Continuing medical education and pharmaceutical industry involvement: An evaluation of policies adopted by Canadian professional medical associations.

Science.gov (United States)

Shnier, Adrienne; Lexchin, Joel

2017-01-01

Professional medical associations (PMAs) play a crucial role in providing accredited continuing medical education (CME) to physicians. Funding from the pharmaceutical industry may lead to biases in CME. This study examines publicly available policies on CME, adopted by Canadian PMAs as of December 2015. Policies were evaluated using an original scoring tool comprising 21 items, two questions about PMAs' general and CME funding from industry, and three enforcement measures. We assessed 236 policies adopted by Canadian PMAs (range, 0 to 32). Medical associations received summative scores that ranged from 0% to 49.2% of the total possible points (maximum score = 63). Twenty-seven associations received an overall score of 0%. The highest mean scores were achieved in the areas of industry involvement in planning CME activities (mean: 1.1/3), presence of a review process for topics of CME activities (mean: 1.1/3), content review for balanced information (mean: 1.1/3), and responsibility of distribution of funds (mean: 1.0/3). The lowest mean scores were achieved in the areas of awards (mean: 0.0/3), industry personnel, representatives, and employees (mean: 0.1/3), distribution of industry-funded educational materials at CME activities (mean: 0.1/3), and distinction between marketing and educational materials (mean: 0.1/3). These results suggest that Canadian PMAs' publicly available policies on industry involvement in CME are generally weak or non-existent; therefore, the accredited CME that is provided to Canadian physicians may be viewed as open to bias. We encourage all Canadian medical associations to strengthen their policies to avoid the potential for industry influence in CME.

Corporate Language Policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sanden, Guro Refsum

This paper offers a review of literature dealing with language policies in general and corporate language policies in particular. Based on a discussion of various definitions of these concepts within two research traditions, i.e. sociolinguistics and international management, a three......-level definition of corporate language policies is presented, emphasising that a corporate language policy is a context-specific policy about language use. The three-level definition is based on the argument that in order to acquire a complete understanding of what corporate language policies involve, one needs...... to consider three progressive questions; 1) what is a policy? 2) what is a language policy?, and ultimately, 3) what is a corporate language policy?...

Corporate Language Policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sanden, Guro Refsum

2015-01-01

This paper offers a review of literature dealing with language policies in general and corporate language policies in particular. Based on a discussion of various definitions of these concepts within two research traditions, i.e. sociolinguistics and international management, a three......-level definition of corporate language policies is presented, emphasising that a corporate language policy is a context-specific policy about language use. The three-level definition is based on the argument that in order to acquire a complete understanding of what corporate language policies involve, one needs...... to consider three progressive questions; 1) what is a policy? 2) what is a language policy?, and ultimately, 3) what is a corporate language policy?...

10 CFR 706.20 - Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... SECURITY POLICIES AND PRACTICES RELATING TO LABOR-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS Loyalty of Participants § 706.20 Policy. Loyalty to the United States is a paramount factor applicable to all participants in DOE program... engaged on classified work. Individuals involved in questions of loyalty will be given full opportunity to...

Discussion of David Thissen's Bad Questions: An Essay Involving Item Response Theory

Science.gov (United States)

Wainer, Howard

2016-01-01

The usual role of a discussant is to clarify and correct the paper being discussed, but in this case, the author, Howard Wainer, generally agrees with everything David Thissen says in his essay, "Bad Questions: An Essay Involving Item Response Theory." This essay expands on David Thissen's statement that there are typically two principal…

Are Sexual and Reproductive Health Policies Designed for All? Vulnerable Groups in Policy Documents of Four European Countries and Their Involvement in Policy Development.

Science.gov (United States)

Ivanova, Olena; Dræbel, Tania; Tellier, Siri

2015-08-12

Health policies are important instruments for improving population health. However, experience suggests that policies designed for the whole population do not always benefit the most vulnerable. Participation of vulnerable groups in the policy-making process provides an opportunity for them to influence decisions related to their health, and also to exercise their rights. This paper presents the findings from a study that explored how vulnerable groups and principles of human rights are incorporated into national sexual and reproductive health (SRH) policies of 4 selected countries (Spain, Scotland, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine). It also aimed at discussing the involvement of vulnerable groups in SRH policy development from the perspective of policy-makers. Literature review, health policy analysis and 5 semi-structured interviews with policy-makers were carried out in this study. Content analysis of SRH policies was performed using the EquiFrame analytical framework. The study revealed that vulnerable groups and core principles of human rights are differently addressed in SRH policies within 4 studied countries. The opinions of policy-makers on the importance of mentioning vulnerable groups in policy documents and the way they ought to be mentioned varied, but they agreed that a clear definition of vulnerability, practical examples, and evidences on health status of these groups have to be included. In addition, different approaches to vulnerable group's involvement in policy development were identified during the interviews and the range of obstacles to this process was discussed by respondents. Incorporation of vulnerable groups in the SRH policies and their involvement in policy development were found to be important in addressing SRH of these groups and providing an opportunity for them to advocate for equal access to healthcare and exercise their rights. Future research on this topic should include representatives of vulnerable communities which could

Are Sexual and Reproductive Health Policies Designed for All? Vulnerable Groups in Policy Documents of Four European Countries and Their Involvement in Policy Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olena Ivanova

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background Health policies are important instruments for improving population health. However, experience suggests that policies designed for the whole population do not always benefit the most vulnerable. Participation of vulnerable groups in the policy-making process provides an opportunity for them to influence decisions related to their health, and also to exercise their rights. This paper presents the findings from a study that explored how vulnerable groups and principles of human rights are incorporated into national sexual and reproductive health (SRH policies of 4 selected countries (Spain, Scotland, Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine. It also aimed at discussing the involvement of vulnerable groups in SRH policy development from the perspective of policymakers. Methods Literature review, health policy analysis and 5 semi-structured interviews with policy-makers were carried out in this study. Content analysis of SRH policies was performed using the EquiFrame analytical framework. Results The study revealed that vulnerable groups and core principles of human rights are differently addressed in SRH policies within 4 studied countries. The opinions of policy-makers on the importance of mentioning vulnerable groups in policy documents and the way they ought to be mentioned varied, but they agreed that a clear definition of vulnerability, practical examples, and evidences on health status of these groups have to be included. In addition, different approaches to vulnerable group’s involvement in policy development were identified during the interviews and the range of obstacles to this process was discussed by respondents. Conclusion Incorporation of vulnerable groups in the SRH policies and their involvement in policy development were found to be important in addressing SRH of these groups and providing an opportunity for them to advocate for equal access to healthcare and exercise their rights. Future research on this topic should include

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.

THE UNILATERAL DETERMINATION OF PRICE – A QUESTION OF CERTAINTY OR PUBLIC POLICY?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hanri M du Plessis

2013-08-01

Full Text Available The unilateral determination of price has been a controversial issue for an extended period of time. During the 1990s the Supreme Court of Appeal asked if the rule should still form part of South African law. Specifically, the court raised a few questions in respect of the rule and commented that the rule as applied in South African law is illogical. The court also remarked that public policy, bona fides and contractual equity might also be employed when considering such issues. Despite the criticisms of the Supreme Court of Appeal, it would seem that the rule still forms part of our law. This article investigates whether or not the rule should be retained in the South African common law. The answer will depend on two separate questions: Is the rule a manifestation of the requirement of certainty of price? If not, does public policy require that the rule be retained? The article shows that the rule prohibiting the unilateral determination of price should not be seen as a manifestation of the requirement of certainty of price. This is because there are various circumstances where the unilateral determination of the price results in certainty of price or can be applied in such a way as to arrive at certainty of price. Most of these arguments require that the discretion to determine the price should not be unfettered and should be subject to some objective standard. This can be done expressly or tacitly in the contract, or an objective standard (in the form of reasonableness will be implied by law. Thereafter, the article considers various public policy considerations that could be used to determine if a discretion to determine the price should be enforced. The article argues that public policy may dictate that such a discretion should be valid and enforceable provided that it is not unfettered and subject to an external objective standard or reasonableness. However, in cases where an unfair bargaining position is present, public policy may dictate

Involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs in elaborating and implementing public policies: Study case-Romanian small and medium-sized enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Popescu Ruxandra

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Involvement and development of the private sector in boosting the economy nationwide is a main objective of the current program of the government, which means that a good cooperation between small and medium companies, private companies and multinationals and public environment including both public institutions and policies implemented and developed by them, becomes more than necessary. The paper summarizes the findings of a quantitative research based on a self-applied questionnaire which was aimed at Romanian small and medium-sized enterprises and also of a qualitative research that gives an overview of the process of elaborating and implementing a public policy. The involvement of small and medium-sized enterprises in the process of designing and implementing a public policy can become indispensable but it is well know that there is, in fact, a lack of initiative at this level, from both parties. One of the main research questions of this paper is to find out how much do representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises get involved in the process of elaborating a public policy and how much do these actions and measures impact the organizational policies of the companies themselves. A good cooperation between the business environment and the public institutions and a strong correlation of their joint efforts, should become a common practice between both parties, being crucial that this form of cooperation to be initiated from the very beginning. The contribution of this paper is a practical one, given the fact that the paper itself entails the direct responses of small and medium-sized enterprises on the current and future public policies that directly targets them, providing as well an analysis on the effects of public policies on small and medium-sized enterprises. Thus being said, the paper can also be a guide for both small and medium-sized enterprises in providing examples and measures of involvement and favorable public policies

A Multilevel, Statewide Investigation of School District Anti-Bullying Policy Quality and Student Bullying Involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Gower, Amy L; Cousin, Molly; Borowsky, Iris W

2017-03-01

Although nearly all states in the United States require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, little research examines the effect of these policies on student bullying and health. Using a statewide sample, we investigated associations between the quality of school district anti-bullying policies and student bullying involvement and adjustment. School district anti-bullying policies (N = 208) were coded for their quality based on established criteria. District-level data were combined with student reports of bullying involvement, emotional distress, and school connectedness from a state surveillance survey of 6th, 9th, and 12th grade students (N = 93,437). Results indicated that policy quality was positively related to bullying victimization. Furthermore, students reporting frequent perpetration/victimization who also attended districts with high-quality policies reported more emotional distress and less school connectedness compared with students attending districts with low quality policies. Although statistically significant, the magnitude of these associations was small. Having a high-quality school district anti-bullying policy is not sufficient to reduce bullying and protect bullying-involved young people. Future studies examining policy implementation will inform best practices in bullying prevention. © 2017, American School Health Association.

A diaper bank and home visiting partnership: Initial exploration of research and policy questions.

Science.gov (United States)

Sadler, Lois S; Condon, Eileen M; Deng, Shirley Z; Ordway, Monica Roosa; Marchesseault, Crista; Miller, Andrea; Alfano, Janet Stolfi; Weir, Alison M

2018-03-01

The cost of diapering an infant can place a significant financial strain on families living in poverty. Partnerships between diaper banks and home visiting programs for young families may offer an innovative solution to expanding the reach and impact of diaper banks in low-income communities. The purpose of this pilot study was to uncover preliminary information about the functions of diaper distribution through home visiting programs, and to inform future research and policy questions regarding diaper distribution to families in need. In this descriptive qualitative pilot study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 6 home visitors from Minding the Baby ® (MTB), a home visiting intervention for young parents. MTB clinicians routinely distribute diapers in partnership with The Diaper Bank in Connecticut. We used directed content analysis to code and analyze interview transcripts. These preliminary findings indicate that partnerships between home visiting programs and diaper banks may benefit families by improving diaper access, reducing stigma, and fostering trusting relationships with home visitors. Home visiting program benefits including engagement or re-engagement with families may need to be balanced with potential effects on clinical and therapeutic relationships. Recommendations for next steps in research and related policy questions are discussed. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Student Involvement in Wellness Policies: A Study of Pennsylvania Local Education Agencies

Science.gov (United States)

Jomaa, Lamis H.; McDonnell, Elaine; Weirich, Elaine; Hartman, Terryl; Jensen, Leif; Probart, Claudia

2010-01-01

Objective: Explore student-involvement goals in local wellness policies (LWPs) of local education agencies (LEAs) in Pennsylvania (PA) and investigate associations with LEA characteristics. Design: An observational study that helped examine student-involvement goals. Setting: Public PA LEAs. Participants: LWPs submitted by 539 PA public LEAs. Main…

Between participation and consultation: The nuclear question in the Alliance policy of Germany between 1959 and 1966

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hoppe, C.

1993-01-01

The study examines the leeway for action - with respect to both foreign and domestic policy available to the government of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) in the nuclear question in the period from 1959 to 1966. This issue had, after the political and strategic changes occurring at the end of the 1950s, come increasingly to the fore of the Alliance policy pursued by the FRG. Thus the growing doubts as to the American nuclear guarantee exacerbated the strategic insecurity of the Germans, while the - both political and arms control related - cooperation with the Soviet Union demanded by the USA appeared to further remove the prospect of reunification. At the same time, the FRG saw itself, in view of the independent British and French nuclear programmes, placed in an inferior position, and its goal endangered of achieving more equality in foreign policy, which it had pursued by means of developing its armed forces and acceding to NATO. In the domestic arena, the nuclear question was linked to a controversy that placed the internal cohesion of the CDU/CSU coalition under great strain in the middle of the 1960s: the debate between those oriented to the ''Atlantic'' and the ''Gaullists''. (orig.) [de

The Micro-Politics of Parental Involvement in School Education in Hong Kong: Ethnocentrism, Utilitarianism or Policy Rhetoric!

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Shun-wing; Yuen, Wai Kwan Gail

2015-01-01

The impact of parental involvement on school management has been recognized by many education professionals and policy-makers. Thus parental involvement in school education becomes one of the prime focuses in the current education reform movement in Hong Kong. Particularly, specific guidelines and policies for involving parents at various levels…

Involving stakeholders and developing a policy for stakeholder involvement in the European network for Health Technology Assessment, EUnetHTA

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Palmhøj Nielsen, Camilla; Wadmann, Sarah; Børlum Kristensen, Finn

2009-01-01

in national/regional policy making. A stakeholder Web site, analyses of stakeholder opinions on HTA and EUnetHTA in a discussion topic catalog, and a draft stakeholder policy resulted from the work. Conclusions: Stakeholder involvement in EUnetHTA is necessary to ensure the legitimacy and prospects...... be continued. Our experience shows the challenge of obtaining balanced stakeholder representation across the identified stakeholder groups. Continued attention should be given to achieving balanced stakeholder representation....

Policy on manager involvement in work re-integration: managers' experiences in a Canadian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Maiwald, Karin; Meershoek, Agnes; de Rijk, Angelique; Nijhuis, Frans J N

2014-01-01

In Canada and other countries, sickness absence among workers is a significant concern. Local return-to-work policies developed by both management and workers' representatives are preferred to tackle the problem. This article examines how managers perceive this local bipartite agreed upon return-to-work policy, wherein a social constructivist view on the policy process is taken. In-depth interviews were held with 10 managers on their experiences with execution of this policy in a Canadian healthcare organization. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and qualitative analyses were completed to gain deep insight into the managers' perspectives. Results show that the managers viewed themselves as a linchpin between the workplace and the worker. They did not feel heard by the other stakeholders, wrestled with worker's limitations, struggled getting plans adjusted and became overextended to meet return-to-work objectives. The study shows that the managers felt unable to meet the responsibilities the policy demanded and got less involved in the return-to-work process than this policy intended. RTW policy needs to balance on the one hand, flexibility to safeguard active involvement of managers and, on the other hand, strictness regarding taking responsibility by stakeholders, particularly the health care and re-integration professionals.

Involving the public in epidemiological public health research: a qualitative study of public and stakeholder involvement in evaluation of a population-wide natural policy experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson de Cuevas, Rachel; Nylén, Lotta; Burström, Bo; Whitehead, Margaret

2018-04-20

Public involvement in research is considered good practice by European funders; however, evidence of its research impact is sparse, particularly in relation to large-scale epidemiological research. To explore what difference public and stakeholder involvement made to the interpretation of findings from an evaluation of a natural policy experiment to influence the wider social determinants of health: 'Flexicurity'. Stockholm County, Sweden. Members of the public from different occupational groups represented by blue-collar and white-collar trade union representatives. Also, members of three stakeholder groups: the Swedish national employment agency; an employers' association and politicians sitting on a national labour market committee. Total: 17 participants. Qualitative study of process and outcomes of public and stakeholder participation in four focused workshops on the interpretation of initial findings from the flexicurity evaluation. New insights from participants benefiting the interpretation of our research findings or conceptualisation of future research. Participants sensed more drastic and nuanced change in the Swedish welfare system over recent decades than was evident from our literature reviews and policy analysis. They also elaborated hidden developments in the Swedish labour market that were increasingly leading to 'insiders' and 'outsiders', with differing experiences and consequences for financial and job security. Their explanation of the differential effects of the various collective agreements for different occupational groups was new and raised further potential research questions. Their first-hand experience provided new insights into how changes to the social protection system were contributing to the increasing trends in poverty among unemployed people with limiting long-standing illness. The politicians provided further reasoning behind some of the policy changes and their intended and unintended consequences. These insights fed into

Energy policy and the market economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ruehle, H.; Miegel, M.

1980-01-01

The consistent supply of the people with cheap energy is one of the biggest challenges of our time. There is hardly any other sphere where the opinions on the correct means and ways are as different as in energy policy. While some people see only the market as a suitable instrument to solve the energy problems, others are of the opinion that the problems can only be solved by planning by the government, quantitative restrictions, and other directive measures. The answer to this question involves long-term results, not only for our future energy policy. Planned economy in the energy section and marketing in all other sections cannot be continued for ever. The clarification of this question is the goal of these lectures and discussions held on the experts' meeting 'energy policy in marketing'. (orig.) [de

Developing a civic intelligence: local involvement in HIA

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elliott, Eva; Williams, Gareth

2004-01-01

Public involvement and participation in policy development and implementation is becoming an increasingly prominent feature of social life. However, as politics and policy become ever more concerned with 'evidence,' the relationship between 'expert evidence' and political judgements and decisions becomes ever more complicated. For this reason, public participation increasingly has to mean inclusion in arguments about information, evidence and knowledge as much as it means straightforward involvement in decision making. Such involvement can involve critical questioning of a kind that can challenge and sometimes debunk experts' claims to privileged understanding. One practical arena in which knowledge-based policy and politics is being expressed is in health impact assessment (HIA). This paper describes a health impact assessment of housing options in a former mining village in South Wales in order to illustrate the contributions that local people can make to both evidence and decision making. This case study exemplifies an emerging civic intelligence that challenges a traditional demarcation between different forms of expertise and creates public spaces that provide the basis for new opportunities of democratic renewal

Evaluation and Policy Learning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borrás, Susana; Højlund, Steven

2015-01-01

This article examines how evaluation induces policy learning – a question largely neglected by the scholarly literature on evaluation and policy learning. Following a learner's perspective, the article attempts to ascertain who the learners are, and what, and how, learners actually learn from...... evaluations. In so doing, it focuses on what different types of learners actually learn within the context of the evaluation framework (the set of administrative structures defining the evaluation goals and process). Taking the empirical case of three EU programme evaluations, the patterns of policy learning...... emanating from them are examined. The findings are that only two types of actors involved in the evaluation are actually learning (programme units and external evaluators), that learners learn different things (programme overview, small-scale programme adjustments, policy change and evaluation methods...

Information Flow and Health Policy Literacy: The Role of the Media

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sophya Yumakulov

2012-08-01

Full Text Available People increasingly can and want to obtain and generate health information themselves. With the increasing do-it-yourself sentiment comes also the desire to be more involved in one’s health care decisions. Patient driven health-care and health research models are emerging; terms such as participatory medicine and quantified-self are visible increasingly. Given the health consumer’s desire to be more involved in health data generation and health care decision making processes the authors submit that it is important to be health policy literate, to understanding how health policies are developed, what themes are discussed among health policy researchers and policy makers, to understand how ones demands would be discussed within health policy discourses. The public increasingly obtains their knowledge through the internet by searching web browsers for keywords. Question is whether the “health consumer” to come has knowledge of key terms defining key health policy discourses which would enable them to perform targeted searches for health policy literature relevant to their situation. The authors found that key health policy terms are virtually absent from printed and online news media which begs the question how the “health consumer” might learn about key health policy terms needed for web based searches that would allow the “health consumer” to access health policy discourses relevant to them.

How to buy a medical home? Policy options and practical questions.

Science.gov (United States)

Berenson, Robert A; Rich, Eugene C

2010-06-01

In this paper, we describe a range of payment options to support the PCMH, identifying their conceptual strengths and weaknesses. These include enhanced FFS payment for office visits to the PCMH; paying additional FFS for "new" PCMH services; variations of traditional FFS combined with new PCMH-oriented per patient per month capitation; and combined capitation payments for traditional primary care medical services as well as new medical home services. In discussing options for PCMH payment reform we consider issues in patient severity adjustment, performance payment, and the role of payments to community service organizations to collaborate with the PCMH. We also highlight some of the practical challenges that can complicate reimbursement reform for primary care and the PCMH. Through this discussion we identify key dimensions to provider payment reform relevant to promoting enhanced primary care through the patient centered medical home. These consist of paying for the basic medical home services, rewarding excellent performance of medical homes, incentivizing medical home connections to other community health care resources, and overcoming implementation challenges to medical home payments. Each of these overarching policy issues invokes a substantial subset of policy relevant research questions that collectively comprise a robust research agenda. We conclude that the conceptual strengths and weaknesses of available payment models for medical home functions invoke a complex array of options with varying levels of real-world feasibility. The different needs of patients and communities, and varying characteristics of practices must also be factors guiding PCMH payment reform. Indeed, it may be that different circumstances will require different payment approaches in various combinations.

Advocacy coalitions involved in California's menu labeling policy debate: Exploring coalition structure, policy beliefs, resources, and strategies.

Science.gov (United States)

Payán, Denise D; Lewis, LaVonna B; Cousineau, Michael R; Nichol, Michael B

2017-03-01

Advocacy coalitions often play an important role in the state health policymaking process, yet little is known about their structure, composition, and behavior. In 2008, California became the first state to enact a menu labeling law. Using the advocacy coalition framework, we examine different facets of the coalitions involved in California's menu labeling policy debate. We use a qualitative research approach to identify coalition members and explore their expressed beliefs and policy arguments, resources, and strategies by analyzing legislative documents (n = 87) and newspaper articles (n = 78) produced between 1999 and 2009. Between 2003 and 2008, six menu labeling bills were introduced in the state's legislature. We found the issue received increasing media attention during this period. We identified two advocacy coalitions involved in the debate-a public health (PH) coalition and an industry coalition. State organizations acted as coalition leaders and participated for a longer duration than elected officials. The structure and composition of each coalition varied. PH coalition leadership and membership notably increased compared to the industry coalition. The PH coalition, led by nonprofit PH and health organizations, promoted a clear and consistent message around informed decision making. The industry coalition, led by a state restaurant association, responded with cost and implementation arguments. Each coalition used various resources and strategies to advance desired outcomes. PH coalition leaders were particularly effective at using resources and employing advocacy strategies, which included engaging state legislators as coalition members, using public opinion polls and information, and leveraging media resources to garner support. Policy precedence and a local policy push emerged as important policymaking strategies. Areas for future research on the state health policymaking process are discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

La question de l’identité dans le roman policier israélien : le cas Ohayon Question of Identity in Detective Novels לשאלת הזהות ברומן הבלשי

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia Azerad-Sitbon

2011-10-01

Full Text Available La question de l’identité dans le roman policier israélien. Batya Gur est le premier auteur à avoir relancé le roman policier en Israël, un style qui avait disparu de la scène littéraire depuis la création de l’État en 1948.L’étendue de son travail se compose de six romans écrits entre 1988 et 2004. Son héros, le commissaire Michael Ohayon, natif du Maroc, enquête sur certains groupes privilégiés de la société israélienne, dont les membres sont parmi les fondateurs de l’État. Un crime perpétré dans les rangs de ces microsociétés (psychanalystes, professeurs d’université, membres de kibboutz, musiciens, cinéastes, submerge ces groupes de référents et également leur fils spirituel, Michael Ohayon, et remet en question le fondement idéologique des Pères fondateurs. Cette enquête idéologique au sein des groupes sociaux élevés et d’un point de vue personnel (Michael Ohayon offre un nouveau regard aux questions d'autodéfinition telles que « qui êtes-vous ? Que voulons-nous être ? » à une société confrontée à la diversification sociale et politique.Batya Gur is the first author to revive the detective genre in Israel, a genre that had disappeared from the literary scene since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.Her body of detective works is made up of six novels written between 1988 and 2004. Her hero, Superintendent Michael Ohayon, native to Morocco, makes his investigations into privileged groups of Israeli society, whose members are among the State’s founders.Crime that is perpetrated in the ranks of those micro-societies (psychoanalysts, professors of University, kibbutz’s members, musicians, film-makers, overwhelms these groups of Referents and also their spiritual son, Michael Ohayon, and calls into question the ideological foundation of the Founding Fathers.This ideological investigation within the high social groups and within the own personal view (Michael Ohayon gives a

Policy Writing as Dialogue: Drafting an Aboriginal Chapter for Canada's Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeff Reading

2010-07-01

Full Text Available Writing policy that applies to First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples in Canada has become more interactive as communities and their representative organizations press for practical recognition of an Aboriginal right of self-determination. When the policy in development is aimed at supporting “respect for human dignity” as it is in the case of ethics of research involving humans, the necessity of engaging the affected population becomes central to the undertaking.

Climate change: Moving from scientific to institutional and policy questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mitchell, B.

1990-01-01

The issue of how societies, through their policies and institutional arrangements, can most effectively respond to climate change, is discussed. Four characteristics contributing to the continued failure to resolve the issue are an enormous uncertainty in every part of the problem; the long time scale of effects, ensuring that a modest amount of discounting reduces the present day cost of any future environmental impact that is less than catastrophic to minor proportions; a belief that trying to avert climate change will be very expensive no matter how it is done; and the global nature of the issues calls for an unprecedented amount of international cooperation. Strategies to deal with climate change may be grouped into three categories: preventative, curative and adaptive. The preventative or adjustment strategy involves the restriction or reduction of activities that contribute to carbon dioxide emissions. Under this approach there would be no new fossil fuel plants constructed, and some existing plants might be closed. The curative strategy focuses on addressing the carbon dioxide concentrations being produced and concentrates on neutralizing them. The adaptive or adaptation strategy assumes that carbon dioxide concentrations will continue to build and that society will eventually develop means to cope with the climatic alteration. To assist policy makers, those conducting research need to devote more effort to examining the interrelationships among climate change and other societal concerns, the aspects of uncertainty and surprise, and the range of strategies. 21 refs

Social Innovation Policies with the Involvement of Social Economy Organizations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bassi, Andrea; Ecchia, Giulio; Guerra, Alice

In this paper, we investigate significant social innovation policies (related to the concept of social investment) involving the role of Social Economy organizations, and we discuss some relevant national and regional social innovation experiences by relying upon the current national...... and international literature, reports and website information. During the 1990s and the first half of the 2000s, the concept of “social economy” has evolved from one where the emphasis was on the social (social outcomes and collective action) to a neo-liberal one with more emphasis on the economic and individual...... actors (social entrepreneurs). Nowadays we are facing a transition period nevertheless in the recent developments of the policy orientation at European level, there are some slight but significant clues of a move back towards a more ‘social’ concept. We will assume as operating definition of Social...

Advocacy Coalitions involved in California’s Menu Labeling Policy Debate: Exploring Coalition Structure, Policy Beliefs, Resources, and Strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Payán, Denise D.; Lewis, LaVonna B.; Cousineau, Michael R.; Nichol, Michael B.

2017-01-01

Advocacy coalitions often play an important role in the state health policymaking process, yet little is known about their structure, composition, and behavior. In 2008, California became the first state to enact a menu labeling law. Using the advocacy coalition framework, we examine different facets of the coalitions involved in California’s menu labeling policy debate. We use a qualitative research approach to identify coalition members and explore their expressed beliefs and policy arguments, resources, and strategies by analyzing legislative documents (n=87) and newspaper articles (n=78) produced between 1999 and 2009. Between 2003 and 2008, six menu labeling bills were introduced in the state’s legislature. We found the issue received increasing media attention during this period. We identified two advocacy coalitions involved in the debate—a public health (PH) coalition and an industry coalition. State organizations acted as coalition leaders and participated for a longer duration than elected officials. The structure and composition of each coalition varied. PH coalition leadership and membership notably increased compared to the industry coalition. The PH coalition, led by nonprofit PH and health organizations, promoted a clear and consistent message around informed decision making. The industry coalition, led by a state restaurant association, responded with cost and implementation arguments. Each coalition used various resources and strategies to advance desired outcomes. PH coalition leaders were particularly effective at using resources and employing advocacy strategies, which included engaging state legislators as coalition members, using public opinion polls and information, and leveraging media resources to garner support. Policy precedence and a local policy push emerged as important policymaking strategies. Areas for future research on the state health policymaking process are discussed. PMID:28161674

Questioning ORACLE: An Assessment of ORACLE's Analysis of Teachers' Questions and [A Comment on "Questioning ORACLE"].

Science.gov (United States)

Scarth, John; And Others

1986-01-01

Analysis of teachers' questions, part of the ORACLE (Observation Research and Classroom Learning Evaluation) project research, is examined in detail. Scarth and Hammersley argue that the rules ORACLE uses for identifying different types of questions involve levels of ambiguity and inference that threaten reliability and validity of the study's…

Management of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) questions ampersand answers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-11-01

This open-quotes Management of PCBs Questions and Answersclose quotes has been developed from a presentation given by Dr. John Smith of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the transcribed question and answer session which followed the presentation. Dr. Smith was featured at the first DOE complex-wide PCB Focus Group meeting held in San Francisco, California in December 1992. The meeting was attended by representatives from field elements who were actively involved in the management of PCBs. The meeting served as a forum for the exchange of information and discussion of PCB management issues. This document has been prepared as one of several guidance documents developed by the Department of Energy Office of Environmental Policy and Assistance (EH-41) (formerly the Office of Environmental Guidance, EH-23) to assist DOE elements in their PCB management programs. This document is organized into three parts: (1) an introduction describing the conception and development of this document, (2) a summary of Dr. Smith's presentation, and (3) the question and answer session

The Public Health Service guidelines. Governing research involving human subjects: An analysis of the policy-making process

Science.gov (United States)

Frankel, M. S.

