Prosperity Theology is the teaching that believers have a right to the blessings of health and wealth and that they can obtain these blessings through positive confessions of faith and the “sowing of seeds” through the faithful payment of tithes and offerings. However, the literature reveals that most adherents to the prosperity gospel are not prospering financially and prosperity preachers hav...

The aim of this study was to determine the incidence rates of HIV1/2 antibodies, HBV and HCV antibodies among voluntary blood donors and to estimate the residual risk of HIV, HBV and HCV infection among blood donors in Bukavu. We conducted a follow-up cohort study of volunteer blood donors who have made at least two blood donations in Bukavu (DRC) between January 2010 and December 2012. We reco...

The supply of human organs for transplantation is undergoing a dramatic transformation. Using data from 30 countries for the years 1995-2007, this paper suggests that organ supply today is more dependent on direct donations than on the collective organ pool. This trend is analyzed by studying different modes of altruism: "generalized altruism" relates to the procurement of organs through a one-...

Generosity is contagious: People imitate others' prosocial behaviors. However, research on such prosocial conformity focuses on cases in which people merely reproduce others' positive actions. Hence, we know little about the breadth of prosocial conformity. Can prosocial conformity cross behavior types or even jump from behavior to affect? Five studies address these questions. In Studies 1 to 3...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to determine any relationships between return rates of first-time donors, number of donations in the first year and the donors' demographic characteristics. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data from 1,500 volunteer, first-time donors who donated blood at Shiraz Blood Transfusion Centre (Iran) were obtained from the donor database. The donors' demographic characteris...

OBJECTIVE In 2000, a referral hospital in the Gambia accepted a donation of oxygen concentrators to help maintain oxygen supplies. The concentrators broke down and were put into storage. A case study was done to find the reasons for the problem and to draw lessons to help improve both oxygen supplies and the success of future equipment donations. METHODS A technical assessment of the concentr...

BACKGROUND This study examines the impact of an integrated, automated phone system to reinforce retention and increase frequency of donations among blood donors. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS Cultivated by incorporating data results over the past 7 years, the system uses computerized phone messaging to contact blood donors with individualized, multilevel notifications. Donors are contacted at plan...

We study three different models in which public goods are supplied by private contributions. In one of these models, tax-financed government subsidies to private contributions will definitely increase the equilibrium supply of public goods. In the other two models, government subsidies are neutralized by offsetting changes in private contributions. We explain why it is that these models lead to...