WorldWideScience

Sample records for important policy implications

  1. Risk Implications of Energy Policy Instruments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kitzing, Lena

    papers and a working paper), based on a combination of micro-economic and policy analysis. Financial theory is used for the quantitative analysis of investment problems under uncertainty, including mean-variance portfolio theory, real option analysis, Monte Carlo simulations and time series analysis...... show, both qualitatively and quantitatively, that policy makers cannot neglect risk implications when designing RES support instruments without compromising either on effectiveness or cost-efficiency of energy policy. The central research questions are: how can risk implications of RES policy...... instruments be integrated into policy design, so that the policies provide adequate investment incentives? And can the consideration of such risk implications in policy design make overall energy policy more successful? These questions are answered in seven research papers (four journal papers, two conference...

  2. Crude oil import policy of Turkey: Historical analysis of determinants and implications since 1968

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ediger, Volkan S.; Berk, Istemi

    2011-01-01

    Turkey is one of the most energy import dependent countries in the world, suffering deeply from the economic and strategic burdens of oil importation. Our purpose is to determine the factors behind the crude oil import policy of Turkey and to measure their contribution to a well-organized import strategy. We implemented a principle component analysis to construct an Oil Import Vulnerability Index (OIVI) based on four factors, which are crude oil import dependency of primary energy consumption, crude oil import bill as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), non-diversification of import sources, and share of oil in total energy import. The contribution of these factors to the OIVI is found to be approximately equal. While an overall deterioration in the OIVI has been observed during periods of increasing oil prices, better diversification of oil import sources has lead to significant improvements. We suggest Turkish policy-makers implement sound policies, emphasizing diversification of crude oil import sources and reduction of the share of crude oil in primary energy imports to increase energy supply security. This study has also demonstrated that it is possible to construct an index representing crude oil vulnerability caused by import dependency. - Research highlights: →We examine the factors lying behind the crude oil import policy of Turkey. → We measure the contribution of each factor to a well-organized import strategy. → We constrtuct an Oil Import Vulnerability Index using principle component analysis. → We suggest that four factors affect oil import policies with almost equal weights. → Source diversification is found to be the core issue in oil import policies.

  3. Crude oil import policy of Turkey: Historical analysis of determinants and implications since 1968

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ediger, Volkan S., E-mail: volkanediger@gmail.co [Izmir University of Economics, Sakarya Caddesi, No. 156, 35330 Izmir (Turkey); Berk, Istemi [Izmir University of Economics, Sakarya Caddesi, No. 156, 35330 Izmir (Turkey)

    2011-04-15

    Turkey is one of the most energy import dependent countries in the world, suffering deeply from the economic and strategic burdens of oil importation. Our purpose is to determine the factors behind the crude oil import policy of Turkey and to measure their contribution to a well-organized import strategy. We implemented a principle component analysis to construct an Oil Import Vulnerability Index (OIVI) based on four factors, which are crude oil import dependency of primary energy consumption, crude oil import bill as a share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), non-diversification of import sources, and share of oil in total energy import. The contribution of these factors to the OIVI is found to be approximately equal. While an overall deterioration in the OIVI has been observed during periods of increasing oil prices, better diversification of oil import sources has lead to significant improvements. We suggest Turkish policy-makers implement sound policies, emphasizing diversification of crude oil import sources and reduction of the share of crude oil in primary energy imports to increase energy supply security. This study has also demonstrated that it is possible to construct an index representing crude oil vulnerability caused by import dependency. - Research highlights: {yields}We examine the factors lying behind the crude oil import policy of Turkey. {yields} We measure the contribution of each factor to a well-organized import strategy. {yields} We constrtuct an Oil Import Vulnerability Index using principle component analysis. {yields} We suggest that four factors affect oil import policies with almost equal weights. {yields} Source diversification is found to be the core issue in oil import policies.

  4. Transnational Education: Current Developments and Policy Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gu, Jianxin

    2009-01-01

    Ever since the transnational education trend took off since the 1980s, transnational education has come to bearing political, economic and cultural implications. Different approaches have been formulated to achieve specific policy objectives by both importing and exporting countries. Such approaches demonstrate a four dimensional composition,…

  5. Policy Implications of Air Quality Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheinbaum, C.

    2004-12-01

    While an integrated assessment approach will be required to achieve and sustain improvements in the air quality of Mexico City Metropolitan Area's (MCMA), policy strategies must be based on a solid understanding of the pollutant emissions and atmospheric processes that lead to unacceptable levels of air pollution. The required level of understanding can only be achieved by comprehensive atmospheric measurements followed by a coordinated atmospheric modeling program. The innovative, two-phase atmospheric measurement program, which was a collaborative effort between Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Mexican Metropolitan Environmental Commission, with exploratory measurements in February 2002 and extensive measurements from late March through early May of 2003, was an important step towards meeting these requirements. Although the extensive data sets from the two measurement programs are still being analyzed by the investigators, their preliminary analysis efforts have yielded important insights into the nature and extent of air pollution problem in the MCMA, which in turn will have important policy implications.

  6. Website Policies / Important Links | DOepatents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Links Website Policies / Important Links Javascript Not Enabled OSTI Security Website Policies and first) Publication Date (oldest first) Close Clear All Find DOepatents Website Policies / Important Important Links Some links on this page may take you to non-federal websites. Their policies may differ from

  7. Fuel taxes: An important instrument for climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sterner, Thomas

    2007-01-01

    This article shows that fuel taxes serve a very important role for the environment and that we risk a backlash of increased emissions if they are abolished. Fuel taxes have restrained growth in fuel demand and associated carbon emissions. Although fuel demand is large and growing, our analysis shows that it would have been much higher in the absence of domestic fuel taxes. People often assert that fuel demand is inelastic but there is strong research evidence showing the opposite. The price elasticity is in fact quite high but only in the long-run: in the short run it may be quite inelastic which has important implications for policy makers. Had Europe not followed a policy of high fuel taxation but had low US taxes, then fuel demand would have been twice as large. Hypothetical transport demand in the whole OECD area is calculated for various tax scenarios and the results show that fuel taxes are the single most powerful climate policy instrument implemented to date-yet this fact is not usually given due attention in the debate

  8. Website Policies / Important Links | Data Explorer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Website Policies / Important Links Javascript Not Enabled OSTI Security Website Policies and Important ) Publication Date (oldest first) Close Clear All Find DOE Data Explorer Website Policies / Important Links Science | Office of Scientific and Technical Information Website Policies / Important Links * Site Map

  9. Income inequality: Implications and relevant economic policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arestis Philip

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this contribution is to discuss closely the implications of income inequality and the economic policies to tackle it, especially so in view of inequality being one of the main causes of the 2007/2008 international financial crisis and the “great recession” that subsequently emerged. Wealth inequality is also important in this respect, but the focus is on income inequality. Ever since the financial crisis and the subsequent “great recession”, inequality of income, and wealth, has increased and the demand for economic policy initiatives to produce a more equal distribution of income and wealth has become more urgent. Such reduction would help to increase the level of economic activity as has been demonstrated again more recently. A number of economic policy initiatives for this purpose will be the focus of this contribution.

  10. Economic and policy implications of pandemic influenza.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Smith, Braeton J.; Starks, Shirley J.; Loose, Verne W.; Brown, Theresa Jean; Warren, Drake E.; Vargas, Vanessa N.

    2010-03-01

    Pandemic influenza has become a serious global health concern; in response, governments around the world have allocated increasing funds to containment of public health threats from this disease. Pandemic influenza is also recognized to have serious economic implications, causing illness and absence that reduces worker productivity and economic output and, through mortality, robs nations of their most valuable assets - human resources. This paper reports two studies that investigate both the short- and long-term economic implications of a pandemic flu outbreak. Policy makers can use the growing number of economic impact estimates to decide how much to spend to combat the pandemic influenza outbreaks. Experts recognize that pandemic influenza has serious global economic implications. The illness causes absenteeism, reduced worker productivity, and therefore reduced economic output. This, combined with the associated mortality rate, robs nations of valuable human resources. Policy makers can use economic impact estimates to decide how much to spend to combat the pandemic influenza outbreaks. In this paper economists examine two studies which investigate both the short- and long-term economic implications of a pandemic influenza outbreak. Resulting policy implications are also discussed. The research uses the Regional Economic Modeling, Inc. (REMI) Policy Insight + Model. This model provides a dynamic, regional, North America Industrial Classification System (NAICS) industry-structured framework for forecasting. It is supported by a population dynamics model that is well-adapted to investigating macro-economic implications of pandemic influenza, including possible demand side effects. The studies reported in this paper exercise all of these capabilities.

  11. The cross-country implications of alternative climate policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Aijun; Du, Nan; Wei, Qian

    2014-01-01

    Because of worldwide growing concerns about global climate change, great interest has been expressed in the potential of alternative climate policies to reduce global carbon emissions. In this paper, we compare cross-country implications of alternative climate policies, including unilateral and multilateral climate policies. Our main findings are as follows. Firstly, there are large differences in cross-country effects of alternative unilateral climate policies, when the same given carbon emission reductions are achieved in each abating country respectively. Meanwhile, cross-border externalities undermine efficiency of unilateral climate policies. Secondly, there are significant differences in cross-country implications of alternative multilateral climate policies, when the same global emission reductions are allocated in several different ways among abating countries. Thirdly, it is difficult to reach a stable global climate treaty, since any abating country has the incentive to argue for small carbon emission reductions. Finally, multilateral climate policies can reduce the negative impacts of cross-border externalities, but cannot cure all cross-border externalities. Looking ahead, it will be a great policy challenge for the world to reduce carbon emissions in a cost-effective way. - highlights: • We compare impacts of unilateral climate policies across countries. • We compare effects of alternative multilateral climate policies. • We explore whether cross-border externalities disappear under multilateral climate policies

  12. The implications of trade policy and 'natural' barriers induced protection for aggregate demand for imports: Evidence for Malawi

    OpenAIRE

    Zgovu, Evious K.

    2003-01-01

    This paper analyses the relative importance of trade policy and ‘natural’ trade barriers in the demand for imports for Malawi, a geographically landlocked sub-Saharan African economy, using an augmented dynamic import demand model. Incidence analysis of protection shows that pre-liberalisation trade policy barriers were greater than ‘natural’ barriers but in post-liberalisation ‘natural’ barriers were greater. Econometric analysis of the import demand model shows that ‘true’ protection of imp...

  13. Market-Driven Management: the Policy Implications

    OpenAIRE

    Bellini, Nicola

    2008-01-01

    The first policy implication of the diffusion of a Market-Driven Management approach is the same as the spreading of globalization, i.e. the obsolescence of industrial policies as traditionally designed and managed by Nation-States with the established toolbox of protectionism and subsidies, picking 'national champions', etc. The growing asymmetry between the physical jurisdiction of political bodies and the global operation space of modern corporations feeds the apparent trend toward company...

  14. The implications of probabilistic risk assessment for safety policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hayns, M.R.

    1987-01-01

    The use of PRA results in decision making requires a level of understanding on the part of the decision maker which is higher than that obtaining previously. The most important application of PRA lies not in the final results but in the intermediate results which refer to specific systems and operations. Such intermediate results are of great value either at the design stage or later during operation. One of the most 'visible' uses of PRA results is in comparing calculated plant risks with either proposed acceptability criteria, or with other plant, or even natural events. The capability to perform PRA has been established. Only the incorporation of PRA into the licensing process is lacking. The principal conclusions on the implications of PRA for safety policy are as follows: regardless of its state of development, PRA is the only means available for calculating public risk, being able to quantify risk is important in policy related to risk acceptability and to national energy policy. PRAs will be used to establish research and development priorities. Any hazardous plant can be treated using the same methods. More sophisticated methods will be used for solving engineering problems. (author)

  15. Financial Frictions and Real Implications of Macroprudential Policies

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Derviz, Alexis

    2012-01-01

    Roč. 3, č. 26 (2012), s. 333-368 ISSN 1555-4961 Institutional support: RVO:67985556 Keywords : Debt * Equity * Bank * Default * Macroprudential policy Subject RIV: AH - Economics http://library.utia.cas.cz/separaty/2012/E/Derviz-financial frictions and real implications of macroprudential policies.pdf

  16. Definitions of fuel poverty: Implications for policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, Richard

    2012-01-01

    This paper outlines why the definition of fuel poverty is important in policy formulation and describes how the Government's current definitions evolved from the original concept. It discusses the determination of income and fuel costs and the possibilities for a relative and common European measure. It examines problems inherent in assessing fuel costs as a percentage of income and puts forward the arguments for a ‘budget standard’ approach. The paper illustrates how the size of the problem depends on the definition and chosen threshold and suggests advantages for a rating scale. It illustrates how the income composition and thresholds also govern the distribution of the target populations and the relative importance of the main causal factors, and examines the consequent policy implications. It explores the definition of vulnerable households and the importance of severity and questions whether the UK fuel poverty strategy is targeted at households least able to afford their fuel costs (as the name implies) or primarily those at risk from excess winter and summer mortality and morbidity. Finally, after examining the role of supplementary indicators, it looks at the opportunities for changing the definition and comments on the Government review of the definition and targets. - Highlights: ► There are major failings in the existing official definitions of fuel poverty. ► expressing fuel costs as a percentage of income is a poor indicator of fuel poverty. ► A budget standard approach provides a more consistent, meaningful and fairer measure. ► The scale and nature of the problem changes dramatically with different definitions. ► The definition is crucial to the mix of policies and allocation of resources required.

  17. Nigeria's National Population Policy and its Implications for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria's National Population Policy and its Implications for Sustainable Development. Good Wilson. Abstract. Given the prevailing view that population policy has the potentials to reduce pressure of population on development and the attendant improvement of the welfare of people in society now and in the future, ...

  18. Consumer energy management: policy implications of research. 2 Vols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDougall, G.H.G.; Ritchie, J.R.B.

    1982-12-01

    This report provides a framework for understanding the practical implications of consumer energy conservation research in Canada. A review of such research was undertaken to determine its implications for increasing the effectiveness of Canadian conservation policies and programs. The major conclusions and recommendations were as follows. Conservation has been acknowledged as the single most important element in solving Canada's petroleum shortfall in the 1980s. An analytic approach to the formulation of energy policies and the design of conservation programs will be essential if meaningful energy savings in the consumer sector are to be realized. Prior to designing any conservation program, it is essential that the components of consumer energy policy be understood. In order to assess the effectiveness of conservation efforts, it is necessary to assign relative priorities to the criteria of probable energy savings, cost effectiveness, impact by fuel type, impact on consumers, enforceability, and institutional considerations. Conservation efforts aimed at consumers must be based on understanding the basic processes which underlie how they perceive and respond to various types of conservation initiatives. This understanding is gained through consumer impact analysis and program research. The latter action attempts to analyze the effectiveness and acceptability of programs involving information, financial incentives, energy standards, and energy usage restrictions. Conservation programs must ensure that barriers to adoption, such as lack of time and knowledge, financial resources, and lifestyle impacts, will be minimized. 93 refs., 3 figs., 13 tabs.

  19. Understanding farmers' strategic decision-making processes and the implications for biodiversity conservation policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farmar-Bowers, Quentin; Lane, Ruth

    2009-02-01

    The conservation of biodiversity is an important issue world wide and in Australia the maintenance of native biodiversity on farms makes an important contribution to overall conservation objectives. This paper seeks to explain Australian farmers' rationale for maintaining biodiversity on their farms for personal as opposed to business reasons by developing a decision-systems theory from in-depth interviews. This difference has implications for policy development. The decision-systems theory is divided into two main sections. The first section contains five parts. (1) A hierarchy of motivation stories, (2) the concept of suitability and availability of opportunities, (3) a hierarchy of three decision-systems, (4) the concept of personal career paths, (5) the concept of Lenses. The second section contains one part, a policy classification system called 'boxes of influence' that suggests how policy developers can use the information in the first section to develop new biodiversity conservation policy. The paper suggests that decision-systems theory could be used to shed new light on current trends in agriculture and become an important investigative tool for policy development concerning the conservation of biodiversity on farms.

  20. The social construction of illness: key insights and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Conrad, Peter; Barker, Kristin K

    2010-01-01

    The social construction of illness is a major research perspective in medical sociology. This article traces the roots of this perspective and presents three overarching constructionist findings. First, some illnesses are particularly embedded with cultural meaning--which is not directly derived from the nature of the condition--that shapes how society responds to those afflicted and influences the experience of that illness. Second, all illnesses are socially constructed at the experiential level, based on how individuals come to understand and live with their illness. Third, medical knowledge about illness and disease is not necessarily given by nature but is constructed and developed by claims-makers and interested parties. We address central policy implications of each of these findings and discuss fruitful directions for policy-relevant research in a social constructionist tradition. Social constructionism provides an important counterpoint to medicine's largely deterministic approaches to disease and illness, and it can help us broaden policy deliberations and decisions.

  1. Bank of England’s monetary policy committee – assessing the importance and the implication upon monetary policy

    OpenAIRE

    Florin Cornel DUMITER; Horatiu Florin SOIM

    2012-01-01

    The monetary policy strategies arround the world have been envolving in the last two decades considerable. In the past, central banks’ have been associated with a „veil of mistery” having at their grounds the so-called policy mistique. Nowadays, the new monetary policy strategy – inflation targeting – promoted by many countries established new coordinates for monetary policy. In this paper we focuse upon the monetary policy committee with a special focus upon the Bank of England’s case, becau...

  2. Policy implications of greenhouse warming: Mitigation, adaptation, and the science base

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    This book discusses the policy implications of greenhouse warming by examining three major areas: general summary of information about the greenhouse effect leading to a framework for policy; the science basis for the greenhouse effect; mitigation of greenhouse warming. Each section contains 9-13 chapters on specific subjects including the following: overview of greenhouse gases; policy implications; internations considerations; climate records and models; sea levels; temperature rise estimation; energy management at several levels; nonenergy emission reduction; human populations; deforestation. Conclusions are summarized at the end of each section

  3. Policy Implications Analysis: A Methodological Advancement for Policy Research and Evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madey, Doren L.; Stenner, A. Jackson

    Policy Implications Analysis (PIA) is a tool designed to maximize the likelihood that an evaluation report will have an impact on decision-making. PIA was designed to help people planning and conducting evaluations tailor their information so that it has optimal potential for being used and acted upon. This paper describes the development and…

  4. Dependence on carbonated water: Clinical and policy implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sumit Kumar Gupta

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available A case of caffeine dependence syndrome with preference for a specific brand of carbonated water (popularly known as soft drinks or colas is discussed to highlight the clinical and policy implications.

  5. Non-specific effects of vaccines: plausible and potentially important, but implications uncertain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollard, Andrew J; Finn, Adam; Curtis, Nigel

    2017-11-01

    Non-specific effects (NSE) or heterologous effects of vaccines are proposed to explain observations in some studies that certain vaccines have an impact beyond the direct protection against infection with the specific pathogen for which the vaccines were designed. The importance and implications of such effects remain controversial. There are several known immunological mechanisms which could lead to NSE, since it is widely recognised that the generation of specific immunity is initiated by non-specific innate immune mechanisms that may also have wider effects on adaptive immune function. However, there are no published studies that demonstrate a mechanistic link between such immunological phenomena and clinically relevant NSE in humans. While it is highly plausible that some vaccines do have NSE, their magnitude and duration, and thus importance, remain uncertain. Although the WHO recently concluded that current evidence does not justify changes to immunisation policy, further studies of sufficient size and quality are needed to assess the importance of NSE for all-cause mortality. This could provide insights into vaccine immunobiology with important implications for infant health and survival. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  6. The Epidemiological Transition: Policy and Planning Implications for ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Relevant literatures were reviewed from medical journals, library search and internet source using Google search engine as well as international, national and local journals. The key words employed were: Epidemiological Transition with particular emphasis on policy and planning implications in developing countries.

  7. Fiscal policy and its implications for monetary and financial stability

    OpenAIRE

    Bank for International Settlements

    2011-01-01

    The BIS 10th Annual Conference took place in Lucerne, Switzerland on 23-24 June 2011. The event brought together senior representatives of central banks and academic institutions, who exchanged views on the conference theme of "Fiscal policy and its implications for monetary and financial stability". This volume contains the opening address of Stephen Cecchetti (Economic Adviser, BIS), a keynote address from Martin Feldstein, and the contributions of the policy panel on "Fiscal policy sustain...

  8. Policy and organizational implications of gender imbalance in the NHS.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Karen

    2007-01-01

    The purpose of the paper is to examine the policy and organizational implications of gender imbalance in management, which research suggests exists in the NHS. The research in this paper involved a qualitative approach with an analysis of elite interviews conducted with a non-random sample of officials involved in health policy and interviews with a random sample of senior managers in NHS Scotland. The research formed part of a larger study, which explored the enablers and inhibitors to female career progression in various Scottish sectors. The paper finds that gender imbalance in management exists in the NHS. This is manifested in a masculine organizational context, leadership and policy decision-making process, which have implications for female career advancement opportunities and subsequently access to macro policy decisions. The paper involved a sample (30 percent) of senior managers and examined policy processes in NHS Scotland. To improve the external validity of the findings further research should be conducted in NHS organizations in England and Wales. The findings in the paper suggest that gender imbalance in management and a masculine organizational context and leadership style within the NHS create a less than conducive environment for female employees. This has practical implications in terms of levels of part-time employment, career progression and attrition rates. The paper adds to the debate of gender and organizational studies by examining the health sector, which has high levels of female employment but low levels of female representation at senior management levels. The paper therefore adds to an often-neglected area of study, women in leadership and senior managerial positions. The paper is original in its approach by examining the micro and meso organizational dimensions which impact on women's ability to influence macro health policy.

  9. Review of automated vehicle technology : policy and implementation implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-03-14

    The goals of this project were to undergo a systematic review of automated vehicle technologies with a focus on policy : implications, methods of implementation, regulation by states, and developments occurring on legal fronts, ultimately creating a ...

  10. Quantifying the spatial implications of future land use policies in South Africa

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Le Roux, A.; Augustijn-Beckers, Petronella

    2017-01-01

    Land use policies have a definite and lasting impact on the way that cities grow; however, it is difficult for policy- and decision-makers to observe and quantify the implications of their land use policies and strategies. There is thus a need for information and tools that can adequately support

  11. Drug Testing in the Schools. Implications for Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozeman, William C.; And Others

    Drug testing of district employees and students is examined from several perspectives: implications for school policy, legality, administration and protocol, and test reliability and accuracy. Substance abuse has become a major concern for educators, parents, and citizens as illegal drugs are more readily available. It is also pointed out that the…

  12. Organic nitrogen storage in mineral soil: Implications for policy and management

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bingham, Andrew H., E-mail: drew_bingham@nps.gov [Air Resources Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 25287, Denver, CO 80225 (United States); Cotrufo, M. Francesca [Department of Soil and Crop Sciences and Natural Resources Ecology Laboratory, Colorado State University, 200 West Lake Street, Fort Collins, CO 80523 (United States)

    2016-05-01

    Nitrogen is one of the most important ecosystem nutrients and often its availability limits net primary production as well as stabilization of soil organic matter. The long-term storage of nitrogen-containing organic matter in soils was classically attributed to chemical complexity of plant and microbial residues that retarded microbial degradation. Recent advances have revised this framework, with the understanding that persistent soil organic matter consists largely of chemically labile, microbially processed organic compounds. Chemical bonding to minerals and physical protection in aggregates are more important to long-term (i.e., centuries to millennia) preservation of these organic compounds that contain the bulk of soil nitrogen rather than molecular complexity, with the exception of nitrogen in pyrogenic organic matter. This review examines for the first time the factors and mechanisms at each stage of movement into long-term storage that influence the sequestration of organic nitrogen in the mineral soil of natural temperate ecosystems. Because the factors which govern persistence are different under this newly accepted paradigm we examine the policy and management implications that are altered, such as critical load considerations, nitrogen saturation and mitigation consequences. Finally, it emphasizes how essential it is for this important but underappreciated pool to be better quantified and incorporated into policy and management decisions, especially given the lack of evidence for many soils having a finite capacity to sequester nitrogen. - Highlights: • We review the current framework for long-term nitrogen stabilization in soils. • We highlight the most important factors according to this framework. • We discuss how these factors may influence management and policy decisions.

  13. Implications of the Netherlands' environmental policy for offshore mining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meijer, K.; Krijt, K.

    1991-01-01

    The environmental policy in the Netherlands, as outlined in the National Environmental Policy Plan, aims for a sustainable development. In principle a two track approach is adhered to: source oriented as well as effects oriented. Effects oriented policy includes the setting of environmental quality objectives and is used to establish the final goals for the source-oriented measures. The policy aims at integrated life-cycle management; in the final target situation all waste is used again as raw material and remaining emissions to the environment should comply with the environmental objectives. In this paper the implications of this policy for the offshore mining industry are elaborated, both for drilling operations and for the production of oil, gas and condensate. The results of the recently concluded Environmental Impact Assessment for the offshore mining industry as a whole are also elaborated

  14. Social cost of carbon pricing of power sector CO2: accounting for leakage and other social implications from subnational policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bistline, John E.; Rose, Steven K.

    2018-01-01

    In environments where climate policy has partial coverage or unequal participation, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or economic activity may shift to locations and sectors where emissions are unregulated. This is referred to as leakage. Leakage can offset or augment emissions reductions associated with a policy, which has important environmental and economic implications. Although leakage has been studied at national levels, analysis of leakage for subnational policies is limited. This is despite greater market integration and many existing state and regional environmental regulations in the US. This study explores leakage potential, net emissions changes, and other social implications in the US energy system with regionally differentiated pricing of power sector CO2 emissions. We undertake an economic analysis using EPRI’s US-REGEN model, where power sector CO2 emissions are priced in individual US regions with a range of social cost of carbon (SCC) values. SCC estimates are being considered by policy-makers for valuing potential societal damages from CO2 emissions. In this study, we evaluate the emissions implications within the SCC pricing region, within the power sector outside the SCC region, and outside the power sector (i.e. in the rest of the energy system). Results indicate that CO2 leakage is possible within and outside the electric sector, ranging from negative 70% to over 80% in our scenarios, with primarily positive leakage outcomes. Typically ignored in policy analysis, leakage would affect CO2 reduction benefits. We also observe other potential societal effects within and across regions, such as higher electricity prices, changes in power sector investments, and overall consumption losses. Efforts to reduce leakage, such as constraining power imports into the SCC pricing region likely reduce leakage, but could also result in lower net emissions reductions, as well as larger price increases. Thus, it is important to look beyond leakage and consider a

  15. EU'S ANTIDUMPING POLICIES TOWARDS CHINA AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS

    OpenAIRE

    CLINCI, Ionut Cristian

    2013-01-01

    This paper first tries to describe the antidumping measures and to explain how they work in the trade relations between EU and China. Then it tries to explain the implications of the antidumping measures from an economic perspective. Finally, the paper tries to answer the question whether the EU discriminates China in its antidumping policies.

  16. Nuclear power phaseout policy and the economic implications for Germany

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfaffenberger, W.

    1999-01-01

    Implementation of Germany's nuclear power phaseout policy and the expected consequences are discussed in this paper, referring to environmental aspects and Germany's international commitments under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, implications for the national economy, the required structural transformation of the energy industry, and changes in the general legal setting for the energy sector. Proposals are discussed for modifying the planned nuclear power phaseout policy so as to make the process of winding down nuclear generation more compatible with economic, social, and environmental policy conditions. (orig./CB) [de

  17. Innovation and inter-firm linkages : new implications for policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nooteboom, B

    This article discusses the implications for competition, innovation and learning of different forms of inter-firm linkage, ways to govern them, different 'generic systems' of innovation, and government policy. It employs a transformed theory of transactions that can deal with innovation and

  18. Carbon dioxide emissions and climate change: policy implications for the cement industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rehan, R.; Nehdi, M.

    2005-01-01

    There is growing awareness that the cement industry is a significant contributor to global carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions. It is expected that this industry will come under increasing regulatory pressures to reduce its emissions and contribute more aggressively to mitigating global warming. It is important that the industry's stakeholders become more familiar with greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and associated global warming issues, along with emerging policies that may affect the future of the industry. This paper discusses climate change, the current and proposed actions for mitigating its effects, and the implications of such actions for the cement industry. International negotiations on climate change are summarized and mechanisms available under the Kyoto Protocol for reducing greenhouse gas emissions are explained. The paper examines some of the traditional and emerging policy instruments for greenhouse gas emissions and analyses their merits and drawbacks. The applicability, effectiveness and potential impact of these policy instruments for the global cement industry in general and the Canadian cement industry in particular are discussed with recommendations for possible courses of action

  19. International labour migration in the Asian-Pacific region: patterns, policies and economic implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Athukorala, P

    1993-11-01

    "This paper reviews the literature on international labour migration from and within the Asian-Pacific region. It deals with patterns and characteristics of migration flows, government policies towards labour migration, and economic implications of labour migration for both labour-exporting and importing countries in the region. The indications are that, despite gradual slowing down of labour flows to the western industrial countries and the Middle East, labour migration will continue to be a major economic influence on surplus-labour countries in the region. As an integral part of the growth dynamism in the region, labour migration has now begun to take on a regional dimension, with immense implications for the process of industrial restructuring in high growth economies and the changing pattern of economic interdependence among countries." excerpt

  20. Compulsive Buying among College Students: An Investigation of Its Antecedents, Consequences, and Implications for Public Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, James A.

    1998-01-01

    This study investigated the incidence, antecedents, consequences, and policy implications of compulsive buying among college students (n=300). Details contributing factors and discusses the relationship between credit card use and compulsive buying. Discusses the implications for consumer policy and suggestions for further research. (JOW)

  1. Tourism and spatial transformations; implications for policy and planning

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ashworth, G.J.; Dietvorst, A.G.J.

    1995-01-01

    The transformation of space by tourism and recreation is examined and the implications for tourism policy and planning are drawn out. A general model of transformation as a guide to intervention is presented. The first part of the book focuses on the procedures and includes case-studies from the

  2. State, federalism and educational policies: implications in brazilian education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Karla Cristina Silva Sousa

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses the relationship between state and federalism as a political and administrative organizational form of the state and its implications in Brazilian educational policy. For that, we follow the analysis of the concepts of State, federalism, and educational policies from the classics of Machiavelli (2001, Locke (1998, Rousseau (1999, Hamilton, Jay and Madison (2003, Abrucio Arretche (1996, among others. Therefore, we see that the new Brazilian federalism based on the model proposed by the American Constitution brings the local powers – the municipalities – as new agents within the educational policy and the collaboration regime as a means of effecting cooperative federalism in Brazil. We conclude that the federalism, in Brazilian model, presents itself as demos constraining the national sub-governments.

  3. The Importance of Landfill Gas Policy Measures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2009-07-01

    The purpose of this document is to identify and examine global policies, measures, and incentives that appear to be stimulating LFG use. As certain countries have made great advances in LFGE development through effective policies, the intention of this report is to use information from the IEA's Global Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Measures and Policies Databases to identify and discuss policies. By consolidating this information and categorising it according to policy type, the attributes that are most appealing or applicable to the circumstances of a particular country or area -- technology demonstration, financial incentives, awareness campaigns, etc. -- are more easily identified. The report begins with background information on LFG and sanitary landfill practices, including a discussion of regional disparities, followed by a description of LFG mitigation technologies. Barriers to LFGE projects are then outlined. An explanation of the importance and effectiveness of policy measures leads into a discussion of types and examples of measures that are being used to overcome these barriers and encourage LFGE development. The report concludes with lessons learned, recommendations for further study, and resources where more information can be found.

  4. A Biological Security Motivation System for Potential Threats: Are There Implications for Policy-Making?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Z Woody

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Research indicates that there is a specially adapted, hard-wired brain circuit, the security motivation system, which evolved to manage potential threats, such as the possibility of contamination or predation. The existence of this system may have important implications for policy-making related to security. The system is sensitive to partial, uncertain cues of potential danger, detection of which activates a persistent, potent motivational state of wariness or anxiety. This state motivates behaviours to probe the potential danger, such as checking, and to correct for it, such as washing. Engagement in these behaviours serves as the terminating feedback for the activation of the system. Because security motivation theory makes predictions about what kinds of stimuli activate security motivation and what conditions terminate it, the theory may have applications both in understanding how policy-makers can best influence others, such as the public, and also in understanding the behavior of policy-makers themselves.

  5. Landscape Transformation in Tropical Latin America: Assessing Trends and Policy Implications for REDD+

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria del Carmen Vera Diaz

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Important transformations are underway in tropical landscapes in Latin America with implications for economic development and climate change. Landscape transformation is driven not only by national policies and markets, but also by global market dynamics associated with an increased role for transnational traders and investors. National and global trends affect a disparate number of social, political and economic interactions taking place at the local level, which ultimately shapes land-use and socio-economic change. This paper reviews five different trajectories of landscape change in tropical Latin America, and discusses their implications for development and conservation: (1 Market-driven growth of agribusiness; (2 expansion and modernization of traditional cattle ranching; (3 slow growth of peasant agriculture; (4 logging in production forest frontiers; and (5 resurgence of agro-extractive economies. Contrasting trade-offs between economic development and forest conservation emerge across these landscapes, calling for nuanced policy responses to manage them in the context of climate change. This discussion sets the background to assess how reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and enhancing carbon stocks (REDD+ aims should be better aligned with current landscape trajectories and associated actors to better address climate-change mitigation in forest landscapes with effective and equitable outcomes.

  6. Predicting turnover and retention in nursing home administrators: management and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, D A; Schwab, R C

    2000-06-01

    Administrator turnover and its impact on the quality of patient care are important concerns in the nursing home industry. This study evaluates a model to determine which factors, attitudes, and personal characteristics can predict tenure. Responses to a survey from 290 nursing home administrators (NHAs) who furnished data on their previous positions were analyzed using logistic regression methods. The extracted model correlates tenure with the administrator's past patterns of stability, community attachment, organizational commitment, and facility performance. The model is particularly effective (85% accuracy) in flagging NHAs who are likely to depart within their first 3 years of employment. Implications of these findings for recruitment, retention, and licensure policy are discussed.

  7. On the economic analysis of problems in energy efficiency: Market barriers, market failures, and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanstad, A.H.; Koomey, J.G.; Levine, M.D.

    1993-01-01

    In his recent paper in The Energy Journal, Ronald Sutherland argues that several so-called ''market barriers'' to energy efficiency frequently cited in the literature are not market failures in the conventional sense and are thus irrelevant for energy policy. We argue that Sutherland has inadequately analyzed the idea of market barrier and misrepresented the policy implications of microeconomics. We find that economic theory, correctly interpreted, does not provide for the categorical dismissal of market barriers. We explore important methodological issues underlying the debate over market barriers, and discuss the importance of reconciling the findings of non-economic social sciences with the economic analysis of energy demand and consumer decision-making. We also scrutinize Sutherland's attempt to apply finance theory to rationalize high implicit discount rates observed in energy-related choices, and find this use of finance theory to be inappropriate

  8. On the economic analysis of problems in energy efficiency: Market barriers, market failures, and policy implications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanstad, A.H.; Koomey, J.G.; Levine, M.D.

    1993-01-01

    In his recent paper in The Energy Journal, Ronald Sutherland argues that several so-called ``market barriers`` to energy efficiency frequently cited in the literature are not market failures in the conventional sense and are thus irrelevant for energy policy. We argue that Sutherland has inadequately analyzed the idea of market barrier and misrepresented the policy implications of microeconomics. We find that economic theory, correctly interpreted, does not provide for the categorical dismissal of market barriers. We explore important methodological issues underlying the debate over market barriers, and discuss the importance of reconciling the findings of non-economic social sciences with the economic analysis of energy demand and consumer decision-making. We also scrutinize Sutherland`s attempt to apply finance theory to rationalize high implicit discount rates observed in energy-related choices, and find this use of finance theory to be inappropriate.

  9. Determinants of Self-Employment Dynamics and their Implications on Entrepreneurial Policy Effectiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José María Millán

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper summarizes the main results of the empirical research on self-employment dynamics —particularly entry and success— and discusses their possible implications on entrepreneurial policy effectiveness. The main goal of this study is to promote a debate on this topic, encouraging conditional analyses that serve as guidance in the design of a policy agenda.

  10. Financial Literacy and Economic Outcomes: Evidence and Policy Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, Olivia S; Lusardi, Annamaria

    2015-01-01

    This paper reviews what we have learned over the past decade about financial literacy and its relationship to financial decision-making around the world. Using three questions, we have surveyed people in several countries to determine whether they have the fundamental knowledge of economics and finance needed to function as effective decision-makers. We find that levels of financial literacy are low not only in the United States. but also in many other countries including those with well-developed financial markets. Moreover, financial illiteracy is particularly acute for some demographic groups, especially women and the less-educated. These findings are important since financial literacy is linked to borrowing, saving, and spending patterns. We also offer new evidence on financial literacy among high school students drawing on the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment implemented in 18 countries. Last, we discuss the implications of this research for policy.

  11. Biomass production and utilisation. Policy implications for LDCs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davidson, O.

    1997-01-01

    The importance of biomass in the energy sector of LDCs and in Africa in particular is illustrated so as to provide the background to the policy importance on the production and use of this energy source. The main areas for policy attention discussed are: biomass for power generation, biomass use in the transport sector, urban energy supply and the interactions with agricultural policies. The roles of the major institutions the government, private sector institutions, educational institutions and non-governmental organizations are identified. It is concluded that with the necessary policy shift that is being advocated, biomass can contribute to a more equitable supply of high quality and efficient energy services in the future of African countries. (K.A.)

  12. Categorizing the telehealth policy response of countries and their implications for complementarity of telehealth policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varghese, Sunil; Scott, Richard E

    2004-01-01

    Developing countries are exploring the role of telehealth to overcome the challenges of providing adequate health care services. However, this process faces disparities, and no complementarity in telehealth policy development. Telehealth has the potential to transcend geopolitical boundaries, yet telehealth policy developed in one jurisdiction may hamper applications in another. Understanding such policy complexities is essential for telehealth to realize its full global potential. This study investigated 12 East Asian countries that may represent a microcosm of the world, to determine if the telehealth policy response of countries could be categorized, and whether any implications could be identified for the development of complementary telehealth policy. The countries were Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Three categories of country response were identified in regard to national policy support and development. The first category was "None" (Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam) where international partners, driven by humanitarian concerns, lead telehealth activity. The second category was "Proactive" (China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand) where national policies were designed with the view that telehealth initiatives are a component of larger development objectives. The third was "Reactive" (Hong Kong and Japan), where policies were only proffered after telehealth activities were sustainable. It is concluded that although complementarity of telehealth policy development is not occurring, increased interjurisdictional telehealth activity, regional clusters, and concerted and coordinated effort amongst researchers, practitioners, and policy makers may alter this trend.

  13. The Relative Importance of the Channels of Monetary Policy ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    importance channels of monetary policy which are working in Zambia. It answers the ... several ways through which monetary policy affect the balance sheets of economic agents and hence ... economies, especially those with flexible exchange rate regimes. ..... transmission channels work endogenously or exogenously.

  14. Energy policy in China: implications for global climate change

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    ZhongXiang Zhang [University of Groningen, Groningen (Netherlands)

    1998-12-31

    This is the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of the economic implications of carbon abatement for the Chinese economy. It evaluates the economics of climate change and provides national, cost-effective policies for climate change. The book consists of three main parts, firstly, an analysis of the Chinese energy system to increase awareness of the implications of this sector for China`s future carbon dioxide emissions, secondly, a macroeconomic analysis of carbon dioxide emissions limits using a newly-developed computable general equilibrium model of the Chinese economy; and finally, a cost-effective analysis of carbon abatement options by means of a technology-oriented dynamic optimization model.

  15. Implications of DSM-5 for Health Care Organizations and Mental Health Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castillo, Richard J; Guo, Kristina L

    2016-01-01

    The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has made major changes in the way mental illness is conceptualized, assessed, and diagnosed in its new diagnostic manual, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), published in 2013, and has far reaching implications for health care organizations and mental health policy. This paper reviews the four new principles in DSM-5: 1) A spectrum (also called "dimensional") approach to the definition of mental illness; 2) recognition of the role played by environmental risk factors related to stress and trauma in predisposing, precipitating, and perpetuating mental illness; 3) cultural relativism in diagnosis and treatment of mental illness; and 4) recognizing the adverse effects of psychiatric medications on patients. Each of these four principles will be addressed in detail. In addition, four major implications for health care organizations and mental health policy are identified as: 1) prevention; 2) client-centered psychiatry; 3) mental health workers retraining; and 4) medical insurance reform. We conclude that DSM- 5's new approach to diagnosis and treatment of mental illness will have profound implications for health care organizations and mental health policy, indicating a greater emphasis on prevention and cure rather than long-term management of symptoms.

  16. Irrigation efficiency and water-policy implications for river-basin resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, C. A.; Vicuña, S.; Blanco-Gutiérrez, I.; Meza, F.; Varela-Ortega, C.

    2013-07-01

    Rising demand for food, fiber, and biofuels drives expanding irrigation withdrawals from surface- and groundwater. Irrigation efficiency and water savings have become watchwords in response to climate-induced hydrological variability, increasing freshwater demand for other uses including ecosystem water needs, and low economic productivity of irrigation compared to most other uses. We identify three classes of unintended consequences, presented here as paradoxes. Ever-tighter cycling of water has been shown to increase resource use, an example of the efficiency paradox. In the absence of effective policy to constrain irrigated-area expansion using "saved water", efficiency can aggravate scarcity, deteriorate resource quality, and impair river-basin resilience through loss of flexibility and redundancy. Water scarcity and salinity effects in the lower reaches of basins (symptomatic of the scale paradox) may partly be offset over the short-term through groundwater pumping or increasing surface water storage capacity. However, declining ecological flows and increasing salinity have important implications for riparian and estuarine ecosystems and for non-irrigation human uses of water including urban supply and energy generation, examples of the sectoral paradox. This paper briefly examines policy frameworks in three regional contexts with broadly similar climatic and water-resource conditions - central Chile, southwestern US, and south-central Spain - where irrigation efficiency directly influences basin resilience. The comparison leads to more generic insights on water policy in relation to irrigation efficiency and emerging or overdue needs for environmental protection.

  17. Oceanic implications for climate change policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McNeil, Ben I.

    2006-01-01

    Under the United Nations convention on the law of the sea (1982), each participating country maintains exclusive economic and environmental rights within the oceanic region extending 200 nm from its territorial sea, known as the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Although the ocean within each EEZ is undoubtedly an anthropogenic CO 2 sink, it has been over-looked within international climate policy. In this paper I use an area-weighted scaling argument to show that the inclusion of the EEZ CO 2 sink within national carbon accounts would have significant implications in tracking national greenhouse commitments to any future climate change policy initiative. The advantages and disadvantages for inclusion of the EEZ CO 2 sink into global climate change policy are also explored. The most compelling argument for including the EEZ CO 2 sink is that it would enhance the equity and resources among coastal nations to combat and adapt against future climate change that will inherently impact coastal nations more so than land locked nations. If included, the funds raised could be used for either monitoring or adaptive coastal infrastructure among the most vulnerable nations. On the other hand, the EEZ anthropogenic CO 2 sink cannot be directly controlled by human activities and could be used as a disincentive for some developed nations to reduce fossil-fuel related greenhouse gas emissions. This may therefore dampen efforts to ultimately reduce atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. In consideration of these arguments it is therefore suggested that an 'EEZ clause' be added to Kyoto and any future international climate policy that explicitly excludes its use within national carbon accounts under these international climate frameworks

  18. Perceptions Regarding Importance and Skill at Policy Development Among Public Health Staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castrucci, Brian C; Leider, Jonathon P; Sellers, Katie

    2015-01-01

    Policy development is recognized as a core function of public health and a core competency in formal public health education. However, relatively little is known nationally about worker perceptions and competencies related to policy development in the governmental public health workforce. To characterize perceived importance and presence or absence of competency gaps related to policy development. As part of the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS), a nationally representative stratified sample of permanently employed state health agency (SHA) central office staff was created. Descriptive and inferential analyses examined correlates of perceived importance and competency gaps related to policy development. Permanently employed central office employees of SHAs. Analyses focus on 2 self-reported measures of perceived importance and ability related to policy development skills, as well as awareness and perceptions regarding Health in All Policies (HiAP). Seventy-two percent of SHA central office staff (95% confidence interval, 71-73) indicated "influencing policy development" was somewhat or very important to their day-to-day work. Among that group, 35% (95% confidence interval, 34-36) reported that they were unable to perform this or they considered themselves to be a beginner at this skill. Approximately three-fourths of staff indicated "understanding the relationship between a new policy and many types of public health problems" was somewhat or very important, and 30% of those who did said they were unable to perform this skill or were a beginner at it. Nationally, one-half of staff have not heard of HiAP. Among those who have, 86% indicated it was somewhat or very important to public health, and 41% reported they would like to see more emphasis on HiAP. Workforce development, both formal education and on-the-job training, may benefit from placing a greater emphasis on the development of policy skills. HiAP is an important approach to policy

  19. On the economic analysis of problems in energy efficiency: Market barriers, market failures, and policy implications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sanstad, A.H.; Koomey, J.G.; Levine, M.D.

    1993-01-01

    In his recent paper in The Energy Journal, Ronald Sutherland argues that several so-called market barriers'' to energy efficiency frequently cited in the literature are not market failures in the conventional sense and are thus irrelevant for energy policy. We argue that Sutherland has inadequately analyzed the idea of market barrier and misrepresented the policy implications of microeconomics. We find that economic theory, correctly interpreted, does not provide for the categorical dismissal of market barriers. We explore important methodological issues underlying the debate over market barriers, and discuss the importance of reconciling the findings of non-economic social sciences with the economic analysis of energy demand and consumer decision-making. We also scrutinize Sutherland's attempt to apply finance theory to rationalize high implicit discount rates observed in energy-related choices, and find this use of finance theory to be inappropriate.

  20. The policy implications of the different interpretations of the cost-effectiveness of renewable electricity support

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Río, Pablo del; Cerdá, Emilio

    2014-01-01

    The cost-effectiveness of support for renewable electricity is a main criterion to assess the success of policy instruments, together with effectiveness. The costs of support are also a source of significant concern for governments all over the world. However, significant confusion exists in the literature on the cost-effectiveness of public support for renewable electricity. While some authors define the concept of cost-effectiveness as that which complies with the equimarginality principle, many others, including documents from relevant organisations (European Commission, International Energy Agency, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) define it as “the lowest costs of support”, generally equating it with the minimisation of consumer costs. The aim of this paper is to clarify the differences between both approaches and their policy implications regarding the choice of instruments and design elements. It is shown that they partly overlap and that their policy implications clearly differ, leading to very different policy prescriptions. While the former favours technology neutral instruments and design elements, the “minimisation of consumer costs” approach favours instruments and design elements which adjust support levels to the costs of the technologies. - Highlights: • Significant confusion exists in the literature on the cost-effectiveness of public support for renewable electricity. • Clarify the differences between two main approaches to cost-effectiveness. • Policy implications clearly differ, leading to very different policy prescriptions

  1. The Water Demand of Energy: Implications for Sustainable Energy Policy Development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaveh Madani

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available With energy security, climate change mitigation, and sustainable development as three main motives, global energy policies have evolved, now asking for higher shares of renewable energies, shale oil and gas resources in the global energy supply portfolios. Yet, concerns have recently been raised about the environmental impacts of the renewable energy development, supported by many governments around the world. For example, governmental ethanol subsidies and mandates in the U.S. are aimed to increase the biofuel supply while the water footprint of this type of energy might be 70–400 times higher than the water footprint of conventional fossil energy sources. Hydrofracking, as another example, has been recognized as a high water-intensive procedure that impacts the surface and ground water in both quality and quantity. Hence, monitoring the water footprint of the energy mix is significantly important and could have implications for energy policy development. This paper estimates the water footprint of current and projected global energy policies, based on the energy production and consumption scenarios, developed by the International Energy Outlook of the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The outcomes reveal the amount of water required for total energy production in the world will increase by 37%–66% during the next two decades, requiring extensive improvements in water use efficiency of the existing energy production technologies, especially renewables.

  2. Committee Structure and its Implications for Monetary Policy Decision-making

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.M. Berk (Jan Marc); B.K. Bierut

    2003-01-01

    textabstractWe investigate the implications for the setting of interest rates when monetary policy decisions are taken by a committee, in which a subset of members may meet prior to the voting in the committee and therefore has the possibility to reach consensus ex ante to vote unanimously ex post.

  3. Committee structure and its implications for monetary policy decision-making

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bierut, B.K.; Berk, J.M.

    2003-01-01

    We investigate the implications for the setting of interest rates when monetary policy decisions are taken by a committee, in which a subset of membersmay meet prior to the voting in the committee and therefore has the possibility to reach consensus ex ante to vote unanimously ex post. We allow

  4. Mexico's petroleum and US policy: implications for the 1980s

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ronfeldt, D.; Nehring, R.; Gandara, A.

    1980-06-01

    This report examines selected factor affecting Mexico's future petroleum policies, and then assesses various implications of Mexico's petroleum for US interests and policies. After a brief introduction, the report is divided into three sections. The first offers a detailed analysis of Mexico's petroleum resources and production possibilities. The second considers petroleum as a symbolic issue of profound significance for Mexican nationalism. The final section provides an assessment of these and other factors for US interests, objectives, and policy options during the 1980s.

  5. Toxicants in folk remedies: Implications of elevated blood lead in an American-born infant due to imported diaper powder

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karwowski, Mateusz P.; Morman, Suzette A.; Plumlee, Geoffrey S.; Law, Terence; Kellogg, Mark; Woolf, Alan D.

    2016-01-01

    Though most childhood lead exposure in the USA results from ingestion of lead-based paint dust, non-paint sources are increasingly implicated. We present interdisciplinary findings from and policy implications of a case of elevated blood lead (13–18 mcg/dL, reference level Malaysian folk diaper powder. Analyses showed the powder contains 62 % lead by weight (primarily lead oxide) and elevated antimony [1000 parts per million (ppm)], arsenic (55 ppm), bismuth (110 ppm), and thallium (31 ppm). These metals are highly bioaccessible in simulated gastric fluids, but only slightly bioaccessible in simulated lung fluids and simulated urine, suggesting that the primary lead exposure routes were ingestion via hand-mouth transmission and ingestion of inhaled dusts cleared from the respiratory tract. Four weeks after discontinuing use of the powder, the infant’s venous blood lead level was 8 mcg/dL. Unregulated, imported folk remedies can be a source of toxicant exposure. Additional research on import policy, product regulation, public health surveillance, and culturally sensitive risk communication is needed to develop efficacious risk reduction strategies in the USA. The more widespread use of contaminated folk remedies in the countries from which they originate is a substantial concern.

  6. Macroeconomic policy interaction: State dependency and implications for financial stability in UK: A systemic review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Ali Nasir

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The association between economic and financial stabilities and influence of macroeconomic policies on the financial sector creates scope of active policy role in financial stability. As a contribution to the existing body of knowledge, this study has analysed the implications of macroeconomic policy interaction/coordination for financial stability, proxied by financial assets, i.e. equity and bonds price oscillation. The critical review and analysis of the existing literature on the subject suggests that there is also ample evidence of interdependence between monetary and fiscal policies and this interrelation necessitates coordination between them for the sake of financial stability. There is also a case for analysing the symmetry of financial markets responses to macroeconomic policy interaction. On methodological and empirical grounds, it is vital to test the robustness of policy recommendations to overcome the limitation of a single empirical approach (Jeffrey–Lindley’s paradox. Hence, the Frequentist and Bayesian approaches should be used in commentary manner. The policy interaction and optimal policy combination should also be analysed in the context of institutional design and major financial events to gain insight into the implications of policy interaction in the periods of stable economic and financial environments as well as period of financial and economic distress.

  7. Status Concern and Relative Deprivation in China: Measures, Empirical Evidence and Economic and Policy Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xi, CHEN

    2017-01-01

    Status concern and feelings of relative deprivation affect individual behaviour and well-being. Traditional norms and the alarming inequality in China have made relative deprivation increasingly intense for the Chinese population. This article reviews empirical literature on China that attempts to test the relative deprivation hypothesis, and also reviews the origins and pathways of relative deprivation, compares its economic measures in the literature and summarises the scientific findings. Drawing from solid empirical evidence, the author discusses the important policy implications on redistribution, official regulations and grassroots sanctions, and relative poverty alleviation. PMID:29033479

  8. ANALYSIS IMPORT POLICY OF SOYBEAN ON ECONOMICS PERFORMANCE OF INDONESIAN SOYBEAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muthiah Abda Azizah

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Trade liberalization is closely related to the opening of market access for Indonesian products to the world and vice versa. Since the soybean trade out of BULOG control began in 1998, soybean imports increased very rapidly (Sudaryanto and Swastika, 2007. This research aims to determine the general picture of soybean economy, factors analyses that influence the economic performance of Indonesian soybean and findings the alternative of policies that can reduce soybean imports in Indonesia. Methods of data analysis are descriptive analysis, 2SLS simultaneous equations, and simulation of policy alternatives. Results of the analysis of the factors that affect the economic performance of Indonesian soybean, consists of 1 The area of soybean harvest is influenced significantly by the price of domestic soybean and domestic prices of corn, 2 Productivity soybean influenced significantly by the domestic prices of soybean and fertilizer prices, 3 soybean demand influenced significantly by population, domestic prices of soybean, 4 domestic prices of soybean significantly affected by world prices of soybean, exchange rates, and soybean supply, 5 Imports of soybean influenced significantly by the domestic demand of soybean and soybean production. Therefore, policy scenarios should be made to reduce soybean imports, including by carrying out the expansion of soybean harvest policy, the policy of increasing the productivity of soybean, the policy of subsidizing the price of fertilizer.

  9. The (Biological or Cultural) Essence of Essentialism: Implications for Policy Support among Dominant and Subordinated Groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soylu Yalcinkaya, Nur; Estrada-Villalta, Sara; Adams, Glenn

    2017-01-01

    Most research links (racial) essentialism to negative intergroup outcomes. We propose that this conclusion reflects both a narrow conceptual focus on biological/genetic essence and a narrow research focus from the perspective of racially dominant groups. We distinguished between beliefs in biological and cultural essences, and we investigated the implications of this distinction for support of social justice policies (e.g., affirmative action) among people with dominant (White) and subordinated (e.g., Black, Latino) racial identities in the United States. Whereas, endorsement of biological essentialism may have similarly negative implications for social justice policies across racial categories, we investigated the hypothesis that endorsement of cultural essentialism would have different implications across racial categories. In Studies 1a and 1b, we assessed the properties of a cultural essentialism measure we developed using two samples with different racial/ethnic compositions. In Study 2, we collected data from 170 participants using an online questionnaire to test the implications of essentialist beliefs for policy support. Consistent with previous research, we found that belief in biological essentialism was negatively related to policy support for participants from both dominant and subordinated categories. In contrast, the relationship between cultural essentialism and policy support varied across identity categories in the hypothesized way: negative for participants from the dominant category but positive for participants from subordinated categories. Results suggest that cultural essentialism may provide a way of identification that subordinated communities use to mobilize support for social justice.

  10. The (Biological or Cultural Essence of Essentialism: Implications for Policy Support among Dominant and Subordinated Groups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nur Soylu Yalcinkaya

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Most research links (racial essentialism to negative intergroup outcomes. We propose that this conclusion reflects both a narrow conceptual focus on biological/genetic essence and a narrow research focus from the perspective of racially dominant groups. We distinguished between beliefs in biological and cultural essences, and we investigated the implications of this distinction for support of social justice policies (e.g., affirmative action among people with dominant (White and subordinated (e.g., Black, Latino racial identities in the United States. Whereas, endorsement of biological essentialism may have similarly negative implications for social justice policies across racial categories, we investigated the hypothesis that endorsement of cultural essentialism would have different implications across racial categories. In Studies 1a and 1b, we assessed the properties of a cultural essentialism measure we developed using two samples with different racial/ethnic compositions. In Study 2, we collected data from 170 participants using an online questionnaire to test the implications of essentialist beliefs for policy support. Consistent with previous research, we found that belief in biological essentialism was negatively related to policy support for participants from both dominant and subordinated categories. In contrast, the relationship between cultural essentialism and policy support varied across identity categories in the hypothesized way: negative for participants from the dominant category but positive for participants from subordinated categories. Results suggest that cultural essentialism may provide a way of identification that subordinated communities use to mobilize support for social justice.

