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Objective: Suicide rates in older adults are often the highest of any age group, particularly among high income countries. However, there is a limited understanding of the factors that could protect against suicidality in older age. This systematic review aimed to identify and evaluate the psychological factors that protect against suicidality in older age. Method: An a priori protocol was established and registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022343694). EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Web of Science and Scopus were searched. Papers were quality assessed using the Quality Assessment with Diverse Studies (QuADSs) tool. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were followed. Seventeen papers were included and narratively synthesised. Results: The initial searches identified 10,673 records, resulting in the screening of 5441 records after the removal of duplicates. The protective factors identified were (1) meaning/purpose in life, (2) reasons for living, (3) coping styles, (4) psychological wellbeing, (5) life satisfaction, (6) personality factors, (7) cognitive functioning, and (8) sense of belonging. The factors with the most empirical support were meaning in life, followed by psychological wellbeing and coping responses, such as primary control strategies, and personality traits, such as positive affect and agency. There was also evidence to suggest that the influence of some protective factors, for example meaning in life, may depend upon stage in older life and gender. Conclusion: This review identified several psychological factors that have been found to protect against suicidal ideation in older adults, representing potential treatment targets for reducing suicide in older adults. Recommendations for future research includes greater use of longitudinal and case–control designs, measuring outcomes across the continuum of suicidality and using samples that allow comparison between younger and older adults and within the spectrum of old age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Population‐level alcohol use data are available from high‐income countries, but limited research has been conducted in sub‐Saharan Africa. This systematic review and meta‐analysis aimed to summarize population‐level alcohol use in sub‐Saharan Africa. Method: Databases searched included PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO and AJOL, without language restrictions. Searches were also conducted in the Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx) and Google Scholar. Search terms encompassed 'substance' or 'substance‐related disorders' and 'prevalence' and 'sub‐Saharan Africa'. We included general population studies on alcohol use (including any use, high‐risk alcohol use and alcohol use disorders) from 2018 onwards. Prevalence data for alcohol use among sub‐Saharan African adolescents (10–17) and adults (18+) were extracted. Analyses included life‐time and past 12‐ and 6‐month alcohol use. Results: We included 141 papers. Among adolescents, the life‐time prevalence of alcohol use was 23.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 11.3–37.1%], 36.2% (CI = 18.4–56.1%) in the past year and 11.3% (CI = 4.5–20.4%) in the past 6 months. Among adolescents, 12‐month prevalence of alcohol use disorder and alcohol dependence were 7.7% (CI = 0.0–27.8%) and 4.1% (CI = 1.4–7.9%), respectively. Among adults, the life‐time prevalence of alcohol use was 34.9% (CI = 17.7–54.1%), 27.1% (CI = 5.0–56.4%) in the past year and 32.2% (CI = 19.8–46.0%) in the past 6 months. Among adults, the 12‐month prevalence of alcohol use disorder and alcohol dependence were 9.5% (CI = 0.0–30.4%) and 4.3% (CI = 0.8–9.8%), respectively. The highest weighted life‐time prevalence of alcohol use, 86.4%, was reported in Tanzania among adults. The highest weighted past 6‐month prevalence of alcohol use, 80.6%, was found in Zambia among adolescents. Conclusion: Alcohol use patterns vary across countries and subregions within sub‐Saharan Africa, and comprehensive population‐level data on alcohol use remain scarce in numerous sub‐Saharan African countries. The prevalence of alcohol use disorder is common among adolescents in sub‐Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With increasing attention to climate change and biodiversity loss, conservation social science research on land management practices is burgeoning. Researchers have broadened their focus from protected areas to diverse types of land management to support conservation and climate mitigation. But, developing effective strategies for these issues requires an in‐depth understanding of both the socio‐psychological factors that guide landholders' decision‐making and global trends in land management practices and literature. To assess the trends and status of land management behavior research, we systematically reviewed research published between 2010 and 2020 in five seminal conservation journals. Of 11,607 articles reviewed, we identified 100 articles about land management behavior. We assessed theoretical groundings, measurement methodology, land‐use terminology and practices, ecosystem type, and geographic distribution. We identified strengths and significant gaps and weaknesses across land management research. For example, 52% of articles made no meaningful connection to theory, only 14% of papers used observed behavioral data, 86% of studies uses non‐experimental methods and researchers disproportionately measured land management behavior in developed nations (66%). We also find that language used to describe land management behavior is very heterogeneous, making it difficult to summarize land management research using traditional systematic review methods. Conducting a limited systematic review can help summarize research and also identify trends across disciplines that might otherwise missed. Results from our limited systematic review can guide future research and support the development of evidence‐based policies to mitigate climate change and biodiversity loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disaster research predominantly focuses on citizens, not on migrants. This tilted spotlight needs to be readjusted, since many advanced countries around the world have become immigration countries, and safeguarding the lives of migrants at times of disaster has become an important and immediate policy issue. Hence, this research concentrates on disaster management to protect the lives of migrants in a disaster‐prone and de facto immigration country. The particular country and event in question are Japan and the northern Osaka earthquake of June 2018. More than 100 migrants who lived near the earthquake's epicentre rushed to an evacuation shelter managed by the local municipal government of Minoh City, Osaka Prefecture. While non‐governmental organisations attract more attention, this paper centres on a local government and demonstrates the key role that it can play in both bridging and building networks across different communities, and thus in safeguarding the lives of migrants at times of disaster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amid the COVID‐19 pandemic, people have witnessed a deluge of conspiracy theories and disinformation. As the coronavirus poses a significant threat to individuals' lives, these conspiracy theories are dangerous, as they erode public trust and undermine government efforts to fight the virus. This paper examines the political determinants of COVID‐19 conspiracy beliefs. Particularly, we analyze how government policy responses to the pandemic and individuals' ideological predispositions interact to shape people's tendencies to believe conspiracy theories. Using survey data from 22 advanced industrial countries, we show that political conservatives are more prone to conspiracy beliefs than liberals. More importantly, this tendency is reinforced when the government adopts stringent containment policies. Our results suggest that governments' policy efforts to contain the coronavirus can trigger an unintended backlash from political conservatives. This study has important implications for the behavioral and attitudinal effects of government containment policies that are often overlooked. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Scaling in health and social services (HSS) aims to increase the intended impact of proven effective interventions. Patient and public involvement (PPI) is critical for ensuring that scaling beneficiaries' interests are served. We aimed to identify PPI strategies and their characteristics in the science and practice of scaling in HSS. Methods: In this scoping review, we included any scaling initiative in HSS that used PPI strategies and reported PPI methods and outcomes. We searched electronic databases (e.g., Medline) from inception to 5 February 2024, and grey literature (e.g., Google). Paired reviewers independently selected and extracted eligible reports. A narrative synthesis was performed and we used the PRISMA for Scoping Reviews and the Guidance for Reporting Involvement of Patients and the Public (GRIPP2). Findings: We included 110 unique reports out of 24,579 records. In the past 5 years, the evidence on PPI in scaling has increased faster than in any previous period. We found 236 mutually nonexclusive PPI strategies among 120 scaling initiatives. Twenty‐four initiatives did not target a specific country; but most of those that did so (n = 96) occurred in higher‐income countries (n = 51). Community‐based primary health care was the most frequent level of care (n = 103). Mostly, patients and the public were involved throughout all scaling phases (n = 46) and throughout the continuum of collaboration (n = 45); the most frequently reported ethical lens regarding the rationale for PPI was consequentialist‐utilitarian (n = 96). Few papers reported PPI recruitment processes (n = 31) or incentives used (n = 18). PPI strategies occurred mostly in direct care (n = 88). Patient and public education was the PPI strategy most reported (n = 31), followed by population consultations (n = 30). Conclusions: PPI in scaling is increasing in HSS. Further investigation is needed to better document the PPI experience in scaling and ensure that it occurs in a meaningful and equitable way. Patient and Public Contribution: Two patients were involved in this review. They shared decisions on review questions, data collection instruments, protocol design, and findings dissemination. Review Registration: Open Science Framework on 19 August 2020 (https://osf.io/zqpx7/). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing upon contemporary research, this paper examines whether there is a relationship of STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) bachelor and master graduates to the gender pay gap (GPG) in the 27 EU Member states in 2013–2020 using a novel cross‐sectional data set based on the 2013 International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED). International panel data were analysed with the dynamic modelling fixed effects method and compared with the results received from the cross‐sectional analysis executed with the help of Bayesian model averaging methods. Our findings suggest that STEM education plays a significant role in forming the GPG. We can see a negative, robust and statistically significant effect of bachelor‐ and master‐level female STEM graduates on the GPG and a positive statistically significant effect of bachelor‐ and master‐level male STEM graduates on the GPG. The permanently lower women‐to‐men ratio in STEM education and those employed in high‐end sectors of science and technology can be one of the drivers of the persistent GPG in developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the impact of institutional quality and banking competition on shadow economy for 127 economies for the period of 2005–2017. It further explores if institutional quality/competition shapes the relationship differently between banking competition/institutional quality and shadow economy. This paper uses the system GMM estimator to tackle potential omitted variable bias, endogeneity, and simultaneity issues. The findings suggest that overall, greater competition among banks and stricter institutions in the country reduce the size of shadow economy. Furthermore, impact of competition on shadow economy is even stronger in countries with weak institutions and the impact of institutional quality is greater in lower competitive environment. Only severe competition matters for shadow economy in case of developed countries. To sum up the novel findings of this research, competition and institutions complement each other in reducing the size of shadow economy. These findings are robust to different econometric estimators. The findings carry vital policy implications for the governments and regulators to play their part in reducing the shadow economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Productivity growth reflects the efficiency and the improvements in prosperity of economies. The productivity slowdown that has emerged in many advanced countries jeopardizes their economic potential and social cohesion. This paper attempts to analyse the complex problem of productivity and detect the culprits in the European Union's productivity slowdown. From a holistic viewpoint, the paper explores a multidimensional context of socio‐economic and institutional factors, as well as the existence of spillover effects through a regional‐aspect compound analysis. Studying the productivity slowdown of NUTS 2 regions for the period 2000–2019 the analysis discerns four categories of factors that lead to valuable policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has demonstrated that becoming vaccinated with the Coronavirus vaccine may lower mental distress. However, it remains uncertain whether this relationship holds amid concerns of vaccine side effects and doubts of the vaccine's protective capabilities. We presented three studies that showed how vaccine confidence negatively influences the relationship between vaccine uptake and mental distress. Using two‐way fixed effects regression models, Study 1 analyzes longitudinal survey of respondents from Los Angeles County in the US, while Study 2 uses the same analytical strategy but generalises findings by analysing longitudinal data of participants across all 50 US states. Main results of both studies show that (i) vaccination uptake is linked with reduced mental distress among individuals with high vaccine confidence (ii) vaccine uptake has no effect on mental distress among individuals with low vaccine confidence. Lastly, Study 3 applies multilevel analysis to a large‐scale pseudo‐panel study of 15 developed countries. Results for the third study corroborate finding (i) but not (ii) in that the multinational study finds that vaccine uptake is actually associated with higher mental distress among individuals with low vaccine confidence. In sum, our paper shows that the palliative effect of vaccination on mental health only exists when vaccine confidence is high. Results are mixed on whether vaccination affects mental distress when individual vaccine confidence is low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examined the short‐ and long‐run impacts of gasoline price, macroeconomic factors and road length on road traffic crashes, injuries and fatalities in Nigeria. Annual data from 1995 to 2019 and autoregressive distributed lag approach were employed. Results suggest that gasoline price, per capita income, road length and population density significantly influence road safety outcomes. Gasoline price has a positive short‐run impact on crashes, injuries, and fatalities contrary to findings in developed countries. Road crashes tend to decrease when income increases in the short term. Population density leads to improvement in road safety outcomes while road length exacerbates it. Government's policy on gasoline price increase could worsen road safety outcomes unless it is accompanied by improvement in road infrastructure, safe public transport and economic growth, [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To analyze the AI research in the field of nursing, to explore the current situation, hot topics, and prospects of AI research in the field of nursing, and to provide a reference for researchers to carry out related studies. Methods: We used the VOSviewer 1.6.17, SciMAT, and CiteSpace 5.8.R3 to generate visual cooperation network maps for the country, organizations, authors, citations, and keywords and perform burst detection, theme evolution, and so forth. Findings A total of 9318 articles were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection database. Four hundred and thirty‐one AI research related to the field of nursing was published by 855 institutions from 54 countries. CIN‐Computers Informatics Nursing was the top productive journal. The United States was the dominant country. The transnational cooperation between authors from developed countries was closer than that between authors from developing countries. The main hot topics included nurse rostering, nursing diagnosis, nursing decision support, disease risk factor prediction, nursing big data management, expert system, support vector machine, decision tree, deep learning, natural language processing, and nursing education. Machine learning represented one of the cutting‐edge