Equal allocation, demand priority or negotiated allocation? How to allocate water resources in the Tigris and Euphrates River Basin efficiently.

The Tigris and Euphrates River Basin is an important water supply, but it suffers from water scarcity. It is necessary to carry out reasonable allocation of water resources in this region. Since water resources issues in this region are of multinational interest, international cooperative distribution efforts are needed. Common water resources allocation modes include equal allocation, demand priority or negotiation allocation. In order to derive the applicable range of various water resources allocation modes, this article constructs three differential game models and compares and analyzes the equilibrium results obtained by the models. Finally, the study shows that when the cost of developing water resources is small and the revenue obtained from developing water resources is large, the water-scarce region can obtain the maximum benefit by adopting the demand priority mode. Otherwise, the water-scarce region can obtain the maximum benefit by adopting the negotiation allocation mode. This study can inform the allocation, strategic interaction and cooperation of dynamic water resources in the two river basins.

Advancing Transportation Equity and Safety Through Autonomous Vehicles.

Motor vehicle crashes are a leading cause of death in the United States, and disproportionately impact communities of color. Replacing human control with automated vehicles (AVs) holds the potential to reduce crashes and save lives. The benefits of AVs, including automated shuttles, buses, or cars could extend beyond safety to include improvements in congestion, reductions in emissions, and increased access to mobility, particularly for vulnerable populations. However, AVs have not attained the level of public trust that has been expected, given their potential to save lives and increase access to mobility. Public opinion surveys have highlighted safety and security concerns as reasons for this lack of confidence. In this study, we present the findings of an experiment we conducted to actively shift mindsets on AVs toward advancing health equity. We demonstrate through a nationally representative sample of 2265 U.S. adults that the public support for AVs can be improved by expanding their scope of application to include advancing social benefit. The survey began with questions on respondent's support for AVs based on a priori knowledge and beliefs. Consistent with prior surveys, baseline support (strong support and some degree of support) was low at 26.4% (95% confidence interval 24.0-29.0). After introducing information about how AVs could be used to provide mobility for older adults, those with limited income, or the vision-impaired, respondents were asked to reassess their support for AVs. Support significantly increased to include the majority of respondents. By prioritizing the deployment of AVs to serve individuals and communities in greatest need of mobility, AVs would not only demonstrate compelling social value by reducing disparities but would also gain widespread public support among the U.S. public.

Effects of Self-Rated Health Status on Residents' Social-Benefit Perceptions of Urban Green Space.

Urban green spaces (UGS) provide many social benefits and improves residents' wellbeing. Studying residents' perceptions of UGS's social benefits and driving factors could promote public health and environmental justice. A questionnaire survey of 432 Beijing residents and statistical tests assessed the impacts of residents' living environments and self-rated health status on UGS perceptions. The results showed: (1) perceptions of UGS' physical health benefits were subdued, with an inclination towards other social benefits. Respondents more highly perceived accelerating patient recovery and reducing morbidity and mortality rates. Perceptions of bearing larger-head babies with higher weight were relatively low. For other social benefits, perceptions of improving the environment and life quality were higher, but reducing anger outbursts and resolving conflicts were lower. (2) Childhood living environments did not affect perceptions of social benefits, but current living environments did. Suburb residents understood reducing pain-relief medication demands and bearing larger-head babies better than city residents. City residents understood UGS' investments considerable and sustained returns better than village residents. City residents agreed with accelerating patient recovery higher than village ones. (3) Respondents with "poor" self-rated health status had better perceptions of other social benefits. Those with "excellent" ratings did not fully understand UGS' physical health benefits. "Poor" ratings understood improving a city's image and making cities livable and sustainable better than "good" or "fair" ratings. "Excellent" ratings had less understanding of larger-head babies than "good" or "fair" ratings. The study could enhance appreciation of UGS' social benefits to facilitate planning and management to meet residents' expectations.

