scholarly journals Revising a Model of Crime and Punishment

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ariel Arbiser
Keyword(s):  
Criminal Activity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Previous Model ◽  
Free Society ◽  
Contagion Effect ◽  
Crime And Punishment ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
The Government

We study a model of society consisting of agents and a government interacting according to decisions regarding cost-effective punishment of crime. We evaluate different strategies for the government in order to reduce the criminal activity, considering degrees of honesty and a possible cost for monitoring and apprehension. We extend a previous model by introducing a contagion effect for the degrees of honesty, and study properties which may lead to a crime-free society, including a game-theoretic formulation.

The cost-effectiveness of insulin analogs and regular insulin for diabetes control: a case study in Iran

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (4/5) ◽  
pp. 323-331
Author(s):  
Mohsen pakdaman ◽  
Raheleh akbari ◽  
Hamid reza Dehghan ◽  
Asra Asgharzadeh ◽  
Mahdieh Namayandeh
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Regular Insulin ◽  
Diabetes Control ◽  
Diabetic Patients ◽  
Insulin Analogs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Patients With Diabetes ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Cost

PurposeFor years, traditional techniques have been used for diabetes treatment. There are two major types of insulin: insulin analogs and regular insulin. Insulin analogs are similar to regular insulin and lead to changes in pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. The purpose of the present research was to determine the cost-effectiveness of insulin analogs versus regular insulin for diabetes control in Yazd Diabetes Center in 2017.Design/methodology/approachIn this descriptive–analytical research, the cost-effectiveness index was used to compare insulin analogs and regular insulin (pen/vial) for treatment of diabetes. Data were analyzed in the TreeAge Software and a decision tree was constructed. A 10% discount rate was used for ICER sensitivity analysis. Cost-effectiveness was examined from a provider's perspective.FindingsQALY was calculated to be 0.2 for diabetic patients using insulin analogs and 0.05 for those using regular insulin. The average cost was $3.228 for analog users and $1.826 for regular insulin users. An ICER of $0.093506/QALY was obtained. The present findings suggest that insulin analogs are more cost-effective than regular insulin.Originality/valueThis study was conducted using a cost-effectiveness analysis to evaluate insulin analogs versus regular insulin in controlling diabetes. The results of study are helpful to the government to allocate more resources to apply the cost-effective method of the treatment and to protect patients with diabetes from the high cost of treatment.

How the United Kingdom Controls Pharmaceutical Prices and Spending: Learning From Its Experience

2021 ◽  
pp. 002073142199709
Author(s):  
Marc A. Rodwin
Keyword(s):  
United Kingdom ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Market Prices ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Generic Market ◽  
Pharmaceutical Spending ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Government ◽  
Pharmaceutical Prices ◽  
Limit Access

To control costs and improve access, nations can adopt strategies employed in the United Kingdom to control pharmaceutical prices and spending. Current policy evolved from a system created in 1957 that allowed manufacturers to set launch prices, capped manufacturers’ rates of return, and later cut list prices. These policies did not effectively control spending and had limited effects on purchase prices. The United Kingdom currently controls pharmaceutical spending in 4 ways. (a) Since 1999, it has typically paid no more than is cost-effective. (b) Since 2017, for medicines that will have a significant budget impact, National Health Service England seeks discounts from cost-effective prices or seeks to limit access for 2 years to patients with the greatest need. (c) Since 2014, statutes and a voluntary scheme have required branded manufacturers to pay the government rebates to recoup the difference between the global pharmaceutical budget and actual spending. (d) For hospitals, generics and some patented drugs are procured through competitive bidding; community pharmacies are reimbursed through a system that provides an incentive to beat average generic market prices. These policies controlled the growth of spending, with the largest effects following budget controls in 2014. Changes since 2008 have reduced savings, first by paying more than is cost-effective for cancer drugs and then by applying higher cost-effectiveness thresholds for some drugs used to treat cancer and certain other drugs.

scholarly journals COVID-19: A Political Virus? VOX’s Populist Discourse in Times of Crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Javier Olivas Osuna ◽  
José Rama
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The Political ◽  
Contagion Effect ◽  
Far Right ◽  
Political Dimension ◽  
People's Party ◽  
Economic Problems ◽  
Political Communications ◽  
General Elections ◽  
The Government