1972-01-01

The policy making process which led to development of the Public Health Service Guidelines governing research involving human subjects is outlined. Part 1 examines the evolution of PHS Guidelines, tracing (1) evolution of thought and legal interpretation regarding research using human subjects; (2) initial involvement of the Federal government; (3) development of the government's research program; (4) the social-political environment in which formal government policy was developed; and (5) various policy statements issued by the government. Part 2 analyzes the process by which PHS Guidelines were developed and examines the values and other underlying factors which contributed to their development. It was concluded that the evolution of the Guidelines is best understood within the context of a mixed-scanning strategy. In such a strategy, policy makers make fundamental decisions regarding the basic direction of policy and subsequent decisions are made incrementally and within the contexts set by the original fundamental decisions.

The Question of Sustainability of Green Electricity Policy Intervention

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Bigerna

2014-08-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we analyse the financial viability and economic sustainability implications of government programs for the development of renewable energy sources, explicitly considering that consumers take environmental issues into account. We envisage a broad policy strategy for the future, which we label the “World Sustainable Scenario”, and we quantify the inter-temporal resource requirement in terms of investment necessary to achieve it. We perform an empirical meta-analysis to quantify the willingness to pay for green electricity worldwide. Subsequently, we compare the amount of resources required according to policy programs and the populations’ willingness to sacrifice current resources for future benefits (i.e., willingness to finance future investments to assess the plausibility of current policies. The main empirical findings show that the population’s attitude toward green electricity will support, on average, 50% of the total investment required. We conclude that this is a positive result, which will make possible the success of the renewable energy sources development policy.

Using New Mode Choice Model Nesting Structures to Address Emerging Policy Questions: A Case Study of the Pittsburgh Central Business District

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zulqarnain H. Khattak

2017-11-01

Full Text Available As transportation activities affect a region’s environmental quality, knowing why individuals prefer certain modes can help a region make judicious transportation investments. Using a nested logit model, this paper studies the behavior of commuters to downtown Pittsburgh who use auto, bus, light rail, walking, and biking. Although statistical measures influence the selection of a nesting structure, another criterion for model selection is the policy questions such models inform. Hence this paper demonstrates how an alternative model structure allows planners to consider new policy questions. For example, how might a change in parking fee affect greenhouse gas emission (GHGs? The proposed model showed that a 5%, 10% and 15% increase in parking cost reduces GHGs by 7.3%, 9% and 13.2%, respectively, through increasing carpoolers’ mode share. Because the proposed model forecasts mode choices of certain groups of travelers with higher accuracy (compared to an older model that did not consider the model selection criteria presented here, the proposed model strengthens policymakers’ ability to consider environmental impacts of interest to the region (in this case, GHGs. The paper does not suggest that one nesting structure is always preferable; rather the nesting structure must be chosen with the policy considerations in mind.

Employers' Organizations--Their Involvement in the Development of a European Vocational Training Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Castin, Franz

This document presents an overview and synthesis of the involvement of employers' and employers' organizations in the development of vocational training policy in Europe. Material was gathered through the personal experience of the author and from interviews with those responsible for vocational training in various employers' professional…

The social question revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kenneth, Petersson; Olsson, Ulf; Krejsler, John B.

2015-01-01

The focus of this chapter is the re-installation of the social question as a historical practice. The purpose is to investigate how historic figures return and are applied in contemporary political discourses, more precisely in the context of education, education policy and teacher education...

Water data to answer urgent water policy questions: Monitoring design, available data and filling data gaps for determining the effectiveness of agricultural management practices for reducing tributary nutrient loads to Lake Erie

Science.gov (United States)

Bentanzo, Elin A.; Choquette, Anne F.; Reckhow, Kenneth H.; Hayes, Laura; Hagan, Erik R; Argue, Denise M.; Cangelosi, A.A.

2015-01-01

Throughout its history, the United States has made major investments in assessing natural resources, such as soils, timber, oil and gas, and water. These investments allow policy makers, the private sector and the American public to make informed decisions about cultivating, harvesting or conserving these resources to maximize their value for public welfare, environmental conservation and the economy. As policy issues evolve, new priorities and challenges arise for natural resource assessment, and new approaches to monitoring are needed. For example, informed conservation and use of the nation’s finite fresh water resources in the context of increasingly intensive land development is a priority for today’s policy decisionmakers. There is a need to evaluate whether today’s water monitoring programs are generating the information needed to answer questions surrounding these new policy priorities. The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI), in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, initiated this project to explore the types and amounts of water data needed to address water-quality related policy questions of critical concern to today’s policy makers. The collaborating entities identified two urgent water policy questions and conducted case studies in the Northeast-Midwest region to determine the water data needed, water data available, and the best ways to fill the data gaps relative to those questions. This report details the output from one case study and focuses on the Lake Erie drainage basin, a data-rich area expected to be a best-case scenario in terms of water data availability.

How much flower-rich habitat is enough for wild pollinators? Answering a key policy question with incomplete knowledge.

Science.gov (United States)

Dicks, Lynn V; Baude, Mathilde; Roberts, Stuart P M; Phillips, James; Green, Mike; Carvell, Claire

2015-09-01

In 2013, an opportunity arose in England to develop an agri-environment package for wild pollinators, as part of the new Countryside Stewardship scheme launched in 2015. It can be understood as a 'policy window', a rare and time-limited opportunity to change policy, supported by a narrative about pollinator decline and widely supported mitigating actions. An agri-environment package is a bundle of management options that together supply sufficient resources to support a target group of species. This paper documents information that was available at the time to develop such a package for wild pollinators. Four questions needed answering: (1) Which pollinator species should be targeted? (2) Which resources limit these species in farmland? (3) Which management options provide these resources? (4) What area of each option is needed to support populations of the target species? Focussing on wild bees, we provide tentative answers that were used to inform development of the package. There is strong evidence that floral resources can limit wild bee populations, and several sources of evidence identify a set of agri-environment options that provide flowers and other resources for pollinators. The final question could only be answered for floral resources, with a wide range of uncertainty. We show that the areas of some floral resource options in the basic Wild Pollinator and Farmland Wildlife Package (2% flower-rich habitat and 1 km flowering hedgerow), are sufficient to supply a set of six common pollinator species with enough pollen to feed their larvae at lowest estimates, using minimum values for estimated parameters where a range was available. We identify key sources of uncertainty, and stress the importance of keeping the Package flexible, so it can be revised as new evidence emerges about how to achieve the policy aim of supporting pollinators on farmland.

The Involvement of the European Union in Career Guidance Policy: A Brief History

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, A. G.; Sultana, Ronald G.; McCarthy, John

2010-01-01

The history of the involvement of the European Union in the development of policy related to career guidance is analysed in terms of three broad periods. In the first two of these, interventions were confined to pilot projects, exchanges and placements, study visits and studies/surveys, with particular attention to young people; whereas the period…

Public consultation in public policy information: a state-of-the-art report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bishop, A.B.; McKee, M.; Hansen, R.D.

1977-01-01

The purpose of the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Program is to site, construct and operate nuclear waste repositories at several locations. Recent experience indicates that the public is aware of the problems of nuclear waste disposal, and correspondingly there is public concern about how and where to dispose of nuclear wastes. The selection of sites involves a wide range of considerations including geological, technical and environmental feasibility. In addition to these, it is important that societal acceptance of repository options also be taken into account in moving foward with the NWTS Program. Such an incorporation of social considerations and preferences correspondingly implies the need for public consultation in the site selection process. In exploring the concept and state-or-the-art of public involvement in public policy decision, a number of important questions are relevant: (1) What are the basic objectives of public participation in policy formation and program decisions. (2) Who are the ''publics'' that should be involved and how can they be identified. (3) What information should be communicated between the agency and the publics. (4) What techniques are available to elicit public participation and involvement and what are their capabilities. At the outset, it should be noted that the purpose of this paper in addressing these questions is not to design public participation procedures for the NWTS program. Rather, the above are questions that provide a broad framework for developing an understanding of citizen participation in public policy decisions, such as nuclear waste disposal. In this sense, the following discussion is to provide a context and guidance for approaching the problem of organizing and structuring involvement in the NWTS program. Annotated bibliography of 95 references is included

Public consultation in public policy information: a state-of-the-art report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bishop, A.B.; McKee, M.; Hansen, R.D.

1977-01-01

The purpose of the National Waste Terminal Storage (NWTS) Program is to site, construct and operate nuclear waste repositories at several locations. Recent experience indicates that the public is aware of the problems of nuclear waste disposal, and correspondingly there is public concern about how and where to dispose of nuclear wastes. The selection of sites involves a wide range of considerations including geological, technical and environmental feasibility. In addition to these, it is important that societal acceptance of repository options also be taken into account in moving foward with the NWTS Program. Such an incorporation of social considerations and preferences correspondingly implies the need for public consultation in the site selection process. In exploring the concept and state-or-the-art of public involvement in public policy decision, a number of important questions are relevant: (1) What are the basic objectives of public participation in policy formation and program decisions. (2) Who are the ''publics'' that should be involved and how can they be identified. (3) What information should be communicated between the agency and the publics. (4) What techniques are available to elicit public participation and involvement and what are their capabilities. At the outset, it should be noted that the purpose of this paper in addressing these questions is not to design public participation procedures for the NWTS program. Rather, the above are questions that provide a broad framework for developing an understanding of citizen participation in public policy decisions, such as nuclear waste disposal. In this sense, the following discussion is to provide a context and guidance for approaching the problem of organizing and structuring involvement in the NWTS program. Annotated bibliography of 95 references is included.

Developing Child-Centered Social Policies: When Professionalism Takes Over

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicole Hennum

2014-08-01

Full Text Available No nation today can be understood as being fully child-centered, but many are pursuing social policies heavily favoring children. The emphasis on individual rights and the growth of scientific knowledge underpinning many of these policies have led to the improvement of the lives of a great many children. Paradoxically, these same knowledge bases informing social policies often produce representations and images of children and their parents that are detrimental for both of these groups. Using Norwegian child welfare policies and practices as examples, I will examine some of the possible pitfalls of child-centered praxis. The key question here is one asking whether the scientific frame central to child welfare professionalism has positioned children and parents as objects rather than subjects in their own lives and, in so doing, required them to live up to standards of life defined for them by experts. A central question will involve exploring the extent to which scientific knowledge has erased political and ethical considerations from the field when assessing social problems.

Phrasal Paraphrase Based Question Reformulation for Archived Question Retrieval.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu Zhang

Full Text Available Lexical gap in cQA search, resulted by the variability of languages, has been recognized as an important and widespread phenomenon. To address the problem, this paper presents a question reformulation scheme to enhance the question retrieval model by fully exploring the intelligence of paraphrase in phrase-level. It compensates for the existing paraphrasing research in a suitable granularity, which either falls into fine-grained lexical-level or coarse-grained sentence-level. Given a question in natural language, our scheme first detects the involved key-phrases by jointly integrating the corpus-dependent knowledge and question-aware cues. Next, it automatically extracts the paraphrases for each identified key-phrase utilizing multiple online translation engines, and then selects the most relevant reformulations from a large group of question rewrites, which is formed by full permutation and combination of the generated paraphrases. Extensive evaluations on a real world data set demonstrate that our model is able to characterize the complex questions and achieves promising performance as compared to the state-of-the-art methods.

Policy Integration and Multi-Level Governance: Dealing with the Vertical Dimension of Policy Mix Designs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael Howlett

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Multifaceted problems such as sustainable development typically involve complex arrangements of institutions and instruments and the subject of how best to design and operate such ‘mixes’, ‘bundles’ or ‘portfolios’ of policy tools is an ongoing issue in this area. One aspect of this question is that some mixes are more difficult to design and operate than others. The paper argues that, ceteris paribus, complex policy-making faces substantial risks of failure when horizontal or vertical dimensions of policy-making are not well integrated. The paper outlines a model of policy mix types which highlights the design problems associated with more complex arrangements and presents two case studies of similarly structured mixes in the areas of marine parks in Australia and coastal zone management in Europe—one a failure and the other a successful case of integration—to illustrate how such mixes can be better designed and managed more effectively.

Detecting causality in policy diffusion processes

Science.gov (United States)

Grabow, Carsten; Macinko, James; Silver, Diana; Porfiri, Maurizio

2016-08-01

A universal question in network science entails learning about the topology of interaction from collective dynamics. Here, we address this question by examining diffusion of laws across US states. We propose two complementary techniques to unravel determinants of this diffusion process: information-theoretic union transfer entropy and event synchronization. In order to systematically investigate their performance on law activity data, we establish a new stochastic model to generate synthetic law activity data based on plausible networks of interactions. Through extensive parametric studies, we demonstrate the ability of these methods to reconstruct networks, varying in size, link density, and degree heterogeneity. Our results suggest that union transfer entropy should be preferred for slowly varying processes, which may be associated with policies attending to specific local problems that occur only rarely or with policies facing high levels of opposition. In contrast, event synchronization is effective for faster enactment rates, which may be related to policies involving Federal mandates or incentives. This study puts forward a data-driven toolbox to explain the determinants of legal activity applicable to political science, across dynamical systems, information theory, and complex networks.

Answers to Health Questions: Internet Search Results Versus Online Health Community Responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Kanthawala, Shaheen; Vermeesch, Amber; Given, Barbara; Huh, Jina

2016-04-28

About 6 million people search for health information on the Internet each day in the United States. Both patients and caregivers search for information about prescribed courses of treatments, unanswered questions after a visit to their providers, or diet and exercise regimens. Past literature has indicated potential challenges around quality in health information available on the Internet. However, diverse information exists on the Internet-ranging from government-initiated webpages to personal blog pages. Yet we do not fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of different types of information available on the Internet. The objective of this research was to investigate the strengths and challenges of various types of health information available online and to suggest what information sources best fit various question types. We collected questions posted to and the responses they received from an online diabetes community and classified them according to Rothwell's classification of question types (fact, policy, or value questions). We selected 60 questions (20 each of fact, policy, and value) and the replies the questions received from the community. We then searched for responses to the same questions using a search engine and recorded the Community responses answered more questions than did search results overall. Search results were most effective in answering value questions and least effective in answering policy questions. Community responses answered questions across question types at an equivalent rate, but most answered policy questions and the least answered fact questions. Value questions were most answered by community responses, but some of these answers provided by the community were incorrect. Fact question search results were the most clinically valid. The Internet is a prevalent source of health information for people. The information quality people encounter online can have a large impact on them. We present what kinds of questions people ask

Evaluating Forecasts, Narratives and Policy Using a Test of Invariance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer L. Castle

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Economic policy agencies produce forecasts with accompanying narratives, and base policy changes on the resulting anticipated developments in the target variables. Systematic forecast failure, defined as large, persistent deviations of the outturns from the numerical forecasts, can make the associated narrative false, which would in turn question the validity of the entailed policy implementation. We establish when systematic forecast failure entails failure of the accompanying narrative, which we call forediction failure, and when that in turn implies policy invalidity. Most policy regime changes involve location shifts, which can induce forediction failure unless the policy variable is super exogenous in the policy model. We propose a step-indicator saturation test to check in advance for invariance to policy changes. Systematic forecast failure, or a lack of invariance, previously justified by narratives reveals such stories to be economic fiction.

Inclusive research: making a difference to policy and legislation.

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Kelley; Minogue, Gerard; Hopklins, Rob

2014-01-01

While inclusive research has become an important stream in research with people with intellectual disabilities, there is a tension between the possibly empowering research process and the strength of the research itself to make social change happen. In this paper, we explore the contribution of two inclusive qualitative research studies in Australia and the Republic of Ireland to change in policy and legislation. Both studies used qualitative methods including life stories and focus groups to explore the issue of sexuality and relationships. In both studies, people with intellectual disabilities were actively involved in undertaking the research. Both studies revealed that it was difficult for people with intellectual disabilities to express their sexuality openly or to form adult relationships. Both studies were used by people with intellectual disabilities and their supporters to promote change in which they had a heard voice. This paper is about how people with intellectual disabilities and their supporters can use research which they have done to change policies and laws that affect them. When people with intellectual disabilities are doing research it is called inclusive research.We write about two research studies which were about the sexual lives and relationships of people with intellectual disabilities. One research study was in Australia and one was in the Republic of Ireland.In the Australian study, Living Safer Sexual Lives, 25 people with intellectual disabilities told their life stories and talked about sexuality and relationships.In the Irish study people with intellectual disabilities told life stories and talked with other people with intellectual disabilities about their sexuality and relationships in groups. These are called focus groups.In this paper we explore 4 questions that arose from these studies. Question 1. What impact does doing research have on the people who are involved in it? People with intellectual disabilities in Australia were

Questioning policy, youth participation and lifestyle sports

OpenAIRE

King, Katherine; Church, Andrew

2014-01-01

Young people have been identified as a key target group for whom participation in sport and physical activity could have important benefits to health and wellbeing and consequently have been the focus of several government policies to increase participation in the UK. Lifestyle sports represent one such strategy for encouraging and sustaining new engagements in sport and physical activity in youth groups, however, there is at present a lack of understanding of the use of these activities with...

Risk Factor Analysis and the Youth Question

Science.gov (United States)

France, Alan

2008-01-01

This paper is concerned with exploring how in late modernity the "youth question" is being addressed by public policy and what impact this is having on understandings of childhood and youth. Historically the youth question has been shaped by adult anxieties over youth delinquency and their problems of social integration. In late modernity, this is…

Family Resources and Mid-Life Level of Education: A Longitudinal Study of the Mediating Influence of Childhood Parental Involvement

Science.gov (United States)

von Otter, Cecilia

2014-01-01

This paper draws on the concept of parental involvement, popular among educators and policy-makers, in investigating differences in level of attained education by family background. The question is if parental involvement in children's schooling at age 14 acts as a mediator between family resources and mid-life level of attained education. Using…

Water data to answer urgent water policy questions: Monitoring design, available data, and filling data gaps for determining whether shale gas development activities contaminate surface water or groundwater in the Susquehanna River Basin

Science.gov (United States)

Betanzo, Elin A.; Hagen, Erik R.; Wilson, John T.; Reckhow, Kenneth H.; Hayes, Laura; Argue, Denise M.; Cangelosi, Allegra A.

2016-01-01

Throughout its history, the United States has made major investments in assessing natural resources, such as soils, timber, oil and gas, and water. These investments allow policy makers, the private sector and the American public to make informed decisions about cultivating, harvesting or conserving these resources to maximize their value for public welfare, environmental conservation and the economy. As policy issues evolve, new priorities and challenges arise for natural resource assessment, and new approaches to monitoring are needed. For example, new technologies for oil and gas development or alternative energy sources may present new risks for water resources both above and below ground. There is a need to evaluate whether today’s water monitoring programs are generating the information needed to answer questions surrounding these new policy priorities. The Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMWI), in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, initiated this project to explore the types and amounts of water data needed to address water-quality related policy questions of critical concern to today’s policy makers and whether those data are currently available. The collaborating entities identified two urgent water policy questions and conducted case studies in the Northeast-Midwest region to determine the water data needed, water data available, and the best ways to fill the data gaps relative to those questions. This report details the output from one case study and focuses on the Susquehanna River Basin, a data-rich area expected to be a best-case scenario in terms of water data availability.

Shaping Policy Curves

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Broome, André; Seabrooke, Leonard

2015-01-01

provide a conceptual framework for understanding how IOs seek to use their own cognitive authority to foster ‘diagnostic coordination’ across technocratic economic policy communities. This encourages officials to adapt to a common policy language and delimits the policy space within which they identify......International organizations (IOs) such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank are assumed to rely on ‘sympathetic interlocutors’ at the national level to drive through economic reforms that conform to global policy norms. In this article we answer the following question: How do...... sympathetic interlocutors for IOs emerge in the first place? We address this question by examining how IOs engage in teaching norms to national officials via transnational policy training in order to increase the number of domestic reformers who are sympathetic to their prescriptions for policy change. We...

Parliament and the making of Indian foreign policy: a study of nuclear policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paranjpe, Shrikant

1997-01-01

This book is a study that attempts to look at the emerging role design that the Indian Parliament has come to acquire in the exercise of its functions of participating in the formulation of foreign policy. The choice of the case study of nuclear policy is deliberate in that it evokes responses in all the three important dimensions of the role of the parliament: policy-making, representational activity, and system maintenance activity. The executive and the legislature are closely associated in the process of policy-making in the Indian parliamentary set-up. The representational activities focuses on the role perception of a parliamentarian and his interest in the area of foreign policy. The system maintenance activity includes support for the regime and political system essentially ensuring continuation of policy. This book also brings out the policies as they developed and the role played by the Parliament in terms of participation in the formulation of the policies. The issue areas covered includes the scientific and technological aspects of atomic energy policy; the debate on the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty; peaceful nuclear explosions; and the question of the nuclear weapons option. The essential sources of the study have been parliamentary debates, published reports and other statements dealing with the topic and interviews with legislators and officials involved in the issue. Most of the recommendations and concluding observations have been based on the interviews conducted

Cultivating public involvement: Going beyond the Nuclear Waste Policy Act

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Easterling, J.B.; Gleason, M.E.

1993-01-01

Congress, recognizing that States, Indian tribes, and local governments have a unique and vested interest in the siting of high-level radioactive waste facilities, gave these parties special rights to participate in this country's high-level radioactive waste management program through the Nuclear Waste Policy Act as amended. However, as the program progresses, it has become increasingly clear that, in addition to these affected parties, many other groups and individuals are interested in what happens to the radioactive waste generated by commercial nuclear reactors and defense-related facilities. In an effort to address the interests of these other groups and individuals, the US DOE's Office of Civilian Radioactive Waste Management (OCRWM) is expanding its public involvement activities by inviting representatives from a wider range of organizations to join in a dialogue on issues related to high-level waste disposal. Why are we doing this? Because we believe that involving more people in the program will increase understanding of the critical importance of finding a safe and environmentally responsible way to deal with nuclear waste. Furthermore, thoughtful exchanges with the public will increase our awareness of how this program may affect others. Ultimately, our goal is to help build public trust and confidence in the Federal Government's ability to accomplish its mission and in the fairness and competence of the decisionmaking process. This paper explains the rationale and objectives for OCRWM's expanded public involvement efforts; describes the process used to identify and solicit the involvement of additional parties; highlights interactions with several groups contacted to date; and reports on the early results of these consultations

Women's experiences of developing musculoskeletal diseases: employment challenges and policy recommendations.

Science.gov (United States)

Crooks, Valorie A

2007-07-30

To answer three specific questions: (i) How do women experience the workplace after the onset of a musculoskeletal disease; (ii) What employment policy and programme suggestions can they offer for ways to better support chronically ill women in their abilities to maintain workforce participation; and (iii) How are these women's employment policy and programme recommendations informed by their own lived experiences and desires? In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 women who had developed musculoskeletal diseases while involved in the labour market. Data were coded and analysed thematically. Participants identified three common workplace barriers experienced and three types of workplace accommodations commonly requested. They offered four specific employment policy and programme recommendations for ways to better support women who develop musculoskeletal diseases in maintaining labour market participation. It is found that their employment policy and programme recommendations are informed by their own experiences in the workplace and desires for being supported in maintaining involvement in paid labour. Creating employment programmes and policies that support chronically ill women in their attempts to remain involved in the workforce based on how much paid labour they are able to perform and where they are best able to work is of the utmost importance.

Counselling and Nigeria National Policy on Education: The question ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

PROMOTING ACCESS TO AFRICAN RESEARCH ... The provision for guidance and counseling in the Nigeria National Policy on ... Even in the vicarious non formal indigenous education system, counseling still took the pride of place.

Flood Risk Management Policy in Scotland: Research Questions Past, Present and Future

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkinson, Mark; Hastings, Emily; MacDonald, Jannette

2016-04-01

Scotland's Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) delivers accessible research and expert opinion to support the Scottish Government and its delivery partners in the development and implementation of water policy. It was established in 2011 by the Scottish Government (Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services) in recognition of a gap in the provision of short term advice and research to policy (development and implementation). Key policy areas include the Water Framework Directive, Floods Directive, Drinking Water Directive, Habitats Directive and Scotland's Hydro Nation Strategy. CREW is unique in its demand-driven and free service for policy makers and practitioners, managing the engagement between scientists, policy makers and practitioners to work effectively across this interface. The users of CREW are the Scottish Government, Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Natural Heritage and Scottish Water. CREW has funded around 100 projects relating to water policy since its inception in 2011. Of these, a significant number relate to flood risk management policy. Based on a review of work to date, this poster will give an overview of these projects and a forward look at the challenges that remain. From learning from community led flood risk management to surface water flood forecasting for urban communities, links will be made between sustainable and traditional flood risk management while considering the perceptions of stakeholders to flood risk management. How can we deliver fully integrated flood risk management options? How policy makers, scientists and land managers can better work together will also be explored.

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

Can public policies sustain fertility in the Nordic countries?: Lessons from the past and questions for the future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marit Rønsen

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The collective evidence of past research indicates that Nordic social welfare policies have had positive impacts on fertility. Yet, some patterns cause concern. One concern is that the good recuperation at cohort level partly is explained by relatively high fertility levels among women educated for female-dominated jobs with extensive part-time work. One may therefore question whether the present development is compatible with gender equality. Another concern is a more socially selective entry into fatherhood. Based on updated analyses of female as well as male fertility trends in Norway we address these issues, focussing especially on associations with educational level and field.

How embedded is public involvement in mainstream health research in England a decade after policy implementation? A realist evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Patricia; Mathie, Elspeth; Poland, Fiona; Keenan, Julia; Howe, Amanda; Munday, Diane; Kendall, Sally; Cowe, Marion; Staniszewska, Sophie; Goodman, Claire

2018-04-01

Objectives To explore how embedded patient and public involvement is within mainstream health research following two decades of policy-driven work to underpin health research with patient and public involvement in England. Methods Realist evaluation using Normalization Process Theory as a programme theory to understand what enabled patient and public involvement to be embedded as normal practice. Data were collected through a national scoping and survey, and qualitative methods to track patient and public involvement processes and impact over time within 22 nationally funded research projects. Results In research studies that were able to create reciprocal working relationships and to embed patient and public involvement this was contingent on: the purpose of patient and public involvement being clear; public contributors reflecting research end-beneficiaries; researchers understanding the value of patient and public involvement; patient and public involvement opportunities being provided throughout the research and ongoing evaluation of patient and public involvement. Key contested areas included: whether to measure patient and public involvement impact; seeking public contributors to maintain a balance between being research-aware and an outsider standpoint seen as 'authentically' lay; scaling-up patient and public involvement embedded within a research infrastructure rather than risk token presence and whether patient and public involvement can have a place within basic science. Conclusions While patient and public involvement can be well-integrated within all types of research, policy makers should take account of tensions that must be navigated in balancing moral and methodological imperatives.

Ecological questions on the disposal of radioactive waste

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brenner, A.; Kägi, W.; Marugg, F.; Bellmann, R.; Giaquinto, K.

2014-10-01

This comprehensive paper elaborated for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) discusses six central key questions on the disposal of radioactive wastes. Various factors in the philosophical-ethics area are discussed including disposal and responsibility, disposal and social justness, co-operation, trusteeship, nature and ecocide and questions of guilt. The ethics part of the report is dedicated to conflict management. The second part of the report deals with environmental policy. Aspects dealt with include sustainability, the principles of provision, participation and the cost-by-cause principle. Efficiency and newer developments in environmental policy are discussed. The disposal of radioactive waste is reviewed together with the effects of discussions on this topic and related developments

Questioning As a Pedagogical Tool for Eliciting Student Generated Questions During the Teaching of Acid-base Equilibria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ayoade Ejiwale Okanlawon

2012-04-01

Full Text Available Traditionally, teachers simply taught problem-solving by explaining the worked-out examples taken from textbooks and students were expected to listen quietly, copy the solution to the problem, and then work independently at their desks. But a large body of research notes that guiding students to develop a solution pathway with questioning is more effective than simply explaining the sequence of steps to solve the problem. Students involved in question- and-answer sessions are more attentive than those who listen passively to teacher explanations and they are more likely to generate questions. The questions students ask during a lesson perform a number of important functions, including providing the teacher with valuable information about students’ understanding and misunderstanding, fostering self-regulation, inviting classroom discussions and aiding comprehension of contents presented. The skill of posing questions during classroom instruction is often under-valued and under taught in today’s classrooms. To encourage students to ask quality and thought provoking questions related to the contents taught, explicit instruction is required. This paper, therefore, qualitatively reports factors that foster student generated questions during the problem-solving instruction involving acid-base titration problem.

US fertility prevention as poverty prevention: an empirical question and social justice issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Romero, Diana; Agénor, Madina

2009-01-01

This paper examines the impact of the US welfare reform family-cap policy on the childbearing decisions of poor and low-income women by posing two complementary questions, both placed within a broader historical context. Specifically, it raises an empirical question pertaining to the family cap's effectiveness and a social justice question pertaining to the policy's ethical and legal justification in terms of human and reproductive rights. To address the first question, a thorough review of past and current research pertaining to the family cap at both the state and national levels is provided. The second question is addressed with an overview of international human and reproductive rights documents of relevance to the family-cap policy, as well as an analysis of the covenants' numerous components with which the family cap is in conflict. Finally, this paper situates the family cap in its historical context by investigating previous governmental attempts to control and regulate the reproductive health and rights of poor women and women of color in the United States. The majority of empirical analyses of the family cap have found that the policy has not had an impact on poor women's reproductive health behaviors. In addition, the exclusive application of this policy to poor women receiving cash assistance is demonstrated to be in violation of eight international human and reproductive rights documents, several of which the US is a signatory. These two findings make a strong case that policy makers and social and health researchers alike critically reexamine whether a policy that has not achieved its ostensible goal and is applied in a disparate manner-primarily to poor women and families and women of color-should continue to be implemented by the states.

