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Secondary Data (secondary + data)
Terms modified by Secondary Data Selected AbstractsWelfare Reform and Health Insurance of ImmigrantsHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 3 2005Neeraj Kaushal Objective. To investigate the effect of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) on the health insurance coverage of foreign- and U.S.-born families headed by low-educated women. Data Source. Secondary data from the March series of the Current Population Surveys for 1994,2001. Study Design. Multivariate regression methods and a pre- and post-test with comparison group research design (difference-in-differences) are used to estimate the effect of welfare reform on the health insurance coverage of low-educated, foreign- and U.S.-born unmarried women and their children. Heterogenous responses by states to create substitute Temporary Aid to Needy Families or Medicaid programs for newly arrived immigrants are used to investigate whether the estimated effect of PRWORA on newly arrived immigrants is related to the actual provisions of the law, or the result of fears engendered by the law. Principal Findings. PRWORA increased the proportion of uninsured among low-educated, foreign-born, unmarried women by 9.9,10.7 percentage points. In contrast, the effect of PRWORA on the health insurance coverage of similar U.S.-born women is negligible. PRWORA also increased the proportion of uninsured among foreign-born children living with low-educated, single mothers by 13.5 percentage points. Again, the policy had little effect on the health insurance coverage of the children of U.S.-born, low-educated single mothers. There is some evidence that the fear and uncertainty engendered by the law had an effect on immigrant health insurance coverage. Conclusions. This research demonstrates that PRWORA adversely affected the health insurance of low-educated, unmarried, immigrant women and their children. In the case of unmarried women, it may be partly because the jobs that they obtained in response to PRWORA were less likely to provide health insurance. The research also suggests that PRWORA may have engendered fear among immigrants and dampened their enrollment in safety net programs. [source] Methodologic Implications of Allocating Multiple-Race Data to Single-Race CategoriesHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 1 2002Article first published online: 18 MAR 200 Objective. To illustrate methods for comparing race data collected under the 1977 Federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directive, known as OMB-15, with race data collected under the revised 1997 OMB standard. Data Sources/Study Setting.,Secondary data from the 1993,95 National Health Interview Surveys. Multiple-race responses, available on in-house files, were analyzed. Study Design.,Race-specific estimates of employer-sponsored health insurance were calculated using proposed allocation methods from the OMB. Estimates were calculated overall and for three population subgroups: children, those in households below poverty, and Hispanics. Principal Findings.,Although race distributions varied between the different methods, estimates of employer-sponsored health insurance were similar. Health insurance estimates for the American Indian/Alaska Native group varied the most. Conclusions.,Employer-sponsored health insurance estimates for American Indian/Alaska Natives from data collected under the 1977 OMB directive will not be comparable with estimates from data collected under the 1997 standard. The selection of a method to distribute to the race categories used prior to the 1997 revision will likely have little impact on estimates of employer-sponsored health insurance for other groups. Additional research is needed to determine the effects of these methods for other health service measures. [source] Veterans' perceptions of care by nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and physicians: A comparison from satisfaction surveysJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF NURSE PRACTITIONERS, Issue 3 2010Dorothy Budzi DrPH (Quality Manager/Performance Improvement Coordinator) Purpose: To examine the differences in patient satisfaction with care provided by nurse practitioners (NPs), physician assistants (PAs), and physicians in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) system. Data source: Secondary data was obtained from the VHA's Survey of Healthcare Experience of Patients (SHEP), a monthly survey designed to measure patient satisfaction. Descriptive statistics were calculated and categorical variables were summarized with frequency counts. Conclusions: Of the 2,164,559 surveys mailed to the veterans, 1,601,828 (response rate 64%) were returned. The study found that satisfaction scores increased by 5% when the number of NPs was increased compared to 1.8% when the number of physicians was increased and slightly increased or remained the same when the number of PAs was increased. Physician to PA/NP ratio was 7:3. Implications for practice: The VHA is the largest healthcare system and the single largest employer of NPs and PAs in the country. This study shows that a majority of the primary care clinic patients prefer to see NPs as compared with PAs and physicians. Besides clinical care, NPs focus on health promotion, disease prevention, health education, attentiveness, and counseling. Physicians and PAs should be educated on these characteristics to promote patient satisfaction and expected outcomes. [source] Exploring Correlates of Product Launch in Collaborative Ventures: An Empirical Investigation of Pharmaceutical AlliancesTHE JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT, Issue 4 2009M. Berk