Building Blocks Towards a Proportionate Chemicals Policy With a Focus on the Netherlands.

In this contribution, we propose that 'sound' government policy should be characterised by a proportionate, integral vision with due consideration to tradeoffs between social costs and benefits. This principle also applies to government policy regarding the protection of workers from exposure to chemicals. It should be taken into account that having a job is a huge health benefit. Less educated people are statistically likely to enjoy ten additional healthy years, if employed. Although there is no debate about the risks of exposure to high doses of chemicals, there is most certainly debate on the magnitude, nature and possible cumulative effects of low-dose exposure to chemicals. These are established by model-based assumptions. The current advisory structure in which the Health Council of the Netherlands restricts its focus to the immediate health benefits for workers on the basis of risk avoidance models, and the Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands which focuses primarily on policy costs for trade and industry, is hardly a sound basis for well-considered decision making. The challenge for the scientific experts is to provide political administrators with an insightful social cost-benefit analysis, including all the concomitant uncertainties.

The Austerity of Lone Motherhood: Discrimination Law and Benefit Reform.

The austerity-motivated reforms of the UK benefit system have had a devastating and disproportionate impact on vulnerable groups. Lone mothers are challenging these regulations as discriminatory. Their claims raise an under-theorised question: how should courts adjudicate claims for status equality in the realm of fiscal policy? The courts are adopting a fragmented model of equality that artificially divides status and economic inequalities. This approach fails to fully account for the multiple dimensions of disadvantage at stake in these claims. Using a substantive equality framework, this article uncovers the intertwined status and economic inequalities perpetuated by the benefit reforms. It then proceeds to evaluate how the courts' fragmented approach to equality distorts the justification evaluation. Substantive equality can enrich the justification analysis in a manner that both respects the institutional limits of the court and holds the government to account for discrimination in social benefits.

Comprehensive economic evaluation of enhanced recovery after surgery in hepatectomy.

BACKGROUND: Enhanced recovery after surgery (ERAS) is attracting extensive attention and being widely applied to reduce postoperative stress and accelerate recovery. However, the economic benefits of ERAS are less clarified at the social level. We aimed to assess the economic impact of ERAS in hepatectomy from the perspectives of patients, hospitals and society, as well as identify the approach to create the economic benefits of ERAS. METHODS: By combining the literature and national statistical data, the cost-effectiveness framework was clarified, and parameter values were determined. Cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-benefit analysis and cost-minimisation analysis were used to compare ERAS and conventional treatment from the perspectives of patients, hospitals and society. The capital flow diagram was used to analyse the change between them. RESULTS: ERAS significantly reduced the economic burden of disease on patients ($8935.02 vs $10,470.02). The hospital received an incremental benefit in ERAS (the incremental benefit cost ratio value is 1.09), and the total social cost was reduced ($5958.67 vs $6725.80). Capital flow diagram analysis demonstrated that the average daily cost per capita in the ERAS group increased ($669.51 vs $589.98), whereas the benefits depended on the reduction of hospital stay and productivity loss. CONCLUSION: The mechanism by which ERAS works is to reduce the average length of stay, thereby reducing the economic burden and productivity loss on patients and promoting the hospital bed turnover rate. Therefore, ERAS should further focus on accelerating the rehabilitation process, and more economic support (such as subsidies) should be given to hospitals to carry out ERAS.

Exploration of Social Benefits for Tourism Performing Arts Industrialization in Culture-Tourism Integration Based on Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence Technology.

