Because of the complexities associated with the water pricing and public-private partnership issue and their relevance to water management of the future, the Third World Water Centre for Water Management, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Agencia Nacional de Aguas of Brazil sponsored...

Hospitalisation is a stressful experience, especially for children. While maternal separation has been as a major cause of distress among younger children, a broader perspective is required to understand the links between the individual, familial, professional, institutional and structural...

This paper examines the development of Research Ethics Committees and explores some of the conflicts of value and role which surround the practice of medical research. The case of medical research on children is discussed as one which raises in an acute form concerns about consent and...

Preliminary findings of the economic impact of avian influenza on poultry farmers in South East Asia is reported. Total economic losses in Indonesia are estimated at more than US$387 million; in Vietnam direct economic losses are estimated at more than US$200 million. Probit and economic surplus...

The 'blocked bed' is a term familiar to doctors and hospital administrators, but has no conventional definition. Estimates of the prevalence of bed blockage vary and are largely subjective. A survey of Area and Regional Health Authorities in the U.K. was used to collect information on the nature...