and most applicable branches of artificial intelligence in the field of nursing, and deep learning was the hottest technology among many machine learning methods in recent years. One of the most cited papers was published by Burke in 2004 and cited 500 times, which critically evaluated AI methods to deal with nurse scheduling problems. Conclusions: Although AI has been paid more and more attention to the field of nursing, there is still a lack of high‐yielding authors who have been engaged in this field for a long time. Most of the high contribution authors and institutions came from developed countries; therefore, more transnational and multi‐disciplinary cooperation is needed to promote the development of AI in the nursing field. This bibliometric analysis not only provided a comprehensive overview to help researchers to understand the important articles, journals, potential collaborators, and institutions in this field but also analyzed the history, hot spots, and future trends of the research topic to provide inspiration for researchers to choose research directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past years, increasingly restrictive migration policies have pushed many migrants to seek new and more risky migration routes. Many studies have investigated aspects of social protection for migrants from the Global South in industrialized countries of the Global North, with powerful welfare states. Yet, such focus has failed to understand the complexities during the migration process, where people often spend uncertain periods of time in transit countries and the state is frequently absent. In these contexts, social protection is predominantly provided by the third sector (TS) and informal networks both nationally and transnationally. Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted with African migrants and TS organizations in Mexico, this paper explores the different and often semi‐formal relationships between the TS, the state, and the migrants that result in complex transnational social protection infrastructures to cover the migrants' basic social protection needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the influence of agglomeration and spatial sorting on wages in Brazilian cities. The empirical strategy is based on a two‐step estimation. The first step estimates a wage equation with the observed characteristics of workers and firms and location effects. The second step decomposes the location effects into employment density and fixed effects of firm and worker. We estimate an urban wage premium for a developing country with the simultaneous inclusion of worker and firm fixed effects, instrumental variables, and nighttime lights. We find agglomeration effects of 4.3–5.7%, which are larger than those obtained for developed countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper aims to illustrate and explain the problems and opportunities for improvement in Covid management that become evident when taking a systems perspective. Critical time delays occurred in the regulation of the pandemic that the management cycle of political cybernetics makes explicit. In general, the executive management of the pandemic in global, regional, and national organizations was unprepared in detecting and responding to the onset of the waves and making appropriate decisions towards differential instead of general lockdowns based on available data. This was further complicated by the mutants of SARS-CoV2 that perpetuated the high dynamics of the pandemic. In addition, the diversity of medical specialisms, without appropriate big picture thinking, led to an imbalanced response that failed to appreciate the role of virology and epidemiology compared to clinical and public health-related issues. In consequence, laboratory experts suggested everyday regulations for the citizens without taking into account wider considerations for empirical research. There was an insufficient effort made for proposed treatment studies using existing agents based on the established understanding of essential physiology and the role of local and systemic chronic inflammation. In contrast, driven by media popularization, drugs that later proved beneficial were put in doubt and other drugs that lacked benefit and potentially caused harm were driven to clinical trials and utilization. Person-centered systems view backed by scientific knowledge and established data would have set better priorities. Finally, we need to take a step back and consider the Corona crisis pandemic in the context of the unidimensional utility- driven handling of natural ecosystems by the culture of industrialized countries. This ever-accelerating destruction of life spaces for species drives adaptations are the basis of zoonoses. There is strong evidence that future pandemics should be faced with a more systemic socio-ecological conceptual framework that also reflects the fatal impact of human civilization on natural ecosystems, no matter if SARS CoV2 is a zoonosis or a laboratory accident. It is critical for the future of our species that we collectively learn from this experience, address limitations in our perspectives, enhance our system-based science and bolster global, regional, and national crisis management. The impact of climate change and biodiversity loss has crossed the horizon and is now clearly in full sight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While packaging is praised for reducing waste of perishable food products, packaging waste is a growing concern. Its least recyclable type, plastics waste, is increasingly polluting the marine environment and many developing countries are now refusing to take the waste from developed countries. Before responsibility can be established, one has to identify the key producers and consumers. This paper adjusts the packaging waste satellite account in EXIOBASE 3 by combining the official waste data published by the World Bank. Based on input–output methods, we find that the world's top suppliers of plastic packaging waste are the United States, China, and Brazil. Food and beverage products constitute the bulk of the problem. Yet, 21% of these countries' plastic packaging waste is induced export. At the global level, it is 25.8%. About 76.0% of export‐induced plastic packaging waste corresponds to packaging of the exported goods that will ultimately be disposed of in the destination country; while the others correspond to the packaging used in their supply‐chain and wasted domestically. We conclude that international efforts need to assign shared responsibility and promote improvement in plastic packaging recyclability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most valuable features of Capital and Ideology is its concern to take history seriously and consider how the emergence of different political and economic regimes relate to discourses about fairness and justice across time. This paper pushes this agenda further by acknowledging that the experience of a few developed nations should not be taken as the template for the generalized study of inequality dynamics across time and space. In this paper, we interrogate Piketty's analysis and policy proposals against specificities that are central to understanding the production and reproduction of inequalities within South Africa. We reflect on the South African case, the structure of inequality and its changes since 1994. We review a battery of policy interventions that have been implemented to address inequality in the last 25 years. We emphasize that the long shadow cast by centuries of colonialism and various forms of apartheid strongly affirm Piketty's emphasis on understanding history. But this is both affirmation and critique given the foundational, imbedded impact that this specific legacy has had on post‐apartheid society and its policies. Piketty is aware that the levels of inequality in South Africa are so high that this is "unknown territory." We map out some of this territory to reveal how these extreme initial wealth and racial inequities inform the reproduction of inequalities in all dimensions and undermine well intentioned policies. We claim that understanding extractive histories, imbedded wealth inequalities, and complex social and political institutions allows us to understand and confront some of the reasons why even in light of progressive policies, many of which are in line with the proposals from Piketty, government interventions have thus far failed to reduce inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify and assess the drivers and barriers to recruiting and retaining doctors in rural communities of high‐income countries. Design: A systematic review and thematic analysis. Setting: Publications were sourced from