Talay This paper examines collaborative ventures leading toward the launch of new products in the pharmaceutical industry. These collaborative ventures are one of the most underresearched areas in the new product literature, yet the preponderance of these collaborative ventures makes it an area of great importance for scholars and practitioners alike. As such, the purpose of the study is to examine why some collaborative projects produce a favorable outcome (the launch of a product) whereas others do not. That is, what characteristics of partner firms in the collaborative ventures and what characteristics of the partnership lead to a successful launch of a new product in the pharmaceutical industry? Secondary data from the pharmaceutical industry are employed in a multinomial logit model. Data from 128 collaborative ventures from 1980 to 2004 are used in the analysis. The partner firms in the collaborative ventures are from various industries ranging from malt beverages to pharmaceutical preparations to electronic and other equipment among others. Of the 128 collaborative ventures, 66 were successful in leading to a new product launch, whereas 62 did not result in the launch of a new product. The results from the multinomial logit analysis suggest that combined marketing resources of parent companies, combined technological intensity of parent companies, and combined asset bases of parent companies contribute to the likelihood of an eventual product launch in a collaborative venture. However, the results of the analysis show that contrary to expectations, technological complementarity of partners in the collaborative venture is not a significant predictor of successful new product launch. The results of the study suggest certain aspects for managers to consider when establishing collaborative ventures. To maximize the possibilities of the collaborative venture leading to the successful launching of a new product, managers should be concerned with the resources potentially available to partners in the collaborative venture from parent firms. These resources are not only of financial nature but also of technological nature. The existence of these resources does not ensure provision of resources to the collaborative venture; however, without the possibility of these resources it appears that successful launch of a product is less likely. [source] Sustainable entrepreneurship in SMEs: a case study analysisCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2010Cheryl Rodgers Abstract Sustainability is oft thought of as the privilege of the large corporate , with sufficient funds to invest in anything from effective green Public Relations (PR) to improving its carbon footprint. What is perhaps less well-understood and documented is the range of activities undertaken by small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including very small entrepreneurial start-ups, some of which base their entire business rationale on sustainable principles. This paper uses a case study approach to explore the modus operandi of ecopreneurship and draws on both primary research and secondary data to develop and explore sustainable entrepreneurship in this sector. Preliminary findings suggest that ecopreneurial SMEs are looking to other goals alongside financial ones and are prepared to go to significant lengths to achieve such goals. Monetary measures are not, of course, entirely absent, but are very strongly conditioned by the ecoconscious nature of the business. In short, sustainability imperatives remain paramount. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The implementation of socially responsible purchasingCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2010Charlotte Leire Abstract Social and ethical issues in the supply chain are gaining importance in all types of organizations. Therefore some public and private organizations have already started to introduce socially responsible purchasing practices. However, current practices are limited and seem unsystematic. There is also a difference between few front-running organizations and the rest. It is therefore useful at this early stage to disseminate the knowledge and experiences based on the best-performing organizations. This paper does that by developing a model of the socially responsible purchasing process that is based on the empirical and secondary data. The model reveals the five elementary steps that are necessary in the implementation of systematic socially responsible purchasing practices: developing internal policies; setting purchasing criteria that regard social issues; applying assurance practices; managing supplier relations; and building internal capacity. The model also points to the different activities in the process and their associated challenges. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Gender differences in genetic and environmental influences on gambling: results from a sample of twins from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent HealthADDICTION, Issue 3 2010Kevin M. Beaver ABSTRACT Aims To examine the extent to which genetic factors and shared and non-shared environmental factors are implicated in the development of gambling behaviors and to examine whether there are gender differences in the genetic and environmental contributors to gambling behaviors. Design A genetically informative analysis was performed by using DeFries,Fulker (DF) analysis. Setting Analysis of secondary data drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Participants A total of 324 monozygotic (MZ) twins and 278 same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins were included in the analysis. Of these twins, there were 150 male MZ twins, 144 male DZ twins, 174 female MZ twins