Impact Of Various Measures Research Articles

Language (re)vitalization

Abstract Many small languages are in danger of extinction. How to stop and reverse this process is an important topic in the sociolinguistic literature. In addition to the revitalization of languages, there are also some examples of vitalizing (bringing to use) “new” languages, for example the introduction of Ivrit (modern Hebrew) in Palestine/Israel. Generally speaking, for a language to be used, no matter which language, the users must find it attractive and useful. At least two factors are important here: the value attributed to the language by its users as a means of communication and as a carrier of culture and identity. It is assumed that these factors can be influenced by language-policy measures. The impact of various measures on the vitality of the language is an empirical matter. However, one can draw some general conclusions regarding which measures are sensible in order to vitalize or revitalize which languages when the financial resources of the policy-maker are limited. In this introductory text to the theme issue, we apply the methodology of cost-effectiveness analysis to discuss the connection between the types of the policy measures employed and characteristics of the language communities addressed, such as size, social status, and residential patterns. The cost-effectiveness ratio of street signs in a minority language might, for instance, be higher for a community spread over a whole country than for a community of the same size concentrated in one geographically limited jurisdiction. On the other hand, a decision to publish the texts of laws and decrees of a country in a minority language will have approximately the same effect for both types of minorities. The articles in this special issue of LPLP address and evaluate different types of policy measures for different linguistic minorities and illustrate important aspects of the main questions in this paper.

Safety and Sustainable Development of Automated Driving in Mixed-Traffic Urban Areas—Considering Vulnerable Road Users and Network Efficiency

Next to environmental aspects, establishing areas for safe and economically viable automated driving in mixed-traffic settings is one major challenge for sustainable development of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). This work investigates safety in the interactions between AVs, human-driven vehicles, and vulnerable road users, including cyclists and pedestrians, within a simulated urban environment in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. New junction and pedestrian models are introduced, and virtual AVs with an occlusion-aware driving system are deployed to deliver cargo autonomously. The safety of applying this autonomous cargo delivery service is assessed using a large set of Surrogate Safety Indicators (SSIs). Furthermore, Macroscopic Fundamental Diagrams (MFDs) and travel time loss are incorporated to evaluate the network efficiency. By assessing the impact of various measures involving Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communications, infrastructure modifications, and driving behavior, we show that traffic safety and network efficiency can be achieved in a living lab setting for the considered case. Our findings further suggest that V2X gets implemented, new buildings are not placed close to intersections, and the speed limit of non-arterial roads is lowered.

Research on intergenerational transmission of Chinese residents’ income: Based on data from ten surveys of Chinese Family Tracking Survey from 1989 to 2015

This article uses the rank-ordered probit estimation method and data from the 10 Chinese Family Tracking Survey from 1989 to 2015 to systematically study how the family background, especially the parental income, of urban and rural residents in China since its opening affects the intergenerational transmission of income and income inequality. The results show the following: ① The higher the income of parents is, the higher the income of their offspring. When parents are middle income or above, the probability of their children earning an upper-middle or high income increases significantly. ② Although the income of mothers is low, its impact on children’s income is greater than that of the father’s income. If the mother’s income is middle, upper-middle, or high income, it will increase the probability of her children earning a high income by 12.17%, 28.16% and 45.90%, respectively, while the corresponding influence from the father’s income is 9.62%, 20.69% and 43.82%. ③ For children, the degree of intergenerational income inequality is greater for women than for men, and it is higher in cities than in rural areas. ④ The intergenerational transmission of income is persistent across multiple generations, but the transmission from parents is much higher than from grandparents. It is also difficult for the offspring of a lower-income couple to obtain a higher income. These conclusions are robust to examining different samples and examining the predicted impact of various measures of family background on the income of offspring. Based on the results, this article puts forward policy recommendations to improve intergenerational income consolidation and reduce income inequality.