As a product of the tourism performing arts industry in culture-tourism integration development, to develop a featured culture-tourism town is a new trend for tourism development in the new era. To analyze the social benefit of the culture-tourism industry, in this study, an artificial intelligence model for social benefit evaluation is constructed based on backpropagation (BP) neural network and fuzzy comprehensive analysis, with Yiyang Town taken as an example. The criterion layer in the model includes three indexes (life benefit G1, environmental benefit G2, and economic benefit G3), and the index layer contains 11 indexes (H1-H11). The weight values of cultural inheritance and protection, ecological environment improvement, and commercial economy development to the social benefit of the town are 0.522, 0.570, and 0.424, respectively. For G1, 41.20% is excellent; for G2, 39.5% is excellent; and for G3, 40.5% is good. In general, 30.76% of the total social benefit is excellent, with 37.69% being good, 21.48% being qualified, and 10.07% being unqualified. It is inferred that the total social benefit level of Yiyang Town is good according to the constructed model. Therefore, the culture inheritance and protection, the ecological environment improvement, and the commercial economy development are the key evaluation factors of social benefit.

Implications of government subsidy on the vaccine product R&D when the buyer is risk averse.

This paper analyses the choice of subsidy offered to a vaccine supply chain with a risk-averse buyer. We find that for a higher innovation effort and level of social benefits, the per-unit production subsidy is better when there is a low innovation cost coefficient, a low level of risk aversion, or a high potential demand. Otherwise, under the opposite conditions, the R&D innovation effort subsidy should be selected. Furthermore, from an evolutionary game theoretical perspective, we also present the stability performance for the subsidies, and the results show that when the manufacturer's innovation cost coefficient is relatively low, the more profitable per-unit production subsidy may be abandoned due to its performance instability.

Beyond the 3 Rs to a More Comprehensive Framework of Principles for Animal Research Ethics.

We have produced a framework of general moral principles for animal research ethics in a book, Principles of Animal Research Ethics, which is forthcoming with Oxford University Press in fall 2019. This book includes a detailed statement and defense of our framework along with critical commentaries on our work from seven eminent scholars: Larry Carbone, Frans de Waal, Rebecca Dresser, Joseph Garner, Brian Hare, Margaret Landi, and Julian Savulescu. In the present paper, we explain the motivation for our project and present our framework of principles. The first section explains why a new framework is both needed and timely, on the basis of six important developments in recent decades. The second section challenges assertions of an unbridgeable gulf dividing the animal-research and animal-protection communities on the issue of animal research. It does so, first, by indicating common ground in the core values of social benefit and animal welfare and, then, by presenting and briefly defending our framework: three principles of social benefit and three principles of animal welfare. These six principles, we argue, constitute a more suitable framework than any other that is currently available, including the canonical 3 Rs advanced in 1959 by William M. S. Russell and Rex L. Burch.

Can We Do without Respect and Justice in Animal Research Ethics?

This book review essay discusses Principles of Animal Research Ethics (2020), by Tom L. Beauchamp and David DeGrazia.

The Effects of Processing Fluency in Prosocial Campaigns: Effort for Self-Benefit Produces Unpleasant Feelings.

This study investigates how consumers' intentions related to prosocial campaigns were accompanied by metacognitive experiences. Two studies examined how the relationship between appeal type (self-benefit vs. social benefit) and the level of processing fluency (easy vs. difficult) influenced attitudes toward prosocial campaigns. The findings revealed that individuals who were manipulated to find self-benefit appeal displayed less favorable attitudes toward disfluent prosocial campaigns than those who were manipulated to find social benefit appeal. The underlying mechanism of this result was that the extra effort invested to understand prosocial campaigns with difficult processing fluency produced unpleasant feelings.

Externalities of energy sources: The operation of a municipal solid waste-to-energy incineration facility in the greater Thessaloniki area, Greece.