medical and scientific databases online. Participants: Qualitative, mixed‐methods and review studies from peer‐reviewed journals published since 2000 that discussed recruitment or retention of doctors to rural areas in high‐income countries. Main outcome measures: Identification and assessment of themes in the literature pertaining to recruitment and retention of rural doctors. Recurrent themes were assessed for relevance and applicability to current rural shortages. Results: A thematic analysis was completed on 41 papers assessed as in scope of the review. Papers were scrutinised for relevance to established rural recruitment and retention strategies. Key themes were rural background, education and training, personal and professional circumstances, and integration with the community. Conclusion: While rural origin has long been promoted as the key factor for recruiting rural doctors, initiatives targeting only these individuals ignore a potentially larger cohort of future rural doctors. Rurally focused medical education and training need to encompass students and doctors from all backgrounds. The major barriers to rural recruitment are family‐unit considerations for partners and children, concerns over isolation and a poor perception of rural practice. Attracting doctors to practise rurally is only half the challenge however, and strategies to retain rural doctors need a greater focus on personal and professional support networks and community integration. Additional strategies are needed to retain international and bonded doctors restricted to rural areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Several reviews have been conducted to assess the association between greenspace and overweight or obesity, but the conclusions were inconsistent. However, an updated comprehensive review and meta‐analysis is warranted, because several high‐quality papers have been published more recently. The objectives of this study are to systematically and quantitatively assess the evidence for a link between greenspace with overweight/obesity and to make specific recommendations for further research. We searched three English language databases, four Chinese language databases and the reference lists of previously published reviews for epidemiological studies on greenspace and overweight/obesity published before January 2020. We developed inclusion criteria, screened the literature and extracted key data from selected papers. We assessed methodological quality and risk of bias, and we graded the credibility of the pooled evidence. We also performed sensitivity analyses. Fifty‐seven records met our inclusion criteria and were included in the study. Most studies were cross‐sectional designs (81%) and were from developed nations (88%). More than half (55%) of the included studies found beneficial associations between greenspace and overweight/obesity in overall or subpopulations. Our meta‐analytical results showed that greater normalized difference vegetation index was associated with lower odds of overweight/obesity in a statistically significant fashion (odds ratio [OR]: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.91) but not residential proximity to greenspace (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.99, 1.00), proportion of greenspace (OR: 0.96; 95% CI: 0.85, 1.08) or number of parks in an area (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.97, 1.01). However, we detected high between‐study heterogeneity in two of the four meta‐analyses, which reduced the credibility of the pooled evidence. Current evidence indicates that there might be an association between greater access to greenspace and lower odds of overweight/obesity. However, additional high‐quality studies are needed to more definitively assess the evidence for a causal association. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Knowledge is a strategic resource in health care organisations and knowledge management (KM) is applied as an effective solution to overcome challenges, such as rising health care cost and increasing demands for improving quality of care. The aim of this review was to identify factors influencing the success of KM process in health care organisations of developed and developing countries. Methods: This review was conducted in 2018. The sources used for searching relevant papers were PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Knowledge, EMBASE and Google Scholar, and the time frame was between 1980 and 2017. The search terms were KM, health care services administration, health care organisation, hospital and clinic which were combined by using AND/OR Boolean operators. Results: In this review, 13 papers were included. The main success factors influencing KM implementation in health care organisations were organisational culture, information technology, organisational structure, and performance evaluation and measurement. In developed countries, organisational culture was the most frequent factor, while in developing countries, organisational culture and information technology were the most frequent ones. Conclusion: It seems that in developed and developing countries, organisational factors are the most frequent factors influencing successful KM in health care organisations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to show the development of regional and urban studies in Spain, pointing out the main factors that have influenced such development, the topics analysed by the Spanish researchers and why Spain has today a remarkable position in the field of regional science. Regional problems have always taken up a very important place among the concerns of the Spanish society. This has been closely linked to longstanding historical and internal political conflicts. But, leaving aside some very interesting contributions and territorial projects developed in the past, the research on regional issues emerged really in the 1960s and the consolidation phase took place from 1975 to 2000, as explained in Sections 2 and 3. From the beginning of this century the field has received a clear thrust, supported by a new generation of economists and geographers. The increasing presence of Spanish researchers in international congresses, workshops and specialized journals enable to state that Spain has reached a similar level as in more advanced countries. Section 4 collects the most outstanding topics and innovative contributions made from 2000 to now. A short final note (section 5) points out some final remarks and why a positive continuity of the progress observed can be expected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of U.S. states have set targets for renewable energy, but the prospects for meeting most of these goals hinge on the willingness of local governments to allow large‐scale renewable energy projects in their communities. In this paper, I investigate how exposure to lobbying by wind developers and the actions of neighboring jurisdictions inform the adoption and design of rules for siting commercial wind farms. Using data collected from 1603 counties in 23 states, I find local policymakers are more likely to enact wind ordinances when they have more time to interact with wind developers and when neighboring counties have adopted wind ordinances or approved the construction of wind farms. I also observe that counties tend to adopt more stringent rules when more wind farms have been built in neighboring counties. This evidence suggests that efforts to scale up renewable energy generation may encounter increasing resistance from local governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hitherto, the path‐dependent understanding of regional diversification in Evolutionary Economic Geography (EEG) has drawn largely on insights into industrialized countries. However, in the past few decades several regions in the Global South have undergone rapid structural transformations despite starting out with unfavourable regional asset bases. This raises the question as to whether the strong emphasis on endogenous capabilities in EEG also provides a sound theoretical framework for explaining these tremendous diversification dynamics. This paper therefore aims to re‐evaluate the wider validity of the path‐dependent conceptualization of regional diversification in the context of a lower‐middle income economy. To this end, we analyse the diversification of Vietnamese regions between 2006 and 2015. In order to take into account context‐specific conditions that characterize Vietnam's economy, we add the role of foreign‐owned firms and state‐owned enterprises to the conceptualization of regional diversification processes. While the role of relatedness holds true for Vietnam, the presence of foreign‐owned firms allowed