scholarly journals Does the impact of biodiversity differ between emerging and endemic pathogens? The need to separate the concepts of hazard and risk

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1722) ◽  
pp. 20160129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Parviez R. Hosseini ◽  
James N. Mills ◽  
Anne-Hélène Prieur-Richard ◽  
Vanessa O. Ezenwa ◽  
Xavier Bailly ◽  
...  

Biodiversity is of critical value to human societies, but recent evidence that biodiversity may mitigate infectious-disease risk has sparked controversy among researchers. The majority of work on this topic has focused on direct assessments of the relationship between biodiversity and endemic-pathogen prevalence, without disentangling intervening mechanisms; thus study outcomes often differ, fuelling more debate. Here, we suggest two critical changes to the approach researchers take to understanding relationships between infectious disease, both endemic and emerging, and biodiversity that may help clarify sources of controversy. First, the distinct concepts of hazards versus risks need to be separated to determine how biodiversity and its drivers may act differently on each. This distinction is particularly important since it illustrates that disease emergence drivers in humans could be quite different to the general relationship between biodiversity and transmission of endemic pathogens. Second, the interactive relationship among biodiversity, anthropogenic change and zoonotic disease risk, including both direct and indirect effects, needs to be recognized and accounted for. By carefully disentangling these interactions between humans' activities and pathogen circulation in wildlife, we suggest that conservation efforts could mitigate disease risks and hazards in novel ways that complement more typical disease control efforts. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications’.

2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1722) ◽  
pp. 20160126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tong Wu ◽  
Charles Perrings

There is growing evidence that wildlife conservation measures have mixed effects on the emergence and spread of zoonotic disease. Wildlife conservation has been found to have both positive (dilution) and negative (contagion) effects. In the case of avian influenza H5N1 in China, the focus has been on negative effects. Lakes and wetlands attracting migrating waterfowl have been argued to be disease hotspots. We consider the implications of waterfowl conservation for H5N1 infections in both poultry and humans between 2004 and 2012. We model both environmental and economic risk factors. Environmental risk factors comprise the conditions that structure interaction between wild and domesticated birds. Economic risk factors comprise the cost of disease, biosecurity measures and disease risk mitigation. We find that H5N1 outbreaks in poultry populations are indeed sensitive to the existence of wild-domesticated bird mixing zones, but not in the way we would expect from the literature. We find that risk is decreasing in protected migratory bird habitat. Since the number of human cases is increasing in the number of poultry outbreaks, as expected, the implication is that the protection of wetlands important for migratory birds offers unexpected human health benefits. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications’.


2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-118
Author(s):  
Philip Kamau ◽  
Eno L. Inanga ◽  
Kami Rwegasira

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of currency risks on the financial performance of multilateral banks (MBs). Financial performance is measured here by after-tax accounting profitability or losses. Design/methodology/approach – Quantitative hypothesis regarding the impact of currency risks on the financial performance of MBs was tested by a two-tailed t test for significance of the b regression coefficient. Findings – A regression analysis was done on the total currency risk and financial performance of MBs after taking into account currency risk over eight years. The analysis of variance of the regression of the b coefficient led to non-rejection of the null hypothesis of no association, F(1, 6) = 0.77, p > 0.05. The results of the two-tailed t test on the b regression coefficient suggest that the relationship between currency risk and financial performance is statistically insignificant. Therefore, it was concluded that there is no significant impact of currency risk on the financial performance of MBs. Research limitations/implications – The results of the study can be generalized only for MBs given their peculiar characteristics as wholesale banks, which are owned mainly by governments and are generally not listed on stock exchanges. Originality/value – The study is of value to those interested in the multilateral banking industry. To the authors’ knowledge it is the first study providing empirical evidence on currency risk impact on MBs financial performance. The study finds that the currency risk impact on the financial performance of MBs is insignificant. The results are also useful to managers of MBs in terms of benchmarking their effectiveness in managing currency risk compared to their peers and learn from better performers. It has also policy implications in terms of justifying the current self-regulatory status, shareholder monitoring and governance of MBs as they are not significantly impacted by currency risk as it appears to be effectively managed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 375-386
Author(s):  
Hamed Ahmad Almahadin ◽  
Yazan Salameh Oroud

This study aims to investigate the moderating role of profitability in the relationship between capital structure and firm value in Jordan, as an example of an emerging economy. For this purpose, two functional models were formulated to capture the direct relationship as well as the interaction impact of capital structure on firm value. The robust empirical findings of panel data analysis provide strong evidence of an adverse relationship between capital structure and firm value. The findings confirm that the impact of capital structure appears to be complicated in nature and difficult to examine without controlling for the interaction of profitability as one of the major determinants. Therefore, studying the interaction effect provides ample evidence and enhances the understanding of the link between firm value and capital structure. The empirical results of the study may provide important insights and policy implications to decision-makers.