  11. African female immigration to the United States and its policy implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Kevin J.A.; Logan, Ikubolajeh

    2014-01-01

    This study examines the dynamics of female African immigration and settlement in the United States and discusses the research and policy implications for these processes. It highlights a significant surge in female immigration from African than non-African countries in recent years. This surge is driven by female immigration from Africa’s countries most populous countries, from countries affected by civil conflicts, and from English-speaking countries in the region. African women are also more likely to arrive as unmarried single than other female immigrants. In addition, they had the highest prevalence of Bachelors, Masters, or Doctorate degrees among women in the US. African females were also about twice more likely to be enrolled in US Educational institutions compared to other women. Those in the labor force were more likely to work as nursing professionals than in technical occupational groups such as engineering and computing. The study concludes by discussing the research and policy implications of these findings for countries in the developing world. PMID:25097267

  12. Policy implications with regard to controllable forms of natural background radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heijningen, R.J.J. van; Bartels, J.H.M.; Ackers, J.G.; Hogeweg, B.; Rijn, H.T.U. de; Walle, F.B. de

    1988-04-01

    The RENA (Regulable forms of Natural Background radiation) has started in order to broaden the technical-scientific insights in the domain of the natural background radiation and to continue the SAWORA-study. With regard to the policy implications it has appeared to be desirable to define more detailed the environment-protectional economical and governmental aspects and to consider their mutual relationships in order to prepare a coherent programme which is directed at policy actions to be undertaken as well as at the supporting study needed. (author). 34 refs.; 3 figs.; 11 tabs

  13. Redefining the WISC-R: Implications for Professional Practice and Public Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macmann, Gregg M.; Barnett, David W.

    1992-01-01

    The factor structure of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Revised) was examined in the standardization sample using new methods of factor analysis. The substantial overlap across factors was most parsimoniously represented by a single general factor. Implications for public policy regarding the purposes and outcomes of special…

  14. Managing Conflict: Policy and Research Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Horowitz, Sandra V.; Boardman, Susan K.

    1994-01-01

    Highlights the importance of constructive conflict management in resolving disagreements arising from diversity. The authors discuss policy recommendations for implementing conflict-management programs in schools, training individuals in nonschool settings, and designing cross-cultural programs for high-risk inner-city youth. Procedural…

  15. Policy implications of technologies for cognitive enhancement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sarewitz, Daniel R. (Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ); Karas, Thomas H.

    2007-02-01

    The Advanced Concepts Group at Sandia National Laboratory and the Consortium for Science, Policy and Outcomes at Arizona State University convened a workshop in May 2006 to explore the potential policy implications of technologies that might enhance human cognitive abilities. The group's deliberations sought to identify core values and concerns raised by the prospect of cognitive enhancement. The workshop focused on the policy implications of various prospective cognitive enhancements and on the technologies/nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive science--that enable them. The prospect of rapidly emerging technological capabilities to enhance human cognition makes urgent a daunting array of questions, tensions, ambitions, and concerns. The workshop elicited dilemmas and concerns in ten overlapping areas: science and democracy; equity and justice; freedom and control; intergenerational issues; ethics and competition; individual and community rights; speed and deliberations; ethical uncertainty; humanness; and sociocultural risk. We identified four different perspectives to encompass the diverse issues related to emergence of cognitive enhancement technologies: (1) Laissez-faire--emphasizes freedom of individuals to seek and employ enhancement technologies based on their own judgment; (2) Managed technological optimism--believes that while these technologies promise great benefits, such benefits cannot emerge without an active government role; (3) Managed technological skepticism--views that the quality of life arises more out of society's institutions than its technologies; and (4) Human Essentialism--starts with the notion of a human essence (whether God-given or evolutionary in origin) that should not be modified. While the perspectives differ significantly about both human nature and the role of government, each encompasses a belief in the value of transparency and reliable information that can allow public discussion and

  16. Metering: EU policy and implications for fuel poor households

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darby, Sarah J.

    2012-01-01

    Fuel poverty is a function of household energy consumption, income, and the cost of delivered energy. The paper discusses ways in which current EU policy on the development of ‘smart’ metering could affect fuel poor households. The main focus is on developments in electricity metering and the development of ‘active demand’ and smart grids, so that demand can be matched closely with available supply. Advances in metering and related technologies open the way to time-of-use charging, easier switching between suppliers and between credit payment and prepayment, direct load control of some end-uses by the utility, greater scope for microgeneration, and improved consumption feedback for customers. These options open up both uncertainties and risks. The paper offers definitions and discussion of various functions of smart metering, summarizes the EU policy background, and considers some possible equity implications of rolling out a new generation of meters. There follows an assessment of potential implications to the fuel poor of changes to metering, based on a review of the literature on energy feedback, tariffing, and supplier–customer relationships. Much of the discussion is based on the UK experience, with examples from other EU member states and, where appropriate, from other parts of the world. - Highlights: ► Smart meters are part of general upgrading of electricity and gas networks. ► EU policy is to roll out the meters to 80%+ of the population by 2020. ► Improved feedback and prepayment metering may benefit the fuel poor. ► Remote disconnection and data privacy are issues for all consumers. ► We need careful assessment of potential gains and losses to the fuel poor.

  17. Carrying capacity: the tradition and policy implications of limits

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Virginia Deane Abernethy

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT: Within just the last few centuries, science and technology have enlarged human capabilities and population size until humans now take, for their own use, nearly half of the Earth's net terrestrial primary production. An ethical perspective suggests that potentials to alter, or further increase, humanity's use of global resources should be scrutinized through the lenses of self-interested foresightedness and respect for non-human life. Without overtly invoking ethics, studies of the carrying capacity achieve just this objective. Carrying capacity is an ecological concept that expresses the relationship between a population and the natural environment on which it depends for ongoing sustenance. Carrying capacity assumes limits on the number of individuals that can be supported at a given level of consumption without degrading the environment and, therefore, reducing future carrying capacity. That is, carrying capacity addresses long-term sustainability. Worldviews differ in the importance accorded to the carrying capacity concept. This paper addresses three worldviews - ecological, romantic, and entrepreneurial - and explores the ethics and the policy implications of their contrasting perspectives.

  18. Standards for arsenic in drinking water: Implications for policy in Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisher, Andrew T; López-Carrillo, Lizbeth; Gamboa-Loira, Brenda; Cebrián, Mariano E

    2017-11-01

    Global concern about arsenic in drinking water and its link to numerous diseases make translation of evidence-based research into national policy a priority. Delays in establishing a maximum contaminant level (MCL) to preserve health have increased the burden of disease and caused substantial and avoidable loss of life. The current Mexican MCL for arsenic in drinking water is 25 μg/l (2.5 times higher than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation from 1993). Mexico's struggles to set its arsenic MCL offer a compelling example of shortcomings in environmental health policy. We explore factors that might facilitate policy change in Mexico: scientific evidence, risk communication and public access to information, economic and technological resources, and politics. To raise awareness of the health, societal, and economic implications of arsenic contamination of drinking water in Mexico, we suggest action steps for attaining environmental policy change and better protect population health.

  19. Least cost, utility scale abatement from Australia's NEM (National Electricity Market). Part 2: Scenarios and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brear, M.J.; Jeppesen, M.; Chattopadhyay, D.; Manzie, C.; Alpcan, T.; Dargaville, R.

    2016-01-01

    This paper is the second of a two part study that considers least cost, greenhouse gas abatement pathways for an electricity system. Part 1 of this study formulated a model for determining these abatement pathways, and applied this model to Australia's NEM (National Electricity Market) for a single reference scenario. Part 2 of this study applies this model to different scenarios and considers the policy implications. These include cases where nuclear power generation and CCS (carbon capture and storage) are implemented in Australia, which is presently not the case, as well as a more detailed examination of how an extended, RPS (renewable portfolio standard) might perform. The effect of future fuel costs and different discount rates are also examined. Several results from this study are thought to be significant. Most importantly, this study suggests that Australia already has utility scale technologies, renewable and non-renewable resources, an electricity market design and an abatement policy that permit continued progress towards deep greenhouse gas abatement in its electricity sector. In particular, a RPS (renewable portfolio standard) appears to be close to optimal as a greenhouse gas abatement policy for Australia's electricity sector for at least the next 10–15 years. - Highlights: • Considers scenarios and policy implications for Australia's NEM (National Electricity Market). • An extended form of RPS (renewable portfolio standard) appears near optimal until roughly 2030. • For up to 80% abatement, the inclusion of nuclear achieves only marginal benefit by 2050. • CCS (Carbon capture and storage) does not appear competitive with current cost estimates.

  20. Impact of Macroeconomic Policies on Poverty and Unemployment Rates in Nigeria, Implications for Attaining Inclusive Growth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Philip Nwosa

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper examined the effect of macroeconomic policies on unemployment and poverty rates in Nigeria from 1980 to 2013 with implication to achieving inclusive growth. The inability of macroeconomic policies in addressing the rising issues unemployment and poverty rates in Nigeria despite the impressive economic growth experience over the last decades has increasingly called for the need for the pursuance of inclusive growth to address the social issues of unemployment and poverty rate. Previous studies have not considered the extent to which macroeconomic policies affects unemployment and poverty rate in Nigeria, and the implication of this relationship to the attainment of inclusive growth in Nigeria. The study adopts the Ordinary Least Square (OLS technique. The study observed that among macroeconomic policy variables only exchange rate significantly influenced unemployment rate while only fiscal policy significantly influenced and poverty rate. This implies that present macroeconomic policies in Nigeria do not guarantee the attainment of inclusive growth in Nigeria. The contribution of the paper is that to achieve inclusive growth that guarantees high employment and reduced poverty rate, there is the need for a re-examination of macroeconomic policy management in Nigeria.

  1. Policy Implications of Limiting Immigrant Concentration in Danish Public Schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Simon Calmar; Thomsen, Mette Kjærgaard

    2011-01-01

    Immigrant students in Denmark on average perform worse in lower secondary school than native Danish students. Part of the effect may not stem from the immigrant students themselves, but from the student composition at the school. From a policy perspective, the latter aspect is quite interesting...... since it is more feasible to change student composition in schools than the socioeconomic status of the individual students.This article describes theoretically the circumstances under which total student achievement can be increased by reallocating certain groups of students. Empirical analyses......’ educational outcome, by limiting the share of immigrant students at grade level at any one school to less than 50 percent. The policy implications of this finding are discussed....

  2. A Case Study with an Identified Bully: Policy and Practice Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huddleston, Lillie

    2011-07-01

    study provided important contributions by describing an intervention that is targeted to specific needs of the bully by designing culture specific interventions and working with the student’s unique environmental contexts. Additional contributions included the use of mixed methods to document acceptability, integrity and efficacy of an intervention with documented positive effects in these areas. In addition, implications for policy and practice related to the treatment of students identified as bullies and future research needs are discussed. [West J Emerg Med 2011; 12(3316-323].

  3. Mobility as a positional good : implications for transport policy and planning

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Litman, T. [Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Victoria, BC (Canada)

    2007-01-17

    Social position refers to a person's social rank. Many goods have positional value because they increase the status of their consumers. Positional goods include fashionable jewellery and clothing, luxurious homes and vehicles, and extravagant entertainment. Many motorists choose vehicles with greater potential speeds and off-road abilities than actually needed because these features are considered prestigious. This paper examined how positional value affects transportation decisions and investigated the resulting economic impacts. These included impacts on social welfare and external costs. The paper also discussed implications for transport policy and planning. The paper discussed the science of happiness and included an excerpt from a newspaper article on money and happiness. The paper also included an analysis of popular television shows and Internet blogs. Transportation impacts were also examined, with reference to motor vehicle ownership, luxury vehicles, mode choice, long-distance recreation travel, planning practices, and industrial development policy. A table was also presented that summarized the categories of prestige value travel impacts. The paper also presented possible offsetting benefits and implications for planning. 40 refs., 1 tab., 11 figs.

  4. Public perceptions of energy system risks: some policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, K.; Otway, H.J.

    1980-01-01

    The subject is discussed under the headings: introduction; perceptions, beliefs and attitudes; the survey of public perceptions and attitudes towards energy systems; attitudes towards the five energy systems (nuclear, coal, oil, solar and hydro); perceptions of energy systems - the underlying dimensions of belief (economic benefits; environmental risk; psychological and physical risk; indirect risk; technology development); differential analysis of the perceptions of those pro and con nuclear energy; summary of perceptions of energy systems - relevance to the Austrian dilemma; policy implications. (U.K.)

  5. Translating Nursing Philosophy for Practice and Healthcare Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reed, Pamela G

    2017-07-01

    This article introduces the feature article on policy implications of integrative nursing. It describes unitary ontology in nursing, highlighting the Rogerian view of holism. The importance of linking philosophy to practice policy is emphasized.

  6. Energy sector methane recovery and use: the importance of policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tom Kerr; Michelle Hershman

    2009-08-15

    To raise awareness about appropriate policy options to advance methane recovery and use in the energy sector, the IEA has conducted a series of analyses and studies over the past few years. This report continues IEA efforts by providing policy makers with examples and best practices in methane mitigation policy design and implementation. This report offers an overview of four types of methane mitigation projects that have the strongest links to the energy sector: oil and gas methane recovery and reduction of leaks and losses; coal mine methane; landfill methane; and manure methane recovery and use. It identifies successful policies that have been used to advance these important projects. This information is intended to guide policy makers as they search for low-cost, near-term solutions to climate change. 38 refs., 10 figs., 1 app.

  7. THE IMPORTANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN CSR POLICY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosca Mihai Ioan

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The CSR policy of companies occupy a privileged environment through coaching programs to other interests such as employees, suppliers, customers, authorities and various NGOs. This is why we wanted to see what the environment is important for managers on companies in Romania, the company's CSR policy. In the literature the definition of social responsibility and ways to implement this in practice are often encountered. Some authors claim that societal marketing concept has not found its way into the language of business. From here, there were other terms that had a greater impact on the business environment such as social responsibility. Increasing the company's impact on the environment, the pressure exerted by stakeholders, and identifying positive elements of socially responsible approach have been the main stimulus for development of social responsibility. From that a lot of studies on academic and commercial problem. And the present study fit the same line we conducted a research on 50 companies,it was an exploratory research. As respondents were chosen only marketing managers or general managers or even owners compnaie depending, in other words I tried to go directly to company decision makers in developing and building its image. While this one sample is statistically representative of the point of view we have covered with him in all areas of business activities and of all sizes can say that the results provide a clear enough picture of managersmentality in companies in Romania on business activities with the problem of intereactiunii environment Managers of companies in Romania recognize the environmental problems and say they are implicating in various actions to protect the environment. On the declarative level social environment is one of the most important areas being the most nominated as one of the top three areas of social nature that would involve having the greatest opportunity for development in coming years, over 60% of

  8. IMPORT SUBSTITUTION POLICY UNDER ANTI-RUSSIAN SANCTIONS: STATE AND PROSPECTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elena Vyacheslavovna Galkina

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available In the context of Western sanctions caused by the events in Ukraine, a sharp drop in oil prices and other commodity prices, Russia is in a difficult political and economic situation. In these conditions, pressing was the question of replacement technologies and products imported from abroad, especially from the European Union, acceding to the anti-Russian sanctions, initiated by the United States. The political leadership of the Russian Federation have repeatedly raised the issue of import substitution, and only the events of recent years have allowed to translate public policy in this area to the actual implementation of programs developed its own production of goods and technology that were previously imported from abroad.Objective: To analyze the current political developments in the modern world and show the pros and cons of the policy of import substitution in Russia in terms of anti-Russian sanctions.Method and methodology of work: Institutional and neo-institutional paradigm, systematic approach.Results: The authors note that the import substitution program in import substitution, in spite of the marked complexity, have a good chance of success, and this is the key to low-cost raw materials, relatively cheap labor, cheap energy sources – natural gas and electricity, as well as carried out in 2014–2015 devaluation of the ruble, which significantly reduce the cost of the potential costs of enterprises.Application of the results: political science and practice, economic policy.

  9. Long-term climate policy implications of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schwanitz, Valeria Jana; Piontek, Franziska; Bertram, Christoph; Luderer, Gunnar

    2014-01-01

    It is often argued that fossil fuel subsidies hamper the transition towards a sustainable energy supply as they incentivize wasteful consumption. We assess implications of a subsidy phase-out for the mitigation of climate change and the low-carbon transformation of the energy system, using the global energy–economy model REMIND. We compare our results with those obtained by the International Energy Agency (based on the World Energy Model) and by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD-Model ENV-Linkages), providing the long-term perspective of an intertemporal optimization model. The results are analyzed in the two dimensions of subsidy phase-out and climate policy scenarios. We confirm short-term benefits of phasing-out fossil fuel subsidies as found in prior studies. However, these benefits are only sustained to a small extent in the long term, if dedicated climate policies are weak or nonexistent. Most remarkably we find that a removal of fossil fuel subsidies, if not complemented by other policies, can slow down a global transition towards a renewable based energy system. The reason is that world market prices for fossil fuels may drop due to a removal of subsidies. Thus, low carbon alternatives would encounter comparative disadvantages. - Highlights: • We assess implications of phasing out fossil fuel subsidies on the mitigation of climate change. • The removal of subsidies leads to a net-reduction in the use of energy. • Emission reductions contribute little to stabilize greenhouse gases at 450 ppm if not combined with climate policies. • Low carbon alternatives may encounter comparative disadvantages due to relative price changes at world markets

  10. Genomic sequencing: assessing the health care system, policy, and big-data implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Kathryn A; Trosman, Julia R; Kelley, Robin K; Pletcher, Mark J; Douglas, Michael P; Weldon, Christine B

    2014-07-01

    New genomic sequencing technologies enable the high-speed analysis of multiple genes simultaneously, including all of those in a person's genome. Sequencing is a prominent example of a "big data" technology because of the massive amount of information it produces and its complexity, diversity, and timeliness. Our objective in this article is to provide a policy primer on sequencing and illustrate how it can affect health care system and policy issues. Toward this end, we developed an easily applied classification of sequencing based on inputs, methods, and outputs. We used it to examine the implications of sequencing for three health care system and policy issues: making care more patient-centered, developing coverage and reimbursement policies, and assessing economic value. We conclude that sequencing has great promise but that policy challenges include how to optimize patient engagement as well as privacy, develop coverage policies that distinguish research from clinical uses and account for bioinformatics costs, and determine the economic value of sequencing through complex economic models that take into account multiple findings and downstream costs. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  11. Resident Perspectives on Work-Life Policies and Implications for Burnout.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Westercamp, Nicole; Wang, Raziya S; Fassiotto, Magali

    2018-02-01

    As resident burnout increases, there is a need for better awareness, resources, and interventions. Challenges in balancing work and life priorities have been implicated in contributing to physician burnout. Institutional work-life policies (WLPs) are critical tools to meet work-life needs. This study investigates the influence of WLPs on residents' experiences. The authors emailed a SurveyMonkey link to the APA chief resident and Minority Fellow listservs and directly to 94 psychiatry program directors and 52 fellowship directors nationwide to distribute a survey to residents regarding WLP use and barriers, as well as burnout. Estimated response rate was 12-23%. The authors assessed the anonymous responses using SPSS to evaluate for relationships between awareness of WLPs, perceptions/barriers surrounding their usage, and burnout. The authors analyzed 255 responses. Awareness and use of policies ranged from 2 to 33%. A prominent barrier to WLPs is that use results in shifting workload to co-residents (48% agree). Respondents who perceived leadership to view use of WLPs as a sign of weakness (16% agree) were less likely to use WLPs (t (89) = -3.52, p burnout (41%) perceived vastly higher barriers to using WLPs as compared to those without burnout. This study supports the need for further investigation of WLPs to mitigate resident burnout and identifies important perceived barriers that affect the use of WLPs including low awareness, potential for shifting workload to co-residents, and negative perceptions of leadership attitudes toward WLPs.

  12. Irrigation efficiency and water-policy implications for river basin resilience

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott, C. A.; Vicuña, S.; Blanco-Gutiérrez, I.; Meza, F.; Varela-Ortega, C.

    2014-04-01

    Rising demand for food, fiber, and biofuels drives expanding irrigation withdrawals from surface water and groundwater. Irrigation efficiency and water savings have become watchwords in response to climate-induced hydrological variability, increasing freshwater demand for other uses including ecosystem water needs, and low economic productivity of irrigation compared to most other uses. We identify three classes of unintended consequences, presented here as paradoxes. Ever-tighter cycling of water has been shown to increase resource use, an example of the efficiency paradox. In the absence of effective policy to constrain irrigated-area expansion using "saved water", efficiency can aggravate scarcity, deteriorate resource quality, and impair river basin resilience through loss of flexibility and redundancy. Water scarcity and salinity effects in the lower reaches of basins (symptomatic of the scale paradox) may partly be offset over the short-term through groundwater pumping or increasing surface water storage capacity. However, declining ecological flows and increasing salinity have important implications for riparian and estuarine ecosystems and for non-irrigation human uses of water including urban supply and energy generation, examples of the sectoral paradox. This paper briefly considers three regional contexts with broadly similar climatic and water-resource conditions - central Chile, southwestern US, and south-central Spain - where irrigation efficiency directly influences basin resilience. The comparison leads to more generic insights on water policy in relation to irrigation efficiency and emerging or overdue needs for environmental protection.

  13. Efficient way of importing crude oil from oil producing countries - A review on diversification policy of crude oil import

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Dal Sok [Korea Energy Economics Institute, Euiwang (Korea)

    1999-03-01

    Since the second oil crisis, the government has operated the import diversification support program to reduce the risk of crude oil import from Middle-East region and to raise the ability of dealing with the risk. This study tried to seek policy trends in future through reviewing the market environment related to the crude oil import diversification policy and the goal, instrument and effect of the policy. The supply and demand of crude oil and the price are influenced by market system in the world oil market and there are various types of crude oil trading available to both sellers and buyers. There is a probability that the suspension of supply in a certain area could be led to the price issue rather than the physical use of crude oil. In addition, the advantage of price with long-term contract of crude oil was abolished since the price of crude oil imported by term contract has been linked to spot prices. As a result, it is shown that the potential benefit from crude oil import diversification policy is reduced although political and social insecurity still exists in Middle-East region. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain the existing support program until the amount of stored oil reaches the optimum level and to help private enterprises determine the import considering economical efficiency and risk. (author). 36 refs., 5 figs., 23 tabs.

  14. Implications of Canadian oil tax policies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Copplestone, G H

    1983-01-01

    This thesis examines some of the implications of the policy initiatives taken by both levels of government during the 1974-80 period (i.e., from the OPEC oil embargo and subsequent quadrupling of posted world oil prices to the introduction of the National Energy Program, or NEP). A survey of the fiscal instruments employed by both the federal and the oil-producing provincial levels of government to distribute the oil revenues generated in Canada is presented. The focus of this survey is primarily on the pre-NEP regime and the immediate post-NEP regime. The remainder of the thesis then deals with some of the distributional and efficiency aspects of these tax regimes. The thesis also examines the economic efficiency aspects of the pre- and post-NEP tax regimes. In particular, it addresses the issue of an inefficient allocation of resources within the oil industry itself.

  15. Teacher-student relationship climate and school outcomes: implications for educational policy initiatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barile, John P; Donohue, Dana K; Anthony, Elizabeth R; Baker, Andrew M; Weaver, Scott R; Henrich, Christopher C

    2012-03-01

    In recent discussions regarding concerns about the academic achievement of US students, educational policy makers have suggested the implementation of certain teacher policies. To address the limited empirical research on the putative educational impact of such policies, this study used multilevel structural equation models to investigate the longitudinal associations between teacher evaluation and reward policies, and student mathematics achievement and dropout with a national sample of students (n = 7,779) attending one of 431 public high schools. The student sample included an equal number of boys and girls averaging 16 years of age, and included a White (53%) majority. This study examined whether associations between teacher policies and student achievement were mediated by the teacher-student relationship climate. Results of this study were threefold. First, teacher evaluation policies that allowed students to evaluate their teachers were associated with more positive student reports of the classroom teaching climate. Second, schools with teacher reward policies that included assigning higher performing teachers with higher performing students had a negative association with student perceptions of the teaching climate. Lastly, schools with better student perceptions of the teaching climate were associated with lower student dropout rates by students' senior year. These findings are discussed in light of their educational policy implications.

  16. Renewable energy policies and competition for biomass: Implications for land use, food prices, and processing industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Xiaoguang; Önal, Hayri

    2016-01-01

    We use a mathematical programming model to examine the impacts of simultaneous implementation of two US biofuel and bioenergy policies on commodity markets and spatial distribution of future cellulosic biorefineries. The key findings based on our numerical simulation are: (1) the number and average annual production capacity of cellulosic biofuel refineries depend on the total renewable fuels mandate; (2) the mix of cellulosic biomass feedstock depends on the assumptions about the production costs of energy crops and the amount of cropland that can be used for energy crops, but regardless of the assumptions crop residues are the primary biomass source to meet the demand for biomass for biofuel production and electricity generation; and (3) the biomass production areas would surround either future cellulosic biorefineries or the existing coal-based power plants to reduce the costs of biomass transportation. These findings have important implications for biorefinery investors and provide valuable policy insights for the selection of Biomass Crop Assistance Program project areas. - Highlights: •Impacts of US biofuel and bioenergy policies are analyzed. •The number and production capacity of biorefineries depend on the biofuel policies. •Crop residues are the primary biomass source for bioenergy production. •Biomass production areas will surround cellulosic biorefineries or power plants.

  17. Evidence-based policy: implications for nursing and policy involvement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hewison, Alistair

    2008-11-01

    Evidence-based policy making is espoused as a central feature of government in the United Kingdom. However, an expectation that this will improve the quality of policy produced and provide a path to increased involvement of nurses in the policy process is misplaced. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that the emphasis on evidence-based policy is problematic and cannot be regarded as a "new model" of policy making. Also, it could deflect attention from more practical approaches to policy involvement on the part of nurses. Policy development activities, acquisition of skills in policy analysis, and other forms of involvement are needed if nurses are to move along the continuum from policy literacy, through policy acumen, to policy competence. This involves taking a critical stance on the notion of evidence-based policy.

  18. Monetary policy implications of financial innovation: In-depth analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Bernoth, Kerstin; Gebauer, Stefan; Schäfer, Dorothea

    2017-01-01

    In this policy brief, we argue that the financial innovations triggered by the FinTech industry have the potential to affect the transmission of monetary policy as well as the informational content of important monetary indicators. The growing FinTech industry could contribute substantially to the emergence of nonbank finance as a substitute for traditional commercial bank finance. While the overall effect of nonbank finance on monetary policy transmission is not yet clear, we argue that regu...

  19. A fraud prevention policy: Its relevance and implication at a university of technology in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amelia Rorwana

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Using research grants administrators and their clients (academic researchers as the lens, this paper investigated the relevance and implication of a fraud prevention policy at a University of Technology (UoT in South Africa. The paper adopted a quantitative approach in which closed-ended questions were complemented by open-ended questions in the survey questionnaire in the attempt to capture the perceptions of both research grants administrators and their clients on the relevance and implications of a fraud and irregularity prevention policy. The results indicate that both research grants administrators (71.4 %, and their clients (73% do not know if UoTx has a fraud and irregularity policy. While only 36% of research grants administrators indicated that they would feel safe reporting deceitful activities, a slight majority (59% of the clients reported same. With regards to the steps to follow to report fraudulent activity, it was noted that while all (100% the research grants administrators noted that they were clueless, ironically an overwhelming majority of their clients indicated otherwise. Notwithstanding, both research grants administrators and their clients (93% and 95% respectively concurred that a fraud prevention policy was necessary for UoTx. The implication is that having phenomenal controls that are not effectively publicized, monitored or worse still overridden by someone are useless.

  20. Implications for climate change policy of trends in exports and imports of energy commodities and manufactured goods

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ward, Murray

    2005-11-01

    A number of formal and informal policy processes are underway to explore the issue of 'where to next' for the international climate change regime post-2012. Currently these are informed by data based mainly on production statistics only. A key purpose of this study and report is to raise issues associated with trade in energy commodities and manufactured goods, in order to ensure that important perspectives which can be discerned from considering this 'consumption side' are not overlooked. A number of previous studies and papers have explored issues regarding embodied greenhouse gas emissions in traded energy commodities and manufactured goods. This study draws out key messages from these. It also expands on the existing literature by covering some non-CO2 greenhouse gas emissions, and also by considering traded renewables-based commodities. This work is not intended to be a comprehensive resource of quantitative data. Rather, examples of data are selected to help articulate and elaborate key issues. Section 2 describes the nature of the data sets that have been researched and utilised in developing any quantitative results. It outlines some relevant limitations of the methodologies underlying these data sets, and the nature of uncertainties. It also describes the methodology used in this work to unpack and/or re-present data. Section 3 provides data and analysis addressing the key objective noted above, i.e. to identify 'significant instances where transferred benefits and avoided costs occur - and the extent to which the exporter is likely to be compensated in the absence of policies intended for this purpose'. Section 4 draws out some of the key policy-relevant 'messages' and issues from this data. It uses a number of example cases to help do this, in a manner that is intended to be thought provoking, but not judgemental or prejudicial. Appendix A lists the existing literature that has informed this report. Appendix B reproduces a paper written on a subject that

  1. Institutional Design, Macroeconomic Policy Coordination and Implications for the Financial Sector in the UK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nasir Muhammad Ali

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study has analysed the implications of institutional design of macroeconomic policy making institutions for the macroeconomic policy interaction and financial sector in the United Kingdom. Employing a Vector Error Correction (VEC model and using monthly data from January 1985 to August 2008 we found that the changes in institutional arrangement and design of policy making authorities appeared to be a major contributing factor in dynamics of association between policy coordination/combination and financial sector. It was also found that the independence of the Bank of England (BoE and withdrawal from the Exchange Rate Mechanism led to the increase in macroeconomic policy maker’s ability to coordinate and restore financial stability. The results imply that although institutional autonomy in the form of instrument independence (monetary policy decisions could bring financial stability, there is a strong necessity for coordination, even in Post-MPC (Monetary Policy Committee and the BoE independence.

  2. Policy Implications of Research on School Time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Lorin

    1983-01-01

    The allocation and use of time are considered important in the context of learning because time can be manipulated, measured, and applied to the design of instructional programs. After a clarification of terminology, an overview of current research on time is offered and policy recommendations discussed. (MJL)

  3. Sustainable development, demography and sexual and reproductive health: inseparable linkages and their policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrmann, Michael

    2014-05-01

    The greatest challenge today is to meet the needs of current and future generations, of a large and growing world population, without imposing catastrophic pressures on the natural environment. Meeting this challenge depends on decisive policy changes in three areas: more inclusive economic growth, greener economic growth, and population policies. This article focuses on efforts to address and harness demographic changes for sustainable development, which are largely outside the purview of the current debate. Efforts to this end must be based on the recognition that demographic changes are the cumulative result of individual choices and opportunities, and that demographic changes are best addressed through policies that enlarge these choices and opportunities, with a focus on ensuring unrestricted and universal access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, empowering women to fully participate in social, economic and political life, and investing in the education of the younger generation beyond the primary level. The article provides a strong argument for why the Programme of Action that was agreed at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) 20 years ago continues to hold important implications and lessons for the formulation of the post-2015 development agenda, which is expected to supersede the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Copyright © 2014 Reproductive Health Matters. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. An Investigation of Creative Climate of University R&D Centers and Policy Implications for Innovation in China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhou, Chunfang; Rasmussen, Palle; Chemi, Tatiana

    2017-01-01

    The chapter focuses on the influences of science and technology (S&T) policies on creative climate of university R&D centers in China that provide policy implications for improving roles of university R&D in innovation system. The empirical data came from two questionnaire surveys, one...... is with members from R&D centers, another with leaders of S&T fund management sectors in universities. The results demonstrate both strengths and weaknesses of creative climate of university R&D centers. This leads to implications such as to improve a more comprehensive innovation Measurement system and to build...

  5. Military Implications of Global Warming.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-05-20

    U.S. environmental issues also have important global implications. This paper analyzes current U.S. Policy as it pertains to global warming and climate...for military involvement to reduce global warming . Global warming and other environmental issues are important to the U.S. military. As the United

  6. How important are work-family support policies? A meta-analytic investigation of their effects on employee outcomes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butts, Marcus M; Casper, Wendy J; Yang, Tae Seok

    2013-01-01

    This meta-analysis examines relationships between work-family support policies, which are policies that provide support for dependent care responsibilities, and employee outcomes by developing a conceptual model detailing the psychological mechanisms through which policy availability and use relate to work attitudes. Bivariate results indicated that availability and use of work-family support policies had modest positive relationships with job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intentions to stay. Further, tests of differences in effect sizes showed that policy availability was more strongly related to job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intentions to stay than was policy use. Subsequent meta-analytic structural equation modeling results indicated that policy availability and use had modest effects on work attitudes, which were partially mediated by family-supportive organization perceptions and work-to-family conflict, respectively. Additionally, number of policies and sample characteristics (percent women, percent married-cohabiting, percent with dependents) moderated the effects of policy availability and use on outcomes. Implications of these findings and directions for future research on work-family support policies are discussed. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.

  7. Teacher Strategies for Effective Intervention with Students Presenting Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties: Implications for Policy and Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Paul

    2011-01-01

    In this paper some key practice and policy implications emerging from a review of literature on effective teacher strategies for social, emotional and behavioural difficulties are set out. Particular attention is given to implications in relation to the development of teachers' skills.

  8. The tension between research of policy and research for policy in an era of transnational education policy-making

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Desjardins, Richard; Rubenson, Kjell

    2009-01-01

    of implications for education policy-making processes and not least it has had an impact on who conducts policy studies and how. This book brings together a variety of contributions which explore recent political economic changes affecting education policy-making processes including the ascension of neo-liberalism......As national governments reform their educational systems to meet the challenges of living in a globalised world, the agenda setting power of transnational organizations like the OECD and the EU have become more transparent in the last decade. The phenomenon of globalization has a number...... and the transnationalization of education policy-making, as well as the tension between research of policy and research for policy. Working from different perspectives, the authors help to provide a better understanding of these two important sets of issues which the field of education must contend with today....

  9. Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: a conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia

    OpenAIRE

    Pocock, Nicola S; Phua, Kai Hong

    2011-01-01

    Abstract Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon with policy implications for health systems, particularly of destination countries. Private actors and governments in Southeast Asia are promoting the medical tourist industry, but the potential impact on health systems, particularly in terms of equity in access and availability for local consumers, is unclear. This article presents a conceptual framework that outlines the policy implications of medical tourism's growth for health systems, draw...

  10. The BEIR 3 report and its implications for radiation protection and public health policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fabrikant, J.I.

    1980-01-01

    In 1980, a report was compiled by the Advisory Committee on the Biological Effects of Ionizing Radiation on the effects on populations of exposure to low levels of ionizing radiation (BEIR-III Report). A general background is given of the implications of this report on the regulation of activities concerned with the health effects of low-level radiation. First, the reasons for having advisory committees on radiation and why the BEIR Committee and its current report are somewhat different from the others are briefly outlined. This is followed by discussions on 1) the important biological effects of low-level radiation; 2) what we know and do not know about the health effects of low-level radiation; 3) the uncertainties in the dose-response relationships for radiation-induced cancer; 4) the controversy over the estimation of the cancer risk from low-level radiation; 5) the sources of epidemiological data for the estimation of excess cancer risk in exposed human populations; 6) the risk estimates of radiation-induced cancer in man; and 7) the implications of numerical risk estimation for radiation protection and public health policy. (UK)

  11. Renewable energy policies in promoting financing and investment among the East Asia Summit countries: Quantitative assessment and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Youngho; Fang, Zheng; Li, Yanfei

    2016-01-01

    Many countries have implemented various policies for renewable energy development ranging from setting power purchase agreements and the legislation of renewable energy requirements to providing incentives and imposing carbon taxes. The evaluation of the effectiveness of such policies, however, is fragmented, which raises a need for a comprehensive analysis. This paper aims to assess whether and how policies promoting renewable energy investment have achieved the intended goals. It employs five broadly defined criteria - market, uncertainty, profitability, technology, and financial resources - to build an index to assess respectively if such policies have helped create a market for renewable energy, maximize potential profits, reduce risks relating to the investment, develop and adopt new technologies, and improve the access to financial resources. Each criterion is reflected by three indicators. Values of each indicator are converted into ordinal values for analysis. The index not only scans comprehensively all relevant renewable energy investment policies in the East Asia Summit countries, but also provides systematic and quantitative measures to compare the effectiveness of policies in these countries with respect to the creation of market, the degree of uncertainty, the potential of profitability, the development and adoption of technology and the accessibility of financial resources. - Highlights: •This paper evaluate renewable energy policies in 16 East Asia Summit countries. •Five criteria are used to build the quantitative index. •They are market, profitability, legislation, technology, and financial resources. •Policy implications are drawn based on the index.

  12. Impacts of Sugar Import Policy on Sugar Production in Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Suryantoro, Agustinus; Susilo, Albertus Magnus; Supriyono, Supriyono

    2013-01-01

    Production of sugar unful lled consumption of Indonesia society. The lack of consumption and productionhave ful lled by import. Assumption national consumption 2,7 million ton, Indonesia will import sugar in 2013predicted about 300.000 ton (Tempo.co, August, 21, 2012).The aims in general of this research are to understand the impact of sugar import policy on sugar production.Especially (1) to understand the factors that in uence sugar import price, (2) to understand impact of sugarimport pric...

  13. Optimising the effect of policy instruments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Anders Branth; Nielsen, Helle Ørsted; Christensen, Tove

    2012-01-01

    Economic modelling generally assumes that businesses are profit maximisers. However, behavioural economics holds that businesses pursue multiple objectives and may even sacrifice some profit. This has implications for the effectiveness of incentive-based environmental policies. Using Danish farme...... to policy instruments; farmers who focus on yield indicate less responsiveness to economic policy instruments. The results imply that it is important to implement a broad array of policy instruments to match different farmer rationales.......Economic modelling generally assumes that businesses are profit maximisers. However, behavioural economics holds that businesses pursue multiple objectives and may even sacrifice some profit. This has implications for the effectiveness of incentive-based environmental policies. Using Danish farmers...... as a case, this paper examines whether non-economic rationales may trump economic ones in farmer decisions, and, unlike previous research, we quantify how widespread non-economic values are compared to more economic values. Data derive from a survey (1164 responses) of Danish conventional farmers' decision...

  14. The economics of environmental policy in Poland: implications for countries in transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Livingston, M.L.; Bochniarz, Z.; Bolan, R.

    1995-01-01

    The objective of this article is to generate insights into the problems and opportunities faced by countries in transition in implementing environmental policy based on the recent experience of Poland. There is much to be learned from the experience of the country that arguably took the riskiest and boldest path of environmental and economic institutional change. The experience of Poland can be enlightening in terms of the problems and opportunities in establishing an institutional framework that can validate the long term legitimacy of sustainable development as a national goal. From the unique set of circumstances facing Poland, lessons can be derived for other countries in transition. The paper begins by introducing the basic welfare economics of institutional choice. The theoretical arguments are presented in terms general to institutional design and specific to environmental policy. Subsequently, the recent experience of Poland in terms of the problems faced and key environmental policy innovations are documented. The concluding section presents policy implications that can be drawn from the Polish experience and speculates about their applicability to other countries in transition. 28 refs., 5 figs., 8 tabs

  15. Bangladesh pharmaceutical policy and politics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reich, M R

    1994-06-01

    An analysis of the politics of Bangladesh pharmaceutical policy in the 1980s shows how significant health policy reforms in developing countries depend on political conditions both inside and outside the country. Bangladesh's drug policy of 1982 illustrates that governments can sometimes change public policy in ways unfavourable to multinational corporations, while the failed health policy reform of 1990 shows that reforms unfavourable to powerful domestic interest groups can be more difficult to achieve, even contributing to a government's downfall. The case provides evidence of basic changes in how the international agenda for health policy is set, especially the growing role of non-governmental organizations in international agencies and national policy debates. Understanding the political patterns of policy reform in Bangladesh has important implications for strategies to affect health policy in developing countries.

  16. Shedding light on solar technologies-A techno-economic assessment and its policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peters, Michael; Schmidt, Tobias S.; Wiederkehr, David; Schneider, Malte

    2011-01-01

    Solar power technologies will have to become a major pillar in the world's future energy system to combat climate change and resource depletion. However, it is unclear which solar technology is and will prove most viable. Therefore, a comprehensive comparative assessment of solar technologies along the key quantitative and qualitative competitiveness criteria is needed. Based on a literature review and detailed techno-economic modeling for 2010 and 2020 in five locations, we provide such an assessment for the three currently leading large-scale solar technologies. We show that today these technologies cannot yet compete with conventional forms of power generation but approach competitiveness around 2020 in favorable locations. Furthermore, from a global perspective we find that none of the solar technologies emerges as a clear winner and that cost of storing energy differs by technology and can change the order of competitiveness in some instances. Importantly, the competitiveness of the different technologies varies considerably across locations due to differences in, e.g., solar resource and discount rates. Based on this analysis, we discuss policy implications with regard to fostering the diffusion of solar technologies while increasing the efficiency of policy support through an adequate geographical allocation of solar technologies. - Highlights: → We conduct a comprehensive comparative assessment of solar technologies (CSP/PV). → While solar technologies approach competitiveness in 2020, no clear winner emerges. → Solar resource and discount rate heavily impact competitiveness of solar technologies. → Adequate geographical allocation of solar technologies increases policy efficiency. → Focus on key cost down levers and strategic co-benefits of solar technologies needed.

  17. Policy-Making Theory as an Analytical Framework in Policy Analysis: Implications for Research Design and Professional Advocacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheldon, Michael R

    2016-01-01

    Policy studies are a recent addition to the American Physical Therapy Association's Research Agenda and are critical to our understanding of various federal, state, local, and organizational policies on the provision of physical therapist services across the continuum of care. Policy analyses that help to advance the profession's various policy agendas will require relevant theoretical frameworks to be credible. The purpose of this perspective article is to: (1) demonstrate the use of a policy-making theory as an analytical framework in a policy analysis and (2) discuss how sound policy analysis can assist physical therapists in becoming more effective change agents, policy advocates, and partners with other relevant stakeholder groups. An exploratory study of state agency policy responses to address work-related musculoskeletal disorders is provided as a contemporary example to illustrate key points and to demonstrate the importance of selecting a relevant analytical framework based on the context of the policy issue under investigation. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.

  18. Reducing conflicts between climate policy and energy policy in the US: The important role of the states

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peterson, Thomas D.; Rose, Adam Z.

    2006-01-01

    The absence of US national action on global climate change policy has prompted initiatives by the US Congress, cities, states, and regions toward what is likely to become a long-term, collaborative effort to harmonize national energy and climate policies. This upward evolution in the face of a reluctant administration is historically consistent with the development of national legislation on other environmental and social issues in the US. At the heart of this movement is the need to resolve conflicts between high-intensity use of low-cost fossil energy supplies, and the dominating impact of carbon dioxide emissions on global climate change. US states are among the largest carbon dioxide emitters in the world and play a critical role in supplying and transforming energy, as well as consuming it, for economic advantage. State governments are also likely to have to shoulder some of the cost of potentially extensive climate damages and bear the brunt of the cost of implementing future federal mandates. As a result, many are taking proactive stances on the development of climate mitigation policy to prepare for, accelerate, and/or guide national policy. As US states show leadership on addressing greenhouse gas emissions, they also play an important role in forging policies and measures that reduce economic conflict between energy and climate goals. A number have launched or completed greenhouse gas mitigation plans and other major policies in the past few years that address these conflicts through: (1) finding ways to reduce mitigation costs, including the use of incentive-based policy instruments; (2) promoting an open and democratic policy process that includes major stakeholders; (3) promoting equity across socioeconomic groups, regions, and generations; and (4) promoting interregional cooperation. The results are promising and suggest that the state arena for climate and energy policy is evolving quickly and constructively toward alternatives that reduce conflict

  19. Conflict management: importance and implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McKibben, Laurie

    2017-01-26

    Conflict is a consistent and unavoidable issue within healthcare teams. Despite training of nurse leaders and managers around areas of conflict resolution, the problem of staff relations, stress, sickness and retention remain. Conflict arises from issues with interpersonal relationships, change and poor leadership. New members of staff entering an already established healthcare team should be supported and integrated, to encourage mutual role respect between all team members and establish positive working relationships, in order to maximise patient care. This paper explores the concept of conflict, the importance of addressing causes of conflict, effective management, and the relevance of positive approaches to conflict resolution. Good leadership, nurturing positive team dynamics and communication, encourages shared problem solving and acceptance of change. Furthermore mutual respect fosters a more positive working environment for those in healthcare teams. As conflict has direct implications for patients, positive resolution is essential, to promote safe and effective delivery of care, whilst encouraging therapeutic relationships between colleagues and managers.

  20. Strategic environmental noise mapping: methodological issues concerning the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive and their policy implications.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Murphy, E

    2010-04-01

    This paper explores methodological issues and policy implications concerning the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive (END) across Member States. Methodologically, the paper focuses on two key thematic issues relevant to the Directive: (1) calculation methods and (2) mapping methods. For (1), the paper focuses, in particular, on how differing calculation methods influence noise prediction results as well as the value of the EU noise indicator L(den) and its associated implications for comparability of noise data across EU states. With regard to (2), emphasis is placed on identifying the issues affecting strategic noise mapping, estimating population exposure, noise action planning and dissemination of noise mapping results to the general public. The implication of these issues for future environmental noise policy is also examined.

  1. Industrial clusters in the Finnish economy. Strategies and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Luukkainen, S.

    2001-04-01

    Technology is currently the most important determinant of the long-term economic growth as it explains for at least half of the growth of the industrialised nations. Economists have demonstrated that R and D performed by the innovating company generates widespread value in the economy through technology diffusion. The objective of the private financing is, however, to increase the value of the innovating company and the spillovers to other companies are there not so important. The market failure created by the R and D spillovers is thus one of the main justifications for government policies. The advancement of spillovers by government's actions can be called cluster policy. The objective of this study is to produce knowledge to support decision making in the realisation of an efficient cluster-oriented technology policy. The Finnish industrial clusters are identified by a quantitative value chain analysis, and their economic profiles are analysed. Also, a solid framework is presented that describes how to evaluate the economic impacts of a R and D project from the cluster policy point of view. The clusters should be seen as a technology policy tools, by which the domestic industrial structures can be analysed and developed. In this kind of decision making it is important to understand the mechanisms of technology diffusion. Concrete technology policy occurs in the selection of the publicly financed R and D projects. In the selection of the supported-projects it is crucial to evaluate the economic impacts of project proposals in advance. That is why economic indicators like measures of spillovers are needed The governments should fund R and D projects that have the highest social rate of return and would otherwise be underfunded or delayed. (orig.)

  2. Public health benefits of strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions: overview and implications for policy makers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haines, Andy; McMichael, Anthony J; Smith, Kirk R; Roberts, Ian; Woodcock, James; Markandya, Anil; Armstrong, Ben G; Campbell-Lendrum, Diarmid; Dangour, Alan D; Davies, Michael; Bruce, Nigel; Tonne, Cathryn; Barrett, Mark; Wilkinson, Paul

    2009-12-19

    This Series has examined the health implications of policies aimed at tackling climate change. Assessments of mitigation strategies in four domains-household energy, transport, food and agriculture, and electricity generation-suggest an important message: that actions to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions often, although not always, entail net benefits for health. In some cases, the potential benefits seem to be substantial. This evidence provides an additional and immediate rationale for reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions beyond that of climate change mitigation alone. Climate change is an increasing and evolving threat to the health of populations worldwide. At the same time, major public health burdens remain in many regions. Climate change therefore adds further urgency to the task of addressing international health priorities, such as the UN Millennium Development Goals. Recognition that mitigation strategies can have substantial benefits for both health and climate protection offers the possibility of policy choices that are potentially both more cost effective and socially attractive than are those that address these priorities independently. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Evidence, Ethics & Social Policy Dilemmas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Steven I. Miller

    1993-07-01

    Full Text Available Within the philosophy of the social sciences, the relationship between evidence, ethics, and social policy is in need of further analysis. The present paper is an attempt to argue that while important social policies can, and perhaps ought to be, grounded in ethical theory, they are seldom articulated in this fashion due to the ambiguity surrounding the "evidence condition." Using a consequentialist-utilitarian framework, and a case study of a policy dilemma, the authors analyze the difficulties associated with resolving policy-based dilemmas which must appeal to evidential support as a justification for an ethical stand. Implication for the relevance of ethics to social policy formulation are discussed in detail.

  4. Integration scenarios of Demand Response into electricity markets: Load shifting, financial savings and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Feuerriegel, Stefan; Neumann, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Demand Response allows for the management of demand side resources in real-time; i.e. shifting electricity demand according to fluctuating supply. When integrated into electricity markets, Demand Response can be used for load shifting and as a replacement for both control reserve and balancing energy. These three usage scenarios are compared based on historic German data from 2011 to determine that load shifting provides the highest benefit: its annual financial savings accumulate to €3.110 M for both households and the service sector. This equals to relative savings of 2.83% compared to a scenario without load shifting. To improve Demand Response integration, the proposed model suggests policy implications: reducing bid sizes, delivery periods and the time-lag between market transactions and delivery dates in electricity markets. - Highlights: •Comparison of 3 scenarios to integrate Demand Response into electricity markets. •These are: optimize procurement, offer as control reserve, avoid balancing energy. •Ex post simulation to quantify financial impact and policy implications. •Highest savings from load shifting with a cost reduction of 3%. •Model suggests reducing bid sizes, delivery periods and time lags as policy issues.

  5. Political economy constraints on carbon pricing policies: What are the implications for economic efficiency, environmental efficacy, and climate policy design?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jenkins, Jesse D.

    2014-01-01

    Economists traditionally view a Pigouvian fee on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, either via carbon taxes or emissions caps and permit trading (“cap-and-trade”), as the economically optimal or “first-best” policy to address climate change-related externalities. Yet several political economy factors can severely constrain the implementation of these carbon pricing policies, including opposition of industrial sectors with a concentration of assets that would lose considerable value under such policies; the collective action nature of climate mitigation efforts; principal agent failures; and a low willingness-to-pay for climate mitigation by citizens. Real-world implementations of carbon pricing policies can thus fall short of the economically optimal outcomes envisioned in theory. Consistent with the general theory of the second-best, the presence of binding political economy constraints opens a significant “opportunity space” for the design of creative climate policy instruments with superior political feasibility, economic efficiency, and environmental efficacy relative to the constrained implementation of carbon pricing policies. This paper presents theoretical political economy frameworks relevant to climate policy design and provides corroborating evidence from the United States context. It concludes with a series of implications for climate policy making and argues for the creative pursuit of a mix of second-best policy instruments. - Highlights: • Political economy constraints can bind carbon pricing policies. • These constraints can prevent implementation of theoretically optimal carbon prices. • U.S. household willingness-to-pay for climate policy likely falls in the range of $80–$200 per year. • U.S. carbon prices may be politically constrained to as low as $2–$8 per ton of CO 2 . • An opportunity space exists for improvements in climate policy design and outcomes

  6. A Social Work Approach to Policy: Implications for Population Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Daniel P; Bazzi, Angela R; Allen, Heidi L; Martinson, Melissa L; Salas-Wright, Christopher P; Jantz, Kathryn; Crevi, Katherine; Rosenbloom, David L

    2017-12-01

    The substantial disparities in health and poorer outcomes in the United States relative to peer nations suggest the need to refocus health policy. Through direct contact with the most vulnerable segments of the population, social workers have developed an approach to policy that recognizes the importance of the social environment, the value of social relationships, and the significance of value-driven policymaking. This approach could be used to reorient health, health care, and social policies. Accordingly, social workers can be allies to public health professionals in efforts to eliminate disparities and improve population health.

  7. Investigating Policy Implications for the Abolition of Corporal Punishment in Secondary Schools in Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindiki, Jonah Nyaga

    2015-01-01

    The main objective of this study is to investigate policy implications for the abolition of corporal punishment in secondary schools in Kenya. Adopting a survey design, using questionnaires, interviews and documentation, a sample of 355 was selected from target population of 3228 teachers, students and parents. The data were analysed thematically.…

  8. Strategic environmental noise mapping: methodological issues concerning the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive and their policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, E; King, E A

    2010-04-01

    This paper explores methodological issues and policy implications concerning the implementation of the EU Environmental Noise Directive (END) across Member States. Methodologically, the paper focuses on two key thematic issues relevant to the Directive: (1) calculation methods and (2) mapping methods. For (1), the paper focuses, in particular, on how differing calculation methods influence noise prediction results as well as the value of the EU noise indicator L(den) and its associated implications for comparability of noise data across EU states. With regard to (2), emphasis is placed on identifying the issues affecting strategic noise mapping, estimating population exposure, noise action planning and dissemination of noise mapping results to the general public. The implication of these issues for future environmental noise policy is also examined. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa and import substitution policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Paula F. Mendes

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to contribute to the understanding of the process of import substitution in Sub-Saharan Africa. The process of industrialization in Sub-Saharan Africa occurred in two phases: a first step, even very early during the colonial regime began around the 1920s and ended in the late forties; a second phase of industrialization began in the late fifties and gained momentum in the sixties, when import substitution was implemented more widely. Although these countries were the last to embark on the strategy of import substitution, they followed the same steps of Latin American countries, and as the structural domestic and external constraints were too strong, the failure of the policy of import substitution arrived early and the negative impact on these economies had a greater magnitude.

  10. Policies as translation: situating the transnational social policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Stubbs

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available This article explores some of the implications of the development of an anthropology or ethnography of the transnational dimensions of policies. The fi rst part explains the basic conceptual apparatus, in terms of policies as a generator of meanings. The second part examines policies as translation and explores its implications in terms of the transnationalization of the policies and, in particular, it seeks to contrast the translation of policies with more orthodox knowledge of policies transference. The third part explores the translation of policies through a refl exive ethnographical approach, analyzing a number of cases based on the practical involvement of the authors in social policies reforms in regions of the Central Europe and the East. The fourth part presents some conclusions and indicates certain theoretical and ethical objections that can and must be raised with regard to the presented approach.

  11. Large blackouts in North America: Historical trends and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hines, Paul; Apt, Jay; Talukdar, Sarosh

    2009-01-01

    Using data from the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) for 1984-2006, we find several trends. We find that the frequency of large blackouts in the United States has not decreased over time, that there is a statistically significant increase in blackout frequency during peak hours of the day and during late summer and mid-winter months (although non-storm-related risk is nearly constant through the year) and that there is strong statistical support for the previously observed power-law statistical relationship between blackout size and frequency. We do not find that blackout sizes and blackout durations are significantly correlated. These trends hold even after controlling for increasing demand and population and after eliminating small events, for which the data may be skewed by spotty reporting. Trends in blackout occurrences, such as those observed in the North American data, have important implications for those who make investment and policy decisions in the electricity industry. We provide a number of examples that illustrate how these trends can inform benefit-cost analysis calculations. Also, following procedures used in natural disaster planning we use the observed statistical trends to calculate the size of the 100-year blackout, which for North America is 186,000 MW.

  12. Impacts of imports, government policy and technology on future natural gas supply

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allison, E.

    2009-01-01

    This presentation discussed the impacts of imports, government policy and technology on future natural gas supply. Specifically, it discussed projections of natural gas supply and demand; the potential impact of imports on United States natural gas supply; the potential impacts of government policy on natural gas supply and demand; and the impact of technological innovations on natural gas supply such as coalbed methane and methane hydrate. Specific government policies that were examined included the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009; the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009; and the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act of 2009. It was concluded that the United States demand for natural gas will expand and that the impact of pending clean energy legislation is unclear. In addition, each potential future resource will face constraints and new resources may come on line in the next 20 years. figs.

