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Industrialized Nations (industrialized + nation)
Selected AbstractsThe Value Relevance of Accounting under Political Uncertainty: Evidence Related to Quebec's Independence MovementJOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & ACCOUNTING, Issue 1 2005Roger C. Graham Jr. The Canadian province of Quebec is a region of an advanced industrialized nation characterized by a strong independence movement and, therefore, provides an interesting context in which to test the effect of political uncertainty on the relationship between market values and accounting values. In this study we compare market-to-book value associations of a sample of firms headquartered in Quebec with those of a sample of Canadian firms headquartered outside Quebec, over the period 1988,2002. Our comparisons suggest that, on average, the value of Quebec-based firms is significantly less than other Canadian firms when valuation is based on multiples of book value and earnings. In addition, we find that the "Quebec discount" decreased significantly in the period immediately following the 1995 provincial sovereignty referendum wherein Quebeckers voted (narrowly) against Quebec sovereignty. We conclude that the relative undervaluation of Quebec firms is related, at least in part, to political uncertainty associated with the Quebec independence movement. [source] POPULATION AGING AND INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT: ADDRESSING COMPETING CLAIMS OF DISTRIBUTIVE JUSTICEDEVELOPING WORLD BIOETHICS, Issue 1 2007MICHAL ENGELMAN ABSTRACT To date, bioethics and health policy scholarship has given little consideration to questions of aging and intergenerational justice in the developing world. Demographic changes are precipitating rapid population aging in developing nations, however, and ethical issues regarding older people's claim to scarce healthcare resources must be addressed. This paper posits that the traditional arguments about generational justice and age-based rationing of healthcare resources, which were developed primarily in more industrialized nations, fail to adequately address the unique challenges facing older persons in developing nations. Existing philosophical approaches to age-based resource allocation underemphasize the importance of older persons for developing countries and fail to adequately consider the rights and interests of older persons in these settings. Ultimately, the paper concludes that the most appropriate framework for thinking about generational justice in developing nations is a rights-based approach that allows for the interests of all age groups, including the oldest, to be considered in the determination of health resource allocation. [source] Antimicrobial Resistance and Aging: Beginning of the End of the Antibiotic Era?JOURNAL OF AMERICAN GERIATRICS SOCIETY, Issue 2002Thomas T. Yoshikawa MD Throughout the history of mankind, infectious diseases have remained a major cause of death and disability. Although industrialized nations, such as the United States, have experienced significant reductions in infection-related mortality and morbidity since the beginning of the "antibiotic era," death and complications from infectious diseases remain a serious problem for older persons. Pneumonia is the major infection-related cause of death in older persons, and urinary tract infection is the most common bacterial infection seen in geriatric patients. Other serious and common infections in older people include intra-abdominal sepsis, bacterial meningitis, infective endocarditis, infected pressure ulcers, septic arthritis, tuberculosis, and herpes zoster. As a consequence, frequent prescribing of antibiotics for older patients is common practice. The large volume of antibiotics prescribed has contributed to the emergence of highly resistant pathogens among geriatric patients, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae, vancomycin-resistant enterococci, and multiple-drug-resistant gram-negative bacilli. Unless preventive strategies coupled with newer drug development are established soon, eventually clinicians will be encountering infections caused by highly resistant pathogens for which no effective antibiotics will be available. Clinicians could then be experiencing the same frustrations of not being able to treat infections effectively as were seen in the "pre-antibiotic era." [source] Incentives and the Efficiency of Public Sector-outsourcing ContractsJOURNAL OF ECONOMIC SURVEYS, Issue 5 2005Paul H. Jensen Abstract., Outsourcing the provision of traditionally publicly provided services has become commonplace in most industrialized nations. Despite its prevalence, there still is no consensus in the academic literature on the magnitude (and determinants) of expected cost savings to the government, nor the sources of those savings. This article considers the arguments for (and against) outsourcing and then examines the empirical evidence pertaining to whether any observed savings occur and whether they persist over time. In addition, we examine the existing evidence for the ,redistribution hypothesis' and the ,quality-shading hypothesis', which critics have used to argue that outsourcing lowers government expenditure by lowering wages and conditions and/or lower quality services. Finally, we consider the impact of contract design on outsourcing outcomes. While the power of incentives is a strong theme in economics, recent work has suggested that high-powered incentives may be suboptimal for many public sector services, because they may crowd out intrinsic motivation, particularly in instances where agents are highly motivated. We discuss the implications of this insight for the efficiency of public sector outsourcing. [source] A common model approach to macroeconomics: using panel data to reduce sampling errorJOURNAL OF FORECASTING, Issue 3 2005William T. Gavin Abstract Is there a common model inherent in macroeconomic data? Macroeconomic theory suggests that market economies of various nations should share many similar dynamic patterns; as a result, individual country empirical models, for a wide variety of countries, often include the same variables. Yet, empirical studies often find important roles for idiosyncratic shocks in the differing macroeconomic performance of countries. We use forecasting criteria to examine the macrodynamic behaviour of 15 OECD countries in terms of a small set of familiar, widely used core economic variables, omitting country-specific shocks. We find this small set of variables and a simple VAR ,common model' strongly support the hypothesis that many industrialized nations have similar macroeconomic dynamics. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Disease modifying therapy for AD?,JOURNAL OF NEUROCHEMISTRY, Issue 3 2006Todd E. Golde Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in industrialized nations. If more effective therapies are not developed that either prevent AD or block progression of the disease in its very early stages, the economic and societal cost of caring for AD patients will be devastating. Only two types of drugs are currently approved for the treatment of AD: inhibitors of acetyl cholinesterase, which symptomatically enhance cognitive state to some degree but are not disease modifying; and the adamantane derivative, memantine. Memantine preferentially blocks excessive NMDA receptor activity without disrupting normal receptor activity and is thought to be a neuroprotective agent that blocks excitotoxicty. Memantine therefore may have a potentially disease modifying effect in multiple neurodegenerative conditions. An improved understanding of the pathogeneses of AD has now led to the identification of numerous therapeutic targets designed to alter amyloid , protein (A,) or tau accumulation. Therapies that alter A, and tau through these various targets are likely to have significant disease modifying effects. Many of these targets have been validated in proof of concept studies in preclinical animal models, and some potentially disease modifying therapies targeting A, or tau are being tested in the clinic. This review will highlight both the promise of and the obstacles to developing such disease modifying AD therapies. [source] Advancement of renewables in Bangladesh and Thailand: Policy intervention and institutional settingsNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 3 2006Sk Noim Uddin Abstract This article reviews and analyses the advancement of renewable sources of energy in Bangladesh and Thailand in terms of policy intervention and institutional settings. Since renewable forms of energy emit far smaller amounts of greenhouse gas compared with fossil fuels, their use should mitigate climate change impacts while contributing to the provision of energy services. The article turns first to a review of energy,environment trends and the potential for renewables in these two nations. It then discusses strategies for the advancement of renewables. It is argued that further significant efforts can be made towards the advancement of renewables in Bangladesh and Thailand. These two nations could also learn from the experience in industrialized nations and other developing nations with regard to requisite policy instruments and processes. A number of barriers remain to the advancement of renewables, especially in terms of policy arrangements, institutional settings, financing mechanisms and technologies. Resources, cooperation and learning are required in order to overcome such barriers and to foster the development of necessary policy measures. Implementation of the clean development mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol, and replication and adaptation of effective strategies from other settings are possible avenues for this. [source] Economic and financial aspects of mine closureNATURAL RESOURCES FORUM, Issue 4 2001James R. Kahn Abstract Today, mine reclamation is a key component to a successful mine plan. Most of the industrialized nations have recognized the need to make mining activities relatively environmentally friendly, if they want to continue to benefit from the economic gains from mineral resource development. Countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and South Africa are leaders in the field and have implemented relatively sophisticated legislation to ensure environmentally correct mine closure. These countries rely on a combination of strict control strategies and economic penalties to ensure compliance. Yet, from the firm's perspective, reclamation activities are counterproductive as they cut into profits. In order to attract economic development and earn much needed economic capital, most of the rest of the world, particularly the developing countries, lack effective mine closure legislation. The traditional command and control type of legislation that is sometimes used is either vague and therefore avoided, or not enforced appropriately, resulting in an undesirable level of environmental degradation. With the use of case studies from Brazil, this article shows that direct controls are effective in some instances and not in others. It proposes that economic and financial tools may be more effective than the traditional direct controls in getting firms to comply with environmental standards, particularly in developing countries where environmental compliance is more difficult to achieve. It explains the use of performance bonding as one type of economic incentive that has proven to be an effective environmental policy in mine planning and closure. The authors additionally push beyond the typical style of performance bonds to introduce a flexible bonding and insurance system that allows governments to maintain strict environmental standards but limits firms financial exposure during the mining process. Such a system learns from the successes of the industrialized countries that use performance bonding and is sensitive to the needs of developing nations to attract investment yet maintain environmental integrity. [source] More aggressive bone marrow screening in retinoblastoma patients is not indicated: The memorial Sloan-Kettering cancer center experience,PEDIATRIC BLOOD & CANCER, Issue 1 2006Stergios Zacharoulis MD Abstract Background Bone marrow involvement in retinoblastoma patients is rare in the more industrialized nations. The purpose of the current study was to determine the frequency of bone marrow involvement in our series of retinoblastoma patients and to investigate whether the use of four bone marrow aspirates (BMA) and two bone marrow biopsies (BMB) has greater sensitivity for the detection of metastatic disease compared to what has been previously reported. Methods Retrospective analysis of the charts of 54 patients with retinoblastoma was performed. We performed 265 BMA, 134 BMB (4 aspirates and 2 biopsies per evaluation), and 67 lumbar punctures (LPs) in 54 patients with retinoblastoma. Results There were no patients found with bone marrow or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) involvement at the time of the initial diagnosis. Although no patient died of distant metastases, two patients developed metastatic disease at recurrence, involving the bone marrow and other sites. For these two patients all four aspirates and two biopsies were positive for disease at the time of recurrence. Conclusions Despite the use of four BMA and two BMB (as opposed to one bone marrow aspirate that is routinely performed in other centers), the detection of patients with metastatic disease was similar to what has been previously reported. Based on these data more aggressive evaluation of the bone marrow in retinoblastoma patients with clinically limited disease using four aspirates and two biopsies cannot be supported. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Information behavior in developing countries: Research, issues, and emerging trendsPROCEEDINGS OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (ELECTRONIC), Issue 1 2007Dania Bilal Moderator The field of library and information science (LIS) has historically been a leading discipline in studying human information behavior (Spink & Cole, 2006). Information seeking in industrialized nations is grounded in theories and moving towards new directions and evolutionary approaches that often challenge the established paradigms of information behavior studies (see Case, 2007; Spink & Cole, 2006; Fisher, Erdelez, & Mckechnie, 2005; Chelton & Cool, 2004. Information behavior has been conceptualized in a holistic context that draws upon theories from various disciplines such as cognitive science, communication, psychology, and computer science (Nahl & Bilal, 2007; Spink & Cole, 2006). Compared to industrialized nations, most developing countries relegate towards the bottom heap of research on information behavior (Coleman, 2005; Britz, 2005). A panel of researchers, educators, and consultants will address research in information behavior in various contexts in developing countries, particularly in India, South Africa, and the Arab world. Based on their research findings and experiences, the speakers will trace themes, map the intellectual terrain, identify emerging trends and approaches, and frame issues related to information behavior research in these countries. Moreover, they will identify significant knowledge domains, concepts, and topics of application in information behavior research where there can be mutual exchange between developing countries and the industrialized nations (including the United States) to nurture and further growth in this area of study. [source] Integrating Pediatric Obesity Treatment Into Clinical PracticeAMERICAN JOURNAL OF ORTHOPSYCHIATRY, Issue 4 2006Barry Panzer PhD Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in the United States and other industrialized nations. Despite the significant psychosocial consequences, mental health professionals have been reluctant to provide direct treatment for these children and their parents. The author proposes a practice model for agency, clinic, and private settings, with the mental health practitioner as primary clinician. On the basis of intervention research methodology, the model presents consensus generalizations and clinical applications for evaluation and treatment. A typology of diagnostic profiles with corresponding strategies for combining diet, activity, and mental health interventions is included. [source] Prevalence and Etiology of Hearing Loss in Rural Nicaraguan ChildrenTHE LARYNGOSCOPE, Issue 3 2007James E. Saunders MD Abstract Objective/Hypothesis: The prevalence and causes of pediatric hearing loss (HL) in the developing world are largely unknown. Infectious sequelae, ototoxic medications, and genetic causes may play a larger role in developing countries. In addition, the significance of GJB2 mutation gene in poorly developed areas remains unclear. The intent of this study is to investigate the prevalence and etiology of HL in children living in a remote, impoverished region of northern Nicaragua. Study Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Clinical data from two sources were analyzed: data from screening examinations performed in rural schools in the Department of Jinotega, Nicaragua (group A) and pediatric HL patients seen at the Otolaryngology and Audiology Clinic in Jinotega, Nicaragua (group B). Patients with congenital HL were offered a genetic test for GJB2 mutations. Comparisons were made using parametric (analysis of variance) and nonparametric (Kruskal-Wallis) tests. Results: School-based screening examinations (group A) revealed a high prevalence of significant HL (>30 dB) of 18%. The majority of these children had normal otoscopic examinations (58%). A family history of HL was seen in 24% of children who failed screening exams. Positive family history was more common in patients with HL (P < .01) and in specific schools (P < .05). Clinic-based evaluations (group B) reveal a population with predominantly severe-profound HL. Physical dysmorphism was common, yet identifiable syndromic HL was rare. Although familial HL was common (33%), there were no pathologic GJB2 mutations. Other common risk factors in this population were maternal infection during pregnancy, neonatal distress, low birth weight or prematurity, and gentamicin exposure. Conclusions: HL in this rural, third world environment is more prevalent, and the etiologies responsible in this study group are different from those encountered in industrialized nations. Poor perinatal health care, infectious causes, gentamicin exposure, and hereditary HL are potentially preventable causes that play a major role in this population. [source] 2422: Ocular blood flow in diabetesACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2010G GARHOFER Diabetes is among the most prominent reasons for developing blindness in industrialized nations. In the recent years there is cumulating evidence that a dysfunctional ocular microcirculation is involved in the pathogenesis of the disease. Although ocular blood flow in diabetic retinopathy has been thoroughly investigated, the reported results are inconsistent. This may be at least partially be related to the fact that blood flow is dependent on the severity of the disease. In particular, most of the studies, but not all report an increased ocular blood flow in early stages of diabetic retinopathy whereas blood flow seems to be decreased in the proliferative form of the disease. More importantly, it has been shown that beside changes in baseline flow, endothelial dysfunction is present even in very early stages of the disease. Based on this observation it has been hypothesized that endothelial dysfunction may precede other diabetes related complications. In this talk our current knowledge about blood flow regulation in patients with diabetes will be summarized. [source] | ||||||||||||||||