Author(s):  
Kaili Chen ◽  
Tianzheng Zhang ◽  
Fangyuan Liu ◽  
Yingjie Zhang ◽  
Yan Song

In recent years, the interest in the relationship between urban green space and residents’ mental health has gradually risen. A number of researchers have investigated the causal relationship and possible mediators between the two, although few have summarized these mediators. For this reason, we searched for relevant studies and filtered them by criteria and quality score, and analyzed the mediators and paths of the impact of urban green space on residents’ mental health. The mediators can be divided into environmental factors, outdoor activity, and social cohesion. From the perspective of heterogeneity, both individual characteristics (e.g., age and gender) and group characteristics (e.g., level of urban development and urban density) of residents are considered to be the cause of various mediating effects. Types of urban green space tend to affect residents’ mental health through different paths. Furthermore, this review discusses the details of each part under the influence paths. Finally, the policy implications for urban green space planning from three mediator levels are put forward based on an analysis of the situation in different countries.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
AISDL

The global pandemic of COVID 19 has changed consumer behaviour to reduce the risk. This is common for all interpersonal interactions of individuals especially in maintaining the recommended interpersonal distance based on the recommendations from the health experts. Sri Lanka as a developing country affected by COVID 19, observed changes in individuals' day today’ consumption decision making due to pandemic. Importantly the retailing sector is highly influenced by the conditions since the frequency of interpersonal interactions and degree of interaction is higher in the retailing sector. Interestingly the retailing sector with its largest contributor, the SMEs need to identify the unique changes that happen to the consumer behaviour in responding to them. Accordingly, the objective of the study is to examine the impact of infectious disease risk on the perceived retail crowding in two perspectives of human density and the spatial density. The study has used a quantitative survey in collecting data with the online self-administrated questionnaire with a sample of 100 consumers. Data analysis has been done by using a PLS-SEM with the support of SmartPLS version 3. The key findings of the study emphasize the significant positive influence of infectious disease risk on human density as well as on the spatial density. Based on the findings the study attempts to provide the implications for the retailing industry to cope with situational changes in the environment.


2022 ◽  
pp. 074391562210761
Author(s):  
Martin Eisend ◽  
Farid Tarrahi

Persuasion knowledge development leads to better coping with marketplace persuasion, better consumer decision-making, and adds to consumer well-being. While significant knowledge exists on the impact that individual factors (e.g., age) and cues (e.g., sponsorship disclosure messages) have on consumers’ persuasion knowledge development, little is known about the influence of marketer actions, such as advertising spending. This is surprising, as marketer activities provide a major source of information for consumers’ persuasion knowledge learning and practice and can theoretically either support or hinder persuasion knowledge development. We develop several explanations for various types of relationships between advertising spending and persuasion knowledge and test these relationships by means of a meta-analysis of the persuasion knowledge literature based on 140 papers with 162 distinctive datasets that address persuasion knowledge measurements. We find that increasing advertising spending also increases consumers’ persuasion knowledge. The relationship follows an inverted-U curve, and, at a certain level of advertising spending, persuasion knowledge begins to decrease. The findings have theoretical and societal implications and, depending on the level of advertising investment, policy implications with the ultimate aim of ensuring consumer well-being and protecting consumer groups with low levels of persuasion knowledge.