Instance-Based Question Answering

Science.gov (United States)

2006-12-01

cluster-based query expan- sion, learning answering strategies, machine learning in NLP To my wife Monica Abstract During recent years, question...process is typically tedious and involves expertise in crafting and implement- ing these models (e.g. rule-based), utilizing NLP resources, and...questions. For languages that use capitalization (e.g. not Chinese or Arabic ) for named entities, IBQA can make use of NE classing (e.g. “Bob Marley

Technological reason and power policy faced with conflicting demands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edwin, K.; Krenz, G.

1985-01-01

Every country is faced with the fundamental task of ensuring long-term energy supply in an optimal manner. Electrical energy is of particular importance owing to its universal uses. But decision-making in the field of power policy is difficult and involves uncertainties because such decisions will have long-term effects due to the long service life of power projects. Decision-making is also difficult because of the large amounts of capital involved in power projects, so that any mistake may cause irreparable damage to the national economy. This article is an attempt to find the fundamental relationships governing the assessment of projects in terms of power policy and to demonstrate the application of appropriate methods of analysis, using as an example the vital question which source of primary energy should best be used for electricity production in Austria. (Auth.)

Smart Mobility – Encouraging sustainable mobility behaviour by designing and implementing policies with citizen involvement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edith Maier

2012-10-01

Full Text Available The paper discusses the theoretical concepts, design considerations and preliminary findings from Smart Mobility, a research project currently being undertaken with the City of St. Gallen. The project aims at designing measures to encourage the increased use of public and non-motorised transport by integrating behavioural economic principles into public policy. The extensive involvement of citizens and their participation in the design of the measures are to support their democratic legitimization and later acceptance. The paper describes the energy policies behind the project and outlines the theoretical framework for integrating behavioural insights into public policy. The strategies envisaged include participatory instruments and methods, especially the use of existing social media channels, capitalizing on social processes and norms to increase the motivation of individuals to use public transport, creating an open innovation space by means of crowdsourcing as well as the proper framing of political communication to achieve changes in mobility patterns.

Homophobic Expression in K-12 Public Schools: Legal and Policy Considerations Involving Speech that Denigrates Others

Science.gov (United States)

Eckes, Suzanne E.

2017-01-01

This article examines an education policy matter that involves homophobic speech in public schools. Using legal research methods, two federal circuit court opinions that have examined the tension surrounding anti-LGBTQ student expression are analyzed. This legal analysis provides non-lawyers some insight into the current realities of student…

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...

Small Town Science Policy: Bringing Our Expertise Back Home

Science.gov (United States)

Larsen, K. W.

2017-12-01

Questions of science policy are more and more in the news, whether it is in regards to our nation's role in international agreements (Paris Climate Accords), the disbursement of limited research budgets, or a hundred other national issues. Influencing these decisions is a difficult, frustrating, and often ineffective endeavor. Where we can have a greater impact is by effecting change locally, either through interactions with and education of local elected officials or direct involvement in the political process. Advocating for scientifically sound policy at this level takes a different set of communication skills, but can ultimately reach a wider audience and have tangible effects.

Priority Questions and Horizon Scanning for Conservation: A Comparative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Kark, Salit; Sutherland, William J.; Shanas, Uri; Klass, Keren; Achisar, Hila; Dayan, Tamar; Gavrieli, Yael; Justo-Hanani, Ronit; Mandelik, Yael; Orion, Nir; Pargament, David; Portman, Michelle; Reisman-Berman, Orna; Safriel, Uriel N.; Schaffer, Gad; Steiner, Noa; Tauber, Israel; Levin, Noam

2016-01-01

Several projects aimed at identifying priority issues for conservation with high relevance to policy have recently been completed in several countries. Two major types of projects have been undertaken, aimed at identifying (i) policy-relevant questions most imperative to conservation and (ii) horizon scanning topics, defined as emerging issues that are expected to have substantial implications for biodiversity conservation and policy in the future. Here, we provide the first overview of the outcomes of biodiversity and conservation-oriented projects recently completed around the world using this framework. We also include the results of the first questions and horizon scanning project completed for a Mediterranean country. Overall, the outcomes of the different projects undertaken (at the global scale, in the UK, US, Canada, Switzerland and in Israel) were strongly correlated in terms of the proportion of questions and/or horizon scanning topics selected when comparing different topic areas. However, some major differences were found across regions. There was large variation among regions in the percentage of proactive (i.e. action and response oriented) versus descriptive (non-response oriented) priority questions and in the emphasis given to socio-political issues. Substantial differences were also found when comparing outcomes of priority questions versus horizon scanning projects undertaken for the same region. For example, issues related to climate change, human demography and marine ecosystems received higher priority as horizon scanning topics, while ecosystem services were more emphasized as current priority questions. We suggest that future initiatives aimed at identifying priority conservation questions and horizon scanning topics should allow simultaneous identification of both current and future priority issues, as presented here for the first time. We propose that further emphasis on social-political issues should be explicitly integrated into future

Corporal Punishment in the State of Louisiana: A Descriptive Study of Policies and Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Broussard, Mary R.

2014-01-01

Louisiana is currently one of the 19 states in the United States that still allow the use of corporal punishment in public schools. The research questions that drove this study explored Louisiana-published court cases involving corporal punishment in public schools, district policies regarding the use of corporal punishment, reported instances of…

Preferred conservation policies of shark researchers.

Science.gov (United States)

Shiffman, David S; Hammerschlag, Neil

2016-08-01

There is increasing concern about the conservation status of sharks. However, the presence of numerous different (and potentially mutually exclusive) policies complicates management implementation and public understanding of the process. We distributed an online survey to members of the largest professional shark and ray research societies to assess member knowledge of and attitudes toward different conservation policies. Questions covered society member opinions on conservation and management policies, personal histories of involvement in advocacy and management, and perceptions of the approach of conservation nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to shark conservation. One hundred and two surveys were completed (overall response rate 21%). Respondents considered themselves knowledgeable about and actively involved in conservation and management policy; a majority believed scientists have a responsibility to advocate for conservation (75%), and majorities have sent formal public comments to policymakers (54%) and included policy suggestions in their papers (53%). They believe sustainable shark fisheries are possible, are currently happening today (in a few places), and should be the goal instead of banning fisheries. Respondents were generally less supportive of newer limit-based (i.e., policies that ban exploitation entirely without a species-specific focus) conservation policy tools, such as shark sanctuaries and bans on the sale of shark fins, than of target-based fisheries management tools (i.e., policies that allow for sustainable harvest of species whose populations can withstand it), such as fishing quotas. Respondents were generally supportive of environmental NGO efforts to conserve sharks but raised concerns about some NGOs that they perceived as using incorrect information and focusing on the wrong problems. Our results show there is an ongoing debate in shark conservation and management circles relative to environmental policy on target-based natural

Murder-suicide involving BC doctor raises troubling questions about euthanasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, V

1995-01-01

The deaths last September of a British Columbia physician and his wife have raised troubling questions about euthanasia and Alzheimer's disease. Police described the deaths of Dr. Tom Powell and his wife Dr. Lorraine Miles, a retired dentist, as a murder-suicide. Friends of the couple wonder if more lenient laws concerning euthanasia and assisted suicide might have saved Miles' life. Images p1856-a PMID:7773902

Structured Attentions for Visual Question Answering

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Chen; Zhao, Yanpeng; Huang, Shuaiyi; Tu, Kewei; Ma, Yi

2017-01-01

Visual attention, which assigns weights to image regions according to their relevance to a question, is considered as an indispensable part by most Visual Question Answering models. Although the questions may involve complex relations among multiple regions, few attention models can effectively encode such cross-region relations. In this paper, we demonstrate the importance of encoding such relations by showing the limited effective receptive field of ResNet on two datasets, and propose to mo...

Obstacles and Enablers on the Way towards Integrated Physical Activity Policies for Childhood Obesity Prevention: An Exploration of Local Policy Officials’ Views

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna-Marie Hendriks

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Limited physical activity (PA is a risk factor for childhood obesity. In Netherlands, as in many other countries worldwide, local policy officials bear responsibility for integrated PA policies, involving both health and nonhealth domains. In practice, its development seems hampered. We explore which obstacles local policy officials perceive in their effort. Methods. Fifteen semistructured interviews were held with policy officials from health and nonhealth policy domains, working at strategic, tactic, and operational level, in three relatively large municipalities. Questions focused on exploring perceived barriers for integrated PA policies. The interviews were deductively coded by applying the Behavior Change Ball framework. Findings. Childhood obesity prevention appeared on the governmental agenda and all officials understood the multicausal nature. However, operational officials had not yet developed a tradition to develop integrated PA policies due to insufficient boundary-spanning skills and structural and cultural differences between the domains. Tactical level officials did not sufficiently support intersectoral collaboration and strategic level officials mainly focused on public-private partnerships. Conclusion. Developing integrated PA policies is a bottom-up innovation process that needs to be supported by governmental leaders through better guiding organizational processes leading to such policies. Operational level officials can assist in this by making progress in intersectoral collaboration visible.

Agricultural policy, food policy, and communicable disease policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Grant, Wyn

2012-12-01

Food and agricultural policy is an essential element of a communicable disease policy. The European Union has developed a more systematic and broadly based interest in questions of food safety and animal health and welfare linked to modernization of the Common Agricultural Policy, reflected in a new treaty obligation on animal welfare. Following the bovine spongiform encephalopathy crisis, moves were made to create a European competency, but implementation and enforcement resources reside with the member states. The European Animal Health Strategy is meant to lead to an EU animal health law, but this has already been constrained by fiscal austerity. The development of such a law may lead to a lowest common denominator formula that does little to enhance consumer protection or improve animal welfare. This is an inherent risk with top-down forms of Europeanization; more attention should be paid to lessons to be learned from bottom-up initiatives of the type used to counteract the bovine diarrhea virus. There will always be a tension among what is good policy for reducing the incidence of communicable disease, policy that is popular with EU citizens, and policy that is acceptable to member states.

Policy in Conflict: The Struggle Between Environmental Policy and Homeland Security Goals

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-01

environmental and energy 34 policy (Murkowski, 2010). However, a good set of literature on the broader, macro level question central to this investigation...terms of increasing efficiency of the automotive fleet (demand side), certain environmental policies have the unintended consequence of restricting the...Middle East  Broader aspects of the struggle between environmental policy and energy policy  A broad analysis of ways to diminish animus toward the

U.S. Theater Nuclear Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thompson, J.A.

1994-01-01

In the brief period between May 1978 and December 12, 1979, U.S. policy, and the policy of the NATO Alliance, toward theater nuclear forces (TNF) changed dramatically. The consequences of this change now dominate the political agenda in East-West (and West-West) relations. The ultimate outcome of the now renamed intermediate-range nuclear force (INF) debate will have far-reaching consequences for the future of the Atlantic Alliance. How did this issue emerge? Why did the US change its policy? How did it work with its Alliance to change NATO policy? These questions, among others, are now figuring in the debate. The answers to these questions are discussed in detail

How policy on employee involvement in work reintegration can yield its opposite: employee experiences in a Canadian setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Maiwald, Karin; Meershoek, Agnes; de Rijk, Angelique; Nijhuis, Frans

2013-04-01

Canada has a long tradition of involving employee representatives in developing work reintegration policies and expects this to positively affect employee involvement to improve work reintegration success. The purpose of this study was to examine employee involvement in reintegration in a Canadian province as experienced by employees. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were held with employees in a healthcare organization. The interview topic list was based on a review of local reintegration policy documents and literature. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using ethnographic methodology. Employees do not feel in control of their reintegration trajectory. In the phase of reporting sickness absence, they wrestle with a lack of understanding on how to report in sick. In the phase of reintegration planning and coordination, they hesitate to get involved in the organization of reintegration. In the phase of reintegration plan execution, employees encounter unfulfilled expectations on interventions. Employee involvement in the organization of reintegration makes them responsible for the development of reintegration trajectories. However, they consider themselves often incapable of completing this in practice. Moreover, employees experience that their contribution can boomerang on them. • It is not that employees are not able to think along or decide on their reintegration trajectory but rather they are expected to do so at times when they cannot oversee their illness and/or recovery trajectory. • Settings out reintegration procedures that are inflexible in practice do not recognize that employee involvement in work reintegration trajectories can develop over time. • The disability management professional has a central role in organizing and supporting employee involvement in work reintegration, however, the employees do not experience this is indeed happening.

Perspective on China's one-child family policy: spoiled children? Questions and responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyner, N B

1987-01-01

China's 1-child policy has been effective in its objective of limiting population growth, yet the policy never has been imposed rigidly. For example, the policy is less restrictive in rural areas where 80% of the population live. It is argued the workers in the countryside need larger families for production. Between 1986-87, China's birthrate increased from 18/1000 - 21/1000, suggesting an easing of policy restrictions. Some population experts maintain that population increase is not a major problem as long as gross income figures continue to exceed the growth of population. Others indicate that a renewed emphasis on small families may be necessary. Some planners have observed developmental dynamics that have serious implications for traditional social and family values. 1 mental health expert has identified the "spoiled child syndrome," noting that the child in the 1- child family seems to be more dependent, less able to take care of himself/herself, more self-centered yet has a higher intelligence quotient. Parent training classes are now being developed.

The global climate Policy Evaluation Framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cohan, D.; Stafford, R.K.; Scheraga, J.D.; Herrod, S.

1994-01-01

The Policy Evaluation Framework (PEF) is a decision analysis tool that enables decision makers to continuously formulate policies that take into account the existing uncertainties, and to refine policies as new scientific information is developed. PEF integrates deterministic parametric models of physical, biological, and economic systems with a flexible decision tree system. The deterministic models represent greenhouse gas emissions, atmospheric accumulation of these gases, global and regional climate changes, ecosystem impacts, economic impacts, and mitigation and adaptation options, The decision tree system captures the key scientific and economic uncertainties, and reflects the wide range of possible outcomes of alternative policy actions. The framework contains considerable flexibility to allow a wide range of scientific and economic assumptions or scenarios to be represented and explored. A key feature of PEF is its capability to address both mitigation policies and investments in anticipatory adaptation to protect ecological and economic systems, as well as interactions among such options. PEF's time structure allows issues related to the timing and flexibility of alternatives to be evaluated, while the decision tree structure facilitates examining questions involving the value of information, contingent actions, and probabilistic representations. This paper is intended to introduce PEF to the global climate policy community. The paper provides an overview of the structure, modules, and capabilities of PEF, and discusses selected results from an initial set of illustrative applications

Policy Innovation in Innovation Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Borras, Susana

During the past two decades Europe has experienced important changes and transformations in the way in which governments approach the issue of science, technology and innovation, and their relation to economic growth and competitiveness. This has to do with the European Union level as well...... as with national and sub-national governments in Europe, all of them introducing interesting novelties in their innovation policy. These changes refer to different aspects of policy, mainly the content of policy initiatives towards science, technology and innovation; the instruments governments are using...... at the EU level, and mentions similar trends taking place at national and sub-national levels. The questions that guide the contents here are essentially three, namely, what are the main traits of innovation policies in Europe since the 1990s and how have the EU and different national governments approached...

Evolution of Government Policies on Guiding Corporate Social Responsibility in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yanhong Tang

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to unearth the ways in which the Chinese government uses policies to guide corporate social responsibility (CSR development in China. Co-word analysis, cluster analysis, and network analysis were conducted on the relevant policy documents from 2005 to 2013 from the Chinese government. This paper illustrates the evolution of industry involvement in metagovernance of CSR, the evolution of intergovernmental relations in CSR policy formulation, and the evolution of policy relations on guiding CSR. The quantitative text analysis on policy documents reveals policy intentions and maps policy process, advancing understanding of policy orientation and evolution. The CSR reports of the same period of the State Grid in China are used as empirical evidence to validate the policy evolution. This work presents the overall evolution of the ways in which the Chinese government deployed its guiding strategy on CSR, and empirically demonstrates the organization of metagovernance maneuvered by China’s government to promote CSR development in China. It provides perspective and methods to analyze China’s networked government policies, and empirically answers the central question of metagovernance about the ways in which the organization of metagovernance is carried out.

A question driven socio-hydrological modeling process

Science.gov (United States)

Garcia, M.; Portney, K.; Islam, S.

2016-01-01

Human and hydrological systems are coupled: human activity impacts the hydrological cycle and hydrological conditions can, but do not always, trigger changes in human systems. Traditional modeling approaches with no feedback between hydrological and human systems typically cannot offer insight into how different patterns of natural variability or human-induced changes may propagate through this coupled system. Modeling of coupled human-hydrological systems, also called socio-hydrological systems, recognizes the potential for humans to transform hydrological systems and for hydrological conditions to influence human behavior. However, this coupling introduces new challenges and existing literature does not offer clear guidance regarding model conceptualization. There are no universally accepted laws of human behavior as there are for the physical systems; furthermore, a shared understanding of important processes within the field is often used to develop hydrological models, but there is no such consensus on the relevant processes in socio-hydrological systems. Here we present a question driven process to address these challenges. Such an approach allows modeling structure, scope and detail to remain contingent on and adaptive to the question context. We demonstrate the utility of this process by revisiting a classic question in water resources engineering on reservoir operation rules: what is the impact of reservoir operation policy on the reliability of water supply for a growing city? Our example model couples hydrological and human systems by linking the rate of demand decreases to the past reliability to compare standard operating policy (SOP) with hedging policy (HP). The model shows that reservoir storage acts both as a buffer for variability and as a delay triggering oscillations around a sustainable level of demand. HP reduces the threshold for action thereby decreasing the delay and the oscillation effect. As a result, per capita demand decreases during

Approaches to Risk and Consumer Policy in Financial Service Regulation in the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Lunt

2006-01-01

Full Text Available The financial service and communication sectors in the UK have been subject to radical re-organisation, involving the formation of sector-wide regulatory bodies (FSA and Ofcom with wide-ranging powers and statutory obligations. Although both have responsibilities for assessment and management of risk, their remits go beyond traditional approaches to regulation. Hence, although primarily oriented to economic policy, both regulators address questions of corporate responsibility, balance of stakeholder interests, the public good, consumer representation and public participation. Accordingly, they are undertaking a range of activities, including consumer education and research, public consultation and the involvement of stakeholders in policy review. Focusing on the case of financial services, this paper presents an analysis of two early speeches by FSA directors, one focused on the approach to risk adopted by the regulator and the other on consumer policy. The second part of the paper considers the conceptual issues regarding different modes of risk management in the new regulators, requiring an account of the various levels and forms of involvement by stakeholders and publics in the identification and management of risk. It follows on from the analysis of the speeches to examine the relationship between risk and consumer policy in the practices of the FSA. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0601323

An Important Question for Student Journalists: Must Freedom, Rules/Law Inevitably Conflict?

Science.gov (United States)

Martinson, David L.

2001-01-01

Considers the importance of developing a well constructed publications policy and notes that a carefully designed policy will provide some mechanism for addressing questions regarding the inevitable conflicts that will arise when students express a desire to publish certain controversial material. (SC)

Questioning context: a set of interdisciplinary questions for investigating contextual factors affecting health decision making

Science.gov (United States)

Charise, Andrea; Witteman, Holly; Whyte, Sarah; Sutton, Erica J.; Bender, Jacqueline L.; Massimi, Michael; Stephens, Lindsay; Evans, Joshua; Logie, Carmen; Mirza, Raza M.; Elf, Marie

2011-01-01

Abstract Objective  To combine insights from multiple disciplines into a set of questions that can be used to investigate contextual factors affecting health decision making. Background  Decision‐making processes and outcomes may be shaped by a range of non‐medical or ‘contextual’ factors particular to an individual including social, economic, political, geographical and institutional conditions. Research concerning contextual factors occurs across many disciplines and theoretical domains, but few conceptual tools have attempted to integrate and translate this wide‐ranging research for health decision‐making purposes. Methods  To formulate this tool we employed an iterative, collaborative process of scenario development and question generation. Five hypothetical health decision‐making scenarios (preventative, screening, curative, supportive and palliative) were developed and used to generate a set of exploratory questions that aim to highlight potential contextual factors across a range of health decisions. Findings  We present an exploratory tool consisting of questions organized into four thematic domains – Bodies, Technologies, Place and Work (BTPW) – articulating wide‐ranging contextual factors relevant to health decision making. The BTPW tool encompasses health‐related scholarship and research from a range of disciplines pertinent to health decision making, and identifies concrete points of intersection between its four thematic domains. Examples of the practical application of the questions are also provided. Conclusions  These exploratory questions provide an interdisciplinary toolkit for identifying the complex contextual factors affecting decision making. The set of questions comprised by the BTPW tool may be applied wholly or partially in the context of clinical practice, policy development and health‐related research. PMID:21029277

Institutional Motivation and Policy Change Associated with Land Grant Institutions' Involvement in Economic Development. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.

Science.gov (United States)

Cote, Lawrence S.; And Others

A study investigated: (1) the degree of land grant institution involvement in economic development activity, defined in terms of 17 selected cooperative research and technology exchange activities; (2) changes in selected academic policies (patents, consulting, conflict of interest, conflict of commitment, and extra compensation); and (3) the…

The social policies of Lula's administration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida

Full Text Available The article focuses on the initiatives taken by the Lula administration regarding social policies. To begin with, we describe the social reform process implemented by the governments that followed the redemocratization of Brazil. Then, we examine some indices showing the evolution of social conditions due to social policies practiced during the democratic period. Finally, we analyze the views about the social question predominant in the PT government, as well as the most appropriate policies to tackle such a question. We also discuss the present government's proposals and initiatives regarding the social area.

The ethics of public policy RCTs: The principle of policy equipoise.

Science.gov (United States)

MacKay, Douglas

2018-01-01

In this article, I ask whether a principle analogous to the principle of clinical equipoise should govern the design and conduct of RCTs evaluating the effectiveness of policy interventions. I answer this question affirmatively, and introduce and defend the principle of policy equipoise. According to this principle, all arms of a policy RCT must be, at minimum, in a state of equipoise with the best proven policy that is also morally and practically attainable and sustainable. For all arms of a policy RCT, policy experts must either (1) reasonably disagree about whether the trial arms are more effective than this policy, or (2) know that they are. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The French electricity policy facing European integration and environmental law

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Begue, M.C.

2004-02-01

The french electricity policy is traditionally defined by public authorities. The preference for nuclear power implies great risk and severe damage to the environment. These features of french electricity policy are however questioned by the increasing influence of european law and the (relatively) recent recognition of the environmental issues of such policy. This thesis intends to study the consequences of two 'new' tendencies that seem to be inevitable in the field of electricity policy: the decreasing role of national public authorities and the diffusion of the concept of sustainable development. The theoretical model which underlies the organization of commercial exchanges is replacing the traditional intervention of the State. regarding of this basic good. The adoption of legal rules to organize the electricity market has involved the development of many economic instruments. Those instruments aim at modifying the electricity policy in accordance with the principle of integration of environmental dimension in sectoral policies. The main object of our work is to analyse the consequences of these changes in the concept of public utility as well as in the importance given to environmental protection in the new forms of electricity policies. (author)

Investigating compliance with SME-friendly procurement policy

OpenAIRE

Flynn, Anthony

2016-01-01

This study investigates compliance with SME-friendly policy in public procurement. Two research questions guide the investigation. The first is the extent to which policy is being complied with. The results, which are based on 349 public buyer survey responses, reveal compliance to be moderate; indicated by a mean score of 14.54 out of 22 on the compliance index. The second question concerns the impact of institutional forces on policy compliance. A predictive model informed by institutional ...

THINK half-way and beyond. Think Tank advising the European Commission on mid- and long-term energy policy. Mid-term Booklet June 2010 - January 2012

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-02-15

The THINK project provides knowledge support to policy making by the European Commission in the context of the Strategic Energy Technology Plan. The project is organized around a multidisciplinary group of 23 experts from 14 countries covering five dimensions of energy policy: science and technology, market and network economics, regulation, law, and policy implementation. Each semester, the permanent research team based in Florence works on two reports, going through the quality process of the THINK Tank. This includes an Expert Hearing to test the robustness of the work, a discussion meeting with the Scientific Council of the THINK Tank, and a Public Consultation to test the public acceptance of different policy options by involving the broader community. After one and a half years, THINK has produced a collection of six reports addressing a number of key questions about today's EU energy policy. Most of the questions are forward-looking, trying in one way or another to analyse how Europe can achieve its ambitious energy and climate policy targets. In this respect, financial and regulatory questions are predominant in most of the reports. However, as is commonly the case in EU policy, the reports usually also address - at least implicitly - the institutional question of who should act: the EU, Member States, regulators, companies or, in the case of Smart Cities, local authorities. Altogether, the six reports constitute an interesting and up-to-date reader of some of the most pressing issues of EU energy policy.

THE ESSENCE OF QUESTIONING AND EXPLICIT READING INSTRUCTION STRATEGY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sa’dulloh Muzammil

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Teacher’s questioning may function to assist students comprehend more reading materials and to enable them to be proficient readers. Yet, the students may be less benefited from which if the teacher neither provides sufficient explicit reading strategy nor involves higher-level questions. Consequently, the teacher should pay more careful attentions as follows: 1 teacher should involve both lower- and high-lever questions; 2 teacher should provide students with explicit reading strategy; 3 teacher should be aware of the activities in reading phases: pre-, during-, and post-reading.

People's opinion of climate policy. Popular support for climate policy alternatives in Norway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marino, Sjoevaag Marit; Bjoerge, Nils Erik; Ericson, Torgeir; Garnaasjordet, Per Arild; Karlsen, Haakon T.; Randers; Joergen; Rees, Daniel

2012-01-01

How can we evaluate whether national climate policies are sufficient? Which moral principles should be the basis of our policy efforts? The answers to these questions are central to the development of any climate policy framework, but not always made explicit in daily political discourse. In this article we seek to redress this imbalance through a survey of popular opinion in Norway.(Author)

Communicating Scientific Findings to Lawyers, Policy-Makers, and the Public (Invited)

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, W.; Velsko, S. P.

2013-12-01

This presentation will summarize the authors' collaborative research on inferential errors, bias and communication difficulties that have arisen in the area of WMD forensics. This research involves analysis of problems that have arisen in past national security investigations, interviews with scientists from various disciplines whose work has been used in WMD investigations, interviews with policy-makers, and psychological studies of lay understanding of forensic evidence. Implications of this research for scientists involved in nuclear explosion monitoring will be discussed. Among the issues covered will be: - Potential incompatibilities between the questions policy makers pose and the answers that experts can provide. - Common misunderstandings of scientific and statistical data. - Advantages and disadvantages of various methods for describing and characterizing the strength of scientific findings. - Problems that can arise from excessive hedging or, alternatively, insufficient qualification of scientific conclusions. - Problems that can arise from melding scientific and non-scientific evidence in forensic assessments.

Questioning the Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Tienken, Christopher H.; Goldberg, Stephanie; DiRocco, Dominic

2010-01-01

Historical accounts of questioning used in the education process trace back to Socrates. One of the best examples of his use of questioning is found in Plato's "The Republic." Socrates used a series of strategic questions to help his student Glaucon come to understand the concept of justice. Socrates purposefully posed a series of…

Implementation lessons for school food policies and marketing restrictions in the Philippines: a qualitative policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Reeve, Erica; Thow, Anne Marie; Bell, Colin; Engelhardt, Katrin; Gamolo-Naliponguit, Ella Cecilia; Go, John Juliard; Sacks, Gary

2018-01-23

The school environment can enhance children's skills, knowledge and behaviours in relation to healthy eating. However, in many countries, unhealthy foods are commonly available in schools, and children can be exposed to aggressive marketing by the food industry. Taking the perspective of policymakers, this study aimed to identify barriers and enablers to effective school food policy development and implementation in the Philippines. In May 2016, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 policymakers and stakeholders involved in school food policymaking and implementation in the Philippines. The Health Policy Analysis Triangle was used to identify interview questions and to guide the thematic analysis. These included the political and socio-environmental context, strengths and limitations of existing policy content, roles and behaviours of actors, implementation processes, policy outcomes, and opportunities to improve policy coherence. The Department of Education's policy 'Orders' represented a relatively strong policy framework for the education sector of the Philippines. However, a lack of human and financial resources for implementation, planning, and policy enforcement limited the impact of the policy on the healthiness of school food provision. Ambiguity in policy wording allowed a wide interpretation of the foods eligible to be provided in schools, and led to difficulties in effective monitoring and enforcement. Food companies used existing relationships with schools to promote their brands and compromise the establishment of a stronger food policy agenda. We found a motivated group of actors engaging in policy-oriented learning and advocating for a stronger policy alternative so as to improve the school food environment. The adoption of policy mechanisms being used to promote healthy dietary practices in the school setting will be strengthened by more robust implementation planning processes, and resources to support implementation and enforcement

Science and technology policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Who is responsible for environmental and technological policy in Denmark? And how are those "policy-makers" made accountable to the public for their decisions?   This report attempts to answer these important questions by presenting the Danish contribution to the EU-funded project, Analysing Public...

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…

Invalidating Policies using Structural Information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kammuller, Florian; Probst, Christian W.

2013-01-01

by invalidating policies using structural information of the organisational model. Based on this structural information and a description of the organisation's policies, our approach invalidates the policies and identifies exemplary sequences of actions that lead to a violation of the policy in question. Based...... on these examples, the organisation can identify real attack vectors that might result in an insider attack. This information can be used to refine access control system or policies....

Involving traditional birth attendants in emergency obstetric care in Tanzania: policy implications of a study of their knowledge and practices in Kigoma Rural District.

