Resources Repository
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Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2017OR-Library
The OR-Library serves as an educator tool by providing a collection of test data sets …
The OR-Library serves as an educator tool by providing a collection of test data sets for a variety of problems in operations research (OR). They were developed and used by J E Beasley and he has made them available for use by any students and teachers interested in OR subject provided he is acknowledged and identified as their author. J E Beasley completed his PhD in Management Science at Imperial College, London, was a faculty member…
Operations Research | Business/Industry | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
ArticlePublication 2017Valuing Non-Fatal Risks: Monetary and Health-Utility Measures
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent …
This article discusses metrics for valuing environmental, health, and safety policies, which should be consistent with both the preferences of affected individuals and social preferences for distribution of health risks in the population. Two classes of metrics are widely used: monetary measures (e.g., willingness to pay) and health-utility measures (e.g., quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), disability-adjusted life years (DALYs)). Health-utility measures impose more structure than monetary measures, with the result that individuals’ preferences often appear inconsistent…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Scientific Evidence of Factual Causation
This module examines three scientific areas that provide evidence bearing on causation in the “toxic …
This module examines three scientific areas that provide evidence bearing on causation in the “toxic tort” or environmental disease context: epidemiology, toxicology, and genetics. These scientific disciplines are used in civil lawsuits and in regulatory proceedings in which causation or risk is an issue. The module is appropriate for non-scientist law students as well as others interested in learning the science of toxic tort causation, including practicing attorneys, judges, and public policy and public health…
Evidence Synthesis | Risk Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | Food/Agriculture | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Professional | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016DNA Evidence: Case Study in Probabilities
This educational module on DNA evidence presents trial testimony, exhibits, and opinions in a case …
This educational module on DNA evidence presents trial testimony, exhibits, and opinions in a case in which federal courts at every level discerned “inaccuracies” in the testimony of a leading expert about probabilities associated with the DNA evidence. By embedding these legal materials in background explanations, critical questions, and short problems, the module supports self-study and class discussions that together can elucidate key principles in scientific reasoning and quantitative analysis and that can help students…
Probability/Bayes | Test Performance | Risk Analysis | Injuries/Accidents | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Lesson/ModuleWeb Portal, Teaching Resource 2016Educational Module: Drug-Induced Birth Defects
Using the currently topical issue of whether SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) anti-depressants cause birth …
Using the currently topical issue of whether SSRI (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor) anti-depressants cause birth defects, the module aims to provide students with a general understanding of the following: (1) human risk factor causation as determined by epidemiologic methods; (2) the limits of non-human toxicological evidence to the assessment of causality in humans; (3) the importance of pharmacovigilance for all medications; (4) special difficulties in identifying causes of human birth defects; (5) the importance of…
Health Outcomes | Evidence Synthesis | Risk Analysis | Child/Nutrition | Chronic Disease/Risk | Government/Law | Health/Medicine | Science/Technology | Global | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Quantitative Literacy -
Tutorial/PrimerPublication, Teaching Resource 2015White Paper: Retrospective Benefit-Cost Analysis
In this article the authors consider how benefit-cost analysis can be used retrospectively to promote …
In this article the authors consider how benefit-cost analysis can be used retrospectively to promote understanding of the impacts after a policy is implemented. Serving as a brief primer, the authors propose that analysis can be useful for identifying needed reforms as well as in improving the conduct of future prospective analyses. The major challenges relate to estimating what would have occurred in the absence of the policy and separating the effects of the policy…
Priority Setting/Ethics | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Social Determinants | Environmental Health | Policy/Regulation | Culture/Society | Economics/Finance | Government/Law | North America | College | Graduate | Doctoral | Critical Thinking/Analysis | Policy Translation -
ArticlePublication 2013Using Occupational Injury Data to Estimate VSL
This article discusses the use of occupational fatality rate data to estimate the additional pay …
This article discusses the use of occupational fatality rate data to estimate the additional pay workers receive for bearing greater risks, while controlling for other aspects of the job and characteristics of the worker. This tradeoff rate is typically referenced as the value of a statistical life (VSL). The extensive U.S. labor market literature generating VSL estimates has utilized several fatality rate measures which are typically matched to employment information on workers from large datasets.…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ArticlePublication 2013Valuing Health Risk Reductions
In this article, the authors discuss how to value risk reductions in the context of …
In this article, the authors discuss how to value risk reductions in the context of benefit-cost analysis. Many public policies and private actions affect the risk of injury, illness, or death, yet changes in these risks are not easily valued using market prices. The authors begin with a pragmatic focus, describing the analytic framework and the approaches currently used for valuation, including estimates of willingness to pay (WTP), cost of illness (COI), and monetized quality-adjusted…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis -
ArticlePublication 2012Expert Elicitation of VSL
This article uses expert elicitation to address the monetary value of avoided premature mortality, which …
This article uses expert elicitation to address the monetary value of avoided premature mortality, which typically dominates the quantified benefits of air pollution regulations. Formal expert elicitation methods are one means of characterizing associated uncertainties. The authors undertake a pilot study that elicits quantitative probabilistic judgments of uncertainties in value per statistical life (VSL) estimates for use in an air pollution context. The two-stage elicitation addresses uncertainties in both a base case VSL for a…
Preferences/Values | Benefit-Cost Analysis | Policy/Regulation | Climate/Environment | College | Graduate | Critical Thinking/Analysis