There is much debate around promoting waste to energy incineration facilities in many communities globally, mainly because of social opposition against potential negative health effects of the operation of these installations close to urban areas. In this paper, a novel decision support approach is developed and its applicability is demonstrated for the greater Thessaloniki area, Greece. In this area, the incineration facilities are hotly debated, mainly due to the "Not In My Back Yard" syndrome related with health considerations. The exclusive method of treatment is landfilling. Health impacts and corresponding externalities attributed to the operation of an incineration facility are reliably estimated. Three potential alternative sites and three scenarios of emission rates are considered, depending on the abatement technology used. The estimated externalities are compared to the corresponding ones attributed to other pressures in the area. The "Years of Life Lost (YOLL)" indicator attributed to the operation of the facility is 2.8 YOLL in the worst-case scenario. This corresponds to a minimal added implication in comparison with the 11,044 YOLL estimated for the area due to the other environmental pressures (road traffic, space heating, industrial activity). The externalities ratio (externalities due to incineration facility/total externalities) for the region is approximately 0.03%. Thus, the impact of this operation on human health is negligible -and preferable to landfilling- even in the case that maximum emission rates are considered. Efforts should be targeted towards enhancing public awareness and militating the widely acknowledged "Not In My Back Yard" syndrome by local communities.

Limits of the social-benefit motive among high-risk patients: a field experiment on influenza vaccination behaviour.

BACKGROUND: Influenza vaccine uptake remains low worldwide, inflicting substantial costs to public health. Messages promoting social welfare have been shown to increase vaccination intentions, and it has been recommended that health professionals communicate the socially beneficial aspects of vaccination. We provide the first test whether this prosocial vaccination hypothesis applies to actual vaccination behaviour of high-risk patients. METHODS: In a field experiment at a tertiary care public hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, we compare the effects of two motivational messages for promoting vaccination. Using a between-subjects single-blind experimental design patients were randomly assigned to frames emphasizing the vaccine's benefits to self (n = 125) or social benefits (n = 119). Free influenza vaccination was offered to each patient. RESULTS: Among 222 patients who were not vaccinated for the season prior to the study (72% medically assessed to be at high risk), 42% in the self-benefit frame chose to receive a vaccination compared with 34% in the social-benefits frame, but the difference was not statistically significant (aOR = 1.63, 95% CI 0.90 to 2.95, p = 0.108). Reasons for vaccination focused primarily on self-benefit (67%) rather than social-benefit (5%). Exploratory analysis showed that the effect of messages depended on patient perception of risk group membership (aORHigh / aORLow = 5.59, 95% CI 1.30 to 24.05, p = 0.021). In particular, emphasis on self-benefit was more influential among patients who perceived themselves to be in the risk group (aOR = 6.22, 95% CI 1.69 to 22.88, p = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: In contrast to the literature observing intentions of low-risk populations, we found no evidence that social-benefit motivates actual vaccination behaviour among a high-risk patient population. Instead, those who self-categorize as being in the high risk group are more motivated by the self-benefit message. Our results suggest that a stratified approach can improve coverage: even if an emphasis on social-benefit could be effective among low-risk groups, an emphasis on self-benefit holds more promise for increasing vaccination in medical organizational settings where high-risk groups are prevalent. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04230343 Retrospectively registered on the 13th January 2020.

¿Cuál es el impacto de la implementación de bonos de impacto social en programas y servicios sociales?: síntesis rápida de evidencia / What is the impact of implementing social impact bonds in social programs and services?: rapid evidence synthesis

ANTECEDENTES Y OBJETIVO Un bono de impacto social es un mecanismo de financiamiento innovador en que los gobiernos establecen contratos con proveedores de servicios sociales, tal como empresas sociales u organizaciones sin fines de lucro, y con inversionistas, para pagar por el logro exitoso de determinados resultados del ámbito social. Debido a esto la División de Cooperación Público-Privada del Ministerio de Desarrollo Social de Chile solicita esta síntesis de evidencia con el objetivo de sintetizar la información sobre los efectos de la implementación de los bonos de impacto social en el mundo, y de esta manera informar a la toma de decisiones. METODOLOGÍA Utilizando palabras clave como "conditional cash transfer", "social bonds", "pay for performance" y "pay for success financing", se buscó en las bases de datos Web of Science, Social System Evidence, MedLine, Embase, Scopus, HealthSystemsEvidence, HealthEvidence, Epistemonikos, la Biblioteca Cochrane, y PubMed, con el objetivo de identificar revisiones sistemáticas que abordaran la pregunta formulada. Los criterios de inclusión contemplaron mecanismos de financiamiento que incluyeran los tres actores principales de un Bono de Impacto Social: inversionista, institución privada e institución pública que ejecutará la intervención social. Se excluyeron artículos de revisiones, editoriales, comentarios, modelos matemáticos y otros que no incluyeran la evaluación del efecto de los BIS y mecanismos de pago basados en desempeño individual. RESULTADOS -No se encontró evidencia sobre el efecto de bonos de impacto social.