Reducing Blood Culture Contamination; a Quality Improvement Project in Emergency Department

Background: Blood culture is an important investigation in diagnosing sepsis. Positive culture helps to tailor therapy and is crucial in antimicrobial stewardship (AMS). However, positive blood culture does not always denote a bloodstream infection. Sometimes, false-positive results occur because of contamination from organisms outside the bloodstream, leading to significant negative consequences to patient treatment decisions and financial implications. Rates of blood culture contamination vary widely (0.6%–6%) between organizations, and although it is very difficult to eliminate contamination, it can be minimized. Our hospital group has multiple sites including emergency departments (EDs). We have been intermittently monitoring blood culture contamination rates since 2008, which decreased from 6.8% to 4.8% in 2009 but remained static when audited in 2010, 2012, and 2015. Objectives: To reduce our blood culture contamination rate further by targeting 2 busy EDs and by introducing continuous surveillance of blood culture contamination across 3 hospitals beginning in April 2016. Methods: In 2015, for the first time, blood culture contamination rates for both EDs, based in 2 different hospitals, were calculated. The ED results were communicated to the healthcare workers (HCWs), who agreed to establish a continuous surveillance of blood culture contamination and to participate in a reduction plan. Competency training was conducted according to training needs analysis. For example, phlebotomists were trained to ensure the use of the appropriate blood culture kit and educational sessions were tailored to staff groups. The blood culture contamination rate was monitored from April 2016 to March 2019 for 3 hospitals and both EDs to determine the impact of various measures introduced during this time. Results: In 2015, contamination rate of the 3 hospitals was 4.07%, and 10.2% of total blood cultures flagged positive. Also, 25% of blood cultures were requested from Eds, but these samples comprised 54% of the total contamination. The contamination rates for EDs A and B were 7.4% and 10.6%, respectively, which were significantly higher than the overall rate. From April 16 to March 19, there was 22% increase in total blood cultures performed. Results were analyzed quarterly. In total, 8,525 blood culture sets were received in January–March 2019; of these, the EDs contributed 2,799 sets (32.8%). The total blood culture contamination rate in January–March 2019 decreased to 3.1%. Both EDs A and B showed decreases in their contamination rates to 5.5% and 7.4%, respectively, in 2018–2019. The quarterly decreases were 5.2% and 4.9% in January–March 2019. Conclusions: The emphasis on the sepsis pathway probably led to year-on-year increases in total blood culture sets. Both ED blood culture contamination rates decreased. Consistent efforts in education, training, ensuring competency to various HCW groups, and provision of adequate blood culture kits are important for sustaining these improvements.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

Data-Driven Computational Model to Assess the Risk of Epidemics in Global Mass Gatherings