Science.gov (United States)

Vyagusa, Dismas B; Mubyazi, Godfrey M; Masatu, Melchiory

2013-10-14

Access to quality maternal health services mainly depends on existing policies, regulations, skills, knowledge, perceptions, and economic power and motivation of service givers and target users. Critics question policy recommending involvement of traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in emergency obstetric care (EmoC) services in developing countries. This paper reports about knowledge and practices of TBAs on EmoC in Kigoma Rural District, Tanzania and discusses policy implications on involving TBAs in maternal health services. 157 TBAs were identified from several villages in 2005, interviewed and observed on their knowledge and practice in relation to EmoC. Quantitative and qualitative techniques were used for data collection and analysis depending on the nature of the information required. Among all 157 TBAs approached, 57.3% were aged 50+ years while 50% had no formal education. Assisting mothers to deliver without taking their full pregnancy history was confessed by 11% of all respondents. Having been attending pregnant women with complications was experienced by 71.2% of all respondents. Only 58% expressed adequate knowledge on symptoms and signs of pregnancy complications. Lack of knowledge on possible risk of HIV infections while assisting childbirth without taking protective gears was claimed by 5.7% of the respondents. Sharing the same pair of gloves between successful deliveries was reported to be a common practice by 21.1% of the respondents. Use of unsafe delivery materials including local herbs and pieces of cloth for protecting themselves against HIV infections was reported as being commonly practiced among 27.6% of the respondents. Vaginal examination before and during delivery was done by only a few respondents. TBAs in Tanzania are still consulted by people living in underserved areas. Unfortunately, TBAs' inadequate knowledge on EmOC issues seems to have contributed to the rising concerns about their competence to deliver the recommended maternal

"It's a question of prestige": Climate change as public policy in Turkey

OpenAIRE

Erdi Lelandais , Gülçin

2015-01-01

International audience; Climate change has been a preoccupation of public bodies in Turkey since the country signed the UNFCC in 2004. Before then, periodic environmental policies were enacted, but under the remit of each Cabinet ministry and without handing over central control of the Ministry of the Environment. Furthermore, no action-oriented policies on climate change were developed. The issue came to public prominence relatively recently in Turkey, but interest in the issues at state is ...

Impacts of the financial crisis on climate and energy policy. Memo

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-01-01

By request of the Dutch Ministry of Housing, Spatial Planning and the Environment, the Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis (CPB) and the Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) have mapped the main effects of the credit crisis on Dutch climate and energy policy. This memo describes the effects of the credit crisis on the economy (question 1) and more particularly the effect on realizing the Dutch targets for 2020 for climate and energy policy as established in the policy program 'Clean and Efficient' (question 2). A distinction should be made between the short term effects (during the recession) and the longer term effects (the years after)(question 5). Moreover, the realization of the Kyoto target for 2008-2012 is addressed (question 3) as well as the question if the Dutch government can incentivise investments in climate and energy that can contribute to economic recovery in the short term (question 4) [mk] [nl

Pragmatics of policy: the compliance of dutch environmental policy instruments to European union standards.

Science.gov (United States)

Kruitwagen, Sonja; Reudink, Melchert; Faber, Albert

2009-04-01

Despite a general decrease in Dutch environmental emission trends, it remains difficult to comply with European Union (EU) environmental policy targets. Furthermore, environmental issues have become increasingly complex and entangled with society. Therefore, Dutch environmental policy follows a pragmatic line by adopting a flexible approach for compliance, rather than aiming at further reduction at the source of emission. This may be politically useful in order to adequately reach EU targets, but restoration of environmental conditions may be delayed. However, due to the complexity of today's environmental issues, the restoration of environmental conditions might not be the only standard for a proper policy approach. Consequently this raises the question how the Dutch pragmatic approach to compliance qualifies in a broader policy assessment. In order to answer this question, we adapt a policy assessment framework, developed by Hemerijck and Hazeu (Bestuurskunde 13(2), 2004), based on the dimensions of legitimacy and policy logic. We apply this framework for three environmental policy assessments: flexible instruments in climate policy, fine-tuning of national and local measures to meet air quality standards, and derogation for the Nitrate Directive. We conclude with general assessment notes on the appliance of flexible instruments in environmental policy, showing that a broad and comprehensive perspective can help to understand the arguments to put such policy instruments into place and to identify trade-offs between assessment criteria.

U.S. Nuclear Declaratory Policy The Question of Nuclear First Use

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gompert, David

1995-01-01

The motivation behind this reexamination of American nuclear declaratory policy is the striking absence of deterrence from the debate over how to counter the widening threat from nuclear, biological...

Involvement of the European Confederation of the Soil Science Societies in soil protection policy development

Science.gov (United States)

Boivin, Pascal

2017-04-01

The European Confederation of the Soil Science Societies (ECSSS) was founded not only to organize the Eurosoil congress, but also to continuously support and promote the soil causes in the European area. A work is in progress to define the best way to achieve this goal, with integrating voices of the European structures and networks, and the national societies. One of the major objectives is to develop a modern approach of soil protection, including leading experimentations shared with all the members, and active lobbying. Such an approach requires the buildup of an efficient interface with policy makers, stake holders, engineering and science, which should be concretized in a new the dimension of the Eurosoil congress. This communication will sketch the on-going work, with reviewing the perspectives, conditions, strengths, questions and difficulties identified.

The U.S. Forest Service and its responsibilities under the national environmental policy act: a work design problem

Science.gov (United States)

Matthew Auer; Kenneth Richards; David N. Seesholtz; Burnell Fischer; Christian Freitag; Joshua. Grice

2011-01-01

The U.S. Forest Service’s responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act entail a wide range of activities including scoping, scientific analysis, social and economic analysis, managing public input and involvement, media relations, regulatory analysis, and litigation. These myriad duties raise several important organizational and management questions....

Food and beverage policies and public health ethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Resnik, David B

2015-06-01

Government food and beverage policies can play an important role in promoting public health. Few people would question this assumption. Difficult questions can arise, however, when policymakers, public health officials, citizens, and businesses deliberate about food and beverage policies, because competing values may be at stake, such as public health, individual autonomy, personal responsibility, economic prosperity, and fairness. An ethically justified policy strikes a reasonable among competing values by meeting the following criteria: (1) the policy serves important social goal(s); (2) the policy is likely to be effective at achieving those goal(s); (3) less burdensome options are not likely to be effective at achieving the goals; (4) the policy is fair.

School leadership for equity and learning and the question of school autonomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlos Hatzopoulos

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The article draws from the work conducted in the context of the European Policy Network on School Leadership (EPNoSL. In particular, it is based on an in-depth review of school leadership policies in 21 European countries and the discourse that is taking place in EPNoSL’s webinars, national workshops and peer learning activities organised in several EU countries with the participation of a variety of school leadership stakeholders (including policy makers at European, national, and local levels, school leaders, teachers and other professionals, academics, researchers, parents and students. EPNoSL is a network of 42 European institutions that aims at improving policy on, and practice in, school leadership in Europe. The article discusses the question of school autonomy in the context of school leadership policy development in Europe. School autonomy is considered as a critical precondition for the development of comprehensive school leadership policies. Based on the comprehensive framework of school leadership policy development that has been developed in the context of this project, the article undertakes two main tasks. Firstly, it attempts to show that instead of searching for universal solutions on the question of school autonomy, it is important to reflect on context-specific policies on autonomy that aim at the attainment of concrete learning and equity goals. Secondly, it specifies seven general directions for policies on school autonomy that are adaptive to the divergent experiences of European education systems.

The Henderson Question? The Melbourne Institute and fifty years of welfare policy

OpenAIRE

R. G. Gregory

2013-01-01

We discuss selected research contributions of the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economics and Social Research, to fifty years of welfare policy for those of work force age and focus particularly on the policy focus of R. F. Henderson, the inaugural director. Following the spirit of his 1960s poverty research, government, in the mid-1970s, doubled unemployment allowances in real terms and increased pensions by approximately forty per cent. Both income support payments were to be indexed by av...

Renewable energy. From marginal to mainstream. Policy Brief

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veum, K.C.; Uslu, A.; De Coninck, H.C. [ECN Policy Studies, Petten (Netherlands)

2013-04-15

This policy brief aims to instigate a debate on the broader enabling conditions required to move renewable energy from marginal shares in the European energy system to a mainstream role. It does so by posing seven key questions related to public movement, the political-industrial complex, resources and sustainability, grids and markets, finance, legal procedures and overall policy. These questions require short- to medium-term attention to keep a long-term renewable energy system within the realm of possibilities. This policy brief also provides ECN's initial reflections on how these key questions could be addressed, and indicates which relevant expertise it can bring to the table.

Electric sector and environment: the institutionalization of the environmental question; Setor eletrico e meio ambiente: a institucionalizacao da questao ambiental

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbosa, Nair Palhano

2001-08-01

The purpose of this research is to study the trajectory of the environmental question in the planning of government policies. For this, the historic process of the emergence and institutionalization of the debate over the environment in the electric sector was redeemed, mainly observing the changes that occurred in the organizational and planning structure of projects. The electric sector is understood to be comprised of the network of interests and social relationships that sustain the set of policies whose principle axis is the generation, transmission and distribution of energy; this network may or may not be extrapolated beyond the design of its institutional structure. During the course of the studies carried out to prepare this thesis, the environmental question was understood, at least in a preliminary fashion, to consist of a general set of problems, diagnoses, situations, plans, programs and actions, as are institutional forms that explicitly refer to the environment as their subject, cause or objective for being or their justification. The research that the work presented here was based upon was oriented by methodological procedures that are characteristic of institutional analyses and representation studies, and used documentation available about and produced by the Electric Sector as a source of information as well as interviews and questionnaires with people directly or indirectly involved with the topic. This procedure allowed for the observation that the treatment of the environmental question in the electric sector underwent moments that varied according to the level of internalization during the different stages of the sector's projects, as well as during the formulation of its institutional policy. (author)

Are the American Psychological Association’s Detainee Interrogation Policies Ethical and Effective?

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Kenneth S.

2011-01-01

After 9–11, the United States began interrogating detainees at settings such as Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and Guantanamo. The American Psychological Association (APA) supported psychologists’ involvement in interrogations, adopted formal policies, and made an array of public assurances. This article’s purpose is to highlight key APA decisions, policies, procedures, documents, and public statements in urgent need of rethinking and to suggest questions that may be useful in a serious assessment, such as, “However well intended, were APA’s interrogation policies ethically sound?”; “Were they valid, realistic, and able to achieve their purpose?”; “Were other approaches available that would address interrogation issues more directly, comprehensively, and actively, that were more ethically and scientifically based, and that would have had a greater likelihood of success?”; and “Should APA continue to endorse its post-9–11 detainee interrogation policies?” PMID:22096660

Open science: policy implications for the evolving phenomenon of user-led scientific innovation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Victoria Stodden

2010-03-01

Full Text Available From contributions of astronomy data and DNA sequences to disease treatment research, scientific activity by non-scientists is a real and emergent phenomenon, and raising policy questions. This involvement in science can be understood as an issue of access to publications, code, and data that facilitates public engagement in the research process, thus appropriate policy to support the associated welfare enhancing benefits is essential. Current legal barriers to citizen participation can be alleviated by scientists’ use of the “Reproducible Research Standard,” thus making the literature, data, and code associated with scientific results accessible. The enterprise of science is undergoing deep and fundamental changes, particularly in how scientists obtain results and share their work: the promise of open research dissemination held by the Internet is gradually being fulfilled by scientists. Contributions to science from beyond the ivory tower are forcing a rethinking of traditional models of knowledge generation, evaluation, and communication. The notion of a scientific “peer” is blurred with the advent of lay contributions to science raising questions regarding the concepts of peer-review and recognition. New collaborative models are emerging around both open scientific software and the generation of scientific discoveries that bear a similarity to open innovation models in other settings. Public engagement in science can be understood as an issue of access to knowledge for public involvement in the research process, facilitated by appropriate policy to support the welfare enhancing benefits deriving from citizen-science.

European electricity markets - policy deficiencies, design deficiencies, and opportunities for policy-makers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bettzuge, Marc Oliver

2013-11-01

Paraphrasing a well-known dictum, one can say that 'design follows policies'. Therefore, before discussing questions of market design, one has to clarify the policies which the desired market design is supposed to implement. Hence, this paper starts by briefly reviewing the status of current policies for the electricity sector. Specifically, it will discuss political objectives, the choice of the basic regulatory paradigm, and the issue of subsidiarity between the EU and the member states

Learning from games : Stakeholders’ experiences involved in local health policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Spitters, H.P.E.M.; van de Goor, L.A.M.; Juel Lau, C.; Sandu, P.; Eklund Karlsson, L.; Jansen, J.; van Oers, J.A.M.

2018-01-01

Since public health problems are complex and the related policies need to address a wide range of sectors, cross-sectoral collaboration is beneficial. One intervention focusing on stimulating collaboration is a 'policy game'. The focus on specific problems facilitates relationships between the

Local Voice and Benefit in the Implementation of RWM Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blowers, Andrew

2009-01-01

In several countries key decisions have been taken on the options for the long-term management of radioactive waste and most have opted for deep geological disposal as the best available approach; in a few cases (Finland, Sweden, USA, France), progress has been made towards the selection of a site for a repository. The author considers that, as the emphasis shifts from the assessment of options to the implementation of proposals so there is a corresponding shift from generic to specific concerns and from national policy to specific and local siting issues. Questions of local voice and benefit, of involvement in decision making and the well being of communities come more and more to command the attention of policy makers. In setting out strategies for implementation it is necessary to take into account the contextualising elements which influence the framing and development of policy, among which three elements in particular: timescale, discourse, and community. Each of these three contextualising elements poses issues for the continuing implementation of policies and programmes of radioactive waste management. For the author, these key issues are fairness, power, and well being, and although there is manifestly a new approach to radioactive waste management, most countries are only at the beginning of the process of implementation. The politics and practicalities of introducing innovative approaches designed to transform perceptions and practices poses some difficult problems which can be identified by asking the questions: Where? How? When? and Who?

Entrepreneurship Policies: Principles, Problems and Opportunities

OpenAIRE

Karlsson, Charlie; Andersson, Martin

2009-01-01

In this paper, we discuss the current status of the literature on entrepreneurship policy. The purpose is to discuss and assess several fundamental questions pertaining to entrepreneurship policies, such as “What is the optimal rate of entrepreneurship?” and “What entrepreneurship policies to pursue to remedy market failures and to avoid policy failures?”. In the entrepreneurship policies literature several contributors make distinctions between five types of entrepreneurship policy: governme...

Multicultural social policy and community participation in health: new opportunities and challenges for indigenous people.

Science.gov (United States)

Torri, Maria Costanza

2012-01-01

Community participation in local health has assumed a central role in the reforms of public healthcare, being increasingly associated with the issue of decentralization of the health system. The aim of this paper is to raise questions regarding the structural approaches to multicultural social policy in Chile and to analyze the results of its implementation. The article analyzes the case study of Makewe Hospital, one of the pioneering experiences of intercultural health initiative in Chile. The Makewe Hospital, which involves the indigenous community of the Mapuche, provides interesting insights to understand the dynamics of multicultural social policy and presents an example of a successful initiative that has succeeded in involving local communities in multicultural health policy. This case study discusses the effectiveness of grassroots participation in multicultural healthcare provision and presents the main strengths and challenges for the replicability of this experience in other settings. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Activities of the Enquiry Commission on Future Nuclear Policy and its contribution to today's parliamentary policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ueberhorst, R.

1989-01-01

Positions on the necessity of technology policy, the cooperative conceptualization of controversial concepts and the question of political style are taken up. The precondition for this policy is the elaboration of alternatives. (DG) [de

Demand driven innovation policies in the European Union

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Camilla; Goldberg, Itzhak

The objective of the PICK-ME (Policy Incentives for Creation of Knowledge – Methods and Evidence) research project is to provide theoretical and empirical perspectives on innovation which give a greater role to the demand-side aspect of innovation. The main question is how can policy make...... on the skills side must be targeted through education policies that fosters centers of excellence. R&D incentives are also considered as a separate instrument but more a question for future research since there is no evidence available on R&D incentives as a Gazelle type of policy. Spatial policies to foster...... throughout the paper. The main concern of policy-makers should therefore be how to support Gazelle type of firms through various policies. The effectiveness of different policy instruments are considered. For example, venture capitalism is in the paper identified as an important modern institution...

The question of caution in professional medium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Godard, O.

2006-01-01

Contrived in Europe to tackle the environment protection policies and management of natural resources, the principle of caution has seen since 1990 its interest developed towards the fields of food safety and public health. The importance and the relevance of questions have lead the national institute of research and safety to constitute a working group to explore the problems and the potentialities that could be linked to the explicit introduction of this principle and this in the field of the prevention of professional risks. This work tackles several aspects of the question of caution in professional medium such history, concepts, evolution...as well as cases judged exemplary ones. (N.C.)

Development of Policies, Institutions and Procedures for Water Reuse

Science.gov (United States)

Demouche, L.; Pfiefer, J.; Hanson, A.; Skaggs, R.

2009-12-01

In the arid, water scarce region of New Mexico and West Texas there is growing interest in the potential for water reuse to extend existing supplies and mitigate drought shortage impacts. There are no new sources of water in New Mexico, except reclaimed water. Communities and individuals are uncertain about and have many unanswered questions about polices, institutions involved (agencies), legal and regulatory requirements, and procedures governing water reuse. Issues to be addressed by this project include: the legal ability to reuse water, ownership of water rights, downstream or third party impacts, regulatory and procedural requirements, water quality concerns, state and local agency involvement, and cost effectiveness of water reuse compared to alternative sources. Presently, there is very little implementation or directives in New Mexico policy that addresses reuse, reclamation, or recycled water. The only regulations pertaining to reuse is New Mexico Environmental Department currently allows the use of reclaimed domestic wastewater for irrigation of golf courses and green spaces, which is listed in the Policy for the Above Ground Use of Reclaimed Domestic Wastewater (NMED, 2003). This document identifies the various reclaimed quality classifications that are required for specific applications and the permits required for application. This document does not identify or address policy applications on the distribution, ownership, or trading of reclaimed water. Even though reclaimed water reuse projects are currently being implemented in many cities in the U.S., mainly for commercial and municipal irrigation (golf courses and green space), its potential has not yet been exploited. A policy analysis matrix (PAM) is being designed to identify and examine the policy framework and consequences of non-policy implementation for decision makers and interest groups and assist them in understanding the consequences of policy actions and project outcomes if no laws or

The Impossible Sustainability of the Bay of Brest? Fifty Years of Ecosystem Changes, Interdisciplinary Knowledge Construction and Key Questions at the Science-Policy-Community Interface

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Olivier Ragueneau

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this contribution, the study of the Bay of Brest ecosystem changes over the past 50 years is used to explore the construction of interdisciplinary knowledge and raise key questions that now need to be tackled at the science-policy-communities interface. The Bay of Brest is subject to a combination of several aspects of global change, including excessive nutrient inputs from watersheds and the proliferation of invasive species. These perturbations strongly interact, affecting positively or negatively the ecosystem functioning, with important impacts on human activities. We first relate a cascade of events over these five decades, linking farming activities, nitrogen, and silicon biogeochemical cycles, hydrodynamics of the Bay, the proliferation of an exotic benthic suspension feeder, the development of the Great scallop fisheries and the high biodiversity in maerl beds. The cascade leads to today's situation where toxic phytoplankton blooms become recurrent in the Bay, preventing the fishery of the great scallop and forcing the fishermen community to switch pray and alter the maerl habitat and the benthic biodiversity it hosts, despite the many scientific alerts and the protection of this habitat. In the second section, we relate the construction of the interdisciplinary knowledge without which scientists would never have been able to describe these changes in the Bay. Interdisciplinarity construction is described, first among natural sciences (NS and then, between natural sciences and human and social sciences (HSS. We finally ask key questions at the science-policy interface regarding this unsustainable trend of the Bay: How is this possible, despite decades of joint work between scientists and fishermen? Is adaptive co-management a sufficient condition for a sustainable management of an ecosystem? How do the different groups (i.e., farmers, fishermen, scientists, environmentalists, with their diverse interests, take charge of this situation

Connecting reason to power : Assessments, learning, and environmental policy integration in Swedish energy policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nilsson, M.A.

2005-01-01

The purpose of this thesis is to contribute to understanding what makes a policymaking system better at integrating sustainability concerns into its processes. Three questions are in focus. First, how can policy integration be understood analytically and what is its actual status in sector policy?

Some of the unanswered questions in finance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Đurić Dragana M.

2006-01-01

Full Text Available A very dynamic development of finance in the last 50 years is inter alia probably due to experiments and innovations in this field. Previously theoretical base could not explain and predict movements especially in volatile times. "The new finance" appeared 50 years ago (portfolio theory CAPM, the efficient market theory, M&M theorem and made substantial progress in understanding movements in globalized and internationalized financial markets. However, many questions remain open. The author tries to put emphasis on some of these questions, perfectly aware that these are not the only ones. Unresolved questions are related to company's aims, project's risks, degree of portfolio optimization, importance of liquidity, dividend policy, as well as factors that determine M&A. As the "new finance" is not able to predict and explain volatile movements, a question that should be posed is whether it is appropriate to add some non-economic factors as the behaviorist theory suggests. Although the behaviorist theory is an important part of "new finance", it is unfortunately the only theory able to explain movements in volatile times. In conclusion, many questions still remain unanswered and wait for appropriate theoretical explanations.

Policies for Renewable Heat

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-07-01

This paper builds on IEA publications, Deploying Renewables, Principles for Effective Policies and Deploying Renewables, Best and Future Policy Practice, that discuss the 'integrated policy approach,' whereby renewable energy technologies require different support policies at different stages of their maturity pathways. The paper discusses how the integrated policy approach applies to renewable heat. It attempts to provide guidance for policy-makers on renewable heat throughout the different phases of the policy lifecycle, allowing for the specific challenges of renewable heat and needs of the many stakeholders involved. Stimulating a market for heat involves challenges that are different and, often, more difficult to overcome than in the electricity and transport sectors.

Environmental science-policy interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kamelarczyk, Kewin Bach Friis

+ (Reduced Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks) process and the phenomenon of deforestation in Zambia as research examples. The research was carried out from mid 2008 and to mid 2013 and applies a mixed methods research design. Fieldwork was carried out...... to science? This PhD thesis contributes to answering this questions; however it does this by questioning the conceptions of science that contribute to political decision-making and by exploring the relationship between scientific knowledge, other types of knowledge and policy. This PhD study employs the REDD...... in future REDD+ design and implementation. To curtail potential negative consequences of the identified mode of science-policy interaction in Zambia, the study concludes by making a number of proposals. The proposals are generic in nature and may be found relevant in environmental policy processes outside...

Policy learning and policy networks in theory and practice: The role of policy brokers in the Indonesian biodiesel policy network

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. Howlett (Michael); Mukherjee, I. (Ishani); J.F.M. Koppenjan (Joop)

2017-01-01

textabstractThis paper examines how learning has been treated, generally, in policy network theories and what questions have been posed, and answered, about this phenomenon to date. We examine to what extent network characteristics and especially the presence of various types of brokers impede or

Who and What Does Involvement Involve?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Jeppe Oute; Petersen, Anders; Huniche, Lotte

2015-01-01

This article gives an account of aspects of a multi-sited field study of involvement of relatives in Danish psychiatry. By following metaphors of involvement across three sites of the psychiatric systema family site, a clinical site and a policy sitethe first author (J.O.) investigated how...... theoretical perspective laid out by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe, the aim of this study is to show how the dominant discourse about involvement at the political and clinical sites is constituted by understandings of mentally ill individuals and by political objectives of involvement. The analysis...... the responsibility toward the mental health of the ill individual as well as toward the psychological milieu of the family....

Interaction, Co-creation and Participation in PSM Literature, Policy and Strategy: A Comparative Case Study Analysis of Flanders, the Netherlands, France and the UK

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne-Sofie Vanhaeght

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The article critically evaluates whether there is a (mismatch between ideas on audience involvement in public service media (PSM theory and the translation thereof in public broadcasters’ policy and strategy documents. The literature section theoretically frames this discussion, first, discussing five objectives of PSM and audience involvement. Subsequently, it studies how the BBC (UK, France Télévisions (France, VRT (Flanders, and NPO (the Netherlands have to (policy and intend to (strategy involve their audiences. These cases have been selected with an eye on including both better-funded (BBC, FTV and smaller public broadcasters (VRT, NPO, as well as different media systems. For the analysis, the method of goal-means tree analysis is adopted, a type of qualitative document analysis that can be deployed to uncover goal-means relationships in policy and strategy texts. The main argument is that, rather than a mismatch, some of the questionable, normative assumptions made in theories concerning audience involvement and PSM are also present in the PSM policy and strategy texts.

Assessment of the effectiveness of European air quality policies and measures. Final report on Task 3.3. Survey to access successes and failures of the EU Air Quality Policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

The main objective of Task 3.3 of the title project was to survey the views of European policy makers and other stakeholders directly involved in air quality policy development and implementation on the successes and failures of the present European air quality policies. The survey also included several decisionmakers from the USA, Japan and Switzerland to learn about these countries' experiences with specific air quality policies. A list of approximately 90 people to be surveyed during the project was developed. The list included representatives from the European Commission, the European Parliament, national-level representatives from the Member States, including those designated by the CAFE Steering Group, along with representatives of local authorities, NGOs, industry and academia. The survey was conducted through a questionnaire and follow-up interviews. The questionnaire consists of four major parts. Part 1 includes questions about the impact of EU legislation on air quality. Part 2 is designed to learn about stakeholder opinions on the adequacy of Community-level measures with respect to air quality protection. Part 3 asks for opinions about various measures used in Community-level legislation on air quality as well as ideas for new or modified measures that could be effective in achieving better air quality in the EU. Part 4 includes questions about stakeholder involvement and transparency and was designed to assist with the implementation of Task 3.4 (on public participation and transparency) of the project. The analysis of responses for this part of the questionnaire is presented in the parallel Report for Task 3.4. The final version of the questionnaire used to interview European stakeholders is attached as Appendix II. For the decision-makers from the USA, Switzerland, and Japan a separate questionnaire was developed, and is attached as Appendix III. In all, the team received 49 responses from the 90 enquiries.

Is world trade law a barrier to saving our climate? Questions and answers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernasconi-Osterwalder, N.; Norpoth, J.

2009-09-01

The present 'Questions and Answers' provide an overview of the various climate-related measures and policies that fall under the scope of the WTO (World Trade Organization) and offers an initial assessment of their WTO-compatibility. Is the WTO blocking progress in the fight against climate change? This was the question at the origin of this legal analysis. With this paper and its simple question and answer format, we hope to dispel some myths and shed some light on the reality of world trade rules in their relation with climate-friendly measures. In the end, we hope to encourage policy-makers in Europe and around the world not to see the WTO as an insurmountable barrier and not to use it as an excuse against strong action on climate change.

People's opinion of climate policy. Popular support for climate policy alternatives in Norway

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marino, Sjoevaag Marit; Bjoerge, Nils Erik; Ericson, Torgeir; Garnaasjordet, Per Arild; Karlsen, Haakon T.; Randers; Joergen; Rees, Daniel

2012-07-01

How can we evaluate whether national climate policies are sufficient? Which moral principles should be the basis of our policy efforts? The answers to these questions are central to the development of any climate policy framework, but not always made explicit in daily political discourse. In this article we seek to redress this imbalance through a survey of popular opinion in Norway.(Author)

Climate, Companies, and Public Policy: How Transparent Is the Private Sector in Reporting Climate Policy Influence?

Science.gov (United States)

Goldman, G. T.; Carlson, C.

2014-12-01

To enact effective policies to address climate change, decision makers need both scientific and political support. One major barrier to U.S. climate policy enactment has been the opposition of private sector actors to proposed policies and to climate science itself. Increasingly, the public and investors are holding companies accountable for their actions around climate change—including political activies, affiliations with trade groups, and involvement with climate science. However, this accountability is inhibited by the prominent role that trade associations have played in climate policy debates in recent years. The opaque nature of such groups is problematic, as it inhibits the public from understanding who is obstructing progress on addressing climate change, and in some cases, impedes the public's climate literacy. Voluntary climate reporting can yield some information on companies' climate engagement and demonstrates the need for greater transparency in corporate political activities around climate change. We analyze CDP climate reporting data from 1,824 companies to assess the degree to which corporate actors disclosed their political influence on climate policies through their trade associations. Results demonstrate the limitations of voluntary reporting and the extent to which companies utilize their trade associations to influence climate change policy debates without being held accountable for these positions. Notably, many companies failed to acknowledge their board seat on trade groups with significant climate policy engagement. Of those that did acknowledge their board membership, some claimed not to agree with their trade associations' positions on climate change. These results raise questions about who trade groups are representing when they challenge the science or obstruct policies to address climate change. Recommendations for overcoming this barrier to informed decision making to address climate change will be discussed.

The Trump Administrations March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: Frequently Asked Questions

Science.gov (United States)

2017-04-03

The Trump Administration’s March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: Frequently Asked Questions Pat Towell Specialist in U.S. Defense Policy and...Budget Lynn M. Williams Analyst in U.S. Defense Budget Policy April 3, 2017 Congressional Research Service 7-5700 www.crs.gov R44806 The Trump ...8 The Trump Administration’s March 2017 Defense Budget Proposals: FAQs Congressional Research Service 1 Introduction On

Impacts of Pre-Retirement Guidance and Family Involvement on Retirement Adjustment of Retirees in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

O.O. Olatomide

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The study examined retirement adjustment of teacher-retirees in Osun State, and explored the interaction effects of pre-retirement guidance and family in-volvement on retirement adjustment. Exposit-facto design was used. The population comprised retirees from public, civil and private establishments from which 122 teacher-retirees were selected using a multi-stage sampling technique. An instrument: Family Involvement, Pre-retirement Guidance and Retirement Adjustment Questionnaire was used for data collection. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results revealed that retirees in Osun State are not optimally adjusted, and positive significant interaction effect was found between family involvement and pre-retirement guidance on retirees adjustment, among others. Appropriate policy implications are outlined.

Persistent misunderstandings about evidence-based (sorry: informed!) policy-making.

Science.gov (United States)

Bédard, Pierre-Olivier; Ouimet, Mathieu

2016-01-01

The field of research on knowledge mobilization and evidence-informed policy-making has seen enduring debates related to various fundamental assumptions such as the definition of 'evidence', the relative validity of various research methods, the actual role of evidence to inform policy-making, etc. In many cases, these discussions serve a useful purpose, but they also stem from serious disagreement on methodological and epistemological issues. This essay reviews the rationale for evidence-informed policy-making by examining some of the common claims made about the aims and practices of this perspective on public policy. Supplementing the existing justifications for evidence-based policy making, we argue in favor of a greater inclusion of research evidence in the policy process but in a structured fashion, based on methodological considerations. In this respect, we present an overview of the intricate relation between policy questions and appropriate research designs. By closely examining the relation between research questions and research designs, we claim that the usual points of disagreement are mitigated. For instance, when focusing on the variety of research designs that can answer a range of policy questions, the common critical claim about 'RCT-based policy-making' seems to lose some, if not all of its grip.

