Home About us Contact
|
Home About us Contact | ||
|
|
||
Western Cities (western + city)
Selected AbstractsThe New Retail Economy of ShanghaiGROWTH AND CHANGE, Issue 1 2005SHUGUANG WANG ABSTRACT As Shanghai strives to build itself into an international center of finance, trade, and commerce, a new retail economy has evolved accordingly. In the past two decades, its retail sector has been transformed from a simple and inefficient distribution system to a much more complex and highly competitive market-oriented economy. The new retail economy in many ways resembles the contemporary capitalist retail economy in the Western cities, but it also exhibits significant differences with Chinese characteristics. While the affluent consumer market is the necessary condition for sustained retail growth, it is the retail deregulation that has been the fundamental driving force for the structural changes in Shanghai's retail sector. Its liberal policies attracted major international retailers to either choose Shanghai as the gateway city to enter the China market, or locate their China headquarters offices in Shanghai to command their operations throughout the country. Indeed, the retail transformation in post-reform Shanghai is a clear testimony of the Economic Transition Model. The main data sources for this empirical study are the 1999 Census of Commercial Activity in Shanghai and the Shanghai Statistical Yearbook. They are supplemented by data collected from reputable Web sites and through field work in Shanghai. [source] Waiting for scheduled services in Canada: development of priority-setting scoring systemsJOURNAL OF EVALUATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, Issue 1 2003T. W. Noseworthy MD MSc MPH FRCPC FACP FCCP FCCM CHE Abstract Rationale, aims and objectives An Achilles' heel of Canadian Medicare is long waits for elective services. The Western Canada Waiting List (WCWL) project is a collaboration of 19 partner organizations committed to addressing this issue and influencing the way waiting lists are structured and managed. The focus of the WCWL project has been to develop and refine practical tools for prioritizing patients on scheduled waiting lists. Methods Scoring tools for priority setting were developed through extensive clinical input and highly iterative exchange by clinical panels constituted in five clinical areas: cataract surgery; general surgery procedures; hip and knee replacement; magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning, and children's mental health. Several stages of empirical work were conducted to formulate and refine criteria and to assess and improve their reliability and validity. To assess the acceptability and usability of the priority-setting tools and to identify issues pertaining to implementation, key personnel in the seven regional health authorities (RHAs) participated in structured interviews. Public opinion focus groups were conducted in the seven western cities. Results Point-count scoring systems were constructed in each of the clinical areas. Participating clinicians confirmed that the tools offered face validity and that the scoring systems appeared practical for implementation and use in clinical settings. Reliability was strongest for the general surgery and hip and knee criteria, and weakest for the diagnostic MRI criteria. Public opinion focus groups endorsed wholeheartedly the application of point-count priority measures. Regional health authorities were generally supportive, though cautiously optimistic towards implementation. Conclusions While the WCWL project has not ,solved' the problem of waiting lists and times, having a standardized, reliable means of assigning priority for services is an important step towards improved management in Canada and elsewhere. [source] The impact of lower urinary tract symptoms and comorbidities on quality of life: the BACH and UREPIK studiesBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 2 2007Chris Robertson In a large epidemiological study, authors investigated the effect of LUTS on quality of life among various cultures. They showed a close association between the two, and that the effect of having moderate symptoms has a similar effect on quality of life as diabetes, hypertension or cancer, and that having severe symptoms had a similar effect as a heart attack or stroke. OBJECTIVES To investigate the effect of lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) on quality of life (QoL) and to determine its extent across a variety of cultures, and the confounding effects of self-reported comorbidities and demographics. SUBJECTS AND METHODS Data were obtained from two population-based studies in five cities: UREPIK (Boxmeer, the Netherlands; Auxerre, France; Birmingham, UK; and Seoul, Korea) and