ObjectiveTo develop a computational model to assess the risk of epidemics in global mass gatherings and evaluate the impact of various measures of prevention and control of infectious diseases.IntroductionGlobal Mass gatherings (MGs) such as Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and Hajj (Muslim pilgrimage to Makkah), attract millions of people from different countries. The gathering of a large population in a proximity facilitates transmission of infectious diseases [1]. Attendees arrive from different geographical areas with diverse disease history and immune responses. The associated travel patterns with global events can contribute to a further disease spread affecting a large number of people within a short period and lead to a potential pandemic. Global MGs pose serious health threats and challenges to the hosting countries and home countries of the participants [2]. Advanced planning and disease surveillance systems are required to control health risks in these events. The success of computational models in different areas of public health and epidemiology motivates using these models in MGs to study transmission of infectious diseases and assess the risk of epidemics. Computational models enable simulation and analysis of different disease transmission scenarios in global MGs. Epidemic models can be used to evaluate the impact of various measures of prevention and control of infectious diseases.MethodsThe annual event of the Hajj is selected to illustrate the main aspects of the proposed model and to address the associated challenges. Every year, more than two million pilgrims from over 186 countries arrive in Makkah to perform Hajj with the majority arriving by air. Foreign pilgrims can stay at one of the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah up to 30-35 days prior the starting date of the Hajj. The long duration of the arrival phase of the Hajj allows a potential epidemic to proceed in the population of international pilgrims. Stochastic SEIR (Susceptible−Exposed−Infected−Recovered) agent-based model is developed to simulate the disease transmission among pilgrims. The agent-based model is used to simulate pilgrims and their interactions during the various phases of the Hajj. Each agent represents a pilgrim and maintains a record of demographic data (gender, country of origin, age), health data (infectivity, susceptibility, number of days being exposed or infected), event related data (location, arrival date and time), and precautionary or health-related behaviors.Each pilgrim can be either healthy but susceptible to a disease, exposed who are infected but cannot transmit the infection, or infectious (asymptomatic or symptomatic) who are infected and can transmit the disease to other susceptibles. Exposed individuals transfer to the infectious compartment after 1/α days, and infectious individuals will recover and gain immunity to that disease after 1/γ days. Where α is the latent period and γ is the infectious period. Moving susceptible individuals to exposed compartment depends on a successful disease transmission given a contact with an infectious individual. The disease transmission rate is determined by the contact rate and thetransmission probability per contact. Contact rate and mixing patterns are defined by probabilistic weights based on the features of infectious pilgrims and the duration and setting of the stage where contacts are taking place. The initial infections are seeded in the population using two scenarios (Figure 1) to measure the effects of changing, the timing for introducing a disease into the population and the likelihood that a particular flight will arrive with one or more infected individuals.ResultsThe results showed that the number of initial infections is influenced by increasing the value of λ and selecting starting date within peak arrival days. When starting from the first day, the average size of the initial infectious ranges from 0.05% to 1% of the total arriving pilgrims. Using the SEIR agent-based model, a simulation of the H1N1 Influenza epidemic was completed for the 35-days arrival stage of the Hajj. The epidemic is initiated with one infectious pilgrim per flight resulting in infected 0.5% of the total arriving pilgrims. As pilgrims spend few hours at the airport, the results obtained from running the epidemic model showed only new cases of susceptible individuals entering the exposed state in a range of 0.20% to 0.35% of total susceptibles. The number of new cases is reduced by almost the same rate of the number of infectious individuals following precautionary behaviors.ConclusionsA data-driven stochastic SEIR agent-based model is developed to simulate disease spread at global mass gatherings. The proposed model can provide initial indicators of infectious disease epidemic at these events and evaluate the possible effects of intervention measures and health-related behaviors. The proposed model can be generalized to model the spread of various diseases in different mass gatherings, as it allows different factors to vary and entered as parameters.

Modeling the Contribution of Existing and Potential Measures to Urban Sustainability Using the Urban Biophysical Sustainability Index (UBSI)

Advancing urban sustainability requires an implementation of various measures such as environmental policy, behavioral change, and technological developments, which have to be taken at various spatial scales. However, choosing the right measures demands considering their potential contribution in reducing the environmental impact and advancing urban sustainability. In recent years, some attempts to assess the contribution of implementing various measures have been advanced by various researchers focusing on different components of urban environmental interactions. While these studies make a significant contribution towards the understanding of the impact of various measures taken for a specific environmental issue, they mostly ignore the diversity and complexity of the urban interface with the environment at different spatial scales, as well as the ecological economics perspective, which approaches the city as a system. This paper uses the UBSI index published recently in this journal, to evaluate the urban biophysical sustainability of the city of Tel Aviv-Jaffa (Israel) in 2014. Based on this data, future scenarios are developed, which examine the potential contribution of various policy measures and different technological processes to the city's sustainability. This examination is conducted while considering population growth and changes of consumption patterns as they are expected to occur until 2030.

Hand Hygiene Practices in Medical Students: A Follow-Up Study

Objective. The study was conducted to study the impact of various measures instituted to improve hand hygiene practices of the medical students after having documented poor hand hygiene awareness and compliance in a study conducted in 2012. Methods. A self-designed questionnaire based on World Health Organization's concept of “Five Moments for Hand Hygiene” was used to evaluate the awareness of the indications of hand hygiene. Compliance was observed during Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) sessions. Fifty-one students participated voluntarily in the study. Results. The awareness and compliance of hand hygiene among the medical students in 2014 had shown statistically significant improvement (P < 0.005) as compared to figures of the study conducted in 2012. Conclusion. Dedicated multifaceted intervention can improve the hand hygiene practices in medical students.

