Individual contributions, provision point mechanisms and project cost information effects on contingent values: Findings from a field validity test.

In many instances, Contingent Valuation practitioners rely on voluntary monetary contributions, despite the fact that they are deemed to be neither incentive compatible in theory nor demand revealing in practice. The reason is that they are suitable for most field applications and offer benefits that may outweigh their drawbacks. This paper endeavors to contribute to the literature by exploring the effect of donation payments with differing incentive structures and information levels on contingent values and on respondents' uncertainty regarding the donations declared. To this end, a field survey was conducted using a sample of 332 respondents who were randomly assigned to one of three different mechanisms: (1) individual contribution (hereinafter CVM treatment); (2) individual contribution with provision point mechanism (PPM), where the total cost of the project is unknown (hereinafter PPM treatment); and (3) individual contribution with PPM, where the total cost of the project is known (hereinafter PPM-INF treatment). The results indicate that there are no statistically significant differences in willingness to pay (WTP) estimates between the CVM and PPM treatments nor between the PPM and the PPM-INF treatments. The results also indicate that the PPM has a positive effect on respondents' certainty level, but there is no evidence that the certainty level is affected by the project information cost. The results are mixed compared to previous research efforts. Thus, further tests are necessary in field comparisons and under different information environments before any definite recommendations can be made.

How much are people willing to pay for efficient waste management schemes? A benefit transfer application.

To socially justify the need for better municipal solid waste management services, especially in the light of the limited availability of public funds, it is important to quantify the monetary value of the potential social and environmental benefits offered by them. This article aims at estimating society's willingness to pay improved municipal solid waste management and establishing suitable reference values using the 'benefit transfer' method. To this direction, relevant studies from the global scientific and grey literature in the field of municipal solid waste management valuation are analysed and two different transfer approaches are implemented. According to the analysis, the mean annual willingness to pay per household is 88.4 USD(2014) (5%-trimmed mean: 78.7 USD(2014); 95% confidence interval lower bound: 64.8 USD(2014) and upper bound: 112.0 USD(2014)). The analysis yields estimates with a high standard deviation and notably broad confidence intervals, owing to design issues of the primary studies, the different socioeconomic profiles of the populations surveyed and the existing level of municipal solid waste management services. Thus, a meta-regression model is estimated to explore the sources of heterogeneity and facilitate more accurate transfer values. Nevertheless, the limited number of observations and some methodological issues in the design and conduct of the original surveys set certain challenges and increase the level of uncertainty of the transfer values.

Monetizing the social benefits of landfill mining: Evidence from a Contingent Valuation survey in a rural area in Greece.

Despite the emerging global attention towards promoting waste management policies that reduce environmental impacts and conserve natural resources, landfilling still remains the dominant waste management practice in many parts of the world. Owing to this situation, environmental burdens are bequeathed to and large amounts of potentially valuable materials are lost for future generations. As a means to undo these adverse effects a process known as landfill mining (LFM) could be implemented provided that economic feasibility is ensured. So far, only a few studies have focused on the economic feasibility of LFM from a private point of view and even less studies have attempted to economically justify the need for LMF projects from a social point of view. This paper, aiming to add to the limited literature in the field, presents the results of a survey conducted in a rural district in Greece, by means of the Contingent Valuation method (CVM) in order to estimate society's willingness to pay for LFM programs. According to the empirical survey, more than 95% of the respondents recognize the need for LFM programs. Nevertheless, only one-fourth of the respondents are willing to pay through increased taxes for LFM, owing mainly to economic depression and unemployment. Those who accept the increased tax are willing to pay about €50 per household per year, on average, which results in a mean willingness to pay (WTP) for the entire population under investigation of around €12 per household per year. The findings of this research work provide useful insights about the 'dollar-based' benefits of LFM in the context of social cost-benefit analysis of LFM projects. Yet, it is evident that further research is necessary.