Questioning Stakeholder Legitimacy: A Philanthropic Accountability Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraeger, Patsy; Robichau, Robbie

2017-01-01

Philanthropic organizations contribute to important work that solves complex problems to strengthen communities. Many of these organizations are moving toward engaging in public policy work, in addition to funding programs. This paper raises questions of legitimacy for foundations, as well as issues of transparency and accountability in a pluralistic democracy. Measures of civic health also inform how philanthropic organizations can be accountable to stakeholders. We propose a holistic model for philanthropic accountability that combines elements of transparency and performance accountability, as well as practices associated with the American pluralistic model for democratic accountability. We argue that philanthropic institutions should seek stakeholder and public input when shaping any public policy agenda. This paper suggests a new paradigm, called philanthropic accountability that can be used for legitimacy and democratic governance of private foundations engaged in policy work. The Philanthropic Accountability Model can be empirically tested and used as a governance tool.

Are the American Psychological Association's Detainee Interrogation Policies Ethical and Effective?: Key Claims, Documents, and Results.

Science.gov (United States)

Pope, Kenneth S

2011-01-01

After 9-11, the United States began interrogating detainees at settings such as Abu Ghraib, Bagram, and Guantanamo. The American Psychological Association (APA) supported psychologists' involvement in interrogations, adopted formal policies, and made an array of public assurances. This article's purpose is to highlight key APA decisions, policies, procedures, documents, and public statements in urgent need of rethinking and to suggest questions that may be useful in a serious assessment, such as, "However well intended, were APA's interrogation policies ethically sound?"; "Were they valid, realistic, and able to achieve their purpose?"; "Were other approaches available that would address interrogation issues more directly, comprehensively, and actively, that were more ethically and scientifically based, and that would have had a greater likelihood of success?"; and "Should APA continue to endorse its post-9-11 detainee interrogation policies?"

Parental involvement and kangaroo care in European neonatal intensive care units: a policy survey in eight countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Pallás-Alonso, Carmen R; Losacco, Valentina; Maraschini, Alice; Greisen, Gorm; Pierrat, Veronique; Warren, Inga; Haumont, Dominique; Westrup, Björn; Smit, Bert J; Sizun, Jacques; Cuttini, Marina

2012-09-01

To compare, in a large representative sample of European neonatal intensive care units, the policies and practices regarding parental involvement and holding babies in the kangaroo care position as well as differences in the tasks mothers and fathers are allowed to carry out. Prospective multicenter survey. Neonatal intensive care units in eight European countries (Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom). Patients were not involved in this study. None. A structured questionnaire was mailed to 362 units (response rate 78%); only units with ≥50 very-low-birth-weight annual admissions were considered for this study. Facilities for parents such as reclining chairs near the babies' cots, beds, and a dedicated room were common, but less so in Italy and Spain. All units in Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Belgium reported encouraging parental participation in the care of the babies, whereas policies were more restrictive in Italy (80% of units), France (73%), and Spain (41%). Holding babies in the kangaroo care position was widespread. However, in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Spain, many units applied restrictions regarding its frequency (sometimes or on parents request only, rather than routinely), method (conventional rather than skin-to-skin), and clinical conditions (especially mechanical ventilation and presence of umbilical lines) that would prevent its practice. In these countries, fathers were routinely offered kangaroo care less frequently than mothers (p involvement as well as the role played by mothers and fathers varied within and between countries.

Invalidating Policies using Structural Information

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kammuller, Florian; Probst, Christian W.

2014-01-01

by invalidating policies using structural information of the organisational model. Based on this structural information and a description of the organisation’s policies, our approach invalidates the policies and identifies exemplary sequences of actions that lead to a violation of the policy in question. Based...... on these examples, the organisation can identify real attack vectors that might result in an insider attack. This information can be used to refine access control systems or policies. We provide case studies showing how mechanical verification tools, i.e. modelchecking with MCMAS and interactive theorem proving...

The alcohol industry, charities and policy influence in the UK

Science.gov (United States)

Lyness, Sarah M

2014-01-01

Background: Charities exist to pursue a public benefit, whereas corporations serve the interests of their shareholders. The alcohol industry uses corporate social responsibility activities to further its interests in influencing alcohol policy. Many charities also seek to influence alcohol and other policy. The aim of this study was to explore relationships between the alcohol industry and charities in the UK and whether these relationships may be used as a method of influencing alcohol policy. Methods: The charity regulator websites for England and Wales and for Scotland were the main data sources used to identify charities involved in UK alcohol policy making processes and/or funded by the alcohol industry. Results: Five charities were identified that both receive alcohol industry funding and are active in UK alcohol policy processes: Drinkaware; the Robertson Trust; British Institute of Innkeeping; Mentor UK and Addaction. The latter two are the sole remaining non-industry non-governmental members of the controversial responsibility deal alcohol network, from which all other public health interests have resigned. Conclusion: This study raises questions about the extent to which the alcohol industry is using UK charities as vehicles to further their own interests in UK alcohol policy. Mechanisms of industry influence in alcohol policy making globally is an important target for further investigations designed to assist the implementation of evidenced-based policies. PMID:24913316

Electric sector and environment: the institutionalization of the environmental question; Setor eletrico e meio ambiente: a institucionalizacao da questao ambiental

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barbosa, Nair Palhano

2001-08-01

The purpose of this research is to study the trajectory of the environmental question in the planning of government policies. For this, the historic process of the emergence and institutionalization of the debate over the environment in the electric sector was redeemed, mainly observing the changes that occurred in the organizational and planning structure of projects. The electric sector is understood to be comprised of the network of interests and social relationships that sustain the set of policies whose principle axis is the generation, transmission and distribution of energy; this network may or may not be extrapolated beyond the design of its institutional structure. During the course of the studies carried out to prepare this thesis, the environmental question was understood, at least in a preliminary fashion, to consist of a general set of problems, diagnoses, situations, plans, programs and actions, as are institutional forms that explicitly refer to the environment as their subject, cause or objective for being or their justification. The research that the work presented here was based upon was oriented by methodological procedures that are characteristic of institutional analyses and representation studies, and used documentation available about and produced by the Electric Sector as a source of information as well as interviews and questionnaires with people directly or indirectly involved with the topic. This procedure allowed for the observation that the treatment of the environmental question in the electric sector underwent moments that varied according to the level of internalization during the different stages of the sector's projects, as well as during the formulation of its institutional policy. (author)

Can the impact of public involvement on research be evaluated? A mixed methods study

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Rosemary; Boote, Jonathan D; Parry, Glenys D; Cooper, Cindy L; Yeeles, Philippa; Cook, Sarah

2011-01-01

Abstract Background  Public involvement is central to health and social research policies, yet few systematic evaluations of its impact have been carried out, raising questions about the feasibility of evaluating the impact of public involvement. Objective  To investigate whether it is feasible to evaluate the impact of public involvement on health and social research. Methods  Mixed methods including a two‐round Delphi study with pre‐specified 80% consensus criterion, with follow‐up interviews. UK and international panellists came from different settings, including universities, health and social care institutions and charitable organizations. They comprised researchers, members of the public, research managers, commissioners and policy makers, self‐selected as having knowledge and/or experience of public involvement in health and/or social research; 124 completed both rounds of the Delphi process. A purposive sample of 14 panellists was interviewed. Results  Consensus was reached that it is feasible to evaluate the impact of public involvement on 5 of 16 impact issues: identifying and prioritizing research topics, disseminating research findings and on key stakeholders. Qualitative analysis revealed the complexities of evaluating a process that is subjective and socially constructed. While many panellists believed that it is morally right to involve the public in research, they also considered that it is appropriate to evaluate the impact of public involvement. Conclusions  This study found consensus among panellists that it is feasible to evaluate the impact of public involvement on some research processes, outcomes and on key stakeholders. The value of public involvement and the importance of evaluating its impact were endorsed. PMID:21324054

Can the impact of public involvement on research be evaluated? A mixed methods study.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Rosemary; Boote, Jonathan D; Parry, Glenys D; Cooper, Cindy L; Yeeles, Philippa; Cook, Sarah

2012-09-01

  Public involvement is central to health and social research policies, yet few systematic evaluations of its impact have been carried out, raising questions about the feasibility of evaluating the impact of public involvement.   To investigate whether it is feasible to evaluate the impact of public involvement on health and social research.   Mixed methods including a two-round Delphi study with pre-specified 80% consensus criterion, with follow-up interviews. UK and international panellists came from different settings, including universities, health and social care institutions and charitable organizations. They comprised researchers, members of the public, research managers, commissioners and policy makers, self-selected as having knowledge and/or experience of public involvement in health and/or social research; 124 completed both rounds of the Delphi process. A purposive sample of 14 panellists was interviewed.   Consensus was reached that it is feasible to evaluate the impact of public involvement on 5 of 16 impact issues: identifying and prioritizing research topics, disseminating research findings and on key stakeholders. Qualitative analysis revealed the complexities of evaluating a process that is subjective and socially constructed. While many panellists believed that it is morally right to involve the public in research, they also considered that it is appropriate to evaluate the impact of public involvement.   This study found consensus among panellists that it is feasible to evaluate the impact of public involvement on some research processes, outcomes and on key stakeholders. The value of public involvement and the importance of evaluating its impact were endorsed. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Nuclear safeguards policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1982-01-01

Claims have been made that Australia's nuclear safeguards policy, announced in 1977, has changed. However, examination of the texts of nuclear safeguards agreements negotiated by Australia shows that the policy has been implemented and adhered to. The purpose of these agreements is to obtain assurance that uranium exported is used exclusively for peaceful purposes. The questions of reprocessing, transfer to third countries and the application of IAEA safeguards are discussed

Global climate change policies. An analysis of CDM policies with an adapted GTAP model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Shunli

2004-01-01

In the context of the relationships between spatial-economic interaction and global warming just discussed, this study aims to analyze the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) policies from an economic point of view. The research question of this study is formulated as follows: What will be the impacts of clirnate change policies, in particular CDM policies, on the economic performance of (groups of) countries in our global economic system, taking spatial interaction and general equilibrium effects into account? The purpose of addressing the issue of economic performance for (groups of) countries in the economic system is not just to identify winners and losers from international treaties. Rather, winning or losing may even determine the implementation and willingness of individual countries to participate in international environmental treaties, as illustrated by the recent withdrawal of the US from the Kyoto Protocol. By analyzing the economic impacts of an international environmental treaty for individual (groups of) countries, the framework that will be used to analyze this research question may be useful to determine the attractiveness of some global environmental policies, both for the world as a whole and for individual (groups of) countries. The research question will be answered by dividing it into six subquestions: (1) What is the position of CDM policies in the broad context of climate policy regimes?; (2) How should the relationship between human behavior and the physical environment be ideally modeled from an economic perspective? (3) How should the spatial dimension be incorporated in this framework of interaction between the economic and ecological system?; (4) How can climate change issues be incorporated in general equilibrium models in general, and in GTAP-E (extension of the Global Trade Analysis Project) in particular?; (5) How can CDM policies be implemented in the GTAP-E model?; and (6) What are the impacts of these climate change policies on

The Dilemmas over Credit Policy Management in a Company

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Gorczyńska

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Purpose of the article: The paper identifies the core dilemmas over the establishment of the credit policy in a company. It considers the general scope and basic stages of credit policy management and analyses each stage of credit policy in terms of decisive aspects. The main areas of concerns are discussed within the settlement of credit policy and its implementation with regard to the model of optimal credit policy. Scientific aim: The paper aims at constructing a unified model of issues rising dilemmas while setting and implementing the credit policy management. It also aims at identifying core decisive problems in each of these fields and at providing a structured questions framework. Methodology/methods: The paper is based on conceptual analysis and deduction of the literature and general review of issues related to credit policy management. It containts autors’ own view on the problems included in each stage of credit policy management. Findings: Credit policy management is a subject for numerous dilemmas. The main areas of concerns are related to: the decision about the goal of credit policy managemet with regard to its restrictiveness, the settlement of credit policy with regard to elements of credit policy, and finally the implementation with regard to the risk of bad debts occurrence. Conclusions: (limits, implications etc The establishment of credit policy in a company requires to balance contrary interests and thus involves wide variety of issues to be considered. The presented model of decisive problems might be applied in each company regardless to their size.

How to cement a diversity policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ballafkih, A.H.

2010-01-01

Purpose - Highlights common pitfalls managers face when introducing diversity policies. Design/methodology/approach - Examines some questions that have to be answered and steps that have to be taken before thoroughgoing diversity policies can be developed. Findings - Urges organizations to

A Question of Social Justice: How Policies of Profit Negate Engagement of Developing World Bioethicists and Undermine Global Bioethics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chattopadhyay, Subrata; Myser, Catherine; Moxham, Tiffany; De Vries, Raymond

2017-10-01

We identify the ways the policies of leading international bioethics journals limit the participation of researchers working in the resource-constrained settings of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) in the development of the field of bioethics. Lack of access to essential scholarly resources makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for many LMIC bioethicists to learn from, meaningfully engage in, and further contribute to the global bioethics discourse. Underrepresentation of LMIC perspectives in leading journals sustains the hegemony of Western bioethics, limits the presentation of diverse moral visions of life, health, and medicine, and undermines aspirations to create a truly "global" bioethics. Limited attention to this problem indicates a lack of empathy and moral imagination on the part of bioethicists in high-income countries, raises questions about the ethics of bioethics, and highlights the urgent need to find ways to remedy this social injustice.

VQABQ: Visual Question Answering by Basic Questions

KAUST Repository

Huang, Jia-Hong

2017-03-19

Taking an image and question as the input of our method, it can output the text-based answer of the query question about the given image, so called Visual Question Answering (VQA). There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the basic questions of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization problem, and also propose a criterion about how to exploit these basic questions to help answer main question. Our method is evaluated on the challenging VQA dataset and yields state-of-the-art accuracy, 60.34% in open-ended task.

VQABQ: Visual Question Answering by Basic Questions

KAUST Repository

Huang, Jia-Hong; Alfadly, Modar; Ghanem, Bernard

2017-01-01

Taking an image and question as the input of our method, it can output the text-based answer of the query question about the given image, so called Visual Question Answering (VQA). There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the basic questions of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization problem, and also propose a criterion about how to exploit these basic questions to help answer main question. Our method is evaluated on the challenging VQA dataset and yields state-of-the-art accuracy, 60.34% in open-ended task.

Fifty important research questions in microbial ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Antwis, Rachael E; Griffiths, Sarah M; Harrison, Xavier A; Aranega-Bou, Paz; Arce, Andres; Bettridge, Aimee S; Brailsford, Francesca L; de Menezes, Alexandre; Devaynes, Andrew; Forbes, Kristian M; Fry, Ellen L; Goodhead, Ian; Haskell, Erin; Heys, Chloe; James, Chloe; Johnston, Sarah R; Lewis, Gillian R; Lewis, Zenobia; Macey, Michael C; McCarthy, Alan; McDonald, James E; Mejia-Florez, Nasmille L; O'Brien, David; Orland, Chloé; Pautasso, Marco; Reid, William D K; Robinson, Heather A; Wilson, Kenneth; Sutherland, William J

2017-05-01

Microbial ecology provides insights into the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of microbial communities underpinning every ecosystem on Earth. Microbial communities can now be investigated in unprecedented detail, although there is still a wealth of open questions to be tackled. Here we identify 50 research questions of fundamental importance to the science or application of microbial ecology, with the intention of summarising the field and bringing focus to new research avenues. Questions are categorised into seven themes: host-microbiome interactions; health and infectious diseases; human health and food security; microbial ecology in a changing world; environmental processes; functional diversity; and evolutionary processes. Many questions recognise that microbes provide an extraordinary array of functional diversity that can be harnessed to solve real-world problems. Our limited knowledge of spatial and temporal variation in microbial diversity and function is also reflected, as is the need to integrate micro- and macro-ecological concepts, and knowledge derived from studies with humans and other diverse organisms. Although not exhaustive, the questions presented are intended to stimulate discussion and provide focus for researchers, funders and policy makers, informing the future research agenda in microbial ecology. © FEMS 2017. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Dementia-friendly communities: challenges and strategies for achieving stakeholder involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Heward, Michelle; Innes, Anthea; Cutler, Clare; Hambidge, Sarah

2017-05-01

Dementia-friendly communities (DFCs) are a UK policy initiative that aims to enable people with dementia to feel supported and included within their local community. Current approaches to DFC creation rely on stakeholder involvement, often requiring volunteer assistance. There is though a lack of evidence that examines the reality of achieving this. This paper critically assesses the challenges and strategies for achieving stakeholder involvement in DFCs. The evidence base is drawn from an inter-agency project funded by the National Health Service in the South of England where seven DFCs were developed by steering group partners and four part-time project workers (PWs). Data from the independent evaluation undertaken in the first year (2013-2014) of the project were analysed: 14 semi-structured interviews and a focus group examined PWs' experiences; while progress and key milestones are determined from monthly progress forms, good news stories, locality steering group minutes and press releases. Analysis was undertaken using a directed content analysis method, whereby data content for each locality was matched to the analytical framework that was drawn from Alzheimer's Society guidance. Challenges to achieving stakeholder involvement were identified as: establishing networks and including people representative of the local community; involving people affected by dementia; and gaining commitment from organisations. Strategies for achieving stakeholder involvement were recognised as: a sustainable approach; spreading the word; and sharing of ideas. By highlighting these challenges and the approaches that have been used within communities to overcome them, these findings form the foundation for the creation of DFC initiatives that will become embedded within communities. Stakeholder involvement is unpredictable and changeable; therefore, reliance on this approach questions the long-term sustainability of DFCs, and must be considered in future policies designed to

Three Types of Accounting Policies Reflected in Financial Statements. Case Study for Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MARIANA GURĂU

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The objective of financial statements is to give a true and fair view of financial position and of the performance, a true and fair view which will be useful for a wide range of users to take economic decisions. Accounting policies choice involves setting options that generate the best financial and accounting information. The best information must be in agreement with the most accurate image of financial position, performance and changes in financial position and performance. The present paper intends to present three different accounting policies used for the same situations and the results of their implementation. Starting question is: which of the results are the true and fair view?

The case for multimodal analysis of atypical interaction: questions, answers and gaze in play involving a child with autism.

Science.gov (United States)

Muskett, Tom; Body, Richard

2013-01-01

Conversation analysis (CA) continues to accrue interest within clinical linguistics as a methodology that can enable elucidation of structural and sequential orderliness in interactions involving participants who produce ostensibly disordered communication behaviours. However, it can be challenging to apply CA to re-examine clinical phenomena that have initially been defined in terms of linguistics, as a logical starting point for analysis may be to focus primarily on the organisation of language ("talk") in such interactions. In this article, we argue that CA's methodological power can only be fully exploited in this research context when a multimodal analytic orientation is adopted, where due consideration is given to participants' co-ordinated use of multiple semiotic resources including, but not limited to, talk (e.g., gaze, embodied action, object use and so forth). To evidence this argument, a two-layered analysis of unusual question-answer sequences in a play episode involving a child with autism is presented. It is thereby demonstrated that only when the scope of enquiry is broadened to include gaze and other embodied action can an account be generated of orderliness within these sequences. This finding has important implications for CA's application as a research methodology within clinical linguistics.

Rights questioned. Limitations of poverty-reduction policies in Argentina.

Science.gov (United States)

Faur, Eleonor; Campos, Luis; Pautassi, Laura; Zimerman, Silvina

2009-01-01

This article analyses, from a human rights' approach, a group of social programmes implemented in Argentina from the year 2002, at the time of the biggest socioeconomic crisis that the country has suffered in the last decades. The main characteristics of the programmes are reviewed, and their anti-poverty strategy, along with design and implementation, are evaluated in relation to human rights. An assessment is also made of the existence of mechanisms for citizens to present claims. Finally, a set of recommendations are made to facilitate the adaptation of the programmes analysed to the duties the State of Argentina has as result of its adherence to international laws on human rights. The analytical methodology proposed by this article could be applied to other policy areas.

U.K. policy responses to international influences - nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, P.M.S.

1978-01-01

An account is given of U.K. participation in international discussions directed towards the safe development and application of nuclear power. Particular attention is given to the International Fuel Cycle Evaluation (INFCE), which is stated to be looking at the whole question of proliferation and the merits and disadvantages of a range of alternative fuel cycles and nuclear power strategies. A summary is also given of U.K. participation in work on radiological protection (through the I.C.R.P.) and radioactive waste disposal. International cooperation in research and development is mentioned. Public involvement in policy making is also discussed briefly. (U.K.)

Economy of climatic change. From mitigation to adaptation policies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rousset, N.

2012-01-01

Climate change adaptation policies are the subject of this thesis. It has been showed that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992) and the response strategies construction are characteristic of a pollutionist approach. This approach led to envision the question of climate change as a classic pollution and environment issue. As a result, this approach has generated a double bias to the disadvantage of adaptation compared to mitigation policies: adaptation has been confined in a secondary and marginal role in climate policies structuring, and with an inoperative conceptual and methodological framework for its implementation. The thesis proposes a deconstruction of this climate change conceptualization. Moreover, the major limits that characterize mitigation policies call into question the predominance given to them in climate policies construction. The 'pollutionist' approach deconstruction allows at first to show that adaptation policies definition and operationalization need to go beyond (i) the standard analytic framework of climate policies and, (ii) the climate change conceptualization as a classic pollution and environment management issue. The thesis then argues that adaptation has to be integrated in development promoting policies, which means that adaptation needs to be conceptualized no longer as an ad hoc management of pollution effects issue, but as a development issue. Whether in the proper context of adaptation policies, or more largely of climate policies, the thesis leaves open the questions of the viability, but also of the organization and financing modalities, of a climate regime which fits within development promoting. (author)

Understanding the direct involvement of parents in policy development and school activities in a primary school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tobin Bernie

2017-12-01

Full Text Available It is acknowledged that parental engagement with children’s learning and education is of vital importance. But, there is a tendency to confuse engagement with learning with engagement with the school. While all types of parents’ involvement can have a positive effect, it is actually what parents do with their child at home that has the greatest impact. However, unless parental involvement in learning is embedded in whole-school processes it is unlikely to as effective as possible. This paper documents an action research study that explores the inclusion of parents and home values in the construction of the teaching and learning environment. This was a small step towards positive parent-teacher collaboration, which allowed an exchange of knowledge, values and cultural background experiences. In acknowledging the ways in which the parents already engaged with their children’s learning, it began to enhance self-efficacy in their ability to directly affect this learning. This work has also provoked reflexive engagement of my influence and understanding of involving parents of children with additional and diverse learning needs. But, it also details the transformative journey that influenced my thinking about how we as a school could begin to develop whole-school processes to directly involve parents in policy development and school activities.

Diffusion of innovation in mental health policy adoption: what should we ask about the quality of policy and the role of stakeholders in this process? Comment on "Cross-national diffusion of mental health policy".

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Lucy

2015-03-10

In his recent study, Gordon Shen analyses a pertinent question facing the global mental health research and practice community today; that of how and why mental health policy is or is not adopted by national governments. This study identifies becoming a World Health Organization (WHO) member nation, and being in regional proximity to countries which have adopted a mental health policy as supportive of mental health policy adoption, but no support for its hypothesis that country recipients of higher levels of aid would have adopted a mental health policy due to conditionalities imposed on aid recipients by donors. Asking further questions of each may help to understand more not only about how and why mental health policies may be adopted, but also about the relevance and quality of implementation of these policies and the role of specific actors in achieving adoption and implementation of high quality mental health policies. © 2015 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Experimentation at the interface of science and policy : a multi-case analysis of how policy experiments influence political decision-makers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

McFadgen, Belinda; Huitema, Dave

2017-01-01

For decades now, scholars have grappled with questions about how knowledge producers can enhance the influence of their knowledge on users and improve policy making. However, little attention has been paid to how policy experiments, a flexible and ex ante method of policy appraisal, obtain influence

The invention of a new language of competence – a necessary tool for a lifelong learning policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olesen, Henning Salling

2014-01-01

The invention of a new language of competence – a necessary tool for a lifelong learning policy. In order to obtain the ambitions of a real lifelong learning it is a crucial challenge to develop a new language of competence which can make validation independent of traditional academic curricula...... to societal practice, which involves something more than abstract cognitive knowledge. However, it is more difficult to specify theoretically the “non-cognitive” psycho-social prerequisites - and perhaps it is also politically tricky because it is in part a question of active involvement in and acceptance...

Probabilistic modeling of dietary intake of substances - The risk management question governs the method

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Pieters MN; Ossendorp BC; Bakker MI; Slob W; SIR

2005-01-01

In this report the discussion on the use of probabilistic modeling in relation to pesticide use in food crops is analyzed. Due to different policy questions the current discussion is complex and considers safety of an MRL as well as probability of a health risk. The question regarding the use of

Parents Ask about Parent Involvement Policies = Los padres preguntan acerca del plan de accion para la participacion de los padres.

Science.gov (United States)

RMC Research Corp., Portsmouth, NH.

This guide, which includes both English and Spanish versions, discusses parent involvement policies, which explain how the school district or the school itself supports the important role of parents in the education of their children. Every school district that receives money from Title I of the Improving America's Schools Act, the federal aid…

Social Media Policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stohl, Cynthia; Etter, Michael; Banghart, Scott

2017-01-01

of these trends is examined through a content analysis of 112 publicly available social media policies from the largest corporations in the world. The extent to which social media policies facilitate and/or constrain the communicative sensibilities and values associated with contemporary notions of CSR...... negotiation and participation in the social responsibilities of corporations. Moreover, policies generally enact organizational communication practices that are contrary to international CSR guidelines (e.g., the UN Global Compact and other international agreements). Findings suggest that social media...... policies represent a relatively unrecognized development in the institutionalization of CSR communicative norms and practices that call into question the promising affordances of social media for the inclusion of various voices in the public negotiation of what constitutes corporate social responsibility....

Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions Across the Inquiry Continuum

Science.gov (United States)

Biggers, Mandy

2018-02-01

Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in this study. A dataset of 120 elementary science classroom videos and associated lesson plans from 40 elementary teachers (K-5) across 21 elementary school campuses were scored on an instrument measuring the amount of teacher-direction or student-direction of the lessons' investigation questions. Results indicated that the investigation questions were overwhelmingly teacher directed in nature, with no opportunities for students to develop their own questions for investigation. This study has implications for researchers and practitioners alike, calling attention to the teacher-directed nature of investigation questions in existing science curriculum materials, and the need for teacher training in instructional strategies to adapt their existing curriculum materials across the continuum of teacher-directed and student-directed investigation questions. Teachers need strategies for adapting the teacher-directed questions provided in their existing curriculum materials in order to allow students the opportunity to engage in this essential scientific practice.

Bringing genetic diversity to the forefront of conservation policy and management

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoban, S.M.; Hauffe, H.C.; Pérez-Espona, S.

2013-01-01

In this essay we explore questions on how to increase the visibility and utility of genetic information for biodiversity managers and policy makers. This is discussed in the light of Aichi CBD Target 13, which for the first time impels signatories to minimise genetic erosion and safeguard genetic...... genetics. We then discuss the implications of these findings for academics involved in conservation genetics and suggest that a much closer partnership between academic conservation geneticists and conservation practitioners is necessary if the full potential of genetic tools in conservation...

Drug-abusing fathers: patterns of pair bonding, reproduction, and paternal involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

McMahon, Thomas J; Winkel, Justin D; Suchman, Nancy E; Rounsaville, Bruce J

2007-10-01

Despite concerns about compromise of fathering as a public policy issue, very little is known about the status of drug-abusing men as parents. In this pilot study, 50 men enrolled in methadone maintenance treatment completed a structured research interview designed to generate basic information about patterns of pair bonding, reproduction, and paternal involvement. Descriptive analysis of these data highlighted a number of trends in the nature of fathering that, although at odds with popular stereotypes, were similar to trends noted in research conducted with other populations of disenfranchised men. Consistent with a developmental-ecological perspective on parenting, the findings suggest that historical and situational influences interact within this population to compromise socially responsible efforts to function as a parent. The results also raise questions about the extent to which public policy initiatives designed to promote more responsible fathering are reaching this population, and they highlight ways that the drug abuse treatment system might better support men interested in being a more effective parent.

Asking the Right Questions: A Framework for Assessing Counterterrorism Actions

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-21

hope to em - power policy makers to ask the right questions about countering terrorism and practitioners to answer them. Notes 1. The history of...10576100590950156. 8. Ibid., 308. 9. Michele L. Malvesti, “ Bombing bin Laden: Assessing the Effectiveness of Air Strikes as a Counter-Terrorism Strategy

Implementing public employment policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Flemming; Bredgaard, Thomas

disciplining of the unemployed (work first) (cf.Bredgaard & Larsen, 2005; Sol & Westerweld, 2005). It is, however, remarkable that in the research field there seems to be a division of labour so that changes in public administration and changes in the substance of employment policies are dealt with separately......Like most other areas within welfare policy, the employment and social policy areas are undergoing far-reaching changes in many countries. Partly in the shape of new forms of governance inspired by New Public Management (NPM), partly through new policies oriented towards activation and stronger....... But there is an interesting question to investigate here: whether and if so how, NPM-inspired reforms are related to changes in employment policy towards a work-first approach? Are changes in public management systems created as deliberate policy changes, or do they bring about more indirect and unintended policy changes...

Environment, sustainability, and education policy research

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McKenzie, Marcia; Rickinson, Mark; Bengtssen, Stefan

Introduction: This session is a two part symposium on the topic of environment and sustainability in relation to educational policy development, enactment, and analysis. This format is modeled on similar formats used in other international conferences, such as the Association of American...... and methodological approaches to policy and policy research. Some key questions to be addressed include:- What kinds of understandings of policy and policy research are informing work in environmental and sustainability education?- Are there interdisiplinary approaches to policy research that can be useful...... for furthering critical education policy analysis?- What are the relationships between policy development and its enactment or implementation? - To what extent has the environmental education field researched policy development and/or enactment?- What might environmental education research have to offer...