The UN System for Environmental-Economic Accounts for Water (SEEA-W) and groundwater management: the experience of the Arno River Basin Authority within the PAWA project

The Pilot Arno Water Accounts (PAWA) project was recently funded under the Call “Preparatory Action on Development of Prevention Activities to Halt Desertification in Europe” of the Directorate- General for the Environment of the European Commission to promote preventive actions to manage water scarcity and drought phenomena and to meet one of the main goals under European environmental legislation: the effective and sustainable management of water resources. The partners involved in the implementation of the PAWA project (ISPRA, Arno River Basin Authority, SEMIDE/EMWIS) will carry out a pilot initiative in the Arno River Basin, an area severely affected by water scarcity and droughts phenomena and characterized by water withdrawals and land use changes. In the area a large experience about water balance application was already performed, for example in the context of the Water Framework Directive Common Implementation Strategy. Moving from this knowledge, the objective of the project is the definition of water accounting processing based on the UN System of Environmental Economic Accounts for Water, with the final goal to optimize a list of effective measures to face water scarcity phenomena. By the end of project (March 2015) the PAWA partnership aims at preparing physical water stock accounts, using the best available data resulting from field measurements or models, on a monthly step for the period 1999–201. The quality of each dataset will be assessed; tables, maps and graphs will be produced as outputs of the projects in cooperation with local stakeholders and players of the water sector. Furthermore, water accounts will be used to assess the potential impact of various measures related to water resource efficient exploitation in the most vulnerable sub-basins; their tolerability will be tested during workshops with stakeholders. Finally, water efficiency targets for potential future integration into Arno River Basin Management Plan will be identified.

Abstract 18286: Relative Prognostic Impact of Various Measures of Right Atrial Pressures on Survival in Patients With End Stage Renal Disease on Hemodialysis: Results From a Prospective Cohort of 442 Patients

Background: End stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on hemodialysis (HD) are prone to heart failure (HF) because of volume excess leading to poor functioning, atrial remodeling, pulmonary hypertension (PHTN) and high mortality. Right atrial pressure (RAP) estimate helps in achieving euvolemic status or optimal dry weight. There is limited data on the best measure of RAP in this population. We compared relative prognostic values of clinically assessed jugular venous pressure (RAP-JVP), RAP estimate recommended by ASE (RAP-ASE) and a visual estimate by an expert reader from combination of inferior vena caval (IVC) and hepatic vein size, hepatic congestion and hepatic vein flow (RAP-EXP). Methods: 442 patients who underwent pre-renal transplant evaluation at our cardiology clinic were prospectively followed. Assessment of RAP by CE as elevated JVP, echo evaluation of RAP-ASE and RAP-EXP were performed on same pre or post dialysis day within a hour of each other. Quantitative evaluation of minimum (IVC min), maximum (IVC max) IVC diameters along with collapse (IV max-IVC min/IVC max) was computed following ASE guidelines independently. Logistic regression and Cox proportional hazard ratio were performed for outcomes assessment. Results: Baseline patient characteristics: age 57± 11 years, men 64%, DM in 68 %, CAD 30%, EF 61± 11%. Elevated RAP-JVP was noticed in 15% and RAP-EXP was high in 30% of the patients. Quantitatively, IVC max was 1.39± 0.55 cm, IVC min 0.87± 0.62 cm and mean IVC collapse 44± 29%. 14% patients had IV max of ≥ 2cm. IVC size, collapse or RAP-ASE group were not predictive of survival. However RAP-JVP (HR 2.15, 95 % CI 1.09-4.12, P = 0.03) and RAP-EXP (HR 2.25, 95 % CI of 1.21- 4.20, P = 0.01) were significant predictors of higher mortality on univariable analysis and after adjusting for age, gender, smoking, HTN, DM, LVEF and duration of dialysis. RAP-JVP and RAP-EXP better correlated with each other and HF by, left atrial pressure and PHTN than RAP-ASE. Conclusions: 1) Clinically estimated JVP and an expert assessment of RAP are equally predictive of survival in patients on HD. 2) Echo assessment of RAP by ASE guidelines is twice as sensitive as CE and its use may help achieve euvolemic status in ESRD patients.

