In order to control ever-increasing health care expenditure, Western and Asian countries are seeking to develop more efficient health care models. Studies on health care that focus specifically on Asian countries are rare, rendering this a unique and welcome addition to the literature. This book presents quantitative research on various aspects of health care reform and health policy in Asia-Pacific countries such as China, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the US - nations diverse in their economic development, social demographic structure and health care expenditures. The book's main topic for discussion is the role of both government and health insurers in funding health care. The implementation of community-based, supplemental and national health insurance is explored, as are grants and the financing of hospitals and care for the elderly. The effectiveness of education as an input to health investment and the rehabilitation of patients are also examined. Aiming to close the gap between the existing economics research and the rapid pace of the development of Asian health care markets, this unique and timely book is a must read for policymakers, researchers, academics and students with a special interest in health economics, policies and services.

Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in the Chinese-Speaking World: Reorienting the Political examines the reception of Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in China and Taiwan. The legacies of both Schmitt, the German legal theorist and thinker who joined the Nazi party, and Strauss, the German-Jewish classicist and political philosopher who became famous after his emigration to the United States, are highly controversial. Since the 1990s, however, these thinkers have had a powerful resonance for Chinese scholars. Today, when Chinese intellectuals debate the Chinese state, the future role of China in the world, the liberal international order, and even the meaning of Confucian civilization, they often employ Schmittian and Straussian concepts like "the political," "friend-enemy," "state of exception," "liberal education," and "natural right." The very possibility of a genuine Chinese political theory is often thought to be tied to the legacy of these two thinkers. This volume explores this complex phenomenon with a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach. The twelve essays in this volume are written from a range of perspectives by philosophers, political theorists, historians, and legal scholars from China, Germany, Taiwan, and the United States.

Nearly 370 million people in China smoke; about one-third of all smokers in the world are in China; and about 1.2 million deaths in China are attributable to smoking. The death toll is expected to reach 2.2 million in 2030 if no smoking intervention programs are implemented. Taxation on tobacco products is one of the most effective tobacco control programs. This book addresses not only why China should raise cigarette tax, but also how to raise the tobacco tax, by providing decision makers with relevant research findings and quantitative estimate about the impact of raising the tobacco tax. It documents how these research findings were communicated to the Chinese government officials, and how, finally, tobacco tax was raised 10 years after China's ratification of the WHO Frame Work Convention on Tobacco Control Treaty.The purposes of this book are (1) to inform economists, public health professionals, and policymakers about the economic consequences of smoking, (2) to provide the essential economics (particularly related to taxation) and public health information upon which to build the specifics of the taxation policy that is adopted, (3) to identify barriers, challenges, and recommendations for the Chinese government, and (4) to describe how research findings can be disseminated and communicated successfully to Chinese government policy makers. It is a must read for researchers who are interested in China's tobacco control efforts and in how to communicating their findings to the policy makers. It could also be useful for tobacco control professionals, researchers and policy makers in other countries.

Cost-Outcome Methods for Mental Health provides an overview of the choices and judgments used to evaluate the cost effectiveness of mental health treatment. It presents economic concepts of cost, discusses the various approaches to cost-outcome studies, and focuses on the way such studies apply to mental health. It is a practical guide rather than a theoretical treatment of cost-effectiveness analyses. Readers are guided through the process of designing cost-outcome studies; measuring costs, interventions, and outcomes; analyzing study results; and using findings to guide policy and practice. The book introduces readers who do not have a background in economics to apply economic methods of cost-outcome research, and prepares them for productive collaboration with economists in mental health services research.
Key Features
* Clearly explains key economic concepts for non-economists
* Integrates the presentation of both economic and clinical aspects of design
* Provides many examples of applications to mental health services
* Authored by leading mental health services investigators

Part of a series which focuses on health economics and health services research, this volume discusses topics including cost-benefit evaluations in mental health and the demand for health care for the treatment of mental problems among the elderly.

This book is the first to provide detailed analysis of two specific alternative library delivery systems--bookmobiles and books-by-mail. It outlines methods for applying benefit/cost analysis to libraries, and provides empirical examples of its application to the two alternative delivery programs.

Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in the Chinese-Speaking World: Reorienting the Political examines the reception of Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss in China and Taiwan. The legacies of both Schmitt, the German legal theorist and thinker who joined the Nazi party, and Strauss, the German-Jewish classicist and political philosopher who became famous after his emigration to the United States, are highly controversial. Since the 1990s, however, these thinkers have had a powerful resonance for Chinese scholars. Today, when Chinese intellectuals debate the Chinese state, the future role of China in the world, the liberal international order, and even the meaning of Confucian civilization, they often employ Schmittian and Straussian concepts like "the political," "friend-enemy," "state of exception," "liberal education," and "natural right." The very possibility of a genuine Chinese political theory is often thought to be tied to the legacy of these two thinkers. This volume explores this complex phenomenon with a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary approach. The twelve essays in this volume are written from a range of perspectives by philosophers, political theorists, historians, and legal scholars from China, Germany, Taiwan, and the United States.

This book highlights the latest advances in the use of graphene and bio-compatible-material-decorated graphene to detect various targets (e.g. DNA, RNA, amino acids, peptides, proteins, enzymes, antigens, glucose, DA, AA, UA, ATP, NADH, gas, ions, etc.). It focuses on the specific interaction of these substances with graphene (or modified graphene) and the efficient transduction of the target recognition event into detectable signals via various techniques. Particular emphasis is given to well-designed strategies for constructing graphene-based platforms and target determination. It also covers other bio-analytical applications including cellular imaging, drug delivery and bacteria inhibition, before turning to a discussion of future challenges and prospects of graphene in bio-analytical applications. This book is intended for researchers working in the fields of analytical chemistry, nanomaterials and biomedical engineering. Li Niu is a Professor at the State Key Laboratory of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the 7th China Conference on Knowledge Graph and Semantic Computing Evaluations, CCKS 2022, which took place in Qinhuangdao, China, in August 2022. The 25 full papers presented in this volume were carefully reviewed and selected from 42 submissions. CCKS technology evaluation track aims to provide researchers with platforms and resources for testing knowledge and semantic computing technologies, algorithms and systems, promote the technical development in the field of domestic knowledge, and the integration of academic achievements and industrial needs.

This book constitutes the thoroughly refereed proceedings of the 6th Joint International Semantic Technology Conference, JIST 2016, held in Singapore, Singapore, in November 2016. The main topics of JIST 2016 include among others ontology and reasoning; linked data; knowledge graph. The JIST 2016 conference consists of two keynotes, a main technical track, including (full and short papers) from the research and the in-use tracks, a Poster and Demo session, a workshop and two tutorials. The 16 full and 8 short papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 34 submissions. The papers cover the following topics: ontology and data management; linked data; information retrieval and knowledge discovery; RDF and query; knowledge graph; application of semantic technologies.

This work presents a record of how people living in the vicinity of the Three Mile Island power plant were affected by the nuclear accident on March 28, 1979. Over an 18-month period following the accident, 3,649 telephone interviews were conducted in order to assess the psychological, social, and economic effects of the incident, and these are presented here. The results of other investigators' studies of the TMI crisis, as well as of similar studies of other types of crises, are summarized.

Five major findings are detailed: First, evacuation was extensive and involved many more people than those included in the governor's advisory. Second, the short-term economic impact on the area adjacent to the power plant was less than for most disasters, but the long-term impact was greater. Third, levels of concern (stress-related symptoms and attitudes) about TMI were higher among those close to the plant than among those 40 to 55 miles away, and this persisted for over a year following the accident. Fourth, people living near TMl tended to overestimate the effects of the accident on real estate values, physical and mental health, and numbers of persons moving out of the area. And, fifth, people who took action to try to cope with the perceived danger were more likely than others to remain upset about TMI as time passed.

Further, three characteristics of the TMI crisis were noted: the danger (radiation) was difficult to see, measure, or understand; the public was dependent on experts to assess the danger; and the power company, Metropolitan Edison, was blamed for the accident and thus lost the trust of the people. The significance of these characteristics and their affect on the accident's impact are presented and assessed.

This book will be important to scholars who study the social and political significance of the TMI crisis, to planners who prepare for public emergencies, and to social scientists who try to understand why people respond as they do to crisis situations.

Penn State Study No. 49