Wave of Middle East migration raises questions of policy in many countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Gerakis, A S; Thayanithy, S

1978-09-04

Since 1973 the increase in revenues from petroleum has resulted in a substantial migration of workers to the oil exporting countries of the Middle East. Discussion focuses on the policies being used to minimize the costs and maximize the advantages of emigration, including description and evaluation of measures and proposals for further action. No action seems to have been taken to regulate the present wave of Middle Eastern emigration, probably because in its initial stages it proved an unmixed blessing for the labor exporting countries. Steps should have been taken to protect the emigrants. Their living conditions are unsatisfactory in some host countries, and frequently they are exploited by the unscrupulous middlemen who arranged their employment and wages. No effective international agreements, multilateral or bilateral, have been concluded to deal with these problems. A policy response is required as labor shortages emerge in the later phases of emigration, especially as the balance of payments situation improves and reserves rise. An appropriate strategy should combine both supply and demand management measures. It should avoid overambitious antiinflationary objectives. For the majority of the labor exporting countries discussed here, foreign exchange earnings from migrants have reached sizable amounts, exceeding, for example, $1 billion in Egypt, India, Pakistan, and the Yemen Arab Republic. Countries are maximizing those receipts by resorting to compulsion and surrender requirements. Emigrants should be coaxed and not compelled to remit currently a high proportion of savings and to invest a low percentage in the country where they work or in 3rd countries. Remittances by workers during the period of their stay in foreign countries are made for family maintenance and for investment. The most effective way to satisfy emigrants that they will be able to reexport their assets is to remove all restrictions on payments. Going beyond general policies to create a

Using Art to Teach Students Science Outdoors: How Creative Science Instruction Influences Observation, Question Formation, and Involvement

Science.gov (United States)

Cone, Christina Schull

Elementary education has become increasingly divided into subjects and focused on the demand for high math and reading scores. Consequently, teachers spend less time devoted to science and art instruction. However, teaching art and science is crucial to developing creative and rational thinking, especially for observation and questioning skills. In this study, third grade students attending an urban school in Portland, Oregon received instruction of an art strategy using observational and quantifying drawing techniques. This study examines, "Will an art strategy observing the local environment help students make observations and ask questions?" and "In what ways are student learning and perspectives of science affected by the art strategy?" The independent variable is the art strategy developed for this study. There are three dependent variables: quality of student observations, quality of questions, and themes on student learning and perspectives of science. I predicted students would develop strong observation and questioning skills and that students would find the strategy useful or have an increased interest in science. The art scores were high for relevance and detail, but not for text. There were significant correlations between art scores and questions. Interviews revealed three themes: observations create questions, drawing is helpful and challenging, and students connected to science. By examining science through art, students were engaged and created strong observations and questions. Teachers need to balance unstructured drawing time with scaffolding for optimal results. This study provides an integrated science and art strategy that teachers can use outdoors or adapt for the classroom.

How Different Forms of Policy Learning Influence Each Other: Case Studies from Austrian Innovation Policy-Making

OpenAIRE

Biegelbauer, Peter

2016-01-01

This paper investigates the question whether different forms of policy learning influence each other. The focus is on relationships between different forms of policy learning, which are explored on the basis of case study research in the field of research, technology and innovation policy-making in Austria. Methods utilised are expert interviews and document analysis besides literature and media recherché. With the goal to better understand the mechanisms behind learning processes, different ...

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.

Representativeness, legitimacy and power in public involvement in health-service management.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Graham P

2008-12-01

Public participation in health-service management is an increasingly prominent policy internationally. Frequently, though, academic studies have found it marginalized by health professionals who, keen to retain control over decision-making, undermine the legitimacy of involved members of the public, in particular by questioning their representativeness. This paper examines this negotiation of representative legitimacy between staff and involved users by drawing on a qualitative study of service-user involvement in pilot cancer-genetics services recently introduced in England, using interviews, participant observation and documentary analysis. In contrast to the findings of much of the literature, health professionals identified some degree of representative legitimacy in the contributions made by users. However, the ways in which staff and users constructed representativeness diverged significantly. Where staff valued the identities of users as biomedical and lay subjects, users themselves described the legitimacy of their contribution in more expansive terms of knowledge and citizenship. My analysis seeks to show how disputes over representativeness relate not just to a struggle for power according to contrasting group interests, but also to a substantive divergence in understanding of the nature of representativeness in the context of state-orchestrated efforts to increase public participation. This divergence might suggest problems with the enactment of such aspirations in practice; alternatively, however, contestation of representative legitimacy might be understood as reflecting ambiguities in policy-level objectives for participation, which secure implementation by accommodating the divergent constructions of those charged with putting initiatives into practice.

Energy - a vital question

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bakkenbuell, J.N.

1980-01-01

The DAG has become involved with the topics and problems of energy policy very early and has already pointed on the necessity of an overall plan for energy policy for the Federal Republic of Germany in the sixties. The claim directed to the legislative bodies in the F. R. of Germany had sprung from the conclusion that endangering energy supply in the medium or long term would lead to a serious disorder within economic and thus social life. In order to meet the risks for industry and society which are related to an endangering of energy supply at an early stage and with regard to the future the DAG think it indispensable to further update the existing political energy programme of the Federal Government. The DAG hope that the political claims which are included in this brochure and which were worked out at the 8th Energiepolitische Bundestagung of the DAG might influence the German programme for energy policy. At the same time this brochure is meant to provide a factual contribution to the present energy discussion which, in general, is still based on emotional arguments. (orig./UA) [de

Improving policy making through government-industry policy learning: The case of a novel Swedish policy framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stigson, Peter; Dotzauer, Erik; Yan Jinyue

2009-01-01

Climate change poses an unprecedented challenge for policy makers. This paper analyzes how industry sector policy expertise can contribute to improved policy making processes. Previous research has identified that policy making benefit by including non-governmental policy analysts in learning processes. Recent climate and energy policy developments, including amendments and the introduction of new initiatives, have rendered current policy regimes as novel to both governments and the industry. This increases business investment risk perceptions and may thus reduce the effectiveness and efficiency of the policy framework. In order to explore how government-industry policy learning can improve policy making in this context, this article studied the Swedish case. A literature survey analyzed how policy learning had been previously addressed, identifying that the current situation regarding novel policies had been overlooked. Interviews provided how industrial actors view Swedish policy implementation processes and participatory aspects thereof. The authors conclude that an increased involvement of the industry sector in policy design and management processes can be an important measure to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of climate and energy policies

Guiding students towards sensemaking: teacher questions focused on integrating scientific practices with science content

Science.gov (United States)

Benedict-Chambers, Amanda; Kademian, Sylvie M.; Davis, Elizabeth A.; Palincsar, Annemarie Sullivan

2017-10-01

Science education reforms articulate a vision of ambitious science teaching where teachers engage students in sensemaking discussions and emphasise the integration of scientific practices with science content. Learning to teach in this way is complex, and there are few examples of sensemaking discussions in schools where textbook lessons and teacher-directed discussions are the norm. The purpose of this study was to characterise the questioning practices of an experienced teacher who taught a curricular unit enhanced with educative features that emphasised students' engagement in scientific practices integrated with science content. Analyses indicated the teacher asked four types of questions: explication questions, explanation questions, science concept questions, and scientific practice questions, and she used three questioning patterns including: (1) focusing students on scientific practices, which involved a sequence of questions to turn students back to the scientific practice; (2) supporting students in naming observed phenomena, which involved a sequence of questions to help students use scientific language; and (3) guiding students in sensemaking, which involved a sequence of questions to help students learn about scientific practices, describe evidence, and develop explanations. Although many of the discussions in this study were not yet student-centred, they provide an image of a teacher asking specific questions that move students towards reform-oriented instruction. Implications for classroom practice are discussed and recommendations for future research are provided.

Who Cares about APA Policy and Does it Have an Impact? 2006 Annual Report of the APA Policy and Planning Board

Science.gov (United States)

American Psychologist, 2007

2007-01-01

What constitutes American Psychological Association (APA) policy? How does it affect the everyday and professional lives of APA members? How personally aware are psychologists of APA policies? In this report, the APA explores these questions and provide some intriguing findings on the fate of policies developed through the APA's complicated and…

Policy issues raised by intervenor requests for financial assistance in NRC proceedings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-01-01

The purpose of the report presented is to focus and develop the myriad issues raised by intervenor requests for financial assistance for the NRC's proposed rulemaking proceeding. The report analyzes and assesses the various alternatives open to the Commission, and collects relevant data and material which may be informative to those participating in and conducting the rulemaking. Three major questions are examined: (1) should the Commission, as a matter of policy choice, provide financial assistance to intervenors in NRC proceedings; (2) are there preferable alternatives to direct intervenor financial aid, such as the establishment of an office of public counsel or provision of other forms of Commission assistance; and (3) what are the legal, administrative and policy considerations involved in implementing a determination to award financial assistance to intervenors, should the Commission so decide

The evidence-policy divide: a 'critical computational linguistics' approach to the language of 18 health agency CEOs from 9 countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Bell, Erica; Seidel, Bastian M

2012-10-30

There is an emerging body of literature suggesting that the evidence-practice divide in health policy is complex and multi-factorial but less is known about the processes by which health policy-makers use evidence and their views about the specific features of useful evidence. This study aimed to contribute to understandings of how the most influential health policy-makers view useful evidence, in ways that help explore and question how the evidence-policy divide is understood and what research might be supported to help overcome this divide. A purposeful sample of 18 national and state health agency CEOs from 9 countries was obtained. Participants were interviewed using open-ended questions that asked them to define specific features of useful evidence. The analysis involved two main approaches 1)quantitative mapping of interview transcripts using Bayesian-based computational linguistics software 2)qualitative critical discourse analysis to explore the nuances of language extracts so identified. The decision-making, conclusions-oriented world of policy-making is constructed separately, but not exclusively, by policy-makers from the world of research. Research is not so much devalued by them as described as too technical- yet at the same time not methodologically complex enough to engage with localised policy-making contexts. It is not that policy-makers are negative about academics or universities, it is that they struggle to find complexity-oriented methodologies for understanding their stakeholder communities and improving systems. They did not describe themselves as having a more positive role in solving this challenge than academics. These interviews do not support simplistic definitions of policy-makers and researchers as coming from two irreconcilable worlds. They suggest that qualitative and quantitative research is valued by policy-makers but that to be policy-relevant health research may need to focus on building complexity-oriented research methods for

Perspectives on NATO Nuclear Policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lunn, Simon [Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies - RUSI, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET (United Kingdom); Larsen, Jeffrey [Larsen Consulting Group, 3710 Woodland Dr Ste 2100, Anchorage, AK 99517 (United States); Yost, David [Naval Postgraduate School, 1 University Circle, Monterey, CA 93943 (United States); Kamp, Karl-Heinz [NATO Defense College, Via Giorgio Pelosi 1, 00143, Roma (Italy); Edelman, Eric [Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments - CSBA, 1667 K Sreet NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC, 20006 (United States); Valasek, Tomas [Centre for European Reform - CER, 14 Great College Street, Westminster, London, SW1P 3RX (United Kingdom); Garcia Cantalapiedra, David [Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040 Madrid (Spain)

2011-05-26

NATO will shortly revisit the question of its nuclear policy and posture as part of the ongoing deterrence and defense posture review (DDPR). This assessment of its nuclear requirements will be take place against the background of two parallel and potentially competing commitments: first, the general support for the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons with the related question of how NATO should contribute to this goal; second, the commitment that in considering the role of nuclear weapons the priority for NATO members is the maintenance of solidarity and cohesion and the consequent determination that decisions on nuclear policy will be taken by the Alliance collectively. There are forcefully expressed arguments on both sides of the debate over whether to maintain or eliminate the remaining arsenal of U.S. nuclear weapons assigned to NATO. On the one hand, they provide coupling, transatlantic links, military capabilities against an uncertain future, and risk and burden sharing. On the other, some allies see benefits to further reductions in the remaining arsenal in the cause of global disarmament. This study presents first the questions and issues for NATO and the future alternatives for NATO nuclear policy. Then, the views from United States, Germany, Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe, Italy and Spain are successively reviewed

Perspectives on NATO Nuclear Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lunn, Simon; Larsen, Jeffrey; Yost, David; Kamp, Karl-Heinz; Edelman, Eric; Valasek, Tomas; Garcia Cantalapiedra, David

2011-01-01

NATO will shortly revisit the question of its nuclear policy and posture as part of the ongoing deterrence and defense posture review (DDPR). This assessment of its nuclear requirements will be take place against the background of two parallel and potentially competing commitments: first, the general support for the goal of reducing and eventually eliminating nuclear weapons with the related question of how NATO should contribute to this goal; second, the commitment that in considering the role of nuclear weapons the priority for NATO members is the maintenance of solidarity and cohesion and the consequent determination that decisions on nuclear policy will be taken by the Alliance collectively. There are forcefully expressed arguments on both sides of the debate over whether to maintain or eliminate the remaining arsenal of U.S. nuclear weapons assigned to NATO. On the one hand, they provide coupling, transatlantic links, military capabilities against an uncertain future, and risk and burden sharing. On the other, some allies see benefits to further reductions in the remaining arsenal in the cause of global disarmament. This study presents first the questions and issues for NATO and the future alternatives for NATO nuclear policy. Then, the views from United States, Germany, Turkey, Central and Eastern Europe, Italy and Spain are successively reviewed

House Prices and the stance of Monetary Policy.

OpenAIRE

Jarociński, Marek; Smets, Frank

2008-01-01

This paper estimates a Bayesian VAR for the US economy which includes a housing sector and addresses the following questions. Can developments in the housing sector be explained on the basis of developments in real and nominal GDP and interest rates? What are the effects of housing demand shocks on the economy? How does monetary policy affect the housing market? What are the implications of house price developments for the stance of monetary policy? Regarding the latter question, we implement...

Implementing AIDS policy in post-apartheid South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, H; Stein, J

2001-03-01

In common with the rest of the Southern African sub-continent. South Africa is currently experiencing a serious HIV epidemic. When it came into power in 1994, the new, Mandela-led government immediately mobilised funds and adopted a far-reaching AIDS Plan for the country. However, the implementation of AIDS policy in the first four years after 1994 has been characterised by a lack of progress and a breakdown of trust and co-operation, both within government and between government and NGOs. This paper outlines the political context which shaped the development of the AIDS Policy, then examines the difficulties of implementing a comprehensive response to AIDS in a country undergoing restructuring at every level. It questions the notion of "inadequate political will" as an explanation for lack of progress. Involvement by politicians has, in fact, been experienced as a double-edged sword in South Africa, with inappropriate, "quick-fix" actions creating conflict and hampering a more longer-term, effective response. The paper also highlights the importance of groupings outside of government in promoting effective policy actions, and the types of leadership required to mobilise a broad range of actors around a common vision. It concludes by emphasising the need to develop approaches to policy implementation rooted in the possibilities and constraints of the local situation, rather than relying on universal blue-prints developed out of context.

Questioning Questions: Elementary Teachers' Adaptations of Investigation Questions across the Inquiry Continuum

Science.gov (United States)

Biggers, Mandy

2018-01-01

Questioning is a central practice in science classrooms. However, not every question translates into a "good" science investigation. Questions that drive science investigations can be provided by many sources including the teacher, the curriculum, or the student. The variations in the source of investigation questions were explored in…

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....

Can a policy program influence policy change? The case of the Swiss EnergieSchweiz program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sager, Fritz; Bürki, Marietta; Luginbühl, Jennifer

2014-01-01

This paper investigates the interrelation of policy implementation and policy change by addressing the question of whether and how the Swiss energy program “EnergieSchweiz” influenced policy decisions. We discuss different ways in which a policy program may influence policy change: by negative and positive learning, by coalition building and by policy community building. Respective assumptions are tested in two case studies from the “EnergieSchweiz” program, which was in place from 2000 to 2010. We find that, while the policy program was not critical for the policy change itself, it nevertheless played a role as an agenda setter, as an initiator of learning processes as well as through its policy community. - Highlights: • We investigate how energy policy implementation impacts policy change. • We analyse the Swiss energy program “EnergieSchweiz” in place from 2000 to 2010. • Policy programs alone do not deliver policy change. • But they can influence it by agenda setting and by negative learning. • Expert networks have an influence if there are shared goals

Fiscal policy and the global financial crisis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben M.

 The financial crisis raises demands for fiscal policy interventions. While a fall in aggregate demand is an important consequence of the crisis, it also reflects more underlying structural problems and changes. Hence, appropriate policy designs have to take account of the nature of the crisis......-run objectives are discussed. Past experience shows that deep recessions become persistent due to marginalization of unemployed, and therefore labour market policies have to be considered as an integral part of policy packages. Finally the question of international policy coordination is addressed....

How can stakeholder involvement be improved?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-12-01

Radioactive waste management is embedded in broader societal issues such as environment, risk management, sustainability, energy and health policy. In all these fields, there is an increasing demand for public involvement, participation or engagement. Guidance for public authorities also generally encourages greater involvement of the public. Involvement may take different forms at different phases and can include sharing information, consulting, dialoguing or deliberating on decisions with relevant stakeholders. Stakeholder involvement should be seen as a meaningful part of formulating and implementing public policy. There is no single technique for organising engagement. Initiatives should respond to their context and to stakeholders' particular needs. As the number of stakeholder involvement approaches and publications describing them continues to grow, new opportunities are opening up through social media, which has become an important tool for stakeholder involvement in recent years

Family-friendly policies in The Netherlands : The tripartite involvement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Remery, Chantal; Doorne-Huiskes, Anneke van; Schippers, Joop

2003-01-01

The article reports on research among Dutch employers concerning the arrangements they provide for employees to help them with the reconciliation of work and family life. The research not only answers the question of to what extent different employers offer arrangements like childcare facilities,

Opportunities for scientists to influence policy: When does radiation metrology matter in development of national policy?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Coursey, Bert M.

2014-01-01

Accurate measurements of radiation and radioactivity rarely rise to the level of national policy. The things that matter most to ordinary citizens do not normally include questions of science and technology. Citizens are more often concerned with issues close to home relating to commerce, health, safety, security and the environment. When questions of confidence in measurements arise, they are first directed to the ministry that has responsibilities in that area. When the required uncertainty in field measurements challenges the capability of the regulatory authorities, the National Metrology Institute may be asked to develop transfer standards to enhance the capabilities of the ministry with the mission lead. In this paper, we will consider eight instances over the past nine decades in which questions in radiation and radionuclide metrology in the US did rise to the level that they influenced decisions on national policy. These eight examples share some common threads. Radioactivity and ionizing radiation are useful tools in many disciplines, but can often represent potential or perceived threats to health and public safety. When unforeseen applications of radiation arise, or when environmental radioactivity from natural and man-made sources presents a possible health hazard, the radiation metrologists may be called upon to provide the technical underpinning for policy development. - Highlights: • We review instances in which accurate measurements of radiation influence policy. • Heads of state rely on senior science advisors to frame policy decisions. • Metrologists support federal agencies that have mission leads in different fields. • Metrologists are called on when other agencies lack requisite expertise. • Radionuclide metrologists must recognize and accept challenges

The answer is questions: accelerated-nursing students report practice questions are fundamental to first-time NCLEX-RN success.

Science.gov (United States)

Blozen, Barbara B

2014-01-01

There are a number of anecdotal reports on demographic characteristics and academic success of accelerated-nursing students; yet few empirical studies have examined accelerated-nursing students NCLEX-RN success. Applying Knowles' adult learning theory as a guiding framework, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore, from the accelerated-nursing students' perspective, the factors reported as contributing to their success on the NCLEX-RN. The research questions aimed to elicit participants' descriptions of their experiences and factors contributing to their success via individual interviews. The most significant finding the participants identified as the factor that contributed to their success was the practicing of NCLEX-RN questions. The findings of this study have several implications for educational policy and practice for universities and schools of nursing as the information gained from this study applies to recruitment and retention as well as curriculum and educational strategies in an accelerated-nursing program.

How to improve collaboration between the public health sector and other policy sectors to reduce health inequalities? - A study in sixteen municipalities in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Storm, Ilse; den Hertog, Frank; van Oers, Hans; Schuit, Albertine J

2016-06-22

The causes of health inequalities are complex. For the reduction of health inequalities, intersectoral collaboration between the public health sector and both social policy sectors (e.g. youth affairs, education) and physical policy sectors (e.g. housing, spatial planning) is essential, but in local practice difficult to realize. The aim of this study was to examine the collaboration between the sectors in question more closely and to identify opportunities for improvement. A qualitative descriptive analysis of five aspects of collaboration within sixteen Dutch municipalities was performed to examine the collaboration between the public health sector and other policy sectors: 1) involvement of the sectors in the public health policy network, 2) harmonisation of objectives, 3) use of policies by the relevant sectors, 4) formalised collaboration, and 5) previous experience. Empirical data on these collaboration aspects were collected based on document analysis, questionnaires and interviews. The study found that the policy workers of social sectors were more involved in the public health network and more frequently supported the objectives in the field of health inequality reduction. Both social policy sectors and physical policy sectors used policies and activities to reduce health inequalities. More is done to influence the determinants of health inequality through policies aimed at lifestyle and social setting than through policies aimed at socioeconomic factors and the physical environment. Where the physical policy sectors are involved in the public health network, the collaboration follows a very similar pattern as with the social policy sectors. All sectors recognise the importance of good relationships, positive experiences, a common interest in working together and coordinated mechanisms. This study shows that there is scope for improving collaboration in the field of health inequality reduction between the public health sector and both social policy sectors

Agricultural Productivity and Policy Interventions in Nyamagabe ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Improving agricultural productivity has received considerable policy intervention in many African countries and particularly in Rwanda. The question remains to know the extent to which the policy contributes to the variation being upwards or downwards of the crop productivity. There are number of determinant factors some ...

Monetary Policy and Excessive Bank Risk Taking

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agur, I.; Demertzis, M.

2010-01-01

If monetary policy is to aim at financial stability, how would it change? To analyze this question, this paper develops a general-form model with endogenous bank risk profiles. Policy rates affect both bank incentives to search for yield and the cost of wholesale funding. Financial stability

A system-evolutionary approach for innovation policy

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Smits, Ruud E.H.M.; Kuhlmann, Stefan; Teubal, Morris

2010-01-01

A leading question addressed in this book is how to improve public policy, using insights from innovation studies and theory as well as from innovation practice and innovation policy. Innovation in this book is seen as a dynamic interactive process taking place in heterogeneous, more or less

Outstanding Questions In First Amendment Law Related To Food Labeling Disclosure Requirements For Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Pomeranz, Jennifer L

2015-11-01

The federal and state governments are increasingly focusing on food labeling as a method to support good health. Many such laws are opposed by the food industry and may be challenged in court, raising the question of what is legally feasible. This article analyzes outstanding questions in First Amendment law related to commercial disclosure requirements and conducts legal analysis and policy evaluation for three current policies. These include the Food and Drug Administration's draft regulation requiring an added sugar disclosure on the Nutrition Facts panel, California's proposed sugar-sweetened beverage safety warning label bill, and Vermont's law requiring labels of genetically engineered food to disclose this information. I recommend several methods for policy makers to enact food labeling laws within First Amendment parameters, including imposing factual commercial disclosure requirements, disclosing the government entity issuing a warning, collecting evidence, and identifying legitimate governmental interests. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Organizing Patient Involvement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brehm Johansen, Mette

hospitals. During the last 25 years, patient involvement and quality improvement have become connected in Danish healthcare policy. However, the ideal of involving patients in quality improvement is described in very general terms and with only few specific expectations of how it is to be carried out...... in practice, as I show in the thesis. In the patient involvement literature, the difficulties of getting patient involvement in quality improvement to have in an impact on the planning and development of healthcare services is, for example, ascribed to conceptual vagueness of patient involvement, differences...... in perspectives, values and understandings between patients and healthcare professionals, or the lack of managerial attention and prioritization....

Rhetorical questions or rhetorical uses of questions?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Špago Džemal

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to explore whether some rhetorical questions contain certain linguistic elements or forms which would differentiate them from answer-eliciting and action-eliciting questions, and thereby hint at their rhetorical nature even outside the context. Namely, despite the fact that the same questions can be rhetorical in one context, and answer-eliciting in another, some of them are more likely to be associated with rhetorical or non-rhetorical use. The analysis is based on extensive data (over 1200 examples of rhetorical questions taken from 30 plays by two British and two American writers, and the results are expected to give an insight into whether we can talk about rhetorical questions or just a rhetorical use of questions.

Interstitial lung involvement in rheumatoid arthritis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Vladimirovich Bestaev

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Rheumatoid arthritis (RA is a systemic autoimmune rheumatic disease of unknown etiology, characterized by chronic erosive arthritis and extraarticular manifestations. Pulmonary involvement is one of the common extraarticular manifestations of RA and may show itself as bronchial tree lesions, rheumatoid nodules, Caplan's syndrome, and lesions in the pleura or pulmonary interstitium (interstitial lung involvement (ILI. High-resolution computed tomography allows the diagnosis of ILI in RA in nearly 70% of cases although the incidence of ILI may be lower (4 to 30% depending on diagnostic methods and patient selection criteria. There are several histopathological types of ILI, the differential diagnosis of which can be troublesome. Usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP and nonspecific interstitial pneumonia are major types of RA-associated ILI. UIP-pattern ILI has a more severe course than ILI with other histological patterns. The clinical presentation of ILI may be complicated by the likely toxic effect of a number of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs used to treat RA, such as methotrexate and leflunomide, and biological agents (BAs, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α inhibitors. The pathogenesis of pulmonary involvement in RA and the role of synthetic DMARDs and BAs in the development of ILI call for further investigations.An extraarticular manifestation, such as ILI, affects the choice of treatment policy in patients with RA.The relevance of a study of ILI is beyond question. The paper discusses the state-of-the-art of investigations in this area.

The European Union's Africa Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Olsen, Gorm Rye

2013-01-01

For a number of years, there has been an international debate on whether and to what extent small member states can influence the common external policies of the European Union. Recent research on the role of small EU states concludes that these states are neither per se political dwarfs nor power...... including North–South and specifically Africa policies. Five separate analyses are carried out addressing the question of Nordicization and Europeanization. Based on the empirical analyses, it is not possible to confirm the hypothesis that a Nordicization of the European Union's Africa policy has taken...... place. Rather, it appears adequate to talk about convergence of policies between the Nordics and the EU and therefore, the Africa policies of both actors are basically the result of Europeanization....

Policy learning and policy change: Theorizing their relations from different perspectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Moyson (Stéphane); P.W.A. Scholten (Peter); Weible, C.M. (Christopher M.)

2017-01-01

textabstractAll politics and policy issues involve the accumulation of data about problems and solutions in context of social interactions. Drawing on these data, policy actors acquire, translate, and disseminate new information and knowledge toward achieving political endeavors and for revising or

Tracing policy movements: methods for studying learning and policy circulation

OpenAIRE

Wood, Astrid

2016-01-01

Policy flows are not quantifiable and calculating processes but part of the uneven movement of ideas and experiences that involves power and personalities. Processes of learning and policy circulation have thus proven difficult to study especially as the exchanges taking place between actors and localities rarely lead directly to uptake. This paper outlines a conceptual and methodological framework for conducting policy mobilities research by attending to the plethora of ordinary practices – ...

Beyond the Workshop: Educational Policy in Situated Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenson, Jennifer; Lewis, Brian

2001-01-01

Identifies questions arising from implementation of computer-based technologies in Canadian schools--questions of public policy in an increasingly technocentric and commercialized environment, of investment in technological infrastructure, and of teachers' professional development and its effectiveness. Lists necessary factors for the success of…

The AIR's policy on research involving the irradiation of human subjects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Smith, A.N.

1995-01-01

The policy of the Australian Institute of Radiography with regards to the human subject irradiation is outlined. It is stated that members will not irradiate another individual, nor themselves, solely for the purposes of experimentation or research without gaining the prior approval of an institutional ethics committee. Where possible, researchers should consider the use of patient equivalent or human tissue equivalent phantoms. A short list of references has been compiled to assist members in designing research protocols which comply with the stated policy

Learning from games: Stakeholders’ experiences involved in local health policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Spitters, Hilde; van de Goor, Ien; Juel Lau, Cathrine

2018-01-01

Since public health problems are complex and the related policies need to address a wide range of sectors, cross-sectoral collaboration is beneficial. One intervention focusing on stimulating collaboration is a ‘policy game’. The focus on specific problems facilitates relationships between...... the stakeholders and stimulates cross-sectoral policymaking. The present study explores stakeholders’ learning experiences with respect to the collaboration process in public health policymaking. This was achieved via their game participation, carried out in real-life stakeholder networks in the Netherlands...... the collaboration processes in local policymaking. Specific learning experiences were related to: (i) the stakeholder network, (ii) interaction and (iii) relationships. The game also increased participant’s understanding of group dynamics and need for a coordinator in policymaking. This exploratory study shows...

Necessary but Not Sufficient: The Role of Policy for Advancing Programs of School, Family, and Community Partnerships

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joyce L. Epstein

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Since the release of Equality of Educational Opportunity, researchers have emphasized the importance of applying the results of research to policies for school improvement. Policies tell educators to do something, but not how to enact specific laws. This study analyzes data from 347 schools in 21 districts to identify variables that support the enactment of policies for parental engagement. We address research questions on how school and district practices affect the quality of school-based partnership programs. Our results indicate that a policy on parental involvement may be a good first step, but other factors—principals’ support for family and community engagement and active facilitation of research-based structures and processes by district leaders—are important for establishing a basic partnership program. These factors promote programs that engage all students’ families. Schools that take these steps have higher percentages of engaged families and report higher rates of average daily attendance among their students.

Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Job Involvement: The Mediating Role of Job Involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ćulibrk, Jelena; Delić, Milan; Mitrović, Slavica; Ćulibrk, Dubravko

2018-01-01

We conducted an empirical study aimed at identifying and quantifying the relationship between work characteristics, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational policies and procedures in the transition economy of Serbia, South Eastern Europe. The study, which included 566 persons, employed by 8 companies, revealed that existing models of work motivation need to be adapted to fit the empirical data, resulting in a revised research model elaborated in the paper. In the proposed model, job involvement partially mediates the effect of job satisfaction on organizational commitment. Job satisfaction in Serbia is affected by work characteristics but, contrary to many studies conducted in developed economies, organizational policies and procedures do not seem significantly affect employee satisfaction.

Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Job Involvement: The Mediating Role of Job Involvement

Science.gov (United States)

Ćulibrk, Jelena; Delić, Milan; Mitrović, Slavica; Ćulibrk, Dubravko

2018-01-01

We conducted an empirical study aimed at identifying and quantifying the relationship between work characteristics, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, job involvement and organizational policies and procedures in the transition economy of Serbia, South Eastern Europe. The study, which included 566 persons, employed by 8 companies, revealed that existing models of work motivation need to be adapted to fit the empirical data, resulting in a revised research model elaborated in the paper. In the proposed model, job involvement partially mediates the effect of job satisfaction on organizational commitment. Job satisfaction in Serbia is affected by work characteristics but, contrary to many studies conducted in developed economies, organizational policies and procedures do not seem significantly affect employee satisfaction. PMID:29503623

Nuclear energy by way of 110 questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mandil, C.; Borotra, F.

1996-01-01

The main goal of this updated edition is to provide the general public with information on the civil nuclear policy in France. Twelve chapters deal with following topics: nuclear economy, nuclear industry, nuclear fuel cycle and nuclear waste, nuclear safety, radioactivity and health, nuclear accidents in the world, nuclear energy and environment, inspection planning, information, nuclear proliferation prevention, nuclear energy in the world and in the future. At the end of each chapter the authors answer a set of questions corresponding to the general pubic queries. (N.T.)

Towards Adaptive Management: Examining the Strategies of Policy Entrepreneurs in Dutch Water Management

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stijn Brouwer

2011-12-01

Full Text Available The growing awareness of the complexities and uncertainties in water management has put into question the existing paradigms in this field. Increasingly more flexible, integrated, and adaptive policies are promoted. In this context, the understanding of how to effect policy change is becoming more important. This article analyzes policy making at the micro level, focusing on the behavior of policy entrepreneurs, which we understand here as risk-taking bureaucrats who seek to change policy and are involved throughout the policy-change process. Policy entrepreneurs have received a certain level of attention in the adaptive co-management literature and the policy sciences in past decades. Yet, the understanding of the actions they can take to facilitate policy change remains limited. This study addresses this gap in focusing on the strategies that policy entrepreneurs employ in their efforts to effect policy change. The article draws on both theoretical exploration and in-depth field research on water management in the Netherlands, which included a series of semi-structured interviews and a focus group with policy entrepreneurs. We conclude that policy entrepreneurs employ four types of strategies: (1 attention and support-seeking strategies, to demonstrate the significance of a problem and to convince a wide range of participants about their preferred policy; (2 linking strategies, to link with other parties, projects, ideas, and policy games; (3 relational management strategies, to manage the relational factor in policy-change trajectories; and finally, (4 arena strategies, to influence the time and place wherein decisions are made. Our study suggests that by employing these strategies when the "time is right," the development of policy streams and consequently their coupling can, to some extent, be influenced and steered. In other words, policy entrepreneurs can, to a degree, prepare for a window of opportunity and hence direct policy change.

The energy question

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1987-01-01

In April 1987, Energy, Mines and Resources Minister Marcel Masse launched a public review of Canada's energy options into the twenty-first century. He appointed a national advisory committee to preside over the process and he made clear his desire that there be full public participation. In Canada energy is everybody's business. We are rich in resources, but factors such as geography, climate, regional imbalance and provincial ownership ensure that this is among the most stressful and national issues. Energy is about Canadians, about our dealings with each other, directly and through our institutions. Our management of this issue speaks tellingly of our respect for each other's rights, as well as our willingness to coalesce for mutual support. Canada's energy policy should reflect our sense of self and our collective vision of the nation. History tells us that we strain the bonds of our federation when we fail to formulate policies that meet these standards. Perhaps we have relied too heavily on institutions, instead of on an informed and thoughtful public, to set the framework for policy making. This booklet is directed at interested Canadians who want to be involved in this process. It is not an interim report - no consensus yet exists; it is an invitation to participate and a stimulus for discussion. The Advisory Committee believes that individual contributions are essential to its deliberations. It hopes that many will take the time to submit their ideas. Perspectives offered will be gratefully received and shall be respectfully considered

Artists’ Autonomy and Professionalization in a New Cultural Policy Landscape

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marita Flisbäck

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Using literature on the professions, the article explores how a new political model for funding and steering may affect professional autonomy. Professional groups’ efforts to independently practice their profession during times of political change are elaborated. The professional group in questions is artists, the context is Sweden, and the new model is called the Collaborative Cultural Model. This model entails a shift in the funding and realization of cultural policy from the national to the regional level. From a situation in which civil servants with specific culture knowledge were involved, politicians, representatives of civil society, civil servants and artists are now to work together to create a regional culture plan. In the article, two different outcomes of the new model are discussed as possible. It can lead to de-professionalization process, particularly if the policy on keeping outside influences at “arm’s length” weakens. On the other hand, negotiations between different actors could result in artists’ knowledge becoming more prominent and receiving more recognition than previously. This, in turn, could promote professional artists’ status.Keywords: Cultural policy, public funding, autonomy, artistic (deprofessionalization, dominated and dominating 

Understanding Iranian Foreign Policy - The Case of Iranian Nuclear Program

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emir Hadzikadunic

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the complexity of the Iranian foreign policy through the case of Iranian nuclear program. The paper aims to assess foreign policy orientations and compares actions of the last three Iranian presidents, Mohammad Khatami, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current Hassan Rouhani in dealing with the international community (IC in pursuing its nuclear program. This assessment would not be complete without reference to the Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei who is actual head of the state and the most powerful political authority. This paper also relates Iranian foreign policy expectation to competing theories of international relations to identify the most dominant or the most consistent policy orientation. Its aim is to strengthen realist and power-based explanations that have dominated the discourse on Middle Eastern in general and Iranian foreign policy in particular. In this context, a number of questions will be addressed here. To what extend was Iranian negotiation with the IC over its nuclear program consistent throughout these three presidencies? What has changed, if anything, from Iranian foreign policy perspective and why? Can Iranian foreign policy behavior on this specific topic and in this specific time be explained through any international relations theory? As there are many other questions, so there are many theories to examine and explain true Iranian intentions, those below the surface of declared goals (Hadzikadunic, 2014. The methods employed in answering these questions are largely structured around a chronological account and comparative approach. It is also based on the analysis of foreign policy discourse and the assessment of key decision makers.

London and beyond: Taking a closer look at urban energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Keirstead, James; Schulz, Niels B.

2010-01-01

This paper considers the field of urban energy policy, a neglected yet important topic. Cities account for approximately two-thirds of global primary energy consumption creating significant benefits and costs. As a result there has been growing interest in the contribution of cities to global energy policy issues such as climate change but a number of significant questions remain: e.g. how do energy policy processes differ between national and urban scales, and how can cities contribute most effectively to global policy goals? We present the results of interviews with key stakeholders in London to illustrate some unique features of the urban energy policy cycle. We then take a wider view, proposing a research agenda with three key goals: describing the global variety of urban energy consumption and policy; understanding the resulting diversity in responsibility, vulnerability and capacity; and developing shared procedures and solutions. Tackling these questions is vital if cities are to contribute fully to current energy policy efforts.

Can we share questions? Performance of questions from different question banks in a single medical school.

Science.gov (United States)

Freeman, Adrian; Nicholls, Anthony; Ricketts, Chris; Coombes, Lee

2010-01-01

To use progress testing, a large bank of questions is required, particularly when planning to deliver tests over a long period of time. The questions need not only to be of good quality but also balanced in subject coverage across the curriculum to allow appropriate sampling. Hence as well as creating its own questions, an institution could share questions. Both methods allow ownership and structuring of the test appropriate to the educational requirements of the institution. Peninsula Medical School (PMS) has developed a mechanism to validate questions written in house. That mechanism can be adapted to utilise questions from an International question bank International Digital Electronic Access Library (IDEAL) and another UK-based question bank Universities Medical Assessment Partnership (UMAP). These questions have been used in our progress tests and analysed for relative performance. Data are presented to show that questions from differing sources can have comparable performance in a progress testing format. There are difficulties in transferring questions from one institution to another. These include problems of curricula and cultural differences. Whilst many of these difficulties exist, our experience suggests that it only requires a relatively small amount of work to adapt questions from external question banks for effective use. The longitudinal aspect of progress testing (albeit summatively) may allow more flexibility in question usage than single high stakes exams.

Maternal Involvement and Academic Achievement.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopez, Linda C.; Holmes, William M.

The potential impact of several maternal involvement behaviors on teachers' ratings of children's academic skills was examined through statistical analyses. Data, based on mothers' responses to selected questions concerning maternal involvement and on teachers' ratings on the Classroom Behavior Inventory, were obtained for 115 kindergarten…

Climate policy to defeat the green paradox.

Science.gov (United States)

Fölster, Stefan; Nyström, Johan

2010-05-01

Carbon dioxide emissions have accelerated since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol. This discouraging development may partly be blamed on accelerating world growth and on lags in policy instruments. However, it also raises serious question concerning whether policies to reduce CO2 emissions are as effective as generally assumed. In recent years, a considerable number of studies have identified various feedback mechanisms of climate policies that often erode, and occasionally reinforce, their effectiveness. These studies generally focus on a few feedback mechanisms at a time, without capturing the entire effect. Partial accounting of policy feedbacks is common in many climate scenarios. The IPCC, for example, only accounts for direct leakage and rebound effects. This article attempts to map the aggregate effects of different types of climate policy feedback mechanisms in a cohesive framework. Controlling feedback effects is essential if the policy measures are to make any difference on a global level. A general conclusion is that aggregate policy feedback mechanisms tend to make current climate policies much less effective than is generally assumed. In fact, various policy measures involve a definite risk of 'backfiring' and actually increasing CO2 emissions. This risk is particularly pronounced once effects of climate policies on the pace of innovation in climate technology are considered. To stand any chance of controlling carbon emissions, it is imperative that feedback mechanisms are integrated into emission scenarios, targets for emission reduction and implementation of climate policy. In many cases, this will reduce the scope for subsidies to renewable energy sources, but increase the scope for other measures such as schemes to return carbon dioxide to the ground and to mitigate emissions of greenhouse gases from wetlands and oceans. A framework that incorporates policy feedback effects necessitates rethinking the design of the national and regional emission

Decommissioning policy in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergman, C.; Boge, R.; Snihs, J.O.

1987-01-01

In Sweden the nuclear power program is, according to a parliamentary decision, limited to twelve power producing reactors. The last reactor shall be taken out of service no later than the year 2010. As a result of the Chernobyl accident the program for taking the reactors out of service will be accelerated. This report is the first approach by the Swedish authorities to formulate a decommissioning policy. It is not the final policy document but it discusses the principal questions from the special Swedish viewpoint. (orig.)

Decommissioning policy in Sweden

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergman, C.; Boge, R.; Snihs, J.O.

1987-01-01

In Sweden the nuclear power program is, according to a parliamentary decision, limited to twelve power producing reactors. The last reactor shall be taken out of service no later than the year 2010. As a result of the Chernobyl accident the program for taking the reactors out of service will be accelerated. The first approach by the Swedish authorities to formulate a decommissioning policy is discussed. It is not the final policy document but it discusses the principal questions from the special Swedish viewpoint

Lean Customer Involvement : A Multiple Case Study on the Effects of Kanban on Customer Involvement

OpenAIRE

Lundheim, Henning

2012-01-01

Customer involvement is an important, but challenging part of software development. Delays and failures can often be attributed to a lack of customer involvement. Different development methodologies provide different strategies for customer involvement, all with their own challenges. Kanban is a new development methodology quickly gaining popularity in the software development community. This thesis aims to answer the question: How does Kanban influence customer involvement? The main prob...

Policy-Based Negotiation Engine for Cross-Domain Interoperability

Science.gov (United States)

Vatan, Farrokh; Chow, Edward T.

2012-01-01

A successful policy negotiation scheme for Policy-Based Management (PBM) has been implemented. Policy negotiation is the process of determining the "best" communication policy that all of the parties involved can agree on. Specifically, the problem is how to reconcile the various (and possibly conflicting) communication protocols used by different divisions. The solution must use protocols available to all parties involved, and should attempt to do so in the best way possible. Which protocols are commonly available, and what the definition of "best" is will be dependent on the parties involved and their individual communications priorities.

Centrifugal Schooling: Third Sector Policy Networks and the Reassembling of Curriculum Policy in England

Science.gov (United States)

Williamson, Ben

2012-01-01

This article examines changes in curriculum policy in secondary education in England. It is concerned with recent curriculum policy and reform, and the proliferation of non-government actors in curriculum policy creation. It examines the emergence of a loose alliance of third sector organisations and their involvement in a series of alternative…

Involving Research Stakeholders in Developing Policy on Sharing Public Health Research Data in Kenya

Science.gov (United States)

Jao, Irene; Kombe, Francis; Mwalukore, Salim; Bull, Susan; Parker, Michael; Kamuya, Dorcas; Molyneux, Sassy

2015-01-01

Increased global sharing of public health research data has potential to advance scientific progress but may present challenges to the interests of research stakeholders, particularly in low-to-middle income countries. Policies for data sharing should be responsive to public views, but there is little evidence of the systematic study of these from low-income countries. This qualitative study explored views on fair data-sharing processes among 60 stakeholders in Kenya with varying research experience, using a deliberative approach. Stakeholders’ attitudes were informed by perceptions of benefit and concerns for research data sharing, including risks of stigmatization, loss of privacy, and undermining scientific careers and validity, reported in detail elsewhere. In this article, we discuss institutional trust-building processes seen as central to perceptions of fairness in sharing research data in this setting, including forms of community involvement, individual prior awareness and agreement to data sharing, independence and accountability of governance mechanisms, and operating under a national framework. PMID:26297748

The Monetary Policy – Restrictive or Expansive?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam Szafarczyk

2007-10-01

Full Text Available The monetary policy plays an important role in macroeconomic policy of government. There is a question concerning type of this policy expansive or restrictive (easy or tidy monetary policy. Unfortunately, we have a lot of criteria. Each of them gives us other answer. So due to equitation of Irving Fisher we have dominantly expansive monetary policy. This same situation exists when we use nominal value of rediscount interest rate of central bank. Opposite result appears when we use real value of this interest rate or level of obligatory reserve. Taking under consideration liquidity on money market we know, that level of interest rate is too high.

Energy supplying of the Europe and foreign policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Noel, P.

1998-03-01

This paper aims to answer the question on the impact of the energy supply in Europe on the foreign and safety policy. The geo-political principles of the energy, the european petroleum and gaseous supply and the american policy facing the european energy supply are analyzed. (A.L.B.)

Medical Students' Understanding of Directed Questioning by Their Clinical Preceptors.

Science.gov (United States)

Lo, Lawrence; Regehr, Glenn

2017-01-01

Phenomenon: Throughout clerkship, preceptors ask medical students questions for both assessment and teaching purposes. However, the cognitive and strategic aspects of students' approaches to managing this situation have not been explored. Without an understanding of how students approach the question and answer activity, medical educators are unable to appreciate how effectively this activity fulfills their purposes of assessment or determine the activity's associated educational effects. A convenience sample of nine 4th-year medical students participated in semistructured one-on-one interviews exploring their approaches to managing situations in which they have been challenged with questions from preceptors to which they do not know the answer. Through an iterative and recursive analytic reading of the interview transcripts, data were coded and organized to identify themes relevant to the students' considerations in answering such questions. Students articulated deliberate strategies for managing the directed questioning activity, which at times focused on the optimization of their learning but always included considerations of image management. Managing image involved projecting not only being knowledgeable but also being teachable. The students indicated that their considerations in selecting an appropriate strategy in a given situation involved their perceptions of their preceptors' intentions and preferences as well as several contextual factors. Insights: The medical students we interviewed were quite sophisticated in their understanding of the social nuances of the directed questioning process and described a variety of contextually invoked strategies to manage the situation and maintain a positive image.

Dual Headquarters Involvement in Subsidiary Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dellestrand, Henrik; Kappen, Philip; Nell, Phillip Christopher

2014-01-01

The strategy and international business literature has identified the overall potential for headquarters to add value by allocating resources to subsidiary activities, but little is known about the extent to which multiple headquarters simultaneously involves itself in subsidiary operations....... The current paper takes on this neglected question by empirically investigating corporate and divisional headquarters direct involvement in innovation development projects at the subsidiary level. Analyses that draw upon 85 innovation development projects in 23 multinational enterprises reveal that dual...... of the developing subsidiary positively moderates the two aforementioned effects on dual headquarters involvement in innovation development. The results lend support for the notion that parenting in complex structures entails complex headquarters structures. Thus, the results question simplistic views...

Illusions of empowerment? Questioning policy and practice of community forestry in Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan W. Chomba

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The extent to which community forestry (CF contributes to empowerment of local communities remains hotly contested. We develop a unified theory of empowerment at the intersection of asset-based agency and institution-based opportunity and apply it to examine the extent to which the implementation of CF has led to local empowerment. Our empirical data are drawn from review of national level policies and a field study of Ngare Ndare Community Forest Association (CFA in Kenya. We investigated what types of powers were transferred to the local level, how representative the local institution was of the local community, and how its formation and composition affected the empowerment of socially and economically differentiated groups, with competing claims over the forest resource. We found that national forest policies and actors transferred minimal powers that enabled local communities to execute forest protection and conservation roles, while maintaining legislative powers and control of economic benefits centrally; and, that representation within the CFA was highly skewed in favor of small and already powerful local elites. We discuss the findings in the light of the literature on empowerment to develop insights about how to more effectively manage processes to empower local communities through appropriately representative institutions.

Questioning the Homogenization of Irregular Migrants in Educational Policy: From (Il)Legal Residence to Inclusive Education

Science.gov (United States)

Hemelsoet, Elias

2011-01-01

In this article Elias Hemelsoet questions the way irregular migrants are approached in educational policymaking. In most cases, estimations of the number of irregular migrants serve--despite large methodological problems--as a starting point for policymaking. Given the very diverse composition of this group of people, the question is whether…

Public Procurement of Innovation Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rolfstam, Max; Petersen, Ole Helby

2014-01-01

Until recently, Danish policy interest in public procurement has mainly been driven by efficiency and cost-effectiveness concerns. Public-procurement policies have in general focused on the utilisation of economies of scale as a Means of achieving lower prices on goods and services. Attempts...... to develop mandatory procurement systems have also been gradually developing, while the focus on innovation has been relatively modest in Danish procurement policies until recently. This picture is currently changing, as several initiatives emphasising public procurement as a means of stimulating innovation...... have been launched. Whether this gradual change of focus in Danish procurement policies will make a deep and lasting impact on the role of public procurement as a driver for innovationis, however, yet an open question....

The Participatory Turn in UK Radioactive Waste Management Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simmons, Peter; Bickerstaff, Karen

2006-01-01

The history of radioactive waste management policy in the UK has, in common with many other countries, been one characterised by crisis. A study of UK radioactive waste management (RWM) policy published in 1991 begins with the claim that 'What is distinctive about the British context is that crisis has not produced new commitments to resolving the problems of radwaste management'. As this paper will illustrate, current activity suggests that this assertion no longer holds true. Rather, the UK has witnessed a renewed commitment to addressing the problem accompanied by a significant shift in approach to RWM decision making. This shift was precipitated by the failure in 1997 of the technocratic strategy that hitherto had been pursued by government and by the nuclear industry but has also been influenced by a number of other contributory factors. What we now see in the UK is a proliferation of stakeholder involvement (SI) initiatives in the RWM and related fields, a situation that poses new questions and potentially new problems. In this paper we outline the historical developments that preceded this change, examine the current situation and finally review the question of whether this reconfigured landscape of SI amounts to a radical shift in policy and practice that has produced, or is likely to produce, new commitments to resolving the problems of RWM. We have identified five issues raised by stakeholders: (i) the strains created by the demands placed on limited stakeholder capacity are for some organisations and individuals becoming difficult to manage; (ii) there is an associated problem of participation fatigue or exhaustion resulting from the demands on stakeholders called to participate in multiple processes, which is seen by some NGO critics as a cynical strategy of attrition designed to co-opt and wear down potential opposition - and both of these problems increase the risk of stakeholder withdrawal; (iii) concerns about the problem of policy fragmentation

The Participatory Turn in UK Radioactive Waste Management Policy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Simmons, Peter [Univ. of East Anglia, Norwich (United Kingdom). School of Environmental Sciences; Bickerstaff, Karen [Durham Univ. (United Kingdom). Dept. of Geography

2006-09-15

The history of radioactive waste management policy in the UK has, in common with many other countries, been one characterised by crisis. A study of UK radioactive waste management (RWM) policy published in 1991 begins with the claim that 'What is distinctive about the British context is that crisis has not produced new commitments to resolving the problems of radwaste management'. As this paper will illustrate, current activity suggests that this assertion no longer holds true. Rather, the UK has witnessed a renewed commitment to addressing the problem accompanied by a significant shift in approach to RWM decision making. This shift was precipitated by the failure in 1997 of the technocratic strategy that hitherto had been pursued by government and by the nuclear industry but has also been influenced by a number of other contributory factors. What we now see in the UK is a proliferation of stakeholder involvement (SI) initiatives in the RWM and related fields, a situation that poses new questions and potentially new problems. In this paper we outline the historical developments that preceded this change, examine the current situation and finally review the question of whether this reconfigured landscape of SI amounts to a radical shift in policy and practice that has produced, or is likely to produce, new commitments to resolving the problems of RWM. We have identified five issues raised by stakeholders: (i) the strains created by the demands placed on limited stakeholder capacity are for some organisations and individuals becoming difficult to manage; (ii) there is an associated problem of participation fatigue or exhaustion resulting from the demands on stakeholders called to participate in multiple processes, which is seen by some NGO critics as a cynical strategy of attrition designed to co-opt and wear down potential opposition - and both of these problems increase the risk of stakeholder withdrawal; (iii) concerns about the problem of policy

Monetary policy and banking supervision: still at arm's length? A comparative analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Donato Masciandaro

2012-12-01

Full Text Available By the early 2000s an increasing number of countries had adopted a well-defined central bank framework, characterized by two intertwined features: stronger specialization for the banking authority in achieving monetary policy goals, and a lessening of its traditional responsibilities for the safeguard of financial stability within its institutional perimeter. The fundamental effect was that Central Bank Involvement in Supervision (CBIS generally decreased. But then, after the Financial Crisis erupted in 2008, reforms have been undertaken and projects are being discussed to reconsider the role of the central bank in the field of supervisory tasks. The main research question is then: how is CBIS moving? This article offers two contributions. Firstly, the economics of the relationship between central banking, monetary policy and banking supervision is reviewed. Secondly, the current situation of CBIS in 88 countries around the world is analyzed.

Regulation of Ocean Iron Fertilization (OIF): a Model for Balancing Research, Environmental and Policy Concerns

Science.gov (United States)

Leinen, M.; Lamotte, R.

2008-12-01

The potential of enhancing carbon sequestration by the biosphere for climate mitigation often raises questions of offsetting effects. These questions become more important as the scale of the enhancement increases. Ocean iron fertilization is accompanied by additional questions related to use of the ocean commons. The London Convention (LC) and London Protocol (LP), international treaties adopted in 1972 and 1996 respectively, were designed to prevent use of the ocean for disposal of toxic, harmful and radioactive pollutants. Recently the LC/LP has been called upon to decide whether climate mitigation activities, such as subseafloor injection of CO2 and OIF, are legal under the framework and, if so, how they should be regulated. The broad consultation with the science community by the LC/LP in developing their perspective, and the involvement of the NGO community in these deliberations, provides a model for the process that the international policy community can use to develop science-based regulatory guidelines for carbon mitigation projects involving the commons. And the substance of that emerging regulatory framework -- built on a national-level permitting process informed by internationally agreed guidelines and standards -- may also serve as a model for the oversight of other emerging technologies that take place in the global commons.

Parental Engagement: Beyond Parental Involvement in Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

St. Louis, Kathleen

This study critically analyzes parents' complex stories of engagement in school and science education. The purpose is not to essentialize parental involvement, but rather to understand the processes of parental involvement and push forward the current discourse on the engagement of low-income minority and immigrant parents in schools and specifically science education. Employing critical grounded theory methods over a four-year span, this study had three areas of focus. First, voices of marginalized parents in the context of various spaces within the school system are examined. Using a qualitative approach, informal, formal, and research spaces were explored along with how minority parents express voice in these various spaces. Findings indicate parents drew on capital to express voice differently in different spaces, essentially authoring new spaces or the type of engagement in existing spaces. Second, the values and beliefs of traditionally marginalized people, the Discourse of mainstream society, and how they can inform a third, more transformative space for parental engagement in science are considered. The voices of low-income, marginalized parents around science and parental engagement (i.e., first space) are contrasted with the tenets of major national science policy documents (i.e., second space). Findings indicate a disparity between the pathways of engagement for low-income parents and policymakers who shape science education. Third, methodological questions of responsibility and assumption in qualitative research are explored. The author's complex struggle to make sense of her positionality, responsibilities, and assumptions as a researcher is chronicled. Findings focused on insider/outsider issues and implications for culturally sensitive research are discussed. Finally, the implications for policy, teaching, and research are discussed.

When is a research question not a research question?

Science.gov (United States)

Mayo, Nancy E; Asano, Miho; Barbic, Skye Pamela

2013-06-01

Research is undertaken to answer important questions yet often the question is poorly expressed and lacks information on the population, the exposure or intervention, the comparison, and the outcome. An optimal research question sets out what the investigator wants to know, not what the investigator might do, nor what the results of the study might ultimately contribute. The purpose of this paper is to estimate the extent to which rehabilitation scientists optimally define their research questions. A cross-sectional survey of the rehabilitation research articles published during 2008. Two raters independently rated each question according to pre-specified criteria; a third rater adjudicated all discrepant ratings. The proportion of the 258 articles with a question formulated as methods or expected contribution and not as what knowledge was being sought was 65%; 30% of questions required reworking. The designs which most often had poorly formulated research questions were randomized trials, cross-sectional and measurement studies. Formulating the research question is not purely a semantic concern. When the question is poorly formulated, the design, analysis, sample size calculations, and presentation of results may not be optimal. The gap between research and clinical practice could be bridged by a clear, complete, and informative research question.

Stakeholder engagement for improved school policy: development and implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

The health and education departments of government share a responsibility for promoting the health of children through policies in the school setting. These policies can be enhanced through the involvement of such stakeholders as school personnel, students, parents or caregivers, health professionals, the non-profit sector and industry. Although there is little evidence-based literature on the roles of stakeholders in school policy development and implementation, stakeholder involvement appears to be critical throughout the policy process. This article discusses stakeholder involvement in the development and implementation of school policies that promote and support healthy eating and physical activity. Canadian examples illustrate stakeholder engagement in this context.

Dynamic Systems Modeling in Educational System Design & Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Groff, Jennifer Sterling

2013-01-01

Over the last several hundred years, local and national educational systems have evolved from relatively simple systems to incredibly complex, interdependent, policy-laden structures, to which many question their value, effectiveness, and direction they are headed. System Dynamics is a field of analysis used to guide policy and system design in…

Health policy, health systems research and analysis capacity ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: Health Policy and Systems Research and Analysis (HPSR&A) is an applied science that deals with complexity as it tries to provide lessons, tools and methods to understand and improve health systems and health policy. It is defined by the kinds of questions asked rather than a particular methodology.

Policy Autonomy, Coordination or Harmonization in the Persistently Heterogeneous European Union?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kouba Luděk

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Within the context of the continuing integration process in Europe, this paper addresses the question of whether policies in the EU should head towards autonomy, coordination or harmonization. Taking the path dependence effect into account, it is the authors’ opinion that Europe has gone too far in its integration process to be able to continue with policies being fully under the competences of individual member countries. However, the habitual question still arises: does fiscal policy need to be harmonized to a level comparable to monetary policy as these two policies, necessarily, complement each other? This paper argues that it does not. There are three main arguments discussed. Firstly, the authors build on the theory of fiscal federalism. Secondly, there are significantly different regimes of welfare states and extents of social policies among European countries, which strongly determine the character of public finance. And thirdly, the tax systems across Europe are also highly divergent, with many features of continuing tax competition.

The effects of the introduction of the no-smoking policy at HMYOI Warren Hill on bullying behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Lawrence, Sally; Welfare, Heather

2008-01-01

The current research explores the prevalence of bullying behaviour at HMYOI Warren Hill and the Carlford Unit. The introduction of the no-smoking policy at the establishment was also explored in relation to its effect on bullying behaviour given that tobacco has historically been the main item that young people have been bullied for. The Direct and Indirect Prisoner behaviour Checklist--Revised (DIPC-R) and a questionnaire designed to identify the effect of the introduction of the no-smoking policy on bullying behaviour were used within this study to answer the following questions: what is the prevalence of bullying behaviour at Warren Hill and the Carlford Unit, and do young people at Warren Hill and the Carlford Unit think that the rate and nature of bullying has been affected by the introduction of the no-smoking policy? One hundred and fifteen young people took part in the study. At Warren Hill, Bully/Victims were the most prevalent type identified and this was significantly greater than the number of young people identified as Pure Victims or Not Involved. On the Carlford Unit, Not Involved was the most prevalent type identified, and this finding provides limited support for the theories of bullying behaviour identified within the present study. The study found that the rate of bullying decreased following the introduction of the no-smoking policy at Warren Hill. The findings from this study are being used in the development of a new Violence Reduction Policy at HMYOI Warren Hill.

Questions and Questioning Techniques: A View of Indonesian Students’ Preferences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Debora Tri Ragawanti

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This study investigated students’ preference on teacher’s questions and questionings techniques and more importantly on how they could facilitate or impede their learning. The results on teacher’s questioning techniques showed that random nomination was more preferred than pre-arranged format nomination. In addition, techniques of nominating volunteering students and of giving wait-time were disliked by most student-respondents. As for types of question, the yes/no question was favored by most of the respondents. Different from the yes/no question, the number of respondents leaning forward to the analysis question, questions about fact of life, and questions to state opinion did not show a significant difference from the number of those leaning against the same questions.