Who Gives to International Causes? A Sociodemographic Analysis of U.S. Donors

In the United States, a small proportion of private donors gives to international charity. We explore the profile of these donors with a view to understanding who supports international causes relative to domestic causes only and, more generally, what shapes public concern for those in need in other countries. Using data from the 2001 survey on “Giving and Volunteering in the United States,” we employ a series of probit regressions to compare the sociodemographic correlates of giving to international causes with 11 other domestic causes such as health, education, and the arts. We find that while income is not associated with the likelihood of international giving, postgraduate education, being foreign-born, and religiosity are large and significant predictors. We also explore the impact of various measures of social capital and civic engagement, and find that institutional trust and youth volunteering are strongly associated with international giving relative to the other causes.

Ethnic Variations in the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Distress Among Latino Adults

This study investigated the association between SES and psychological distress among Latinos. Data were from the National Latino and Asian American Study’s Cuban (N = 577), Mexican (N = 868), and Puerto Rican (N = 495) adult samples. Regression analysis was used to assess the association between SES measured as education, household income, and wealth and psychological distress for three Latino subgroups, respectively. Results indicate that wealth is the most important predictor for all three Latino groups. Cubans, Mexicans, and Puerto Ricans are all disadvantaged on wealth possession and being in debt is associated with more psychological distress for them. The health benefit of wealth is especially significant for Cubans and Puerto Ricans. In contrast with findings in many previous studies, household income is not significantly related to mental health. The finding that only wealth is weakly associated with psychological distress among Mexicans suggests that the Hispanic Health Paradox only applies to Mexicans. Education is strongly associated with distress among Cubans, with college degrees producing the largest protection from mental illness. Findings also indicate that physical health and discrimination are strongly associated with psychological distress independent of the SES measures. This study contributes to an understanding of the health significance of SES among Latinos. It highlights the importance of examining ethnic variations in the association of socioeconomic status and mental health among Latinos and of identifying the mental health impact of various measures of socioeconomic status.

Impact of various measures to optimize the air velocity in an industrial wood-drying process

The relationship between fan speed and electrical energy consumption, and the price of energy, justify studies on the possibilities for reducing air velocity during the wood-drying process. In this study, effects of air velocity were examined to determine when and how much it can be reduced, without affecting the drying rate of the sawn timber. The first experiments were performed in a laboratory kiln, and 36 samples of 50×100 mm boards (2×log) of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.] were dried at 70°C with varying air velocity. Results show that too early or too sharp a reduction in air velocity gives a reduced drying rate and a large variation in moisture content. The next step in the project was a full-scale industrial study in kilns at a Norwegian sawmill. To optimize air velocity conditions, batten spaces were sealed. This had no significant effect on air velocity in the kiln. A reduction in air velocity in the kiln to 60% frequency at 40% moisture content and to 40% frequency at 20% moisture content, without considerable changes in the drying schedule, resulted in an increase in final moisture content.

Corporate Governance And The Quality Of Financial Disclosures

Congress has recently enacted measures designed to improve corporate governance standards. Regulators have asserted that strong corporate governance enhances the transparency and validity of financial statements. Previous studies addressing the relationship between corporate governance and financial reporting quality yield mixed results. This study employs analyst earnings forecasts to determine whether corporate governance procedures impact the quality of accounting information. Following the work of Barron et al. (1998), we examined the impact of various measures of the strength of corporate governance on forecast accuracy and dispersion. Our results provide mixed evidence to support the notion that the strength of corporate governance impacts the quality of financial statement information.