  13. A review of EIAs on trade policy in China: Exploring the way for economic policy EIAs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mao, Xianqiang, E-mail: maoxq@bnu.edu.cn [Center for Global Environmental Policy, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Song, Peng, E-mail: songpeng_ee@163.com [Center for Global Environmental Policy, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Kørnøv, Lone, E-mail: lonek@plan.aau.dk [The Danish Centre for Environmental Assessment, Department of Planning, Aalborg University, Skibbrogade 5, B1-04, 9000 Aalborg (Denmark); Corsetti, Gabriel, E-mail: gabriel.corsetti@gmail.com [Center for Global Environmental Policy, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China)

    2015-01-15

    During the discussion on the “Environmental Protection Law Amendment (draft)” in 2011, it was decided to drop the proposed clauses related to environmental impact assessments (EIAs) on policy, which means that there remained no provisions for policy EIAs, and China's strategic environmental assessment system stayed limited to the planning level. However, considering that economic policy making is causing significant direct and indirect environmental problems and that almost every aspect of governmental policy has an economic aspect, EIAs on economic policies are of the utmost urgency. The purpose of this study is to review the EIA work that has been carried out on trade policy in China through four case studies, and illustrate how trade policy EIAs can be helpful in achieving better environmental outcomes in the area of trade. Through the trade policy EIA case studies we try to argue for the feasibility of conducting EIAs on economic policies in China. We also discuss the implications of the case studies from the point of view of how to proceed with EIAs on economic policy and how to promote their practice. - Highlights: • SEA system is incomplete and stays limited to the plan EIA level in China. • EIA on economic policy is of utmost importance for all the developing countries. • Four case studies of trade policy EIA in China are reviewed for policy implications. • Departmental competition for political power impedes economic policy EIAs in China. • Legislative regulation on policy EIA is the first thing needed to overcome barrier.

  14. A review of EIAs on trade policy in China: Exploring the way for economic policy EIAs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao, Xianqiang; Song, Peng; Kørnøv, Lone; Corsetti, Gabriel

    2015-01-01

    During the discussion on the “Environmental Protection Law Amendment (draft)” in 2011, it was decided to drop the proposed clauses related to environmental impact assessments (EIAs) on policy, which means that there remained no provisions for policy EIAs, and China's strategic environmental assessment system stayed limited to the planning level. However, considering that economic policy making is causing significant direct and indirect environmental problems and that almost every aspect of governmental policy has an economic aspect, EIAs on economic policies are of the utmost urgency. The purpose of this study is to review the EIA work that has been carried out on trade policy in China through four case studies, and illustrate how trade policy EIAs can be helpful in achieving better environmental outcomes in the area of trade. Through the trade policy EIA case studies we try to argue for the feasibility of conducting EIAs on economic policies in China. We also discuss the implications of the case studies from the point of view of how to proceed with EIAs on economic policy and how to promote their practice. - Highlights: • SEA system is incomplete and stays limited to the plan EIA level in China. • EIA on economic policy is of utmost importance for all the developing countries. • Four case studies of trade policy EIA in China are reviewed for policy implications. • Departmental competition for political power impedes economic policy EIAs in China. • Legislative regulation on policy EIA is the first thing needed to overcome barrier

  15. Donor policy rules and aid effectiveness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalgaard, Carl-Johan Lars

    2008-01-01

    The present paper examines the macroeconomic impact of aid, by introducing endogenous aid allocations into a neoclassical growth framework. On this basis it is shown that donor policies can have important implications for the trajectory of recipients' GDP per capita. Depending on specific donor...... policy choices, aid disbursements may lead to faster transitional growth, stagnation or cyclical growth. Moreover, the analysis also suggests that donor policies may be part of the reason why foreign aid is not found to be uniformly effective in raising long-run productivity across recipients...

  16. Policies of ‘modernisation’ in European education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rasmussen, Palle Damkjær; Larson, Anne; Rönnberg, Linda

    2015-01-01

    This special issue offers empirically and theoretically informed accounts from education policy research carried out in different national contexts in Europe. This special issue sheds light on how modernising approaches to educational governance and reform, grouped under the umbrella of new public...... management, are strongly present in European education policy, both at transnational levels and in individual countries, and points to important implications for these developments....

  17. A Social Work Approach to Policy: Implications for Population Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bazzi, Angela R.; Allen, Heidi L.; Martinson, Melissa L.; Salas-Wright, Christopher P.; Jantz, Kathryn; Crevi, Katherine; Rosenbloom, David L.

    2017-01-01

    The substantial disparities in health and poorer outcomes in the United States relative to peer nations suggest the need to refocus health policy. Through direct contact with the most vulnerable segments of the population, social workers have developed an approach to policy that recognizes the importance of the social environment, the value of social relationships, and the significance of value-driven policymaking. This approach could be used to reorient health, health care, and social policies. Accordingly, social workers can be allies to public health professionals in efforts to eliminate disparities and improve population health. PMID:29236535

  18. When renewable portfolio standards meet cap-and-trade regulations in the electricity sector: Market interactions, profits implications, and policy redundancy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tsao, C.-C.; Campbell, J.E.; Chen, Yihsu

    2011-01-01

    Emission trading programs (C and T) and renewable portfolio standards (RPS) are two common tools used by policymakers to control GHG emissions in the energy and other energy-intensive sectors. Little is known, however, as to the policy implications resulting from these concurrent regulations, especially given that their underlying policy goals and regulatory schemes are distinct. This paper applies both an analytical model and a computational model to examine the short-run implications of market interactions and policy redundancy. The analytical model is used to generate contestable hypotheses, while the numerical model is applied to consider more realistic market conditions. We have two central findings. First, lowering the CO 2 C and T cap might penalize renewable units, and increasing the RPS level could sometimes benefit coal and oil and make natural gas units worse off. Second, making one policy more stringent would weaken the market incentive, which the other policy relies upon to attain its intended policy target. - Highlights: → Lowering the CO 2 C and T cap might penalize renewable units, and increasing the RPS level could sometimes benefit coal and oil and make natural gas units worse off. → Making one policy more stringent would weaken the market incentive, which the other policy relies upon to attain its intended policy target. → The market-wise average emissions could increase when increasing RPS requirement.

  19. Opposite policy implications in the theory of money and banking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jefferson D. P. Bertolai

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The recent financial crisis creates a demand for welfare-based models of financial regulation and liquidity shortages. In this paper, we review policy implications from two cornerstone models and show that they imply different responses in terms of intertemporal returns of financial liabilities. In the first case, a version of the Cavalcanti and Wallace (1999, random-matching model, monitored agents are led to promote inflation in bank-issued money. In the second case, a sequential-service version of the Diamond and Dybvig (1983 model of bank runs with insolvency, increases in long-run returns can prevent bank runs by reducing the provision of liquidity.

  20. India's grain security policy in the era of high food prices

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yu, Wusheng; Bandara, Jayatilleke

    2017-01-01

    policies, which are superior in terms of their welfare effects and fiscal costs and might also be politically feasible. These findings have important implications on the ongoing debates on India's food security policy, particularly in relation to the discussion on its National Food Security Act....

  1. Policy implications of considering pre-commitments in U.S. aggregate energy demand system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rowland, Christopher S.; Mjelde, James W.; Dharmasena, Senarath

    2017-01-01

    Linear approximations of the Generalized Almost Ideal Demand System and Almost Ideal Demand System for U.S. energy are compared to contrast the explicit inclusion and exclusion of pre-committed consumption levels. Results indicate that pre-commitment levels, the quantity of a good that is consumed in the short run with little regard for price, helps to better explain energy demand in the U.S. compared to the system that does not explicitly consider pre-commitments. Policy implications are if pre-commitments are a legitimate assumption, larger price changes are necessary to achieve a given policy objective than if there are no pre-commitments. - Highlights: • Pre-commitments are the quantity that is consumed with little regard for price. • Demand systems with pre-commitment levels better explain energy demand. • Elasticities from assuming pre-commitments are more elastic. • Estimated elasticities apply to discretionary and not pre-commitment consumption. • Pre-commitments require larger price changes to achieve a given policy objective.

  2. Policy implications for familial searching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Joyce; Mammo, Danny; Siegel, Marni B; Katsanis, Sara H

    2011-11-01

    In the United States, several states have made policy decisions regarding whether and how to use familial searching of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database in criminal investigations. Familial searching pushes DNA typing beyond merely identifying individuals to detecting genetic relatedness, an application previously reserved for missing persons identifications and custody battles. The intentional search of CODIS for partial matches to an item of evidence offers law enforcement agencies a powerful tool for developing investigative leads, apprehending criminals, revitalizing cold cases and exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals. As familial searching involves a range of logistical, social, ethical and legal considerations, states are now grappling with policy options for implementing familial searching to balance crime fighting with its potential impact on society. When developing policies for familial searching, legislators should take into account the impact of familial searching on select populations and the need to minimize personal intrusion on relatives of individuals in the DNA database. This review describes the approaches used to narrow a suspect pool from a partial match search of CODIS and summarizes the economic, ethical, logistical and political challenges of implementing familial searching. We examine particular US state policies and the policy options adopted to address these issues. The aim of this review is to provide objective background information on the controversial approach of familial searching to inform policy decisions in this area. Herein we highlight key policy options and recommendations regarding effective utilization of familial searching that minimize harm to and afford maximum protection of US citizens.

  3. The retirement cliff: Power plant lives and their policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rode, David C.; Fischbeck, Paul S.; Páez, Antonio R.

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines more than a century of U.S. power plant additions and retirements in conjunction with several decades of utility capital investment data. While policy analyses often invoke assumptions of power plant book life, relatively little analysis has focused on the physical life of power-generating assets. The average age of the U.S. generator fleet has increased significantly over time despite continued investment, in part because more recent investment has tended to focus on shorter-lived assets. This may be due in part to risk-averse power sector investors and lenders responding rationally to regulatory uncertainty in a deregulated market environment. Power plant retirement trends suggest that the pace of retirements will increase significantly in the decade after 2030 for most reasonable estimates of physical life. These capital investment trends have important consequences for carbon policy and highlight the importance of including consideration of the longer term—particularly when evaluating more significant decarbonization policies. - Highlights: • Many policy analyses neglect the physical lives of power plants. • A large database of U.S. power plant additions and retirements is examined. • The average age of power plants has steadily increased despite growing investment. • Long-term CO 2 reduction strategies are challenged by increases in plant retirements.

  4. A THRESHOLD-VAR APPROACH TO ASSESS THE EFFICACY OF THE EU IMPORT REGIME

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabio Gaetano Santeramo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The efficacy of the entry price policy in the European fresh fruits and vegetables sector is not well understood. We investigate econometrically the efficacy of the import policy. The analysis estimates a threshold vector autoregressive model using data on imports the main competing country on the European Union domestic markets. Our results allow concluding on the insulating effects induced by the entry price system. We argue that the quota restrictions are likely to provide larger contribution to the domestic market stabilization. Policy implications are provided.

  5. Challenges and policy implications of gas reform in Italy and Ukraine: Evidence from a benchmarking analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goncharuk, Anatoliy G.; Storto, Corrado lo

    2017-01-01

    This paper presents a cross-country benchmarking study of natural gas distribution to final consumers and compares two samples of companies in Italy and Ukraine. A 2-stage DEA procedure calculating efficiency of gas providers and identifying critical context factors and policy issues that affect it is implemented. Both countries are low performing in terms of operators’ technical and scale efficiency and there is room to design more efficient market configurations. Some issues need attention to develop an effective gas market policy: a) search for efficiency requires accurate investigation of its main drivers that depend on context factors; b) while greater efficiency is necessary to reduce cost and increase service quality, at different stages of progress of the reform process other goals may be more important; c) gas industry reform process should be planned adopting a systemic perspective as its development does not remain confined to the sector, but implies changes in the whole country economy, particularly when the gas market is of primary relevance to the economy; d) a more comprehensive package of reforms may be necessary to make gas market reform successful; e) even though the gas market reform is an economic process, it has unavoidably social and political implications. - Highlights: • Benchmarking of natural gas distribution industry in Italy and Ukraine is performed. • Average industry inefficiency is about 27% and decreasing returns to scale are dominant. • Gas industry reform process should be planned adopting a systemic perspective. • Gas reform needs a more comprehensive package of reforms and/or supporting legislation to be successful. • Gas industry reform has social and political implications.

  6. Small-Area Estimation of Spatial Access to Care and Its Implications for Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gentili, Monica; Isett, Kim; Serban, Nicoleta; Swann, Julie

    2015-10-01

    Local or small-area estimates to capture emerging trends across large geographic regions are critical in identifying and addressing community-level health interventions. However, they are often unavailable due to lack of analytic capabilities in compiling and integrating extensive datasets and complementing them with the knowledge about variations in state-level health policies. This study introduces a modeling approach for small-area estimation of spatial access to pediatric primary care that is data "rich" and mathematically rigorous, integrating data and health policy in a systematic way. We illustrate the sensitivity of the model to policy decision making across large geographic regions by performing a systematic comparison of the estimates at the census tract and county levels for Georgia and California. Our results show the proposed approach is able to overcome limitations of other existing models by capturing patient and provider preferences and by incorporating possible changes in health policies. The primary finding is systematic underestimation of spatial access, and inaccurate estimates of disparities across population and across geography at the county level with respect to those at the census tract level with implications on where to focus and which type of interventions to consider.

  7. The benchmarks of carbon emissions and policy implications for China's cities: Case of Nanjing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bi Jun; Zhang Rongrong; Wang Haikun; Liu Miaomiao; Wu Yi

    2011-01-01

    The development of urbanization is accelerating in China, and there are great pressures and opportunities in cities to reduce carbon emissions. An emissions inventory is a basic requirement for analyzing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), their potential reduction and to realize low-carbon development of cities. This study describes a method to establish a GHGs emissions inventory in Chinese cities for 6 emission sources including industrial energy consumption, transportation, household energy consumption, commercial energy consumption, industrial processes and waste. Nanjing city was selected as a representative case to analyze the characteristics of carbon emissions in Chinese cities. The results show that carbon emissions in Nanjing have increased nearly 50% during the last decade. The three largest GHGs contributors were industrial energy consumption, industrial processes and transportation, which contributed 37-44%, 35-40% and 6-10%, respectively, to the total GHGs emissions. Per GDP carbon emissions decreased by 55% from 2002 to 2009, and the per capita and per GDP carbon emissions were comparable or even lower than the world average levels. These results have important policy implications for Chinese cities to control their carbon emissions. - Highlights: → Carbon emissions inventory using bottom-up methodology was firstly reported for a Chinese city. → Emission characteristics of Nanjing city were compared with other international cities. → Low carbon policies for Chinese cities were recommended based on the results of this research.

  8. The Special Importance of Housing Policy for the Housing Situation of Ethnic Minorities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Hans Skifter; Magnusson Turner, Lena; Søholt, Susanne

    The purpose of this article is to uncover, whether housing policy has a special importance for immigrants, compared with the whole population, by comparing housing policies and immigrants’ housing outcomes in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There are substantial...... population varies much. These differences can only to some extent be explained by income inequalities on the housing markets in the countries, inequalities that affect immigrants. Other important explanations of why immigrants perform worse on the housing market is the shortage of rental housing (Norway......’ housing options are strict needs test for social/public housing (Finland)....

  9. The Special Importance of Housing Policy for the Housing Situation of Ethnic Minorities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Hans Skifter; Turner, Lena Magnusson; Søholt, Susanne

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to uncover, whether housing policy has a special importance for immigrants, compared with the whole population, by comparing housing policies and immigrants’ housing outcomes in four Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. There are substantial...... population varies much. These differences can only to some extent be explained by income inequalities on the housing markets in the countries, inequalities that affect immigrants. Other important explanations of why immigrants perform worse on the housing market is the shortage of rental housing (Norway......’ housing options are strict needs test for social/public housing (Finland)....

  10. Pricing Policy and the College Choice Process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chapman, Randall G.

    1979-01-01

    A marketing management paradigm for academe is discussed along with aspects of the pricing policy process. The two most important factors affecting the college choice process are shown to be college quality and price-related considerations. Implications for marketing are discussed. (Author/LBH)

  11. Policy Implications and Suggestions on Administrative Measures of Urban Flood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, S. V.; Lee, M. J.; Lee, C.; Yoon, J. H.; Chae, S. H.

    2017-12-01

    The frequency and intensity of floods are increasing worldwide as recent climate change progresses gradually. Flood management should be policy-oriented in urban municipalities due to the characteristics of urban areas with a lot of damage. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to prepare a flood susceptibility map by using data mining model and make a policy suggestion on administrative measures of urban flood. Therefore, we constructed a spatial database by collecting relevant factors including the topography, geology, soil and land use data of the representative city, Seoul, the capital city of Korea. Flood susceptibility map was constructed by applying the data mining models of random forest and boosted tree model to input data and existing flooded area data in 2010. The susceptibility map has been validated using the 2011 flood area data which was not used for training. The predictor importance value of each factor to the results was calculated in this process. The distance from the water, DEM and geology showed a high predictor importance value which means to be a high priority for flood preparation policy. As a result of receiver operating characteristic (ROC), random forest model showed 78.78% and 79.18% accuracy of regression and classification and boosted tree model showed 77.55% and 77.26% accuracy of regression and classification, respectively. The results show that the flood susceptibility maps can be applied to flood prevention and management, and it also can help determine the priority areas for flood mitigation policy by providing useful information to policy makers.

  12. Crop yields response to water pressures in the Ebro basin in Spain: risk and water policy implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quiroga, S.; Fernández-Haddad, Z.; Iglesias, A.

    2011-02-01

    The increasing pressure on water systems in the Mediterranean enhances existing water conflicts and threatens water supply for agriculture. In this context, one of the main priorities for agricultural research and public policy is the adaptation of crop yields to water pressures. This paper focuses on the evaluation of hydrological risk and water policy implications for food production. Our methodological approach includes four steps. For the first step, we estimate the impacts of rainfall and irrigation water on crop yields. However, this study is not limited to general crop production functions since it also considers the linkages between those economic and biophysical aspects which may have an important effect on crop productivity. We use statistical models of yield response to address how hydrological variables affect the yield of the main Mediterranean crops in the Ebro river basin. In the second step, this study takes into consideration the effects of those interactions and analyzes gross value added sensitivity to crop production changes. We then use Montecarlo simulations to characterize crop yield risk to water variability. Finally we evaluate some policy scenarios with irrigated area adjustments that could cope in a context of increased water scarcity. A substantial decrease in irrigated land, of up to 30% of total, results in only moderate losses of crop productivity. The response is crop and region specific and may serve to prioritise adaptation strategies.

  13. Risk of water scarcity and water policy implications for crop production in the Ebro Basin in Spain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quiroga, S.; Fernández-Haddad, Z.; Iglesias, A.

    2010-08-01

    The increasing pressure on water systems in the Mediterranean enhances existing water conflicts and threatens water supply for agriculture. In this context, one of the main priorities for agricultural research and public policy is the adaptation of crop yields to water pressures. This paper focuses on the evaluation of hydrological risk and water policy implications for food production. Our methodological approach includes four steps. For the first step, we estimate the impacts of rainfall and irrigation water on crop yields. However, this study is not limited to general crop production functions since it also considers the linkages between those economic and biophysical aspects which may have an important effect on crop productivity. We use statistical models of yield response to address how hydrological variables affect the yield of the main Mediterranean crops in the Ebro River Basin. In the second step, this study takes into consideration the effects of those interactions and analyzes gross value added sensitivity to crop production changes. We then use Montecarlo simulations to characterize crop yield risk to water variability. Finally we evaluate some policy scenarios with irrigated area adjustments that could cope in a context of increased water scarcity. A substantial decrease in irrigated land, of up to 30% of total, results in only moderate losses of crop productivity. The response is crop and region specific and may serve to prioritise adaptation strategies.

  14. Emerging energy technologies impacts and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grubb, M.

    1992-01-01

    Technical change is a key factor in the energy world. Failure to recognize the potential for technical change, and the pace at which it may occur, has limited the accuracy and usefulness of past energy projections. conversely, programs to develop and deploy advanced energy technologies have often proved disappointing in the face of technical and commercial obstacles. This book examines important new and emerging energy technologies, and the mechanisms by which they may develop and enter the market. The project concentrates on the potential and probable role of selected energy technologies-which are in existence and likely to be of rapidly growing importance over the next decade-and the way in which market conditions and policy environment may affect their implementation

  15. Diversification of oil import sources and energy security. A key strategy or an elusive objective?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vivoda, Vlado

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores the relationship between the diversification of sources of imported oil and energy security of oil-importing countries. It examines the importance of diversification policy for oil importers, explains why oil importers implement oil diversification policy, and contextualizes the oil import diversification strategy in the overall energy security policy of oil importers. The paper analyzes the factors and the contexts that affect the level of importance assigned to oil import diversification policy in oil-importing countries, and the limitations that may affect the successful implication of oil import diversification policy. The examples are drawn from the world's top three oil importers, the United States, Japan, and China. The policymakers in these and other oil-importing countries place much importance on energy security. The diversification of oil import sources is used as one of the strategies to enhance energy security in oil-importing countries. This paper is important for policymakers in oil-importing countries as it provides them with a qualitative conceptual framework with which to evaluate the need to diversify their countries' sources of imported oil, and with which to identify the likely limitations to the successful implementation of oil import diversification policy. (author)

  16. “Have policy makers erred?” Implications of mother tongue education for preprimary schooling in Uganda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ssentanda, Medadi Erisa

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The Uganda language-in-education policy is silent about pre-primary schooling. This level of education is largely in the hands of private individuals who, because of wide-spread misconceptions about learning and acquiring English in Uganda (as in many other African countries, instruct pre-primary school learners in English. This article demonstrates how this omission in language-in-education policy is creating competition between rural government and private schools regarding the teaching of English and the development of initial literacy. The absence of an official language policy for pre-primary schooling has also dichotomised the implementation of mother tongue education in rural areas. The policy allows rural primary schools to use mother tongue as language of learning and teaching in the first three school grades. However, whereas private schools instruct through English only, government schools to a large extent adhere to the policy, albeit with undesirable consequences. The practical implications of lack of a language-in-education policy for and minimal government involvement in pre-primary schooling are discussed in this article.

  17. TURKISH TRADE POLICY AND THE EFFICIENCY OF TURKISH COTTON MARKETS

    OpenAIRE

    Schmitz, Troy G.

    1999-01-01

    Turkish cotton markets are affected by import duties, export taxes, and a range of domestic subsidies. The degree of economic inefficiency arising from these government policies is estimated through the use of two partial equilibrium models, one for the Aegean market and another for the non-Aegean market. The welfare implications of these policies are also explored.

  18. Impact of socially responsible human resources policies on intellectual capital

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jesus Barrena-Martínez

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This research focuses on the benefits that social responsibility can report on the area of human resources, examined the impact of a socially responsible configuration of human resource policies and practices in the generation value process for the company, and more specifically in its intellectual capital. Design/methodology/approach: The study performed a regression analysis, testing the individual effects of socially responsible human resource policies on intellectual capital, broken down into three main variables such as human, social and organizational capital. Findings: The results shed light on how the introduction of socially responsible aspects in the management of human resources can facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills and attitudes human--capital; lead to improvements in communication, trust, cooperation among employees social-capital and, in turn, generates an institutionalized knowledge encoded in the own organizational culture –organizational capital–. Research limitations/implications: The study only provides information from large companies with over 250 employees. Practical implications: There are important implications in the measure of corporate social responsibility concerns in the area of human resources. Social implications: Also important intangible effects on non-economic variables are confirmed, such as intellectual capital. Originality/value: The value of the study lies in its novelty, testing socially responsible configurations of human resources as well as the direct effects of different policies on intellectual capital.

  19. QUING WHY paper: Framing gender intersections in the European Union: what implications for the quality of intersectionality in policies?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Agustin, Lise Rolandsen; Lombardo, Emanuela

    are increasingly present but they are treated implicitly and from a separate perspective, and the inclusion of a wide range of inequalities often implies a degendering of the policy content. We assess the implications of the identified intersectionality trends for the quality of intersectionality in gender...... equality policies and we suggest the practice of an ‘intersectionality impact assessment’ as a way to improve the quality of EU policy-making. In this regard, we particularly focus on the interface between the civil society and the EU institutions....

  20. Policy Contexts of Social Work in Britain: the wider implications of 'New' Labour and the 'New Legal Regime'

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2003-11-01

    Full Text Available Several commentators have expressed disappointment with New Labour's apparent adherence to the policy frameworks of the previous Conservative administrations. The employment orientation of its welfare programmes, the contradictory nature of the social exclusion initiatives, and the continuing obsession with public sector marketisation, inspections, audits, standards and so on, have all come under critical scrutiny (c.f., Blyth 2001; Jordan 2001; Orme 2001. This paper suggests that in order to understand the socio-economic and political contexts affecting social work we need to examine the relationship between New Labour's modernisation project and its insertion within an architecture of global governance. In particular, membership of the European Union (EU, International Monetary Fund (IMF and World Trade Organisation (WTO set the parameters for domestic policy in important ways. Whilst much has been written about the economic dimensions of 'globalisation' in relation to social work rather less has been noted about the ways in which domestic policy agenda are driven by multilateral governance objectives. This policy dimension is important in trying to respond to various changes affecting social work as a professional activity. What is possible, what is encouraged, how things might be done, is tightly bounded by the policy frameworks governing practice and affected by those governing the lives of service users. It is unhelpful to see policy formulation in purely national terms as the UK is inserted into a network governance structure, a regulatory framework where decisions are made by many countries and organisations and agencies. Together, they are producing a 'new legal regime', characterised by a marked neo-liberal policy agenda. This paper aims to demonstrate the relationship of New Labour's modernisation programme to these new forms of legality by examining two main policy areas and the welfare implications they are enmeshed in. The first is

  1. US energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Katz, J.E.

    1984-01-01

    After three years in power, the Reagan Administration has been able to reverse much of the US federal government's energy policy measures that had occurred since 1973, particularly the build-up that took place during the Carter presidency. Another change is a repudiation of social equity concerns, which were an important part of the energy policies of the Nixon, Ford and Carter presidencies. Instead of using government to direct energy policy, the Reagan Administration has stressed the pre-eminence of the private sector. One exception is nuclear energy, which the Administration strongly supports. While the Reagan policies implemented have increased economic efficiency and reduced federal-related budgets and staffs, they have caused environmental degradation and hardship on the poor. Yet their greatest implication is that of a nation less well prepared to handle a severe energy shortage. The Administration believes this is not a problem, based on its optimistic expectations of the extent of untapped resources worldwide and the resilience of the free market. (author)

  2. The emergence and policy implications of converging new technologies integrated from the nanoscale

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roco, M. C.

    2005-01-01

    Science based on the unified concepts on matter at the nanoscale provides a new foundation for knowledge creation, innovation, and technology integration. Convergent new technologies refers to the synergistic combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive sciences (NBIC), each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate, experiencing qualitative advancements, and interacting with the more established fields such as mathematics and environmental technologies (Roco and Bainbridge, 2002). It is expected that converging technologies will bring about tremendous improvements in transforming tools, new products and services, enable human personal abilities and social achievements, and reshape societal relationships.After a brief overview of the general implications of converging new technologies, this paper focuses on its effects on R and D policies and business models as part of changing societal relationships. These R and D policies will have implications on investments in research and industry, with the main goal of taking advantage of the transformative development of NBIC. Introduction of converging technologies must be done with respect of immediate concerns (privacy, toxicity of new materials, etc.) and longer-term concerns including human integrity, dignity and welfare. The efficient introduction and development of converging new technologies will require new organizations and business models, as well as solutions for preparing the economy, such as multifunctional research facilities, integrative technology platforms, and global risk governance

  3. The emergence and policy implications of converging new technologies integrated from the nanoscale

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roco, M. C.

    2005-06-01

    Science based on the unified concepts on matter at the nanoscale provides a new foundation for knowledge creation, innovation, and technology integration. Convergent new technologies refers to the synergistic combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive sciences (NBIC), each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate, experiencing qualitative advancements, and interacting with the more established fields such as mathematics and environmental technologies (Roco & Bainbridge, 2002). It is expected that converging technologies will bring about tremendous improvements in transforming tools, new products and services, enable human personal abilities and social achievements, and reshape societal relationships. After a brief overview of the general implications of converging new technologies, this paper focuses on its effects on R&D policies and business models as part of changing societal relationships. These R&D policies will have implications on investments in research and industry, with the main goal of taking advantage of the transformative development of NBIC. Introduction of converging technologies must be done with respect of immediate concerns (privacy, toxicity of new materials, etc.) and longer-term concerns including human integrity, dignity and welfare. The efficient introduction and development of converging new technologies will require new organizations and business models, as well as solutions for preparing the economy, such as multifunctional research facilities, integrative technology platforms, and global risk governance.

  4. The emergence and policy implications of converging new technologies integrated from the nanoscale

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Roco, M. C. [National Science Foundation (United States)], E-mail: mroco@nsf.gov

    2005-06-15

    Science based on the unified concepts on matter at the nanoscale provides a new foundation for knowledge creation, innovation, and technology integration. Convergent new technologies refers to the synergistic combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology and cognitive sciences (NBIC), each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate, experiencing qualitative advancements, and interacting with the more established fields such as mathematics and environmental technologies (Roco and Bainbridge, 2002). It is expected that converging technologies will bring about tremendous improvements in transforming tools, new products and services, enable human personal abilities and social achievements, and reshape societal relationships.After a brief overview of the general implications of converging new technologies, this paper focuses on its effects on R and D policies and business models as part of changing societal relationships. These R and D policies will have implications on investments in research and industry, with the main goal of taking advantage of the transformative development of NBIC. Introduction of converging technologies must be done with respect of immediate concerns (privacy, toxicity of new materials, etc.) and longer-term concerns including human integrity, dignity and welfare. The efficient introduction and development of converging new technologies will require new organizations and business models, as well as solutions for preparing the economy, such as multifunctional research facilities, integrative technology platforms, and global risk governance.

  5. Child Rearing Practices in Nigeria: Implications for Mental Health ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Child Rearing Practices in Nigeria: Implications for Mental Health. ... over time are important, especially as this region is undergoing rapid transformation. ... Through policy and aggressive health education, traditional child rearing practices in ...

  6. Policy options for alcohol price regulation: the importance of modelling population heterogeneity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meier, Petra Sylvia; Purshouse, Robin; Brennan, Alan

    2010-03-01

    Context and aims Internationally, the repertoire of alcohol pricing policies has expanded to include targeted taxation, inflation-linked taxation, taxation based on alcohol-by-volume (ABV), minimum pricing policies (general or targeted), bans of below-cost selling and restricting price-based promotions. Policy makers clearly need to consider how options compare in reducing harms at the population level, but are also required to demonstrate proportionality of their actions, which necessitates a detailed understanding of policy effects on different population subgroups. This paper presents selected findings from a policy appraisal for the UK government and discusses the importance of accounting for population heterogeneity in such analyses. Method We have built a causal, deterministic, epidemiological model which takes account of differential preferences by population subgroups defined by age, gender and level of drinking (moderate, hazardous, harmful). We consider purchasing preferences in terms of the types and volumes of alcoholic beverages, prices paid and the balance between bars, clubs and restaurants as opposed to supermarkets and off-licenses. Results Age, sex and level of drinking fundamentally affect beverage preferences, drinking location, prices paid, price sensitivity and tendency to substitute for other beverage types. Pricing policies vary in their impact on different product types, price points and venues, thus having distinctly different effects on subgroups. Because population subgroups also have substantially different risk profiles for harms, policies are differentially effective in reducing health, crime, work-place absence and unemployment harms. Conclusion Policy appraisals must account for population heterogeneity and complexity if resulting interventions are to be well considered, proportionate, effective and cost-effective.

  7. Small and Medium Enterprise Development Experience and Policy in Japan and the Philippines: Lessons and Policy Implications

    OpenAIRE

    Habito, Cielito F.; Tamangan, Ronald J.; Josef, Frances

    2004-01-01

    The role of SMEs in economic development has been well recognized. SMEs have been regarded as an important contributor to employment generation and wealth creation in a developing economy. Ironically, however, SMEs have been discriminated against considering a raft of issues. In almost all countries, there is either a separate policy statement for SMEs (or for micro or cottage industries) or a general industrial policy statement with some portions of it relating to SMEs. Philippine SME develo...

  8. Threat Assessment and Targeted Violence at Institutions of Higher Education: Implications for Policy and Practice Including Unique Considerations for Community Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Laura; Bates, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This article provides an overview of the research on targeted violence, including campus violence, and the implications for policy and practice at institutions of higher education. Unique challenges of threat assessment in the community college setting are explored, and an overview of an effective threat assessment policy and team at William…

  9. Economic analysis of participation in physical activity in England: implications for health policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anokye, Nana Kwame; Pokhrel, Subhash; Fox-Rushby, Julia

    2014-09-14

    Changing the relative price of (in) activity is an important tool for health policies. Nonetheless, to date, analyses of correlates of physical activity (PA) have excluded the notion of price. Using the first nationwide dataset on prices of PA for England, we explore for the first time how money and time prices are associated with PA (in general) and specific activities. A nationally representative telephone follow-up survey to Health Survey for England (HSE) 2008 was undertaken in 2010. The sample covered individuals who reported to have undertaken some PA in the HSE 2008. Questions focussed on: ex-post money and time prices; type and quantity of PA; perceived benefits of PA and socio-economic details. Count regression models (all activities together, and swimming, workout, walking separately) were fitted to investigate the variation in quantity of PA. Of 1683 respondents, 83% participated in PA (one or more activities), and spent an average of £2.40 per occasion of participation in PA and 23 minutes travelling. Participation in PA was negatively associated with money prices per occasion (i.e. family member/child care fees, parking fees, and facility charges) and travel time price. Participation in PA was more sensitive to travel time price than money price. Among the specific activities, the money price effect was highest for swimming with a 10% higher price associated with 29% fewer occasions of swimming; followed by workout (3% fewer occasions) and walking (2% fewer occasions). Only swimming and workout were sensitive to travel time price. People who felt doing PA could help them 'get outdoors', 'have fun', or 'lose weight' were likely to do more PA. Two main policy implications emerge from the findings. First, the results support the notion that positive financial incentives, e.g. subsidising price of participation, could generally lead to an increase in quantity of PA among those already exercising. Second, such policies could lead to desired policy goals if

  10. Technologies, Democracy and Digital Citizenship: Examining Australian Policy Intersections and the Implications for School Leadership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kathryn Moyle

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available There are intersections that can occur between the respective peak Australian school education policy agendas. These policies include the use of technologies in classrooms to improve teaching and learning as promoted through the Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians and the Australian Curriculum; and the implementation of professional standards as outlined in the Australian Professional Standard for Principals and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. These policies create expectations of school leaders to bring about change in classrooms and across their schools, often described as bringing about ‘quality teaching’ and ‘school improvement’. These policies indicate that Australian children should develop ‘democratic values’, and that school principals should exercise ‘democratic values’ in their schools. The national approaches to the implementation of these policies however, is largely silent on promoting learning that fosters democracy through education, or about making connections between teaching and learning with technologies, school leadership and living in a democracy. Yet the policies promote these connections and alignments. Furthermore, understanding democratic values, knowing what is a democracy, and being able to use technologies in democratic ways, has to be learned and practiced. Through the lens of the use of technologies to build digital citizenship and to achieve democratic processes and outcomes in schools, these policy complexities are examined in order to consider some of the implications for school leadership.

  11. Creating value in health care through big data: opportunities and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roski, Joachim; Bo-Linn, George W; Andrews, Timothy A

    2014-07-01

    Big data has the potential to create significant value in health care by improving outcomes while lowering costs. Big data's defining features include the ability to handle massive data volume and variety at high velocity. New, flexible, and easily expandable information technology (IT) infrastructure, including so-called data lakes and cloud data storage and management solutions, make big-data analytics possible. However, most health IT systems still rely on data warehouse structures. Without the right IT infrastructure, analytic tools, visualization approaches, work flows, and interfaces, the insights provided by big data are likely to be limited. Big data's success in creating value in the health care sector may require changes in current polices to balance the potential societal benefits of big-data approaches and the protection of patients' confidentiality. Other policy implications of using big data are that many current practices and policies related to data use, access, sharing, privacy, and stewardship need to be revised. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  12. EDUCATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS FOR CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY IN REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aleksandra Karovska Ristovska

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Educational policy for children with intellectual disability in Republic of Macedonia is not always consistent with the practical implications. The subject of this research was to gain an insight into the current condition of the persons with intellectual disabilities in Macedonia, before all an insight into the barriers that they are facing in their attempts to access educational information and services. This was done through conducting a qualitative (desk-top analyses of the national legislations; semi-structured interviews with parents of persons with intellectual disabilities and focus groups with relevant stakeholders and a quantitative research (quality of life research for the disabled persons. In the research a total number of 213 examinees were included. As in many other cases, and in many other countries, policy and practice are not always coherent. Legislation in the area of education in our country has to be modified and accommodated to the needs of the persons with disabilities and their parents or care-givers. The final conclusion from our research is that the persons with ID are still on the margins of society, and they lead everyday battles to prove that their needs must be taken into consideration in context of their human rights. Although awareness for the importance of the rightful treatment of this problem is not on a satisfactory level, still we can notice a shift in perception and liberation of prejudice.

  13. Smoke-free air policies: past, present and future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hyland, Andrew; Barnoya, Joaquin; Corral, Juan E

    2012-03-01

    Smoke-free policies have been an important tobacco control intervention. As recently as 20 years ago, few communities required workplaces and hospitality venues to be smoke-free, but today approximately 11% of the world's population live in countries with laws that require these places to be smoke-free. This paper briefly summarises important milestones in the history of indoor smoke-free policies, the role of scientific research in facilitating their adoption, a framework for smoke-free policy evaluation and industry efforts to undermine regulations. At present, smoke-free policies centre on workplaces, restaurants and pubs. In addition, many jurisdictions are now beginning to implement policies in outdoor areas and in shared multiunit housing settings. The future of smoke-free policy development depends on credible scientific data that documents the health risks of secondhand smoke exposure. Over the next 20 years smoke-free policies will very likely extend to outdoor and private areas, and changes in the types of tobacco products that are consumed may also have implications for the nature and scope of the smoke-free policies of the future.

  14. Policy-making in the European Union

    CERN Document Server

    Pollack, Mark A; Young, Alasadair R

    2015-01-01

    Constantly evolving, and with far-reaching implications, European Union policy-making is of central importance to the politics of the European Union. From defining the processes, institutions and modes through which policy-making operates, the text moves on to situate individual policies within these modes, detail their content, and analyse how they are implemented, navigating policy in all its complexities. The first part of the text examines processes, institutions, and the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of policy-making, while the second part considers a wide range of policy areas, from economics to the environment, and security to the single market. Throughout the text, theoretical approaches sit side by side with the reality of key events in the EU, including enlargement, the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, and the financial crisis and resulting euro area crisis, exploring what determines how policies are made and implemented. In the final part, the editors consider trends in EU policy-makin...

  15. Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: a conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phua Kai Hong

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon with policy implications for health systems, particularly of destination countries. Private actors and governments in Southeast Asia are promoting the medical tourist industry, but the potential impact on health systems, particularly in terms of equity in access and availability for local consumers, is unclear. This article presents a conceptual framework that outlines the policy implications of medical tourism's growth for health systems, drawing on the cases of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, three regional hubs for medical tourism, via an extensive review of academic and grey literature. Variables for further analysis of the potential impact of medical tourism on health systems are also identified. The framework can provide a basis for empirical, in country studies weighing the benefits and disadvantages of medical tourism for health systems. The policy implications described are of particular relevance for policymakers and industry practitioners in other Southeast Asian countries with similar health systems where governments have expressed interest in facilitating the growth of the medical tourist industry. This article calls for a universal definition of medical tourism and medical tourists to be enunciated, as well as concerted data collection efforts, to be undertaken prior to any meaningful empirical analysis of medical tourism's impact on health systems.

  16. Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: a conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon with policy implications for health systems, particularly of destination countries. Private actors and governments in Southeast Asia are promoting the medical tourist industry, but the potential impact on health systems, particularly in terms of equity in access and availability for local consumers, is unclear. This article presents a conceptual framework that outlines the policy implications of medical tourism's growth for health systems, drawing on the cases of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, three regional hubs for medical tourism, via an extensive review of academic and grey literature. Variables for further analysis of the potential impact of medical tourism on health systems are also identified. The framework can provide a basis for empirical, in country studies weighing the benefits and disadvantages of medical tourism for health systems. The policy implications described are of particular relevance for policymakers and industry practitioners in other Southeast Asian countries with similar health systems where governments have expressed interest in facilitating the growth of the medical tourist industry. This article calls for a universal definition of medical tourism and medical tourists to be enunciated, as well as concerted data collection efforts, to be undertaken prior to any meaningful empirical analysis of medical tourism's impact on health systems. PMID:21539751

  17. Medical tourism and policy implications for health systems: a conceptual framework from a comparative study of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pocock, Nicola S; Phua, Kai Hong

    2011-05-04

    Medical tourism is a growing phenomenon with policy implications for health systems, particularly of destination countries. Private actors and governments in Southeast Asia are promoting the medical tourist industry, but the potential impact on health systems, particularly in terms of equity in access and availability for local consumers, is unclear. This article presents a conceptual framework that outlines the policy implications of medical tourism's growth for health systems, drawing on the cases of Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, three regional hubs for medical tourism, via an extensive review of academic and grey literature. Variables for further analysis of the potential impact of medical tourism on health systems are also identified. The framework can provide a basis for empirical, in country studies weighing the benefits and disadvantages of medical tourism for health systems. The policy implications described are of particular relevance for policymakers and industry practitioners in other Southeast Asian countries with similar health systems where governments have expressed interest in facilitating the growth of the medical tourist industry. This article calls for a universal definition of medical tourism and medical tourists to be enunciated, as well as concerted data collection efforts, to be undertaken prior to any meaningful empirical analysis of medical tourism's impact on health systems.

  18. EU environmental policy and competitiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stojanović Boban

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Protection of the environment was not a specific importance to the Community although the Treaty of Rome expressly specified that "health, safety environmental protection" shall be based on "a high level of protection". In deciding upon a framework for a European environmental policy, the Community was also responding to increased public awareness of the problem and concerns about the state of the natural and man-made environment. During the past years, competitiveness concerns have dominated the EU policy debate, in the course of which a growing consensus is being developed on the importance of eco-innovations and resource efficiency for EU competitiveness and on the market opportunities they offer. There is an increasing evidence that environmental policy and eco-innovations can promote economic growth, as well as maintain and create jobs, contributing both to competitiveness and employment. Environmental constraints to rapid economic growth are increasingly recognized by countries, leading to a rising awareness of the need for sustainable development. Implementation of an environmental policy however, generates significant implications for competition among countries.

  19. Network Ethnography and the "Cyberflâneur": Evolving Policy Sociology in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, Anna

    2016-01-01

    This paper makes the argument that new global spatialities and new governance structures in education have important implications for how we think about education policy and do education policy analysis. This context necessitates that researchers engage in new methodologies to ensure that there is a suitable link between their research problem and…

  20. Measuring food availability and access in African-American communities: implications for intervention and policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Odoms-Young, Angela M; Zenk, Shannon; Mason, Maryann

    2009-04-01

    Obesity is a major public health concern in the U.S. As compared to whites, minority populations are disproportionately at risk, with the highest prevalence rates of overweight and obesity occurring among African American women. Although researchers and policymakers argue that environmental approaches have the greatest potential to reverse the rising prevalence of obesity, critical gaps remain in our understanding of the complex mechanisms that underlie the associations between neighborhood food environments and weight status. A major challenge has been the need for reliable and valid measures to assess aspects of the neighborhood food environment that encourage or inhibit healthful eating behaviors and weight management. Investigators have made considerable gains in the development of tools and approaches to measure neighborhood food environments overall, but few studies focus on the specific challenges and issues associated with characterizing neighborhood food environments in communities of color. This paper highlights important considerations for measuring food environments in African-American neighborhoods and their implications for developing programmatic and policy solutions to reduce racial disparities in overweight.

  1. Maintenance policy selection for ships: finding the most important criteria and considerations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Goossens, Adriaan; Basten, Robertus Johannes Ida

    2016-01-01

    Maintenance of technical capital assets is gaining increasing attention, as maintenance is an important contributor to reach the intended life-time of these expensive assets. This paper focusses on maintenance policy selection (MPS) for ships using the Analytic Hierarchy Process. It builds on

  2. IMPLEMENTATION OF TRADE LAWS: IMPLICATIONS IN THE PRICE CONTROL POLICY OF COMMUNITY NEEDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Engkus Engkus

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available [Implementation Of Trade Laws: Implications In The Price Control Policy Of Community Needs] Issuing the act no 7 year 2014 about tade, Indonesia has new hope to design the obscene of social basic requirements were going on all this time. The main problem in the research that “increasing and decreasing pricefluctuatively” has became repeatedly in Ramadhan. It has been caused by some factors: Unbalancing Supply and demand not done optimally yet. The aim of the research to collect data, facta and problems analyses them and directly or indirectlywe want to know and increase for academic nuance as theorital, also who want to know about them deeply. The research is qualitative research, using the technical of theresearch are observation, interview, documental history and documental audio visual. The results of research, before, at the moment, after Ramadhan, the price of social basic requirements still increasely and fluctuatively. Government intervention, by short term policy not touched social basic requirements continously yet. So piling them were not clearness of official. Raring supply, increasing demand, It has been caused by social increasing consumption, Finally high increasing price. Conclusion: The price control social basic requirements policy, complately by redesign comprehensive, transparancy, participative and continuosly policy, from central government to local government towards nation autonomy in food. Keywords: Increasing Price, clearness of official, Control.

  3. Review of hookah tobacco smoking among college students: policy implications and research recommendations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gathuru, Irene M; Tarter, Ralph E; Klein-Fedyshin, Michele

    2015-01-01

    About 30% of college students have smoked hookah tobacco. Although most students perceive this product to be innocuous and non-addictive, hookah tobacco increases the risk for disease and nicotine dependence. Currently, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not regulate the manufacture, distribution, or sale of hookah tobacco. Empirical literature pertaining to hookah tobacco smoking is reviewed with a focus on the implications for regulatory policy. PubMed, PsycINFO, and Scopus databases were searched to locate articles published in English. The literature search combined several key words including "hookahs", "college", "advertising", "health effects", and "health policy". Smoking hookah tobacco may play a role in the initiation of smoking among tobacco-naïve college students and may portend persistent smoking among those who have smoked cigarettes. College students are typically nondaily, social smokers. They do not perceive that their heightened risk for tobacco diseases and nicotine dependence relates to their smoking behavior. However, few public health messages target college-age adults to counter media messages that endorse hookah tobacco smoking. Given that the FDA is not authorized to ban specific tobacco products, policy actions should focus on the development of effective risk communication strategies that target college-age adults and on limiting the accessibility of hookah tobacco products to these adults. Accordingly, a research agenda that would inform these policy actions is proposed.

  4. Evaluating National Environmental Sustainability: Performance Measures and Influential Factors for OECD-Member Countries featuring Canadian Performance and Policy Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calbick, Kenneth S.

    This research reviews five studies that evaluate national environmental sustainability with composite indices; performs uncertainty and sensitivity analyses of techniques for building a composite index; completes principal components factor analysis to help build subindices measuring waste and pollution, sustainable energy, sustainable food, nature conservation, and sustainable cities (Due to its current importance, the greenhouse gases (GHG) indicator is included individually as another policy measure.); analyses factors that seem to influence performance: climate, population growth, population density, economic output, technological development, industrial structure, energy prices, environmental governance, pollution abatement and control expenditures, and environmental pricing; and explores Canadian policy implications of the results. The techniques to build composite indices include performance indicator selection, missing data treatment, normalisation technique, scale-effect adjustments, weights, and aggregation method. Scale-effect adjustments and normalisation method are significant sources of uncertainty inducing 68% of the observed variation in a country's final rank at the 95% level of confidence. Choice of indicators also introduces substantial variation as well. To compensate for this variation, the current study recommends that a composite index should always be analysed with other policy subindices and individual indicators. Moreover, the connection between population and consumption indicates that per capita scale-effect adjustments should be used for certain indicators. Rather than ranking normalisation, studies should use a method that retains information from the raw indicator values. Multiple regression and cluster analyses indicate economic output, environmental governance, and energy prices are major influential factors, with energy prices the most important. It is statistically significant for five out of seven performance measures at the 95

  5. Nitrogen in Agricultural Systems: Implications for Conservation Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Ribaudo, Marc; Delgado, Jorge; Hansen, LeRoy T.; Livingston, Michael J.; Mosheim, Roberto; Williamson, James M.

    2011-01-01

    Nitrogen is an important agricultural input that is critical for crop production. However, the introduction of large amounts of nitrogen into the environment has a number of undesirable impacts on water, terrestrial, and atmospheric resources. This report explores the use of nitrogen in U.S. agriculture and assesses changes in nutrient management by farmers that may improve nitrogen use effi ciency. It also reviews a number of policy approaches for improving nitrogen management and identifi e...

  6. Revisiting the impacts of oil price increases on monetary policy implementation in the largest oil importers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nurtac Yildirim

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to test the impacts of oil price increases on monetary policy implementation in the largest oil importers. For that purpose, we estimate structural vector error correction (SVEC models to show the impacts of oil price increases on industrial production, consumer prices and immediate interest rates which are the elements of Taylor rule for the four largest oil importers (the USA, the EU, China and Japan. Our results indicate that oil price increases transmit to output and inflation and lead to fluctuations in industrial production, consumer prices and immediate interest rates which in turn influence the monetary policy stance in the following periods. The basic conclusion of research is that the channels through which oil prices affect output, inflation and interest rates should be identified by the monetary policy authorities of the USA, the EU, China and Japan. We also emphasize the importance of the determination of the optimal monetary policy framework to eliminate the negative consequences of oil price increases.

  7. Implications of health as 'the ability to adapt and self-manage' for public health policy : A qualitative study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jambroes, Marielle; Nederland, Trudi; Kaljouw, Marian; Van Vliet, Katja; Essink-Bot, Marie Louise; Ruwaard, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    Background: To explore the implications for public health policy of a new conceptualisation of health as 'The ability to adapt and to self-manage, in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges'. Methods: Secondary qualitative data analysis of 28 focus group interviews, with 277

  8. Role of healthcare workers in early epidemic spread of Ebola: policy implications of prophylactic compared to reactive vaccination policy in outbreak prevention and control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coltart, Cordelia E M; Johnson, Anne M; Whitty, Christopher J M

    2015-10-19

    Ebola causes severe illness in humans and has epidemic potential. How to deploy vaccines most effectively is a central policy question since different strategies have implications for ideal vaccine profile. More than one vaccine may be needed. A vaccine optimised for prophylactic vaccination in high-risk areas but when the virus is not actively circulating should be safe, well tolerated, and provide long-lasting protection; a two- or three-dose strategy would be realistic. Conversely, a reactive vaccine deployed in an outbreak context for ring-vaccination strategies should have rapid onset of protection with one dose, but longevity of protection is less important. In initial cases, before an outbreak is recognised, healthcare workers (HCWs) are at particular risk of acquiring and transmitting infection, thus potentially augmenting early epidemics. We hypothesise that many early outbreak cases could be averted, or epidemics aborted, by prophylactic vaccination of HCWs. This paper explores the potential impact of prophylactic versus reactive vaccination strategies of HCWs in preventing early epidemic transmissions. To do this, we use the limited data available from Ebola epidemics (current and historic) to reconstruct transmission trees and illustrate the theoretical impact of these vaccination strategies. Our data suggest a substantial potential benefit of prophylactic versus reactive vaccination of HCWs in preventing early transmissions. We estimate that prophylactic vaccination with a coverage >99% and theoretical 100% efficacy could avert nearly two-thirds of cases studied; 75% coverage would still confer clear benefit (40% cases averted), but reactive vaccination would be of less value in the early epidemic. A prophylactic vaccination campaign for front-line HCWs is not a trivial undertaking; whether to prioritise long-lasting vaccines and provide prophylaxis to HCWs is a live policy question. Prophylactic vaccination is likely to have a greater impact on the

  9. Global warming policy: A coherent-sequential approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Manicke, R.L.

    1996-01-01

    This paper addresses these two closely related themes: (1) the need for structuring and evaluating global climate policy sequentially and (2) the need to incorporate the analysis of real options which may contribute significantly to global climate policy. This paper is organized into four sections. The first section deals with benefit-cost analysis and capital budgeting as they are generally practiced and discusses the reasons why the traditional benefit-cost formulation is inadequate. The second section then discusses the case of one financial option, namely, the European Call Option and discusses some important results. The third section of the paper addresses some of the important results or principles derived in the literature on real options, and while most of the mathematics is not easily transferred nor relevant to the global climate policy, there are many principles that can be applied. In the fourth section the author discusses the implications of a real option environment for the policy process

  10. Public participation and environmental impact assessment: Purposes, implications, and lessons for public policy making

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran

    2010-01-01

    In recent years the need to enhance public participation in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), and the efficacy of alternative mechanisms in achieving this goal, have been central themes in the EIA literature. The benefits of public participation are often taken for granted, and partly for this reason the underlying rationale for greater public participation is sometimes poorly articulated, making it more difficult to determine how to pursue it effectively. The reasons for seeking public participation are also highly diverse and not always mutually consistent. There has been limited analysis of the implications of different forms and degrees of public participation for public decision making based on EIA, and little discussion of how experience with public participation in EIA relates to debates about participation in policy making generally. This paper distinguishes various purposes for public participation in EIA, and discusses their implications for decision making. It then draws on some general models of public participation in policy making to consider how approaches to participation in EIA can be interpreted and valued, and asks what EIA experience reveals about the utility of these models. It argues that the models pay insufficient attention to the interaction that can occur between different forms of public participation; and to the fact that public participation raises issues regarding control over decision making that are not subject to resolution, but must be managed through ongoing processes of negotiation.

  11. How the Government Defines "Rural" Has Implications for Education Policies and Practices. Issues & Answers. REL 2007-010

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, Michael L.; Biscoe, Belinda; Farmer, Thomas W.; Robertson, Dylan L.; Shapley, Kathy L.

    2007-01-01

    Clearly defining what rural means has tangible implications for public policies and practices in education, from establishing resource needs to achieving the goals of No Child Left Behind in rural areas. The word "rural" has many meanings. It has been defined in reference to population density, geographic features, and level of economic…

  12. Threats to the Sustainability of the Outsourced Call Center Industry in the Philippines: Implications for Language Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Friginal, Eric

    2009-01-01

    This study overviews current threats to the sustainability of the outsourced call center industry in the Philippines and discusses implications for macro and micro language policies given the use of English in this cross-cultural interactional context. This study also summarizes the present state of outsourced call centers in the Philippines, and…

  13. Implications of health as 'the ability to adapt and self-manage' for public health policy: a qualitative study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jambroes, Marielle; Nederland, Trudi; Kaljouw, Marian; van Vliet, Katja; Essink-Bot, Marie-Louise; Ruwaard, Dirk

    2016-01-01

    To explore the implications for public health policy of a new conceptualisation of health as 'The ability to adapt and to self-manage, in the face of social, physical and emotional challenges'. Secondary qualitative data analysis of 28 focus group interviews, with 277 participants involved in public

  14. Raw materials policy: implications for Germany

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaertner, E

    1978-04-01

    The contribution characterizes the situation of the national mining industry in 1977, deals with international raw materials policies within the framework of the North-South dialogue and with the policies of the western industrial countries, points out the dangers of worldwide state-controlled raw materials policies and calls for a) the political risk of enterprise cooperation with developing countries to be covered and b) double taxation to be avoided. Finally, the problems of securing the Federal Republic of Germany's raw materials supplies on a long-term basis are portrayed.