Trigger factors in primary headaches subtypes: a cross-sectional study from a tertiary centre in Greece.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that common headache triggers contribute to the onset of headache attacks on predisposed individuals and are considered important in the prevention of headache. The aim of this study was to compare the different characteristics of triggers among the most common primary headache subtypes (migraine without aura, migraine with aura and tension type headache). METHODS: A total of 116 headache patients of the neurology outpatient department of a tertiary hospital in Athens were selected according to the criteria of the International Classification of Headaches-3nd Edition Beta. Patients were interviewed using a questionnaire that contained 35 potential trigger factors. RESULTS: The findings showed that migraine and tension-type headache patients report multiple triggers, on a frequent but variable basis. The most frequent triggers reported by all subjects were stressful life events followed by intense emotions. The same applies to both genders, as well as the three headache subgroups. Patients suffering from migraine with aura reported the highest mean number of trigger per person and the highest frequency in almost all the trigger categories. Furthermore, patients with migraine with aura were more likely to report the following triggers: oversleeping, premenstrual period, stressful life events, hot/cold weather, relaxation after stress, menstruation, wind, intense emotions, shining, hunger and bright sunlight. These associations were mostly independent of the sociodemographic characteristics and the presence of anxiety or depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: The sensitivity to trigger factors should be considered by both clinicians and headache sufferers.

The role of catastrophizing in the prediction of postoperative pain.

OBJECTIVE: Catastrophizing has been broadly conceived as an exaggerated negative "mental set" brought to bear during actual or anticipated pain experience and has risen to the status of one of the most important psychological predictors of pain. The present study aimed at investigating the relationship between catastrophizing and postoperative pain outcomes (pain intensity and analgesia use) in patients undergoing elective instrumented lumbar fusion surgery. DESIGN: On the day before surgery, 61 patients completed the Greek versions of the Pain Catastrophizing Scale and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. On postoperative days 1 and 2, pain intensity (at rest and during activity) on the Verbal Rating Scale as well as intravenous patient-controlled analgesia fentanyl use were assessed. RESULTS: Catastrophizing and gender predicted postoperative pain intensity at rest, whereas catastrophizing emerged as the unique predictor of postoperative pain intensity during activity. Catastrophizing and anxiety predicted analgesic use. CONCLUSIONS: The present study findings suggest that it is possible to preoperatively identify patients at risk for experiencing more severe pain in the postoperative recovery period. In such cases, consideration might be given to utilizing a variety of resources to ameliorate or prevent pain.

Anticonvulsant drugs for pediatric migraine prevention: an evidence-based review.

BACKGROUND: The use of anticonvulsant drugs for the prevention of migraine in children and adolescents has been supported in the past. AIMS: To evaluate the available evidence for the efficacy and safety of anticonvulsants drugs in the prevention of migraine attacks in children and adolescents. METHODS: Studies were selected through a comprehensive literature search. We included all types of study designs (controlled and uncontrolled) due to the limited evidence. Monthly migraine frequency was used as the primary outcome measure in most of the studies. Studies were classified into levels of evidence according to their design. RESULTS: Fourteen studies were included with a total of 939 patients. Topiramate (4 randomized controlled trials [RCT], two uncontrolled trials), sodium valproate/divalproex sodium (two RCTs, one uncontrolled trial, two retrospective chart reviews) levetiracetam and zonisamide (both only uncontrolled studies) are the anticonvulsants that have been reported in the literature. The findings show that valproate is not different from placebo and topiramate may not be different but further randomized trials are needed. All drugs were well tolerated in this age group with no serious events reported. CONCLUSIONS: The use of anticonvulsants in the prevention of migraine in children and adolescents is not adequately supported by methodologically sound RCTs. More research is needed in the future to establish the efficacy and safety of specific agents.

Adaptation of the Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS) and gender differences within the Greek cultural context.

BACKGROUND: The Emotional Contagion Scale (ECS) is a self-report scale used to measure individual differences in susceptibility to converge towards the emotions expressed by others. The main aim of the present paper was to examine the psychometric properties of the Greek translation of the scale. METHODS: The Greek ECS was completed by 691 undergraduate students (312 males and 379 females). To investigate the factor structure of the ECS, principal components analysis (PCA) was used. RESULTS: The results showed that a four-factor model was tenable. Regarding homogeneity, the Greek ECS version showed acceptable results for the full scale (alpha = 0.74) but not for all subscales. Gender differences were also identified concerning the susceptibility to emotional contagion between men and women. Women score significantly higher than men for all the different emotions described by the ECS (love, happiness, sadness) except the anger emotion, where there was no significant difference. CONCLUSION: The Greek version of the ECS showed good psychometric properties. It can be used to assess susceptibility to emotional contagion in correlation with psychopathological processes, mood and anxiety disorders primarily. The usefulness of the ECS in the fields of group psychotherapy and health psychology is also under consideration. Further investigation is needed in all these areas.