Epidemiology of fatal and non-fatal drowning patients attended by paramedics in Victoria,Australia

Drowning is a major cause of injury and death worldwide. This study aims to expand the evidence in fatal and non-fatal drowning. A retrospective study was conducted to investigate fatal and non-fatal drowning incidents attended by ambulance paramedics in Victoria (Australia) from 2007 to 2012. A total of 509 drowning incidents were identified, 339 (66.6%) were non-fatal, with 170 (33.4%) resulting in death. Children aged 0–4 years had the highest crude drowning rate (7.95 per 100,000 persons). Non-fatal incidents were more likely to be witnessed by a bystander when compared with fatal incidents (43.7% vs. 20.0%, p < 0.001). Spatial analysis indicated that 35 (43.8%) local government areas (LGAs) were considered at ‘excess risk’ of a drowning event occurring. This study is the first to apply spatial analysis to determine relative risk ratios for fatal and non-fatal drowning. These findings will enable geographically targeted and age-specific drowning prevention activities.     

The impact of soda taxes on consumer welfare: implications of storability and taste heterogeneity

The typical analysis on the effectiveness of soda taxes relies on price elasticity estimates from static demand models, which ignores consumers' inventory behaviors and their persistent tastes. This article provides estimates of the relevant price elasticities based on a dynamic demand model that better addresses potential intertemporal substitution and unobservable persistent heterogeneous tastes. It finds that static analyses overestimate the long‐run own‐price elasticity of regular soda by 60.8%, leading to overestimated consumption reduction of sugar‐sweetened soft drinks by up to 57.9% in some cases. Results indicate that soda taxes will raise revenue but are unlikely to substantially impact soda consumption.     

Choosing the right physician practices

A process for evaluating physician practices by their strategic alignment with a health system's mission separates the practices into four categories: "Must-have"--Strategically and financially beneficial. "Cash is king"--Financially beneficial but not a strategic priority. "Dream big"--strategically important but currently not financially beneficial. "Avoid acquiring"--neither strategically nor financially beneficial.     

Understanding the framing effect: do affective responses to decision options mediate the influence of frame on choice?

Little research has examined how gain- and loss-framed options influence participants’ affective states. In the current paper, we present two studies that measure affective responses to framed options to identify a potential mediator of the relation between frame and choice. We found that participants reported more positive responses after reading gain-framed options that presented a certain outcome compared to loss-framed options that presented a certain outcome, consistent with the choice patterns of the framing effect. We also found that framing effects were mediated by affective evaluation of the options. We suggest future researchers continue to assess the influence of affective response on evaluating options and making decisions.     

Road connectivity,population, and crop production in Sub‐Saharan Africa

This study adopts a cross‐sectional spatial approach to examine the relationship between transport infrastructure, population location, and agricultural production in Sub‐Saharan Africa using new data obtained from geographic information systems (GIS). We find that both population and agricultural production are spatially concentrated near large cities, with 41.4% of population and 23.6% of agricultural production (in value terms) within 2.5 hours travel time to large cities. Taking into account agroecological and other factors, we find a statistically significant association between travel time and agricultural production. Using coefficients estimated for Mozambique, we simulate the effects of hypothetical increases in road investments on travel times and agricultural production, suggesting that improvements in road infrastructure could facilitate a substantial increase in agricultural production.     

Water and wastewater treatment worldwide: the industry and the market for equipment and chemicals

Water is and will continue to be the key natural resource of the twenty-first century in all nations, large and small. While the agricultural sector is the largest user of water, its use for human consumption and in industrial processes is truly vital. A wide variety of equipment and chemicals are involved in cleansing water and wastewater; the global market is estimated at $84 billion in 2017 and at $123 billion in 2022. This study analyzes the specific categories of equipment and chemicals, the nature of end-use markets, and the creative business strategies involved. Comments on competition and marketing practices as well as two brief case studies provide further insights on this important industrial sector     

Qualitative methods and the pursuit of economic understanding

In this paper, I describe the qualitative methods deployed in a series of investigations examining post-disaster recovery following Hurricane Katrina. I argue that qualitative methods, particularly ethnographic field interviews, are essential tools in contexts that the interpretive frameworks (mental models) of the research subjects play a dominant role in shaping broader patterns of social coordination. Given the importance, Austrian economists attribute to non-deterministic learning as the source of endogenous change and discovery in contexts of genuine uncertainty; I argue that this underutilized set of tools ought to be considered particularly valuable.     

Revisiting the UNICEF malnutrition framework to foster agriculture and health sector collaboration to reduce malnutrition: A comparison of stakeholder priorities for action in Afghanistan

High rates of undernutrition persist in Afghanistan, but community-level information is scarce on its underlying causes. Developing policy in such situations is affected by varying stakeholder perspectives on the issues. This study uses the UNICEF malnutrition framework and a rapid assessment methodology to compare how stakeholders at community, provincial and national levels describe the food and nutrition situation. Consistent differences in problem definition by administrative level and between agriculture and health sectors were apparent. Stakeholders at all administrative levels widely agreed on the need to improve incomes and employment to ensure food security because of the many constraints to agricultural production. Provincial and national level stakeholders further agreed on the need for nutrition education at all levels of society. The research illustrates how local adaptation and application of the UNICEF malnutrition framework can reveal divergent perspectives, as a first step toward finding common ground and an appropriate policy response.