and 134 female DZ twins. Measurements Gambling behavior was measured through eight self-reported questions that tapped a range of items designed to measure problems related to gambling. Self-reported measures of self-control and delinquent involvement were also included to examine the degree to which these factors covaried with gambling behavior. Findings The results of the DF analysis indicated that when male and female twin pairs were analyzed simultaneously, genetic factors explained approximately 70% of the variance in gambling and non-shared environmental factors explained the remaining variance. When gender-specific models were calculated, substantial gender differences emerged. For males, genetic factors explained approximately 85% of the variance in gambling, with the non-shared environment accounting for the remaining variance. For females, genetic factors explained none of the variance in gambling behaviors, while the shared environment explained 45% of the variance and the non-shared environment explained 55% of the variance. Conclusions Analysis of twins from the Add Health data suggests that there are significant gender differences in the genetic and environmental underpinnings to gambling behaviors. [source] Tailored for Panama: Offshore Banking at the Crossroads of the AmericasGEOGRAFISKA ANNALER SERIES B: HUMAN GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2002Barney Warf With the steady integration of a deregulated world of hypermobile capital, offshore banking has become an increasingly significant part of the geography of international finance. Many interpretations tend to treat offshore banking centres as identical sites of investment that can be easily substituted for one another by completely mobile, fungible capital. This paper explores the nature of offshore banking in one largely overlooked centre, Panama. It charts the historic context that led to the creation of Latin America's most important centre of international banking, emphasizing the unique qualities that stand in contrast to hyperglobalist interpretations, including the Canal and the role of the US dollar. Second, it summarizes the regulatory changes initiated in the face of global neoliberalism, including the absence of a central bank and recent reforms designed to attract foreign capital. Using primary and secondary data, the paper maps Panama's growing role as a net capital exporter, charting domestic and foreign loan markets. Finally, it also addresses the trade,offs between confidentiality, and transparency in the context of illicit activities frequently alleged to occur in offshore banking centres, which in Panama revolve around drug trafficking and money laundering. It concludes by noting that even in an ostensibly seamless world, offshore banking exhibits the place,based embeddedness of financial capital within local institutional relations. [source] BRAZILIAN IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL IMAGINATION,GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW, Issue 4 2009ALAN P. MARCUS ABSTRACT. In the late 1980s more than 1 million Brazilians left Brazil without returning. Today an estimated 2 million Brazilians live abroad, 1.2 million of them in the United States. In this article I show that Brazilians migrate for a variety of reasons, including the geographical imagination. Why are so many Brazilians leaving for the United States? What are their geographical imaginations, and how are they described in their migration process? Using primary and secondary data and multiple methods, I address these questions by providing insights into Brazilian migrants' place perceptions, experiences, and reasons for migrating, focusing on the geographical imagination. Those migrants who end up returning to Brazil are more likely to cite financial and curiosity reasons for having migrated. A web of transnational religious and social networks sustains those immigrants who remain in the United States. Reasons for migrating are not economic alone; rather, they are based on interrelated and complex factors that range from adventure to curiosity, the cultural influence of the United States, family members, education, and escape. [source] The Relationship between Health Plan Performance Measures and Physician Network Overlap: Implications for Measuring Plan QualityHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 4 2010Daniel D. Maeng Objective. To examine the extent to which health plan quality measures capture physician practice patterns rather than plan characteristics. Data Source. We gathered and merged secondary data from the following four sources: a private firm that collected information on individual physicians and their health plan affiliations, The National Committee for Quality Assurance, InterStudy, and the Dartmouth Atlas. Study Design. We constructed two measures of physician network overlap for all health plans in our sample and linked them to selected measures of plan performance. Two linear regression models were estimated to assess the relationship between the measures of physician network overlap and the plan performance measures. Principal Findings. The results indicate that in the presence of a higher degree of provider network overlap, plan performance measures tend to converge to a lower level of quality. Conclusions. Standard health plan performance measures reflect physician practice patterns rather than plans' effort to improve quality. This implies that more provider-oriented measurement, such as would be possible with accountable care organizations or medical homes, may facilitate patient decision making and provide further incentives to improve performance. [source] Comparing Safety Climate between Two Populations of Hospitals in the United StatesHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 5p1 2009Sara J. Singer Objective. To compare safety climate between diverse U.S. hospitals and Veterans Health Administration (VA) hospitals, and to explore the factors influencing climate in each setting. Data Sources. Primary data from surveys of hospital personnel; secondary data from the American Hospital Association's 2004 Annual Survey of Hospitals. Study Design. Cross-sectional study of 69 U.S. and 30 VA hospitals. Data Collection. For each sample, hierarchical linear models used safety-climate scores as the dependent variable and respondent and facility characteristics as independent variables. Regression-based Oaxaca,Blinder decomposition examined differences in effects of model characteristics on safety climate between the U.S. and VA samples. Principal Findings. The range in safety climate among U.S. and VA hospitals overlapped substantially. Characteristics of individuals influenced safety climate consistently across settings. Working in southern and urban facilities corresponded with worse safety climate among VA employees and better safety climate in the U.S. sample. Decomposition results predicted 1.4 percentage points better safety climate in U.S. than in VA hospitals: ,0.77 attributable to sample-characteristic differences and 2.2 due to differential effects of sample characteristics. Conclusions. Results suggest that safety climate is linked more to efforts of individual hospitals than to participation in a nationally integrated system or measured characteristics of workers and facilities. [source] The Effects of Child-Only Insurance Coverage and Family Coverage on Health Care Access and Use: Recent Findings among Low-Income Children in CaliforniaHEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH, Issue 1 2006Sylvia Guendelman Objective. To compare the extent with which child-only and family coverage (child and parent insured) ensure health care access and use for low income children in California and discuss the policy implications of extending the State Children's Health Insurance Program (California's Healthy Families) to uninsured parents of child enrollees. Data Sources/Setting. We used secondary data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), a representative telephone survey. Study Design. We conducted a cross-sectional study of 5,521 public health insurance,eligible children and adolescents and their parents to examine the effects of insurance (family coverage, child-only coverage, and no coverage) on measures of health care access and utilization including emergency room visits and hospitalizations. Data Collection. We linked the CHIS adult, child, and adolescent datasets, including the adolescent insurance supplement. Findings. Among the sampled children, 13 percent were uninsured as were 22 percent of their parents. Children without insurance coverage were more likely than children with child-only coverage to lack a usual source of care and to have decreased use of health care. Children with child-only coverage fared worse than those with family coverage on almost every access indicator, but service utilization was comparable. Conclusions. While extending public benefits to parents of children eligible for Healthy Families may not improve child health care utilization beyond the gains that would be obtained by exclusively insuring the children, family coverage would likely improve access to a regular source of care and private sector providers, and reduce perceived discrimination and breaks in coverage. These advantages should be considered by states that are weighing the benefits of expanding health insurance to parents. [source] Development of Two Search Strategies for Literature in MEDLINE,PubMed: Nursing Diagnoses in the Context of Evidence-Based NursingINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF NURSING TERMINOLOGIES AND CLASSIFICATION, Issue 2 2005Almuth Berg Dipl.-PGW PURPOSE.,To develop and validate search filters for MEDLINE via PubMed according to two categories of the NLINKS-EBN matrix. METHODS.,The search results of the search filters were compared to a gold standard. FINDINGS.,The usage of nursing classification terms for the literature search in evidence-based nursing (EBN) is still limited because taxonomies are neither widely used in nursing literature nor applied for indexing by MEDLINE. The proposed filters achieved a sensitivity of 96% and a specificity of 94% for "secondary data" and a sensitivity of 87% and a specificity of 73% for "diagnostic tests." CONCLUSIONS.,The usage of database-specific search filters are a reliable and valid method to search for nursing classification terms in medical databases. [source] The Socio-Cultural Context of Drug Use and Implications for Drug PolicyINTERNATIONAL SOCIAL SCIENCE JOURNAL, Issue 169 2001Molly Charles Cultural diversity in India has nurtured the use of mind-altering substances over centuries, with-out causing any great alarm about drug abuse. This paper, using research conducted by the authors and other secondary data, attempts to present socio-cultural-religious, functional patterns of drug use in the country and examines some of the factors responsible for the drastic changes that have occurred since the 1980s. Specifically, it points out that the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, took the responsibility of drug abuse control away from the community to the near-defunct legal establishment; that by criminalising socio-religious-cultural-recreational use of opium and cannabis, it has promoted the pro-liferation of alcohol, heroin, and other moreharmful pharmaceutical drugs; that it has given a new lease of life to organised crime syndicates; and that denial of access