Why environmental and social benefits should be included in cost-benefit analysis of infrastructure?

A gradual increase in the importance of water environment infrastructure has provided an opportunity to bring in various initiatives for the supply of sewage. Such initiatives include the dissemination of public sewage systems and the use of subcontractors in management of sewage systems. However, despite the existence of various methods to increase the rate of sewage supply, there are few studies analyzing each alternative in terms of social, economic, and environmental aspects. Therefore, we investigated investment directions for water environment infrastructure facilities related to the supply of sewage treatment systems in rural areas through cost-benefit analysis. We analyzed the economic costs and social benefits of two sewage treatment systems: installation of a public sewage treatment system and utilization of a private sewage treatment system via service contract. When we considered only economic costs and benefits, the benefit-cost ratio for the public system (0.02) was smaller than that for the private system (0.264). However, the results of the two alternatives changed when we considered the social benefits to people in urban areas from establishment of public sewage treatment systems in rural areas. To be specific, by considering the social benefits for non-rural areas, this study found that the benefit-cost ratio for the public system increased to 0.267, which was higher than the ratio for the private system. Based on these results, we propose appropriate operations and management plans for supplying sewage treatment systems to rural areas. Further, this study indicates that policymakers who conduct cost-benefit analyses of infrastructure related to water environments should consider all social, environmental, and economic factors that can alter the analysis results.

Which Benefits Are Mentioned Most Often in Drug Development Publications?

OBJECTIVES: The aim was to identify theoretically expected as well as actually reported benefits from drug development and the importance of individual patient benefits compared to the collective benefits to society in general. BACKGROUND: Ethical guidelines require that clinical research involving humans offer the potential for benefit. A number of characteristics can be applied to define research benefit. Often benefit is categorized as being either direct or indirect. Indirect benefits can involve collective benefits for society rather than any benefits to the trial patient or subject. The purpose of this review was to examine which potential individual and societal benefits were mentioned as being expected in publications from government experts and which were mentioned in publications describing completed drug development trial results. METHODS: Literature on research benefit was first identified by searching the PubMed database using several combinations of the key words benefit and clinical research. The search was limited to articles published in English. A Google search with the same combinations of key words but without any language limitation was then performed. Additionally, the reference lists of promising articles were screened for further thematically related articles. Finally, a narrative review was performed of relevant English- and German-language articles published between 1996 and 2016 to identify which of several potential benefits were either theoretically expected or which were mentioned in publications on clinical drug development trial results. RESULTS: The principal benefits from drug development discussed included 2 main types of benefit, namely individual benefits for the patients and collective benefits for society. Twenty-one of an overall total of 26 articles discussing theoretically expected benefits focused on individual patient benefits, whereas 17 out of 26 articles mentioned collective benefits to society. In these publications, the most commonly mentioned theoretically expected individual patient benefit was the chance to receive up-to-date care (38.1%). A general increase in knowledge about health care, treatments, or drugs (70.6%) was the most commonly mentioned theoretically expected benefit for society. In contrast, all 13 publications reporting actual benefits of clinical drug development trials focused on personal benefits and only 1 of these publications also mentioned a societal benefit. The most commonly mentioned individual benefit was an increased quality of life (53.9%), whereas the only mentioned collective benefit to society was a general gain of knowledge (100.0%). CONCLUSIONS: Both theoretically expected and actually reported benefits in the majority of the included publications emphasized the importance of individual patient benefits from drug development rather than the collective benefits to society in general. The authors of these publications emphasized the right of each individual patient or subject to look for and expect some personal benefit from participating in a clinical trial rather than considering societal benefit as a top priority. From an ethical point of view, the benefits each individual patient receives from his or her participation in a clinical trial might also be seen as a societal benefit, especially when the drug or device tested, if approved for marketing, would eventually be made available for other similar patients from the country in which the clinical trial was conducted.

