Interpersonal violence in the United Arab Emirates

We aimed to study the anatomical distribution, severity and outcome of hospitalised interpersonal violence-related injured patients in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates so as to give recommendations regarding the magnitude of this problem, its causes and priorities of prevention. Data were retrieved from Al-Ain Hospital Trauma Registry, which was prospectively collected over three years. There were 75 patients (males = 85.3%) having a mean age of 30 years. Eighty-one percent had blunt trauma. The estimated annual injury hospitalisation of interpersonal violence in Al-Ain city was 6.7 per 100,000 population. Females were significantly more injured by a family member (p = 0.02), at home (p = 0.005), and had more severe injuries (p = 0.003). There was a trend for children less than 18 years old to have more penetrating trauma (p = 0.06) and to be injured by a family member (p = 0.09). There was only one case of woman sexual assault and two cases of child abuse. The mean (SD) hospital stay was 7.87 (14.1) days. Less than 3% (n = 2) were admitted to the intensive care unit with no deaths. In conclusion, the majority of patients in our study had minor injuries. Nevertheless, the psychological impact may be major. This highlights the need to develop suitable mental health services in support of victims of interpersonal violence.     

应对美国对华贸易保护政策的路径选择

文章指出,金融危机以来,伴随着全球贸易的急剧萎缩,贸易保护主义也风起云涌,特别是美国等一些西方国家近期针对中国的贸易保护措施更是纷纷出台,对我国经济发展造成了不利影响,成为我国经济发展的一个制约因素。文章认为,面对日益严重的贸易保护主义,政府、企业应采取积极的应对措施,建立健全贸易救济系统、充分利用WTO争端解决机制、实现对外贸易保护前置化和鼓励创立自主品牌等,以突破美国对华贸易保护的藩篱。     

中美评级机构博弈

国际信用评级市场被美国三大评级机构———惠誉,标准普尔和穆迪垄断,而三大机构的独立性,公正性和前瞻性近些年备受质疑,各主权国家的金融安全和产品定价权受到威胁。中国在国际评级市场中要承担起一个大国的责任,运用博弈论的方法分析中国评级机构能否顺利进入由美国垄断的国际评级市场,针对均衡结果提出对抗垄断的评级市场的建议。     

Institutional Pressures and an Evolving Forest Carbon Market

It is estimated that 87 million acres of forestland in the United States (US) is managed by private industrial forestland owners (nearly 14% of the forestland nationwide). Private industrial forestland owners include forest product companies, Timber Investment Management Organizations (TIMOs) and Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Current regulatory and voluntary carbon markets, as well as proposed national emission reduction legislation, in the US make provisions for substantial carbon offsets from domestic forestry projects. This research employs the theory of planned behavior by means of an online questionnaire in order to survey large industrial forestland owners (>30 000 acres) regarding intentions to manage forestland for carbon sequestration and trading. Quantitative results suggest that very few organizations (18%) were managing forestland for carbon values. Attitudes towards carbon sequestration and trading were significantly influenced by the managers' beliefs that emission reduction legislation would become law and that US forest carbon offsets can be used as a legitimate climate change mitigation tool. Qualitative results revealed that most organizations are taking a passive approach to carbon sequestration and trading until a suitable regulatory framework emerges and carbon prices provide the conditions for a sound investment. The researchers suggest that, given the size and scope of the climate change phenomenon as well as the multifaceted and unified mitigation strategy required to address it, the development of functional carbon markets will be an iterative process and may require a global carbon framework that reflects the globalized nature of the forest economy. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment     

英国四大银行经营战略的变革与启示

上世纪90年代以前,英国银行在“大的是好的”的观念引导下,采取了不计代价追求规模、增长和市场份额的经营战略,这与我国目前多元化银行组织体系下各类银行普遍追求业务规模和市场份额,并导致整个银行业经营战略趋同的状况颇为相似。20世纪90年代以后,英国银行业在日益严峻的竞争环境下,逐渐认识到大的并不总是美好的,必须将战略重点集中于具有核心竞争能力的领域,实施各具特色的经营战略。随着我国金融市场的不断开放和分业经营限制的逐步松动,以四大银行为首的我国商业银行在向综合化和国际化发展过程中,应根据自身情况确立市场与业务定位,有所为有所不为,努力发挥自身长处,实施更加体现核心竞争力的差异化经营战略。     

美国个人理财服务及对我国的启示

个人理财行为是社会经济发展到一定阶段的产物,个人理财需求的出现促进了个人理财服务市场的产生。我国应借鉴美国个人理财服务发展的经验,培育和开拓国内个人理财服务市场,可从以下方面入手:开展国民理财教育,改变我国居民过于保守的理财观念;完善风险控制机制,加强监管;突破经营分业困境,创新理财产品;培养专业人才、构建良好服务体系等。     

对美国税收管理经验的借鉴

美国税收管理的经验,对于我国有着积极的借鉴意义。笔者在考察了美国税收管理过程中的税收征管、税务稽查和信息化建设等方面的具体操作流程之后,针对我国税收管理中存在的问题提出了相应的对策。     

Cost analysis of a disease management programme for adult Medicaid clients with schizophrenia

Summary

This investigation assessed changes in direct medical costs, from the perspective of a public payer, associated with a comprehensive, field-based disease management programme for adult Medicaid clients with schizophrenia in the US State of Colorado.

A propensity score-matching algorithm was employed in this retrospective analysis owing to the inherent non-randomisation of enrollees. Of the 126 clients initially enrolled, 73 (58%) remained within the programme continuously for 6–12 months.

These participants were associated with 30% lower overall per member per month medical costs (p<0.001), although no differences were noted for overall pharmacy costs. Provision of the disease management programme was through an external vendor and cost $31,250 per month regardless of the number enrolled.

Future research should seek to assess long-term clinical, humanistic and economic outcomes in this population and to develop methods that increase programme participation.     

THE ARTICLES OF CONFEDERATION SHOW THE NEED FOR DIRECT TAXATION? IT JUST AIN'T SO!

Historians and economists often refer to the United States experience under the Articles of Confederation as evidence against decentralised government finance. While it is true that the US government had difficulty raising money from the states during this period, we argue that these facts are a benefit of the system, not a flaw. A 'bottom-up' system of finance, such as the one that existed under the Articles of Confederation, is an important check on Leviathan and has implications for United Nations fund-raising efforts and development economics.     

美国转基因生物安全行政监管特点分析

美国的转基因生物安全行政监管主要由农业部、环保署及食品药品管理局负责,部门之间分工明确,且建立了高效的协调机制和良好的公众参与制度;监管部门均设有下属专业的管理单位,强调检测评价报告以科学为依据,在管制方法上,以研究者为核心,以公司财产为担保,采用"自律"管制.这些特点的产生主要依赖于较完善的法律体系以及相当稳定的社会规范.根据我国转基因生物安全监管的现状,美国的监管体系值得我们借鉴:管理机构问的高度协调机制、专家知识的充分利用与信息共享,以及良好的公众参与制度.