Vietnamese regions to break away from path dependency and diversify to unrelated industries. The findings highlight that only by adapting the analysis to context‐specific conditions are we able to understand how regional diversification takes place across different settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID‐19 is generating clinical challenges, lifestyle changes, economic consequences. The pandemic imposes to familiarize with concepts as prevention, vulnerability and resilience. Methods: We analysed and reviewed the most relevant papers in the MEDLINE database on syndemic, noncommunicable diseases, pandemic, climate changes, pollution, resilience, vulnerability, health costs, COVID‐19. Results: We discuss that comprehensive strategies must face multifactorial consequences since the pandemic becomes syndemic due to interactions with noncommunicable diseases, climate changes and iniquities. The lockdown experience, on the other hand, demonstrates that it is rapidly possible to reverse epidemiologic trends and to reduce pollution. The worst outcome is evident in eight highly industrialized nations, where 12% of the world population experienced about one‐third of all COVID‐19‐deaths worldwide. Thus, a great economic power has not been fully protective, and a change of policy is obviously needed to avoid irreversible consequences. Conclusions: We are accumulating unhealthy populations living in unhealthy environments and generating unhealthy offspring. The winning policy should tackle structural inequities through a syndemic approach, to protect vulnerable populations from present and future harms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions of social mobility vary across countries. However, past studies have mostly focused on populations in Western developed countries. Little is known about perceptions of social mobility in non‐Western developing countries. The current paper focuses on Chinese perceptions of social mobility using a large‐scale nationally representative sample. We found that, overall, Chinese believed in upward social mobility. Moreover, different patterns of perceptions of social mobility were identified, which suggest that respondents experienced either upward or downward social mobility in the past, but all of them thought that they can move up in the future. Perceptions of social mobility were also linked to important sociodemographic and economic factors. We discuss these findings in relation to the Chinese economic context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to highlight the important contribution of the lens of distributive justice to an understanding of family relations. Existent justice research in the family tends to focus on specific family relations: spouses, parents and young children, elderly parents and adult children, with most research addressing the division of labor between spouses. We seek to go beyond the specific family relations in order to highlight justice‐related themes that are common across family relations. We elaborate upon three claims. First, we show that while the ideal of equality underpins justice in contemporary Western societies, actual distribution practices across family relations are characterized by persistent inequality. Second, although the gap between the ideal of equality and unequal distribution practices may create a sense of injustice among family members, we show why this is not necessarily the case. Third, we elaborate upon the positive and negative consequences that result from feelings of justice or injustice across family relations. We conclude by discussing the interweaving of love and justice in the family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among the more recognizable programs related to natural and sustainable food is the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program. Although the robustness of the organic food market is difficult to contest, many debate the extent to which U.S. organic policy outcomes adequately serve consumers and the organic agriculture producers they rely on. This paper engages the debate from the perspective of certified organic producers. Drawing on the results of a nationwide survey of USDA‐certified producers, we first provide a snapshot of how producers assess the environmental, consumer, and market impacts of U.S. organic food policy. We then examine the extent to which organic producers' policy impact perceptions are associated with their alignment with an "organic ethos"—understood as producers' commitment to core organic principles and the organic movement. The paper highlights producers' values as perceptual filters and cognitive mechanisms that help shape producers' policy impacts perceptions, illustrating a contributing factor to the enduring nature of organic policy debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To evaluate the output of scientific publications in obstetrics and gynecology journals from Mainland China and six other countries, to compare the difference of research situation between Mainland China and the developed countries in order to measure the trend of number of publication in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Methods: Information on article amounts, impact factors (IF), citation and publication in high‐impact obstetrics and gynecology journals by seven top‐ranking countries between January 1, 2007 and August 31, 2017, was extracted from Web of Science databases. Results: A total of 137 661 articles were published between 2007 and 2017 in the 98 obstetrics and gynecology journals. The cumulative IF and citations of articles from USA were the highest. The highest average citation was France and Mainland China ranked fourth. There were 52 631 papers published in the top 10 obstetrics and gynecology journals and the USA accounted for the majority of these papers (33 978, 64.6%), followed by England (8347, 15.9%). Articles from the USA were most often published in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (10658) and those from Mainland China were mostly published in Fertility and Sterility (809). Conclusion: The USA published the most articles having high IF, making the greatest contribution to the field of obstetrics and gynecology. Although the number of scientific publications from Mainland China has rapidly increased from 2007 to 2017, the quality of these publications has not been as satisfactory. It implys that Chinese current academic evaluation system should pay special attention to the quality of academic papers, instead of the number of papers published by scientists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a cultural practice defined as the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for nontherapeutic indications. Due to changing patterns of migration, clinicians in high‐income countries are seeing more women from countries where the practice is prevalent. This review aims to understand the sociocultural and health needs of these women and identify opportunities to improve the quality of maternity care for women with FGM. Methods: We undertook a systematic review and meta‐synthesis of peer‐reviewed primary qualitative research to explore the experience and needs of migrant women with FGM receiving maternity care. A structured search of nine databases was undertaken, screened papers appraised, and a thematic analysis undertaken on data extracted from the findings and discussion sections of included papers. Results: Sixteen peer‐reviewed studies were included in the systematic review. Four major themes were revealed: Living with fear, stigma, and anxiety; Feelings of vulnerability, distrust, and discrimination; Dealing with past and present ways of life after resettlement; and Seeking support and involvement in health care. Conclusions: The findings suggest that future actions for improving maternity care quality should be focused on woman‐centered practice, demonstrating cultural safety and developing mutual trust between a woman and her care providers. Meaningful consultation with women affected by FGM in high‐income settings requires cultural sensitivity and acknowledgment of their specific circumstances. This can be achieved by engaging women affected by FGM in service design to provide quality care and ensure woman‐focused policy is developed and implemented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing numbers of childbearing women with a history of female genital mutilation (FGM) are accessing maternity services in high‐income countries across the world. For many of these women, their first contact with the health services in their host country is when they are pregnant. While the clinical consequences of certain categories of FGM are well documented, how high‐risk