to low cost, accessible health care at the hands of traditional healers is an unintended consequence needing immediate rectification. It makes certain policy recommendations to the UN bodies, their member states and to policy makers in India in particular. [source] Matching Technologies with Potential End Users: A Knowledge Engineering Approach for Agricultural Research ManagementJOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2004J. David Reece This paper addresses the problem of priority setting that faces developing country agricultural research, a problem whose relevance has been sharpened by the current context of demands for greater efficiency and targeted impact. A new method for ex ante estimation of the impact of developing each of several alternative proposed technologies is described and illustrated through an example from West Africa. This method is based on the notion of market segmentation, which normally makes intensive use of secondary data-sets that are simply not available for rural areas of developing countries. To circumvent this lack of secondary data, the method adopts a knowledge engineering approach based on the views of an expert panel familiar with the region to be served. Descriptions of proposed technologies are matched with the interests and resources of identified market segments, together with the characteristics of their farming systems and locations, to identify those segments whose members are likely to use the proposed technology. Further development of the method is discussed. [source] A Cost-Benefit Analysis of External Hip Protectors in the Nursing Home SettingJOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2 2005Lisa A. Honkanen MD Objectives: To estimate potential cost savings generated by a program of hip protectors in the nursing home from a Medicare perspective. Design: A state-transition Markov model considering short-term and long-term outcomes of hip protectors for a hypothetical nursing home population, stratified by age, sex, and functional status. Costs, transition probabilities between health states, and estimates of hip protectors' effectiveness were derived from published secondary data. Setting: Nursing home facilities in the United States. Participants: Hypothetical cohort of permanent nursing home residents aged 65 and older without a previous hip fracture. Intervention: Program of hip protectors reimbursed by Medicare. Measurements: Number of fractures, life years, and dollars saved. Results: Three pairs of hip protectors replaced annually would result in a weighted average lifetime absolute risk reduction for hip fracture of 8.5%, with net lifetime savings to Medicare of $223 per resident. When the annual cost of hip protectors is less than $151 per person, relative risk of fracture is less than or equal to 0.65 with hip protectors, or adherence is greater than 42%, hip protectors are cost saving to Medicare over a wide range of assumptions. Extrapolating these results to the estimated population of U.S. nursing home residents without a previous hip fracture, Medicare could save $136 million in the first year of a hip-protector reimbursement program. Conclusion: From a Medicare perspective, hip protectors are a cost-saving intervention in the nursing home setting when hip protector effectiveness is less than or equal to 0.65 over the remaining lifetime of subjects. [source] Stoma coloproctology nurse specialist: a case studyJOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 6 2007Ursula Chaney DPSN Aims and objectives., The aim of this paper is to provide insight into the role of a Stoma Coloproctology Nurse Specialist. This paper presents the findings of an in-depth case study of a stoma coloproctology nurse specialist employed in one health board area in Northern Ireland. This case study was part of a larger study exploring innovative nursing and midwifery roles in Northern Ireland. Background., Specialist nursing roles have evolved and developed in response to changing health care needs, patient expectations, changes in professional regulation and government initiatives. Design., A case study approach was adopted. Method., Semi-structured interviews with the post holder (PH), her line manager and the human resource manager were undertaken. Non-participant observation of the PH's practice was also carried out. Analysis was undertaken on secondary data such as job specification, annual reports and other documentation relating to the post. Results., Findings illustrate the PH's function and the impact of the role on patient care. Examples of innovative practices relating to providing care, support and guidance for patients and their families were identified; however, limitations to her role were also identified. Conclusions., The PH provides an invaluable service to patients, demonstrating a positive impact on care. However, the findings suggest the importance of establishing clear role boundaries, which may lead to professional growth and practice development. Relevance to clinical practice., Although this study provides a valuable insight into the role of a Stoma Coloproctology Nurse Specialist a number of challenges exist, as the CNS role requires policy and appropriate educational preparation to practice at an advanced level. Further research investigating the development of the CNS role in the clinical setting and its relationship to members of the multi-professional team would be beneficial. [source] PTSD symptoms, substance use, and vipassana meditation among incarcerated individualsJOURNAL OF TRAUMATIC STRESS, Issue 3 2007T. L. Simpson The present study evaluated whether Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptom severity was associated with participation and treatment outcomes