We have done our best to complete the author checklist relating to the use of animals in the hut study. Note that the objective for the hut study was to evaluate the IRS treatment applications for residual efficacy against Anopheles mosquitoes, including the local An. coluzzii mosquito population. Cows were only used to attract mosquitoes into the huts and no tests were carried out directly on the cows. The author checklist is intended for use with studies where experiments are carried out on animals, which is why we have had such difficulty in completing this for the hut study, as many of the questions do not relate to how the cows were used

    Author Under Sail The Imagination of Jack London, 1893-1902

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    In Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Intro -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- 1. Spirit Truth -- 2. From Absorption to Theatricality and Back Again -- 3. "I Will Build a New Present" -- 4. Sons as Authors -- 5. Fathers as Publishers -- 6. The Daughter as Author -- 7. Lovers as Authors -- 8. At Sea with the Family -- 9. Yellow News, Yellow Stories -- 10. The Return Home -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index -- About Jay WilliamsIn Author Under Sail, Jay Williams offers the first complete literary biography of Jack London as a professional writer engaged in the labor of writing. It examines the authorial imagination in London's work, the use of imagination in both his fiction and nonfiction, and the ways he defined imagination in the creative process in his business dealings with his publishers, editors, and agents. In this first volume of a two-volume biography, Williams traverses the years 1893 to 1902, from London's "Story of a Typhoon" to The People of the Abyss. The Jack London who emerges in the pages of Author Under Sail is a writer whose partnership with publishers, most notably his productive alliance with George Brett of Macmillan, was one of the most formative in American literary history. London pioneered many author models during the heyday of realism and naturalism, blurring the boundaries of these popular genres by focusing on absorption and theatricality and the representation of the seen and unseen. London created an impassioned, sincere, and extremely personal realism unlike that of other American writers of the time. Author Under Sail is a literary tour de force that reveals the full range of London as writer, creative citizen, and entrepreneur at the same time it sheds light on the maverick side of machine-age literature.Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, Michigan : ProQuest Ebook Central, YYYY. Available via World Wide Web. Access may be limited to ProQuest Ebook Central affiliated libraries
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