Impact assessment of CO2 mitigation options in Korea using energy system analysis model

The Korea Electric Power Research Institute (KEPRI) has performed a study to analyze the deployment impact of CO2 mitigation options in the power generation sector in Korea, with IEA Clean Coal Centre. The goal of this study is the identification of the viable technology and legal options for CO2 mitigation, and the impact assessment of the options for the Korean power generation sector. The MARKAL modeling package of IEA/ETSAP was used as an appropriate tool to make the database of Korean energy system in the model and assess the effects of the options. Several scenarios were made to study the effect of CO2 emission reductions on the Korean power generation sector, and these were classified as the Base Scenario, New Technology Scenario, Carbon Tax Scenario, Total Carbon Emission Cap Scenario, and mixtures of the scenarios. Under the base scenario based on the National Electricity Plan of Korea, the future power generation will be dominated by nuclear and coal power plants, with some of natural gas fired plant and a very small proportion of renewables. However, with increasing pressure to mitigate CO2 emissions, the analysis results of all four scenarios and combination of the scenarios showed that Korea would have to adopt a little different approach. An extensive modeling work was, therefore, undertaken to analyze the impact of various measures on introduction of new technologies and policies in order to achieve significant CO2 emissions reduction. As results of this work, we found estimated average cost for a ton carbon mitigation and estimated amount of CO2 emission reduction by application of each scenario including constraint of lower limit of coal power generation for security of energy supplies in Korea. The results obtained are to be suggested as recommendation in establishing a sustainable energy portfolio within the Korean power generation sector.

Emerging market exchange rate exposure

We estimate the exposure of emerging market companies to fluctuations in their domestic exchange rates. We use an instrumental-variable approach that identifies the total exposure of a company to exchange rate movements, yet abstracts from the influence of confounding macroeconomic shocks. In the sub-period of 1999–2002, we find that depreciations tend to have a negative impact on emerging market stock returns. In the sub-period of 2002–2006, this tendency has largely disappeared. Since we estimate the exchange rate exposure of firms from different countries with a common set of instruments, we can make coherent, cross-country comparisons of their determinants. We find that the impact of various measures of debt on exchange rate exposure, which is negative and significant in the early sub-period, becomes insignificant and even reverses sign in the recent sub-period.

Emerging Market Exchange-Rate Exposure

We estimate the exposure of emerging-market companies to fluctuations in their domestic exchange rates. We use an instrumental-variable approach that identifies the total exposure of a company to exchange-rate movements, yet abstracts from the influence of confounding macroeconomic shocks. In the sub-period of 1999-2002, we find that depreciations tend to have a negative impact on emerging-market stock returns. In the sub-period of 2002-2006, this tendency has largely disappeared. Since we estimate the exchange-rate exposure of firms from different countries with a common set of instruments, we can make coherent, cross-country comparisons of their determinants. We find that the impact of various measures of debt on exchange-rate exposure, which is negative and significant in the early sub-period, becomes insignificant and even reverses sign in the recent sub-period.

Economic Insecurity and Social Policy Expansion: Evidence from Interwar Europe

What is the impact of economic insecurity on the development of institutions of social insurance? Existing studies have examined this question by exploring the impact of various measures of economic volatility on aggregate government expenditures or revenues. These aggregate data are, however, an imperfect proxy of the character of institutions of social protection. To overcome the limitations of earlier studies, this article explores the conditions under which economic insecurity leads to the extension of the level of social insurance coverage. I argue that economic insecurity sharpens a sectoral cleavage between coalitions in “high-risk” and “low-risk” sectors. Workers (and some employers) in high-risk sectors will favor the introduction of social insurance institutions characterized by broad levels of coverage and a high redistribution of costs across occupations. In contrast, a cross-class alliance in low-risk sectors will oppose proposals aiming at the introduction of redistributive social policies, fearing that these policies will turn them into subsidizers of high-risk industries. A redistributive social insurance policy will be introduced only if the “high-risk” coalition is larger. The article tests both the micro- and macro-level implications of this theory, by examining the development of unemployment insurance policies in interwar Europe.I gratefully acknowledge comments from Carles Boix, Peter Gourevitch, and two anonymous referees. Many thanks to Stefano Bartolini, John Fitzgerald, and Michael Tomz for sharing data with me.