comparing a Vipassana meditation course to treatment as usual in an incarcerated sample. This study utilizes secondary data. The original study demonstrated that Vipassana meditation is associated with reductions in substance use. The present study found that PTSD symptom severity did not differ significantly between those who did and did not volunteer to take the course. Participation in the Vipassana course was associated with significantly greater reductions in substance use than treatment as usual, regardless of PTSD symptom severity levels. These results suggest that Vipassana meditation is worthy of further study for those with comorbid PTSD and substance use problems. [source] Patterns of medication use in the immigrant population resident in Spain: associated factorsPHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 8 2009P. Carrasco-Garrido PhD Abstract Purpose This study mainly aimed at to ascertain to ascertain the prevalence of the consumption of medications, prescribed and self-medicated, among the immigrant population (economic immigrants and not economic immigrants) resident in Spain, and to identify the factors associated with such consumption in this population. Methods We have worked with individualized secondary data, collected in the Spanish National Health Survey carried out in 2006 and 2007 (SNHS-06), from the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs. A total of 2055 subjects born outside Spain, aged 16 years or over, were analysed. The independent variables were sociodemographic and health-related, and the dependent variable was medication use. Using logistic multivariate regression models we have estimated the independent effect of each of these variables on the medication consumption. Results The 55.8% of immigrant population responded affirmatively to having consumed some type of medication. The drugs that registered the highest consumption prevalence were analgesics (53.09%). It should be stressed here that 8.75% of the not economic immigrant population has consumed antibiotics. The variables that were independently and significantly associated with a greater probability of medication consumption were: sex, age, presence of chronic disease, use of alternative medicines and a negative perception of health. The most strongly associated variable is medical consultation. Conclusions The prevalence of medication use higher among economic immigrant women. In our population, the use of alternative medicines use and medical visits to the physician are associated with higher consumption. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Does less autonomy erode women's health?AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2010Understanding the determinants of health is a central objective of human biology and related fields. Female autonomy is hypothesized to be an important determinant of women's health as well as demographic outcomes. The literature relating women's health to their everyday autonomy has produced conflicting results, and this may be due in part to the application of different measures of autonomy and different measures of health. Using secondary data from a large nationally representative study, this study examines the relationship between multiple measures of female autonomy and three measures of wellbeing among women living in Uzbekistan (n = 5,396). The multivariate results show that women's autonomy related to freedom of movement is associated with lower levels of depression symptomatology and lower systolic blood pressure. Respondents who assert that women should have control over their bodies also had lower odds of high depression symptoms and lower diastolic blood pressure. In contrast, women with greater decision-making autonomy were more likely to be classified as having high depressive symptomatology and higher diastolic blood pressure. Building on recent work, we suggest that these associations might reflect varying levels of agreement between men and women, and we provide some limited evidence to support this. This study stands as a theoretical and methodological cautionary note by suggesting that the relationship between autonomy and health is complex. Further, if differences in gender agreement underlie differences in the predictive accuracy of autonomy scales, then human biology researchers will need to begin collecting identical data from men and women. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2010. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Spatial segregation, segregation indices and the geographical perspectivePOPULATION, SPACE AND PLACE (PREVIOUSLY:-INT JOURNAL OF POPULATION GEOGRAPHY), Issue 2 2006Lawrence A. Brown Abstract What could be more inherently geographical than segregation? However, the richness of the spatial variations in segregation is seldom captured by the dominant genre of empirical research. Returning the ,geography' to segregation research, we argue that local areas need to be given considerably more attention, using measures that explicitly reveal the spatial fabric of residential clustering along racial/ethnic lines. We first critique global measures such as the Dissimilarity Index and its spatial counterparts. Attention then turns to local measures such as the Location Quotient and Local Moran's I, applying them to Franklin County, Ohio, the core of Columbus MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area). Our interpretation of the findings also employs local knowledge concerning neighbourhood characteristics, ongoing urban processes, historical occurrences, and the like. Thus, while local indices based on secondary data expose the terrain of clustering/segregation, follow-up fieldwork and/or secondary data analysis in a mixed-methods framework provides a better understanding of the ground-level reality of clustering/segregation. Tangible evidence of the gain from this approach is provided by our evaluation of conventional frameworks for understanding racial/ethnic aspects of residential patterning , assimilation, stratification and resurgent ethnicity , and in our proposal for a new framework, ,market-led pluralism', which focuses on market makers who represent the supply side of housing. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] No place called home: the causes and social consequences of the UK housing ,bubble'THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 2 2010John Bone Abstract This paper examines the key causes and social consequences of the much debated UK ,housing bubble' and its aftermath from a multidimensional sociological approach, as opposed to the economic perspective of many popular discussions. This is a phenomenon that has affected numerous economies in the first decade of the new millennium. The discussion is based on a comprehensive study that includes exhaustive analysis of secondary data, content and debate in the mass media and academia, primary data gathered from the monitoring of weblogs and forums debating housing issues, and case histories of individuals experiencing housing difficulties during this period. This paper is intended to provide a broad overview of the key findings and preliminary analysis of this ongoing study, and is informed by a perspective which considers secure and affordable housing to be an essential foundation of stable and cohesive societies, with its absence contributing to a range of social ills that negatively impact on both individual and collective well being. Overall, it is argued that we must return to viewing decent, affordable housing as an essential social resource, that provides the bedrock of stable individual, family and community life, while recognizing that its increasing treatment as a purely economic asset is a key contributor to our so-called ,broken society'. [source] Codification, patents and the geography of knowledge transfer in the electronic musical instrument industryTHE CANADIAN GEOGRAPHER/LE GEOGRAPHE CANADIEN, Issue 3 2006TIM REIFFENSTEIN Recent research in economic geography has emphasized tacit knowledge as the basis of industrial learning. In contrast, codification and the practices of industrial writing have received little attention for the roles they play in mobilizing knowledge across space. This paper offers insight into the geographies of codification through an examination of technology transfer in the electronic musical instrument industry between 1965 and 1995. The research draws on a variety of primary and secondary data that include interviews with inventors, biographical accounts and patent analysis. These sources offer perspective on the career trajectories of three U.S. inventors who transferred knowledge from various contexts in California's high-tech industry to the Japanese firm, Yamaha. Conceptually, the paper draws on the actor,network theory and Latour's idea of translation to highlight the detours inventors must take to register novelty. The analysis reveals the problematic nature of codified knowledge and its transfer; in this case codified knowledge was mobile internationally but not locally, at least until it reached Japan. The paper argues for the need to understand how texts such as patents are produced,the context of their authorship, the geographies of their circulation and their efficacy for shaping further innovative practice. Les recherches actuelles en géographie mettent l'accent sur les connaissances tacites comme fondement de l'apprentissage industriel. Cependant, la codification et les pratiques relatives à la composition industrielle ont été peu étudiées du point de vue de leurs rôles dans la mobilisation des connaissances dans l'espace. Cet article donne un aperçu des géographies de la codification suite à une analyse du transfert technologique dans l'industrie des instruments de musique électronique entre 1965 et 1995. Fondée sur un ensemble de données primaires et secondaires, cette étude présente une série d'entrevues réalisées auprès d'inventeurs, des comptes-rendus biographiques et des analyses de brevets. Ces données permettent de considérer avec recul le cheminement professionnel de trois inventeurs américains responsables du transfert des connaissances depuis différents secteurs de l'industrie de haute technologie californienne vers la société japonaise Yamaha. Sur un plan conceptuel, l'article reprend la théorie acteur-réseau et aborde la notion de traduction développée par Latour afin de mettre en relief les principaux détours qu'empruntent les inventeurs pour obtenir un brevet d'innovation. L'analyse fait ressortir le caractère problématique des connaissances codifiées et de leur transfert; dans ce cas, les connaissances codifiées étaient mobiles à l'échelle internationale et non à l'échelle locale avant qu'elles n'arrivent au Japon. Cet article plaide en faveur de la nécessité de comprendre comment les textes tels que les brevets sont élaborés: le contexte entourant la rédaction du document, les géographies de leur diffusion et les répercutions sur les pratiques novatrices. [source] The Proportion of Gaming Revenue Derived from Problem Gamblers: Examining the Issues in a Canadian ContextANALYSES OF SOCIAL ISSUES & PUBLIC POLICY, Issue 1 2004Robert J. Williams The legitimacy of government-sponsored gambling and its continued expansion depends in part on the impact that gambling has on society and the extent to which gambling revenue is derived from vulnerable individuals. The purpose of the present article is to try to establish a valid estimate of the proportion of gaming revenue derived from problem gamblers in Canada. Using recent secondary data collected in eight Canadian provinces, we estimate this proportion to be 23.1%, compared to a problem gambling prevalence rate of 4.2%. This estimate must be seen as tentative, however, as self-reported expenditures are 2.1 times higher than actual provincial gaming revenues. [source] The Wildlife Picture Index: monitoring top trophic levelsANIMAL CONSERVATION, Issue 4 2010T. G. O'Brien Abstract Although recent biodiversity loss has been compared with cataclysmic mass extinctions, we still possess few indicators that can assess the extent or location of biodiversity loss on a global scale. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has mandated development of indicators that can meet the needs of monitoring biodiversity by 2010. To date, many indicators rely on unwarranted assumptions, secondary data, expert opinion and retrospective time series. We present a new biodiversity indicator, the Wildlife Picture Index (WPI) that targets medium and large-sized terrestrial birds and mammals in forested and savannah ecosystems that. The WPI is a composite indicator based on the geometric mean of relative occupancy estimates derived from camera trap sampling at a landscape scale. It has been designed to meet the needs of a CBD indicator while avoiding many of the pitfalls that characterize some CBD indicators. We present an example using 8 years of camera trap data from Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Indonesia to show that the WPI is capable of detecting changes in the rate of loss of biodiversity, a key requirement of a CBD indicator. We conclude that the WPI should be effective at monitoring top trophic levels in forest and savannah ecosystems using primary data and can fill the gap in knowledge about trends in tropical biodiversity. [source] The acute,aged care interface: Exploring the dynamics of ,bed blocking'AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 3 2008Catherine M Travers Objective: To understand the dynamics underlying ,bed-blocking' in Australian public hospitals that is frequently blamed on older patients. Methods: Analysis of primary and secondary data of utilisation patterns of hospital and aged care services by older Australians. Results: A model of the dynamics at the acute,aged care interface was developed, in which the pathway into permanent high-care Residential Aged Care (RAC) is conceptualised as competing queues for available places by applicants from the hospital, the community and from within RAC facilities. The hospital effectively becomes a safety net to accommodate people with high-care needs who cannot be admitted into RAC in a timely manner. Conclusion: The model provides a useful tool to explore some of the issues that give rise to access-block within the public hospital system. Access-block cannot be understood by viewing the hospital system in isolation from other sectors that support the health and well-being of older Australians. [source] Minimum-data analysis of ecosystem service supply in semi-subsistence agricultural systemsAUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2010John M. Antle Antle and Valdivia (2006, Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 50, 1,15) proposed a minimum-data (MD) approach to simulate ecosystem service supply curves that can be implemented using readily available secondary data and validated the approach in a case study of soil carbon sequestration in a monoculture wheat system. However, many applications of the MD approach are in developing countries where semi-subsistence systems with multiple production activities are being used and data availability is limited. This paper discusses how MD analysis can be applied to more complex production systems such as semi-subsistence systems with multiple production activities and presents validation analysis for studies of soil carbon sequestration in semi-subsistence farming systems in Kenya and Senegal. Results from these two studies confirm that ecosystem service supply curves based on the MD approach are close approximations to the curves derived from highly detailed data and models and are therefore sufficiently accurate and robust to be used to support policy decision making. [source] Modelling the supply of ecosystem services from agriculture: a minimum-data approach,AUSTRALIAN JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL & RESOURCE ECONOMICS, Issue 1 2006John M. Antle We argue that to support agriculture,environmental policy decision making, stakeholders need ,quantitative back-of-the-envelope' analysis that is timely and sufficiently accurate to make informed decisions. We apply this concept to the analysis of the supply of ecosystem services from agriculture. We present a spatially explicit production model and show how it can be used to derive the supply of ecosystem services in a region. This model shows that the supply of ecosystem services can be derived from the spatial distribution of opportunity cost of providing those services. We then show how this conceptual model can be used to develop a minimum-data (MD) approach to the analysis of the supply of ecosystem services from agriculture that can be implemented with the kinds of secondary data that are available in most parts of the world. We apply the MD approach to simulate the supply of carbon that could be sequestered in agricultural soils in the dryland grain-producing region of Montana. We find that the supply curve derived from the MD approach can approximate the supply curve obtained from a more elaborate model based on site-specific data, and can do so with sufficient accuracy for policy analysis. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||