Spain has been one of the hardest hit countries by the COVID-19 pandemic, and this crisis presented a window of opportunity for VOX, as it has for other far right parties, to raise its visibility as opposition force. This paper investigates whether the discourse of VOX has evolved during the pandemic and affected the political dynamics in Spain. This article proposes a new multidimensional strategy to measure the degree of populism in political communications, via quantitative and qualitative content analysis. It dissects the parliamentary speeches of the leader of VOX, Santiago Abascal, in the debates for the approval and extension of the “state of alarm” to fight against COVID-19 between March and June 2020. In order to assess the changes and relative intensity of populist features in Abascal’s parliamentary speeches we compared them with his speech during Pedro Sánchez’s investiture session as the Spanish President of the Government, in January 2020, and VOX’s latest political manifestos—2019 European and Spanish General Elections—, as well as with speeches of the representatives of the five main parties and coalitions during the COVID-19 debates in the Spanish Congress.Our paper shows that populists’ discourses are context-dependent and that their performances are not only shaped by crisis but also constitutive of crisis. The density of populist references in Abascal’s speeches grew steadily during the period analysed. Morality and antagonism overshadowed sovereignty and society as key populist attributes, and the tone of the discourse became increasingly hyperbolic. Moreover, Abascal’s discursive performances had a sort of contagion effect in other parties in the parliamentary sessions studied. People’s Party (Partido Popular–PP) leader Pablo Casado chose to follow VOX and harshly criticized the government, meanwhile the discourses of the speakers of Together We Can (Unidas Podemos–UP) and Catalan Republican Left (Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya–ERC), adopted a demonizing rhetoric against VOX and PP also grounded on a populist logic of articulation. This polarizing dynamic between competing Manichean discourses contributed to reinforce the sense of crisis by adding a political dimension to the already existing health and economic problems.

Role of Open and Distance Learning in Agriculture Education in India

2018 ◽  
pp. 244-256
Author(s):  
Mohinder Kumar Salooja ◽  
Vijayakumar P.
Keyword(s):  
Distance Learning ◽  
Agricultural Education ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Agriculture Education ◽  
Education In India ◽  
Open And Distance Learning ◽  
Building Activities ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Masses

The Open and Distance Learning (ODL) can be an effective and cost effective tool to reach the masses in imparting the required skills and technical proficiency. The conventional Agricultural education system has not utilized the potential of ODL in a big way for extending the reach of agriculture education and capacity building activities. Some of the challenges in ODL system include: identifying the right type and level of programme, selecting the appropriate pedagogy model, covering of large and diverse clientele group, popularization and recognition of the programmes and linkages with the industry. For successful implementation of the ODL programmes in agriculture, the interventions proposed are synergy between ODL and conventional system to improve GER and bridge the gap between demand and supply, collaboration with different institutions and industry for development and delivery of the programmes, linkage with the government schemes, popularization and recognition of ODL programmes, utilization of modern technologies, etc.

Big Data Tools for Computing on Clouds and Grids

2018 ◽  
pp. 152-174
Author(s):  
Forest Jay Handford
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Computing ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Data Processing ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Other ◽  
Relative Cost ◽  
Scientific Communities ◽  
Academic Communities ◽  
Historic Data ◽  
The Government

The number of tools available for Big Data processing have grown exponentially as cloud providers have introduced solutions for businesses that have little or no money for capital expenditures. The chapter starts by discussing historic data tools and the evolution to those of today. With Cloud Computing, the need for upfront costs has been removed, costs are continuing to fall and costs can be negotiated. This chapter reviews the current types of Big Data tools, and how they evolved. To give readers an idea of costs, the chapter shows example costs (in today's market) for a sampling of the tools and relative cost comparisons of the other tools like the Grid tools used by the government, scientific communities and academic communities. Readers will take away from this chapter an understanding of what tools work best for several scenarios and how to select cost effective tools (even tools that are unknown today).

Supply Chains of Commodity Products in India

2012 ◽  
pp. 97-115
Author(s):  
Deepti Dewani ◽  
Shreyansh Jain ◽  
Sumeet Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Distribution System ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Marketing Season ◽  
Agricultural Societies ◽  
Typical Distribution ◽  
Management Techniques ◽  
The Government