  15. Policies of “Modernisation” in European Education: Enactments and Consequences

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The five articles in this special issue offer empirically and theoretically informed accounts from education policy research carried out in different national contexts in Europe. This special issue sheds light on how modernising approaches to educational governance and reform, grouped under...... the umbrella of new public management, are strongly present in European education policy, both at transnational levels and in individual countries, and points to important implications for these developments....

  16. Combating antibiotic resistance - A Policy Roadmap to Reduce Use of Medically Important Antibiotics in Livestock

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Price, Lance B.; Newland, Jason; Bole, Aparna

    edical and public health organizations around the world agree that more prudent use of antibiotics in human medicine and in livestock production is paramount to slow the spread of antibiotic resistance. Of particular concern is the widespread use of antibiotics important to human medicine in food...... animals. In the U.S., such use accounts for 70% of all sales of medically important antibiotics. It is against this backdrop that 12 antibiotic resistance experts from the fields of infectious disease medicine, veterinary medicine, microbiology, epidemiology and public health joined to craft a policy...... roadmap to help move the U.S. forward in addressing the contribution of livestock antibiotic use to the growing global threat of antibiotic resistance. The policy roadmap consists of 11 core policy recommendations that are aimed at a broad set of stakeholders: federal, state and local policymakers, food...

  17. Changes in the pastoral sheep systems of semi-arid Mediterranean areas: association with common agricultural policy reform and implications for sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paula M. Toro-Mujica

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The dynamics of sheep systems the Mediterranean region have been influenced by reforms coming from the Common Agricultural Policy, and the general economic evolution of markets. The aim of this study was the analysis of the structural changes that occurred between 1999 and 2009, and the identification of future implications for the sheep systems in Andalusia region, Spain. Analysis of the structural changes allowed the generation of strategic information, identified trends that should suggest new rural policies and changes that are likely to have social and environmental impacts, and lastly, prioritize future research. The application of multivariate methodology allowed clustering the farm population into four groups. The typology of these systems was determined by variables related to the sheep subsystem, by the set of agricultural activities, and by changes in swine husbandry, within a context of changes in land tenure and the drive for agricultural intensification. Major modifications of extant systems included a 42% reduction in the number of farms, a decrease in sheep numbers, replacement of native rangelands with improved pastures, olive trees and orchards, a reduction of traditional extensive pastoral activities, and increases in hog production in Dehesa grasslands. Given the historical economic and social importance of the sheep-cereal system, the observed substantial modifications of land use suggest a need to assess their consequences in terms of social and environmental impacts, as well as their implications for climate change.

  18. Downsizing of a provincial department of health--causes and implications for fiscal policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blecher, Mark

    2002-06-01

    To analyse the financial basis for downsizing of a provincial health department and suggest implications for fiscal policy. Analysis of relevant departmental, provincial and national financing and expenditure trends from 1995/96 to 2002/03. Western Cape (WC) Department of Health (DOH). Downsizing involving 9,282 health workers (27.9%) and closure of 3,601 hospital beds (24.4%) over 5 years. Total aggregate provincial transfers (all provinces) remained fairly constant in real terms. The WC's share decreased from 11.8% in 1996/97 to 9.8% in 2002/03. This was offset by the DOH's share of the WC budget increasing from 25.6% to 29.6%, mainly because of an increase in national health conditional grants. The net effect of financing changes was that the DOH's allocation in real terms was similar in 2002/03 and 1995/96, which suggests that financing changes are not the major cause of downsizing. Expenditure analysis revealed a 39.7% real rise in the average cost of health personnel. Substantial interprovincial inequities remain. The major cause of downsizing was wage growth, particularly following the 1996 wage agreement. Disjointed fiscal and wage policy has affected health services. Simultaneous application of policies of fiscal constraint, redistribution and substantial real wage growth has resulted in substantial downsizing with limited inroads into inequities. Inequities will continue to call for further redistribution, reduction in conditional grants and downsizing, much of which could have been avoided if fiscal and wage policy choices had been optimal.

  19. Hydro-Quebec's environmental policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-10-01

    Hydro-Quebec established a new environmental policy on August 1, 1996. A summary of the policy was presented. According to this policy statement the utility undertakes to recognize the environmental implications of its activities and assumes responsibilities for these implications by integrating them into its corporate decision-making processes. The following general principles and means of implementation have been highlighted: (1) sustainable development, (2) strict, responsible environmental management, (3) environmental research, (4) enhancement of activities and facilities, (5) information, consultation and dialogue, and (6) environmental responsibility of Hydro-Quebec personnel, subsidiaries and business partners

  20. Food security policies in India and China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yu, Wusheng; Elleby, Christian; Zobbe, Henrik

    2015-01-01

    dependence on price-based measures causes relatively larger and more volatile fiscal burdens, thereby likely making it more vulnerable in dealing with similar events in the future. These findings have important implications for food policy and food security in the two countries in the future.......Food insecurity is a much more serious concern in India than China. In addition to income and poverty differences, we argue in this paper that differences in food policies can further explain the different food security outcomes across the two countries. First, India mostly uses price-based input...

  1. The Implications of Growth Policy for Postsecondary Education. A Model and Proposed Course of Action. Working Paper.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perelman, Lewis J.; Bergquist, William H.

    A 5-month project was undertaken at the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education to do a preliminary study of the implications of growth policy for postsecondary education. The decision to focus on this level of education was based on the belief that the existing problems of growth and its limits have become too urgent to be left to…

  2. Opposition Policy Influence Through Agenda-Setting: The Environment in Denmark, 1993–2009

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Seeberg, Henrik Bech

    2016-01-01

    This article addresses the opposition’s opportunities to influence policy; a topic that has been neglected in existing party-policy research. The idea that is developed is applied to a remarkable policy development on the environment during the Danish right-wing government in the 2000s. Contrary...... opinion, carbon dioxide emissions, and the government’s approval ratings into account, the empirical estimation based on unique quarterly data shows that opposition criticism had a systematic impact on the pro-environmental policy development. The implications for party-policy research are important...

  3. Leaving an emissions trading scheme : Implications for the United Kingdom and the European Union

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Tol, Richard S.J.

    2018-01-01

    The United Kingdom (UK) may opt to leave the European Union (EU) emissions trading system (ETS) for greenhouse gases. This policy brief examines the implications. The UK is a large importer of emission permits. Thus, meeting its climate policy targets would be much more difficult without the EU ETS,

  4. Japan's new energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2014-11-01

    Japan's energy policy is undergoing fundamental changes. The accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant questions the future contribution of nuclear power in the national energy mix. Growing imports of fossil fuels to replace the lost nuclear capacity inflated energy prices and raise economic and energy security challenges. At the same time, the US shale gas and oil revolution is reshaping the global energy scene. Japan expects to take advantage of the trend to eliminate the 'Asian premium' on natural gas prices and expand cheaper natural gas consumption. These developments have driven the Government of Japan to review its energy policy from scratch and adopt a new Strategic Energy Plan. This new policy has far reaching implications for gas and coal development in Japan but also for the international markets as Japan is the world's largest LNG importer and the second largest coal importer. This document summarizes the key findings of a new report by CEDIGAZ 'Japan's new energy policy: In search for stable and competitive energy supply'. The report analyzes the current changes taking place on the gas and coal markets in Japan, in light of the new energy policy adopted in April 2014, and in particular the decision to restart safe nuclear power plants and push forward electricity market reforms

  5. Democratic cultural policy : democratic forms and policy consequences

    OpenAIRE

    Gray, Clive

    2012-01-01

    The forms that are adopted to give practical meaning to democracy are assessed to identify what their implications are for the production of public policies in general and cultural policies in particular. A comparison of direct, representative, democratic elitist and deliberative versions of democracy identifies clear differences between them in terms of policy form and democratic practice. Further elaboration of these differences and their consequences are identified as areas for further res...

  6. Modeling the impacts of environmental policies on agricultural imports

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Larson, B.A.; Scatasta, S.

    2005-01-01

    For current policy debates in agricultural and food industries, policy analysts need to evaluate the impacts of how proposed changes in domestic environmental regulations may alter agricultural trade in the future. Given the industry-specific nature of many policies issues, analysts need sector and

  7. Impact of Climate Change. Policy Uncertainty in Power Investment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Blyth, W.; Yang, M.

    2006-10-01

    Climate change policies are being introduced or actively considered in all IEA member countries, changing the investment conditions and technology choices in the energy sector. Many of these policies are at a formative stage, and policy uncertainty is currently high. The objective of this paper is to quantify the impacts of climate change policy on power investment. We use Real Options Analysis approach in the study and model uncertain carbon price and fuel price with stochastic variables. The analysis compares the effects of climate policy uncertainty with fuel price uncertainty, showing the relative importance of these sources of risk for different technologies. This paper considers views on the importance of climate policy risk, how it is managed, and how it might affect investment behaviour. The implications for policymakers are analyzed, allowing the key messages to be transferred into policy design decisions. We found that in many cases, the dominant risks facing base-load generation investment decisions will be market risks associated with electricity and fuel prices. However, under certain conditions and for some technologies, climate policy uncertainty can be an important risk factor, creating an incentive to delay investment and raising investment thresholds. This paper concludes that government climate change policies to promote investment in low-carbon technologies should aim to overcome this incentive to delay by sending long-term investment signals backed up by strengthened international policy action to enhance domestic policy credibility

  8. Policy and programmatic implications of task shifting in Uganda: a case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dambisya Yoswa M

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Uganda has a severe health worker shortage and a high demand for health care services. This study aimed to assess the policy and programmatic implications of task shifting in Uganda. Methods This was a qualitative, descriptive study through 34 key informant interviews and eight (8 focus group discussions, with participants from various levels of the health system. Results Policy makers understood task shifting, but front-line health workers had misconceptions on the meaning and intention(s of task shifting. Examples were cited of task shifting within the Ugandan health system, some formalized (e.g. psychiatric clinical officers, and some informal ones (e.g. nurses inserting IV lines and initiating treatment. There was apparently high acceptance of task shifting in HIV/AIDS service delivery, with involvement of community health workers (CHW and PLWHA in care and support of AIDS patients. There was no written policy or guidelines on task shifting, but the policy environment was reportedly conducive with plans to develop a policy and guidelines on task shifting. Factors favouring task shifting included successful examples of task shifting, proper referral channels, the need for services, scarcity of skills and focused initiatives such as home based management of fever. Barriers to task shifting included reluctance to change, protection of professional turf, professional boundaries and regulations, heavy workload and high disease burden, poor planning, lack of a task shifting champion, lack of guidelines, the name task shifting itself, and unemployed health professionals. There were both positive and negative views on task shifting: the positive ones cast task shifting as one of the solutions to the dual problem of lack of skills and high demand for service, and as something that is already happening; while negative ones saw it as a quick fix intended for the poor, a threat to quality care and likely to compromise the health

  9. Policy Choices in Vocational Education [and] Technical Appendix.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Institute for the Future, Menlo Park, CA.

    This report examines the impact of changes in the vocational education environment that are likely to be important to policymakers over the next fifteen years. It contains forecasts of a number of trends that will be of significance to vocational educators, an analysis of the policy implications of those trends in the education environments, and…

  10. Tourism policies and sustainability in traditional communities: conceptual perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulo Moreira Pinto

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available The public policies of tourism in Brazil and in the Amazon, analyzing its implications in the political and administrative reality of traditional communities and its relationship with the historical sustainability of those populations in relation to the natural environment. It is an exploratory research, and in order to achieve its goal, describes the trajectory of the public policies of tourism in Brazil and, particularly, in the Amazon confronting them with theoretical background that support the formation of public policies, specially of sustainable tourism, which permeates the new programs of tourism and foresees the inclusion of community participation as an important element to carry out the public policies of tourism.

  11. Monetary Policy in Small Open Economies: The Role of Exchange Rate Rules

    OpenAIRE

    Santacreu, Ana Maria

    2015-01-01

    Understanding the costs and benefits of alternative monetary policy rules is important for economic welfare. Within the context of a small open economy model and building on the work of Mihov and Santacreu (2013), the author analyzes the economic implications of two monetary policy rules. The first is a rule in which the central bank uses the nominal exchange rate as its policy instrument and adjusts the rate whenever there are changes in the economic environment. The second is a standard int...

  12. The Common Agricultural Policy Role in Addressing External Shocks - The Case of Russian Import Ban

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ANDREEA DRĂGOI

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP is one of the oldest and most controversial common policies and it is financed directly from the European Union budget. Some critics of CAP argue that especially in the context of the challenges brought by the international crisis, this policy represents a “burden” for the European budget. Our research aims to responds those critics by showing that CAP may represent an important tool for addressing the external shocks impact on agricultural sector of EU. In this view, we will highlight the role of CAP in sustaining the European farmer during the crisis generated by the Russian import ban, adopted as a response to the sanctions imposed by EU to the Russian Federation in the context of Ukrainian crisis. Using a quantitative and qualitative analysis we will assess how the CAP has supported the European agricultural sector and also the future measures that could be adopted to create a more flexible response in the case of other external shocks.

  13. Energy, environment and economics: greenhouse policy in the balance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilkenfeld, G.L.

    1990-01-01

    Taking New South Wales as a case study, this paper reviews the government's major economic and environmental concerns, and analyses how they bear on energy and greenhouse policy options. The government's economic strategy emphasises the continuing importance of primary resources, minerals processing and energy-intensive manufacturing, where the State is perceived to have a competitive advantage because of its extensive coal resources. The implications of these trends for the energy utilities and for greenhouse energy policy are analysed. 22 refs., 1 tab

  14. Public policy and medical tourism: ethical implications for the Egyptian health care system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haley, Bob

    2011-01-01

    Egypt's medical tourism industry has been experiencing tremendous growth. However, Egypt continues to lack the necessary investment in its public health system to effectively care for its population. Current policy and the emergence of medical tourism have led to unequal health care access, resulting in high a prevalence of infectious diseases and lack of resources for its most vulnerable populations. As a new Egyptian government emerges, it is important for policymakers to understand the critical issues and ethical concerns of existing health policy. This understanding may be used to propose new policy that more effectively allocates to care for Egypt's population.

  15. A Game of Two Elderly Care Facilities: Competition, Mothballing Options, and Policy Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Congcong Wang

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This article develops a model to investigate the entry strategies of private investors to the elderly care service market, with the purpose of explaining the reasons behind dilemma of low signing rate plaguing China’s Public-Private Partnership projects. We focus on the competition between two private investors with or without mothballing options under price uncertainty. After the derivation of equilibria of entry strategies, we employ numerical examples to analyze the dependencies of entry thresholds on market parameters, cost parameters, subsidy, and possession of mothballing option. Conclusions are drawn and some policy implications are given with the intention to alleviate the problem of low signing rate.

  16. Social reciprocity and health: new scientific evidence and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegrist, Johannes

    2005-11-01

    The work contract is based on the norm of social reciprocity where appropriate rewards are provided for efforts and achievements at work. The effort-reward imbalance model of work stress maintains that contractual non-reciprocity in terms of high efforts spent and low rewards received is frequent if people have no alternative choice in the labour market, if they are exposed to heavy competition or if they are intrinsically motivated to engage in excessive work-related commitment. According to the model, long-term exposure to effort-reward imbalance increases the risk of stress-related disorders. An overview of results from prospective epidemiological investigations testing the model is given. Overall, people who experience failed reciprocity at work are twice as likely to suffer from incident cardiovascular disease, depression or alcohol dependence compared to those who are not exposed. Associations are stronger for men than for women. Policy implications of findings for improved worksite health promotion are discussed.

  17. Agricultural price and income policy in the EC : alternative policies and their implications

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meester, G.

    1980-01-01

    Alternative forms of income policy without direct supply control. Alternative forms of income policy with direct supply control: quota arrangements. The influence of EC policy on the world market prices of agricultural produce

  18. A Cognitive Perspective on Policy Implementation : Reform Beliefs, Sensemaking, and Social Networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Siciliano, Michael D.; Moolenaar, Nienke M.; Daly, Alan J.; Liou, Yi Hwa

    2017-01-01

    Utilizing a cognitive perspective, this article examines the social processes through which teachers come to understand the Common Core State Standards. The authors begin by identifying three beliefs that have important implications for policy implementation: self-efficacy, resource adequacy, and

  19. Transforming long-term care pain management in north america: the policy-clinical interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjistavropoulos, Thomas; Marchildon, Gregory P; Fine, Perry G; Herr, Keela; Palley, Howard A; Kaasalainen, Sharon; Béland, François

    2009-04-01

    The undertreatment of pain in older adults who reside in long-term care (LTC) facilities has been well documented, leading to clinical guideline development and professional educational programs designed to foster better pain assessment and management in this population. Despite these efforts, little improvement has occurred, and we postulate that focused attention to public policy and cost implications of systemic change is required to create positive pain-related outcomes. Our goal was to outline feasible and cost-effective clinical and public policy recommendations designed to address the undermanagement of pain in LTC facilities. We arranged a 2-day consensus meeting of prominent United States and Canadian pain and public policy experts. An initial document describing the problem of pain undermanagement in LTC was developed and circulated prior to the meeting. Participants were also asked to respond to a list of relevant questions before arriving. Following formal presentations of a variety of proposals and extensive discussion among clinicians and policy experts, a set of recommendations was developed. We outline key elements of a transformational model of pain management in LTC for the United States and Canada. Consistent with previously formulated clinical guidelines but with attention to readily implementable public policy change in both countries, this transformational model of LTC has important implications for LTC managers and policy makers as well as major quality of life implications for LTC residents.

  20. A Collaboratively-Derived Science-Policy Research Agenda

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sutherland, William J.; Bellingan, Laura; Bellingham, Jim R.; Blackstock, Jason J.; Bloomfield, Robert M.; Bravo, Michael; Cadman, Victoria M.; Cleevely, David D.; Clements, Andy; Cohen, Anthony S.; Cope, David R.; Daemmrich, Arthur A.; Devecchi, Cristina; Anadon, Laura Diaz; Denegri, Simon; Doubleday, Robert; Dusic, Nicholas R.; Evans, Robert J.; Feng, Wai Y.; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Harris, Paul; Hartley, Sue E.; Hester, Alison J.; Holmes, John; Hughes, Alan; Hulme, Mike; Irwin, Colin; Jennings, Richard C.; Kass, Gary S.; Littlejohns, Peter; Marteau, Theresa M.; McKee, Glenn; Millstone, Erik P.; Nuttall, William J.; Owens, Susan; Parker, Miles M.; Pearson, Sarah; Petts, Judith; Ploszek, Richard; Pullin, Andrew S.; Reid, Graeme; Richards, Keith S.; Robinson, John G.; Shaxson, Louise; Sierra, Leonor; Smith, Beck G.; Spiegelhalter, David J.; Stilgoe, Jack; Stirling, Andy; Tyler, Christopher P.; Winickoff, David E.; Zimmern, Ron L.

    2012-01-01

    The need for policy makers to understand science and for scientists to understand policy processes is widely recognised. However, the science-policy relationship is sometimes difficult and occasionally dysfunctional; it is also increasingly visible, because it must deal with contentious issues, or itself becomes a matter of public controversy, or both. We suggest that identifying key unanswered questions on the relationship between science and policy will catalyse and focus research in this field. To identify these questions, a collaborative procedure was employed with 52 participants selected to cover a wide range of experience in both science and policy, including people from government, non-governmental organisations, academia and industry. These participants consulted with colleagues and submitted 239 questions. An initial round of voting was followed by a workshop in which 40 of the most important questions were identified by further discussion and voting. The resulting list includes questions about the effectiveness of science-based decision-making structures; the nature and legitimacy of expertise; the consequences of changes such as increasing transparency; choices among different sources of evidence; the implications of new means of characterising and representing uncertainties; and ways in which policy and political processes affect what counts as authoritative evidence. We expect this exercise to identify important theoretical questions and to help improve the mutual understanding and effectiveness of those working at the interface of science and policy. PMID:22427809

  1. The Farm Credit Situation: Implications for Agricultural Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bullock, J. Bruce

    1986-01-01

    Examines issues regarding current farm finance situation from a public policy perspective: origins and causes of current situation, available policy options for dealing with the problems, and impacts of policy options. (NEC)

  2. EFFECTS OF MONETARY POLICY IN ROMANIA - A VAR APPROACH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iulian Popescu

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Understanding how monetary policy decisions affect inflation and other economic variables is particularly important. In this paper we consider the implications of monetary policy under the inflation targeting regime in Romania, based on an autoregressive vector method including recursive VAR and structural VAR (SVAR. Therefore, we focus on assessing the extent and persistence of monetary policy effects on gross domestic product (GDP, price level, extended monetary aggregate (M3 and exchange rate. The main results of VAR analysis reflect a negative response of consumer price index (CPI, GDP and M3 and positive nominal exchange rate behaviour to a monetary policy shock, and also a limited impact of a short-term interest rate shock in explaining the consumer prices, production and exchange rate fluctuations.

  3. Returns to Investment in Ontario University Education, 1960-1990, and Implications for Tuition Fee Policy. Discussion Series, Issue 5.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stager, David A. A.

    This analysis of Ontario's returns to investment and implications for tuition fee policy updates a 1989 publication titled "Focus on Fees." The paper examines: data on public and private return on investment (ROI) from university education, pattern of ROI rates over time, and impact of tuition fee levels on estimated ROI for various…

  4. Chief nursing officers’ perspectives on Medicare’s hospital-acquired conditions non-payment policy: implications for policy design and implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wald Heidi

    2012-08-01

    hospital-acquired.’ One opportunity arising from the policy has been the focus on nursing leadership in patient safety efforts. Conclusions While the CMS’s HAC policy was just one of many factors influencing QI efforts, it may have served the important role of drawing attention and resources to the targeted conditions—particularly those not previously in the spotlight. The translational research paradigm is helpful in the interpretation of the findings, illustrating how the policy can advance prevention efforts for HACs at earlier phases of research translation as well as pitfalls associated with earlier phase implementation. To maximize their impact, such policies should consider condition-specific contextual factors influencing policy uptake and provide condition-specific implementation support.

  5. Project-Based Market Competition and Policy Implications for Sustainable Developments in Building and Construction Sectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Min-Ren Yan

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Building and construction sectors are significant contributors to the global economy, but their energy consumption necessitates greater commitment to sustainable developments. There is therefore a growing demand for green innovation in the form of cleaner production and policies to meet the modern requirements of sustainability. However, the nature in which public work is undertaken is in an environment of project-based market competition, whereby contractors routinely bid for contracts under specific project awarding systems, and variations are accompanied with the unique scope of individual projects before the final goods or services are delivered. A comprehensive understanding of the characteristics and contractors’ behavior in systems could help to identify the leverage points of policies. This paper proposes a system dynamics model, with quantitative analysis and simulations, to demonstrate the problems of a system with different project awarding systems and ineffective market performance. The framework of market efficiency and performance measures has been proposed to evaluate the project-based competition mechanism. Managerial policy implications for market efficiency and sustainable developments can thus be systematically discussed and compared through iterative computer simulations and scenario analysis.

  6. Trade Policy Reform and the Missing Revenue

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Arndt, Thomas Channing; Tarp, Finn

    2008-01-01

    into a computable general equilibrium model of an African economy (Mozambique) to study the implications of trade policy reform. Model simulations indicate that lowering tariff rates and reducing duty-free importation in a manner that maintains official revenue benefit nearly everyone. The main exception is those......In many African countries, large discrepancies exist between revenues implied by published tariff rates multiplied by estimated import volumes and actual receipts. We develop a stylised trade model where average and marginal tariff rates diverge and incorporate insights from this model...

  7. Farmers' adoption of maize (Zea mays L.). Hybrids and persistence of landraces in Southwest China: implications for policy and breeding

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, Jingsong; Lammerts Van Bueren, E.; Jiggins, Janice; Leeuwis, C.

    2012-01-01

    This paper examines changes in the distribution of maize hybrids and landraces in the mountainous areas of southwest China over 1998–2008, farmers’ reasons for cultivar adoption and the implications for national policies in relation to seed production and breeding, based on baseline data and a

  8. Consumer energy research review. A compendium of selected studies and their implications for policy formulation and program design

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ritchie, J.R.B.; McDougall, G.H.G. (comps.)

    1982-01-01

    This bibliography covers studies of consumers of energy, their attitudes and patterns of consumption. Annotations are given in outline form with respect to the study's objectives, major findings, and implications for consumer energy policy and research. If the study was a survey, the location and nature of sample are given. Literature from Canada and the U.S.A. is included.

  9. The influence of South Korean energy policy on OPEC oil exports

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Almansoori, Ali

    2014-01-01

    South Korea is the fifth top oil importer worldwide with 64% of its oil coming from OPEC member countries. Over the last 30 years, South Korea accounted for a rapid increase in energy use. This in turn led South Korea to be totally dependent on oil imports. Due to this increase, South Korea has been experiencing drastic changes in its energy system which could potentially impact its dependence on OPEC oil import. External and internal factors have forced South Korea to change its energy strategy and targets. These targets would be achieved by reducing its energy intensity and utilizing electricity and renewable energies in order to reduce its dependence on oil consumption. “Low Carbon, Green Growth” is one policy along with many other energy policies developed by South Korea for reducing greenhouse gases, thus this policy is receiving a remarkable attention today. These national policies along with other international ones are needed to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and promote other green initiatives. This study puts emphasis on these policies as well as uses them to predict the future energy profile of South Korea and how these policies will impact on oil imports from OPEC member countries. - Highlights: • Analyze energy policy of South Korea and its energy profiles. • Study the factors that affect South Korea to change its energy strategy and targets. • Analyze the implications of South Korean energy policy on oil imports from OPEC. • South Korea will continue importing oil from OPEC countries for the next decade

  10. Health and schooling: evidence and policy implications for developing countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomes-neto, J B; Hanushek, E A; Leite, R H; Frota-bezzera, R C

    1997-01-01

    Health and education are typically viewed as distinct topics from both the research and policy perspectives. Accordingly, the direct interactions between health status and education have been neglected in both research and policy making. The authors use survey data collected from students during the 1980s in Piaui, Ceara, and Pernambuco states as part of an evaluation of a major educational intervention program, EDURURAL, to investigate the complementarities of health with school attainment and cognitive achievement. A series of anthropometric measures for individual students in rural northeast Brazil are used in educational performance models. The promotion models and value-added achievement models both demonstrate the importance of students' visual acuity. Poor vision systematically leads to higher drop-out rates, more grade repetition, and lower achievement. The achievement models also point to the role of good nutrition.

  11. Sustainable marketing communication strategies of Russian companies under the import substitution policy

    OpenAIRE

    Chernova, Veronika,; Zobov, Alexander,; Starostin, Vasily,; Butkovskaya, Galina,

    2017-01-01

    International audience; The sanction standoff between Russia and the West opened up new opportunities for Russian food manufacturers. A new import substitution policy declared by the government restricted the access of the leading foreign countries to the market and unlocked a potential for internal development. Russian producers spotted new niches in the food market. There exist numerous obstacles to assimilating new market prospects: organizational (logistics, infrastructure, etc.), investm...

  12. Policy Uncertainty, Investment and Commitment Periods

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-07-01

    Today's investment decisions in key sectors such as energy, forestry or transport have significant impacts on the levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions over the coming decades. Given the economic and environmental long-term implications of capital investment and retirement, a climate mitigation regime should aim to encourage capital investment in climate-friendly technologies. Many factors affect technology choice and the timing of investment, including investor expectations about future prices and policies. Recent international discussions have focused on the importance of providing more certainty about future climate policy stringency. The design of commitment periods can play a role in creating this environment. This paper assesses how the length of commitment periods influences policy uncertainty and investment decisions. In particular, the paper analyses the relationship between commitment period length and near term investment decisions in climate friendly technology.

  13. Political implications of US nuclear-export-policy development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson-Freese, J.S.

    1981-01-01

    There has been a great deal of international debate regarding how effective strict export controls on nuclear-energy supplies are toward a non-proliferation goal. With the Carter Administration, the debate was heightened by a new, more-vigorous US nuclear-export policy, much of which was codified by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Act of 1978 (NNPA). Because of the US position in both the international non-proliferation regime and nuclear export market, the NNPA has had far-reaching consequences. The thesis of this paper is that a nuclear-export policy that fails to consider its short-term ramifications, as the NNPA has been accused of, will be self-defeating. If the US wants a viable worldwide nuclear non-proliferation policy, it must first direct its efforts toward building a domestic non-proliferation consensus, and then worldwide, rather than first setting a highly controversial policy and expecting other nations to fall into line. This work provides a comprehensive case study of US nuclear-export policy between the years 1976 to 1980 in support of the thesis. Further, the behavior and impact of the interest groups which seem to shape US nuclear-export policies is examined, and recommendations made regarding the role of groups in nuclear policy-making and implementation. Finally, recommendations are made regarding non-proliferation policy for the future, as it relates to nuclear exports

  14. CO2 embodied in international trade with implications for global climate policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peters, Glen P; Hertwich, Edgar G

    2008-03-01

    The flow of pollution through international trade flows has the ability to undermine environmental policies, particularly for global pollutants. In this article we determine the CO2 emissions embodied in international trade among 87 countries for the year 2001. We find that globally there are over 5.3 Gt of CO2 embodied in trade and that Annex B countries are net importers of CO2 emissions. Depending on country characteristics--such as size variables and geographic location--there are considerable variations in the embodied emissions. We argue that emissions embodied in trade may have a significant impact on participation in and effectiveness of global climate policies such as the Kyoto Protocol. We discuss several policy options to reduce the impact of trade in global climate policy. If countries take binding commitments as a part of a coalition, instead of as individual countries, then the impacts of trade can be substantially reduced. Adjusting emission inventories for trade gives a more consistent description of a country's environmental pressures and circumvents many trade related issues. It also gives opportunities to exploit trade as a means of mitigating emissions. Not least, a better understanding of the role that trade plays in a country's economic and environmental development will help design more effective and participatory climate policy post-Kyoto.

  15. Innovation policies for tourism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjalager, Anne-Mette

    2012-01-01

    The nature, extent, and implications of innovation in tourism are increasingly investigated in academic research, but the policies that affect these transformations in the industry and at tourism destinations are not equally well conceptualised theoretically or analysed empirically. The purpose...... framework of policy instruments for innovation in tourism. New generations of policies instigate a mainstreaming of the innovation agenda in ways that proceed beyond the traditional policy concepts....

  16. Interviewing children in custody cases: implications of research and policy for practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saywitz, Karen; Camparo, Lorinda B; Romanoff, Anna

    2010-01-01

    Research on child interviewing has burgeoned over the past 25 years as expectations about children's agency, competence, and participation in society have changed. This article identifies recent trends in research, policy, and theory with implications for the practice of interviewing children in cases of contested divorce and for the weight to be given the information children provide. A number of fields of relevant research are identified, including studies of families who have participated in the family law system, studies of child witnesses in the field, experimental studies of the effects of interview techniques on children's memory and suggestibility, and ethnographic methods that elicit children's views of their own experiences. Finally, a set of 10 principles for practice are delineated based on the best available science. Copyright 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  17. The importance and role of the Central Bank in the creation of a healthy monetary and investment policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Šmigić-Miladinović Jasmina

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper's starting point is finding an answer to the question: What kind of monetary policy should be followed by the Central bank in new market circumstances? As a major monetary institution, the Central bank should provide credibility for its monetary policy, which is particularly important during a macroeconomic stabilisation. In order to choose the most appropriate monetary policy, its creators should be familiar with the monetary policy's effects on economic activities, first of all on investment activities and the period in which they may occur. The Central bank uses its special status and authorisations to control monetary trends, to keep and handle foreign exchange reserves, to keep banks' required reserves, to manage the country's debt, to be the final creditor of the banking system, to take care of the banking system's liquidity. That is why the Central bank has become important for the functioning of the whole financial market, and especially the monetary market. The Central bank has both direct and indirect influence on the most important events on financial markets, financial system, as well as a wider influence - on a country's whole economy. In order to envisage the financial market's impact on monetary and investment policies, one should begin with the Central bank's role on the financial market, and at the same time analyse the financial market's instruments and institutions.

  18. Policy Implementation: Implications for Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    DeGroff, Amy; Cargo, Margaret

    2009-01-01

    Policy implementation reflects a complex change process where government decisions are transformed into programs, procedures, regulations, or practices aimed at social betterment. Three factors affecting contemporary implementation processes are explored: networked governance, sociopolitical context and the democratic turn, and new public…

  19. Exploring Nurse Leaders' Policy Participation Within the Context of a Nursing Conceptual Framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waddell, Ashley; Adams, Jeffrey M; Fawcett, Jacqueline

    2017-11-01

    This study was designed to describe and quantify the experiences of nurse leaders working to influence policy and to build consensus for priority skills and knowledge useful in policy efforts within the context of a nursing conceptual framework. The conceptual model for nursing and health policy and the Adams influence model were combined into a conceptual framework used to guide this two-round modified Delphi study. Twenty-two nurse leaders who were members of a state action coalition participated in the Round 1 focus group; 15 of these leaders completed the Round 2 electronic survey. Round 1 themes indicated the value of a passion for policy, the importance of clear communication, and an understanding the who and when of policy work. Round 2 data reinforced the importance of clear communication regarding policy engagement; knowing the who and when of policy closely followed, and having a passion for policy work was identified as least important. These themes inform learning objectives for nursing education and preparation for interactions with public officials because influencing policy requires knowledge, skills, and persistence. Study findings begin to describe how nurse leaders influence policy within the context of a nursing conceptual framework and generate implications for research, education, and professional practice.

  20. Interaction between the EU emissions trading scheme and energy policy instruments in the Netherlands. Implications of the EU Directive for Dutch Climate Policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sijm, J.P.M.; Van Dril, A.W.N.

    2003-11-01

    The present study analyses the potential interactions between the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and some selected energy and climate policy instruments in the Netherlands. These instruments include: (1) The Benchmarking Covenant (BC): a negotiated agreement with energy-intensive industries in order to improve their energy efficiency; (2) The Regulatory Energy Tax (REB): an ecotax (or levy) on the consumption of gas and electricity, including the partial exemption of this ecotax on renewable electricity; (3) The Environmental Quality of Electricity Production (MEP): a feed-in subsidy system for producers of renewable electricity; and (4) The system of Tradable Green Certificates (TGCs): a system of guarantees of origin to promote renewable electricity based on the partial exemption of the REB. A general finding of the present report is that once the EU ETS becomes operational, the effectiveness of all other policies to reduce CO2 emissions of the participating sectors becomes zero. The report explores the specific implications of this general finding for the coexistence of the EU ETS and the selected policy instruments in the Netherlands. It concludes that this coexistence will have a significant impact on the performance of both the EU ETS and the selected instruments in the Netherlands

  1. Implications for Equity and Diversity of Increasing International Student Numbers in European Universities: Policies and Practice in Four National Contexts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haapakoski, Jani; Pashby, Karen

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the main rationales for and possible implications of the policy of increasing international student numbers in higher education (HE). Drawing on critical discourse analysis, we map key themes emerging from two sets of data--university strategy documents and interviews with staff--collected at eight universities in four national…

  2. Population Policy: Abortion and Modern Contraception Are Substitutes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Grant; Valente, Christine

    2016-08-01

    A longstanding debate exists in population policy about the relationship between modern contraception and abortion. Although theory predicts that they should be substitutes, the empirical evidence is difficult to interpret. What is required is a large-scale intervention that alters the supply (or full price) of one or the other and, importantly, that does so in isolation (reproductive health programs often bundle primary health care and family planning-and in some instances, abortion services). In this article, we study Nepal's 2004 legalization of abortion provision and subsequent expansion of abortion services, an unusual and rapidly implemented policy meeting these requirements. Using four waves of rich individual-level data representative of fertile-age Nepalese women, we find robust evidence of substitution between modern contraception and abortion. This finding has important implications for public policy and foreign aid, suggesting that an effective strategy for reducing expensive and potentially unsafe abortions may be to expand the supply of modern contraceptives.

  3. Policies and place-making for competitive cities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Musterd, S.; Kovács, Z.; Musterd, S.; Kovács, Z.

    2013-01-01

    Policy-makers are making efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of their cities and urban regions. This book is about these policies and their implications for place-making and competitive cities. Policies driven by ‘classic’ location theory, cluster policies, ‘creative class’ policies aimed at

  4. Cooperative Policies and African International Students: Do Policy Spirits Match Experiences?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McLellan, Carlton E.

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores the policy implications of experiences of African international students (AIS) studying at post-apartheid South Africa universities. It argues that given the spirit and tone of continental, regional, and domestic policies to which South Africa has committed that at the very least there is an implicit expectation of…

  5. Policy implications of achievement testing using multilevel models: The case of Brazilian elementary schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor Gomes Menezes

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Large-scale educational assessment has been established as source of descriptive, evaluative and interpretative information that influence educational policies worldwide throughout the last third of the 20th century. In the 1990s the Brazilian Ministry of Education developed the National Basic Education Assessment System (SAEB that regularly measures management, resource and contextual school features and academic achievement in public and private institutions. In 2005, after significant piloting and review of the SAEB, a new sampling strategy was taken and Prova Brasil became the new instrument used by the Ministry to assess skills in Portuguese (reading comprehension and Mathematics (problem solving, as well as collecting contextual information concerning the school, principal, teacher, and the students. This study aims to identify which variables are predictors of academic achievement of fifth grade students on Prova Brasil. Across a large sample of students, multilevel models tested a large number of variables relevant to student achievement. This approach uncovered critical variables not commonly seen as significant in light of other achievement determinants, including student habits, teacher ethnicity, and school technological resources. As such, this approach demonstrates the value of MLM to appropriately nuanced educational policies that reflect critical influences on student achievement. Its implications for wider application for psychology studies that may have relevant impacts for policy are also discussed.

  6. Drug Testing in Schools: Implications for Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozeman, William C.; And Others

    1987-01-01

    Public concern about substance abuse, fueled by political and media attention, is causing school administrators to consider a variety of approaches beyond traditional drug education. No procedures, methods, or rules regarding drug testing should be established in the absence of clear school board policy, and no policy decisions should be made…

  7. Security Force Assistance: Cases and Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2018-02-02

    theory , cases, and policy implications presented. 3 Methods, Assumptions, and Procedures The analytical narrative method was used to test the...underlying theory --developed separately as a principal-agent model with capacity building in the DwP project. These two cases were chosen as part...the following implications for U.S. national security policy: o Use aid to create incentives , especially via conditionality. Avoid apolitical

  8. Public say food regulatory policies to improve health in Western Australia are important: population survey results.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollard, Christina M; Daly, Alison; Moore, Michael; Binns, Colin W

    2013-10-01

    To investigate the level of support among Western Australian adults for food control policies to improve diet, reduce obesity and protect the environment. Attitudes towards government food control policies on food labelling, food advertising, and the supply of environmentally friendly food data were pooled from two Nutrition Monitoring Survey Series telephone surveys of 2,147 adults aged 18-64 years collected in 2009 and 2012. Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were conducted using survey module of STATA 12. The majority of adults believe it is important that government regulates food policy options under consideration: nutrition information on food labels (97% versus 2% who think it is not important); health rating on food labels (95% versus 3%); food advertising (83% versus 11%); and the supply of environmentally friendly food (86% versus 9%). Community perception is that government control or regulation of food labelling, food advertising and the supply of environmentally friendly food is important. Curbing excess weight gain and related disease burden is a public health priority. Australian governments are considering food regulatory interventions to assist the public to improve their dietary intake. These findings should provide reassurance to government officials considering these regulatory measures. © 2013 The Authors. ANZJPH © 2013 Public Health Association of Australia.

  9. Fertilizer Reduction Policies in Developed Countries: Suitability and Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    LI Fang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available This study reviewed and analyzed the specific practices, implementation effects and applicable conditions of fertilizer reduction policies in the EU, US and Japan, explored the common laws and general conditions in the formulation of environmental orientation, and pro vided feasible policy recommendations for the formulation of fertilizer reduction policies in China. This study showed that fertilizer reduction policies in each country had their own advantages and disadvantages, and the applicable conditions were different. The EU's command and control policy was applicable to the situation of less farm households and the same agricultural planting type or farm type. The economic in centive policy in the US was applicable to the situation of more farm households, relatively perfect agricultural market system and sensitive price formation mechanism, while the public participation policy in Japan was applicable to regions with more relevant agricultural groups and strong economy. China should learn from each of these policies and make a comprehensive choice in the formulation of fertilizer reduc tion policies. Therefore, China should proceed from improving the agricultural price mechanism and the pollution-free agricultural products certification system as well as encouraging and supporting the development of large scale production units, and then promote the adoption of environmentally friendly technology through the guidance of market mechanism, ensure the effective implementation of environmental stan dards through farmers' integration and improve farmers' environmental awareness through propaganda guidance, so as to ensure the effective implementation of different types(command and control policy, economic incentive policy and public participation policyof fertilizer reduc tion policies.

  10. Prescription drug abuse: problem, policies, and implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Phillips, Janice

    2013-01-01

    This article provides an overview on prescription drug abuse and highlights a number of related legislative bills introduced during the 112th Congress in response to this growing epidemic. Prescription drug abuse has emerged as the nation's fastest growing drug problem. Although prescription drugs have been used effectively and appropriately for decades, deaths from prescription pain medicine in particular have reached epidemic proportions. Bills related to prescription drug abuse introduced during the 112th Congress focus on strengthening provider and consumer education, tracking and monitoring prescription drug abuse, improving data collection on drug overdose fatalities, combating fraud and abuse in Medicare and Medicaid programs, reclassifying drugs to make them more difficult to prescribe and obtain, and enforcing stricter penalties for individuals who operate scam pain clinics and sell pain pills illegitimately. This article underscores the importance of a multifaceted approach to combating prescription drug abuse and concludes with implications for nursing. Copyright © 2013. Published by Mosby, Inc.

  11. The role of government policy in service development in a New Zealand statutory mental health service: implications for policy planning and development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stanley-Clarke, Nicky; Sanders, Jackie; Munford, Robyn

    2014-12-01

    To explore the relationship between government policy and service development in a New Zealand statutory mental health provider, Living Well. An organisational case study utilising multiple research techniques including qualitative interviews, analysis of business and strategic documents and observation of meetings. Staff understood and acknowledged the importance of government policy, but there were challenges in its implementation. Within New Zealand's statutory mental health services staff struggled to know how to implement government policy as part of service development; rather, operational concerns, patient need, local context and service demands drove the service development process. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2014.

  12. An Examination of the Perceived Importance and Skills Related to Policies and Policy Making Among State Public Health Injury Prevention Staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liller, Karen D; Chapple-McGruder, Theresa; Castrucci, Brian; Wingate, Martha Slay; Hilson, Renata; Mendez, Dara; Cilenti, Dorothy; Raskind, Ilana

    The purpose of this research is to use the Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey to assess in greater detail state injury prevention staff perceptions of policy development and related skills and their awareness and perception of "Health in All Policies" (HiAP). The Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey gauged public health practitioners' perspectives on workplace environment, job satisfaction, national trends, and training needs, and gathered demographics on the workforce. This study utilizes data from the state health agency frame only, focusing solely on those permanently employed, central office staff in injury prevention. Respondents were sampled from 5 paired Health and Human Services regions. Approximately 25 000 invitations were sent to central office employees. The response rate was 46% (n = 10 246). The analysis in this article includes only injury prevention employees with programmatic roles, excluding clerical and custodial staff, providing us with a total of 97 respondents. When weighted, this resulted in a weighted population size of 365 injury prevention workers. The main outcome measures include demographics, responses to understanding of and skill levels related to policy development, and perceptions of HiAP public health trend. State injury prevention workers reported lower policy-making skill but had an overall appreciation of the importance of policies. In general, state injury prevention workers heard of HiAP, thought there should be more emphasis on it, but did not think that HiAP would have an impact on their day-to-day work. Efforts are needed for all state injury prevention workers to become better skilled in policy development, implementation, and evaluation in order to become stronger injury prevention advocates and role models.

  13. Implications of Current Ecological Thinking for Biodiversity Conservation: a Review of the Salient Issues

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tabatha J. Wallington

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available Given escalating concern worldwide about the loss of biodiversity, and given biodiversity's centrality to quality of life, it is imperative that current ecological knowledge fully informs societal decision making. Over the past two decades, ecological science has undergone many significant shifts in emphasis and perspective, which have important implications for how we manage ecosystems and species. In particular, a shift has occurred from the equilibrium paradigm to one that recognizes the dynamic, non-equilibrium nature of ecosystems. Revised thinking about the spatial and temporal dynamics of ecological systems has important implications for management. Thus, it is of growing concern to ecologists and others that these recent developments have not been translated into information useful to managers and policy makers. Many conservation policies and plans are still based on equilibrium assumptions. A fundamental difficulty with integrating current ecological thinking into biodiversity policy and management planning is that field observations have yet to provide compelling evidence for many of the relationships suggested by non-equilibrium ecology. Yet despite this scientific uncertainty, management and policy decisions must still be made. This paper was motivated by the need for considered scientific debate on the significance of current ideas in theoretical ecology for biodiversity conservation. This paper aims to provide a platform for such discussion by presenting a critical synthesis of recent ecological literature that (1 identifies core issues in ecological theory, and (2 explores the implications of current ecological thinking for biodiversity conservation.

  14. Implications of the Private Property Right to the Community Forest Businesses Formalization through the Certification Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bramasto Nugroho

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study aimed to analyze the implication of formalization of community forest business efforts through mandatory timber legality certification policy. Field survey was conducted in March–April 2012 in 3 districts in Central of Java namely Blora, Wonogiri, and Wonosobo District. The results showed that community forest is mainly planting in their private owned land. It brings 2 consequences. Firstly, their willingness to manage their forest sustainably was emerged without any enforcement from external parties. Secondly, there were autonomous in decision making in their way to manage their forest such as they only planted tree species that easy to sell and valuable, they only cut their trees when they need huge money for children schooling, marriage, illness, and housing. The autonomous decision making gives also the owners (farmers other alternatives to utilize their land otherwise planting the trees. It is mean, if the policy is decreasing the potential benefits from growing the trees, they can also convert their community forest into other business in which profitable and easy to sell their products. From those facts, it seems the formalization of community forest business through mandatory certification is not a proper policy to enhance the community forest.Keywords: community forest, formalization, policy, private property, timber legality DOI: 10.7226/jtfm.19.3.178

  15. Economic assessment of solar and conventional biomass gasification technologies: Financial and policy implications under feedstock and product gas price uncertainty

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nickerson, Thomas A.; Hathaway, Brandon J.; Smith, Timothy M.; Davidson, Jane H.

    2015-01-01

    Four configurations of a novel solar-heated biomass gasification facility and one configuration of conventional biomass gasification are analyzed through financial and policy scenarios. The purpose of this study is to determine the potential financial position for varying configurations of a novel technology, as compared to the current state-of-the-art gasification technology. Through the use of project finance and policy scenario development, we assess the baseline breakeven syngas price (normalized against natural gas prices and based upon annual feedstock consumption), the sensitivity of major cost components for the novel facilities, and the implications of policy levers on the economic feasibility of the solar facilities. Findings show that certain solar configurations may compete with conventional facilities on a straightforward economic basis. However, with renewable energy policy levers in place the solar technologies become increasingly attractive options. - Highlights: • We model four solar and one conventional biomass gasification systems. • We assess economic feasibility of these systems with and without policy incentives. • Solar facilities compete with the conventional system in certain scenarios. • Feedstock costs are the largest contributor to system cost sensitivity. • Policy incentives create an economically favorable scenario for solar facilities

  16. Influence of smallholder farmers’ perceptions on adaptation strategies to climate change and policy implications in Zimbabwe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiri Obert

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Smallholder agricultural production is largely affected by climate change and variability. Despite the negative effects brought by climate variability, smallholder farmers are still able to derive livelihoods. An understanding of factors that influence farmers’ responses and adaptation to climate variability can improve decision making for governments and development partners. This study investigated farmers’ perceptions and adaptation strategies to climate change and how these influence adaptation policies at local level. A survey was conducted with 100 households randomly selected from Chiredzi district. Data collected was used to derive farmer perceptions to climate change as well as the influence of their perceptions and subsequent adaptation methods to ensuing local agricultural adaptation measures and policies. The results indicated that smallholder farmers perceived general reduction in long-term annual rainfall and rising local average temperatures. Adverse trends in rainfall and average temperature perceived by farmers were consistent with empirical data. These perceptions and other socio-economic factors helped to shape smallholder farmer agricultural adaptation strategies. Policy implications are that the government and development partners should seek ways to assist autonomous adaptations by farmers through investments in planned adaptation initiatives.

  17. Climate policy implications for agricultural water demand

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chaturvedi, Vaibhav [Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States); Hejazi, Mohamad I. [Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States); Edmonds, James A. [Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States); Clarke, Leon E. [Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States); Kyle, G. Page [Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States); Davies, Evan [Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada); Wise, Marshall A. [Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States); Calvin, Katherine V. [Joint Global Change Research Inst., College Park, MD (United States)

    2013-03-01

    Energy, water and land are scarce resources, critical to humans. Developments in each affect the availability and cost of the others, and consequently human prosperity. Measures to limit greenhouse gas concentrations will inevitably exact dramatic changes on energy and land systems and in turn alter the character, magnitude and geographic distribution of human claims on water resources. We employ the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM), an integrated assessment model to explore the interactions of energy, land and water systems in the context of alternative policies to limit climate change to three alternative levels: 2.5 Wm-2 (445 ppm CO2-e), 3.5 Wm-2 (535 ppm CO2-e) and 4.5 Wm-2 (645 ppm CO2-e). We explore the effects of two alternative land-use emissions mitigation policy options—one which taxes terrestrial carbon emissions equally with fossil fuel and industrial emissions, and an alternative which only taxes fossil fuel and industrial emissions but places no penalty on land-use change emissions. We find that increasing populations and economic growth could be anticipated to almost triple demand for water for agricultural systems across the century even in the absence of climate policy. In general policies to mitigate climate change increase agricultural demands for water still further, though the largest changes occur in the second half of the century, under both policy regimes. The two policies examined profoundly affected both the sources and magnitudes of the increase in irrigation water demands. The largest increases in agricultural irrigation water demand occurred in scenarios where only fossil fuel emissions were priced (but not land-use change emission) and were primarily driven by rapid expansion in bioenergy production. In these scenarios water demands were large relative to present-day total available water, calling into question whether it would be physically possible to produce the associated biomass energy. We explored the potential of improved

  18. German nuclear policy reconsidered. Implications for the electricity market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fuersch, Michaela; Lindenberger, Dietmar; Malischek, Raimund; Nagl, Stephan; Panke, Timo; Trueby, Johannes

    2011-01-01

    In the aftermath of the nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, German nuclear policy has been reconsidered. This paper demonstrates the economic effects of an accelerated nuclear phase-out on the German electricity generation sector. A detailed optimization model for European electricity markets is used to analyze two scenarios with different lifetimes for nuclear plants (phase-out vs. prolongation). Based on political targets, both scenarios assume significant electricity demand reductions and a high share of generation from renewable energy sources in Germany. Our principal findings are: First, nuclear capacities are mainly replaced by longer lifetimes of existing coal-fired plants and the construction of new gas-fired plants. Second, fossil fuel-based generation and power imports increase, while power exports are reduced in response to the lower nuclear generation. Third, despite the increased fossil generation, challenging climate protection goals can still be achieved within the framework of the considered scenarios. Finally, system costs and electricity prices are clearly higher. We conclude that the generation sector can generally cope with an accelerated nuclear phase-out under the given assumptions. Yet, we emphasize that such a policy requires a substantial and costly transformation of the supply and the demand side.

  19. Carbon mitigation with biomass: An engineering, economic and policy assessment of opportunities and implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhodes, James S., III

    2007-12-01

    Industrial bio-energy systems provide diverse opportunities for abating anthropogenic greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions and for advancing other important policy objectives. The confluence of potential contributions to important social, economic, and environmental policy objectives with very real challenges to deployment creates rich opportunities for study. In particular, the analyses developed in this thesis aim to increase understanding of how industrial bio-energy may be applied to abate GHG emissions in prospective energy markets, the relative merits of alternate bio-energy systems, the extent to which public support for developing such systems is justified, and the public policy instruments that may be capable of providing such support. This objective is advanced through analysis of specific industrial bio-energy technologies, in the form of bottom-up engineering-economic analyses, to determine their economic performance relative to other mitigation options. These bottom-up analyses are used to inform parameter definitions in two higher-level stochastic models that explicitly account for uncertainty in key model parameters, including capital costs, operating and maintenance costs, and fuel costs. One of these models is used to develop supply curves for electricity generation and carbon mitigation from biomass-coal cofire in the U.S. The other is used to characterize the performance of multiple bio-energy systems in the context of a competitive market for low-carbon energy products. The results indicate that industrial bio-energy systems are capable of making a variety of potentially important contributions under scenarios that value anthropogenic GHG emissions. In the near term, cofire of available biomass in existing coal fired power plants has the potential to provide substantial emissions reductions at reasonable costs. Carbon prices between 30 and 70 per ton carbon could induce reductions in U.S. carbon emissions by 100 to 225 megatons carbon ("Mt

  20. Laws, directives and policy instruments important for the development of the waste management system; Lagar, direktiv och styrmedel viktiga foer avfallssystemets utveckling

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nilsson, Karolina; Sundberg, Johan

    2010-01-15

    This report gives a survey and a description of present and future policy instruments that have been or will become important for the development of the waste management system. Policy instruments here refers to laws, directives, taxes/fees, national/local goals and other regulating measures that the society introduce to steer the development of the waste management system. This work can thus be used as a dictionary or a guideline for these measures. The investigation has two goals: 1. To give representatives of the Swedish waste management system a summary of important policy instruments for the future development of the waste management system. 2. To give Waste Refinery a summary of these policy instruments that can be used for the discussions of how the research within the centre should develop during stage 2. A large number of policy instruments have been found during the study. These instruments have been, most likely will become, or may become important for the development of the waste management system. Most of them are described in this report. The selection made is presented in Table 1. Focus for the selection has been policy instruments that are important for the research activities within Waste Refinery, meaning policy instruments that direct or indirect can change the use of thermal and/or biological treatment as well as techniques and methods supporting these treatment methods. [Table 1. Policy instruments that are presented in the report

  1. Behavioral decisions and policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dalton, P.S.; Ghosal, S.

    2011-01-01

    We study the public policy implications of a model in which agents do not fully internalize all the conscequences of their actions. Such a model unifies seemingly disconected models with behavioral agents. We evaluate the scope of paternalistic and libertarian-parternalistic policies in light of our

  2. Behavioral Decisions and Policy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dalton, P.S.; Ghosal, S.

    2010-01-01

    We study the public policy implications of a model in which agents do not fully internalize all the conscequences of their actions. Such a model uni es seemingly disconected models with behavioral agents. We evaluate the scope of paternalistic and libertarian-parternalistic policies in the light of

  3. Greenhouse gas emissions from cities and regions: International implications revealed by Hong Kong

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, Paul G.; Chow, Alice S.Y.; Symons, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    The diversity of greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting methodologies currently utilized by cities around the world make meaningful comparisons of their emissions almost impossible. Consequently, the 2010 United Nations International Standard for Determining Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Cities promotes a “harmonized protocol for quantifying the GHG emissions attributable to cities and local regions.” The UN's common standard has important implications for comparison, benchmarking and policy assessment related to energy policies. This paper uses Hong Kong as a case study to illustrate these implications. Hong Kong's per capita contribution to GHG emissions are among the highest in the world, yet the local government's official statistics indicate emissions that are far below those reported by most affluent economies. This discrepancy arises from a reporting methodology that does not require inclusion of GHG emissions linked to consumption of imported goods or emissions from aviation and shipping. The Hong Kong case reveals that current inventories do not provide sufficient information to guide policymaking related to energy and climate change. They also do not provide adequate information for comparing policies of cities internationally. Alternative emissions-reporting standards that focus more on pollution from consumption will create avenues for more effective climate-related policies. - Highlights: ► Flawed GHG inventory methodologies can lead cities to adopt misguided policies. ► Diverse GHG inventory methodologies make meaningful comparisons among cities difficult. ► A Hong Kong case study highlights that GHG inventories can misrepresent cities' climate impacts. ► City inventories often exclude GHG emissions linked to imports, aviation and shipping. ► The International Standard for Determining GHG Emissions for Cities can assist climate policy.

