Suchergebnisse

We consider a consumption model that takes into account the valuation and demand uncertainties that consumers face while using access services. Typical examples of such services include telecommunication services, extended warranties for consumer electronics, and club memberships. We demonstrate that consumption is affected by contract structure (pay-peruse vs. three part tariffs) even if the optimal consumption plans are identical. We find that a majority of individuals correctly use a threshold policy that is similar to a nearly optimal heuristic, however they use the free units too quickly leading to overconsumption and lost surplus. These errors are partially driven by mistaken beliefs about the value distribution. We also measure subjects' willingness to pay for a contract with free access units, and we find that nearly half of subjects are willing to pay at least the full per-unit price, with a substantial fraction willing to overpay. The optimal firm strategy is therefore to offer a contract that presells access units at a very small discount; this strategy increases revenue by 8 - 15% compared to only offering a pay-per-use contract.

The effects of establishing an ease of access 'walk-in' service on General Practitioner referrals to the ambulatory services of a catchment area psychiatric service are outlined. The characteristics of the patients referred are described. GPs made immediate and sustained use of the walk-in service and its creation expanded use of the ambulatory services by an overall 50%. Individual GPs were found to use the ambulatory services disproportionately and to discriminate between their use of the walk-in service and the coexisting traditionally run outpatient clinic. The walk-in ser vice also allowed patients to refer themselves; a policy which did not result in a flood of inappropriate referrals but enabled patients, already familiar with the service, to re-establish contact in times of distress. The findings are discussed in terms of the current growth of Community Mental Health Centres in the United Kingdom and their implications for GP/Psychiatric Service liaison.

Introduction -- Health system transformation to support integration -- Issues and challenges -- Addressing the challenges -- Break out session reports -- Reflections on the day -- References -- Appendix A: Workshop agenda -- Appendix B: Biographical sketches of workshop speakers and moderators.

This article looks at the political and conceptual process of trust drawing on a research project exploring the experiences of people who speak little English and thus need interpreters in order to access services. We examine posited solidarity/diversity tensions in the politicisation of notions of general social trust, and debates about the process of trust, including distinctions between abstract and personal trust, the role of familiarity, and the concept of 'active trust', as well as challenges to the functional link between interpretation and expectation in trust. We address the increasing professionalisation of interpreting service provision based on abstract trust, and use case studies to illustrate the complexity of the articulation of trust in interpreters, often involving personal trust, as well as strategies for managing distrust. We conclude that, while trust may be a personal praxis, it takes place in a particular socio-political context that involves asymmetrical relations that focus on particular, minority ethnic, groups.

The study examines distance cover to access services/facilities in informal settlements in Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, Nigeria. Specifically, the objective of the study was to: evaluate the distance cover to access services/facilities in informal settlements in the study area. Data were collected through primary and secondary data. The study makes use of multi-stage sampling techniques involving three stages (random sampling for selecting two communities from the six area councils at the first stage, a systematic random sampling technique was used in the administration of questionnaires to the twelve randomly selected informal housing and the questionnaires were administered to each community in relation to population size. A total of 800 questionnaires were distributed, out of which 792 were return successfully. And it was analyzed using simple statistics table. The finding reveals that 46.1% of the respondents' access schools services/facilities at the distance of 4km and above. The paper also suggested that steps be taken to improve quality of housing scheme targeting the urban poor through public housing delivery by Government and the road network in the study area is un-tarred and dilapidated, therefore the government should construct a road to reduce the long distances cover for services and facilities like, health care, schools, market, police station, bank and water and also the suffering of the people living in these informal settlements may be reduce.