Medical monitor purchase decision based on quantitative performance evaluation / 医疗卫生装备

Objective To realize scientific allocation of medical monitors in clinical departments by evaluating quantitatively their social and economic benefits.Methods Analyses were executed on social and economic benefit indexes,including number or times of patients involved,utility time,volatility of utilization rate (VOUR),payback period and investment yield.Results Totally 457 monitors were involved in the study from January to June 2015,and the monitors had the number or times of patients being 20,utility time being 383 h,VOUR lower than 10％ (except that of February),mean payback period being 0.64 a and yearly mean investment yield being 137％.Conclusion The monitor has to be allocated by the equipment division in case of low social benefit.In case of high social benefit while low economic benefit,the monitor manufactured in China gains advantages due to short payback period,high investment yield and long free warranty time.The foreign monitor with specific function has to be selected in case of high social and economic benefits as well as requirements on special function.

A cost benefit analysis of large medical equipment based on the benefits of economy and society / 中国医学装备

Objective:To explore the calculation method for benefits of economy and society, and analyze and evaluate the performance of large medical imaging equipment.Methods: The data of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and digital radiography (DR) during 2014-2016 were analyzed and the used frequency of equipment in research and teaching task was adopted to evaluate their social benefit. Accounting of single machine method and return on investment method were applied to calculate economic benefit. Finally, the benefit of large medical equipment was comprehensively and systematically evaluated.Results:The benefits of CT and MRI were good, and their overall benefit got steadily growth. While the overall benefit of DR was decline, even individual benefit of DR was loss. For these equipments whose benefits were not ideal, their disadvantages in purchasing, using and management process has been analyzed, and the continuous improvement and suggestion has been provided.Conclusion: Social benefits is an important part of the performance of large medical equipment used in research and teaching. The comprehensive assessment that economic benefits combines with social benefits has great significant for the cost-benefit analysis of large medical equipment.

Establishment of remote medical treatment service model and its application / 中华医学图书情报杂志

After the exploration of how to integrate the army and people, how to reform the medical treatment sys-tems, how to improve the critical and emergent treatment ability, how to improve the abroad medical support level, how to update the diagnosis and treatment by stages, how to solve the problems of insufficient medical resources and unbalanced resources allocation, following measures were proposed to solve the disgusting situation of "no doctors for critical disease, no surgeons for operation and insufficient support for medical security" for the soldiers and citi-zens performing their mission in the border areas and islands of our country and in foreign countries by applying the key remote medical technologies to the remote diagnosis of diseases, rote monitoring of chronic diseases, and rescue on the emergent disaster field.

Establishment of remote medical treatment service model and its application / 中华医学图书情报杂志

After the exploration of how to integrate the army and people, how to reform the medical treatment sys-tems, how to improve the critical and emergent treatment ability, how to improve the abroad medical support level, how to update the diagnosis and treatment by stages, how to solve the problems of insufficient medical resources and unbalanced resources allocation, following measures were proposed to solve the disgusting situation of "no doctors for critical disease, no surgeons for operation and insufficient support for medical security" for the soldiers and citi-zens performing their mission in the border areas and islands of our country and in foreign countries by applying the key remote medical technologies to the remote diagnosis of diseases, rote monitoring of chronic diseases, and rescue on the emergent disaster field.