  4. Health policy 2016: implications for geriatric urology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suskind, Anne M; Clemens, J Quentin

    2016-03-01

    The US healthcare system is undergoing fundamental changes in an effort to improve access to care, curtail healthcare spending, and improve quality of care. These efforts largely focused on Medicare, and therefore, will have a fundamental impact on the care of geriatric patients. This article reviews contemporary health policy issues, with a focus on how these issues may impact the care of geriatric urology patients. The Affordable Care Act has broadened the scope of Medicare coverage. Future Medicare reimbursement will be increasingly tied to care coordination, quality reporting, and demonstration of appropriate outcomes. Additional research is needed to better define the comparative effectiveness of urologic therapies in geriatric patients. Workforce projections indicate that there is a shortage of urologists in many areas of the country, and that this shortage will worsen over time unless a new funding model is instituted for graduate medical education. Medicare spending drives many health policy decisions. Therefore, few health policy topics are unique to geriatrics or geriatric urology. However, certain health policy topics (e.g., care coordination and risk-stratification) are particularly germaine to the elderly patients. Urologists with a particular interest in geriatric urology should be familiar with these issues.

  5. Parents' perceptions of causes of and solutions for school violence: implications for policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bliss, Melanie J; Emshoff, James; Buck, Chad A; Cook, Sarah L

    2006-05-01

    This study explores perceptions of causes of and solutions for school violence in a sample of 202 parents interviewed in the wake of nationally publicized school shootings. We also investigate the effects the school shootings had on children, parents' perceptions regarding firearms, and changes in parenting behavior. Parents exhibited strong support for almost all proposed causes and solutions, and we address their desire for immediate and often invasive interventions to prevent future violence. We contrast parents' perceptions with their own parenting behaviors and with literature on effective interventions. Results are discussed within the context of policy implications.Editors' Strategic Implications: Parents' perceptions and behaviors are frequently influenced by history effects. The national attention received by school shootings provided an opportunity for exploration of those perceptions and self-reported behaviors. The authors provide evidence from timely surveys that parents struggle with identifying causal factors that may contribute to school violence and consequently support a myriad of strategies for intervention including very invasive environmental preventive strategies. The findings suggest that social scientists should play a proactive role in translating research-supported preventive strategies to effective replications in the community and make research available in formats that are available and comprehensible by the lay public.

  6. CO2 Capture from the Air: Technology Assessment and Implications for Climate Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keith, D. W.

    2002-05-01

    It is physically possible to capture CO2 directly from the air and immobilize it in geological structures. Today, there are no large-scale technologies that achieve air capture at reasonable cost. Yet, strong arguments suggest that it will comparatively easy to develop practical air capture technologies on the timescales relevant to climate policy [1]. This paper first analyzes the cost of air capture and then assesses the implications for climate policy. We first analyze the lower bound on the cost needed for air capture, describing the thermodynamic and physical limits to the use of energy and land. We then compare the costs of air capture to the cost of capture from combustion exhaust streams. While the intrinsic minimum energy requirement is larger for air capture, we argue that air capture has important structural advantages, such as the reduction of transport costs and the larger potential for economies of scale. These advantages suggest that, in the long-run air capture be competitive with other methods of achieving deep emissions reductions. We provide a preliminary engineering-economic analysis of an air capture system based on CaO to CaCO3 chemical looping [1]. We analyze the possibility of doing the calcination in a modified pressurized fluidized bed combustor (PFBC) burning coal in a CO2 rich atmosphere with oxygen supplied by an air separation unit. The CaCO3-to-coal ratio would be ~2:1 and the system would be nearly thermally neutral. PFBC systems have been demonstrated at capacities of over 100 MW. Such systems already include CaCO3 injection for sulfur control, and operate at suitable temperatures and pressures for calcination. We assess the potential to recover heat from the dissolution of CaO in order to reduce the overall energy requirements. We analyze the possibility of adapting existing large water/air heat exchangers for use as contacting systems to capture CO2 from the air using the calcium hydroxide solution. The implications of air capture

  7. Oil price, capital mobility and oil importers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gonzalez-Romero, A.

    1992-01-01

    A three-region, three-commodity general equilibrium model is constructed to explore the impact of OPEC's pricing policies on major macro variables of importer economies. The aim of this paper is to explore general macro characteristics of the trading economies to aid understanding of the world economy response after OPEC I and OPEC II in terms of the evolution of North - South terms of trade, rates of profit and output levels. We support the view of a world economy in a three regions setting, North - South - OPEC. The analysis increases our understanding of why regions respond differently to the same external shock and how from different regimes of capital mobility we should derive alternative policy implications. With the current rise in oil prices, the topic promises to be relevant for some time, although the direction of the shocks has been reserved. (Author)

  8. The 1992 World Administrative Radio Conference: Technology and Policy Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-05-01

    As the 20th century draws to a close, new radio technologies and services are poised to change the ways we communicate. Radio waves already make possible a wide range of services considered commonplace--AM and FM radio broadcasting, television, cellular telephones, remote garage-door openers, and baby monitors. Advances in radio technology are giving birth to even more new products and services, including pocket-sized telephones that may allow people to make and receive calls anywhere in the world, high-definition televisions (HDTV) with superior quality pictures and sound, and static-free digital radios. The 1992 World Administrative Radio Conference (WARC-92) authorized frequencies for many of these new radio communication services, and granted additional frequencies for many existing services, including international broadcasting, satellite-based mobile communications, and communications in space. The effects of these changes will be felt well into the 21st century as countries around the world develop and deploy new communications systems to serve the needs of consumers, businesses, and governments. For the United States, the decisions made at the conference will critically affect how we develop new radio technologies and applications, how competitive this country will be in radio communications equipment and services, and how effectively the United States can exercise its role as a leader in world radio communication policymaking. This study of the outcomes and implications of WARC-92 was requested by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. OTA was asked to evaluate the success of U.S. proposals at the conference, discuss the implications of the decisions made for U.S. technology and policy development, and identify options for improving U.S. participation in future world radio communication conferences.

  9. Informatization Level Assessment Framework and Educational Policy Implications

    OpenAIRE

    Ana Sekulovska; Pece Mitrevski

    2018-01-01

    Seeing the informatization as a measure of the educational policy, we propose an informatization level assessment framework and introduce a composite indicator – Education Informatization Index, calculated as a weighted sum by applying the Rank-Order Centroid method for weight designation. Although it is made up of only two main categories (Educational Policy Implementation subindex and Educational Policy Creation subindex) and a total of six individual indicators, it captures well all the so...

  10. Dimensions of population policy in India: the psycho-social implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shariff, A; Mouli, A S

    1978-01-01

    All population policies, while seemingly identical in their formulation, differ in terms of their veritable ulterior objective. This is due to the fact that the formulation is done by a selected group of planning agencies and the health ministry. As the purport of the population policy rests more or less with the manipulation of the demographic variables, the important components of the population influencing policies should be discussed, as the population-influencing policies intend to impact on the population directly. The important components are fertility regulation, reductions in mortality and morbidity, and migration and population distribution. In India fertility regulations are directed toward achieving a reduced birth rate of 25 by 1984 or a growth rate of 1.25. While India has successfully reduced the mortality rate and the birth rate, the reduction in the rates are not proportional. This has led to a higher growth rate. Consequently, the pressure on the nation at this time is to reduce the birth rate. India has felt the strains of realizing this goal despite her concerted efforts for various reasons. First, birth control programs failed to gain as much acceptance as anticipated, whereas the plans designed to reduce mortality were moderately well received. Additionally, the birth control schemes came to have a cultural taboo, possibly attributable to inadequate and vague propaganda on the part of program administrators as well as illiteracy. Economic pro and con factors also contributed. The extent of migration in India is insignificant for various socioeconomic reasons. First, India is a country where illiteracy is predominant, and this has restrained the scope for migration. Secondly, as 80% of Indians depend on agriculture, they feel satisfied at home with whatever they earn. Regarding in-migration, India, as a developing country experiencing the ills of poverty, unemployment, low capital formation, and a slow pace of technological development, has not

  11. Climate policy uncertainty and investment risk

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2007-06-21

    Our climate is changing. This is certain. Less certain, however, is the timing and magnitude of climate change, and the cost of transition to a low-carbon world. Therefore, many policies and programmes are still at a formative stage, and policy uncertainty is very high. This book identifies how climate change policy uncertainty may affect investment behaviour in the power sector. For power companies, where capital stock is intensive and long-lived, those risks rank among the biggest and can create an incentive to delay investment. Our analysis results show that the risk premiums of climate change uncertainty can add 40% of construction costs of the plant for power investors, and 10% of price surcharges for the electricity end-users. This publication tells what can be done in policy design to reduce these costs. Incorporating the results of quantitative analysis, this publication also shows the sensitivity of different power sector investment decisions to different risks. It compares the effects of climate policy uncertainty with energy market uncertainty, showing the relative importance of these sources of risk for different technologies in different market types. Drawing on extensive consultation with power companies and financial investors, it also assesses the implications for policy makers, allowing the key messages to be transferred into policy designs. This book is a useful tool for governments to improve climate policy mechanisms and create more certainty for power investors.

  12. Oil price shocks and policy implications the emergence of U.S. tight oil production: a case study

    OpenAIRE

    Voth, Jeffrey Michael

    2015-01-01

    How have shocks to supply and demand affected global oil prices; and what are key policy implications following the resurgence of oil production in the United States? Highlights: − The recent collapse in global oil prices was dominated by oversupply. − The future of tight oil in the United States is vulnerable to obstacles beyond oil prices. − Opinions on tight oil from the Top 25 think tank organizations are considered. Global oil prices have fallen more than fifty percent since ...

  13. Identification, assessment and intervention--Implications of an audit on dyslexia policy and practice in Scotland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Gavin; Deponio, Pamela; Davidson Petch, Louise

    2005-08-01

    This article reports on research commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department (SEED). It aimed to establish the range and extent of policy and provision in the area of specific learning difficulties (SpLD) and dyslexia throughout Scotland. The research was conducted between January and June 2004 by a team from the University of Edinburgh. The information was gathered from a questionnaire sent to all education authorities (100% response rate was achieved). Additional information was also obtained from supplementary interviews and additional materials provided by education authorities. The results indicated that nine education authorities in Scotland (out of 32) have explicit policies on dyslexia and eight authorities have policies on SpLD. It was noted however that most authorities catered for dyslexia and SpLD within a more generic policy framework covering aspects of Special Educational Needs or within documentation on 'effective learning'. In relation to identification thirty-six specific tests, or procedures, were mentioned. Classroom observation, as a procedure was rated high by most authorities. Eleven authorities operated a formal staged process combining identification and intervention. Generally, authorities supported a broader understanding of the role of identification and assessment and the use of standardized tests was only part of a wider assessment process. It was however noted that good practice in identification and intervention was not necessarily dependent on the existence of a dedicated policy on SpLD/dyslexia. Over fifty different intervention strategies/programmes were noted in the responses. Twenty-four authorities indicated that they had developed examples of good practice. The results have implications for teachers and parents as well as those involved in staff development. Pointers are provided for effective practice and the results reflect some of the issues on the current debate on dyslexia particularly relating to early

  14. A closer look at prion strains: characterization and important implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Solforosi, Laura; Milani, Michela; Mancini, Nicasio; Clementi, Massimo; Burioni, Roberto

    2013-01-01

    Prions are infectious proteins that are responsible for transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) and consist primarily of scrapie prion protein (PrP (Sc) ), a pathogenic isoform of the host-encoded cellular prion protein (PrP (C) ). The absence of nucleic acids as essential components of the infectious prions is the most striking feature associated to these diseases. Additionally, different prion strains have been isolated from animal diseases despite the lack of DNA or RNA molecules. Mounting evidence suggests that prion-strain-specific features segregate with different PrP (Sc) conformational and aggregation states. Strains are of practical relevance in prion diseases as they can drastically differ in many aspects, such as incubation period, PrP (Sc) biochemical profile (e.g., electrophoretic mobility and glycoform ratio) and distribution of brain lesions. Importantly, such different features are maintained after inoculation of a prion strain into genetically identical hosts and are relatively stable across serial passages. This review focuses on the characterization of prion strains and on the wide range of important implications that the study of prion strains involves.

  15. Equilibrium Implications of Fiscal Policy with Tax Evasion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Busato, Francesco; Chiarini, Bruno; Rey, Guido M.

    This paper studies equilibrium effects of fiscal policy disturbances within a dynamic general equilibrium model where tax evasion and underground activities are explicitly incorporated. There are three mainresults. (i) The underground sector mitigates the distortionary impact of fiscal policies......, while lesseningthe drop (and the rise) of aggregate production after restrictive (expansionary) tax shocks. (ii) Taxevasion and underground economy can rationalize expansionary response to contractionary fiscal policies;(iii) A dynamic general equilibrium with tax evasion gives a rational justification...

  16. The implications of policy pre-post test scores for street-level bureaucratic discretion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dorch, Edwina L

    2009-01-01

    Substantial reductions in audit error rates observed over the past few years suggest eligibility workers have moved toward an eligibility compliance culture described by Bane and Ellwood. However, the results of this study indicate that social service caseworkers responded correctly to 49% of the targeted policy items at the pre-test stage and 68% at the post-test stage. Such findings provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that, in instances when caseworkers lack policy knowledge, they use their own discretion. Such a finding not only supports Lipsky's theory but also supports the notion that administrators should be encouraged to utilize 'mastery learning' procedures whereby caseworkers are retained in new-hire and follow-up training classes until they have mastered 100% of targeted policy information. Retention of caseworkers may also reduce federal and local audit errors and errors in crediting the reduction of caseloads to social service policies when in fact significant components of them have not been implemented (learned or utilized). And, most importantly, retention in training classes may increase the appropriate provision of services to the needy.

  17. Expanding the Visibility of Women's Work: Policy Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Messias, DeAnne K. Hilfinger; Regev, Hanna; Im, Eun-Ok; Spiers, Judith A.; Van, Paulina; Meleis, Afaf Ibrahim

    1997-01-01

    Social conceptualization and media images of women's work affect health and social policy formation. Nurses can expand the visibility of women's work and promote gender-sensitive policies within and outside the profession. (SK)

  18. Fertility trends and prospects in East and South-East Asian countries and implications for policies and programmes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leete, R

    1991-01-01

    Fertility trends and prospects for east and southeast Asian countries including cities in China, Taiwan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Viet Nam are described. Additional discussion focuses on family planning methods, marriage patterns, fertility prospects, theories of fertility change, and policy implications for the labor supply, labor migrants, increased female participation in the labor force (LFP), human resource development, and social policy measures. Figures provide graphic descriptions of total fertility rates (TFRS) for 12 countries/areas for selected years between 1960-90, TFR for selected Chinese cities between 1955-90, the % of currently married women 15-44 years using contraception by main method for selected years and for 10 countries, actual and projected TFR and annual growth rates between 1990-2020 for Korea and Indonesia. It is noted that the 1st southeast Asian country to experience a revolution in reproductive behavior was Japan with below replacement level fertility by 1960. This was accomplished by massive postponement in age at marriage and rapid reduction in marital fertility. Fertility was controlled primarily through abortion. Thereafter every southeast Asian country experienced fertility declines. Hong Kong, Penang, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taipei and declining fertility before the major thrust of family planning (FP). Chinese fertility declines were reflected in the 1970s to the early 1980s and paralleled the longer, later, fewer campaign and policy which set ambitious targets which were strictly enforced at all levels of administration. Korea and Taiwan's declines were a result of individual decision making to restrict fertility which was encouraged by private and government programs to provide FP information and subsidized services. The context was social and economic change. Indonesia's almost replacement level fertility was achieved dramatically through the 1970s and 1980s by

  19. The outlook for crude oil supply and demand in Australia and its energy policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1991-08-01

    Australia's oil reserves and production have contributed significantly to national economic prosperity and growth since the first large scale discoveries in Bass Strait in the 1960s. As a finite, non-renewable resource, the reserves ultimately must decline. In 1988 the forecast was that Australia's oil production would begin to decline in the mid 1990s and then rapidly tail off by the late 1990s. With this in mind, AMEC Ministers agreed in 1988 that a Working Group should review the energy policy implications of the forecast decline in the production of petroleum. The Working Group's findings are presented in this booklet. Chapter 2 examines the outlook for demand for petroleum products in Australia until 2005. This Chapter is based on current Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) forecasts as well as savings in fuel demand that are potentially available from fuel efficiency and fuel switching measures. Chapter 3, which includes BMR's recently revised petroleum production forecasts, looks at the outlook for crude oil and condensate production, also to 2005. Chapter 4 discusses the range of government initiatives already in place to foster the efficient exploration and production of petroleum in Australia. This Chapter also examines the outlook for Australian alternative liquid fuels. Chapter 5, which is based on analysis by ABARE, broadly examines the possible macroeconomic implications of declining oil production for Australia while Chapter 6 examines the issue of energy security and in particular its relationship with oil self sufficiency. Finally, Chapter 7 identifies some energy policy considerations and recommendations arising out of the Working Group's analysis. 7 tabs, 3 figs

  20. Globalization, Edu-Business and Network Governance: The Policy Sociology of Stephen J. Ball and Rethinking Education Policy Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lingard, Bob; Sellar, Sam

    2013-01-01

    This paper traces developments across Stephen J. Ball's policy sociology in education "oeuvre" and considers their implications for doing research on education policy today. It begins with an account of his policy sociology trilogy from the 1990s, which outlined his conception of the policy cycle consisting of the contexts of influence,…

  1. Non-commercial surrogacy among close relatives in Vietnam: policy and ethical implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hibino, Yuri

    2018-04-19

    Altruistic surrogacy among close relatives has been legal in Vietnam since the beginning of 2015. Following the revision of the Marriage and Family Law, there have been dozens of cases of surrogacy, and instances of successful pregnancy and childbirth have also been reported. Although surrogacy was completely prohibited in 2003, numerous local brokers offered commercial surrogacy services. Today, surrogacy is permitted under very limited conditions, and commercial surrogacy is prohibited. However, brokers continue to offer illegal commercial surrogacy services, and some even present its incidence may be increasing. In terms of women's roles, Vietnamese society places the highest value on motherhood, and childless couples are stigmatized. Thus, the demand for surrogates is high in Vietnam, rendering it difficult for family members to meet the needs of all those seeking these services. This article considers the consequences and implications of the new surrogacy policy in Vietnam based on field research.

  2. The implications of trade liberalization for diet and health: a case study from Central America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thow, Anne Marie; Hawkes, Corinna

    2009-07-28

    Central America has undergone extensive trade liberalization over the past two decades, and has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The region is also experiencing a dual burden of malnutrition with the growth of dietary patterns associated with the global 'nutrition transition'. This study describes the relationship between trade liberalization policies and food imports and availability, and draws implications for diet and health, using Central America as a case study region. Changes in tariff and non-tariff barriers for each country were documented, and compared with time-series graphs of import, production and availability data to show the outcome of changes in trade policy in relation to food imports and food availability. Changes in trade policy in Central America have directly affected food imports and availability via three avenues. First, the lowering of trade barriers has promoted availability by facilitating higher imports of a wide range of foods. Second, trade liberalization has affected food availability through promoting domestic meat production. Third, reductions in barriers to investment appear to be critical in expansion of processed food markets. This suggests that changes in trade policies have facilitated rising availability and consumption of meat, dairy products, processed foods and temperate (imported fruits) in Central America. This study indicates that the policies of trade liberalization in Central American countries over the past two decades, particularly in relation to the United States, have implications for health in the region. Specifically, they have been a factor in facilitating the "nutrition transition", which is associated with rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Given the significant cost of chronic disease for the health care system, individuals and the wider community, it is critical that preventive health measures address such upstream determinants

  3. The implications of trade liberalization for diet and health: a case study from Central America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hawkes Corinna

    2009-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Central America has undergone extensive trade liberalization over the past two decades, and has recently signed a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. The region is also experiencing a dual burden of malnutrition with the growth of dietary patterns associated with the global 'nutrition transition'. This study describes the relationship between trade liberalization policies and food imports and availability, and draws implications for diet and health, using Central America as a case study region. Methods Changes in tariff and non-tariff barriers for each country were documented, and compared with time-series graphs of import, production and availability data to show the outcome of changes in trade policy in relation to food imports and food availability. Results Changes in trade policy in Central America have directly affected food imports and availability via three avenues. First, the lowering of trade barriers has promoted availability by facilitating higher imports of a wide range of foods. Second, trade liberalization has affected food availability through promoting domestic meat production. Third, reductions in barriers to investment appear to be critical in expansion of processed food markets. This suggests that changes in trade policies have facilitated rising availability and consumption of meat, dairy products, processed foods and temperate (imported fruits in Central America. Conclusion This study indicates that the policies of trade liberalization in Central American countries over the past two decades, particularly in relation to the United States, have implications for health in the region. Specifically, they have been a factor in facilitating the "nutrition transition", which is associated with rising rates of obesity and chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Given the significant cost of chronic disease for the health care system, individuals and the wider community, it is critical

  4. Policy Inroads Undermining Women in Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marshall, Catherine; Young, Michelle

    2013-01-01

    Over the last decades, policy trends have differentially and negatively affected women educators, defied, denied or repressed feminist values and missed opportunities for using feminist insights to reframe policy issues. This article provides a critical feminist analysis of educational and social policies with negative implications for women in…

  5. Fuel pricing policies in South America and Mexico. Economic and environmental implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Altomonte, H.; Rogat, J.

    2004-01-01

    Increasing industrialisation and income levels in developing countries are leading to increased demand for energy. A vast majority of this energy is based on fossil fuels, where oil represents the largest share. The burning of fossil fuels gives rise to emissions of gases with severe impacts on local and global environment, and most importantly on human health. In spite of this, oil consumption has been steadily increasing during the last decades, and is expected to continue doing so. According to the IPCC's second assessment report, the use of energy and in particular of fossil fuels, is expected to double by 2020. In Latin America, fuel prices have historically been well below world market prices. Prior to energy reforms in the early 1990s, energy prices did not follow conventional marginal cost or opportunity cost pricing rules, but where instead set with particular regard for income distribution goals or with the avowed purpose of promoting industrialization. This situation started to change in a number of countries at the end of the 1980s as a result of energy reforms, which included changes in pricing policies. These reforms allowed for private sector participation in the exploration, production and distribution of these products, thuds leading in most of the countries to the pricing system being decentralised and profitability criteria being incorporated into the state owned companies. In some countries where energy had been heavily subsidised, energy reforms contributed to reducing or dismantling subsidies and thereby to price levels more in line with those of industrialized countries. Nevertheless, in several countries of the region energy subsidies are still in place. These subsidies are creating market distortions, with prices still well below world market prices being one of the results. The objective of this study is twofold. The first objective is to map current fuel pricing in a number of South American countries and Mexico. This information will

  6. Autonomous vehicles:challenges, opportunities, and future implications for transportation policies

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Saeed Asadi Bagloee; Madjid Tavana; Mohsen Asadi; Tracey Oliver

    2016-01-01

    This study investigates the challenges and opportunities pertaining to transportation policies that may arise as a result of emerging autonomous vehicle (AV) technologies. AV technologies can decrease the trans-portation cost and increase accessibility to low-income households and persons with mobility issues. This emerg-ing technology also has far-reaching applications and implications beyond all current expectations. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the relevant literature and explores a broad spectrum of issues from safety to machine ethics. An indispensable part of a prospective AV development is communication over cars and infrastructure (connected vehicles). A major knowledge gap exists in AV technology with respect to routing behaviors. Connected-vehicle technology provides a great opportunity to imple-ment an efficient and intelligent routing system. To this end, we propose a conceptual navigation model based on a fleet of AVs that are centrally dispatched over a network seeking system optimization. This study contributes to the literature on two fronts: (i) it attempts to shed light on future opportunities as well as possible hurdles associated with AV technology;and (ii) it conceptualizes a navigation model for the AV which leads to highly efficient traffic circulations.

  7. Older adult perceptions of smart home technologies: implications for research, policy & market innovations in healthcare.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coughlin, J; D'Ambrosio, L A; Reimer, B; Pratt, M R

    2007-01-01

    Advances in information communications technology and related computational power are providing a wide array of systems and related services that form the basis of smart home technologies to support the health, safety and independence of older adults. While these technologies offer significant benefits to older people and their families, they are also transforming older adults into lead adopters of a new 24/7 lifestyle of being monitored, managed, and, at times, motivated, to maintain their health and wellness. To better understand older adult perceptions of smart home technologies and to inform future research a workshop and focus group was conducted with 30 leaders in aging advocacy and aging services from 10 northeastern states. Participants expressed support of technological advance along with a variety of concerns that included usability, reliability, trust, privacy, stigma, accessibility and affordability. Participants also observed that there is a virtual absence of a comprehensive market and policy environment to support either the consumer or the diffusion of these technologies. Implications for research, policy and market innovation are discussed.

  8. A new approach to measure speculation in the oil futures market and some policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chan, Leo H.; Nguyen, Chi M.; Chan, Kam C.

    2015-01-01

    We propose using a new relative measure, the speculative ratio, defined as trading volume divided by open interest, to gauge speculative activity in the oil futures market. We apply the speculative ratio to examine the relation between basis and speculative activity in the oil futures market before and after the financialization of the oil market in 2003. Our finding suggests that the oil futures market is dominated by uninformed speculators in the post-financialization period. Our finding carries several practical policy implications, as follows: (1) both the commodity exchange and the regulator should design regulations and trading policies that improve basis risk; (2) on the commodity exchange side, new policies on margin requirements and position limits for speculators should be implemented; (3) margin requirements should be based on the level of basis risk; (4) regulators should speed up implementation of the position limit rule in the Dodd–Frank Act; and (5) stronger and more meaningful enforcement actions by regulators are required to punish and deter market manipulators. - Highlights: • Use a new speculative ratio to gauge speculative activities in oil futures market. • Examine the relation between basis and speculative activities. • The new speculative ratio also works well in the post-2008 oil bubble period. • Oil futures market is dominated by uninformed speculators in post-financialization in 2003.

  9. Low enrolment in Ugandan Community Health Insurance Schemes: underlying causes and policy implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Criel Bart

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Despite the promotion of Community Health Insurance (CHI in Uganda in the second half of the 90's, mainly under the impetus of external aid organisations, overall membership has remained low. Today, some 30,000 persons are enrolled in about a dozen different schemes located in Central and Southern Uganda. Moreover, most of these schemes were created some 10 years ago but since then, only one or two new schemes have been launched. The dynamic of CHI has apparently come to a halt. Methods A case study evaluation was carried out on two selected CHI schemes: the Ishaka and the Save for Health Uganda (SHU schemes. The objective of this evaluation was to explore the reasons for the limited success of CHI. The evaluation involved review of the schemes' records, key informant interviews and exit polls with both insured and non-insured patients. Results Our research points to a series of not mutually exclusive explanations for this under-achievement at both the demand and the supply side of health care delivery. On the demand side, the following elements have been identified: lack of basic information on the scheme's design and operation, limited understanding of the principles underlying CHI, limited community involvement and lack of trust in the management of the schemes, and, last but not least, problems in people's ability to pay the insurance premiums. On the supply-side, we have identified the following explanations: limited interest and knowledge of health care providers and managers of CHI, and the absence of a coherent policy framework for the development of CHI. Conclusion The policy implications of this study refer to the need for the government to provide the necessary legislative, technical and regulative support to CHI development. The main policy challenge however is the need to reconcile the government of Uganda's interest in promoting CHI with the current policy of abolition of user fees in public facilities.

  10. Financial Crises As the Failure of Arbitrage: Implications for Monetary Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Saito, Makoto; Shiratsuka, Shigenori

    2001-01-01

    This paper attempts to view financial crises as the failure of arbitrage among financial markets, and takes the “Japan premium” phenomenon observed in offshore money markets as an important example in favor of this view. In addition, we reconsider, from this perspective, the open market operations conducted by a central bank during a period of financial distress. The paper first derives from the existing theoretical literature several implications regarding how arbitrage among markets is prev...

  11. Human papillomavirus vaccine and cervical cancer prevention: practice and policy implications for pharmacists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McIntosh, Jennifer; Sturpe, Deborah A; Khanna, Niharika

    2008-01-01

    To review the epidemiology and natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV), summarize relevant clinical trials of the prophylactic HPV vaccines, and describe the practice and policy implications that HPV vaccine represents for pharmacists. Search of Medline through June 2007 using keywords human papillomavirus vaccine, Gardasil, and Cervarix; meeting abstracts; bibliographies from selected articles; and National Institutes of Health clinical trials registry. English language review articles, clinical trials, and published abstracts were considered for inclusion. HPV is a sexually transmitted infection that is necessary for the development of cervical cancer, and types 16 and 18 are associated with 70% of cases of invasive cervical cancer worldwide. A quadrivalent prophylactic vaccine against HPV-6, -11, -16, and -18 is currently available, and a bivalent vaccine targeting HPV-16 and -18 is under review by the Food and Drug Administration. Both are highly effective at preventing persistent HPV infection and precancerous lesions caused by vaccine-specific HPV. HPV vaccine is currently indicated for girls aged 9 to 26 years, but ongoing trials are evaluating the efficacy in other populations. Implementation of a vaccine administration program is an area of opportunity for new policies to include pharmacists in the administration of prophylactic HPV vaccines. Pharmacists are allowed to administer vaccinations in 46 states and can potentially play a role in HPV vaccine administration. For this to happen, however, multiple legal and regulatory changes must occur. Prophylactic HPV vaccines safely and effectively prevent HPV infection and precancerous lesions in the cervix. The availability of these vaccines also create new clinical opportunities for community pharmacists, provided needed legal, regulatory, and policy changes are made.

  12. Energy security and national policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, W.F.

    1987-01-01

    To achieve an energy secure future, energy cannot be viewed as an isolated concern. It is part and parcel of a nation's economic, social, and political context. In the past important implications for the economy and national security have been ignored. Crash programs to deal with oil shortages in the seventies, crashed. In the eighties, oil surplus has been enjoyed. The energy situation could be quite different in the nineties. Statistics on energy supply and consumption of oil, coal, natural gas and electricity from nuclear power show that much progress has been made worldwide. However, about half of the world's oil will come from the Persian Gulf by 1995. Continued low oil prices could raise US imports to 60% of consumption by 1995. Persian Gulf tensions serve as reminders of the link between energy policy and national security policy. Energy policy must be based on market forces and concerns for national security. Strategic oil reserves will expand along with the availability of domestic oil and gas resources. Increased attention to conservation, diversification of energy resources, and use of alternative fuels can help reduce imports. Continued high-risk long term research and development is needed. Improved technology can reduce environmental impacts. Global markets need global cooperation. Energy has emerged as an important aspect of East-West relations. Europeans need to diversify their sources of energy. The soviets have proposed expanded collaboration in magnetic fusion science. A series of initiatives are proposed that together will ensure that economies will not become overly dependent on a single source of energy

  13. Study on the Implications of Asynchronous GMO Approvals for EU Imports of Animal Feed Products

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Nowicki, P.L.; Aramyan, L.H.; Baltussen, W.H.M.; Dvortsin, L.; Jongeneel, R.A.; Perez Dominguez, I.; Wagenberg, van C.P.A.; Kalaitzandonakes, N.; Kaufman, J.; Miller, D.; Franke, L.; Meerbeek, B.

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study is to understand the implications of asynchronous approvals for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) that are imported to the European Union for use within animal feed products, specifically with regard to the EU livestock sector, as well as upon the upstream and downstream

  14. Parenting, family life, and well-being among sexual minorities: nursing policy and practice implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weber, Scott

    2008-06-01

    Parenting and family life are fundamental social constructs in human society and in law and public policy. Family structures and support systems provide important economic and psychological advantages for parents as well as for their children. Stigma toward lesbian and gay parents often marginalize individuals in these families and restrict family members' full expression of social citizenship, humanity, and personhood. Stigma directly contributes to increased risk for substance abuse, anxiety, and depressive illness among both parents and children. This article reviews the relevant policy literature to deconstruct the impacts of stigma on the psychological health and well-being of sexual minority parents so that psychiatric/mental health nurses and other health care providers can identify and counter these effects in their practices and advocate for policy improvements.

  15. Exploring Privilege in the Digital Divide: Implications for Theory, Policy, and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Mei Lan; Canham, Sarah L; Battersby, Lupin; Sixsmith, Judith; Wada, Mineko; Sixsmith, Andrew

    2018-05-10

    The digital revolution has resulted in innovative solutions and technologies that can support the well-being, independence, and health of seniors. Yet, the notion of the "digital divide" presents significant inequities in terms of who accesses and benefits from the digital landscape. To better understand the social and structural inequities of the digital divide, a realist synthesis was conducted to inform theoretical understandings of information and communication technologies (ICTs); to understand the practicalities of access and use inequities; to uncover practices that facilitate digital literacy and participation; and to recommend policies to mitigate the digital divide. A systematic search yielded 55 articles published between 2006 and 2016. Synthesis of existing knowledge, combined with user-experience elicited through a deliberative dialogue session with community stakeholders (n = 35), made visible a pattern of privilege that determined individual agency in ICT access and use. Though age is consistently centralized as the key determinant of the digital divide, our analyses, which encompassed both van Dijk's resources and appropriation theory and intersectionality, appraised this notion and revealed that age is not the sole determinant. Findings highlight the role of other factors that contribute to digital inequity among community-dwelling middle-aged (45-64) and older (65+) adults, including education, income, gender, and generational status. Informed by results of a realist synthesis that was guided by intersectional perspectives, a conceptual framework was developed outlining implications for theory, policy, and practice to address the wicked problem that is the digital divide.

  16. Youth with Behavioral Health Disorders Aging Out of Foster Care: a Systematic Review and Implications for Policy, Research, and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kang-Yi, Christina D; Adams, Danielle R

    2017-01-01

    This systematic review aimed to (1) identify and summarize empirical studies on youth with behavioral health disorders aging out of foster care and (2) address implications for behavioral health policy, research, and practice. We identified previous studies by searching PubMed, PsycINFO, EBSCO, and ISI Citation Indexes and obtaining references from key experts in the child welfare field. A total of 28 full articles published between 1991 and 2014 were reviewed and summarized into the key areas including systems of care, disability type, transition practice area, study methods, study sample, transition outcome measures, study analysis, and study findings. Considering how fast youth who have behavioral health disorders fall through the crack as they exit foster care, one cannot understate the importance of incorporating timely and appropriate transition planning and care coordination for youth who have behavioral health disorders aging out of foster care into the usual case management performed by behavioral health systems and service providers.

  17. Determinants of import demand for non-renewable energy (petroleum) products: Empirical evidence from Nigeria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Adewuyi, Adeolu O.

    2016-01-01

    This study estimated determinants of import demand for refined petroleum products in Nigeria for the period 1984–2013. It employed the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test cointegration method and analysed both long-run and short-run determinants of import demand for total and specific petroleum products. In the long-run, aggregate and sectoral incomes are significant determinants of import of refined kerosene. Further, real effective exchange rate (REER), aggregate income (GDP), manufacturing sector's income, domestic energy production (DEP) and population growth rate (PGR) are drivers of import of refined motor spirit Moreover, REER, DEP and manufacturing sector's income are propellers of import of refined distillate fuel. Also, REER and total output of petroleum products are major drivers of total import of refined petroleum products. Short-run results show that previous period GDP, PGR and manufacturing and service sectors' incomes are determinants of import demand for refined kerosene. Moreover, REER, GDP, previous PGR and manufacturing sector's income exert significant effects on the import of refined motor spirit. Further, significant effects of REER, DEP, previous PGR, domestic output of the product and manufacturing and service sectors' incomes on the import demand for distillate fuel were found. Policy implications of the foregoing are articulated in the paper. - Highlights: •Long-run and short-run drivers of import demand for petroleum products were estimated. •kerosene import is income elastic, gasoline import is income and relative price inelastic. •Exchange rate policies may have diverse effects on import of various petroleum product. •Expanding market size has implication for import demand for petroleum product varieties. •Import demand for petroleum products responds differently to various sectoral incomes.

  18. Prevention of mental and behavioural disorders: implications for policy and practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saxena, Shekhar; Jané-Llopis, Eva; Hosman, Clemens

    2006-02-01

    There is sufficient evidence indicating the efficacy of interventions in reducing risk factors, increasing protective factors, preventing psychiatric symptoms and new cases of mental disorders. Macro-policy interventions to improve nutrition, housing and education or to reduce economic insecurity have proven to reduce mental health problems. Specific interventions to increase resilience in children and adolescents through parenting and early interventions, and programmes for children at risk for mental disorders such as those who have a mentally ill parent or have suffered parental loss or family disruption, have also shown to increase mental well-being and decrease depressive symptoms and the onset of depressive disorders. Interventions for the adult population, from macro-policy strategies, such as taxation of alcohol products or workplace legislation, to individual support for those with signs of a mental disorder, can reduce mental health problems and associated social and economic burdens. Exercise, social support or community participation have also shown to improve mental health of older populations. Public mental health will benefit from continuing building the evidence base through combining different evaluation methods across low, middle and high income countries. The translation of evidence into policy and practice calls for action at the international, national and local level, including building capacity, advocacy, mainstreaming mental health into public health and other policies and securing infrastructures and sustainability. Mental health professionals have an important role to play in improving the evidence on prevention and promotion in mental health, in engaging relevant stakeholders for developing programmes, and as professional care providers in their practice.

  19. Prevention of mental and behavioural disorders: implications for policy and practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    SAXENA, SHEKHAR; JANÉ-LLOPIS, EVA; HOSMAN, CLEMENS

    2006-01-01

    There is sufficient evidence indicating the efficacy of interventions in reducing risk factors, increasing protective factors, preventing psychiatric symptoms and new cases of mental disorders. Macro-policy interventions to improve nutrition, housing and education or to reduce economic insecurity have proven to reduce mental health problems. Specific interventions to increase resilience in children and adolescents through parenting and early interventions, and programmes for children at risk for mental disorders such as those who have a mentally ill parent or have suffered parental loss or family disruption, have also shown to increase mental well-being and decrease depressive symptoms and the onset of depressive disorders. Interventions for the adult population, from macro-policy strategies, such as taxation of alcohol products or workplace legislation, to individual support for those with signs of a mental disorder, can reduce mental health problems and associated social and economic burdens. Exercise, social support or community participation have also shown to improve mental health of older populations. Public mental health will benefit from continuing building the evidence base through combining different evaluation methods across low, middle and high income countries. The translation of evidence into policy and practice calls for action at the international, national and local level, including building capacity, advocacy, mainstreaming mental health into public health and other policies and securing infrastructures and sustainability. Mental health professionals have an important role to play in improving the evidence on prevention and promotion in mental health, in engaging relevant stakeholders for developing programmes, and as professional care providers in their practice. PMID:16757984

  20. Primary and embedded steel imports to the U.S.: implications for the design of border tax adjustments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Izard, Catherine F; Weber, Christopher L; Matthews, H Scott

    2010-09-01

    Carbon Border Tax Adjustments (BTAs) are a politically popular strategy for avoiding competitive disadvantage problems when a country implements a unilateral climate change policy. A BTA taxes carbon embodied in imported goods in order to protect domestic industry and motivate other countries to implement climate change policy. To estimate the effectiveness of a BTA, is it is necessary to know which products are covered, where they were originally produced and ultimately exported from, and how the covered amount compares to total production in foreign countries. Using a scrap-adjusted, mixed-unit input-output model in conjunction with a multiregional input-output model, this analysis evaluates the effectiveness of BTAs for the case study of U.S. steel imports. Most imported steel by mass is embedded in finished products (60%), and 30% of that steel is produced in a different country than the one from which the final good is exported. Given the magnitudes involved and complexities of global supply chains, a BTA that protects domestic industry will be a challenge to implement. We propose a logistically feasible BTA structure that minimizes the information burden while still accounting for these complexities. However, the amount of steel imported to the U.S. is negligible (5%) compared to foreign production in BTA-eligible countries and is unlikely to motivate affected countries to impose an emissions reduction policy.

  1. THE CATCHING-UP DEVELOPMENT: THE ASEAN EXPERIENCE AND IMPORT SUBSTITUTION POLICY OF RUSSIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Т Ю Шалденкова

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The experience of catching-up development of ASEAN countries becomes valuable in the conditions of the Russian of import substitution policy and “turn to the East” in geopolitics. The objective of the paper is revealing the prospects of native catching-up development based on the analysis of theoretical aspects of the model of “flying geese” and their practical application in the ASEAN countries and Russia. The paper presents the theoretical foundations of catching-up development in the framework of the Flying Geese paradigm in the works of K. Akamatsu, R. Vernon, K. Kojima and indicates its main stages. The author reviews the measures of industrial, trade and investment policy of the ASEAN countries on the initial stages of the model and the modern aspects of their economic development. The materials of statistical reports of IMF, UNCTAD, ASEAN, the statistical data of Federal state statistics department of Russia, Federal customs department of Russia, the programs of the Russian Government in the field of import substitution are studied. The achievements and problems of implementing the programs of import substitution in agriculture, industry, IT-technologies in Russia were analyzed. The study showed the factors, hindering the domestic development in the framework of the Flying Geese paradigm. The recommendations for solving existing problems include the stimulation of aggregate demand and the development of high-tech exports. Special attention was drawn to the possibilities of applying selected elements of the model in terms of territorial heterogeneity of Russia.

  2. The Heterogeneous Impacts of Groundwater Management Policies in the Republican River Basin of Colorado

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hrozencik, R. A.; Manning, D. T.; Suter, J. F.; Goemans, C.; Bailey, R. T.

    2017-12-01

    Groundwater is a critical input to agricultural production across the globe. Current groundwater pumping rates frequently exceed recharge, often by a substantial amount, leading to groundwater depletion and potential declines in agricultural profits over time. As a result, many regions reliant on irrigated agriculture have proposed policies to manage groundwater use. Even when gains from aquifer management exist, there is little information about how policies affect individual producers sharing the resource. In this paper, we investigate the variability of groundwater management policy impacts across heterogeneous agricultural producers. To measure these impacts, we develop a hydroeconomic model that captures the important role of well capacity, productivity of water, and weather uncertainty. We use the model to simulate the impacts of groundwater management policies on producers in the High Plains aquifer of eastern Colorado and compare outcomes to a no-policy baseline. The management policies considered include a pumping fee, a quantity restriction, and an irrigated acreage fee. We find that well capacity and soil type affect policy impacts but in ways that can qualitatively differ across policy type. Model results have important implications for the distributional impacts and political acceptability of groundwater management policies.

  3. The Implications of State Fiscal Policies for Community Colleges

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dowd, Alicia C.; Shieh, Linda Taing

    2014-01-01

    A variety of policies and practices, including those developed by local boards and administrations, as well as those mandated by state and federal governments, affect budgets and finances at community colleges. Examples include tuition policies, fee structures, performance-based funding, and personnel policies. This chapter explores some of the…

  4. Implications of Electronic Commerce for Fiscal Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goolsbee, Austan

    In this chapter, I will consider both sides of the relationship between electronic commerce and fiscal policy. For the impact of electronic commerce on fiscal policy, I will pay particular attention to the potential sales-tax revenue losses. The data suggest that the potential losses are actually modest over the next several years. I will also consider the reverse relationship - how fiscal policy affects Internet commerce. Here the evidence suggests that taxes have a sizable effect. I point out, though, that this only supports special treatment if there is some positive externality. Without one, the tax system will lead to excessive online buying to avoid taxes. I will then deal the neglected issue of taxes and Internet access, which can create large deadweight costs both because demand may be price-sensitive and because taxes can slow the spread of new technologies. Finally, I offer some discussion of the international context of taxes and the Internet and the international temptations to raise rates on E-commerce.

  5. Active social policies in the EU

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Berkel, Rik van; Møller, Iver Hornemann

    of work in modern societies and the implications this has or should have for scientific and sociopolitical thinking about inclusion, participation and activation; the "paradigm shift" that can be observed in present social policies, which increasingly become directed at participation rather than (income...... and training/education schemes; and the implications of these research findings for the issues outlined above, that is our thinking of work in relation to participation on the one hand, and social policies aiming at increasing participation on the other....

  6. Empowering Non-Formal Education Policy on Life Skills and Its Implications on People Welfare

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moh. Alifuddin

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The non-formal education policy in responding to the life skills needs of learners has been anticipated by the issuance of some products of legal regulations concerning the non-formal education. Life skills education was explicitly mentioned in legislation, but its implementation has not been in line with the expectations. In practice, many training institutions were only responsible for the output without even trying to channel or hire the students after graduation. The curriculum developed referred to the national standard curriculum by adding local content. Welfare could be easily obtained because the alumni got jobs after completing their skill training. Thus, the life skills education developed was able to give positive implications, especially for the welfare of its alumni and their families

  7. Monetary and Fiscal Policy Coordination

    OpenAIRE

    Hanif, Muhammad N.; Arby, Muhammad Farooq

    2003-01-01

    Macroeconomic policies are meant to achieve non-inflationary, stable growth. There are two major groups of policy instruments to achieve the purpose; one is related to monetary conditions and the other to fiscal conditions. Monetary instruments are employed by the central bank and fiscal instruments are employed by ministry of finance. The objectives and implications of policy measures taken by the two institutions often conflict with each other and thus call for policy coordination for effec...

  8. Policy implications for familial searching

    OpenAIRE

    Kim, Joyce; Mammo, Danny; Siegel, Marni B; Katsanis, Sara H

    2011-01-01

    Abstract In the United States, several states have made policy decisions regarding whether and how to use familial searching of the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) database in criminal investigations. Familial searching pushes DNA typing beyond merely identifying individuals to detecting genetic relatedness, an application previously reserved for missing persons identifications and custody battles. The intentional search of CODIS for partial matches to an item of evidence offers law enforce...

  9. African Journal of Economic Policy: Editorial Policies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Focus and Scope. The primary aim of this journal, an offshoot of the Trade Policy Research and Training Programme in Economics Department, University of Ibadan, is to provide a forum for development and equity on the African continent. It, therefore, welcomes well researched papers on the implications of a specific ...

  10. Policy implications of medical tourism development in destination countries: revisiting and revising an existing framework by examining the case of Jamaica.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnston, Rory; Crooks, Valorie A; Ormond, Meghann

    2015-07-04

    Medical tourism is now targeted by many hospitals and governments worldwide for further growth and investment. Southeast Asia provides what is perhaps the best documented example of medical tourism development and promotion on a regional scale, but interest in the practice is growing in locations where it is not yet established. Numerous governments and private hospitals in the Caribbean have recently identified medical tourism as a priority for economic development. We explore here the projects, activities, and outlooks surrounding medical tourism and their anticipated economic and health sector policy implications in the Caribbean country of Jamaica. Specifically, we apply Pocock and Phua's previously-published conceptual framework of policy implications raised by medical tourism to explore its relevance in this new context and to identify additional considerations raised by the Jamaican context. Employing case study methodology, we conducted six weeks of qualitative fieldwork in Jamaica between October 2012 and July 2013. Semi-structured interviews with health, tourism, and trade sector stakeholders, on-site visits to health and tourism infrastructure, and reflexive journaling were all used to collect a comprehensive dataset of how medical tourism in Jamaica is being developed. Our analytic strategy involved organizing our data within Pocock and Phua's framework to identify overlapping and divergent issues. Many of the issues identified in Pocock and Phua's policy implications framework are echoed in the planning and development of medical tourism in Jamaica. However, a number of additional implications, such as the involvement of international development agencies in facilitating interest in the sector, cyclical mobility of international health human resources, and the significance of health insurance portability in driving the growth of international hospital accreditation, arise from this new context and further enrich the original framework. The framework

  11. Elder Financial Exploitation: Implications for Future Policy and Research in Elder Mistreatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Price, Thomas

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Recent advances in the understanding of elder mistreatment have demonstrated that financial exploitation tends to be one of the most common forms of mistreatment affecting older populations. Agencies such as the World Bank and World Health Organization show significant concern regarding financial exploitation and its connection to physical and emotional injury to victims. The World Bank uses the term “financial violence” as a means of generally describing the harm caused to an individual as a result of financial exploitation or abuse. The proportion of financial exploitation in relation to other forms of elder mistreatment is defined in our research. We discuss the potential impact of elder financial exploitation on victims as well as explore the implications for future research and policy development focused on financial aspects of elder mistreatment and call for further study in the concept of financial exploitation as a violent act. [West J Emerg Med. 2011;12(3:354-356.

  12. International gas trade in Europe: the policies of exporting and importing countries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stern, J P

    1984-01-01

    Given the virtual certainty that controversy over the Soviet gas pipeline is not dead but dormant, US policymakers would do well to learn more about the whys and wherefores of European gas trade. This study argues that it is only in terms of domestic, economic, and political contexts that one can understand certain actions such as Algerian insistence on unacceptable prices in the El Paso negotiations, Norwegian reluctance to develop North Sea gas fields, Belgian subsidies of imported LNG, and Dutch changes in reserve depletion policy. Concerning the Soviet pipeline, the book suggests that the decisive factors are the commercial attractiveness to importers of Soviet gas supplies, in terms of price and reliability, and the USSR's need for exports to generate hard currency. If so, there would seem to be very little the American government can do to effect a change of heart.

  13. Innovation policies for tourism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjalager, Anne-Mette

    2012-01-01

    The nature, extent, and implications of innovation in tourism are increasingly investigated in academic research, but the policies that affect these transformations in the industry and at tourism destinations are not equally well conceptualised theoretically or analysed empirically. The purpose...... of this article is, in an analysis of the literature, to interpret the rationale behind innovation policy, and to explain the persisting challenges related to acquisition of an informed foundation for policies based upon quantitative and qualitative inquiries. Observed in a historical perspective, innovation...... framework of policy instruments for innovation in tourism. New generations of policies instigate a mainstreaming of the innovation agenda in ways that proceed beyond the traditional policy concepts....

  14. The importance of a methane reduction policy for the 21. century

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dessus, Benjamin; Laponche, Bernard; Le Treut, Herve

    2012-01-01

    the other side, instantaneous surface temperature is not the only parameter describing climate change. There are other parameters in the climate system that may depend more critically on the integration of the radiative forcing than its instantaneous value. This is probably the case of the deeper ocean thermal expansion, or large ice cap melting, two processes which are essential in producing irreversibility in the climate change. In this paper we wish to address another concern, which has not received much attention while we think it has large implications: the 'pulse' concept is clearly inadequate to describe current mitigation actions and the common practice of policy makers. In fact, almost all the emission mitigation programmes from international and national instances, whether already effective or considered for future action, correspond to emission reductions which should last at least several decades. Furthermore, the national programmes take as an implicit hypothesis that these reduction policies will perpetuate: at the end of a given action, a new reduction action is supposed to begin, at least equally effective, and hopefully more effective. So we have to consider that the mitigation measures we wish to evaluate will most generally perpetuate almost indefinitely. In addition, defining a methane (or CO 2 ) reduction programme involving new initiatives every year induces a continuous increase of this methane reduction. Opening a debate on a new definition of the GWP is troublesome for at least two reasons: (i) it may undermine international agreements that have been slow to construct; (ii) it may be seen in some cases as an incentive to substitute easier short-term strategies to the absolutely necessary reduction of CO 2 emissions, which carry the dominant and lasting impacts on climate. But CO 2 and CH 4 reductions are not in competition one against the other: they generally concern different economic actors and should be encouraged simultaneously

  15. Interrogating the Contested Spaces of Rural Aging: Implications for Research, Policy, and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skinner, Mark W; Winterton, Rachel

    2018-01-18

    Informed by a critical turn underway in rural gerontology, this article explores how the intersection of global and local trends relating to population aging and rural change create contested spaces of rural aging. The aim is to build our understanding of rural as a dynamic context within which the processes, outcomes, and experiences of aging are created, confronted, and contested by older adults and their communities. A review of key developments within gerontology and rural studies reveals how competing policies, discourses, and practices relating to healthy aging and aging in place, rural citizenship and governmentality, and social inclusion and inequality combine in particular ways to empower or disempower a diverse range of older rural adults aging in a diverse range of rural communities. The article provides a contextually sensitive perspective on potential sources of conflict and exclusion for older adults in dynamic rural spaces and further enhances our understanding of how rural physical and social environments are constructed and experienced in older age. A framework for interrogating emergent questions about aging in rural contexts is developed and implications for advancing research, policy, and practice are discussed. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  16. Energy requirements of consumption: Urban form, climatic and socio-economic factors, rebounds and their policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiedenhofer, Dominik; Lenzen, Manfred; Steinberger, Julia K.

    2013-01-01

    Household consumption requires energy to be used at all stages of the economic process, thereby directly and indirectly leading to environmental impacts across the entire production chain. The levels, structure and determinants of energy requirements of household consumption therefore constitute an important avenue of research. Incorporating the full upstream requirements into the analysis helps to avoid simplistic conclusions which would actually only imply shifts between consumption categories without taking the economy wide effects into account. This paper presents the investigation of the direct and indirect primary energy requirements of Australian households, contrasting urban, suburban and rural consumption patterns as well as inter- and intra-regional levels of inequality in energy requirements. Furthermore the spatial and socio-economic drivers of energy consumption for different categories of energy requirements are identified and quantified. Conclusions regarding the relationships between energy requirements, household characteristics, urban form and urbanization processes are drawn and the respective policy implications are explored. - Highlights: • We statistically analyze the energy requirements of consumption in Australia. • Contrasting urban/suburban/rural consumption patterns and spatial inequality. • Energy requirements are influenced by urban form, income and demographics. • Urban households require less direct energy, but their total consumption is higher. • Significant rebound effects can be expected when direct energy use is decreased

  17. A policy study examining the use of imported LNG for gas-fired power generation on the southeast coast of China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Yajun; Bai Fangfang

    2010-01-01

    Since China's energy demand is growing quickly, speeding up the development of natural gas is an important substitute and supplement for coal and oil. The development of the natural gas market in many developing countries has demonstrated that the success of the whole project hinges upon the success of gas-fired power generation. However, under the current energy pricing system in China, the advantages of gas-fired power plants, such as low investment costs and high efficiency, have not been able to offset the low price of coal. The gas-fired power plants, both at downstream of the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) industry and upstream of the power sector, are faced with a dilemma. In order to solve the problems facing gas-fired power projects while providing policy guidance for the future development of gas-fired power projects, the policy of gas-fired power generation using imported LNG on the southeastern coast of China was examined. This study aims to identify the position of the national energy strategy that China should import some LNG from the other countries, to guide the development of energy policy in this region, and to formulate some clear policy measures.

  18. ACADEMIC GENEALOGIES WITH RESPECT TO NARRATIVE IN HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THEIR IMPLICATION FOR PUBLIC POLICIES

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujii, Satoshi; Hasegawa, Taiki; Nakano, Takeshi; Hatori, Tsuyoshi

    In human and society science, narrative is regarded as an important issue to understand dynamic actions of human being and society. Therefore, narrative is also expected to be important for public policies that try to improve dynamic actions of human being and society. In th is study, we review academic genealogies with respect to narratives including western philosophy, hermeneutics, historical science, historical philosophy, literary criticism, clinical psychology and sociology, narrative psychology and folklore. Then we discuss how narrative can be pragmatically applied for public policies.