2017 ◽  
Vol 372 (1722) ◽  
pp. 20160122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea L. Wood ◽  
Alex McInturff ◽  
Hillary S. Young ◽  
DoHyung Kim ◽  
Kevin D. Lafferty

Infectious disease burdens vary from country to country and year to year due to ecological and economic drivers. Recently, Murray et al. (Murray CJ et al . 2012 Lancet 380 , 2197–2223. ( doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61689-4 )) estimated country-level morbidity and mortality associated with a variety of factors, including infectious diseases, for the years 1990 and 2010. Unlike other databases that report disease prevalence or count outbreaks per country, Murray et al. report health impacts in per-person disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), allowing comparison across diseases with lethal and sublethal health effects. We investigated the spatial and temporal relationships between DALYs lost to infectious disease and potential demographic, economic, environmental and biotic drivers, for the 60 intermediate-sized countries where data were available and comparable. Most drivers had unique associations with each disease. For example, temperature was positively associated with some diseases and negatively associated with others, perhaps due to differences in disease agent thermal optima, transmission modes and host species identities. Biodiverse countries tended to have high disease burdens, consistent with the expectation that high diversity of potential hosts should support high disease transmission. Contrary to the dilution effect hypothesis, increases in biodiversity over time were not correlated with improvements in human health, and increases in forestation over time were actually associated with increased disease burden. Urbanization and wealth were associated with lower burdens for many diseases, a pattern that could arise from increased access to sanitation and healthcare in cities and increased investment in healthcare. The importance of urbanization and wealth helps to explain why most infectious diseases have become less burdensome over the past three decades, and points to possible levers for further progress in improving global public health. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Conservation, biodiversity and infectious disease: scientific evidence and policy implications’.


2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-63
Author(s):  
Karrie A. Shogren ◽  
Kathryn M. Burke ◽  
Mark H. Anderson ◽  
Anthony Antosh ◽  
Terri LaPlante ◽  
...  

This study explored teacher perceptions of their ability to implement the Self-Determined Learning Model of Instruction (SDLMI) with fidelity and the impact of these perceptions on student self-determination outcomes on the Self-Determination Inventory: Student Report (SDI:SR). Using a piece-wise growth model, we found stability in teacher perceptions of their implementation over a 2-year period even with the introduction of a second transition-focused intervention to a subset of the sample. Using a mediation model, we then found a complex relationship between teacher perceptions of fidelity and student outcomes on the SDI:SR. We found that teacher-perceived fidelity over the course of the year was influenced by students’ beginning of the year self-determination status and that teacher-perceived fidelity then affected students’ end of the year self-determination status. The findings suggest an interactive relationship between teacher perceptions of implementation and student outcomes. Implications for research and practice are discussed.


Sexual Abuse ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer S. Wong ◽  
Jason Gravel

The purpose of the current study is to review the available scientific evidence on the relationship between testosterone and sexual aggression. A systematic search for all primary studies comparing basal testosterone levels in sex offenders and non-sex offenders was undertaken across 20 electronic databases using an explicit search strategy and inclusion/exclusion criteria. A total of seven studies were identified and 11 effect sizes were computed; effects were pooled using both fixed and random effects meta-analysis models. Although individual study findings present a mix of results wherein sex offenders have higher or lower baseline levels of testosterone than non-sex offenders, pooled results indicate no overall difference between groups. Moderators of the analyses suggest possibly lower rates of testosterone in child molesters than controls; however, results are dependent on study weighting. Limitations, policy implications with respect to chemical castration laws, and future directions for research are discussed.


2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 10-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piers Thompson ◽  
Wenyu Zang

Both domestic small- and medium-sized enterprises and foreign direct investment are often seen as key parts in helping economies to withstand and recover from shocks. What is less clear is the impact that a greater presence of foreign-owned firms has on domestic enterprises’ ability to withstand such shocks and for entrepreneurial activity to renew itself after economic shocks, described as local entrepreneurial resilience. To examine how foreign influence affects local entrepreneurial resilience rather than considering the relationship between foreign influence and domestic firm births or deaths at a given point in time, this study takes a more dynamic perspective. The relationship between foreign influence and the change in local firm births, deaths, and their overall impact in terms of net births and business churn after the financial crisis is examined. UK data are examined at the local level to account for the within-region heterogeneity of foreign investments that will lead to quite different outcomes being found for domestic enterprises in the same regions. The results indicate that those areas with greater foreign business influence in the labour market are likely to have seen firm birth rates remain higher and recover more quickly. There are policy implications for localities with both higher and lower levels of foreign business ownership.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document