Tax incentives applied against externalities: International examples of fat tax and carbon tax

This study assesses the Pigou taxes introduced as a response to negative externalities in practice. The authors analyze the international practice and effectiveness of taxation on food products harmful to health and on carbon emissions harmful to the environment and, in relation to these two types of taxes, the focus is on the opportunities and the factors reducing efficiency.

International epidemiology of prostate cancer : geographical distribution and secular trends

This review outlines current international patterns in prostate cancer incidence and mortality rates and survival, including recent trends and a discussion of the possible impact of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing on the observed data. Internationally, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed among men (behind lung cancer), and is the sixth most common cause of cancer death among men. Prostate cancer is particularly prevalent in developed countries such as the United States and the Scandinavian countries, with about a six-fold difference between high-incidence and low-incidence countries. Interpretation of trends in incidence and survival are complicated by the increasing impact of PSA testing, particularly in more developed countries. As Western influences become more pronounced in less developed countries, prostate cancer incidence rates in those countries are tending to increase, even though the prevalence of PSA testing is relatively low. Larger proportions of younger men are being diagnosed with prostate cancer and living longer following diagnosis of prostate cancer, which has many implications for health systems. Decreasing mortality rates are becoming widespread among more developed countries, although it is not clear whether this is due to earlier diagnosis (PSA testing), improved treatment, or some combination of these or other factors.

International review of environmental assessment tools and databases

Existing widely known environmental assessment models, primarily those for Life Cycle Assessment of manufactured products and buildings, were reviewed to grasp their characteristics, since the past several years have seen a significant increase in interest and research activity in the development of building environmental assessment methods. Each method or tool was assessed under the headings of description, data requirement, end-use, assessment criteria (scale of assessment and scoring/ weighting system)and present status

Detecting and monitoring of lymphoedema

Much of what we know about lymphoedema is derived from studies involving cancer cohorts, in particular breast cancer. Yet even within this setting, and despite the known profound physical, social and psychological effects, our understanding of associated risk factors and effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies is poorly studied with inconsistent results. The limitations of our current methods to detect and monitor lymphoedema contribute to our lack of understanding of this condition. Current measurement approaches applied in the clinical and research setting will be described during this presentation. The strengths, limitations and practical considerations relevant to measurement methods will also be addressed. Improving the way we detect and monitor lymphoedema is necessary and critical for advancing the lymphoedema field and is relevant for the detection and monitoring of lymphoedema in the clinic as well as in research.

Early objective detection of lymphoedema

The aetiology of secondary lymphoedema seems to be multifactorial, with acquired abnormalities as well as pre-existing conditions being contributory factors. Many characteristics bear inconsistent relationships to lymphoedema risk, and the few that are consistently associated with an increased risk of developing the condition, do not alone distinguish the at-risk population. Further, our current prevention and management recommendations are not backed by strong evidence. Consequently, there remains much to be learned about who gets it, how can it be prevented and how can we best treat it. Nonetheless, it is clear that lymphoedema is associated with adverse side effects, which have a profound impact on daily life, and that preliminary evidence suggests that early detection may lead to more effective treatment and lack of treatment may lead to progression. These represent important reasons as to why lymphoedema deserves clinical attention. However, several pragmatic issues must be considered when discussing whether a routine objective measure of lymphoedema could be integrated among the standard clinical care of those undertaking treatment for cancers known to be associated with the development of lymphoedema.

Destination branding : tracking brand equity for a competitive set of near-home destinations

In the emerging literature related to destination branding, little has been reported about performance metrics. The focus of most research reported to date has been concerned with the development of destination brand identities and the implementation of campaigns (see for example, Crockett & Wood 1999, Hall 1999, May 2001, Morgan et al 2002). One area requiring increased attention is that of tracking the performance of destination brands over time. This is an important gap in the tourism literature, given: i) the increasing level of investment by destination marketing organisations (DMO) in branding since the 1990s, ii) the complex political nature of DMO brand decision-making and increasing accountability to stakeholders (see Pike, 2005), and iii) the long-term nature of repositioning a destination’s image in the market place (see Gartner & Hunt, 1987). Indeed, a number of researchers in various parts of the world have pointed to a lack of market research monitoring destination marketing objectives, such as in Australia (see Prosser et. al 2000, Carson, Beattie and Gove 2003), North America (Sheehan & Ritchie 1997, Masberg 1999), and Europe (Dolnicar & Schoesser 2003)...

The properties of the international classification of the external cause of injury when used as an instrument for injury prevention research

Objective: To demonstrate properties of the International Classification of the External Cause of Injury (ICECI) as a tool for use in injury prevention research. Methods: The Childhood Injury Prevention Study (CHIPS) is a prospective longitudinal follow up study of a cohort of 871 children 5–12 years of age, with a nested case crossover component. The ICECI is the latest tool in the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) family and has been designed to improve the precision of coding injury events. The details of all injury events recorded in the study, as well as all measured injury related exposures, were coded using the ICECI. This paper reports a substudy on the utility and practicability of using the ICECI in the CHIPS to record exposures. Interrater reliability was quantified for a sample of injured participants using the Kappa statistic to measure concordance between codes independently coded by two research staff. Results: There were 767 diaries collected at baseline and event details from 563 injuries and exposure details from injury crossover periods. There were no event, location, or activity details which could not be coded using the ICECI. Kappa statistics for concordance between raters within each of the dimensions ranged from 0.31 to 0.93 for the injury events and 0.94 and 0.97 for activity and location in the control periods. Discussion: This study represents the first detailed account of the properties of the ICECI revealed by its use in a primary analytic epidemiological study of injury prevention. The results of this study provide considerable support for the ICECI and its further use.

International comparisons of Malaysian construction labour productivity

Productivity is basic statistical information for many international comparisons and country performance assessments. This study estimates the construction labour productivity of 79 selected economies. The real (purchasing power parities converted) and nominal construction expenditure from the Report of 2005 International Comparison Programme published by the World Bank and construction employment from the database of labour statistics (LABORSTA) operated by the Bureau of Statistics of International Labour Organization were used in the estimation. The inference statistics indicate that the descending order of nominal construction labour productivity from high income economies to low income economies is not established. The average construction labour productivity of low income economies is higher than middle income economies when the productivity calculation uses purchasing power parities converted data. Malaysia ranked 50th and 63rd position among the 79 selected economies on real and nominal measurement respectively.