  19. The Importance of Policy Neutrality for Lowering Greenhouse Gas Emissions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trevor Tombe

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The drive by Canadian governments, at the provincial and federal level, to lower greenhouse gas emissions has resulted in a hodgepodge of different policy approaches. Some governments have opted for energy taxes, others for regulated limits on total emissions or emission intensity. Unfortunately, not all policy solutions are created equal; some are more effective than others in lowering total emissions and, worse still, may exact a heavy price on the economy. Policy-makers require a better understanding of how various policies affect the health of an economy and of how to mitigate the most pernicious costs. Key to gaining this improved understanding is to recognize one simple fact: some firms are more productive than others. As a consequence, it matters how workers, machines, energy, and other inputs are distributed between these firms. More productive firms should be larger — it is that simple. Some policies, however, increase input costs differently across firms and create costly distortions. Energy intensity targets are a clear example of a policy that disproportionately burdens lower productivity firms, changing firm sizes for the worse and even leading some to shut down altogether. Using a detailed model of production and energy use that matches the Canadian economy, we explore the consequences of the several forms that energy intensity regulations can take. We find the best approach to lowering greenhouse gas emissions is one that is neutral across firms — one that affects the cost of energy for smaller firms no more, or less, than larger ones. The only policy that fulfils this criterion is a flat energy tax. However, a flat tax on energy could well be politically unsellable in Canada, leaving governments to resort to politically palatable but economically risky intensity targets instead. Recognizing this, we explore a number of ways to improve the performance of intensity targets. First, governments should allow firms the option to

  1. Pricing Policies in Academic Libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    King, Donald W.

    1979-01-01

    Economic considerations of user charges are presented along with economic principles and implications of charging for specific library materials and services. Alternative pricing policies and their implications are described, and, to illustrate the complexity and subtle effects of charging, a numerical example for interlibrary loans is also given.…

  2. Biomass energy policy in Africa: selected case studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kgathi, D.L.; Hall, D.O.; Hategeka, A.; Sekhwela, M.B.M.

    1997-01-01

    The majority of the population in the continent of Africa depend on biomass as a source of energy. Woodfuel (charcoal and fuelwood), the most important source of energy, is a subject of major concern in developing countries mainly because of its increasing scarcity, and recently because of its importance to the debate on climate change as its use is associated with emission on the greenhouse gases (GHG's). The book discusses the biomass energy problem and the policy options for addressing it in Botswana and Rwanda. Though the studies mainly draw their material from the surveys undertaken in these countries, extensive use is made of the existing general literature on this subject. The two case studies on Botswana address the nature, extent, and policy implications of the fuelwood problem, including the extent to which it contributes to deforestation. The Rwanda case studies examine the seasonal and spatial variation of the consumption of biomass energy (woodfuel and residues) and the evolution of the energy policy process with particular reference to biomass energy. A number of policy recommendations are made which may not only be relevant to Botswana and Rwanda, but also to other developing countries in a similar situation. The book thus makes a valuable contribution to the scarce literature on energy and environment in Africa. The multi-disciplinarity of the book makes it more valuable to a large number of readers. It will be an important reference material for policy makers and researchers in Africa as well as other developing countries. AFREPREN The African Energy Policy Research Network (AFREPREN) promotes research on energy issues relevant to the formulation and implementation of policy by African governments. It also aims to build research capability as well as mobilize existing expertise to address both near- and long-term challenges faced by the energy sector in Africa. (UK)

  3. Potentials and policy implications of energy and material efficiency improvement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Worrell, Ernst; Levine, Mark; Price, Lynn; Martin, Nathan; van den Broek, Richard; Block, Kornelis

    1997-01-01

    There is a growing awareness of the serious problems associated with the provision of sufficient energy to meet human needs and to fuel economic growth world-wide. This has pointed to the need for energy and material efficiency, which would reduce air, water and thermal pollution, as well as waste production. Increasing energy and material efficiency also have the benefits of increased employment, improved balance of imports and exports, increased security of energy supply, and adopting environmentally advantageous energy supply. A large potential exists for energy savings through energy and material efficiency improvements. Technologies are not now, nor will they be, in the foreseeable future, the limiting factors with regard to continuing energy efficiency improvements. There are serious barriers to energy efficiency improvement, including unwillingness to invest, lack of available and accessible information, economic disincentives and organizational barriers. A wide range of policy instruments, as well as innovative approaches have been tried in some countries in order to achieve the desired energy efficiency approaches. These include: regulation and guidelines; economic instruments and incentives; voluntary agreements and actions, information, education and training; and research, development and demonstration. An area that requires particular attention is that of improved international co-operation to develop policy instruments and technologies to meet the needs of developing countries. Material efficiency has not received the attention that it deserves. Consequently, there is a dearth of data on the qualities and quantities for final consumption, thus, making it difficult to formulate policies. Available data, however, suggest that there is a large potential for improved use of many materials in industrialized countries.

  4. From Policy to Pedagogy: The Implications of Sustainability Policy for Sustainability Pedagogy in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Timmerman, Nora; Metcalfe, Amy Scott

    2009-01-01

    In response to the growing number of sustainability policies being enacted at higher education institutions, this article examines the relationship between policy and pedagogy, asking how policy texts can both enable and impede the implementation of sustainability pedagogy in higher education. To explore this question, we have undertaken a case…

  5. Theories of the Family and Policy

    OpenAIRE

    Veronica Jacobsen; Lindy Fursman; John Bryant; Megan Claridge; Benedikte Jensen

    2004-01-01

    Policy interventions that affect or are mediated through the family typically assume a behavioural response. Policy analyses proceeding from different disciplinary bases may come to quite different conclusions about the effects of policies on families, depending how individuals within families behave. This paper identifies the implications of five theories of family and individual behaviour for the likely success of policy intervention. Anthropology documents not only the universality of the ...

  6. Interaction of the EU emissions Trading Directive with climate policy instrument in the Netherlands. Policy Brief

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sijm, J.P.M.

    2003-11-01

    This policy brief presents an overview of the implications of the proposed EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) for some selected energy and climate policy instruments in the Netherlands. It summarises the results of research that has been conducted by the Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) as part of the EU-funded project Interaction in EU Climate Policy

  7. Can food be addictive? Public health and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gearhardt, Ashley N; Grilo, Carlos M; DiLeone, Ralph J; Brownell, Kelly D; Potenza, Marc N

    2011-07-01

    Data suggest that hyperpalatable foods may be capable of triggering an addictive process. Although the addictive potential of foods continues to be debated, important lessons learned in reducing the health and economic consequences of drug addiction may be especially useful in combating food-related problems. In the current paper, we review the potential application of policy and public health approaches that have been effective in reducing the impact of addictive substances to food-related problems. Corporate responsibility, public health approaches, environmental change and global efforts all warrant strong consideration in reducing obesity and diet-related disease. Although there exist important differences between foods and addictive drugs, ignoring analogous neural and behavioral effects of foods and drugs of abuse may result in increased food-related disease and associated social and economic burdens. Public health interventions that have been effective in reducing the impact of addictive drugs may have a role in targeting obesity and related diseases. © 2011 The Authors, Addiction © 2011 Society for the Study of Addiction.

  8. Policies aren't enough: the importance of interpersonal communication about workplace breastfeeding support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Jenn; Kuehl, Rebecca A; Drury, Sara A Mehltretter; Tschetter, Lois; Schwaegerl, Mary; Hildreth, Marilyn; Bachman, Charlotte; Gullickson, Heidi; Yoder, Julia; Lamp, Jamison

    2015-05-01

    Formal policies can establish guidelines and expectations for workplace breastfeeding support. However, interpersonal communication between employees and managers is the context where such policies are explained, negotiated, and implemented. As such, this article focuses on interpersonal communication about breastfeeding support in the workplace. The objective of this article is to describe interpersonal communication related to workplace breastfeeding support. We conducted 3 focus groups with 23 business representatives from a rural city in the Midwest United States. Participants were recruited through the area chamber of commerce. We analyzed the transcripts of the focus groups and derived themes related to the study objective. Our analysis of responses from business representatives in the focus groups revealed 3 major themes about interpersonal communication concerning breastfeeding support in the workplace: (1) interpersonal communication may be more important than written communication for enacting breastfeeding support, (2) multiple factors (age, sex, and power dynamics) complicate the interpersonal communication required to enact breastfeeding support in local businesses, and (3) positive interpersonal communication strategies may improve the success of workplace breastfeeding support. Interpersonal communication between employees and managers is where the specifics of workplace breastfeeding support (eg, policies) are determined and applied. Interpersonal communication about breastfeeding can be challenging due to issues such as age, sex, and power dynamics. However, positive and open interpersonal communication can enhance workplace breastfeeding support. © The Author(s) 2015.

  9. Informal care and the self-management partnership: implications for Australian health policy and practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Essue, Beverley M; Jowsey, Tanisha; Jeon, Yun-Hee; Mirzaei, Masoud; Pearce-Brown, Carmen L; Aspin, Clive; Usherwood, Tim P

    2010-11-01

    The Serious and Continuing Illness Policy and Practice Study (SCIPPS) aims to improve the care and support for patients with chronic illness and their family carers. Here we describe the carers' contribution to the self-management partnership and discuss the policy and practice implications that are relevant to improving the support available for informal care in Australia. A secondary analysis of SCIPPS data. Fourteen carers of patients between 45 and 85 years with chronic heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and diabetes were conveniently sampled from western Sydney and the Australian Capital Territory. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Key roles that carers perform in the self-management partnership included: home helper; lifestyle coach; advocate; technical care manager; and health information interpreter. Two negative consequences of juggling these roles included: self-neglect and conflict. Rigid eligibility criteria limit carers' access to essential support programs which underestimates and undervalues their contributions to the self-management partnership. Support services should focus on the development of practical skills to perform the caregiving roles. In addition, health professionals require support to work more effectively with carers to minimise the conflict that can overshadow the care and self-management partnership.

  10. Health risks of climate change: An assessment of uncertainties and its implications for adaptation policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Projections of health risks of climate change are surrounded with uncertainties in knowledge. Understanding of these uncertainties will help the selection of appropriate adaptation policies. Methods We made an inventory of conceivable health impacts of climate change, explored the type and level of uncertainty for each impact, and discussed its implications for adaptation policy. A questionnaire-based expert elicitation was performed using an ordinal scoring scale. Experts were asked to indicate the level of precision with which health risks can be estimated, given the present state of knowledge. We assessed the individual scores, the expertise-weighted descriptive statistics, and the argumentation given for each score. Suggestions were made for how dealing with uncertainties could be taken into account in climate change adaptation policy strategies. Results The results showed that the direction of change could be indicated for most anticipated health effects. For several potential effects, too little knowledge exists to indicate whether any impact will occur, or whether the impact will be positive or negative. For several effects, rough ‘order-of-magnitude’ estimates were considered possible. Factors limiting health impact quantification include: lack of data, multi-causality, unknown impacts considering a high-quality health system, complex cause-effect relations leading to multi-directional impacts, possible changes of present-day response-relations, and difficulties in predicting local climate impacts. Participants considered heat-related mortality and non-endemic vector-borne diseases particularly relevant for climate change adaptation. Conclusions For possible climate related health impacts characterised by ignorance, adaptation policies that focus on enhancing the health system’s and society’s capability of dealing with possible future changes, uncertainties and surprises (e.g. through resilience, flexibility, and adaptive capacity) are

  11. Covalent structures of potato tuber lipases (patatins) and implications for vacuolar import

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Welinder, Karen Gjesing; Jørgensen, Malene

    that the path is via the Golgi apparatus. However, the vacuolar targeting signal has never been identified for this storage and defence protein, which amounts to 25-40% of tuber protein. We propose that a six-residue ct-propeptide, -ANKASY-COO- composes this signal. The crystallographic structure...... the Danish Research Council for Technology and Production, and grant 2052-03-0022 from the Danish Research Agency.   Reference Welinder KG, Jørgensen M (2009) Covalent structures of potato tuber lipases (patatins) and implications for vacuolar import. J. Biol. Chem., Feb 2009; doi:10.1074/jbc.M809674200....

  12. THE POLICY OF PRICES AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN SUBSTANTIATION OF PENETRATION STRATEGY IN NEW MARKET SEGMENTS

    OpenAIRE

    Hlaciuc Elena; Boghean Camen; Danila Morosan Lucia; Boghean Florin

    2009-01-01

    Pricing policy aims to determine the price of goods and services sold by the organization. These figures have an impact over the turnover that must be higher to the total expenses for the enterprise to make profits. Therefore, it is important to know the

  13. A network analysis using metadata to investigate innovation in clean-tech – Implications for energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marra, Alessandro; Antonelli, Paola; Dell’Anna, Luca; Pozzi, Cesare

    2015-01-01

    Clean-technology (clean-tech) is a large and increasing sector. Research and development (R&D) is the lifeline of the industry and innovation is fostered by a plethora of high-tech start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Any empirical-based attempt to detect the pattern of technological innovation in the industry is challenging. This paper proposes an investigation of innovation in clean-tech using metadata provided by CrunchBase. Metadata reveal information on markets, products, services and technologies driving innovation in the clean-tech industry worldwide and for San Francisco, the leader in clean-tech innovation with more than two hundred specialised companies. A network analysis using metadata is the employed methodology and the main metrics of the resulting networks are discussed from an economic point of view. The purpose of the paper is to understand specifically specializations and technological complementarities underlying innovative companies, detect emerging industrial clusters at the global and local/metropolitan level and, finally, suggest a way to realize whether observed start-ups, SMEs and clusters follow a technological path of complementary innovation and market opportunity or, instead, present a risk of lock-in. The discussion of the results of the network analysis shows interesting implications for energy policy, particularly useful from an operational point of view. - Highlights: • Metadata provide information on companies' products and technologies. • A network analysis enables detection of specializations and complementarities. • An investigation of the network allows to identify emerging industrial clusters. • Metrics help to appreciate complementary innovation and market opportunity. • Results of the network analysis show interesting policy implications.

  14. Changes in the pastoral sheep systems of semi-arid Mediterranean areas: association with common agricultural policy reform and implications for sustainability

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Toro-Mujica, P.M.; Aguilar, C.; Vera, R.; Barba, C.; Rivas, J.; García-Martínez, A.

    2015-07-01

    The dynamics of sheep systems the Mediterranean region have been influenced by reforms coming from the Common Agricultural Policy, and the general economic evolution of markets. The aim of this study was the analysis of the structural changes that occurred between 1999 and 2009, and the identification of future implications for the sheep systems in Andalusia region, Spain. Analysis of the structural changes allowed the generation of strategic information, identified trends that should suggest new rural policies and changes that are likely to have social and environmental impacts, and lastly, prioritize future research. The application of multivariate methodology allowed clustering the farm population into four groups. The typology of these systems was determined by variables related to the sheep subsystem, by the set of agricultural activities, and by changes in swine husbandry, within a context of changes in land tenure and the drive for agricultural intensification. Major modifications of extant systems included a 42% reduction in the number of farms, a decrease in sheep numbers, replacement of native rangelands with improved pastures, olive trees and orchards, a reduction of traditional extensive pastoral activities, and increases in hog production in Dehesa grasslands. Given the historical economic and social importance of the sheep-cereal system, the observed substantial modifications of land use suggest a need to assess their consequences in terms. (Author)

  15. Sectoral roles in greenhouse gas emissions and policy implications for energy utilization and carbon emissions trading: a case study of Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ge, Jianping; Lei, Yalin; Xu, Qun; Wang, Xibo

    2016-01-01

    In this study, a decomposition and emissions matrix is developed to identify the roles (giver or taker) played by the sectors in the greenhouse gas emissions for the economy of Beijing in China. Our results indicate that services were the most important emitter if we consider the total (direct and indirect) emissions. In addition to Construction, Scientific studies and technical services and Finance sectors of services were the largest takers. They have a large role in boosting greenhouse gas emissions throughout the economy of Beijing. As the basis and supporter of production activities, the electricity production and the transportation sectors were the greatest givers. More emphasis should be placed on using clean energy and carbon capture and storage technologies to reduce emissions within these sectors. Based on the roles played by these sectors in greenhouse gas emissions, some policy implications were proposed for energy utilization and carbon emissions trading.

  16. Factors that affect general practice as a choice of medical speciality: implications for policy development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vohra, Amit; Ladyshewsky, Richard; Trumble, Stephen

    2017-11-28

    Objective This article critically appraises the range of personal, professional and social factors that affect the choice of speciality across medical students, prevocational doctors, general practice registrars and general practitioners. Methods This qualitative study applied constructs from the fields of decision theory and career theory to better understand the complex nature of choosing a speciality. In all, 47 in-depth interviews were conducted with participants at different stages of their career cycle. The data was codified and analysed using NVivo to identify key factors that influenced speciality choice. Results The research identified 77 individual findings influencing general practice as a choice of medical speciality. These were distilled into a matrix to show that factors such as money, prestige and peer interaction did not have a compelling effect, whereas clinical and academic role models, flexibility, work-life balance, scope of practice, connection with patients, training environment and practical opportunities did. Conclusion The findings indicate that the decision in relation to the choice of medical speciality is a complex cognitive process that is undertaken within a personal, social and professional context particular to each individual. What is known about the topic? Current literature aims to quantify changes in attitudes towards choice of speciality or the effect of particular variables in isolation while ignoring the complexity of this decision process and how the numerous variables compare with each other. What does this paper add? The present study is the first intergenerational research on this topic in the Australian context and the paper dismisses the role of prestige and remuneration as key drivers of choice in picking general practice as a speciality, noting that money is merely a 'hygiene factor'. What are the implications for policy makers? A policy framework outlining 10 key principles is presented to assist policy makers seeking

  17. Rain and sunshine in climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Moor, A.

    2002-01-01

    The legal framework of the Kyoto Protocol was established during the 7th Climate Conference in Marrakech (November 2001), which opened the road to ratification and implementation. There was a single, major exception, however. the United States indicated they would not ratify the treaty since, in their view, it was fundamentally flawed. President Bush recently proposed a different approach that he saw as a better alternative to Kyoto. What is clear in any case is that both the US withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol and the alternative approach have major consequences for international climate policy. What is the significance of the Kyoto Protocol now? And what influence has America's withdrawal had? What do President Bush's proposals entail and what are the most important differences from the Kyoto Protocol? What are the implications for international climate policy?

  18. Union Bargaining in an Oligopoly Market with Cournot-Bertrand Competition: Welfare and Policy Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elizabeth Schroeder

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available We investigate the welfare effect of union activity in a relatively new oligopoly model, the Cournot-Bertrand model, where one firm competes in output (a la Cournot and the other firm competes in price (a la Bertrand. The Nash equilibrium prices, outputs, and profits are quite diverse in this model, with the competitive advantage going to the Cournot-type competitor. A comparison of the results from the Cournot-Bertrand model with those found in the traditional Cournot and Bertrand models reveals that firms and the union have a different preference ordering over labor market bargaining. These differences help explain why the empirical evidence does not support any one model of union bargaining. We also examine the welfare and policy implications of union activity in a Cournot-Bertrand setting.

  19. Commentary: Does a linear-received policy of condom promotion ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    -prevention policies that promote condoms. I examine how discourse on condom policy has been used to depict condom-promotion policies as inherently simple and rational, scientifically and economically sound, and, by implication, neutral ...

  20. EU environmental state aid policy: wide implications, narrow participation?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Flaam, Karoline

    2008-11-15

    This article investigates the 2008 reform of the EU's environmental state aid guidelines, with an eye to determining the degree of external pressure and lobbyism towards environmental state aid policies. What is found is a strikingly low level of external pressure on the policy-field, not least on the part of the private sector. In fact, EU environmental state aid policy is largely the making of a few Commission officials, without much external 'interference'. The article discusses possible reasons for this, and asks whether state aid policy-making might be marked less by clear and established interests and utility maximising, and more by actors constrained by complexity and bounded rationality. (author). refs.,tab

  1. THE POLICY OF PRICES AN IMPORTANT ELEMENT IN SUBSTANTIATION OF PENETRATION STRATEGY IN NEW MARKET SEGMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hlaciuc Elena

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available Pricing policy aims to determine the price of goods and services sold by the organization. These figures have an impact over the turnover that must be higher to the total expenses for the enterprise to make profits. Therefore, it is important to know the

  2. The Neurobiology of "Food Addiction" and Its Implications for Obesity Treatment and Policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Adrian; Hendrikse, Joshua; Lee, Natalia; Yücel, Murat; Verdejo-Garcia, Antonio; Andrews, Zane B.; Hall, Wayne

    2016-07-17

    There is a growing view that certain foods, particularly those high in refined sugars and fats, are addictive and that some forms of obesity can usefully be treated as a food addiction. This perspective is supported by a growing body of neuroscience research demonstrating that the chronic consumption of energy-dense foods causes changes in the brain's reward pathway that are central to the development and maintenance of drug addiction. Obese and overweight individuals also display patterns of eating behavior that resemble the ways in which addicted individuals consume drugs. We critically review the evidence that some forms of obesity or overeating could be considered a food addiction and argue that the use of food addiction as a diagnostic category is premature. We also examine some of the potential positive and negative clinical, social, and public policy implications of describing obesity as a food addiction that require further investigation.

  3. Tobacco 21: An Important Public Policy to Protect Our Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farber, Harold J; Pakhale, Smita; Neptune, Enid R

    2016-12-01

    An important approach to reduce youth tobacco use is the adoption of regulations to prohibit tobacco product sale to individuals younger than 21 years, termed Tobacco 21. In the United States, close to 90% of current smokers started smoking before the age of 18 years, and 99% before age 26 years. Earlier age of tobacco use initiation is associated with lower rates of smoking cessation. Increasing minimum age to purchase has been shown to reduce tobacco product use among youth. The critical determinant is likely the loss of social sources of tobacco products. Enforcement activities are important for age-of-purchase laws to be effective. Raising the minimum legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21 years is highly supported among both the smoking and nonsmoking public. Tobacco sales to those younger than 21 years account for just 2% of total tobacco sales, yet produce 90% of new smokers. The short-term effect on small business of raising the minimum age to purchase would be minimal. Small businesses will have time to adapt to the decrease in tobacco sales as fewer youth grow up nicotine addicted. Raising the minimum age to purchase of tobacco and nicotine products to 21 years, combined with enforcement of those restrictions, will help protect future generations from a lifetime of tobacco dependence and associated morbidity. These regulations should apply to all tobacco products, including electronic nicotine delivery systems. Respiratory health care providers should educate their local, state, and federal policy makers on the importance of Tobacco 21.

  4. Social implications of the Human Genome Project: Policy roundtable series and journals. Final progress report, March 15, 2001 - March 15, 2002

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Seiguer, Erica

    2002-12-30

    This report reflects the activities of the Harvard Health Caucus at Harvard Medical School that were supported, in part, by the Department of Energy. The following policy roundtables and panels were held: Spring 2001 Policy Roundtable Series: The social implications of the Human Genome Project; Spring 2002 Policy Roundtable Series: Managing globalization to improve health; 13 February 2002 Keynote Address: The globalization of health; 25 February 2002 Healthier or Wealthier: Which comes first in the new global era?; 28 February 2002 The crisis of neglected diseases: Creating R&D incentives for diseases of developing countries; 7 March 2002 Health care education in the developing world: Bridging global and local health care practices; 20 March 2002 Building a legal framework for global health: How can the US and UN work to reduce global disparities?; 25 April 2002 The role of mass media and tobacco control efforts. Caucus organizational information is also included.

  5. Psychosocial stress and cardiovascular disease. Part 3: Clinical and policy implications of research on the transcendental meditation program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walton, Kenneth G; Schneider, Robert H; Salerno, John W; Nidich, Sanford I

    2005-01-01

    Cardiovascular disease (CVD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States today and a major contributor to total health care costs. Psychosocial stress has been implicated in CVD, and psychosocial approaches to primary and secondary prevention are gaining research support. This third article in the series on psychosocial stress and CVD continues the evaluation of one such approach, the Maharishi Transcendental Meditation program, a psychophysiological approach from the Vedic tradition that is systematically taught by qualified teachers throughout the world. Evidence suggests not only that this program can provide benefits in prevention but also that it may reduce CVD-related and other health care expenses. On the basis of data from the studies available to date, the Transcendental Meditation program may be responsible for reductions of 80% or greater in medical insurance claims and payments to physicians. This article evaluates the implications of research on the Transcendental Meditation program for health care policy and for large-scale clinical implementation of the program. The Transcendental Meditation program can be used by individuals of any ethnic or cultural background, and compliance with the practice regimen is generally high. The main steps necessary for wider adoption appear to be: (1) educating health care providers and patients about the nature and expected benefits of the program, and (2) adjustments in public policies at the state and national levels to allow this program to be included in private and public health insurance plans.

  6. The agricultural policy of Serbia and common agricultural policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stanković Milica

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The agricultural sector has a relatively high importance in the economic structure of Serbia. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP, Common Agricultural Policy is one of the main policies of the European Union. It is very important to point out the fundamental principles and objectives of the Common Agricultural Policy. Harmonization of the national agricultural policy of Serbia with the Common Agricultural Policy and acceptance of its mechanisms is crucial for the development of the agricultural sector as a whole.

  7. The human genome as public: Justifications and implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bayefsky, Michelle J

    2017-03-01

    Since the human genome was decoded, great emphasis has been placed on the unique, personal nature of the genome, along with the benefits that personalized medicine can bring to individuals and the importance of safeguarding genetic privacy. As a result, an equally important aspect of the human genome - its common nature - has been underappreciated and underrepresented in the ethics literature and policy dialogue surrounding genetics and genomics. This article will argue that, just as the personal nature of the genome has been used to reinforce individual rights and justify important privacy protections, so too the common nature of the genome can be employed to support protections of the genome at a population level and policies designed to promote the public's wellbeing. In order for public health officials to have the authority to develop genetics policies for the sake of the public good, the genome must have not only a common, but also a public, dimension. This article contends that DNA carries a public dimension through the use of two conceptual frameworks: the common heritage (CH) framework and the common resource (CR) framework. Both frameworks establish a public interest in the human genome, but the CH framework can be used to justify policies aimed at preserving and protecting the genome, while the CR framework can be employed to justify policies for utilizing the genome for the public benefit. A variety of possible policy implications are discussed, with special attention paid to the use of large-scale genomics databases for public health research. © Published 2016. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  8. The role and importance of ECB's monetary policy in the global economic crisis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stakić Nikola

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the role and importance of the European Central Bank (ECB in the context of measures and effects that are being taken to repair the consequences of the current economic crisis. The ECB, together with the European single currency, the euro, symbolizes long-lasting monetary integration of the EU states. Such form of integration has created the possibility of a supranational action of ECB in the banking sector and financial markets in general. Along with the other most important central banks in the world, the ECB applies various unconventional instruments of monetary policy to stimulate economic growth and development. In this context, the paper explains the nature and mechanism of such measures in order to influence on the insufficient liquidity in the financial markets.

  9. Nonmedical Prescription Drug Use: Theory and Policy Implications

    OpenAIRE

    Gabriele Camera; Bryan Engelhardt

    2014-01-01

    The illicit nonmedical use of prescription drugs is studied in a model where individuals with imperfectly observable health conditions seek prescription drugs for either medical or nonmedical reasons. The equilibrium number of medical and nonmedical users is endogenous and depends on economic and non-economic barriers to drugs consumption, such as pricing, health care costs, refill policies, monitoring programs, and the medical community’s prescription standards. The results show policies cen...

  10. Depletion policies for oil-exporting developing economies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stournaras, Y A

    1984-01-01

    The fact that most oil-exporting countries are developing economies has important implications for oil supply which have not been properly taken into account in the literature on exhaustible resource depletion. The way in which depletion policies are affected by trade uncertainty, given the high degree of the major oil exporters' 'dependence' on crude oil revenues, by investment time lags which delay the exploitation of (some of) these countries' comparative advantage in a petroleum based development, and by ideological objections to the ideal of a rentier society and to foreign capital are examined.

  11. China’s African Policy – Increasing Importance and Active Adjustments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joseph Yu-shek Cheng

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available As China’s economy continues to grow, it wants to expand its markets and secure reliable supplies of resources in support of its economic development. Resource diplomacy therefore becomes a prominent feature of its modernization diplomacy. In turn, many African countries perceive political and economic ties with China an important asset which strengthens their international bargaining power, especially vis-á-vis the Western countries. African countries are also depicted as China’s reliable political and economic partners. Chinese leaders have no intention of engaging in diplomatic and strategic competition with the United States and the European Union in Africa, but they certainly will not cooperate with Western governments in helping Africa because they want to push for multipolarity. China's approach to Africa has come under criticisms of neo-colonialism; and in recent years serious adjustments have been implemented. It is expected that Africa’s significance within the Chinese foreign policy framework will continue to grow.

  12. Economics, ethics, and climate policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Howarth, R.B.; Monahan, P.A.

    1992-11-01

    Are the costs of greenhouse gas emissions abatement justified by the perceived benefits of sustained climate stability Do people of the present generation have a moral right to impose climate risks on their descendants in generations to come This report examines these questions in light of the emergent facts of climate science and their socioeconomic implications. We consider alternative normative criteria for social decision-making with particular emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and the principle of sustainable development. While each framework yields important insights, we argue that the gross uncertainties associated with climate change and the distribution of impacts between present and future generations constrain the usefulness of cost-benefit criteria in evaluating climate policy. If one accepts the ethical proposition that it is morally wrong to impose catastrophic risks on unborn generations when reducing those risks would not noticeably diminish the quality of life of existing persons, a case can be made for concerted policy action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

  13. Economics, ethics, and climate policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Howarth, R.B.; Monahan, P.A.

    1992-11-01

    Are the costs of greenhouse gas emissions abatement justified by the perceived benefits of sustained climate stability? Do people of the present generation have a moral right to impose climate risks on their descendants in generations to come? This report examines these questions in light of the emergent facts of climate science and their socioeconomic implications. We consider alternative normative criteria for social decision-making with particular emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and the principle of sustainable development. While each framework yields important insights, we argue that the gross uncertainties associated with climate change and the distribution of impacts between present and future generations constrain the usefulness of cost-benefit criteria in evaluating climate policy. If one accepts the ethical proposition that it is morally wrong to impose catastrophic risks on unborn generations when reducing those risks would not noticeably diminish the quality of life of existing persons, a case can be made for concerted policy action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

  14. Consumer perceptions of smart grid development: Results of a Hong Kong survey and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mah, Daphne Ngar-yin; Vleuten, Johannes Marinus van der; Hills, Peter; Tao, Julia

    2012-01-01

    Consumers have a major role to play in smart grid technologies which can be instrumental in addressing climate change and energy challenges. However, little is known about how consumers perceive, and how they might respond to the opportunities that smart grid technologies offer. This paper reports the results from a Hong Kong survey (n=505). It contributes to the literature by providing a better understanding of the perceptions and behaviour of electricity consumers about the possible deployment of smart grids. Our results indicate that Hong Kong consumers generally welcomed smart grid technologies and had a preference for energy saving, energy efficiency and renewable energy while they showed a high level of opposition to nuclear power. They displayed an interest in playing a much more informed and active role in energy decision-making, but they were sensitive to tariff increases. Motivations and barriers for consumers to support smart grid developments are also discussed. We conclude with a discussion of policy implications for effective consumer engagement. More policy attention is needed on demand-side measures, introducing institutional and regulatory changes, and modifying relationships between consumers, the government and utilities. - Highlights: ► Consumers have a major role in smart grid technologies. ► This paper reports findings of a Hong Kong survey on how consumers perceive and respond. ► Hong Kong consumers are interested in being informed and playing an active role in energy decision-making. ► Motivations and barriers are discussed. ► Policy recommendations for effective consumer engagement are suggested.

  15. Health Policy 2016 – Implications for Geriatric Urology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suskind, Anne M.; Clemens, J. Quentin

    2016-01-01

    Purpose of Review The U.S. healthcare system is undergoing fundamental changes in an effort to improve access to care, curtail healthcare spending, and improve quality of care. These efforts largely focused on Medicare, and therefore will have a fundamental impact on the care of geriatric patients. This article reviews contemporary health policy issues, with a focus on how these issues may impact the care of geriatric urology patients. Recent Findings The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has broadened the scope of Medicare coverage. Future Medicare reimbursement will be increasingly tied to care coordination, quality reporting, and demonstration of appropriate outcomes. Additional research is needed to better define the comparative effectiveness of urologic therapies in geriatric patients. Workforce projections indicate that there is a shortage of urologists in many areas of the country, and that this shortage will worsen over time unless a new funding model is instituted for graduate medical education. Summary Medicare spending drives many health policy decisions. Therefore, few health policy topics are unique to geriatrics or geriatric urology. However, certain health policy topics (e.g., care coordination, risk-stratification) are particularly germaine to the elderly patients. Urologists with a particular interest in geriatric urology should be familiar with these issues. PMID:26765043

  16. The ethical and policy implications of research on income inequality and child well-being.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pickett, Kate E; Wilkinson, Richard G

    2015-03-01

    Child well-being is important for lifelong health and well-being. Although there is a robust evidence base linking social determinants of health (eg, relative poverty and income inequality) to child well-being, social and public health policy tends to focus on interventions to mitigate their effects, rather than remove the root causes. The goal of this study was to examine associations between child well-being and income inequality. We compared reported rates of childhood well-being in the 2007 and 2013 UNICEF reports on child well-being in wealthy countries. Twenty indicators of child well-being (excluding child poverty) were defined consistently in both the 2007 and 2013 reports. These variables were used to create an indicator of change in child well-being over the approximate decade 2000 to 2010. For our analyses of income inequality, we used the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development Gini coefficient of income inequality for 2009 and change between 2000 and 2009, respectively. The overall index of child well-being in 2013 was closely and negatively correlated with income inequality (r = -0.60, P = .004) but not with average income (r = -0.3460, P = .12). Adjustment for income inequality, children in relative poverty, and the child poverty gap did not change the lack of association between average income and child well-being in 2013 in wealthy countries. Between 2000 and 2010, child well-being scores improved most in Italy, Norway, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The biggest declines were seen in Sweden, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, and France. Countries that experienced the largest increases in income inequality had significantly greater declines in child well-being (r = -0.51, P = .02). Children born into socioeconomically disadvantaged families suffer worse child well-being and its lifelong implications, in all societies, worldwide. Our analyses show, however, that some wealthy societies are able to mitigate these inequalities; these

  17. The Meaning of Green: Values and Energy Policy in Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nilsson, Maans

    2003-01-01

    Values, and the way they are represented, have strong implications for environmental policy. Mapping of how values, perceptions, scientific facts and professional judgments interact and function in the process will contribute to understanding the policy process. However, although a systematic, reasoned and critical examination of values underpinning policy choices and expressions is an essential part of policy analysis, values are rarely scrutinised (Dunn 1994). As a result, their role in environmental policy making is not well understood. This paper addresses this gap by asking: How are values represented in the policy arena and the processes within it? What changes do values undergo over time and as they go through the policy-making process? Value concepts are discussed as a basis to understand and describe the values at play in a process. The paper also draws on theories of the policy process to support the analysis of the empirical material. The analysis is then delimited to a selected set of value issues. The empirical material includes public debate documents such as bills, hearings, motions, presentation, statements and their commentaries. Semi-structured interviews, designed as in-depth interviews with open-ended probing, were held to complernent the material. Respondents were identified in the policy committees, career professionals and representatives of important interest groups

  18. Reader strategies: variability and error- methodology, findings, and health policy implications from a study of the U.S. population of mammographers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beam, Craig A.

    2002-04-01

    Each year, approximately 60% of all US women over the age of 40 utilize mammography. Through the matrix of an imaging technology, this Population of Patients (POP) interacts with a population of approximately 20,000 physicians who interpret mammograms in the US. This latter Population of Diagnosticians (POD) operationally serves as the interface between an image-centric healthcare technology system and patient. Methods: using data collected from a large POD and POP based study, I evaluate the distribution of several ROC curve-related parameters in the POD and explore the health policy implications of a population ROC curve for mammography. Results and Conclusions: Principal Components Analysis suggests that two Binormal parameters are sufficient to explain variation in the POD and implies that the Binormal model is foundational to Health Policy Research in Mammography. A population ROC curve based on percentiles of the POD can be used to set targets to achieve national health policy goals. Medical Image Perception science provides the framework. Alternatively, a restrictive policy can be envisioned using performance criteria based on area. However, the data suggests this sort of policy would be too costly in terms of reduced healthcare service capacity in the US in the face of burgeoning demands.

  19. Bioavailability: implications for science/cleanup policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Denit, Jeffery; Planicka, J. Gregory

    1998-12-01

    This paper examines the role of bioavailability in risk assessment and cleanup decisions. Bioavailability refers to how chemicals ''behave'' and their ''availability'' to interact with living organisms. Bioavailability has significant implications for exposure risks, cleanup goals, and site costs. Risk to human health and the environment is directly tied to the bioavailability of the chemicals of concern.

  20. State Civilisation: The Statist Core of Vladimir Putin’s Civilisational Discourse and Its Implications for Russian Foreign Policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Linde Fabian

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The essay examines Vladimir Putin’s civilisational discourse, which arose in earnest with the publication of his presidential campaign articles in 2012. It argues that what makes Putin’s rendering of Russia’s civilisational identity distinctive is its strongly emphasized Statism, understood as a belief in the primacy of the state. This suggests that while his endorsement of a distinct civilisational identity represents an important conceptual turn as regards how national identity is articulated, there are also significant lines of continuity with previous presidential periods, given that state primacy has been at the heart of Putin’s political agenda since the very beginning of his presidential career. This detail also reveals a great deal about the political rationale behind Putin’s commitment to a Russian civilisational identity. It provides the government with a theoretical justification of an illiberal political course. There are important implications for foreign policy-making as well. In relation to the West, there is an attempt to limit its normative reach by depicting liberal values as less than universal. In regional affairs, Russia is attempting to legitimate its involvement in the near abroad on civilisational grounds. The loose definition of ‘co-patriots’ as foreign nationals experiencing some affinity with Russia gives it plenty of leeway in this regard. Lastly, Russia has petitioned for Ukraine’s neutrality based on the argument that the country is straddling a civilisational fault line.

  1. Addressing the Importance and Scale of the U.S. Teacher Shortage. UCEA Policy Brief 2018-1

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Andrene; Quinn, Daniel J.; Fuller, Edward; Barnes, Michael

    2018-01-01

    Teacher shortages pose a major challenge for state policy makers, district leaders, and school leaders. Importantly, however, the severity of the shortage differs by the particular dynamics of state- and local- teacher labor markets with some regions and states experiencing more severe shortages than others. This brief examines the elements of the…

  2. International production sharing: A case for a coherent policy framework

    OpenAIRE

    Nordås, Hildegunn Kyvik

    2007-01-01

    This study seeks to clarify what vertical specialization/fragmented production/production sharing is, how widespread it is, how it is organized, its driving forces, and what the policy implications are. It presents six country case studies ( USA, Japan, Germany, Brazil, China and South Africa ) where the importance and nature of production sharing or vertical specialization in the automotive and electronics sectors are studied for each country. The automotive industry has always been a leadin...

  3. Moving communities toward policy change: APPEAL's 4-prong policy change model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Elisa K; Lew, Rod

    2013-09-01

    Policy change is recognized for underlying much of the success of tobacco control. However, there is little evidence and attention on how Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities may engage in policy change. Challenges for AA and NHPI communities include the racial/ethnic and geographic diversity, and tobacco data accurately representing the communities. Over the past decade, the Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) has worked to develop and implement policy change for AA and NHPI communities. This article describes APPEAL's 4-prong policy change model, in the context of its overall strategic framework for policy change with communities that accounts for varying levels of readiness and leadership capacity, and targets four different levels of policy change (community, mainstream institution, legislative, and corporate). The health promotion implication of this framework for tobacco control policy engagement is for improving understanding of effective pathways to policy change, promoting innovative methods for policy analysis, and translating them into effective implementation and sustainability of policy initiatives. The APPEAL strategic framework can transcend into other communities and health topics that ultimately may contribute to the elimination of health disparities.

  4. Teacher education policies, practices, and reform in Scotland: Implications in the Indian context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pradeep Kumar Misra

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available India, a country of 1.27 billion, nowadays needs reforms, improvements, and new approaches in teacher education to cater to the demands of changing economy and society. This call to improve teacher education becomes more significant considering the fact that 50% of India’s current population is below the age of 25 and over 65% below 35. There are two ways to proceed in this direction. First, making an internal review and assessment of present scenario of teacher education and suggesting need-based measures. The second one is to learn from those countries that have recently reviewed their teacher education systems and are continuously working for the betterment of teacher education. Following second approach, present paper analyzes teacher education policies, practices, and reform in Scotland, argues that concerns and commitments to reform teacher education in India and Scotland are similar, and suggests implications of Scottish experiences in the Indian context.

  5. Innovative Strategy in Shrimp Potiguar: Asymmetries Power Generation and Implications for Policy Innovation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana Baldi

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to analyze the technological trajectory and the actors – public and private - political behave in the carciniculture network (cultivate of shrimp in the federal estate of Rio Grande do Norte. The research was based on both embeddedness and cluster policy approach. The case study was based on bibliographic, archives, and empirical data, whose primary data were collected through semi-structured interviews carried on with 10 members of different organizations from carciniculture sector in the period 2009-2010, as well as interviews already conducted in the area since the year 2005. These data were submitted to content analysis with longitudinal and descriptive approach. Along the technological trajectory of the cluster we highlighted opportunities and limits for innovative strategies generated by asymmetries of power and ability to influence actors in the network. We highlight the relationship between 'power network' and 'links established with public actors' as well as the implications for innovation along the trajectory generated by a more or less state interference.

  6. Nothing New (Ethically Under the Sun: Policy & Clinical Implications of Nanomedicine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MacDonald, Chris

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Nanotechnology research is beginning to see widespread coverage in the media and popular science literatures, but discussions of hopes and fears about nanotechnology have already become polarised into utopian and dystopian visions. More moderate discussions focus on the near-term applications of nanotechnologies, and on potential benefits and harms. However, in exploring the social and ethical implications of nanotechnology (or nanomedicine, the focus of this paper, important lessons should be learned from experiences in other fields. In particular, studies of the ethical, legal, and social issues (ELSI of genetics research have successfully mapped out many of the issues (and social and political responses that arise when new technologies are deployed. It is our contention that, for the most part, the ethical and social issues arising in nanomedicine are not altogether new, and thus do not require novel ethical principles or frameworks, nor a massive investment in ‘NELSI’ research. Instead, what is needed is support for the development of a culture of ethics amongst scientists and clinicians, basic scientific and medical knowledge for bioethicists, and a social competency for citizens to participate actively in debates about the implications of new technologies in general.

  7. Working Paper - WP/12/08- Exchange Rate Pass-through to Import Prices, and Monetary Policy in South Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Janine Aron; Greg Farrell; John Muellbauer; Peter Sinclair

    2012-01-01

    Understanding how import prices adjust to exchange rates helps anticipate inflation effects and monetary policy responses. This paper examines exchange rate pass-through to the monthly import price index in South Africa during 1980–2009. Various short-run pass-through estimates are calculated simply without recourse to a full structural model, yet without neglecting the long-run relationships between prices or the effects of previous import price changes, and controlling for domestic and fore...

  8. Wholesale pricing policies for energy in developing countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    de Lucia, R. J.

    1990-01-01

    This chapter focuses on wholesale pricing policies with particular emphasis on domestic fuels. There are several characteristics of the supply system that affect wholesale pricing: Source of the fuel (imported or domestic); Characteristics of the fuel (tradable or non-tradable); Nature of the supply companies (public or private and, if private, local or multinational); and stage of development of the resource. Each of these characteristics has implications for how the components of the efficient wholesale price of fuels are determined. (author). 13 refs., 3 figs., 5 tabs

  9. Implementing a Paid Leave Policy for Graduate Students at UW-Madison: The Department Chair Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathieu, Robert D.

    2013-01-01

    In 2010 the University of Wisconsin - Madison Astronomy Department developed and implemented a departmental paid leave policy for our graduate students, even though the university lacks a campus-wide policy and cannot provide institutional funding for such programs. This policy includes 12 weeks of paid leave in event of a medical emergency or chronic medical condition, as well as paid parental leave for both male and female graduate research assistants. Building on the graduate student perspective of Gosnell (2012), I will discuss the process of this successful development of a departmental family and medical leave policy for graduate students from the perspective of a faculty member and chair. In particular I will discuss implications of university policies, the importance of faculty and staff support, the role of private funds, and issues of effort certification.

  10. Trend analysis of the pharmaceutical market in Iran; 1997–2010; policy implications for developing countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-01

    Background So far, no detailed study of the Iranian pharmaceutical market has been conducted, and only a few studies have analyzed medicine consumption and expenditure in Iran. Pharmaceutical market trend analysis remains one of the most useful instruments to evaluate the pharmaceutical systems efficiency. An increase in imports of medicines, and a simultaneous decrease in domestic production prompted us to investigate the pharmaceutical expenditure structure. On the other hand, analyzing statistics provides a suitable method to assess the outcomes of national pharmaceutical policies and regulations. Methods This is a descriptive and cross-sectional study which investigates the Iranian pharmaceutical market over a 13-year period (1997–2010). This study used the Iranian pharmaceutical statistical datasheet published by the Iranian Ministry of Health. Systematic searches of the relevant Persian and English research literature were made. In addition, official government documents were analyzed as sources of both data and detailed statements of policy. Results Analysis of the Iranian pharmaceutical market in the 13-year period shows that medicine consumption sales value growth has been 28.38% annually. Determination of domestic production and import reveals that 9.3% and 42.3% annual growth, respectively, have been experienced. Conclusions The Iranian pharmaceutical market has undergone great growth in comparison with developing countries and the pharmerging group, and the market is expanding quickly while a major share goes to biotechnology drugs, which implies the need to commercialization activities in novel fields like pharmaceutical biotechnology. This market expansion has been in favor of imported medicine in sales terms, caused by the reinforcement of suspicious policies of policy makers that necessitates fundamental rearrangements. PMID:23805853

  11. A retrospective analysis of cannabis use in a cohort of mentally ill patients in Sri Lanka and its implications on policy development

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maithripala Chinthaka

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Several epidemiological studies have shown that cannabis; the most widely used illegal drug in the world, is associated with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD. Aims To assess the characteristics of cannabis use and its association with SSD in a cohort of psychiatrically ill patients and discuss the implications for policy development Methods This is a retrospective analytical study of a cohort of psychiatric patients who received treatment in the psychiatry unit of the Provincial General Hospital, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka over five years (2000 - 2004. The schizophrenia spectrum disorders defined in this article include schizophrenia and the schizoaffective disorders. Results A total of 3644 patient records were analyzed. The percentage of self reported life time cannabis (LTC use was 2.83% (103, all males. Sixteen percent (576 of the total cohort was diagnosed with SSD by 2009. Male sex and LTC use were significantly associated with SSD (p Conclusions Self reported LTC use was strongly associated with being diagnosed with SSD. However we could not identify a particular subgroup of users that are at increased risk to recommend targeted primary prophylaxis. The policy implications of this observation are discussed.

  12. Cognitive load theory: Practical implications and an important challenge

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jimmie Leppink, Ph.D.

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available The field of medical education has adopted a wide variety of theories from other fields. A fairly recent example is cognitive load theory, which originated in educational psychology. Several empirical studies inspired by cognitive load theory and reviews of practical implications of cognitive load theory have contributed to guidelines for the design of medical education. Simultaneously, several research groups have developed instruments for the measurement of cognitive load in a medical education context. These developments notwithstanding, obtaining evidence for different types of cognitive load remains an important challenge. Therefore, the aim of this article is twofold: to provide medical educators with three key guidelines for the design of instruction and assessment and to discuss several fundamental issues in the remaining challenges presented by different types of cognitive load. The guidelines revolve around minimizing cognitive activity that does not contribute to learning, working with specific learning goals in mind, and appreciating the multifaceted relation between learning and assessment. Key issues around the types of cognitive load include the context in which learning occurs, the continued use of single-item mental effort ratings, and the timing of cognitive load and learning outcome measurements.

  13. Mentoring Postsecondary Tenure-Track Faculty: A Theory-Building Case Study and Implications for Institutional Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Dannielle Joy; Boyer, Patricia; Russell, Isela

    2011-01-01

    The featured research uses theory-building case study to understand the experiences of junior faculty in a mentoring program. Findings suggest the importance of professional interaction for faculty members' integration into their campus communities. An explanatory model illustrates the findings and supplements discussion of the implications for…

  14. Nigerian language policy and its implication in the school curriculum ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper observes that the Nigerian language policy, failed to take into consideration the socio-linguistic habits of Nigerians. Since English language is a focal point for communication it then implies that policy makers to formulate language policies based on realities of language need. This is the only way that the ...

  15. Input-output interactions and optimal monetary policy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petrella, Ivan; Santoro, Emiliano

    2011-01-01

    This paper deals with the implications of factor demand linkages for monetary policy design in a two-sector dynamic general equilibrium model. Part of the output of each sector serves as a production input in both sectors, in accordance with a realistic input–output structure. Strategic...... complementarities induced by factor demand linkages significantly alter the transmission of shocks and amplify the loss of social welfare under optimal monetary policy, compared to what is observed in standard two-sector models. The distinction between value added and gross output that naturally arises...... in this context is of key importance to explore the welfare properties of the model economy. A flexible inflation targeting regime is close to optimal only if the central bank balances inflation and value added variability. Otherwise, targeting gross output variability entails a substantial increase in the loss...

  16. Regional differences in entrepreneurial perceptions and implications for the Romanian competitiveness policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolae Mariana

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Understanding entrepreneurship as being spatially rooted transforms it in a regional and national competitiveness factor. Despite the increasing importance of the territorial dimension in supporting economic growth at policy and declarative levels, in practice, in Romania, the territorial structure and spatial organization of the economy contributes little to the national value added. In this context, we study regional differences in entrepreneurial initiative and perception and their possible impact on the national competitiveness strategy. We use primary data collected in three Romanian regions (Centre, North-East, Bucureşti-Ilfov and conduct a statistical analysis of the data. The results indicate different comparative regional profiles. The regional differences in the intentions, motivations, barriers and limitation for entrepreneurship confirm the theoretical view that personal motivations of becoming an entrepreneur are determined by environmental conditions. We conclude that the regional differences should be taken into account in the elaboration of the competitiveness policy, corroborated with the results of other similar studies.

  17. Cost effectiveness of GHG mitigation options and policy implication

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lim, K. S. [Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-04-01

    This paper represents the summary findings and conclusions of several studies implemented about microeconomics and macroeconomics marginal costs of GHG abatement policies. Financial, economic, and, where possible, environmental microeconomics costs of reducing GHGs are estimated by a World Bank team. Six energy-related CO{sub 2} mitigation policy options are applied to estimate the macroeconomics costs of GHG emission reduction, the macroeconomics impacts on the Chinese economy. In terms of policy, conservation is a better option to cope with a restrictive mitigation constraint, assuming a developing country can achieve planned energy-saving targets. Without a CO{sub 2} emission constraint or with less restrictive CO{sub 2} emission constraints, however, the simulation results indicate that a conservation strategy may be less attractive than fuel substitution in a developing country, mainly due to the economic dampening effect of reduced production in the energy sectors. This finding suggests that an often-cited costless or negative-cost energy conservation policy may not be a better option when a less restrictive mitigation target is in force. This does not mean that the potential for energy efficiency improvements in a developing country is not worthwhile, but that the overall macroeconomics impacts should be considered before implementing the policy option. (author). 9 refs., 3 figs., 3 tabs.

  18. ASSESSMENT OF THE POTENTIAL AND PROSPECTS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGIONAL POLICY OF IMPORT SUBSTITUTION THROUGH THE EXAMPLE OF THE NOVOSIBIRSK REGION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ershov P. A.

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Import substitution is considered to be the most promising source of development of the Russian economy. However, the regional aspects of implementation remain at the periphery of research policy of import substitution. The aim of the work was to evaluate the capacity and efficiency of the instruments of regional industrial policy implementation in the context of import substitution through the example of the Novosibirsk region. This article presents the results of studies based on statistical analysis of the structure and dynamics of regional trade of the Novosibirsk region. It made an attempt to evaluate the possibility of the development of domestic production of analogues of imported products through the use of existing industrial capacities of the region. Based on the comparison of the results of analysis of foreign trade and regional industry opportunities the most perspective directions of development were identified. Review of Industrial Policy of the Novosibirsk region, based on the analysis of the current regulatory framework, revealed the inefficient and costly industry support tools currently in use. Based on these results possible solutions were suggested to correct the existing industrial policy and improve its efficiency.

  19. Closing the Reference Interview: Implications for Policy and Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, Christopher W.

    1992-01-01

    Discusses reasons why patrons or librarians terminate the reference interview, including the content of the interview, interpersonal dynamics, and institutional or policy factors. Goals and objectives of the person terminating the interview are considered, and guidelines for policy development and performance improvement are offered. (30…

  20. Effect of a food waste disposer policy on solid waste and wastewater management with economic implications of environmental externalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maalouf, Amani; El-Fadel, Mutasem

    2017-11-01

    In this study, the carbon footprint of introducing a food waste disposer (FWD) policy was examined in the context of its implications on solid waste and wastewater management with economic assessment of environmental externalities emphasizing potential carbon credit and increased sludge generation. For this purpose, a model adopting a life cycle inventory approach was developed to integrate solid waste and wastewater management processes under a single framework and test scenarios for a waste with high organic food content typical of developing economies. For such a waste composition, the results show that a FWD policy can reduce emissions by nearly ∼42% depending on market penetration, fraction of food waste ground, as well as solid waste and wastewater management schemes, including potential energy recovery. In comparison to baseline, equivalent economic gains can reach ∼28% when environmental externalities including sludge management and emissions variations are considered. The sensitivity analyses on processes with a wide range in costs showed an equivalent economic impact thus emphasizing the viability of a FWD policy although the variation in the cost of sludge management exhibited a significant impact on savings. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Economic impact analysis of natural gas development and the policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Silva, P.N.K.; Simons, S.J.R.; Stevens, P.

    2016-01-01

    In the US, the shale gas revolution ensured that the development costs of unconventional natural gas plummeted to the levels of $2–3/Mcf. This success has motivated the development of shale gas in other regions, including Australia and Europe. This study, focussing primarily on aspects of economic impact analysis, estimates the development costs of shale gas extraction in both Australia and Europe, based on both direct and fiscal costs, and also suggests policy initiatives. The increasing liquefied natural gas (LNG) developments in Australia are already straining domestic gas supplies. Hence, the development of more natural gas resources has been given a high priority. However, a majority of the Australian shale resources is non-marine in origin and significantly different to the marine-type shales in the US. In addition, the challenges of high development costs and the lack of infrastructure, service capacity and effective government policy are inhibiting shale gas development. Increasing the attractiveness of low risk investment by new, local, developers is critical for Australian shale gas success, which will simultaneously increase domestic gas security. In the European context, unconventional gas development will be challenged by direct, rather than fiscal costs. High direct costs will translate into average overall gas development costs over $13/Mcf, which is well over the existing market price. - Highlights: • The shale gas development potential of US, Europe and Australia are compared. • An economic impact analysis of shale gas development in Europe and Australia. • Factors important for shale gas development are discussed. • Policy pathways are suggested for shale gas development

  2. Sex, gender, and secondhand smoke policies: implications for disadvantaged women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greaves, Lorraine J; Hemsing, Natalie J

    2009-08-01

    Although implementation of secondhand smoke policies is increasing, little research has examined the unintended consequences of these policies for disadvantaged women. Macro-, meso-, and micro-level issues connected to secondhand smoke and women are considered to illustrate the range of ways in which sex, gender, and disadvantage affect women's exposure to secondhand smoke. A review of current literature, primarily published between 2000 and 2008, on sex- and gender-based issues related to secondhand smoke exposure and the effects of secondhand smoke policies for various subpopulations of women, including low-income girls and women, nonwhite minority women, and pregnant women, was conducted in 2008. These materials were critically analyzed using a sex and gender analysis, allowing for the drawing of inferences and reflections on the unintended effects of secondhand smoke policies on disadvantaged women. Smoke-free policies do not always have equal or even desired effects on low-income girls and women. Low-income women are more likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke, may have limited capacity to manage their exposure to secondhand smoke both at home and in the workplace, and may experience heightened stigmatization as a result of secondhand smoke policies. Various sex- and gender-related factors, such as gendered roles, unequal power differences between men and women, child-caring roles, and unequal earning power, affect exposure and responses to secondhand smoke, women's capacity to control exposure, and their responses to protective policies. In sum, a much more nuanced gender- and diversity-sensitive framework is needed to develop research and tobacco control policies that address these issues.