maternity services — designed to mitigate the obstetric consequences of FGM — impact upon women's experience of childbearing is less clear. Methods: Using a meta‐synthesis approach, this paper synthesizes 12 qualitative research papers, conducted in 5 high‐income countries, to explore how migrant women with a history of FGM experience maternity care in their host countries. Results: One over‐arching theme and four discrete subthemes of migrant women's experience of the maternity services in their host country were identified: feelings of alienation; fatalism and divine providence, positive and negative feelings about maternity care, different understandings of the birthing process, and feelings about FGM. Conclusions: The findings illustrate that migrant women with a history of FGM frequently encounter negative attitudes when accessing the maternity services in their host countries. Women's experiences suggest a concerning absence of sensitive and empathetic care; a more woman‐centered approach is recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency and mortality of building collapses The paper deals with the determination of collapse frequencies of buildings for different countries and regions. First, either direct data of the building stock are collected and building stocks are estimated by parameters specific for each country respectively. The collapse events are taken from the daily press or from literature. In addition to the calculation of the collapse frequencies, the mortalities due to building collapses are also determined. Again, data from the daily press or literature are used for this purpose. In addition, a brief discussion of the causes of building collapses is given. For industrialized countries, the annual collapse frequency is 2.4 × 10–7 per year and for developing countries 4.7 × 10–6 per year. Mortality ranges from 9.8 × 10–8 per year for developed countries and 1.5 × 10–6 per year for developing countries. The causes of building collapses in developing countries, and thus in the majority of collapses, are inadequate skills of those involved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The present article raised the pressing issue of population aging in Russia and investigated the challenges this phenomenon poses to the social security system. As modern studies show, this challenge is typical for both developing and developed countries. The paper intended to propose ways of reforming the pension system of the Russian Federation to ensure its independence from the state budget. Methods: The provided suggestions were based on the analysis of the current demographic problems in Russia, review of the dynamics of its population age composition, consideration of the most popular strategies for reforming pension systems in developed countries, and the specific features of the Russian labor market. Results: Currently, for Russian Federation, the population over the working age grew by 11.6%, and number of the working‐age people and those under the working‐age decreased by 9.3% and 5.6%, respectively. The inverse dependency ratio ranged from 2.2 to 1.7 in 2019 to the level of 1.78 for 10 years. As a result, it was noted that ignoring the issue of population aging can lead to a decrease in state budget stability and adversely impact the country's economic prosperity. Conclusion: The novelty of the research lies in selection of the main problems of reforming country budgets in connection with the increase in the number of elderly people and changes in the dynamics of pension contributions in connection with the growing expectations of the population. Among other things, the article also highlighted the presence of additional difficulties that may accompany the implementation of the proposed measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Burnout and related concepts such as resilience, wellness, and taking care of healthcare professionals have become increasingly prevalent in the medical literature. Most of the work in this area comes from high‐income countries, with the remainder from upper‐middle‐income countries, and very little from lower‐middle‐income or low‐income countries. Sub‐Saharan Africa is particularly poorly represented in this body of literature. Anglo‐American concepts are often applied to different jurisdictions without consideration of cultural and societal differences. However, anesthesia providers in this region have unique challenges, with both the highest burden of "surgical" disease in the world and the least resources, both in terms of human resources for health and in terms of essential drugs and equipment. The effect of burnout on healthcare systems is also likely to be very different with the current human resources for the health crisis in East and Central Africa. According to the Joint Learning Initiative Managing for Performance framework, the three essential factors for building a workforce to effectively support a healthcare system are coverage, competence, and motivation. Current efforts to build capacity in anesthesia in East and Southern Africa focus largely on coverage and competence, but neglect motivation at the risk of failing to support a sustainable workforce. In this paper, we include a review of the relevant literature, as well as draw from personal experience living and working in East and Southern Africa, to describe the unique issues surrounding burnout, resilience, and wellness in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, a low but sufficient, intake of carbohydrates is important to aim for near normal glycemic control. However, knowledge about the carbohydrate intake in this group is limited. To assess the average quantity and quality of carbohydrate intake in pregnant women with type 1diabetes compared to healthy pregnant women and current dietary reference intakes. A narrative literature search was performed in PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library and by using a snow‐ball search technique to identify papers published on studies conducted in industrialized countries within the last 20 years. Intakes of carbohydrate were assessed qualitatively in relation to the Dietary Reference Intakes recommended by the American Diabetes Association and quantitatively as mean intake of dietary fiber. Five observational studies including 810 pregnant women with type 1 diabetes and 15 observational studies with a total of 118,246 healthy pregnant women were identified. The mean total carbohydrate intake was within the Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range (45%–64% of energy intake) in both groups. In pregnant women with type 1 diabetes, the average total intake was 218 ± 19 g/day, which was 20% (53 g/day) lower than in healthy pregnant women. Mean intake of dietary fiber in women with diabetes was lower than the recommended adequate intake for healthy women. With the limitations of pronounced heterogeneity across the included studies, pregnant women with type 1 diabetes reported a mean total carbohydrate intake, which was lower than in healthy pregnant women but still within the recommended range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an empirically grounded framework for examining the preparedness and recovery phases of disaster management activities and processes pertaining to predictable disasters within a developed country. The two‐stage framework provides a single model composed of important preparedness and recovery initiatives, as well as activities and processes derived from empirical data collected for case studies from Australia: the ‘Black Saturday’ bushfires in the state of Victoria in February 2009; and Cyclone Larry in March 2006. The framework enables a variety of analyses, including the generation of insights into disaster management preparedness and recovery in the context of events in wealthy developed countries. The paper combines two empirical examples, a series of bushfires and a severe tropical cyclone, to enhance understanding of, and to contribute to better, disaster preparedness and recovery in the future. The paper contributes to the growing literature on disasters, preparedness, recovery and associated logistics, and other issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the incidence, drivers, and persistence of skill and educational mismatches among employed youths from 10 African countries surveyed between 2012 and 2015. Results indicate that, unlike most findings from developed countries, underskilling and undereducation are more prevalent among the youth than overskilling and overeducation. The levels of education of the youth and their parents, the field of study, the quality of job and the firm size are found to be key predictors of job mismatches. Our results also show that the perspective of unemployment has a scarring effect for underskilled youths but a stepping‐stone effect for overskilled and overeducated. Using a pseudo‐panel approach, skill and educational mismatches of youths are found to be persistent over time and the likelihood of transitioning into education matching jobs is significantly increasing with the levels of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breastfeeding provides optimal nutrition for the healthy growth of infants and is associated with reduced risks of infectious diseases, child and adult obesity, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic diseases. Migration has been shown to influence breastfeeding especially among migrants from low‐and‐middle‐income countries. This mixed‐methods systematic review aimed to identify, synthesise, and appraise the international literature on the breastfeeding knowledge and experiences of African immigrant mothers residing in high‐income countries. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsychINFO, Scopus, and Web of Knowledge databases were searched from their inception to February 2019. Grey literature, reference, and citation searches were carried out and relevant journals hand‐searched. Data extraction and quality assessment were independently carried out by two reviewers. An integrated mixed‐methods approach adopting elements of framework synthesis was used to synthesise findings. The initial searches recovered 8,841 papers, and 35 studies were included in the review. Five concepts emerged from the data: (a) breastfeeding practices, showing that 90% of African mothers initiated breastfeeding; (b) knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes, which were mostly positive but included a desire for bigger babies; (c) influence of socio‐demographic, economic, and cultural factors, leading to early supplementation; (d) support system influencing breastfeeding rates and duration; and (e) perception of health professionals who struggled to offer support due to culture and language barriers. African immigrant mothers were positive about breastfeeding and willing to adopt best practice but faced challenges with cultural beliefs and lifestyle changes after migration. African mothers may benefit from more tailored support and information to improve exclusive breastfeeding rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age‐related Macular Degeneration (AMD) and Diabetic Macular Edema (DME) are the major causes of vision loss in developed countries. Alteration of retinal layer structure and appearance of exudates are the most significant signs of these diseases. In this paper, with the aim of automatic classification of DME, AMD, and normal subjects using Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) images, a dictionary‐learning based classification is proposed. The two important issues intended in this approach are avoiding retinal layer segmentation and attempting to mimic the authors' understanding based on normal and abnormal region identifications, considering that the signs of diseases appear in a small fraction of B‐Scans. The histogram of oriented gradients feature descriptor was utilized to characterize the distribution of local intensity gradients and edge directions. To capture the structure of extracted features, different dictionary learning‐based classifiers are employed. The dataset consists of 45 subjects: 15 patients with AMD, 15 patients with DME, and 15 normal subjects. The proposed classifier leads to an accuracy of 95.13, 100.00, and 100.00% for DME, AMD, and normal OCT images, respectively, only by considering 4% of all B‐Scans of a volume, which outperforms the state‐of‐the‐art methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software Outsourcing Partnership (SOP) is considered as a type of risk and reward sharing relationship between a client organisation, in the developed countries, and its overseas vendor organisation. Regardless of numerous benefits, the development of SOP still remnants in its infancy stage due to several interactive barriers. Some studies have been conducted to examine the barriers to SOP formation. However, no attempt has been reported so far to explore the multifaceted interrelationships amongst them. To bridge the gap, this study implements Interpretive Structural Model (ISM) approach to reconnoitre the interrelationships amongst the barriers in the context of SOP formation. The objective of this research paper is to develop a framework for modelling structural association amongst the barriers. To achieve the objective, we used a hybrid methodology based on systematic literature review (SLR), empirical survey, and ISM. Firstly, via SLR study, we identified 27 barriers to SOP formation. Secondly, to empirically explore the interrelationships amongst the identified barriers, a questionnaire survey was performed with 50 experts from a total of 20 different countries. Further, interrelationships amongst the barriers were identified using ISM via panel review, and their classifications were carried out via Cross‐Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to the Classification Approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This paper describes the incidence and outcomes of childhood renal malignancies in Australia using national population-based data from the Australian Childhood Cancer Registry.Methods: De-identified data for children (0-14 years) diagnosed with renal malignancies from 1983 to 2015 inclusive were extracted. Cause-specific (CSS) and event-free survival up to 20 years from diagnosis were estimated using the cohort method. Adjusted excess mortality hazard ratios were calculated using a multivariable flexible parametric survival model. Details relating to second primary malignancies (SPMs) were also examined.Results: There were 1046 children diagnosed with renal malignancies in Australia between 1983 and 2015 (91% nephroblastoma), generating an annual age-standardised incidence rate of 8 per million children, which remained constant over the study period. CSS was 89% (95% confidence interval = 87-91%) and 88% (86-90%) at 5 and 20 years, respectively, and 5-year event-free survival was 82% (80-84%). Five-year CSS did not change over the study period and was highest for nephroblastoma (91%). Of the 94% of patients achieving remission, 15% relapsed and subsequent 5-year CSS was 49% (40%-58%). Eleven children were diagnosed with SPM (standardised incidence ratio = 2.9, 95% confidence interval = 1.6-5.3, P < 0.001), and five of them (45%) died within 5 years of the second diagnosis.Conclusions: Children treated for renal malignancies in Australia have excellent long-term survival, which is unchanged since 1983. SPMs are uncommon following treatment for childhood renal cancer but carry a poor prognosis. Relapse carries a similarly poor prognosis to SPM but is more common. These data are comparable to registry outcomes in similarly developed nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between commuting distances and where people work has been studied for urban contexts in both developed countries and developing countries. However, few studies have examined the situation in rural areas, and none look at commuting distances to non‐farm workplaces in rural areas of developing countries. This paper investigates how commuting distance, and thus accessibility, to local non‐farm work influences non‐farm employment and out‐migration from rural villages in Northeast Thailand. The main issues examined are: (i) the distance that rural residents travel to work in local non‐farm jobs; and (ii) the influence that local non‐farm employment has on the number of outmigrants from rural villages. The study finds: (i) distance between villages and non‐farm work sites impact the number of villagers who are employed in regular wage work; (ii) beyond 20 km villagers are less likely to travel to non‐farm employment using their own means of transportation; and (iii) employment in regular wage work decreases outmigration. The findings from this study contribute to the debates over the drivers of rural out‐migration, rural livelihood changes, and agrarian changes that are taking place in Southeast Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies show that women and girls consistently demonstrate higher levels of concern for the environment than men and boys. Separately, research also indicates that women officeholders pay particular attention to the issues prioritized by their female constituents. Interestingly, despite the consistency of the gender gap in attitudes to environmental issues the literature has paid scant attention to the role of women officeholders in the adoption of environmental policy. The goal of