the Boston Area Community Health (BACH) study (Boston, USA). UREPIK used stratified random samples of men aged 40,79 years. BACH used a multistage stratified cluster sample to randomly select adults aged 40,79 years. QoL was assessed using a standard Medical Outcomes Study,Short Form 12 (SF-12, mental and physical health component scores); LUTS was assessed using the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS). The association between QoL and IPSS, associated illnesses, and lifestyle factors was investigated using weighted regression. RESULTS The UREPIK studied 4800 men aged 40,79 years; BACH recruited 1686 men aged 40,79 years. The prevalence of LUTS, defined as an IPSS of ,8, varied by city (P < 0.001), with Auxerre reporting a prevalence (se) of 18.1 (1.2)%, Birmingham 25.6 (1.5)%, Boston 25.1 (1.6)%, Boxmeer 21.2 (1.3)%, and Seoul 19.0 (1.2)%. Overall, this was similar to the reported rate of high blood pressure. Severe LUTS, defined as an IPSS of ,20, affected , 3.3% of the age group; this was roughly similar to stroke (2.2%), cancer (4.5%), or heart attack (4.5%) and less than half as much as diabetes (8.6%). A 10-point increase in IPSS was associated with a 3.3 (0.3)-point reduction in SF-12 physical health component score, with the same effect in all cities (P = 0.682 for the interaction test). This was more than the physical health component score reduction caused by cancer, diabetes, or high blood pressure (2 points each), but less than stroke or heart attack (6 points). The comorbidities had no significant impact on SF-12 mental health component score (other than a heart attack, that had a 1.8-point reduction). A 10-point increase in IPSS was associated with a 3.4 (0.6)-point reduction of the mental health component score in the four western cities and a 1.4 (0.3)-point reduction in Seoul. CONCLUSIONS Increasingly severe LUTS is associated with a lower QoL. The effect of moderate LUTS on QoL physical health component score is similar to that of having diabetes, high blood pressure or cancer, while the effect of severe LUTS is similar to a heart attack or stroke. These changes were consistent across cultures. This analysis shows the magnitude and consistency of the effects of LUTS on QoL. While these patients might be seen by several types of practitioners, it is likely that urologists will be in the best position to recognize the true impact of LUTS on a patient's QoL, to be aware of the effects of therapies for LUTS on QoL, and to ensure that colleagues in other disciplines recognize the importance of these symptoms and their treatment. [source] Energy restriction early in life and colon carcinoma riskCANCER, Issue 1 2003Results of the Netherlands Cohort Study after 7.3 years of follow-up Abstract BACKGROUND This study evaluated the effects of severe undernutrition during adolescence and subsequent colon carcinoma risk. METHODS The authors evaluated The Netherlands Cohort Study on Diet and Cancer (NLCS) among 62,573 women and 58,279 men aged 55,69 years at baseline. Information on diet and risk factors was collected by questionnaire in 1986. Additional information was collected concerning residence during the hunger winter (1944,1945), the World War II years (1940,1944), and father's employment status during the economic depression of 1932,1940, which were used as indicators of exposure. After 7.3 years of follow-up, 807 colon carcinoma cases (388 females and 419 males) were available for analysis. RESULTS Multivariate analysis showed that both men and women who had lived in a western city in 1944,1945 had a decreased colon carcinoma risk (men: relative risk [RR] = 0.85, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.62,1.16; women: RR = 0.80, 95%CI = 0.59,1.09). No association between colon carcinoma risk and urban versus rural residence was found during the war years (1940,1944). Having an unemployed father during the economic depression (1932,1940) was also associated with a small decrease in colon carcinoma risk for men (RR = 0.90, 95% CI =0.62,1.31) and women (RR = 0.75, 95%CI 0.49-1.14). In subgroup analyses, a decreased colon carcinoma risk for men and women who were in their adolescent growth spurt and living in a western city during the hunger winter of 1944,1945 was noted (men: RR = 0.72, 95% CI = 0.31,1.65; women: RR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.40,1.96). No associations were statistically significant because of the limited study size. CONCLUSIONS In the current study, a weak inverse relation was found between energy restriction early in life and subsequent colon carcinoma risk for men and women. However, these findings need replication in a larger study. Cancer 2003;97:46,55. © 2003 American Cancer Society. DOI 10.1002/cncr.11052 [source] | ||||||||||