  3. AN ANALYSIS OF IMPORTANT POLICIES FOR ACCELERATING DEVELOPMENT IN NEPAL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sudarshan Neupane

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available Nepal belongs to one of the least developed countries around the world with HDI 157 out of 187 countries (UNDP 2013. Even though poverty in Nepal has reduced to 24.8% in the latest census, the livelihoods of the poorest people living in the remote communities are still vulnerable. Two third of the population still depends on the subsistence agriculture. Similarly, due to lack of job opportunities, youth migration is escalating and Nepal is facing one of the most critical phases of development in its history (Snellinger 2009. Inadequate infrastructure and poor road connectivity are other constraints for the development (World Bank 2011. It follows that, poor access to electricity is another challenge despite the country’s enormous potential for hydroelectricity. Similarly, Nepal  has huge prospective for tourism due to its unique natural resources (Bhandari 2004. Nonetheless, Nepal has not benefited optimally from the tourism sector for its self-sustained development. Recently Government of Nepal (2011 has announced diverse policies for accelerating development through proper utilization of local resources. This paper critically evaluates the crucial policies such as Agriculture Development Strategy, National Cooperatives Policy, National Youth Policy, and Micro-hydro for Rural Development, and Tourism for Development. The paper discusses each of these policies’ background; critically analyse the likelihood as well as challenges for fast-tracking development; and finally offers some recommendations based discussion and analysis.

  4. Understanding urban practitioners' perspectives on social-mix policies in Amsterdam: the importance of design and social space

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lawton, P.

    2013-01-01

    Throughout recent decades, socially-mixed neighbourhoods have become a key element of urban policy and debate. This paper argues, with Amsterdam as an empirical case, that the design, layout and everyday use of social space—including public and private space—is of key importance in understanding the

  5. Modelling issues on climate change policies. A discussion of the GTAP-E model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kremers, H.; Nijkamp, P.; Wang, Shunli [Department of Spatial Economics, Free University, Amsterdam (Netherlands)

    2000-11-01

    Ater the Kyoto agreements the need has arisen to trace the implications of various international environmental strategies. In this paper, we discuss relevant modelling issues of incorporating important environmental policy measures in one of the popular applied general equilibrium models for international trade, the so-called GTAP model. Special attention is paid to an extended version, the GTAP-E (Global Trade Analysis Project - Energy) by addressing the question how to include the widely discussed instruments of International Emission Trading, Joint Implementation, and Clean Development Mechanisms. The paper will be concluded with some policy issues. 10 refs.

  6. Modelling issues on climate change policies. A discussion of the GTAP-E model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kremers, H.; Nijkamp, P.; Wang, Shunli

    2000-01-01

    Ater the Kyoto agreements the need has arisen to trace the implications of various international environmental strategies. In this paper, we discuss relevant modelling issues of incorporating important environmental policy measures in one of the popular applied general equilibrium models for international trade, the so-called GTAP model. Special attention is paid to an extended version, the GTAP-E (Global Trade Analysis Project - Energy) by addressing the question how to include the widely discussed instruments of International Emission Trading, Joint Implementation, and Clean Development Mechanisms. The paper will be concluded with some policy issues. 10 refs

  7. Beware of Data Gaps in Home Care Research: The Streetlight Effect and Its Implications for Policy Making on Long-Term Services and Supports

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newquist, Deborah D.; DeLiema, Marguerite; Wilber, Kathleen H.

    2016-01-01

    Policy initiatives increasingly seek greater use of home- and community-based services for older persons and those with chronic care needs, yet large gaps persist in our knowledge of home care, an indispensable component of long-term services and supports. Unrecognized data gaps, including the scope of home care provided by private hire and nonmedical providers, can distort knowledge and poorly inform long-term services and supports policy. The purpose of this article is to examine these gaps by describing the universe of formal home care services and provider types in relationship to major national sources. Findings reveal four distinct home care sectors and that the majority of formal home care is provided in the sectors that are understudied. We discuss the policy implications of data gaps and conclude with recommendations on where to expand and refine home care research. PMID:26062611

  8. Monetary Policy Committee and Monetary Policy Conduct in Nigeria: A Preliminary Investigation

    OpenAIRE

    Ekor, Maxwell; Saka, Jimoh; Adeniyi, Oluwatosin

    2014-01-01

    The study provides an incisive but preliminary investigation into the activities of the monetary policy committee of the central bank of Nigeria and the implications for monetary policy, using the standard deviation measure of volatility and the ordinary least square method. The findings show that the ‘internal’ members and majority of the ‘external’ members have different preferences as shown in the voting patterns. Also, there has been reduction in inflation, money and stock markets vola...

  9. Climate implications of including albedo effects in terrestrial carbon policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, A. D.; Collins, W.; Torn, M. S.; Calvin, K. V.

    2012-12-01

    change, 2) an increase in CO2 concentrations that exactly balances the forcing from land use change at the global level, and 3) a simulation combining the first two effects, resulting in net zero global-mean forcing as would occur in an idealized carbon cap-and-trade scheme that accounts for the albedo effect of land use change. The pattern of land use change that we examine is derived from an integrated assessment model that accounts for population, demographic, technological, and policy changes over the 21st century. We find significant differences in the pattern of climate change associated with each of these forcing scenarios, demonstrating the non-additivity of radiative forcing from land-use change and greenhouse gases in the context of a hypothetical scenario of future land use change. These results have implications for the development of land use and climate policies.

  10. Some Implications for Regulation of ICT and Media Convergence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Henten, Anders; Falch, Morten; Tadayoni, Reza

    The term convergence in the areas of ICT and media means the coming together of IT, telecommunications, broadcasting and other media, technologically, market and policy wise. It is the sectoral convergence of the hitherto more separate ICT and media areas, which is in focus, even though...... there certainly are also changes taking place vertically in the different sectors. The paper examines the relationships between technology and market developments and policy and regulatory initiatives. The issue is, therefore, not solely the implications of market and technology trends on policy and regulation......, but also the reverse implications of policy and regulatory frameworks on technology and market developments. The paper analyses the convergence tendencies at a technological, market level and policy and regulatory level. It is, however, the policy level, which is the centre of attention in the paper...

  11. The determination of optimal climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aaheim, Asbjoern

    2010-01-01

    Analyses of the costs and benefits of climate policy, such as the Stern Review, evaluate alternative strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by requiring that the cost of emission cuts in each and every year has to be covered by the associated value of avoided damage, discounted by a an exogenously chosen rate. An alternative is to optimize abatement programmes towards a stationary state, where the concentrations of greenhouse gases are stabilized and shadow prices, including the rate of discount, are determined endogenously. This paper examines the properties of optimized stabilization. It turns out that the implications for the evaluation of climate policy are substantial if compared with evaluations of the present value of costs and benefits based on exogenously chosen shadow prices. Comparisons of discounted costs and benefits tend to exaggerate the importance of the choice of discount rate, while ignoring the importance of future abatement costs, which turns out to be essential for the optimal abatement path. Numerical examples suggest that early action may be more beneficial than indicated by comparisons of costs and benefits discounted by a rate chosen on the basis of current observations. (author)

  12. Long term energy and emission implications of a global shift to electricity-based public rail transportation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaturvedi, Vaibhav; Kim, Son H.

    2015-01-01

    With high reliance on light-duty vehicles in the present, the future of global transportation system is also geared towards private modes, which has significant energy and emission implications. Public transportation has been argued as an alternative strategy for meeting the rising transportation demands of the growing world, especially the poor, in a sustainable and energy efficient way. The present study analyzes an important yet under-researched question – what are the long-term energy and emission implications of an electric rail based passenger transportation system for meeting both long and short distance passenter transportation needs? We analyze a suite of electric rail share scenarios with and without climate policy. In the reference scenario, the transportation system will evolve towards dominance of fossil based light-duty vehicles. We find that an electric rail policy is more successful than an economy wide climate policy in reducing transport sector energy demand and emissions. Economy wide emissions however can only be reduced through a broader climate policy, the cost of which can be reduced by hundreds of billions of dollars across the century when implemented in combination with the transport sector focused electric rail policy. Moreover, higher share of electric rail enhances energy security for oil importing nations and reduces vehicular congestion and road infrastructure requirement as well. -- Highlights: •Economy wide carbon price policy will have little impact on transportation emissions. •Focused energy and emission mitigation policies required for transportation sector. •Large global shift towards electric rail based public transport is one possible option. •Transport sector focused policy will have marginal impact on total global emissions. •A combined transport sector and economy wide policy can reduce costs significantly

  13. Brazil's new national policy on solid waste

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jabbour, A.B.L.d.S.; Jabbour, C.J.C.; Sarkis, J.

    2014-01-01

    Brazil, one of the world's largest developing countries, has recently introduced a new solid waste management regulatory policy. This new regulatory policy will have implications for a wide variety of stakeholders and sets the stage for opportunities and lessons to be learned. These issues...

  14. Reverse logistics policy – differences between conservative and innovative reverse logistics management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alena Klapalová

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available One of the of the key barriers that hampers effective and efficient management of reverse flows detected within a number of empirical surveys and case studies focused on reverse logistics and/or return management is business (organisational policy, specifically lack of policy, deficiency in existing policy or inferior policy. Despite this fact, there is a gap in literature which would show some evidence from practice that innovative reverse logistics policy both can pay off and is associated with certain aspects of reverse logistics management. Such proof can have several implications. It can support the call for better understanding and more research of the linkages of reverse logistics with other corporate functions, promote the acceptation of strategic character of reverse logistics and stress the role of RL policy within the rest of overall corporate management.The aim of this paper is to contribute and to enrich the existing body of knowledge concerning the above-mentioned gap through presentation of survey results that was realized in 2012 among managers of 244 Czech firms. The results demonstrate the statistically significant association between the innovativeness of RL policy and profitability of firms, quality of RL planning, perception of RL importance, level of RL knowledge and perception of product innovation importance for firms’ competitiveness and frequency of product innovation. They also reveal statistically significant differences between firms with conservative and innovative RL policy and the perceived existence of some barriers to manage RL.

  15. The carbon rent economics of climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalkuhl, Matthias; Brecha, Robert J.

    2013-01-01

    By reducing the demand for fossil fuels, climate policy can reduce scarcity rents for fossil resource owners. As mitigation policies ultimately aim to limit emissions, a new scarcity for “space” in the atmosphere to deposit emissions is created. The associated scarcity rent, or climate rent (that is, for example, directly visible in permit prices under an emission trading scheme) can be higher or lower than the original fossil resource rent. In this paper, we analyze analytically and numerically the impact of mitigation targets, resource availability, backstop costs, discount rates and demand parameters on fossil resource rents and the climate rent. We assess whether and how owners of oil, gas and coal can be compensated by a carbon permit grandfathering rule. One important finding is that reducing (cumulative) fossil resource use could actually increase scarcity rents and benefit fossil resource owners under a permit grandfathering rule. For our standard parameter setting overall scarcity rents under climate policy increase slightly. While low discount rates of resource owners imply higher rent losses due to climate policies, new developments of reserves or energy efficiency improvements could more than double scarcity rents under climate policy. Another important implication is that agents receiving the climate rent (regulating institutions or owners of grandfathered permits) could influence the climate target such that rents are maximized, rather than to limit global warming to a socially desirable level. For our basic parameter setting, rents would be maximized at approximately 650 GtC emissions (50% of business-as-usual emissions) implying a virtual certainty of exceeding a 2 °C target and a likelihood of 4 °C warming. - Highlights: • Fossil resource rents form a substantial share of the global GDP. • Fossil resource owners can benefit from climate policy. • Climate targets might be influenced by rent-maximizing aspects

  16. The transport implications of siting policies for the disposal of low-level radioactive wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    James, I.A.

    1986-01-01

    This report has been produced to be complementary to the previously issued report ''The Transport Implications of Regional Policies for The Disposal of Intermediate Level Radioactive Wastes''. The same combinations of disposal facilities have been used so that direct comparison with intermediate waste results can be made. Low level wastes and short-lived intermediate level wastes for near-surface disposal are assumed to share a common infrastructure on the rail system and hence a methodology of separating total costs between these two waste types has been derived. Two transport modes, road and rail have been analysed. Hybrid transport, a combination of road and rail systems, has not been examined since no site is considered to produce sufficient waste to justify a dedicated rail service. Sellafield, has not been included in this examination since it is assumed to be served by its own disposal site at Drigg. (author)

  17. Writing ourselves into a web of obedience: a nursing policy analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bail, Kasia; Cook, Robert; Gardner, Anne; Grealish, Laurie

    2009-11-01

    Nursing work is governed by a web of overarching documents from professional bodies, registration bodies, and individual health care organisations. The focus for these documents is to maintain high standards and protect patients and organisations from unnecessary risk. The presentation of the nurse within these documents has important implications for the ability of nurses to function as autonomous professionals. How the role of the nurse is situated in hospital procedural policy, and more specifically how these presentations of the nurse define, limit, and enable nursing practice is the focus of this paper. A combination of random and purposive sampling of the nursing policies of one tertiary level hospital was utilised to collect policy documents for thematic content analysis. The study was completed in a tertiary level health institution, in one Australian jurisdiction with a population of approximately 500,000 people. This health institution employs over 4000 people and admitted 49,000 patients in the 2004-2005 financial year. An inductive approach, which utilised theoretical and contextual comprehension of the nursing policies, informed the collation of coded data which determined the themes of the study. Analysis consisted of coding of particular words, textual structure and theory content. Practice was presented in the nursing procedural policies in two themes, called 'lingering tradition' and 'bureaucratic template'. The discourse of hospital procedural policy situates the nurse as obedient to organisational requirements by limiting practice to a performance of actions without explicit recognition of professional autonomy. This sets up a puzzling contradiction between performance expectations from the employing organisation and the nursing profession. Writing hospital policy in the discourse of procedural directives reduces nurses' ability to act as autonomous, critically thinking professionals, with implications for patient safety, nurse autonomy and the

  18. Moving Communities Toward Policy Change: APPEAL’s 4-Prong Policy Change Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tong, Elisa K.; Lew, Rod

    2014-01-01

    Policy change is recognized for underlying much of the success of tobacco control. However, there is little evidence and attention on how Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) communities may engage in policy change. Challenges for AA and NHPI communities include the racial/ethnic and geographic diversity, and tobacco data accurately representing the communities. Over the past decade, the Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL) has worked to develop and implement policy change for AA and NHPI communities. This article describes APPEAL’s 4-prong policy change model, in the context of its overall strategic framework for policy change with communities that accounts for varying levels of readiness and leadership capacity, and targets four different levels of policy change (community, mainstream institution, legislative, and corporate). The health promotion implication of this framework for tobacco control policy engagement is for improving understanding of effective pathways to policy change, promoting innovative methods for policy analysis, and translating them into effective implementation and sustainability of policy initiatives. The APPEAL strategic framework can transcend into other communities and health topics that ultimately may contribute to the elimination of health disparities. PMID:23707962

  19. Policy Learning and Organizational Capacities in Innovation Policies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borrás, Susana

    2011-01-01

    Bengt-Åke Lundvall’s work has underlined the importance of policy learning for inducing innovation systems’ adaptability. In spite of his efforts and of the general interest in this topic, studies of policy learning in innovation policy continue to be scarce. Elaborating from recent theoretical...... advances, the paper identifies three levels of policy learning and argues that their effects on innovation systems are related to specific capacities of the relevant organizations implementing change. This analytical framework is used in the study of trans-national policy learning in Europe in the area...... of science–industry relations, showing the importance of capacities (or lack thereof). This calls for the practical need of addressing organizational capacity-building, in particular of analytical capacity, for truly strategic innovation policy-making....

  20. Are Rainfall and Temperature Really Changing? Farmer’s Perceptions, Meteorological Data, and Policy Implications in the Tanzanian Semi-Arid Zone

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Msafiri Y. Mkonda

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Although various climate models, statistical crop models and economic simulations have been established to determine the level of farmers’ vulnerability, there has been little systematic assessment of farmers’ perception towards climate change in association with meteorological analyses and policy implications in Tanzania. The results from this assessment will enhance the formation of robust policies that improve resilient livelihoods and the capacity to adapt to climate change and variability. This paper seeks to (i reveal the farmers’ perception on variation, change of rainfall, and temperature in the Tanzanian semi-arid area; (ii depict meteorological evidence for the perceived rainfall and temperature changes; (iii assess the policy perception and responses for the changing climate; and (iv discuss the correlation between farmers’ perception and meteorological data. Household surveys, informative interviews and discussions were employed during data collection. The Mann-Kendall Test and SPSS (version 20 were used for climate data analyses, while qualitative data were thematically analyzed. The results showed that from 1980 to 2015 the mean annual rainfall decreased ( R2 = 0.21 while temperature increased (R2 = 0.30. Even though majority farmers agreed with these results, they had not yet taken serious measures to curb the situation. Besides, Agricultural Policy has lightly addressed and enforced the implementations of adaptation strategies to reduce climate impacts and vulnerability. Thereby, creation of awareness and intensification of climate adaptation strategies is needed at both farm and policy level.

  1. Food inflation in South Africa: some implications for economic policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rangasamy, Logan

    2011-01-01

    This paper analyses the trends in food price movements in South Africa between 1980 and 2008. There are three main results emanating from the analysis in this paper. Firstly, food price movements have played a large role in generating inflationary episodes in South Africa. Secondly, while external influences do matter, South African food price movements are mainly due to domestic influences. This implies that national policy has an important role to play in taming domestic food price inflation. Thirdly, given the strong second round impacts, food price movements warrant special attention in monetary policymaking. Core measures of inflation that exclude food price movements may not accurately reflect the underlying inflationary pressures in the economy and could compromise the attainment of the goal of price stability.

  2. Responsive Feeding: Implications for Policy and Program Implementation12

    Science.gov (United States)

    Engle, Patrice L.; Pelto, Gretel H.

    2011-01-01

    In this article, we examine responsive feeding as a nutrition intervention, with an emphasis on the development and incorporation of responsive feeding into policies and programs over the last 2 decades and recommendations for increasing the effectiveness of responsive feeding interventions. A review of policy documents from international agencies and high-income countries reveals that responsive feeding has been incorporated into nutrition policies. Official guidelines from international agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and professional organizations often include best practice recommendations for responsive feeding. Four potential explanations are offered for the rapid development of policies related to responsive feeding that have occurred despite the relatively recent recognition that responsive feeding plays a critical role in child nutrition and growth and the paucity of effectiveness trials to determine strategies to promote responsive feeding. Looking to the future, 3 issues related to program implementation are highlighted: 1) improving intervention specificity relative to responsive feeding; 2) developing protocols that facilitate efficient adaptation of generic guidelines to national contexts and local conditions; and 3) development of program support materials, including training, monitoring, and operational evaluation. PMID:21270361

  3. Bioenergy and the importance of land use policy in a carbon-constrained world

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Calvin, Katherine V.; Edmonds, James A.; Wise, Marshall A.

    2010-06-01

    Policies aimed at limiting anthropogenic climate change would result in significant transformations of the energy and land-use systems. However, increasing the demand for bioenergy could have a tremendous impact on land use, and can result in land clearing and deforestation. Wise et al. (2009a,b) analyzed an idealized policy to limit the indirect land use change emissions from bioenergy. The policy, while effective, would be difficult, if not impossible, to implement in the real world. In this paper, we consider several different land use policies that deviate from this first-best, using the Joint Global Change Research Institute’s Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM). Specifically, these new frameworks are (1) a policy that focuses on just the above-ground or vegetative terrestrial carbon rather than the total carbon, (2) policies that focus exclusively on incentivizing and protecting forestland, and (3) policies that apply an economic penalty on the use of biomass as a proxy to limit indirect land use change emissions. For each policy, we examine its impact on land use, land-use change emissions, atmospheric CO2 concentrations, agricultural supply, and food prices.

  4. Economic approach to assess the forest carbon implications of biomass energy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daigneault, Adam; Sohngen, Brent; Sedjo, Roger

    2012-06-05

    There is widespread concern that biomass energy policy that promotes forests as a supply source will cause net carbon emissions. Most of the analyses that have been done to date, however, are biological, ignoring the effects of market adaptations through substitution, net imports, and timber investments. This paper uses a dynamic model of forest and land use management to estimate the impact of United States energy policies that emphasize the utilization of forest biomass on global timber production and carbon stocks over the next 50 years. We show that when market factors are included in the analysis, expanded demand for biomass energy increases timber prices and harvests, but reduces net global carbon emissions because higher wood prices lead to new investments in forest stocks. Estimates are sensitive to assumptions about whether harvest residues and new forestland can be used for biomass energy and the demand for biomass. Restricting biomass energy to being sourced only from roundwood on existing forestland can transform the policy from a net sink to a net source of emissions. These results illustrate the importance of capturing market adjustments and a large geographic scope when measuring the carbon implications of biomass energy policies.

  5. European Transportation Policy for better Integration. Shifting the Balance between the Modes of Transport

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruhet Genç

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available The increasing need for transportation and mobility of citizen gives raises the importance oftransportation policy. The development of the European transportation policy has a great significance for theEuropean Union. The common transportation policy of the European Union is reviewed and updated everynine years. The first common transportation policy of the European Commission was published in December1992. Besides the railway sector, most of the objectives listed in this policy were realized in ten years. In2001, the European Commission proffered a new transportation policy with sixty new measures. Thus, thispaper shows the importance of transportation projects -especially in the field of railways- for European Unionmember states. In accounting, cross-border sections of projects are more or less neglected, as member statestend to prioritize the development of sections of the projects, which are economically viable for themselves,thereby delaying the overall connectivity of the trans-European network. The railway modal is the hardestmodal to interoperate between the member countries. Therefore it is not a surprise that the objectives listed inthe first European transportation policy were not realized in the railway sector. There were enormousdifferences between railway systems before the European Union. Some of them still have an influence oncurrent railway infrastructure and operations today. To sum up, this research shall deal with the crucialaspects of common transportation policies as well as problems of its implications.

  6. JERM model of care: an in-principle model for dental health policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lam, Raymond; Kruger, Estie; Tennant, Marc

    2014-01-01

    Oral diseases are the most prevalent conditions in the community. Their economic burden is high and their impact on quality of life is profound. There is an increasing body of evidence indicating that oral diseases have wider implications beyond the confines of the mouth. The importance of oral health has not been unnoticed by the government. The Commonwealth (Federal) government under the Howard-led Coalition in 2004 had broken tradition by placing dentistry in its universal health insurance scheme, Medicare. Known as the Chronic Disease Dental Scheme (CDDS), the program aimed to manage patients with chronic conditions as part of the Enhanced Primary Care initiative. This scheme was a landmark policy for several reasons. Besides being the first major dental policy under Medicare, the program proved to be the most expensive and controversial. Unfortunately, cost containment and problems with service provision led to its cessation in 2012 by the Gillard Labor Government. Despite being seen as a failure, the CDDS provided a unique opportunity to assess national policy in practice. By analysing the policy-relevant effects of the CDDS, important lessons can be learnt for policy development. This paper discusses these lessons and has formulated a set of principles recommended for effective oral health policy. The JERM model represents the principles of a justified, economical and research-based model of care.

  7. Health care justice and its implications for current policy of a mandatory waiting period for elective tubal sterilization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moaddab, Amirhossein; McCullough, Laurence B; Chervenak, Frank A; Fox, Karin A; Aagaard, Kjersti Marie; Salmanian, Bahram; Raine, Susan P; Shamshirsaz, Alireza A

    2015-06-01

    Tubal sterilization during the immediate postpartum period is 1 of the most common forms of contraception in the United States. This time of the procedure has the advantage of 1-time hospitalization, which results in ease and convenience for the woman. The US Collaborative Review of Sterilization Study indicates the high efficacy and effectiveness of postpartum tubal sterilization. Oral and written informed consent is the ethical and legal standard for the performance of elective tubal sterilization for permanent contraception for all patients, regardless of source of payment. Current health care policy and practice regarding elective tubal sterilization for Medicaid beneficiaries places a unique requirement on these patients and their obstetricians: a mandatory waiting period. This requirement originates in decades-old legislation, which we briefly describe. We then introduce the concept of health care justice in professional obstetric ethics and explain how it originates in the ethical concepts of medicine as a profession and of being a patient and its deontologic and consequentialist dimensions. We next identify the implications of health care justice for the current policy of a mandatory 30-day waiting period. We conclude that Medicaid policy allocates access to elective tubal sterilization differently, based on source of payment and gender, which violates health care justice in both its deontologic and consequentialist dimensions. Obstetricians should invoke health care justice in women's health care as the basis for advocacy for needed change in law and health policy, to eliminate health care injustice in women's access to elective tubal sterilization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. The impact of government policy on preference for NEVs: The evidence from China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Xian; Wang, Ke; Hao, Yu; Fan, Jing-Li; Wei, Yi-Ming

    2013-01-01

    To reduce gasoline consumption and emissions, the Chinese government has introduced a series of preferential policies to encourage the purchase of new energy vehicles (NEVs). However, enthusiasm for the private purchase of NEVs appears to be very low. This timely paper addresses the need for an empirical study to explore this phenomenon by identifying purchase motivations of potential NEV consumers and examining the impact of government policies introduced to promote NEVs in China. A questionnaire survey was carried out. The acceptance of NEVs is measured in three different logistic models: the willingness of consumers to purchase NEVs, the purchasing time, and the acceptable price. The results showed that financial benefits, performance attributes, environmental awareness and psychological needs are the four most important factors influencing consumers’ acceptance of NEVs. Among these, performance attributes rather than financial benefits are the most important indicator. The moderating effect of government policies to relations between purchasing intention, time and price is not strong as respected while the policy implications are clear that the ‘public awareness of government policy’ functions as a moderator in the process of acceptance. These findings could give some hints to the government to make better NEV industry policy. - Highlights: • This paper timely studies the private purchasing behaviors of NEVs in China. • Purchase motivations of NEVs and the impact of government policies are examined. • Performance attribute is the most important indicator to acceptance of NEVs. • The moderating effect of government policies is not strong as respected

  9. THE IMPACT OF GOVERNMENT POLICY IMPLEMENTATION ON THE LIMITATION OF IMPORT CATTLE TO COMPANY’S STRATEGY IN THE FRAMEWORK OF MAINTAINING COMPANY PERFORMANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marhendra A.V.H.

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to determine the company's strategy in order to maintain the company's performance as a result of import cattle quota restriction. The policy of import cattle restriction imposed by the Indonesian government certainly has a significant impact on cattle importing companies, especially PT Karunia Alam Sentosa Abadi (KASA, Lampung - Indonesia. PT Karunia Alam Sentosa Abadi (KASA enforces various-new business strategies to maintain the company performance from quota import policy. The results of the study show that there are several strategies applied by the company such as Volume to Performance Strategy, Average Daily Gain (ADG improvement, Marketing Network Evaluation, Leasing Company Facilities, and Daily Workforce Reduction.

  10. China's coke industry: Recent policies, technology shift, and implication for energy and the environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huo, Hong; Lei, Yu; Zhang, Qiang; Zhao, Lijian; He, Kebin

    2012-01-01

    China is the largest coke producer in the world, accounting for over 60% of the world coke production, which makes the coke industry in China a significant coal consumer and air pollutant emitter. Recently, China has taken a series of measures to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions from the coke industry, including eliminating old and low energy-efficiency coking technologies, promoting advanced technologies, and strengthening energy and environmental requirements on coking processes. As a consequence, China's coke industry is experiencing an unprecedented technology shift, which was characterized by the elimination of old, inefficient, and polluting indigenous ovens and small machinery ones within 10 years. This study examines the policies and the prompt technology shift in China's coke industry, as well as the associated energy and environmental effects, and discusses the implications with respect to the development of the coke industry in China towards a more efficient and clean future. As China sets stricter requirements on energy efficiency and the ambient environment, a more significant change focusing on technologies of energy saving and emission reduction is urgently needed at present. Those mature technologies, including coke dry quenching, coke oven gas recycle, fine particle removal, etc., should be enforced in the near future. - Highlights: ► With 60% of world coke output, China's coke making has big energy/pollution issues. ► Actions were taken to improve energy and environmental performance of coke plants. ► China's coke industry is experiencing an unprecedented technology shift. ► Another shift, focusing on technologies of energy and emission saving, is needed. ► More measurement studies on coking emissions are needed given the importance.

  11. Chinese Foreign Policy in Transition: Trends and Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Baohui Zhang

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Chinese foreign policy has been transformed in recent years. This article seeks to provide a systematic analysis of the most salient features of the new Chinese foreign policy. It identifies five such features. Based on these features, the article suggests that China is poised to become a true global power. This view differs significantly from Gerald Segal’s famous claim in 1999 that China was no more than a middle power. The article utilizes many current Chinese sources to help readers understand China’s new motives and goals in international and regional affairs.

  12. Monetary Policy Implications of Electronic Money

    OpenAIRE

    Berentsen, Aleksander

    1997-01-01

    The term digital money refers to various proposed electronic payment mechanisms designed for use by consumers to make retail payments. Digital money products have the potential to replace central bank currency, thereby affecting the money supply. This paper studies the effect of replacing central bank currency on the narrowly defined stock of money under various assumptions regarding regulatory policies and monetary operations of central banks and the reaction of the banking system.

  13. E-Government – A Demand-Side Innovation Policy in Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sabina - Cristiana Necula

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available The present paper presents with example the actual status of E-Government in Romania. We start with an introduction which presents the importance of government implications in public procurement for innovation with concrete data of government’s investments and policies for innovation. In this section we include objectives and prior work. We approach our research by presenting web 2.0 technologies for E-government services with examples from other countries. The article focuses on the actual status of E-government in Romania. The main conclusions of the paper are presented in the end of the article. Our results are summarized in a discussion section. The value and implications of our research is in the area of governmental public sector innovation.

  14. Science Education and Test-Based Accountability: Reviewing Their Relationship and Exploring Implications for Future Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kevin J. B.

    2012-01-01

    Assuming that quality science education plays a role in economic growth within a country, it becomes important to understand how education policy might influence science education teaching and learning. This integrative research review draws on Cooper's methodology (Cooper, 1982; Cooper & Hedges, 2009) to synthesize empirical findings on the…

  15. Enterprises’ Growth Potential in the European Union: Implications for Research and Innovation Policy

    OpenAIRE

    MONCADA PATERNO' CASTELLO Pietro; CINCERA Michele

    2012-01-01

    One of the main objectives of the new European research and innovation policy agenda is to favour the positive demographics (creation and growth) of EU companies operating in new/knowledge-intensive industries, especially Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). These companies play an important role in shaping the dynamism of the economy’s sectoral composition, favouring the transition towards more knowledge-intensive activities and in contributing to the overall economic growth objectives and m...

  16. Beware of Data Gaps in Home Care Research: The Streetlight Effect and Its Implications for Policy Making on Long-Term Services and Supports.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newquist, Deborah D; DeLiema, Marguerite; Wilber, Kathleen H

    2015-10-01

    Policy initiatives increasingly seek greater use of home- and community-based services for older persons and those with chronic care needs, yet large gaps persist in our knowledge of home care, an indispensable component of long-term services and supports. Unrecognized data gaps, including the scope of home care provided by private hire and nonmedical providers, can distort knowledge and poorly inform long-term services and supports policy. The purpose of this article is to examine these gaps by describing the universe of formal home care services and provider types in relationship to major national sources. Findings reveal four distinct home care sectors and that the majority of formal home care is provided in the sectors that are understudied. We discuss the policy implications of data gaps and conclude with recommendations on where to expand and refine home care research. © The Author(s) 2015.

  17. Bringing the "social" into sociohydrology: Conservation policy support in the Central Great Plains of Kansas, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanderson, Matthew R.; Bergtold, Jason S.; Heier Stamm, Jessica L.; Caldas, Marcellus M.; Ramsey, Steven M.

    2017-08-01

    Identifying means of empirically modeling the human component of a coupled, human-water system becomes critically important to further advances in sociohydrology. We develop a social-psychological model of environmental decision making that addresses four key challenges of incorporating social science into integrated models. We use the model to explain preferences for three conservation policies designed to conserve and protect water resources and aquatic ecosystems in the Smoky Hill River Basin, a semiarid agricultural region in the Central U.S. Great Plains. Further, we compare the model's capacity to explain policy preferences among members of two groups in the River Basin: agricultural producers and members of nonfarming communities. We find that financial obligation is the strongest and most consistent explanation of support for conservation policies among members of both groups. We also find that policy support is grounded in cultural values—deeply held ideas about right and wrong. Environmental values are particularly important explanations of policy support. The constellations of values invoked to make decisions about policies, and the social-psychological pathways linking values to policy support, can vary across policies and types of agents (farmers and nonfarmers). We discuss the implications of the results for future research in sociohydrology.

  18. Malaria healthcare policy change in Kenya: implications on sales and marketing of antimalarials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngure, Peter K; Nyaoke, Lorraine; Minja, David

    2012-03-01

    Malaria healthcare policy change in Kenya aimed at improving the control of malaria but faced a number of challenges in implementation related to marketing of the drugs. This research investigated the effect of the change of the national malaria policy on drug sales and strategic marketing responses of antimalarial pharmaceutical companies in Kenya. A descriptive cross-sectional design was employed to describe the existing state of antimalarials market in Kenya after the change of the malaria healthcare policy. Policy change did result in an increase in the sales of Coartem®. Novartis Pharma recorded a 97% growth in sales of Coartem® between 2003 and 2004. However, this increase was not experienced by all the companies. Further, SPs (which had been replaced as first-line therapy for malaria) registered good sales. In most cases, these sales were higher than the sales of Coartem®. Generally, the sales contribution of SPs and generic antimalarial medicines exceeded that of Coartem® for most distributors. The most common change made to marketing strategies by distributors (62.5%) was to increase imports of antimalarials. A total of 40% of the manufacturers preferred to increase their budgetary allocation for marketing activities. In view of the fact that continued sale of SP drugs and limited availability of AL poses the risk of increasing the incidence of malaria in Kenya, it is therefore, recommended that pharmacy surveillance systems be strengthened to ensure drugs that have been rendered non-viable or that prescription-only medicines are not sold contrary to the national guidelines.

  19. Leadership preparation in engineering: A study of perceptions of leadership attributes, preparedness, and policy implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Latorre, Julia Talarico

    Perceptions of engineers and leaders in the field of engineering regarding leadership preparation for engineers were evaluated in this dissertation. More specifically, engineers' and leaders' perceptions of leadership preparation and the necessary skills of leaders in technical fields were studied. The design and analyses of the study were divided into two parts: (1) Data for employment and college enrollment for engineers in New York State (NYS) were plotted using Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in order to evaluate recent data regarding employment and college enrollment for engineers in order to better understand the relevance of leadership preparation in engineering, (2) Perceptions regarding engineering leadership preparedness were analyzed using descriptive statistical methods and inferential statistical methods and engineers' perceptions regarding the importance of chosen leadership attributes were analyzed using inferential statistics and Generalizability Theory (G-theory). Responses to open-ended questions regarding the importance of leadership or management training for engineers, and responses discussing possible implications of increasing leadership or management training for engineers were also examined. Possible implications of the study, and suggestions for future research, were also included.

  20. National Security Implications of Global Warming Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-01

    Although numerous historical examples demonstrate how actual climate change has contributed to the rise and fall of powers, global warming , in and of...become convinced that global warming is universally bad and humans are the primary cause, political leaders may develop ill-advised policies restricting

  1. Public health implications of emerging zoonoses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meslin, F X; Stöhr, K; Heymann, D

    2000-04-01

    Many new, emerging and re-emerging diseases of humans are caused by pathogens which originate from animals or products of animal origin. A wide variety of animal species, both domestic and wild, act as reservoirs for these pathogens, which may be viruses, bacteria or parasites. Given the extensive distribution of the animal species affected, the effective surveillance, prevention and control of zoonotic diseases pose a significant challenge. The authors describe the direct and indirect implications for public health of emerging zoonoses. Direct implications are defined as the consequences for human health in terms of morbidity and mortality. Indirect implications are defined as the effect of the influence of emerging zoonotic disease on two groups of people, namely: health professionals and the general public. Professional assessment of the importance of these diseases influences public health practices and structures, the identification of themes for research and allocation of resources at both national and international levels. The perception of the general public regarding the risks involved considerably influences policy-making in the health field. Extensive outbreaks of zoonotic disease are not uncommon, especially as the disease is often not recognised as zoonotic at the outset and may spread undetected for some time. However, in many instances, the direct impact on health of these new, emerging or re-emerging zoonoses has been small compared to that of other infectious diseases affecting humans. To illustrate the tremendous indirect impact of emerging zoonotic diseases on public health policy and structures and on public perception of health risks, the authors provide a number of examples, including that of the Ebola virus, avian influenza, monkeypox and bovine spongiform encephalopathy. Recent epidemics of these diseases have served as a reminder of the existence of infectious diseases and of the capacity of these diseases to occur unexpectedly in new

  2. The Effect of Sugar Price Policy on U.S. Imports of Processed Sugar-containing foods

    OpenAIRE

    Jabara, Cathy L.

    1988-01-01

    This paper examines the effects of sugar protection, as well as the effects of these other factors, on U.S. demand for imports of sugar-containing products. The paper also addresses two main issues: (1) whether substitution of alternative sweeteners has allowed U.S. food manufactures to reduce the competitive advantage provided to foreign manufactures by U.S. sugar policies, and (2) which countries -- developed or developing -- have been able to increase their exports of sugar-containing prod...

  3. Review of economic and energy sector implications of adopting global climate change policies

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Novak, M.H.

    1997-12-31

    This paper summarizes a number of studies examining potential economic impacts of global climate change policies. Implications for the United States as a whole, the U.S. energy sector, the U.S. economy, businesses and consumers, and world economies are considered. Impact assessments are performed of U.S. carbon emissions, carbon taxes, and carbon restrictions by comparing estimates from various organizations. The following conclusions were made from the economic studies: (1) the economic cost of carbon abatement is expensive; (2) the cost of unilateral action is very expensive with little quantifiable evidence that global emissions are reduced; (3) multilateral actions of developed countries are also very expensive, but there is quantifiable evidence of global emissions reductions; and (4) global actions have only been theoretically addressed. Paralleling these findings, the energy analyses show that the U.S. is technologically unprepared to give up fossil fuels. As a result: (1) carbon is not stabilized without a high tax, (2) stabilization of carbon is elusive, (3) technology is the only long-term answer, and (4) targeted programs may be appropriate to force technology development. 8 tabs.

  4. The Economic Importance of Financial Literacy: Theory and Evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lusardi, Annamaria; Mitchell, Olivia S

    2014-03-01

    This paper undertakes an assessment of a rapidly growing body of economic research on financial literacy. We start with an overview of theoretical research which casts financial knowledge as a form of investment in human capital. Endogenizing financial knowledge has important implications for welfare as well as policies intended to enhance levels of financial knowledge in the larger population. Next, we draw on recent surveys to establish how much (or how little) people know and identify the least financially savvy population subgroups. This is followed by an examination of the impact of financial literacy on economic decision-making in the United States and elsewhere. While the literature is still young, conclusions may be drawn about the effects and consequences of financial illiteracy and what works to remedy these gaps. A final section offers thoughts on what remains to be learned if researchers are to better inform theoretical and empirical models as well as public policy.

  5. Turning the big knob: an evaluation of the use of energy policy to modulate future climate impacts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pielke, R.A. Jnr.; Klein, R.; Sarewitz, D.

    2000-01-01

    Conventional wisdom on climate change policy is straightforward: reducing greenhouse gas emissions will avoid the increased frequency and magnitude of climate impacts on environment and society that might occur if emissions are not controlled. The proponents of conventional wisdom widely consider energy policy to be the main policy tool available to decision makers to intentionally modulate future climate impacts. In this paper we challenge the notion that policy makers should intentionally use energy policy to modulate future climate impacts. The paper argues that policy makers may well make large changes in energy policy (and future emissions) without significantly affecting future climate impacts. In other words, even if a theoretical case could be made that energy policy could be used intentionally to modulate future climate, other factors will play a larger role in creating future impact.y and are arguably more amenable to policy change. To illustrate this conclusion, the paper presents a sensitivity analysis under the assumptions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the case of tropical cyclones. One implication of the paper's conclusions is that policy responses to extreme weather events should be decoupled from considerations of energy policy. This decoupling is not intended to diminish either the importance of responding to climate change or of energy policy. Rather, it is to emphasise that there are many responses under the rubric of adaptation that could play a much greater role in reducing societal vulnerability to losses. One of the implications of this change is that scientific uncertainty need not stand in the way of effective action because the measures proposed make sense under any future climate scenario. (author)

  6. Economics, ethics and climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howarth, R.B.; Monahan, P.A.

    1993-01-01

    Are the costs of greenhouse gas emissions abatement justified by the perceived benefits of sustained climate stability? Do people of the present generation have a moral right to impose climate risks on their descendants in generations to come? This report examines these questions in light of the emergent facts of climate science and their socioeconomic implications. We consider alternative normative criteria for social decision-making with particular emphasis on cost-benefit analysis and the principle of sustainable development. While each framework yields important insights, we argue that the gross uncertainties associated with climate change and the distribution of impacts between present and future generations constrain the usefulness of cost-benefit criteria in evaluating climate policy. If one accepts the ethical proposition that it is morally wrong to impose catastrophic risks on unborn generations when reducing those risks would not noticeably diminish the quality of life of existing persons, a case can be made for concerted policy action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (118 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.)

  7. Earning and caring: demographic change and policy implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roderic Beaujot

    2002-12-01

    activities, we contrast theoretical orientations that see advantages to a division of labour or complementary roles, in comparison to orientations that see less risk and greater companionship in a collaborative model based on sharing paid and unpaid work, or co-providing and co-parenting. It is important to look both inside and outside of families, or at the changing gendered links between earning and caring, to understand change both in families and in the work world. It is proposed that equal opportunity by gender has advanced further in the public sphere associated with education and work, than in the private family sphere associated with everyday life. Time-use data indicate that, on average, men carry their weight in terms of total productive time (paid plus unpaid work, but that women make much more of the accommodations between family and work. Fertility is likely to be lowest in societies that offer women equal opportunity in the public sphere but where families remain traditional in terms of the division of work. Policies are discussed that would reduce the dependency between spouses, and encourage a greater common ground between men and women in earning and caring.

  8. Environment based innovation: policy questions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Rui Silva

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Natural resources and physical cultural resources, referred to in this paper as “Environmental Resources”, can be important assets for regional competitiveness and innovation. In recent years, these types of assets have been increasingly taken into consideration in the design and implementation of regional development strategies, as a consequence of their potential role as a source of differentiation and of new competitive advantages. However, in contrast to environmental policies, which usually focus on the protection of the environment, innovation policies and their instruments are largely shaped by, and geared towards, knowledge-based innovation.In this paper, we discuss the role played by environmental resources in the context of regional innovation policies. We begin by discussing the relationship between environmental resources and regional development, and by emphasizing some contrasting views with regard to the function of environmental resources in regional development. Then, we address the relationship between regional competitive advantages and innovation strategies. The specific issues and problems that arise whenever the aim is to attain competitive advantages through the valorisation of environmental resources constitute the core of section III. In that section, we highlight the specific characteristics of environmental resources and we discuss the applicability of the “natural resource curse” argument to the dynamics based on the valorisation of environmental resources. The reasons that justify public interventionas well as the difficulties concerning the adequate level of intervention (local / regional / national are also examined. The paper ends with some conclusions and policy implications.

  9. Misunderstanding of Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Use Among Men Who Have Sex with Men: Public Health and Policy Implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurtz, Steven P; Buttram, Mance E

    2016-12-01

    Street markets in antiretroviral medications for HIV have been documented, but sources of demand are not well understood. We report unexpected findings from qualitative research suggesting that some demand is for informal pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). Focus groups with young men who have sex with men (N = 31) yielded information on their understanding and use of PrEP. Of those who had heard of it, few understood PrEP to be a physician-prescribed regimen; most believed it to be a pill taken before and/or after sex and acquired on the street or through HIV-positive friends. Implications for PrEP rollout and public health policy are discussed.

  10. The importance of peer effects, cigarette prices and tobacco control policies for youth smoking behavior.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Lisa M; Tauras, John A; Ross, Hana

    2005-09-01

    This paper expands the youth cigarette demand literature by undertaking an examination of the determinants of smoking among high school students incorporating the importance of peer effects and allowing cigarette prices (taxes) and tobacco control policies to have a direct effect and an indirect effect (via the peer effect) on smoking behavior. To control for the potential endogeneity of our school-based peer measure we implement a two-stage generalized least squares estimator for a dichotomous dependent variable and implement a series of diagnostic tests. The key finding is that peer effects play a significant role in youth smoking decisions: moving a high-school student from a school where no children smoke to a school where one quarter of the youths smoke is found to increase the probability that the youth smokes by about 14.5 percentage points. The results suggest that there is a potential for social multiplier effects with respect to any exogenous change in cigarette taxes or tobacco control policies.

  11. Experiences and attitudes towards evidence-informed policy-making among research and policy stakeholders in the Canadian agri-food public health sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, I; Gropp, K; Pintar, K; Waddell, L; Marshall, B; Thomas, K; McEwen, S A; Rajić, A

    2014-12-01

    Policy-makers working at the interface of agri-food and public health often deal with complex and cross-cutting issues that have broad health impacts and socio-economic implications. They have a responsibility to ensure that policy-making based on these issues is accountable and informed by the best available scientific evidence. We conducted a qualitative descriptive study of agri-food public health policy-makers and research and policy analysts in Ontario, Canada, to understand their perspectives on how the policy-making process is currently informed by scientific evidence and how to facilitate this process. Five focus groups of 3-7 participants and five-one-to-one interviews were held in 2012 with participants from federal and provincial government departments and industry organizations in the agri-food public health sector. We conducted a thematic analysis of the focus group and interview transcripts to identify overarching themes. Participants indicated that the following six key principles are necessary to enable and demonstrate evidence-informed policy-making (EIPM) in this sector: (i) establish and clarify the policy objectives and context; (ii) support policy-making with credible scientific evidence from different sources; (iii) integrate scientific evidence with other diverse policy inputs (e.g. economics, local applicability and stakeholder interests); (iv) ensure that scientific evidence is communicated by research and policy stakeholders in relevant and user-friendly formats; (V) create and foster interdisciplinary relationships and networks across research and policy communities; and (VI) enhance organizational capacity and individual skills for EIPM. Ongoing and planned efforts in these areas, a supportive culture, and additional education and training in both research and policy realms are important to facilitate evidence-informed policy-making in this sector. Future research should explore these findings further in other countries and contexts.

  12. Physician and stakeholder perceptions of conflict of interest policies in oncology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lockhart, A Craig; Brose, Marcia S; Kim, Edward S; Johnson, David H; Peppercorn, Jeffrey M; Michels, Dina L; Storm, Courtney D; Schuchter, Lynn M; Rathmell, W Kimryn

    2013-05-01

    The landscape of managing potential conflicts of interest (COIs) has evolved substantially across many disciplines in recent years, but rarely are the issues more intertwined with financial and ethical implications than in the health care setting. Cancer care is a highly technologic arena, with numerous physician-industry interactions. The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recognizes the role of a professional organization to facilitate management of these interactions and the need for periodic review of its COI policy (Policy). To gauge the sentiments of ASCO members and nonphysician stakeholders, two surveys were performed. The first asked ASCO members to estimate opinions of the Policy as it relates to presentation of industry-sponsored research. Respondents were classified as consumers or producers of research material based on demographic responses. A similar survey solicited opinions of nonphysician stakeholders, including patients with cancer, survivors, family members, and advocates. The ASCO survey was responded to by 1,967 members (1% of those solicited); 80% were producers, and 20% were consumers. Most respondents (93% of producers; 66% of consumers) reported familiarity with the Policy. Only a small proportion regularly evaluated COIs for presented research. Members favored increased transparency about relationships over restrictions on presentations of research. Stakeholders (n = 264) indicated that disclosure was "very important" to "extremely important" and preferred written disclosure (77%) over other methods. COI policies are an important and relevant topic among physicians and patient advocates. Methods to simplify the disclosure process, improve transparency, and facilitate responsiveness are critical for COI management.

  13. Climate Change, Public Health, and Policy: A California Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganesh, Chandrakala; Smith, Jason A

    2018-04-01

    Anthropogenic activity will bring immediate changes and disruptions to the global climate with accompanying health implications. Although policymakers and public health advocates are beginning to acknowledge the health implications of climate change, current policy approaches are lagging behind. We proposed that 4 key policy principles are critical to successful policymaking in this arena: mainstreaming, linking mitigation and adaptation policy, applying population perspectives, and coordination. We explored California's progress in addressing the public health challenges of climate change in the San Joaquin Valley as an example. We discussed issues of mental health and climate change, and used the San Joaquin Valley of California as an example to explore policy approaches to health issues and climate change. The California experience is instructive for other jurisdictions.

  14. Climate Change, Public Health, and Policy: A California Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, Jason A.

    2018-01-01

    Anthropogenic activity will bring immediate changes and disruptions to the global climate with accompanying health implications. Although policymakers and public health advocates are beginning to acknowledge the health implications of climate change, current policy approaches are lagging behind. We proposed that 4 key policy principles are critical to successful policymaking in this arena: mainstreaming, linking mitigation and adaptation policy, applying population perspectives, and coordination. We explored California’s progress in addressing the public health challenges of climate change in the San Joaquin Valley as an example. We discussed issues of mental health and climate change, and used the San Joaquin Valley of California as an example to explore policy approaches to health issues and climate change. The California experience is instructive for other jurisdictions. PMID:29072936

  15. Co-financing of Social Policy in the Brazilian Federalism Context of XXI Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Evilasio Salvador

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available The federal arrangement post Constitution comes indicating greater accountability of federal units and municipalities in the implementation of social policies at the same time as it gave greater autonomy in tax collection. From the 2000s, the new rules of social policies in education, health and social assitance has required a greater effort of budgetary resources of the states, the Federal District and municipalities, without the creation or injection of additional tax revenue. In social policies, important legislative changes mark the first decade of this century in Brazil with direct implications on federal arrangement and therefore the co-financing of social policies. The main objective of this article is to analyze the amount of funds invested by the federal government, states, Federal District and municipalities in budget functions: social assistance, health and education, from 2002 to 2012, highlighting the co-financing these social policies. As well as to identify some obstacles created by the fiscal adjustment underway in the country to expand the co-financing of social policies.

  16. Biological contributions to addictions in adolescents and adults: prevention, treatment, and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Potenza, Marc N

    2013-02-01

    Despite significant advances in our understanding of the biological bases of addictions, these disorders continue to represent a huge public health burden that is associated with substantial personal suffering. Efforts to target addictions require consideration of how the improved biological understanding of addictions may lead to improved prevention, treatment, and policy initiatives. In this article, we provide a narrative review of current biological models for addictions with a goal of placing existing data and theories within a translational and developmental framework targeting the advancement of prevention, treatment, and policy strategies. Data regarding individual differences, intermediary phenotypes, and main and interactive influences of genetic and environmental contributions in the setting of developmental trajectories that may be influenced by addictive drugs or behavior indicate complex underpinnings of addictions. Consideration and further elucidation of the biological etiologies of addictions hold significant potential for making important gains and reducing the public health impact of addictions. Copyright © 2013 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  17. English in the multilingual classroom: implications for research, policy and practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janina Brutt-Griffler

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – The shift in the function of English as a medium of instruction together with its use in knowledge construction and dissemination among scholars continue to fuel the global demand for high-level proficiency in the language. These components of the global knowledge economy mean that the ability of nations to produce multilinguals with advanced English proficiency alongside their mastery of other languages has become a key to global competitiveness. That need is helping to drive one of the greatest language learning experiments the world has ever known. It carries significant implications for new research agendas and teacher preparation in applied linguistics. Design/methodology/approach – Evidence-based decision-making, whether it pertains to language policy decisions, instructional practices, teacher professional development or curricula/program building, needs to be based on a rigorous and systematically pursued program of research and assessment. Findings – This paper seeks to advance these objectives by identifying new research foci that underscore a student-centered approach. Originality/value – It introduces a new theoretical construct – multilingual proficiency – to underscore the knowledge that the learner develops in the process of language learning that makes for the surest route to the desired high levels of language proficiency. The paper highlights the advantages of a student-centered approach that focuses on multilingual proficiency for teachers and explores the concomitant conclusions for teacher development.

  18. Patient access to medicines in two countries with similar health systems and differing medicines policies: Implications from a comprehensive literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Babar, Zaheer-Ud-Din; Gammie, Todd; Seyfoddin, Ali; Hasan, Syed Shahzad; Curley, Louise E

    2018-04-13

    Countries with similar health systems but different medicines policies might result in substantial medicines usage differences and resultant outcomes. The literature is sparse in this area. To review pharmaceutical policy research in New Zealand and Australia and discuss differences between the two countries and the impact these differences may have on subsequent medicine access. A review of the literature (2008-2016) was performed to identify relevant, peer-reviewed articles. Systematic searches were conducted across the six databases MEDLINE, PubMed, Science Direct, Springer Links, Scopus and Google Scholar. A further search of journals of high relevance was also conducted. Using content analysis, a narrative synthesis of pharmaceutical policy research influencing access to medicines in Australia and New Zealand was conducted. The results were critically assessed in the context of policy material available via grey literature from the respective countries. Key elements regarding pharmaceutical policy were identified from the 35 research papers identified for this review. Through a content analysis, three broad categories of pharmaceutical policy were found, which potentially could influence patient access to medicines in each country; the national health system, pricing and reimbursement. Within these three categories, 9 subcategories were identified: national health policy, pharmacy system, marketing authorization and regulation, prescription to non-prescription medicine switch, orphan drug policies, generic medicine substitution, national pharmaceutical schedule and health technology assessment, patient co-payment and managed entry agreements. This review systematically evaluated the current literature and identified key areas of difference in policy between Australia and NZ. Australia appears to cover and reimburse a greater number of medicines, while New Zealand achieves much lower prices for medicines than their Australian counterparts and has been more

  19. Living with a carbon allowance: The experiences of Carbon Rationing Action Groups and implications for policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Howell, Rachel A.

    2012-01-01

    Carbon Rationing Action Groups (CRAGs) are grassroots voluntary groups of citizens concerned about climate change, who set themselves a carbon allowance each year and provide support to members seeking to reduce their direct carbon emissions from household energy use and personal transport. Some groups have a financial penalty for carbon emitted in excess of the ration, and systems whereby under-emitters are rewarded using the monies collected from over-emitters. CRAGs therefore operate the nearest scheme in existence to the proposed policy of Personal Carbon Trading (PCT). This paper reports the findings of a study of the opinions and experiences of individuals involved in CRAGs (‘CRAGgers’). In general, interviewees have made significant behavioural changes and emissions reductions, but many would be unwilling to sell spare carbon allowances within a national PCT system. The choices made by CRAGgers with respect to the design and operation of their ‘carbon accounting’, their experiences of reducing fossil fuel energy use, and their views on personal carbon trading at CRAG and national level are discussed. Some possible implications for PCT and other policies are considered, as well as the limitations of CRAGs in informing an understanding of the potential impacts and operation of PCT. - Highlights: ► Reports opinions and experiences of members of Carbon Rationing Action Groups (CRAGs). ► Many interviewees have made significant reductions to their carbon footprint. ► CRAGs offer insights into individuals' experiences of living with a carbon allowance. ► Most CRAGs involve highly motivated individuals and avoid trading. ► They nonetheless offer some insights into Personal Carbon Trading and other policies.

