Terrorism Risk Insurance: Is it really working?

This paper investigates terrorism risk insurance in the United States as well as those programs offered in other countries throughout the world. In the United States, particular attention is devoted to the interaction of government with private insurers to maintain an effective insurance program. An analysis is performed comparing terrorism insurance before and after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The paper looks into actual terrorist events that have occurred focusing on 56 world-wide events that are associated with property losses greater than $10 million. This paper not only investigates the losses that were incurred but also the way the event was insured, and how the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) program could help the insurer in the event of catastrophic loss. Based on the 56 major events, a simulation is run in order to examine the losses and timing of potential future catastrophic events. Both property losses and the timing between events are simulated based on various distributions. For a variety of simulated events, the paper investigates how TRIA would pay out losses for the event as well as the effects that the event would have on the insurance industry. Rather than looking at the industry as a whole, particular attention will also be given to some of the top insurers for terrorism coverage. Using the findings from the data, the paper finally proposes changes to TRIA in order to create a better system of reinsurance for events with large losses

Pharmaceutical Industry\u27s Effect on Socioeconomic Development in Sub-Saharan Africa in Relation to Family Planning Accessibility

There is a large unmet need for family planning services in sub-Saharan Africa (Goodkind et al, 2018). Pharmaceutical companies contribute to the accessibility of medications in developing countries (Cottingham & Berer, 2011). If the pharmaceutical industry strongly affects access to contraceptives in sub-Saharan Africa, then it is possible that adjustments made to the industry would increase access to contraceptives. I explored how contraceptives change the economic and social development of subSaharan Africa to determine if contraception benefits Africans enough for their shortage to be a serious injustice. This is followed by how the pharmaceutical industry affects access to and types of birth control available in the area. The potential solution of instilling more non-profit medical institutions to increase contraceptive availability is also probed. It was concluded that access to reproductive health services in sub-Saharan Africa should be available due to their overwhelmingly positive economic and social benefits. However, the for-profit pharmaceutical industry creates obstacles for universal access, such as intellectual property rights and a profit-motivated model (Cottingham & Berer, 2011). Though a nonprofit pharmaceutical system and alternative medications may increase availability of reproductive health services, more research should be conducted as to how a more socialized form of medicine would increase universal access to contraceptives

Between fallacy and feasibility? Dealing with the risk of ecological fallacies in the quantitative study of protest mobilization and conflict

In recent years, the quantitative study of conflict has increasingly focused on small-scale and/or localized conflicts in the developing world. In this paper, we analyze and critically reflect upon a major methodological shortcoming of many studies in this field of research. We argue that by using group- or macro-level empirical data and modelling techniques, while at the same time theoretically underpinning observed empirical associations with individual-level mechanisms, many of these studies risk committing an ecological fallacy. The individual-level mechanism on which many studies rely concerns the presence of grievances which mobilize people to participate in contentious politics. This motivational approach was also present in early studies on protest mobilization in Western societies, which often relied on similar research designs. However, subsequent advances in this literature and the use of methods that were targeted more directly at the individual level uncovered that grievances alone cannot explain mobilization and that organizational capabilities and complex psychological mechanisms of belonging also form part of the puzzle. While drawing on conflict events as well as survey data from Africa, we demonstrate empirically that here, as well, inferring micro-level relations and dynamics from macro-level empirical models can lead to erroneous interpretations and inferences. Hence, we argue that to improve our understanding of conflict mobilization in the developing world, especially for conflicts with low levels of violence, it is necessary to substantially expand our methodological toolbox beyond macro-level analyses

Objectivity: its meaning, its limitations, its fateful omissions

In this text, we explore the guiding thread of the volume "Objectivity after Kant" by first discussing how the main question pertaining to transcendental objectivity arose at the Centre for Critical Philosophy. This exposition takes the form of a microhistorical genealogy, from which the main ideas pursued in the research conducted at this Centre can be distilled. In the second part, we briefly sketch how the different contributors have addressed this question. Its purpose is to facilitate the reader’s navigation through the variety of topics and perspectives addressed throughout this volume, and incite further reflection on the central issue it pursues

Gender and educational differences in the association between smoking and health-related quality of life in Belgium

Previous studies have shown that smoking has a significant and negative association with health-related quality of life (HRQOL). A question remains, however, as to whether this association between smoking and HRQOL differs by gender or educational level. To examine this question, we extracted data from the 2013 Belgian Health Interview Survey (n = 5668). HRQOL was assessed using the descriptive system of the EuroQol 5D-5L that consists of 5 dimensions and the resulting index score. Linear and logistic multivariable regression models were fitted to estimate the association between HRQOL and smoking for each educational level and gender. Also, interaction terms were introduced in the full regression models and the Wald test was used to assess model fit. Our findings show that among men, there is no significant association between smoking and HRQOL, and no effect modification by educational level. Among women, however, daily smokers have shown significantly lower HRQOL scores compared with never smokers, but only among females with a low and intermediate educational level. The lower EQ-5D index scores among female daily smokers with lower education was due to higher odds of reporting problems in anxiety/depression, mobility, pain, and usual activities. To conclude, information on the association between HRQOL and smoking is useful for the development of smoking cessation interventions. Our findings suggest the importance of tailoring these interventions to the needs of the women with lower education

Analysis For Monitoring the Earth Science Afternoon Constellation

The Earth Science Afternoon Constellation consists of Aqua, Aura, PARASOL, CALIPSO, Cloudsat, and the Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO). The coordination of flight dynamics activities between these missions is critical to the safety and success of the Afternoon Constellation. This coordination is based on two main concepts, the control box and the zone-of-exclusion. This paper describes how these two concepts are implemented in the Constellation Coordination System (CCS). The CCS is a collection of tools that enables the collection and distribution of flight dynamics products among the missions, allows cross-mission analyses to be performed through a web-based interface, performs automated analyses to monitor the overall constellation, and notifies the missions of changes in the status of the other missions