Impoverishing Effect Research Articles

Will Health Insurance Reform in the United States Help People With Schizophrenia?

Will Health Insurance Reform in the United States Help People With Schizophrenia?

Biodiversity effects on yield and unsown species invasion in a temperate forage ecosystem.

Current agricultural practices are based on growing monocultures or binary mixtures over large areas, with a resultant impoverishing effect on biodiversity at several trophic levels. The effects of increasing the biodiversity of a sward mixture on dry matter yield and unsown species invasion were studied. A field experiment involving four grassland species [two grasses--perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne) and cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata)--and two legumes--red clover (Trifolium pratense) and white clover (Trifolium repens)], grown in monocultures and mixtures in accordance with a simplex design, was carried out. The legumes were included either as single varieties or as one of two broad genetic-base composites. The experiment was harvested three times a year over three years; dry matter yield and yield of unsown species were determined at each harvest. Yields of individual species and interactions between all species present were estimated through a statistical modelling approach. Species diversity produced a strong positive yield effect that resulted in transgressive over-yielding in the second and third years. Using broad genetic-base composites of the legumes had a small impact on yield and species interactions. Invasion by unsown species was strongly reduced by species diversity, but species identity was also important. Cocksfoot and white clover (with the exception of one broad genetic-base composite) reduced invasion, while red clover was the most invaded species. The results show that it is possible to increase, and stabilize, the yield of a grassland crop and reduce invasion by unsown species by increasing its species diversity.

Broader rationalities and alternative forms of organisation

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to argue that the legacy of instrumental rationality has had a profoundly impoverishing effect on rational accounts of organisation, and that even though non‐rational accounts move beyond instrumental rationality, they remain tied to economist assumptions. The paper outlines the broader Weber and Habermas's model of rationality, and demonstrates its application.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on verbatim quotes from a sampling of 35 in‐depth interviews, the paper reveals the range of very different rationalities expressed in the social relations of work, of four very specific types of organisation: a bureaucracy, an entrepreneurial unit, a producer co‐operative and a worker co‐operative.FindingsThe paper outlines two ideal sets of findings, ideal in the sense that in two of the organisations the rationalities, social relations of work and associated outcomes fit well with the Weber and Habermas model of instrumental strategic action and social strategic action.Research limitations/implicationsThis study shows the potential for broader rationality as it plays out in the workplace. The notion of workplaces that free workers to contribute in socially strategic ways points to new approaches to management and organisation.Practical implicationsThe paper offers practical insights into social relations built on co‐operation, moral judgement and communication.Originality/valueThe power of the idea of broader rationality is that being more rational, i.e. attending to more than a narrow impoverished view, provides the prospect of action advancing the social and the economic in a profound way.

Examining Out-of-Pocket Expenditures on Reproductive and Sexual Health among the Urban Population of Nepal

Poor health is unpredictable and, in circumstances where a significant fraction of the household expenditure is required for purchasing health care, can have disruptive impact on household budgets and an impoverishing effect on living standards. This article provides an account of a recently-completed representative cross-sectional survey on out-of-pocket costs for reproductive and sexual health (RSH) care in urban Nepal. The study, which is the first of its kind, was conducted in nine towns of Nepal covering about 50% of the total urban population of the country. The survey used a two-stage cluster sample design and face-to-face structured interviews were carried out with 1,669 respondents from 992 households. Overall, 1.1% of total annual household expenditure was spent on RSH excluding HIV/AIDS care and 2.9% was directed towards costs associated with HIV/AIDS care. The costs related to emergency obstetric care were the highest; 9% of the total health care expenditure went on the payments for obstetric care alone. The distribution of out-of pocket expenditure by the major components of RSH care services shows that almost half of all out-of-pocket payments were spent on maternal care (46%), followed by STIs (27%) and RTIs (13%) respectively. Out-of-pocket expenditure on family planning and related care was modest, accounting for about 7% of overall RSH spending. This is attributed to the supply of contraceptives and related services free-of-charge mainly from public facilities. A high share of out-of-pocket expenditure to total health financing is considered as a major concern in any health financing system, and in Nepal this can be seen as a major impediment to achieving poverty reduction and the Millennium Development Goals.

THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF THE SEA EMPRESS SPILLAGE

ABSTRACT The Sea Empress oil spillage has had a substantial impoverishing effect on what was already a poor part of a poor region. The major negative impact has been on the local tourism industry, although the much smaller local fishing industry was also badly hit. However, the cleanup operation did provide a much needed, albeit temporary, injection of local spending. The Sea Empress spillage has also colored local attitudes to other environmentally sensitive projects, with long-term consequences that may dwarf the direct effects of the oil spillage.

Game and cattle trampling, and impacts of human dwellings on arthropods at a game park boundary

Seven grassland sites were sampled at South Africa's Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Park boundary with the surrounding land, to assess changes in arthropod diversity in response to land use. Epigaeic arthropods were sampled using pitfall traps and a sweep net. In all, 262 morphospecies were collected, but this is an underestimate of total local species richness. Fifty percent of the species caught were single occurrences. The number of species, families and orders represented at each of the seven sites was not significantly different, but the number of individuals was significantly different. Between-site comparisons, using multivariate statistics, did not reveal any strong site groupings, with all sites being unique. The conclusion is that the reserve boundary does not significantly divide arthropod diversity on a simple inside-versus-outside basis. A major factor influencing the arthropod assemblages was intensity of land use. Indigenous game animals and domestic cattle had the same effect, and it was the intensity of trampling that was important rather than the type of trampling. Human settlements had a major impoverishing effect. The Coleoptera families, Cicindelidae, Staphylindae and Carabidae, were particularly sensitive indicator taxa of land use Scarabaeidae species were the only group that were severely affected by the fence boundary, simply because their food source, the faeces of large native mammals, was inside, leaving them without resources outside the reserve.