  20. INVESTIGATION OF FISCAL AND BUDGETARY POLICIES BASED ON ECONOMIC THEORIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    EMILIA CAMPEANU

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Empirical analysis of fiscal and budgetary policies cannot be achieved without first knowing how they are viewed in the economic theories. This approach is important to indicate the position and implications of fiscal and budgetary policy tools in the economic theory considering their major differences. Therefore, the paper aims is to investigate the fiscal and budgetary policies based on economic theories such as neoclassical, Keynesian and neo-Keynesian theory in order to indicate their divergent points. Once known these approaches at the economic theory level is easier to establish the appropriate measures taking into consideration the framing of a country economy in a certain pattern. This work was supported from the European Social Fund through Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013, project number POSDRU/89/1.5/S/59184 „Performance and excellence in postdoctoral research in Romanian economics science domain” (contract no. 0501/01.11.2010.

  1. Evidence-based policy-making in the NHS: exploring the interface between research and the commissioning process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harries, U; Elliott, H; Higgins, A

    1999-03-01

    The UK National Health Service (NHS) R&D strategy acknowledges the importance of developing an NHS where practice and policy is more evidence-based. This paper is based on a qualitative study which aimed to identify factors which facilitate or impede evidence-based policy-making at a local level in the NHS. The study involved a literature review and case studies of social research projects which were initiated by NHS health authority managers or general practitioner (GP) fundholders in one region of the NHS. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with lead policy-makers, GPs and researchers working on each of the case studies and analysis of project documentation. An over-arching theme from the analysis was that of the complexity of R&D in purchasing. The two worlds of research and health services management often sit uncomfortably together. For this reason it was not possible to describe a 'blueprint' for successful R&D, although several important issues emerged. These include sharing an appropriate model for research utilization, the importance of relationships in shaping R&D, the importance of influence and commitment in facilitating evidence-based change, and the resourcing of R&D in purchasing. These issues have important implications for the strategic development of R&D as well as for individual project application. Moving beyond the rhetoric of evidence-based policy-making is more likely if both policy-makers and researchers openly acknowledge this complexity and give due concern to the issues outlined.

  2. Technology and international climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clarke, Leon; Calvin, Kate; Edmonds, James A.; Kyle, Page; Wise, Marshall

    2009-01-01

    Both the nature of international climate policy architectures and the development and diffusion of new energy technologies could dramatically influence future costs of reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. This paper explores the implications of interactions between technology availability and performance and international policy architectures for technology choice and the social cost of limiting atmospheric CO2 concentrations to 500 ppm by the year 2095. Key issues explored in the paper include the role of bioenergy production with CO2 capture and storage (CCS), overshoot concentration pathways, and the sensitivity of mitigation costs to policy and technology.

  3. Technology and international climate policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Clarke, Leon; Calvin, Kate; Edmonds, James A.; Kyle, Page; Wise, Marshall

    2009-05-01

    Both the nature of international climate policy architectures and the development and diffusion of new energy technologies could dramatically influence future costs of reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases. This paper explores the implications of interactions between technology availability and performance and international policy architectures for technology choice and the social cost of limiting atmospheric CO2 concentrations to 500 ppm by the year 2095. Key issues explored in the paper include the role of bioenergy production with CO2 capture and storage (CCS), overshoot concentration pathways, and the sensitivity of mitigation costs to policy and technology.

  4. When Regional Innovation Policies Meet Policy Rationales and Evidence:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borrás, Susana; Jordana, Jacint

    regions, and to understand how rationales and evidence can be translated into policy-making. To this purpose, this paper develops a framework to study the extent to which regional innovation policies have changed during the past few years. Since the mid-2000s there has been an important development......In spite of recent advancements regarding regional innovation policy rationales and evidence, there are few analyses about the actual features of existing regional innovation policies. Nevertheless, a policy analysis perspective is important in order to recognise their distinctive patterns across...... of innovation policy rationales, advocating for more specialisation; likewise, greater data availability at the regional level has allowed more sophisticated assessment of innovation performance. Finally, the crisis since 2008 has had ravaging effects in some regions, with job losses and severe economic...

  5. When Regional Innovation Policies Meet Policy Rationales and Evidence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Borrás, Susana; Jordana, Jacint

    2016-01-01

    regions, and to understand how rationales and evidence can be translated into policy-making. To this purpose, this paper develops a framework to study the extent to which regional innovation policies have changed during the past few years. Since the mid-2000s, there has been an important development......In spite of recent advancements regarding regional innovation policy rationales and evidence, there are few analyses about the actual features of existing regional innovation policies. Nevertheless, a policy analysis perspective is important in order to recognize their distinctive patterns across...... of innovation policy rationales, advocating for more specialization; likewise, greater data availability at the regional level has allowed more sophisticated assessment of innovation performance. Finally, the crisis since 2008 has had ravaging effects in some regions, with job losses and severe economic...

  6. Recapitalization, Implications for Educational Policy and Practice and Future Research

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scheerens, Jaap; Scheerens, Jaap

    2017-01-01

    In this concluding chapter conclusions are drawn, and the relevance of the results for educational science and policy and practice are discussed. Illustrations are provided that were drawn from the exploration of policy and practices in the Netherlands. Synthetic answers to the three research

  7. Towards a Demand-Driven Agenda for Place-Based Policies in the EU

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Camilla

    This policy study is the second report on the policy implications of the EU funded project Policy Incentives for the Creation of Knowledge – Methods and Evidence (PICK-ME). All contributions in the project related with place-based policy and cluster building are summarized and reviewed (Work...

  8. Evolutions in food marketing, quantifying the impact, and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cairns, Georgina

    2013-03-01

    A case study on interactive digital marketing examined the adequacy of extant policy controls and their underpinning paradigms to constrain the effects of this rapidly emerging practice. Findings were interactive digital marketing is expanding the strategies available to promote products, brands and consumer behaviours. It facilitates relational marketing; the collection of personal data for marketing; integration of the marketing mix, and provides a platform for consumers to engage in the co-creation of marketing communications. The paradigmatic logic of current policies to constrain youth-oriented food marketing does not address the interactive nature of digital marketing. The evidence base on the effects of HFSS marketing and policy interventions is based on conceptualizations of marketing as a force promoting transactions rather than interactions. Digital technologies are generating rich consumer data. Interactive digital technologies increase the complexity of the task of quantifying the impact of marketing. The rapidity of its uptake also increases urgency of need to identify appropriate effects measures. Independent analysis of commercial consumer data (appropriately transformed to protect commercial confidentiality and personal privacy) would provide evidence sources for policy on the impacts of commercial food and beverage marketing and policy controls. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Social Work Implication on Care and Vulnerability of Older People in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Social Work Implication on Care and Vulnerability of Older People in Tanzania. ... as the national ageing policy, health policy, national social security policy, ... The social workers were found at the district headquarters but also in few numbers.

  10. Role for Occupational Therapy in Community Mental Health: Using Policy to Advance Scholarship of Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahaffey, Lisa; Burson, Kathrine A; Januszewski, Celeste; Pitts, Deborah B; Preissner, Katharine

    2015-01-01

    Occupational therapists must be aware of professional and policy trends. More importantly, occupational therapists must be involved in efforts to influence policy both for the profession and for the people they serve (Bonder, 1987). Using the state of Illinois as an example, this article reviews the policies and initiatives that impact service decisions for persons with psychiatric disabilities as well as the rationale for including occupational therapy in community mental health service provision. Despite challenges in building a workforce of occupational therapists in the mental health system, this article makes the argument that the current climate of emerging policy and litigation combined with the supporting evidence provides the impetus to strengthen mental health as a primary area of practice. Implications for scholarship of practice related to occupational therapy services in community mental health programs for individuals with psychiatric disability are discussed.

  11. Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labonté, Ronald; Gagnon, Michelle L

    2010-08-22

    Global health financing has increased dramatically in recent years, indicative of a rise in health as a foreign policy issue. Several governments have issued specific foreign policy statements on global health and a new term, global health diplomacy, has been coined to describe the processes by which state and non-state actors engage to position health issues more prominently in foreign policy decision-making. Their ability to do so is important to advancing international cooperation in health. In this paper we review the arguments for health in foreign policy that inform global health diplomacy. These are organized into six policy frames: security, development, global public goods, trade, human rights and ethical/moral reasoning. Each of these frames has implications for how global health as a foreign policy issue is conceptualized. Differing arguments within and between these policy frames, while overlapping, can also be contradictory. This raises an important question about which arguments prevail in actual state decision-making. This question is addressed through an analysis of policy or policy-related documents and academic literature pertinent to each policy framing with some assessment of policy practice. The reference point for this analysis is the explicit goal of improving global health equity. This goal has increasing national traction within national public health discourse and decision-making and, through the Millennium Development Goals and other multilateral reports and declarations, is entering global health policy discussion. Initial findings support conventional international relations theory that most states, even when committed to health as a foreign policy goal, still make decisions primarily on the basis of the 'high politics' of national security and economic material interests. Development, human rights and ethical/moral arguments for global health assistance, the traditional 'low politics' of foreign policy, are present in discourse but do

  12. Framing health and foreign policy: lessons for global health diplomacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Labonté Ronald

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Global health financing has increased dramatically in recent years, indicative of a rise in health as a foreign policy issue. Several governments have issued specific foreign policy statements on global health and a new term, global health diplomacy, has been coined to describe the processes by which state and non-state actors engage to position health issues more prominently in foreign policy decision-making. Their ability to do so is important to advancing international cooperation in health. In this paper we review the arguments for health in foreign policy that inform global health diplomacy. These are organized into six policy frames: security, development, global public goods, trade, human rights and ethical/moral reasoning. Each of these frames has implications for how global health as a foreign policy issue is conceptualized. Differing arguments within and between these policy frames, while overlapping, can also be contradictory. This raises an important question about which arguments prevail in actual state decision-making. This question is addressed through an analysis of policy or policy-related documents and academic literature pertinent to each policy framing with some assessment of policy practice. The reference point for this analysis is the explicit goal of improving global health equity. This goal has increasing national traction within national public health discourse and decision-making and, through the Millennium Development Goals and other multilateral reports and declarations, is entering global health policy discussion. Initial findings support conventional international relations theory that most states, even when committed to health as a foreign policy goal, still make decisions primarily on the basis of the 'high politics' of national security and economic material interests. Development, human rights and ethical/moral arguments for global health assistance, the traditional 'low politics' of foreign policy, are

  13. Handling uncertainty in bioenergy policy design – A case study analysis of UK and German bioelectricity policy instruments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Purkus, Alexandra; Röder, Mirjam; Gawel, Erik; Thrän, Daniela; Thornley, Patricia

    2015-01-01

    In designing policies to promote bioenergy, policy makers face challenges concerning uncertainties about the sustainability of bioenergy pathways (including greenhouse gas balances), technology and resource costs, or future energy market framework conditions. New information becomes available with time, but policy adjustments can involve high levels of adaptation costs. To enable an effective steering of technology choices and innovation, policies have to strike a balance between creating a consistent institutional framework, which establishes planning security for investors, and sufficient flexibility to adapt to new information. This paper examines implications of economic theory for handling cost and benefit uncertainty in bioelectricity policy design, focussing on choices between price and quantity instruments, technology differentiation, and policy adjustment. Findings are applied to two case studies, the UK's Renewables Obligation and the German feed-in tariff/feed-in premium scheme. Case study results show the trade-offs that are involved in instrument choice and design – depending on political priorities and a country's specific context, different options can prove more adequate. Combining market-based remuneration with sustainability criteria results in strong incentives for bioenergy producers to search for low-cost solutions; whereas cost-based price instruments with centrally steered technology and feedstock choices offer higher planning security for investors and more direct control for policy makers over what pathways are implemented. Independent of the choice of instrument type and technology differentiation mechanism, findings emphasise the importance of a careful policy design, which determines the exact balance between performance criteria such as cost control, incentive intensity, planning security and adaptive efficiency. - Highlights: • Bioelectricity policy design must deal with simultaneous cost and benefit uncertainty.

  14. Technology Policy and Employment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Bruce

    1983-01-01

    Current social and economic problems in the United Kingdom are placed in the context of long-term trends in labor economics and the impact of new technology. The relationship of technological change and economic recovery is analyzed. Policy implications and the university's role are discussed. (MSE)

  15. Leadership content important in athletic training education with implications for allied health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kutz, Matthew R; Scialli, Joan

    2008-01-01

    A two-phase exploratory and comparative research study using a Delphi technique and a web-based national survey was done to determine leadership content (i.e., theories, styles, or practices) important to include in athletic training education. Eighteen athletic training experts participated in the Delphi technique, followed by 161 athletic trainers completing the national survey. Consensus of experts was reached after two rounds (77% interrater agreement, alpha = 0.80 and alpha = 0.93 per respective round) and identified 31 leadership content items important to include in athletic training education. The national sample then rated importance of each leadership content area for inclusion in four types of athletic training education programs (entry-level baccalaureate, entry-level master's degree, postgraduate certifications, and doctoral degree). The respondents ranked the leadership content in order of importance according to mean (mean = 1.53 +/- 0.84 to 2.55 +/- 0.55; scale, 0-3). Twenty-two content items (63%) were rated at least "very important" (mean > or = 2.0). Exploratory factor analysis established construct validity and organized leadership content by three factors: managerial leadership and knowledge management; leadership theories; and leadership issues, trends, and policies (alpha = 0.84-0.91). Repeated-measures analysis of variance (Sidak post-hoc adjustments) established criterion-related concurrent validity, which found increasing levels of importance as education type progressed (F = 4.88, p = 0.003-32.56, p = 0.000). Adding leadership content within athletic training enhances the professionalization of students, facilitates leadership competency among students and practicing professionals enrolled in postcertification educational programs, and facilitates job placement and role.

  16. Economic and policy implications of the cumulative carbon budget

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, M. R.; Otto, F. E. L.; Otto, A.; Hepburn, C.

    2014-12-01

    The importance of cumulative carbon emissions in determining long-term risks of climate change presents considerable challenges to policy makers. The traditional notion of "total CO2-equivalent emissions", which forms the backbone of agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the European Emissions Trading System, is fundamentally flawed. Measures to reduce short-lived climate pollutants benefit the current generation, while measures to reduce long-lived climate pollutants benefit future generations, so there is no sense in which they can ever be considered equivalent. Debates over the correct metric used to compute CO2-equivalence are thus entirely moot: both long-lived and short-lived emissions will need to be addressed if all generations are to be protected from dangerous climate change. As far as long-lived climate pollutants are concerned, the latest IPCC report highlights the overwhelming importance of carbon capture and storage in determining the cost of meeting the goal of limiting anthropogenic warming to two degrees. We will show that this importance arises directly from the cumulative carbon budget and the role of CCS as the technology of last resort before economic activity needs to be restricted to meet ambitious climate targets. It highlights the need to increase the rate of CCS deployment by orders of magnitude if the option of avoiding two degrees is to be retained. The difficulty of achieving this speed of deployment through conventional incentives and carbon-pricing mechanisms suggests a need for a much more direct mandatory approach. Despite their theoretical economic inefficiency, the success of recent regulatory measures in achieving greenhouse gas emissions reductions in jurisdictions such as the United States suggests an extension of the regulatory approach could be a more effective and politically acceptable means of achieving adequately rapid CCS deployment than conventional carbon taxes or cap-and-trade systems.

  17. Belief in Food Addiction and Obesity-Related Policy Support

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    Objectives This study examines whether belief in the food addiction construct is associated with support for obesity-related policies (e.g., restrictions on foods served in schools and workplace cafeterias, subsidies on fruits and vegetables), while simultaneously examining other factors associated with policy support (e.g., political party affiliation). Design Cross-sectional. Setting Online Community. Participants 200 individuals were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. Measurements Participants (n = 193) responded to three questions about belief in food addiction and a measure evaluating support for 13 obesity-related policy initiatives. Individuals also completed the modified Yale Food Addiction Scale (mYFAS), self-reported height and weight, and provided demographic information (age, gender, race, political party affiliation). Results Belief in food addiction was significantly associated with greater support for obesity-related initiatives, even when accounting for the significant associations of age, gender, and political party. Belief in food addiction and political party both had moderate effect sizes for predicting support for obesity-related policy. There was an interaction between age and belief in food addiction, with significant associations with policy support for both younger and older individuals, though the effect was larger for younger participants. Conclusion The current study provides evidence that belief in food addiction is associated with increased obesity-related policy support, comparable to the influence of one’s political party. Growing evidence for the role of an addictive process in obesity may have important implications for public support of obesity-related policy initiatives. PMID:26808427

  18. Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance in the Food Supply Chain and Its Implications for FDA Policy Initiatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zawack, Kelson; Li, Min; Booth, James G; Love, Will; Lanzas, Cristina; Gröhn, Yrjö T

    2016-09-01

    In response to concerning increases in antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has decided to increase veterinary oversight requirements for antimicrobials and restrict their use in growth promotion. Given the high stakes of this policy for the food supply, economy, and human and veterinary health, it is important to rigorously assess the effects of this policy. We have undertaken a detailed analysis of data provided by the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS). We examined the trends in both AMR proportion and MIC between 2004 and 2012 at slaughter and retail stages. We investigated the makeup of variation in these data and estimated the sample and effect size requirements necessary to distinguish an effect of the policy change. Finally, we applied our approach to take a detailed look at the 2005 withdrawal of approval for the fluoroquinolone enrofloxacin in poultry water. Slaughter and retail showed similar trends. Both AMR proportion and MIC were valuable in assessing AMR, capturing different information. Most variation was within years, not between years, and accounting for geographic location explained little additional variation. At current rates of data collection, a 1-fold change in MIC should be detectable in 5 years and a 6% decrease in percent resistance could be detected in 6 years following establishment of a new resistance rate. Analysis of the enrofloxacin policy change showed the complexities of the AMR policy with no statistically significant change in resistance of both Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli to ciprofloxacin, another second-generation fluoroquinolone. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

  19. Economic Impact Assessment of Alternative Climate Policy Strategies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemfert, C.

    2001-10-01

    This paper investigates the world economic implications of climate change policy strategies, especially the evaluation of impacts by an implementation of Clean Development Mechanisms, Joint Implementation and Emissions trading with a world integrated assessment model. Of special interest in this context are the welfare spill over and competitiveness effects that result from diverse climate policy strategies. In particular, this study elaborates and compares multi gas policy strategies and explores the impacts of the inclusion of sinks. Because of the recent decision of an isolated climate policy strategy by the United States of America, we examine the economic impacts of all world regions by a non cooperative and free rider position of the USA. It turns out that Clean Development Mechanisms and Joint Implementation show evidence of improvement in the economic development in the host countries and increase the share of new applied technologies. The decomposition of welfare effects demonstrates that the competitiveness effect including the spill over effects from trade have the strongest importance because of the intense trade relations between countries. Climatic effects have a significant impact within the next 50 years, cause considerable welfare losses to world regions and will intensify if some highly responsible nations like the USA do not reduce their emissions

  20. Connections with the Schooling Enterprise: Implications for Music Education Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frierson-Campbell, Carol

    2007-01-01

    In this article, the author explores music education counterforces, examining whether and how (a) federal and state education policies can better address the in-service needs of special area teachers, particularly music teachers, in the school setting; and (b) policy organizations in the music education profession (i.e., The National Association…

  1. Studying and evaluating pharmaceutical policy--becoming a part of the policy and consultative process

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Almarsdóttir, Anna Birna; Traulsen, Janine Marie

    2006-01-01

    In this last article in the series the authors focus on the issue of researching and evaluating pharmaceutical policy. The past five articles made an argument for why pharmaceutical policy is important and why it is different from health policy. The evidence base needed for pharmaceutical policym...... culture around pharmaceutical policy. They emphasize the importance of pharmaceutical specialists' (i.e., pharmacists') involvement in pharmaceutical policy analysis and the policy consultative process....

  2. Rethinking Plea Bargaining Policy: The Case of Ethiopia

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Alemu Meheretu Negash

    2017-12-30

    Dec 30, 2017 ... Plea bargaining · Ethiopian Criminal Justice Policy · Trial · Policy justifications of plea bargaining ... For the discussion of this from the Ethiopian context, .... decisions meant to guard defendant's rights, and the absence of guilty plea .... massive case backlogs.36 In theory, this has far-reaching implications in.

  3. INNOVATION POLICY FEATURES IN THE OECD COUNTRIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Anisimov

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the paper is to analyze the innovation policy features in the OECD countries and give the basic framework which defines rights and obligations of intellectual property rights (IPRs owners. Governments play an important role in determining demand-side policies, such as smart regulations, standards, consumer education, taxation and public procurement that can affect innovation. Because demand linked to supply, policies that affect both need to be better harnessed to drive long-term innovation and sustainable growth. Policies to stimulate innovation require taking account of changes in the international economy and the transformation of innovation processes. To transform invention into innovation requires a range of activities. Innovation now encompasses much more than research and development (R&D, albeit R&D remains vitally important. Methodology. The data for the paper is taken from the publications and reports of the European Commission, OECD, World Bank etc. In the paper the descriptive analysis, supported by the quantitative analysis is applied. Results. It is identified that rises in R&D intensity and innovation are driven by such factors: reduction of anti-competitive market regulations, which promotes business R&D and strengthens the incentives for innovations; stable economic conditions and low interest rates which encourage the growth of inno vation activity by creating a low-cost environment for investment in innovation; availability of internal and external finance. Practical implication. It is given the basic legal framework which defines rights and obligations of IPR owners: reviewing exemptions to copyright in the light of the internet’s different uses; clarifying exemptions for research use; promoting an active and open commercialization policy for universities; encouraging the commercialization and monetization of IPR: for example draft licensing contracts, valuation standards; standards: encouraging pooling

  4. The importance of organisational identity for formulating and enacting strategies and policies in retailer buying

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Esbjerg, Lars

    of nine German food retailers, the paper analyses the role of identity in relation to the buying activities. In particular, this paper focuses on how retail buyers discursively construct their professional identities as buyers and the identities of the retail chains they work for and how this influences......This paper explores how retail buyers construct their own professional identities and the organisational identity of the retailers they work for and the importance of these constructions for the formulation and enactment of strategies and policies in the field of fresh pork. Through a case study...

  5. Australian television news coverage of alcohol, health and related policies, 2005 to 2010: implications for alcohol policy advocates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fogarty, Andrea S; Chapman, Simon

    2012-12-01

    To describe television news coverage between 2005 and 2010 of alcohol, health and relevant alcohol-control policies, with a view to informing policy advocacy. A content analysis of all alcohol stories archived by the Australian Health News Research Collaboration. We recorded what triggered a news item, the main topics covered, whether risks to health were communicated, whether alcohol-control policies were featured and which news-actors appeared. We identified 612 stories, where 69.2% were triggered by a particular newsworthy incident or the release of new findings. The most frequently reported alcohol stories were focused on associated harms (30.2%) and 'binge drinking' (19.0%). A majority (75.3%) reported a variety of positive and negative health effects, yet mainly focused on short-term consequences. Combined, 63% mentioned an alcohol-control policy, yet no one particular policy was featured in more than 10% of all stories. The most commonly featured news-actors included public-health professionals (50.0%), members of affected communities (28.4%) and government representatives (24.3%) Problems related to alcohol were well-established foci of news attention and reportage and covered a broad spectrum of issues related to public health goals, yet less coverage centred on long-term health consequences or effective policy solutions. Future policy advocacy could focus on moving the debate away from simple problem definition to better communication of long-term health risks, existing policies, and evidence of their effectiveness and arguments for their adoption. Future research might consider audience understanding of the information. © 2012 The Authors. ANZJPH © 2012 Public Health Association of Australia.

  6. Energy saving in Swedish households. The (relative) importance of environmental attitudes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinsson, Johan; Lundqvist, Lennart J.; Sundstroem, Aksel

    2011-01-01

    The objectives for energy saving in the housing sector set by recent Swedish energy and climate policies are quite demanding. This article uses nation-wide Swedish survey data from 2004 to 2007 to explore the potential for achieving those targets. Earlier findings that socio-economic characteristics such as age, housing type and income are strongly linked to higher propensities to save on heating and hot water usage are confirmed by ordered logistic regression models. However, general environmental attitudes are also found to play a crucial role. When assessing the relative importance of socio-economic factors and environmental attitudes, the effect on energy saving is generally greater for the former than the latter. In addition, important interaction effects are identified. In relative terms, the effect of environmental attitudes is clearly stronger among households in apartment blocks than among those in detached housing, and stronger among households with higher income than among those with lower income. We end by discussing the implications for the selection and targeting of policy measures to tap the energy savings potential in the population. - Highlights: → We use Swedish survey data to analyse the determinants of household energy saving. → Housing type plays a crucial role for individuals' propensity to save energy. → Environmental attitudes are clearly more important in high-income households. → Environmental attitudes are clearly more important for people in apartment blocks.

  7. Understanding health policy leaders' training needs.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carey Roth Bayer

    Full Text Available We assessed the training needs of health policy leaders and practitioners across career stages; identified areas of core content for health policy training programs; and, identified training modalities for health policy leaders.We convened a focus group of health policy leaders at varying career stages to inform the development of the Health Policy Leaders' Training Needs Assessment tool. We piloted and distributed the tool electronically. We used descriptive statistics and thematic coding for analysis.Seventy participants varying in age and stage of career completed the tool. "Cost implications of health policies" ranked highest for personal knowledge development and "intersection of policy and politics" ranked highest for health policy leaders in general. "Effective communication skills" ranked as the highest skill element and "integrity" as the highest attribute element. Format for training varied based on age and career stage.This study highlighted the training needs of health policy leaders personally as well as their perceptions of the needs for training health policy leaders in general. The findings are applicable for current health policy leadership training programs as well as those in development.

  8. California's greenhouse gas law, Assembly Bill 1493: Deficiencies, alternatives, and implications for regulatory climate policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johnson, Kenneth C.

    2007-01-01

    California's Air Resources Board has finalized regulations implementing Assembly Bill (AB) 1493, which requires 'maximum feasible and cost-effective reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles'. By 2030, when California's light-duty vehicle stock has been substantially replaced by regulation-compliant vehicles, total emissions from regulated vehicles are projected to be reduced by 27% relative to 'business-as-usual', but are nevertheless expected to be 8.7% higher than 2004 emissions. If an 8.7% increase truly represents the 'maximum feasible and cost-effective' emissions reduction from transportation vehicles, then global climate stabilization clearly will not be attained within limits of 'feasibility' and 'cost-effectiveness', and climate sustainability will only be achievable through severely draconian measures. On the other hand, if significantly greater emissions reduction would be feasible and cost-effective, then the AB 1493 regulations fail to satisfy the legislative policy mandate and the task is to find a regulatory mechanism that will. The thesis of this paper is that the regulations do not satisfy the mandate for several reasons, the most important being the conflicting policy objectives of the 'cost-constrained' legislative mandate and the 'quantity-constrained', standard-based regulatory instrument. An alternative policy instrument that would better fit legislative policy and environmental objectives would be a feebate-type system (although not necessarily a conventional vehicle feebate)

  9. The Bank Lending Channel of Monetary Policy Transmission in A Dual Banking System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mansor H. Ibrahim

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the impact of monetary policy on bank lending in a dual banking system, i.e. Malaysia. Making use of an unbalanced panel data set of 38 Islamic and conventional banks covering mostly 2001-2014, we find evidence that variations in monetary policy affect lending growth of Islamic banks and, to some extent, conventional banks. The results further reveal that, in conformity with studies using aggregate Islamic financing data, the Islamic financing growth reacts more strongly to monetary policy changes. Moreover, we find no marked difference between full-fledged Islamic banks and Islamic bank subsidiaries in their responses to monetary policy. While we also document some evidence indicating the significant relations between bank-specific variables and lending growth, the bank-specific variables do not seem to have any role in impacting the potency of the bank lending channel. Finally, we find that lending growth is directly related to economic growth, suggesting procyclicality of bank lending/financing in Malaysia. These results have important implications for effective implementation of monetary policy and further development of Islamic banks in Malaysia.

  10. Consumer energy conservation policy. An analytical approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDougall, G.H.G.; Ritchie, J.R.B.

    1984-06-01

    To capture the potential energy savings available in the consumer sector an analytical approach to conservation policy is proposed. A policy framework is described and the key constructs including a payoff matrix analysis and a consumer impact analysis are discussed. Implications derived from the considerable amount of prior consumer research are provided to illustrate the effect on the design and implementation of future programmes. The result of this analytical approach to conservation policy - economic stability and economic security - are goals well worth pursuing.

  11. Energy security of supply under EU climate policies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Groenenberg, H.; Wetzelaer, B.J.H.W.

    2006-12-01

    The implications of various climate policies for the security of supply in the EU-25 were investigated. The security of supply was quantified using the Supply/Demand (S/D) Index. This index aggregates quantitative information on a country's energy system into one single figure. It takes a value between 0 and 100, with higher values indicating a more secure energy system. The S/D Index was calculated for the year 2020 based on the information in a series of policy scenarios, including a baseline (S/D Index 50.7), an energy efficiency scenario (53.8), two renewable energy scenarios (52.6 and 53.3) and two scenarios with combined policies (55.9 and 55.6).The S/D Index proved a useful indicator for assessing the implications of climate policies for the security of supply. As climate policies become more stringent, CO2 index fall, and the S/D index increases. The magnitude of the changes in the two indices is not always similar however. Major falls in CO2 indices in the order of 20% for two scenarios with combined energy efficiency and renewable energy polices lead to less noteworthy improvements in the associated S/D indices. Nevertheless, this combination of policies leads to the greatest improvements in the security of supply

  12. Understanding Standards and Assessment Policy in Science Education: Relating and Exploring Variations in Policy Implementation by Districts and Teachers in Wisconsin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kevin John Boyett

    Current literature shows that many science teachers view policies of standards-based and test-based accountability as conflicting with research-based instruction in science education. With societal goals of improving scientific literacy and using science to spur economic growth, improving science education policy becomes especially important. To understand perceived influences of science education policy, this study looked at three questions: 1) How do teachers perceive state science standards and assessment and their influence on curriculum and instruction? 2) How do these policy perspectives vary by district and teacher level demographic and contextual differences? 3) How do district leaders' interpretations of and efforts within these policy realms relate to teachers' perceptions of the policies? To answer these questions, this study used a stratified sample of 53 districts across Wisconsin, with 343 middle school science teachers responding to an online survey; science instructional leaders from each district were also interviewed. Survey results were analyzed using multiple regression modeling, with models generally predicting 8-14% of variance in teacher perceptions. Open-ended survey and interview responses were analyzed using a constant comparative approach. Results suggested that many teachers saw state testing as limiting use of hands-on pedagogy, while standards were seen more positively. Teachers generally held similar views of the degree of influence of standards and testing regardless of their experience, background in science, credentials, or grade level taught. District SES, size and past WKCE scores had some limited correlations to teachers' views of policy, but teachers' perceptions of district policies and leadership consistently had the largest correlation to their views. District leadership views of these state policies correlated with teachers' views. Implications and future research directions are provided. Keywords: science education, policy

  13. On the use of Standardized Drought Indices under decadal climate variability: Critical assessment and drought policy implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Núñez, J.; Rivera, D.; Oyarzún, R.; Arumí, J. L.

    2014-09-01

    Since the recent High Level Meeting on National Drought Policy held in Geneva in 2013, a greater concern about the creation and adaptation of national drought monitoring systems is expected. Consequently, backed by international recommendations, the use of Standardized Drought Indices (SDI), such as the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), as an operational basis of drought monitoring systems has been increasing in many parts of the world. Recommendations for the use of the SPI, and consequently, those indices that share its properties, do not take into account the limitations that this type of index can exhibit under the influence of multidecadal climate variability. These limitations are fundamentally related to the lack of consistency among the operational definition expressed by this type of index, the conceptual definition with which it is associated and the political definition it supports. Furthermore, the limitations found are not overcome by the recommendations for their application. This conclusion is supported by the long-term study of the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI) in the arid north-central region of Chile, under the influence of multidecadal climate variability. The implications of the findings of the study are discussed with regard to their link to aspects of drought policy in the cases of Australia, the United States and Chile.

  14. Multinational firms and the internationalization of green R&D: A review of the evidence and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Noailly, Joëlle; Ryfisch, David

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents novel empirical evidence on the internationalization of green R&D by multinational firms (MNCs), as measured by patents data. Using data on inventors’ addresses for the set of 1200 MNCs firms patenting in green technologies over the 2004–2009 period, we find that about 17% of green patents result from MNCs R&D investments conducted outside their home countries. MNCs tend to locate their foreign green R&D activities in other OECD markets and in China, in particular in lightings and solar technologies. The empirical analysis reveals that the probability of conducting green R&D abroad increases with the host country’s stringency of environmental regulation, market size and (green) R&D intensity. Also, relatively lower wages for scientists and engineers, and stronger protection for intellectual property rights in the host country increase the likelihood for MNCs to offshore green R&D. The paper concludes by discussing the policy implications of this changing global innovation landscape. -- Highlights: •Green R&D is becoming increasingly globalized. •17% of the green patents of our sample of 1200 MNCs have been invented abroad. •Most green R&D offshoring takes place among OECD countries, and towards China. •Environmental policy is key to attracting multinationals’ green offshoring activities

  15. The Importance of Identity in Policy: The Case for and of Children

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Catherine

    2009-01-01

    This article draws out one of the core reasons why children should be conceived as active agents in research, particularly policy-related research. The main thesis is that policy inevitably projects and, to an extent, constitutes the subject identities of its intended objects--in this case, that of "children". Drawing on several bodies of…

  16. Advancing the Field Elder Abuse: Future Directions and Policy Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, XinQi

    2012-01-01

    Elder abuse, sometime called elder mistreatment or elder maltreatment, includes psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, neglect (caregiver neglect and self-neglect), and financial exploitation. Evidence suggests that 1 out of 10 older adult experiences some form of elder abuse, and only 1 of out 25 cases are actually reported to social services agencies. At the same time, elder abuse is associated with significant morbidity and premature mortality. Despite these findings, there is a great paucity in research, practice, and policy dealing with the pervasive issues of elder abuse. Through my experiences as a American Political Sciences Association Congressional Policy Fellow/Health and Aging Policy Fellow working with Administration on Community Living (ACL) (Previously known at Administration on Aging (AoA)) for the last two years, I will describe the major functions of the ACL; and highlight on two major pieces of federal legislation: The Older Americans Act (OAA) and the Elder Justice Act (EJA). Moreover, I will highlight major research gaps and future policy relevant research directions for the field of elder abuse. PMID:23110488

  17. The Economics of Wind Power in China and Policy Implications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zifa Liu

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available In 2009, the implementation of feed-in tariff (FIT and attractive public subsidies for onshore wind farms aroused great investment enthusiasm and spurred remarkable development of wind power in China. Meanwhile, rapid learning-by-doing has significantly cut down the cost of wind turbines and the capital cost of wind farms as well. Therefore, it is the right time to examine the appropriateness of the existing FIT policy for wind power in China. In this paper, we employ the analytical framework for levelized cost of electricity (LCOE to model the generation cost of wind power. Results show that the existing FIT policy is attractive to investors, but serious curtailment and turbine quality issues could make wind power unprofitable. Meanwhile, rapid substantial decreases in the cost of wind power have made it competitive to coal power in 2013, implying that it is possible and necessary to reform the FIT policy for new wind farms. In the future, energy policies for onshore wind power in China could be concentrated on reducing the integration cost, so as to reduce the overall system cost.

  18. The impact of uncertainty on optimal emission policies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botta, Nicola; Jansson, Patrik; Ionescu, Cezar

    2018-05-01

    We apply a computational framework for specifying and solving sequential decision problems to study the impact of three kinds of uncertainties on optimal emission policies in a stylized sequential emission problem.We find that uncertainties about the implementability of decisions on emission reductions (or increases) have a greater impact on optimal policies than uncertainties about the availability of effective emission reduction technologies and uncertainties about the implications of trespassing critical cumulated emission thresholds. The results show that uncertainties about the implementability of decisions on emission reductions (or increases) call for more precautionary policies. In other words, delaying emission reductions to the point in time when effective technologies will become available is suboptimal when these uncertainties are accounted for rigorously. By contrast, uncertainties about the implications of exceeding critical cumulated emission thresholds tend to make early emission reductions less rewarding.

  19. Anaerobic digestion for bioenergy production: Global status, environmental and techno-economic implications, and government policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vasco-Correa, Juliana; Khanal, Sami; Manandhar, Ashish; Shah, Ajay

    2018-01-01

    Anaerobic digestion (AD) is a mature technology that can transform organic matter into a bioenergy source - biogas (composed mainly of methane and carbon dioxide), while stabilizing waste. AD implementation around the world varies significantly, from small-scale household digesters in developing countries to large farm-scale or centralized digesters in developed countries. These differences in the implementation of AD technology are due to a complex set of conditions, including economic and environmental implications of the AD technology, and stimulus provided by a variety of polices and incentives related to agricultural systems, waste management, and renewable energy production. This review explores the current status of the AD technology worldwide and some of the environmental, economic and policy-related drivers that have shaped the implementation of this technology. The findings show that the regulations and incentives have been the primary factor influencing the steady growth of this technology, in both developing and developed countries. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. How Tight is Too Tight? A Look at Welfare Implications of Distortionary Policies in Uzbekistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Edward R. Gemayel

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Since independence in 1991, Uzbekistan has pursued a gradual approach to the transition from planned to market economy. This approach relied heavily on trade controls, directed credit, and large public investments. In addition, a number of financial sector measures were instituted that distorted resource allocation and increased transaction costs. As a result, while possibly preventing the contraction of output in the early 1990s, these policies led to disappointing economic outcomes and social conditions later on. The paper reviews the underlying distortions and presents survey-based evidence to support their existence and their detrimental impact on economic activity. Looking forward, the paper - using a representative agent framework to model existing financial sector distortions - offers some guidance regarding the likely implications of eliminating these distortions on key aggregate variables. It suggests that the elimination of these distortions will be welfare enhancing and will lead to higher levels of investment and capital stock.

  1. Making health policy: networks in research and policy after 1945.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berridge, Virginia

    2005-01-01

    Science and policy in health and medicine have interacted in new ways in Britain since 1945. The relationship between research and policy has a history. The changing role of social medicine, the rise of health services research and "customer contractor" policies in government have been important. The relationship between research and policy has been analysed by different schools of thought. This chapter categorises them as several groups: "evidence-based", "journalism", "sociology of scientific knowledge" and "science policy studies". The chapters in the book illuminate aspects of these changing relationships. The role of chronic disease epidemiology, of new networks in public health, of media-focussed activism, and of health technology and its advocates have been more important than political interest.

  2. Welfare reform and women's health: review of the literature and implications for state policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Campo, P; Rojas-Smith, L

    1998-01-01

    In August 1996, the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193) was signed into law, ending a 60-year federal entitlement guaranteeing families some basic level of assistance during periods of economic hardship. Several components of this new legislation have the potential to impact upon the health and well-being of women and children. We summarize studies examining the relationship between welfare participation and physical and mental well-being of women and what is known about the effects of poverty on health; the patterns of employment among welfare participants and the health consequences of low-wage work on women; domestic violence among welfare recipients; the potential health consequences of the provisions of the new Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program for women's and adolescent health; and the consequences of the new TANF provisions for the health and well-being of immigrant women. We discuss the implications for policy makers in monitoring and minimizing the negative impact of welfare reforms on women's health and well-being.

  3. Health Care Organizations and Policy Leadership: Perspectives on Nonsmoker-Only Hiring Policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDaniel, Patricia A; Malone, Ruth E

    2018-02-01

    To explore employers' decisions to base hiring policies on tobacco or nicotine use and community perspectives on such policies, and analyze the implications for organizational identity, community engagement, and health promotion. From 2013 to 2016, 11 executives from six health care organizations and one non-health-care organization with nonsmoker-only hiring policies were interviewed about why and how their policies were created and implemented, concerns about the policies, and perceptions of employee and public reactions. Focus groups were conducted with community members (n = 51) who lived in or near cities where participating employers were based, exploring participants' opinions about why an employer would stop hiring smokers and their support (or not) for such a policy. Most employers excluded from employment those using all forms of nicotine. Several explained their adoption of the policy as a natural extension of a smoke-free campus and as consistent with their identity as health care organizations. They regarded the policy as promoting health. No employer mentioned engaging in a community dialogue before adopting the policy or reported efforts to track the policy's impact on rejected applicants. Community members understood the cost-saving appeal of such policies, but most opposed them. They made few exceptions for health care organizations. Policy decisions undertaken by health care organizations have influence beyond their immediate setting and may establish precedents that others follow. Nonsmoker-only hiring policies may fit with a health care organization's institutional identity but may not be congruent with community values or promote public health.

  4. Three Essays on Energy Efficiency and Environmental Policies in Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gamtessa, Samuel

    2011-09-01

    This thesis is organized into five Chapters. In Chapter 1, we provide an introduction. In Chapter 2, we present a study on residential energy-efficiency retrofits in Canada. We describe the EnerGuide for Houses data and model household decisions to invest in energy-efficiency retrofits. Our results show that government financial incentives have important positive effects. The decision to invest in energy-efficiency retrofits is positively related to potential energy cost savings and negatively related to the costs of the retrofits. We find that household characteristics such as the age composition of household members are important factors. All else remaining constant, low income households are more likely to undertake energy-efficiency retrofits. In the third Chapter, we present our study on price-induced energy efficiency improvements in Canadian manufacturing. Our study employs a new approach to the estimation of price-induced energy efficiency improvements and the results have important empirical and policy implications. In the fourth chapter, we present our study on the implications of the "shale gas revolution" on Alberta greenhouse gas emission abatement strategy. Given that the strategy is centered on deployment of CCS technologies, we analyze the effects of the declines in natural gas price on CCS deployment in the electricity sector. We use the CIMS simulation model to simulate various policy scenarios under high and low natural gas price assumptions. Comparison of the results shows that CCS market penetration in the electricity sector is very minimal in the low natural gas price scenario even when a 50% cost subsidy is applied. Accordingly, there is little gain from subsidizing CCS given the "shale gas revolution." We provide a few concluding remarks in Chapter 5.

  5. The state of Health in All policies (HiAP) in the European Union: potential and pitfalls.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koivusalo, Meri

    2010-06-01

    Health in All Policies (HiAP) was formally legitimated as a European Union (EU) approach in 2006. It resulted from more long-term efforts to enhance action on considering health and health policy implications of other policies, as well as recognition that European-level policies affect health systems and scope for health-related regulation at national level. However, implementation of HiAP has remained a challenge. European-level efforts to use health impact assessment to benefit public health and health systems have not become strengthened by the new procedures. And, as a result of the Lisbon Treaty, European-level policy-making is expected to become more important in shaping national policies. HiAP has at European level remained mostly as rhetoric, but legitimate health arguments and provides policy space for health articulation within EU policy-making. HiAP is a broader approach than health impact assessment and at European level requires consideration of mechanisms that recognise the nature of European policy-making, as well as extending from administrative tools to increased transparency, accountability and scope for health and health policy-related arguments within political decision-making in the EU.

  6. Observations on quality senior health business: success patterns and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Ya-Ting; Hsu, Yi-Hsin Elsa; Chen, Ya-Mei; Su, Shyi; Chang, Yao-Mao; Iqbal, Usman; Yujiro, Handa; Lin, Neng-Pai

    2016-04-01

    Population ageing is a global issue that affects almost every country. Most ageing researches focused on demand side and studies related to supply side were relatively scarce. This study selected quality enterprises focus on ageing health and analysed their patterns on providing quality services successfully. Our study selected quality senior health enterprises and explored their success patterns through face-to-face semi-structured in-depth interviews with CEO of each enterprise in 2013. Thirty-three quality senior health enterprises in Taiwan. Thirty-three CEO's of enterprises were interviewed individually. None. Core values and vision, historical development, organization structure, services/products provided, delivering channels, customer relationships and further development strategies. Our results indicated success patterns for senior enterprises that there were meeting diversified lifestyles and substitutive needs for the elderly and their caregivers, providing a total solution for actual/virtual integration and flexible one-stop shopping services. We classified these enterprises by used degree of clicks-and-mortar of services and residing situation of the elderly. Industry characteristics and policy implications were summarized. Our observations will serve as a primary evidenced base for enterprises developing their senior market, and also for opening dialogue between customers and enterprises to facilitate valuable opportunities for co-creation between the supply and demand sides. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press in association with the International Society for Quality in Health Care; all rights reserved.

  7. The important role of food composition in policies and programmes for better public health: A South African case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schönfeldt, Hettie C; Hall, Nicolette; Pretorius, B

    2018-01-01

    Most governments have committed to the set of Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations (UN) to be achieved by 2030. Subsequently the governments have drafted, or are in process of drafting, policies and programmes which aim to answer to these global requests. South Africa provides a unique case study: despite economic growth, undernutrition has not improved when compared to other industrialised nations, while at the same time, diet-related non-communicable diseases and obesity have exponentially increased. Access to healthy food is a constitutional right of all South Africans, and towards increasing food security and improving population health, various policies, programmes and regulations have been developed and implemented by the government to rectify the situation. The paper presents an overview of food composition within these public health policies, programmes and regulations and unpacks the important role of accurate food composition data. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Conceptualising the policy practice and behavioural research relationship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yeatman Heather

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Policy is frequently identified in the behavioural nutrition and physical activity research literature as a necessary component of effective research and practice. The purpose of this commentary is to promote a dialogue to contribute towards the further development of conceptual understandings and theories of the relationship between policy practice and behavioural research and how these two activities might work synergistically to improve public health outcomes. Methods Drawing on policy and public health literature, this commentary presents a a conceptual model of the interaction and mediation between nutrition and physical activity-relevant policy and behavioural nutrition and physical activity research, environments, behaviours and public health implications. The selling of food in school canteens in several Australian states is discussed to illustrate components of the relationship and the interactions among its components. Results The model depicts a relationship that is interdependent and cyclic. Policy contributes to the relationship through its role in shaping environmental and personal-cognitive determinants of behaviours and through these determinants it can induce behaviour change. Behavioural research describes behaviours, identifies determinants of behaviour change and therefore helps inform policy development and monitor and evaluate its impact. Conclusion The model has implications for guiding behavioural research and policy practice priorities to promote public health outcomes. In particular, we propose that policy practice and behavioural research activities can be strengthened by applying to each other the theories from the scientific disciplines informing these respective activities. Behavioural science theories can be applied to help understand policy-making and assist with disseminating research into policy and practice. In turn, policy science theories can be applied to support the 'institutionalisation

  9. Current state of seagrass ecosystem services: Research and policy integration

    KAUST Repository

    Ruiz-Frau, A.

    2017-10-12

    Seagrasses contribute to the maintenance of human wellbeing. However certain aspects of their role as ecosystem service (ES) providers remain understudied. Here, we synthesise the state of seagrass ES (SGES) research and policy implications. Additionally, we recommend ways in which SGES research can be integrated in to policy design, by drawing lessons from the case of Blue Carbon (BC). SGES research suffers from three main biases: a geographical bias, SGES has been restricted to chartered seagrass areas; a type of service research bias, provisioning and regulating services have received extensive attention while cultural services remain understudied; a type of discipline bias, the ecological aspects of SGES have been well documented while economic and social aspects remain in comparison understudied. These are particularly important, as an understanding of the social and economic considerations of the provision of ES is fundamental to facilitate its integration into policy frameworks. Lessons drawn from the operationalization process of BC show the reoccurrence of certain aspects that have enabled the integration of BC into policy. These aspects are grouped under 4 different categories. From the analysis of these elements we draw lessons that could facilitate the operationalization of other ecosystem services and their incorporation into management policy frameworks.

  10. Parental Leave Policies and Pediatric Trainees in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixit, Avika; Feldman-Winter, Lori; Szucs, Kinga A

    2015-08-01

    The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) states that each residency program should have a clearly delineated, written policy for parental leave. Parental leave has important implications for trainees' ability to achieve their breastfeeding goals. This study aimed to measure the knowledge and awareness among members of the AAP Section on Medical Students, Residents, and Fellowship Trainees (SOMSRFT) regarding parental leave. An online survey was emailed to SOMSRFT members in June 2013. Quantitative data are presented as percentage of respondents. Awareness of leave policies was analyzed based on having children and the sex of respondents. Nine hundred twenty-seven members responded to the survey. Among those with children, 40% needed to extend the duration of their training in order to have longer maternity leave, 44% of whom did so in order to breastfeed longer. Thirty percent of respondents did not know if their program had a written, accessible policy for parental leave. Trainees without children and men were more unaware of specific aspects of parental leave such as eligibility for the Family Medical Leave Act as compared to women and those with children. Despite the fact that United States national policies support parental leave during pediatrics training, and a majority of programs comply, trainees' awareness regarding these policies needs improvement. © The Author(s) 2015.

  11. Evolution of the German energy policy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Audigier, Pierre

    2013-01-01

    The author first recalls the main events and decisions regarding the German policy from 1998 to 2011, and notably the decisions related to nuclear energy. He gives the main data of the German energy system (production capacity, production of the different primary sources) and indicates the main characteristics and assumptions of the 2011 turnaround (decision of shutting down 17 nuclear plants by 2022, objectives in terms of renewable energy production and share, of electricity consumption, and of greenhouse gas emission). The author then presents how the law on renewable energies (EEG) operates, indicates energy prices in Germany for individuals and industries and CO 2 emissions per electric sector, and compares them with the French ones. He outlines the need of construction of new energy transport lines, and identifies and comments other implications of the intermittent character of renewable energies in terms of electricity market organisation, of construction of combustion-based thermal plants, and of flexibility requirements. He discusses successes and difficulties of this evolution of energy policy, and the implication of this new policy for the European Union and for border countries

  12. Federalism and decentralization: impact on international and Brazilian health policies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leite, Valéria Rodrigues; de Vasconcelos, Cipriano Maia; Lima, Kenio Costa

    2011-01-01

    This article discusses the implications of decentralization in the light of international and Brazilian federalism, and its effects on public health policy. In a comparative analysis among countries, the authors find there is no single model; rather, each country has a unique structure of institutions and norms that have important implications for the operation of its health system. Brazil shares some similarities with other countries that have adopted a decentralized system and is assuming features ever closer to U.S. federalism, with a complex web of relationships. The degree of inequality among Brazilian municipalities and states, along with the budgetary imbalances caused by the minimal levels of resource utilization, undermines Brazil's constitutional principles and, consequently, its federalism. To ensure the constitutional mandate in Brazil, it is essential, as in other countries, to create a stable source of funds and increase the volume and efficiency of spending. Also important are investing in the training of managers, improving information systems, strengthening the principles of autonomy and interdependence, and defining patterns of cooperation within the federation.

  13. On the Implications of Knowledge Bases for Regional Innovation Policies in Germany

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hassink Robert

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Regional innovation policies have been criticised for being too standardised, one-size-fits-all and place-neutral in character. Embedded in these debates, this paper has two aims: first, to analyse whether industries with different knowledge bases in regions in Germany have different needs for regional innovation policies, and secondly, to investigate whether knowledge bases can contribute to the fine-tuning of regional innovation policies in particular and to a modern, tailor-made, place-based regional innovation policy in general. It concludes that although needs differ due to differences in knowledge bases, those bases are useful only to a limited extent in fine-tuning regional innovation policies

  14. Policy space for health and trade and investment agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koivusalo, Meri

    2014-06-01

    New trade agreements affect how governments can regulate for health both within health systems and in addressing health protection, promotion and social determinants of health in other policies. It is essential that those responsible for health understand the impacts of these trade negotiations and agreements on policy space for health at a national and local level. While we know more about implications from negotiations concerning intellectual property rights and trade in goods, this paper provides a screening checklist for less-discussed areas of domestic regulation, services, investment and government procurement. As implications are likely to differ on the basis of the organization and structures of national health systems and policy priorities, the emphasis is on finding out key provisions as well as on how exemptions and exclusions can be used to ensure policy space for health. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  15. Agricultural policy schemes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Henning Otte

    2016-01-01

    Agricultural support is a very important element in agricultural policy in many countries. Agricultural support is basically an instrument to meet the overall objectives of the agricultural policy – objectives set by society. There are a great number of instruments and ways of intervention...... in agricultural policy and they have different functions and impacts. Market price support and deficiency payments are two very important instruments in agricultural policy; however, they belong to two different support regimes or support systems. Market price support operates in the so-called high price system...

  16. Renewable energy and policy options in an integrated ASEAN electricity market: Quantitative assessments and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Youngho; Li, Yanfei

    2015-01-01

    Energy market integration (EMI) in the ASEAN region is a promising solution to relieve the current immobilization of its renewable energy resources and would serve the fast increasing demand for electricity in the region. EMI could be further extended with coordinated policies in carbon pricing, renewable energy portfolio standards (RPS), and feed-in-tariffs (FIT) in the ASEAN countries. Using a linear dynamic programming model, this study quantitatively assesses the impacts of EMI and the above-mentioned policies on the development of renewable energy in the power generation sector of the region, and the carbon emissions reduction achievable with these policies. According to our results, EMI is expected to significantly promote the adoption of renewable energy. Along with EMI, FIT appears to be more cost-effective than RPS and is recommended for the ASEAN region, albeit political barriers for policy coordination among the countries might be a practical concern. In addition, an RPS of 30% electricity from renewable sources by 2030, which is considered politically a “low-hanging fruit”, would achieve moderate improvements in carbon emissions reductions and renewable energy development, while incurring negligible increases in the total cost of electricity. -- Highlights: •Energy market integration (EMI), carbon pricing, RPS, and FIT are examined for ASEAN. •EMI is a promising and feasible solution to promote renewable energy for ASEAN. •Along with EMI, FIT appears to be more cost-effective than RPS for ASEAN. •RPS of 30% by 2030 appears to be reasonable and feasible for ASEAN. •Coordinating FIT and RPS policies under EMI among ASEAN is advised

  17. From Data to Policy: An Undergraduate Program in Research and Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuoco, Rebecca; Blum, Arlene; Peaslee, Graham F.

    2012-01-01

    To bridge the gap between science and policy, future scientists should receive training that incorporates policy implications into the design, analysis, and communication of research. We present a student Science and Policy course for undergraduate science majors piloted at the University of California, Berkeley in the summer of 2011. During this…

  18. AN APROACH OF LOCAL FINANCIAL AUTONOMY AND IMPLICATION OVER SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE KNOWLEDGE SOCIETY

    OpenAIRE

    Elena CIGU

    2014-01-01

    Local governments play an important role in sustainable development processes based on their administrative and financial autonomy. Policies and programs undertaken to assure sustainable development by local governments produce benefits for persistence of the knowledge society. This paper will try to highlight the implication of local financial autonomy over sustainable development of local communities in a knowledge society, based especially on local financial autonomy theory approach.

  19. Correlation between Government and Economic Growth –Fiscal Policy during the Transition in Albania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MSc. Xhenet Syka

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we tried to analyze some aspects of fiscal policy in our country, without pretending to give our own sample. Fiscal policy is the use of government expenditures and taxes which affect economic activity. Determination of fiscal policy in a given year takes into account the time virtually the past (current socio-economic status and the implications for the future (fiscal sustainability. In general the cases dealt the role fiscal policy plays toward economic growth. The analysis many focused both in the theoretical treatment as well as the role that fiscal policy has played in our country, going even further in some suggestions for the future. The most important issue was addressed in the long-term fiscal policy view, fiscal sustainability. In the final everything is addressed to the role of fiscal policy on social issues. The role that fiscal policy should play in economic and social development has long been a controversial issue and is still different among economists. While a restrictive fiscal policy means increasing taxes and cut government spending. Fiscal policy may be expansionary or restrictive. An expansionary fiscal policy means a reduction of direct and indirect taxes and increased government expenditures. Choose between two types of fiscal policy is not an easy decision, both in terms of the current state of the economy, as well as political decisions.

  20. Consumer energy - conservation policy: an analytical approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    McDougall, G.H.G.; Ritchie, J.R.B.

    1984-06-01

    To capture the potential energy savings available in the consumer sector an analytical approach to conservation policy is proposed. A policy framework is described, and the key constructs including a payoff matrix analysis and a consumer impact analysis are discussed. Implications derived from the considerable amount of prior consumer research are provided to illustrate the effect on the design and implementation of future programs. The result of this analytical approach to conservation policy (economic stability and economic security) are goals well worth pursuing. 13 references, 2 tables.