this paper was to start to address that lacuna. Using pooled cross‐sectional time series analyses of environmental standards in 18 Western parliamentary democracies (1990–2012), our initial findings indicate women officeholders are associated with the adoption of higher environmental standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the ethics of placebo-controlled trials in developing countries, where a treatment already exists but is not available due to the low local standard of care. Such trials would not be permitted in more developed nations where a higher standard of care is available. I argue that there are moral intuitions against such trials, but a further intuition that if the trials were aimed at producing treatment options for the developing world, that would be more permissible than if the trials were designed with the benefit of rich world people in mind. An approach based upon GA Cohen's work on interpersonal justifiability is suggested to allow us to explain these intuitions. Cohen's framework shows that these trials are ethically problematic because the inequality in healthcare provision between developing and developed nations that allows them to take place is at least partly the pharmaceutical corporations' fault. Following Cohen's argument, this means the trials are non-comprehensively justified. This allows for a more complete explanation of our intuitions than to consider such trials as cases of exploitation, because intuitions on the ethicacy of research can vary even when the exploitation relation remains the same. It is then established that there is good empirical evidence to believe that pharmaceutical corporations do fail the interpersonal justifiability test. The policy implications of this judgement are then considered, and it is suggested that the framework might be equally applicable to examining the permissibility of research conducted on vulnerable people within more developed nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Governance scholars have long championed the adaptive utility of decentralized management institutions, in part due to their ability to bring diverse stakeholders into decision‐making processes. However, research into the link between decentralization and participation often looks at policy design but bypasses important system feedbacks that shape sustained participation over time. To paint a more robust picture detailing how decentralization and participation are related, this paper uses a complex systems framework to explore interacting structural, operational, and cultural components of decentralized wildlife governance institutions in the United States and Botswana. Through this comparative analysis, I argue that the landscape of public participation in decentralized governance institutions appears to be significantly impacted by three factors: 1) how decentralization processes occurred, 2) where in the process of decision making participation is situated, and 3) perceptions of power distribution between groups with competing interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The design of health insurance, and the role out-of-pocket (OOP) payments play in it, is a key policy issue as rising health costs have encouraged greater cost-sharing measures. This paper compares the percentage of Americans spending large amounts OOP to meet their health needs with percentages in eight other developed countries. By disaggregating by age and income, the paper focuses on the poor and elderly populations within each.Data Source: The study uses nationally representative household survey data made available through the Luxembourg Income Study. It includes nations with high, medium, and low levels of OOP spending.Study Design: Households have high medical spending when their OOP expenditures exceed a threshold share of income. I calculate the share of each nation's population, as well as subpopulations within it, with high OOP expenditures.Principal Findings: The United States is not alone in exposing large numbers of citizens to high OOP expenses. In six of the other eight countries, one-quarter or more of low-income citizens devoted at least 5 percent of their income to OOP expenses, and in all but two countries, more than 1 in 10 elderly citizens had high medical expenses.Conclusions: For some populations in the sample nations, health insurance does not provide adequate financial protection and likely contributes to inequities in health care delivery and outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International research is an essential means of reducing health disparities between and within countries and should do so as a matter of global justice. Research funders from high-income countries have an obligation of justice to support health research in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) that furthers such objectives. This paper investigates how their current funding schemes are designed to incentivise health systems research in LMICs that promotes health equity. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were performed with 16 grants officers working for 11 funders and organisations that support health systems research: the Alliance for Health Policy and Systems Research, Comic Relief, Doris Duke Foundation, European Commission, International Development Research Centre, Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, Research Council of Norway, Rockefeller Foundation, UK Department of International Development, UK Medical Research Council, and Wellcome Trust. Thematic analysis of the data demonstrates their funding schemes promote health systems research with (up to) five key features that advance health equity: being conducted with worst-off populations, focusing on research topics that advance equitable health systems, having LMIC ownership of the research agenda, strengthening LMIC research capacity, and having an impact on health disparities. The different types of incentives that encouraged proposed projects to have these features are identified and classified by their strength (strong, moderate, weak). It is suggested that research funders ought to create and maintain funding schemes with strong incentives for the features identified above in order to more effectively help reduce global health disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine whether or not the Great Recession had a temporary or permanent effect on output growth volatility after years of low macroeconomic volatility since the early eighties. Based on break detection methods applied to a set of advanced countries, our empirical results do not give evidence to the end of the Great Moderation period but rather that the Great Recession is characterized by a dramatic short‐lived effect on the output growth but not on its volatility. We show that neglecting the breaks both in mean and in variance can have large effects on output volatility modeling based on GARCH specifications. (JEL E32, C22, O40) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internationalization of science has prompted major science funding agencies to seek to further international cooperation in basic research through the use of outposts based outside of the agency's home country. While these offices are all international in scope, the strategies and utilization of these offices vary. This paper begins by outlining the motivations and theoretical framework for international offices, drawing specifically from a proximity theory of relationships. Subsequently the paper presents a typology of activities that fall under the rubric of international engagement in science. We will then critically examine the international offices of four leading basic research funding agencies and attempt to characterize and describe the distinct models that these agencies employ. Building from the models of organization, the paper closes with a discussion of the impacts of these overseas offices as well as other policy implications from the use of different engagement strategies in fostering international collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bearing in mind that developing countries have less capital and less advanced technologies, this paper theoretically investigates the joint impact of two first-nature forces, Ricardian and Heckscher- Ohlin advantages and the second-nature force on spatial income inequality. We establish a new economic geography model without a traditional sector so that the wages are not equalized. By combining these three kinds of trade forces, we show how spatial income inequality changes with economic integration. Four evolution patterns are obtained which are consistent with diverse empirical results in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]