Rice is one of the major commodities produced and consumed in India. India is also home to one of the finest varieties of rice sold under the name of Basmati. The State of Chhattisgarh is considered the Rice Bowl of India as it is one of the largest contributors to paddy production in India. Around 3 million families subsist on farming in Chhattisgarh, out of which, 1.522 million families are small farmers (owning less than 2 hectares of land). The Government of Chhattisgarh procures paddy in Chhattisgarh on behalf of Government of India. This scheme benefits about 1 million farmer families by procuring about 3 million metric tons of paddy in the Kharif Marketing Season (KMS) of a year, spending about 600 Million US Dollars. The procurement takes place through about 1333 Primary Agricultural Societies in the whole state covering geographical area of 135000 sq. km. The paddy procured is converted into rice by millers after entering into an agreement. Rice is then handed over to Chhattisgarh State Civil Supplies Corporation to use it in another important scheme for providing food security to the poor. The supply chain of rice production is very simple. It is harvested in the form of paddy from the field and sold to the millers who then process the rice. The processed rice is then sold to the market. Although simple, there are a number of inefficiencies present in its supply chain. This case familiarizes the readers of the distribution system of rice, various government policies in its distribution system, and the issues that need to be addressed in a typical distribution system of rice. The case also urges the readers to mull over how these inefficiencies can be overcome with the latest supply chain management techniques so as to make its distribution efficient and cost effective.

scholarly journals Patient satisfaction at haematology and oncology clinics in the Free State & Northern Cape

Curationis ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
W.R. Davies ◽  
D.P. Hepburn ◽  
M.J. Coetzee ◽  
P.N. Badenhorst ◽  
L. Goedhals ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Waiting Times ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Free State ◽  
Female Ratio ◽  
Medical Needs ◽  
Non Governmental Organizations ◽  
Service Staff ◽  
Northern Cape ◽  
The Government ◽  
Mode Of Transport

The Free State and Northern Cape make up some 40% of the land area of South Africa, while being home to only 10% of the total population. Haematology and Oncotherapy outreach clinics were established in Kimberley, Bethlehem and Welkom to provide a more accessible service to the thinly spread population. A previous study showed these clinics to be cost-effective, but we had no idea how the patients experience them. Our aim was to obtain information about the demographics of the patients, the logistical support of the clinics, the medical needs of the patients and how they experience the clinics. This can help us to improve the service. A questionnaire was tested in a pilot study. The demographic questions covered age, sex and ethnicity. The logistical questions dealt with distance travelled to the clinic, mode of transport, length of time as a patient and cost. The medical need questions dealt with type of disease, treatment received, type of doctor seen and origin of referral. The questions about experience covered satisfaction with the service, staff, waiting times and involvement of non-governmental organizations. Of the 95 patients interviewed 42% were from the haematology clinics. The mean age was 59.5 and the male: female ratio was 0.6:1. Forty-six percent of the patients spoke Afrikaans and 31 % spoke South Sotho. The black:white ratio was 1:1. Twenty-eight percent used the government ambulances (of whom 80% were satisfied) and 56% used their own cars. The median payment at a clinic was R20 (R0 to R200). Only 19% of patients were paying privately. Ninety-five percent of the patients were follow-ups, with the median length of follow-up being 24 months (1 to 468). The patients were mainly referred by local hospitals. Twentytwo percent of the patients had chronic haematological malignancies, while 68% had solid tumours. Thirty-seven percent of the patients received drugs to take home and only 6% got intravenous chemotherapy. Consultants saw 44% of the patients. The median waiting time to be seen was 1.5 hours (0 to 5). Consultation time averaged 10 minutes and most patients were satisfied with this. Despite the study’s small size the system of outreach clinics seems to be delivering a satisfactory service. Criticisms were few. However there were suggestions to create better clinic facilities and to shorten the waiting times at the clinic.

scholarly journals Game-Theoretic Analysis to Examine How Government Subsidy Policies Affect a Closed-Loop Supply Chain Decision

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Izabela Ewa Nielsen ◽  
Sani Majumder ◽  
Subrata Saha
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Product Quality ◽  
Closed Loop ◽  
Investment Efficiency ◽  
Government Subsidy ◽  
Closed Loop Supply Chain ◽  
Government Organizations ◽  
Game Theoretic Analysis ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
The Government

The pros and cons of government subsidy policies in a closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) setting on optimal pricing, investment decisions in improving product quality, and used product collection under social welfare (SW) optimization goal have not been examined comprehensively. This study compares the outcomes of three government policies under manufacturer-Stackelberg (MS) and retailer-Stackelberg (RS), namely (i) direct subsidy to the consumer, (ii) subsidy to the manufacturer to stimulate used product collection, and (iii) subsidy to the manufacturer to improve product quality. Results demonstrate that the greening level, used product collection, and SW are always higher under the RS game, but the rate of a subsidy granted by the government is always higher under the MS game. Profits for the CLSC members and SW are always higher if the government provides a subsidy directly to the consumer, but productivity of investment in the perspective of the manufacturer or government are less. In a second policy, the government organizations grant a subsidy to the manufacturer to stimulate used product collection, but it does not necessarily yield the desired outcome compared to others. In a third policy, the manufacturer receives a subsidy on a research and development (R&D) investment, but it yields a sub-optimal greening level. This study reveals that the outcomes of subsidy policies can bring benefit to consumers and add a degree of complication for CLSC members; government organizations need to inspect carefully among attributes, mainly product type, power of CLSC members, and investment efficiency for the manufacturer, before implementing any subsidy policies so that it can lead to an environmentally and economically viable outcome.

scholarly journals Game-Theoretic Comparison Approach for Intercontinental Container Transportation: A Case between China and Europe with the B&R Initiative

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xi Chen ◽  
Xiaoning Zhu ◽  
Qingji Zhou ◽  
Yiik Diew Wong
Keyword(s):  
Freight Transportation ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Freight Rate ◽  
Theoretic Model ◽  
Container Transportation ◽  
Railway Transportation ◽  
Transportation Modes ◽  
Game Theoretic ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Container Freight

This paper develops a game-theoretic model to analyze the competition between two container freight transportation modes (shipping and railway) using competitive game strategic interactions method, namely, deterrence, by taking account of the most cost-effective scale of the transportation capacity settings. The competition was set against the background of China’s Belt and Road (B&R) Initiative as a new situation for intercontinental Sino-Europe container freight transportation. The behavior of each mode (modeled as a carrier, resp.) is characterized by an optimization model with the objective of minimizing its cost by setting optimal basic freight rate and transportation deployment. A firm can use this method to compare the difference in the time value of the cargos and reduce the expense during the whole transportation process. Finally, the developed model is numerically evaluated by a case study of intercontinental transportation between Hefei (China) and Hamburg (Germany). The results show that deterrence effects largely depend on the deterrence objective, and the differential in the cost of two transportation modes tends to be stable with higher values in the deterrence objective. In the new intercontinental circumstance, the mode of railway transportation provides a new way to transport the cargos between China and Europe.

The Environmental Impact of Coral Mining on Coral Reefs in the Maldives

1988 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara E. Brown ◽  
Richard P. Dunne
Keyword(s):  
Building Materials ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Mechanical Damage ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Reef Fishes ◽  
Living Coral ◽  
Biological Surveys ◽  
Concrete Blocks ◽  
Coral Rock ◽  
The Government

Demand of the construction industry for coral rock in the Maldives will soon reach the limit of supply capacity using existing collection techniques. It is estimated that, at the current rate of consumption, the supply of living coral rock from inner atoll ‘faros’ in North Malé will be exhausted within 30 years. Current mining practice has already necessitated the collection of living coral rock from outer atoll ‘faros’ which actually protect the integrity of the islands against the erosive influences of monsoon storms.Biological surveys of mined sites (compared with controls where no mining activity has taken place) indicate a dramatic reduction in coral variety and abundance and in some cases an almost total depletion of living coral after mining. At intensively-mined sites, diversity and abundance of coral-reef fishes is also markedly reduced, with some reef species commonly used as baitfish entirely absent. The time taken for reefs to recover from mechanical damage has been shown by other research work to be extremely variable, with some cases showing no recovery in some circumstances. Shallow-water reefs that have been colonized by slow-growing ‘massive’ corals, such as those which have been mined in the Maldives, may take a minimum of 50 years to recover to their former state—under optimum conditions.Observations on mined reefs in the Maldives show that recovery over the last 10 years has been minimal, and therefore suggest that recovery times may be much in excess of 50 years. Indeed many of these reefs may not recover at all unless some attempts are made to re-establish corals at these sites. It is also clear from the study of reclaimed and dredged sites and those where less-intensive mining has taken place, that regeneration of corals is occurring. It is quite probable that the rate of recovery is dependent on the intensity of the disturbance which initially took place.Alternative building materials are available in the form of concrete blocks. Use of these blocks is more cost-effective than use of coral rock; however, there is a lack of any quality control, which would be needed to promote the widespread use of concrete blocks as a substitute for coral. Recently, recommendations have been approved by the Government of Maldives for the execution of a feasibility study on mining an inner atoll faro which could potentially provide building material for as long as the next 500 years.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document