Policy lessons from Exxon Valdez spill

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kelso, D.D.; Brown, M.D.

1991-01-01

The wreck of the Exxon Valdez in Prince william sound in Alaska leaves in its aftermath grave policy questions about how much risk the public should be asked to bear and how much industry should be required to do to prevent oil spills and to clean them up when they occur. But because of industry's inadequate response to the Exxon Valdez spill, this catastrophe will provide few solid answers say the authors. The results of the accident were clearly catastrophic: 1,200 miles of polluted shorelines, 260,000 to 580,000 dead birds, decreased biological productivity, and disruption of life and business in scores of seashore communities. As with any accident, prevention and preparedness are the twin concepts that underlie most post-accident policy analyses. Actions since the accident by both Congress and the state of Alaska to prevent such spills in the future are useful, kelso and Brown note. The lack of effective technology to clean up large oil spills was dramatically demonstrated in this incident, they add, making a national research and development undertaking essential. Public involvement in establishing standards for spill prevention, response preparedness, and cleanup is vital, Kelso and Brown emphasize, because in the final analysis, it is the public that is hurt if the prevention and response systems break down

A national public health programme on gambling policy development in New Zealand: insights from a process evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kolandai-Matchett, Komathi; Landon, Jason; Bellringer, Maria; Abbott, Max

2018-03-06

In New Zealand, a public health programme on gambling policy development is part of a national gambling harm reduction and prevention strategy mandated by the Gambling Act 2003. Funded by the Ministry of Health, the programme directs workplace/organisational gambling policies, non-gambling fundraising policies, and local council policies on electronic gaming machines (EGMs). We carried out a process evaluation of this programme to identify practical information (e.g. advocacy approaches; challenges and ameliorating strategies) that can be used by programme planners and implementers to reinforce programme effectiveness and serve to guide similar policy-focused public health initiatives elsewhere. Evaluation criteria, based on the programme's official service specifications, guided our evaluation questions, analysis and reporting. To identify informative aspects of programme delivery, we thematically analysed over 100 six-monthly implementer progress reports (representing 3 years of programme delivery) and transcript of a focus group with public health staff. Identified output-related themes included purposeful awareness raising to build understanding about gambling harms and the need for harm-reduction policies and stakeholder relationship development. Outcome-related themes included enhanced community awareness about gambling harms, community involvement in policy development, some workplace/organisational policy development, and some influences on council EGM policies. Non-gambling fundraising policy development was not common. The programme offers an unprecedented gambling harm reduction approach. Although complex (due to its three distinct policy focus areas targeting different sectors) and challenging (due to the extensive time and resources needed to develop relationships and overcome counteractive views), the programme resulted in some policy development. Encouraging workplace/organisational policy development requires increased awareness of costs to

Pharmaceutical policy and the lay public

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Traulsen, Janine Marie; Almarsdóttir, Anna Birna

2005-01-01

Almost every national and supranational health policy document accords high importance to the need to listen to and 'empower' patients. The relationship between pharmaceutical policy and the lay public is not direct but mediated by several actors, including health care workers, patient organisati......Almost every national and supranational health policy document accords high importance to the need to listen to and 'empower' patients. The relationship between pharmaceutical policy and the lay public is not direct but mediated by several actors, including health care workers, patient...... organisations, industry and, most recently, the media. Although the overall aim of health and pharmaceutical policy is to address the needs of all citizens, there are only a few, well organised groups who are actually consulted and involved in the policymaking process, often with the support of the industry....... The reasons for this lack of citizen involvement in health and pharmaceutical policymaking are many, for example: there is no consensus about what public involvement means; there is a predominance of special interest groups with narrow, specific agendas; not all decision makers welcome lay participation...

Fine-Tuning Neural Patient Question Retrieval Model with Generative Adversarial Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Guoyu; Ni, Yuan; Wang, Keqiang; Yong, Qin

2018-01-01

The online patient question and answering (Q&A) system attracts an increasing amount of users in China. Patient will post their questions and wait for doctors' response. To avoid the lag time involved with the waiting and to reduce the workload on the doctors, a better method is to automatically retrieve the semantically equivalent question from the archive. We present a Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN) based approach to automatically retrieve patient question. We apply supervised deep learning based approaches to determine the similarity between patient questions. Then a GAN framework is used to fine-tune the pre-trained deep learning models. The experiment results show that fine-tuning by GAN can improve the performance.

Medication management in North Carolina elementary schools: Are pharmacists involved?

Science.gov (United States)

Stegall-Zanation, Jennifer; Scolaro, Kelly L

2010-01-01

To determine the extent of pharmacist use in medication management, roles of school nurses, and use of other health care providers at elementary schools in North Carolina. Prospective survey of 153 (130 public and 23 private) elementary schools in four counties of North Carolina. A 21-question survey was e-mailed to the head administrator of each school (e.g., principal, headmaster) containing a Qualtrics survey link. Questions were designed to elicit information on school policies and procedures for medication management and use of health care providers, including pharmacists, in the schools. Responses were collected during a 2-month period. Representatives from 29 schools participated in the survey (19% response rate). All 29 schools reported having a school policy regarding medication administration during school hours. Of those, 27 schools reported consulting with nurses on their policies. Only 1 of 27 respondents reported consulting with pharmacists on medication management policies. The majority of the respondents (93.1%) stated that administrative staff was responsible for medication administration at the schools. Use of pharmacists in creating and reviewing policies for schools and actual medication management at schools was extremely low. The findings in this study reinforce the findings in previous studies that pharmacists are not being used and are not a major presence in elementary school health.

Water-energy-food nexus: concepts, questions and methodologies

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Y.; Chen, X.; Ding, W.; Zhang, C.; Fu, G.

2017-12-01

The term of water-energy -food nexus has gained increasing attention in the research and policy making communities as the security of water, energy and food becomes severe under changing environment. Ignorance of their closely interlinkages accompanied by their availability and service may result in unforeseeable, adverse consequences. This paper comprehensively reviews the state-of-the-art in the field of water-energy-food, with a focus on concepts, research questions and methodologies. First, two types of nexus definition are compared and discussed to understand the essence of nexus research issues. Then, three kinds of nexus research questions are presented, including internal relationship analysis, external impact analysis, and evaluation of the nexus system. Five nexus modelling approaches are discussed in terms of their advantages, disadvantages and application, with an aim to identify research gaps in current nexus methods. Finally, future research areas and challenges are discussed, including system boundary, data uncertainty and modelling, underlying mechanism of nexus issues and system performance evaluation. This study helps bring research efforts together to address the challenging questions in the nexus and develop the consensus on building resilient water, energy and food systems.

Seventy-one important questions for the conservation of marine biodiversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, E C M; Favaro, Brett; Aguirre, A Alonso; Bauer, Amy L; Blight, Louise K; Cigliano, John A; Coleman, Melinda A; Côté, Isabelle M; Draheim, Megan; Fletcher, Stephen; Foley, Melissa M; Jefferson, Rebecca; Jones, Miranda C; Kelaher, Brendan P; Lundquist, Carolyn J; McCarthy, Julie-Beth; Nelson, Anne; Patterson, Katheryn; Walsh, Leslie; Wright, Andrew J; Sutherland, William J

2014-10-01

The ocean provides food, economic activity, and cultural value for a large proportion of humanity. Our knowledge of marine ecosystems lags behind that of terrestrial ecosystems, limiting effective protection of marine resources. We describe the outcome of 2 workshops in 2011 and 2012 to establish a list of important questions, which, if answered, would substantially improve our ability to conserve and manage the world's marine resources. Participants included individuals from academia, government, and nongovernment organizations with broad experience across disciplines, marine ecosystems, and countries that vary in levels of development. Contributors from the fields of science, conservation, industry, and government submitted questions to our workshops, which we distilled into a list of priority research questions. Through this process, we identified 71 key questions. We grouped these into 8 subject categories, each pertaining to a broad component of marine conservation: fisheries, climate change, other anthropogenic threats, ecosystems, marine citizenship, policy, societal and cultural considerations, and scientific enterprise. Our questions address many issues that are specific to marine conservation, and will serve as a road map to funders and researchers to develop programs that can greatly benefit marine conservation. © 2014 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of The Society for the Study of Evolution.

Market failures and government policies in gas markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mulder, M; Zwart, G.

2006-02-01

This memorandum analyses the fundamental characteristics of the natural gas market and its consequences for government policies. In the past, the European gas market was dominated by state-owned monopolists but since the start of the liberalisation, privatisation and re-regulation in the early 1990s, the market has fundamentally changed. Nevertheless, governments are still involved in the gas industry, not only in gas exporting countries such as Russia, but also in a country like the Netherlands where the government has imposed a cap on production from the main gas field (Groningen) as well as owns shares in the main wholesale trader (Gasunie Trade and Supply) which has the obligation to accept all gas offered by producers on the small fields. In the main report of this project we present a cost-benefit analysis of the Dutch gas-depletion policy. In this memorandum we explore the natural-gas market more broadly, looking for factors why government intervention may be needed using the welfare-economic approach according to which government intervention should be based on the presence of market failures. After a brief description of the main characteristics of the gas industry, we systematically analyse sources of market failures, such as geopolitical factors, economies of scale and externalities, and finally go into the question which policy options may be chosen to address those market failures

Alternative Approaches in Evaluating the EU SME Policy: Answers to the Question of Impact and Legitimization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert K. GRUENWALD

2014-08-01

Findings:  OECD  and  EU  evaluations  do  not  determine  causal  relationships  between funding allocation and effects. The evaluations of the KfW and the German Ministry of Economics  use  an  empirical  quantitative  approach  and  determine  direct  causal relations. In  order to fulfil the requirements of legitimizing functions  for  the  SME  policy,  it  is  recommended  to  further  develop  the  EU  funding policy  and  evaluation  according  to  the  “German  model”  both  in  terms  of  the institutional  framework  and  in  terms  of  the  evaluation  of  impacts  through  funding policy measures. Definition  of  minimum  requirements  and  alternative possibilities  for  EU  SME  policy  evaluation  in  order  to  close  the  legitimisation  gap between the allocation of tax money and impact proof (cost-benefit ratio.

General statement of policy and procedures for NRC enforcement actions: Enforcement policy. Revision 1

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-05-01

This document includes the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission`s (NRC`s or Commission`s) revised General Statement of Policy and Procedure for Enforcement Actions (Enforcement Policy) as it was published in the Federal Register on May 13, 1998 (63 ER 26630). The Enforcement Policy is a general statement of policy explaining the NRC`s policies and procedures in initiating enforcement actions, and of the presiding officers and the Commission in reviewing these actions. This policy statement is applicable to enforcement matters involving the radiological health and safety of the public, including employees` health and safety, the common defense and security, and the environment.

General statement of policy and procedures for NRC enforcement actions: Enforcement policy. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-05-01

This document includes the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC's or Commission's) revised General Statement of Policy and Procedure for Enforcement Actions (Enforcement Policy) as it was published in the Federal Register on May 13, 1998 (63 ER 26630). The Enforcement Policy is a general statement of policy explaining the NRC's policies and procedures in initiating enforcement actions, and of the presiding officers and the Commission in reviewing these actions. This policy statement is applicable to enforcement matters involving the radiological health and safety of the public, including employees' health and safety, the common defense and security, and the environment

The European Environmental Policy with Respect to Stationary Sources. Harmonisation versus Differentiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van der Laan, R.

2002-01-01

Glancing at the actual development of environmental policy in the European Community over the past three decades, one sees a picture that seems to be very much in contradiction with the advise of neo-classical economics. With the support of the Council, the European Commission has been developing a Community environmental policy from 1972 on. Principal instruments of this Community environmental policy have been directives that require harmonisation of environmental standards for similar industries in the various Member States. In its most strict sense of full harmonisation, this policy would imply uniform environmental standards. Industry would then use the environment with the same intensity independent of where producers are situated in the European Community. The consequence of a harmonised approach would be that in countries where environmental quality is scarce, pollution per unit of output would be as high or low as it is in countries where environmental quality is relatively abundant. This dissertation has been inspired by this apparent discrepancy between the advice from economic theory and the practice of the Community environmental policy. A first question, which is the main issue of this book, is whether the observation of a discrepancy is correct or perhaps a faulty perception. A next question is whether an explanation can be given for the discrepancy in so far as it turns out to exist. These questions are analysed on the bases of a selection of directives aimed at or having a strong impact on polluting emissions by stationary point sources. The first issue addressed is to determine what economic theory says exactly about the international harmonisation of environmental standards. A second question concerns the legal base for the environmental secondary legislation that was chosen by the European Institutions. A third question concerns the reasons for harmonisation of environmental standards that are used. A fourth question concerns the actual level of

Substate federalism and fracking policies: does state regulatory authority trump local land use autonomy?

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Charles

2014-01-01

State officials responsible for the regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations used in the production of oil and gas resources will inevitably confront a key policy issue; that is, to what extent can statewide regulations be developed without reducing land use autonomy typically exercised by local officials? Most state regulators have historically recognized the economic importance of industry jobs and favor the adoption of uniform regulatory requirements even if these rules preempt local policymaking authority. Conversely, many local officials seek to preserve land use autonomy to provide a greater measure of protection for public health and environmental quality goals. This paper examines how public officials in three states-Colorado, Pennsylvania, and Texas-address the question of state control versus local autonomy through their efforts to shape fracking policy decisions. While local officials within Texas have succeeded in developing fracking ordinances with relatively little interference from state regulators, Colorado and Pennsylvania have adopted a tougher policy stance favoring the retention of preemptive oil and gas statutes. Key factors that account for between state differences in fracking policy decisions include the strength of home rule provisions, gubernatorial involvement, and the degree of local experience with industrial economic activities.

Investments in technology subject to uncertainty. Analysis and policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Jørgen Lindgaard

1997-01-01

Investments in technology are today of such a magnitude that it matters. In the paper there are three important questions. First on the question in which sense technological uncertainty can be said to be a problem. Second on strategies for diminishing technological uncertainties. Three on policy...

Policy directions in urban health in developing countries--the slum improvement approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Harpham, T; Stephens, C

1992-07-01

The urban development, or housing, sector has a longer experience of addressing the problems of the urban poor in developing countries than the health sector. In recent years the policy of 'slum improvement', which involves both sectors, has attracted the support of international donors. This article documents the development of the slum improvement approach and addresses key issues of the approach which have implications for health planning: covering the poorest dwellers; relocation; land tenure; gentrification; debt burdens and the impact on women. Questions about the approach which still need answering are defined and a summary of the constraints in slum improvement and potential solutions is presented.

The scientific truth about nuclear energy (in 10 questions); La verite scientifique sur le nucleaire (en 10 questions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bourry, Chantal

2012-03-22

In ten questions and as many chapters, this pedagogical book allows the reader to make himself a precise idea of the scientific reality of the nuclear energy development. Far away from sterile debates and policy positions, it offers to the non-specialist the possibility: to better comprehend a complex physical phenomenon, to estimate its health impacts and risks, to identify the institutional actors of the French nuclear industry, to make an appreciation about the safety of facilities, to estimate the expenses generated by the development of this energy source and by its possible abandonment, and finally, to examine the conditions of a nuclear phasing out. (J.S.)

Economy and policy of climatic changes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faucheux, S.; Joumni, H.

2005-01-01

In an economical framework, this book discusses the following topics: policies against the climatic changes, the scientific prospectives facing this policies priority, their costs, the new international market of carbon, the future technological innovations. This book exposes also socio-economic, geopolitical and technological questions bound to theses climatic changes and their regulation. It analyzes more especially the North-South strategies and the flexibility tools challenges of the Kyoto protocol. (A.L.B.)

Smart Grid: Smart Customer Policy Needs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2011-07-01

In September 2010, the International Energy Agency (IEA) held a workshop on the regulatory, market and consumer policies necessary to ensure that smart grids are deployed with adequate consideration of their risks and benefits to all stakeholders. This was one of several workshops that brought together energy providers, network operators, technology developers, regulators, customers and government policy makers to discuss smart grid technology and policy. The Smart Grid - Smart Customer Policies workshop allowed stakeholders to: gain a perspective on key issues and barriers facing early deployment of smart grids; hear expert opinion on regulatory, consumer and market challenges to smart grids; discuss smart grid-smart customer policy priorities; and build consensus on the technology and policy ingredients needed for customer-friendly smart grid deployments. Drawing on workshop discussions, the following paper lays out a logical framework to maximise the benefits and minimise the risks that smart grids pose for customers. The paper also describes key policy research questions that will guide future IEA research on this topic.

The Human Factor: Training and Professional Development as a Policy Tool

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lucian CIOLAN

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we try to make a case for the risky approach of many decision-makers and pol- icy specialists to overuse authority and regula- tion-based tools, while neglecting the ones more focused on human capacity and persuasion. Especially in fields like education, we consider that the human factor should be at the core of any policy mix, and a tool like training and pro- fessional development should gain a more visible and persistent role in policy interventions. Firstly, we try to analyze the distribution of policy tools on the authority-complexity axes. The value we see in the mapping of policy tools is that it can be used for investigating and positioning the activity of a specific governing body or central gover- nance. Thus, a fundamental question remains as to what really influences the choice of policy tools or instruments, as a basis for better understand- ing the rationales behind a specific policy mix. We argue that policy failure could be ex- plained in many cases by the incapacity to ad- dress in a consistent and professional way the human capacities needed for implementation. Thus, training and professional development are, at least, poorly used from the perspective of the potential they have. As an argument, we tried to look at training and professional development in the specific area of teachers in pre-university education in Romania, situating it in the broader context of European policies in lifelong learning and participation of adults in continuing educa- tion and training, but also in the local policy en- vironment. The results of the research led us to the conclusion that educational policies should be among the first in the broader spectrum of public policies valuing and emphasizing learning, through training and professional development of the stakeholders involved in policy change together with adding more value to the Human Factor in educational policies. 

Key Questions in Building Defect Prediction Models in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Ramler, Rudolf; Wolfmaier, Klaus; Stauder, Erwin; Kossak, Felix; Natschläger, Thomas

The information about which modules of a future version of a software system are defect-prone is a valuable planning aid for quality managers and testers. Defect prediction promises to indicate these defect-prone modules. However, constructing effective defect prediction models in an industrial setting involves a number of key questions. In this paper we discuss ten key questions identified in context of establishing defect prediction in a large software development project. Seven consecutive versions of the software system have been used to construct and validate defect prediction models for system test planning. Furthermore, the paper presents initial empirical results from the studied project and, by this means, contributes answers to the identified questions.

The Global Health Policies of the EU and its Member States: A Common Vision?

Science.gov (United States)

Steurs, Lies; Van de Pas, Remco; Delputte, Sarah; Orbie, Jan

2018-01-01

Background: This article assesses the global health policies of the European Union (EU) and those of its individual member states. So far EU and public health scholars have paid little heed to this, despite the large budgets involved in this area. While the European Commission has attempted to define the ‘EU role in Global Health’ in 2010, member states are active in the domain of global health as well. Therefore, this article raises the question to what extent a common ‘EU’ vision on global health exists. Methods: This is examined through a comparative framing analysis of the global health policy documents of the European Commission and five EU member states (France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Belgium, and Denmark). The analysis is informed by a two-layered typology, distinguishing global health from international health and four ‘global health frames,’ namely social justice, security, investment and charity. Results: The findings show that the concept of ‘global health’ has not gained ground the same way within European policy documents. Consequently, there are also differences in how health is being framed. While the European Commission, Belgium, and Denmark clearly support a social justice frame, the global health strategies of the United Kingdom, Germany, and France put an additional focus on the security and investment frames. Conclusion: There are different understandings of global/international health as well as different framings within relevant documents of the EU and its member states. Therefore, the existence of an ‘EU’ vision on global health is questionable. Further research is needed on how this impacts on policy implementation. PMID:29764107

The policy chicken and the science egg. Has applied ecology failed the transgenic crops debate?

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, A J

2014-12-01

Ecology has a long history of research relevant to and impacting on real-world issues. Nonetheless problems of communication remain between policy-makers and scientists because they tend to work at different levels of generality (policy deals with broad issues, science prefers specific questions), and complexity (policy-makers want simple answers, ecologists tend to offer multi-factorial solutions) and to different timescales (policy-makers want answers tomorrow, ecologists always seem to want more time). These differences are not unique to the debate about the cultivation of transgenic crops. Research on gene flow is used to illustrate how science and policy are intimately bound together in a value-laden, iterative and messy process unlike that characterised by the 'encounter problem-do science-make policy' model. It also demonstrates how the gap between science and policy is often characterised by value-laden language. Scientists involved in ERA for transgenic crops may find their engagement with policy- and decision-makers clouded by misunderstanding about what one should expect from the other. Not the least of these, that science can define harm, is explored in a discussion of the U.K. Farm Scale Evaluations of herbicide-tolerant GM crops. The varied responses to these extensive trials highlight the problems of linking specific scientific experiments with broad policy objectives. The problems of applied ecology in the transgenic crops debate are not unique but may differ from other areas of environmental policy in the intense politicisation of the debate, the emphasis on assessment of risk and the particularly broad policy objectives.

Question popularity analysis and prediction in community question answering services.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ting; Zhang, Wei-Nan; Cao, Liujuan; Zhang, Yu

2014-01-01

With the blooming of online social media applications, Community Question Answering (CQA) services have become one of the most important online resources for information and knowledge seekers. A large number of high quality question and answer pairs have been accumulated, which allow users to not only share their knowledge with others, but also interact with each other. Accordingly, volumes of efforts have been taken to explore the questions and answers retrieval in CQA services so as to help users to finding the similar questions or the right answers. However, to our knowledge, less attention has been paid so far to question popularity in CQA. Question popularity can reflect the attention and interest of users. Hence, predicting question popularity can better capture the users' interest so as to improve the users' experience. Meanwhile, it can also promote the development of the community. In this paper, we investigate the problem of predicting question popularity in CQA. We first explore the factors that have impact on question popularity by employing statistical analysis. We then propose a supervised machine learning approach to model these factors for question popularity prediction. The experimental results show that our proposed approach can effectively distinguish the popular questions from unpopular ones in the Yahoo! Answers question and answer repository.

Improving large class performance and engagement through student-generated question banks.

Science.gov (United States)

Hancock, Dale; Hare, Nicole; Denny, Paul; Denyer, Gareth

2018-03-12

Disciplines such as Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, which involve concepts not included in the high-school curriculum, are very challenging for many first year university students. These subjects are particularly difficult for students accustomed to surface learning strategies involving memorization and recall of facts, as a deeper understanding of the relationship between concepts is needed for successful transfer to related areas and subsequent study. In this article, we explore an activity in a very large first year Molecular Biology course, in which students create multiple-choice questions related to targeted learning outcomes, and then answer and evaluate one another's questions. This activity encompasses elements of both self- and peer-assessment and the generative tasks of creating questions and producing written feedback may contribute to a deeper understanding of the material. We make use of a free online platform to facilitate all aspects of the process and analyze the effect of student engagement with the task on overall course performance. When compared to previous semester's cohorts, we observe a pronounced improvement in class performance on exam questions targeting similar concepts to the student-generated questions. In addition, those students that engage to a greater extent with the activity perform significantly better on the targeted exam questions than those who are less active, yet all students perform similarly on a set of isolated control questions appearing on the same exam. © 2018 by The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2018. © 2018 The International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.

A Policy Analysis Perspective on Ecological Restoration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Baker

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Using a simple stages model of the policy process, we explore the politics of ecological restoration using an array of examples drawn across sector, different size and scale, and from different countries. A policy analysis perspective reveals how, at both the program and project levels, ecological restoration operates within a complex and dynamic interplay between technical decision making, ideologies, and interest politics. Viewed through the stages model, restoration policy involves negotiating nature across stages in the policy making process, including agenda setting, policy formulation, implementation, and evaluation. The stages model is a useful heuristic devise; however, this linear model assumes that policy makers approach the issue rationally. In practice, ecological restoration policy takes place in the context of different distributions of power between the various public and private actors involved at the different stages of restoration policy making. This allows us to reiterate the point that ecological restoration is best seen not only as a technical task but as a social and political project.

Robustness Analysis of Visual Question Answering Models by Basic Questions

KAUST Repository

Huang, Jia-Hong

2017-11-01

Visual Question Answering (VQA) models should have both high robustness and accuracy. Unfortunately, most of the current VQA research only focuses on accuracy because there is a lack of proper methods to measure the robustness of VQA models. There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the ranked basic questions, with similarity scores, of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question about the given image. We claim that a robust VQA model is one, whose performance is not changed much when related basic questions as also made available to it as input. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization, and also propose a large scale Basic Question Dataset (BQD) and Rscore (novel robustness measure), for analyzing the robustness of VQA models. We hope our BQD will be used as a benchmark for to evaluate the robustness of VQA models, so as to help the community build more robust and accurate VQA models.

Robustness Analysis of Visual Question Answering Models by Basic Questions

KAUST Repository

Huang, Jia-Hong

2017-01-01

Visual Question Answering (VQA) models should have both high robustness and accuracy. Unfortunately, most of the current VQA research only focuses on accuracy because there is a lack of proper methods to measure the robustness of VQA models. There are two main modules in our algorithm. Given a natural language question about an image, the first module takes the question as input and then outputs the ranked basic questions, with similarity scores, of the main given question. The second module takes the main question, image and these basic questions as input and then outputs the text-based answer of the main question about the given image. We claim that a robust VQA model is one, whose performance is not changed much when related basic questions as also made available to it as input. We formulate the basic questions generation problem as a LASSO optimization, and also propose a large scale Basic Question Dataset (BQD) and Rscore (novel robustness measure), for analyzing the robustness of VQA models. We hope our BQD will be used as a benchmark for to evaluate the robustness of VQA models, so as to help the community build more robust and accurate VQA models.

Central Bank Financial Strength and Policy Performance; An Econometric Evaluation

OpenAIRE

Peter Stella; Ulrich H Klueh

2008-01-01

The financial health of central banks and its relation to policy outcomes has recently been recognized as an important policy issue. While case study evidence clearly indicates that weak central bank finances can hamper effective policy implementation, the question of whether central bank financial strength influences policy performance remains controversial. This is due, in part, to a lack of econometric evidence. The paper presents a first step toward filling this gap, by providing a quanti...

Two-Year-Old Children Differentiate Test Questions from Genuine Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Grosse, Gerlind; Tomasello, Michael

2012-01-01

Children are frequently confronted with so-called "test questions". While genuine questions are requests for missing information, test questions ask for information obviously already known to the questioner. In this study we explored whether two-year-old children respond differentially to one and the same question used as either a genuine question…

Social mix policies in Paris: discourses, policies and social effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Bacqué, Marie-Hélène; Fijalkow, Yankel; Launay, Lydie; Vermeersch, Stéphanie

2011-01-01

Since the 1980s, the issue of social mix has become a public policy category in France. Enshrined in legislation, yet remaining controversial, it represents a major premise on which housing policies have been reconfigured. The concept of social mix is essentially based on who lives where, but it is also evoked in the context of urban renewal schemes for social housing estates, as well as in relation to new-build developments. A study of the bases of social mix policies conducted in Paris since 2001 in the context of the embourgeoisement of the capital shows the fundamental role of social housing stock. The City Council has become involved in policy decisions about both the location and the allocation of social housing. Particular attention has been paid to the middle classes in the name of the principle of ‘balancing the population’. In order to measure the effects of the policy, this article relies on an analysis of two City of Paris schemes that have the stated intent of creating social mix. One of these schemes consists of redeveloping a working-class neighbourhood, Goutte d'Or, while the other involves the new acquisition of social housing in various more affluent neighbourhoods in the capital. This comparative study of the population shows that, whether in a neighbourhood poised for gentrification or in a more affluent neighbourhood, this policy has major effects on forms of local social cohesion, setting in motion individual trajectories and reshaping social and/or ethnic identities.

Nurses' engagement in AIDS policy development.

Science.gov (United States)

Richter, M S; Mill, J; Muller, C E; Kahwa, E; Etowa, J; Dawkins, P; Hepburn, C

2013-03-01

A multidisciplinary team of 20 researchers and research users from six countries - Canada, Jamaica, Barbados, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa - are collaborating on a 5-year (2007-12) program of research and capacity building project. This program of research situates nurses as leaders in building capacity and promotes collaborative action with other health professionals and decision-makers to improve health systems for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) nursing care. One of the projects within this program of research focused on the influence of workplace policies on nursing care for individuals and families living with HIV. Nurses are at the forefront of HIV prevention and AIDS care in these countries but have limited involvement in related policy decisions and development. In this paper, we present findings related to the barriers and facilitators for nurses' engagement in policymaking. A participatory action research design guided the program of research. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 51 nurses (unit managers, clinic and healthcare managers, and senior nurse officers) for interviews. Participants expressed the urgent need to develop policies related to AIDS care. The need to raise awareness and to 'protect' not only the workers but also the patients were critical reason to develop policies. Nurses in all of the participating countries commented on their lack of involvement in policy development. Lack of communication from the top down and lack of information sharing were mentioned as barriers to participation in policy development. Resources were often not available to implement the policy requirement. Strong support from the management team is necessary to facilitate nurses involvement in policy development. The findings of this study clearly express the need for nurses and all other stakeholders to mobilize nurses' involvement in policy development. Long-term and sustained actions are needed to address

The value of vaccination: results of an Italian survey among Medical Doctors, Policy Makers and General Population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiara Cadeddu

2012-03-01

Full Text Available

Abstract:

Background: In the Italian context, evolving toward the abandonment of compulsory vaccination, the
maintenance of adequate levels of coverage appears as essential. The promotion of a good vaccination
knowledge, supported by strong scientific evidence, and the collaboration of all the involved stakeholders,
appears hence fundamental. The aim of this survey was to understand why vaccination is not appreciated
for its real value by different stakeholders.
Methods: In collaboration with other Italian Universities and Health Districts, in Summer 2011 we submitted
a survey of 17 questions to a convenience sample of Italian Medical Doctors, Policy Makers and General
Population. The main questions analyzed the importance of vaccination for health, actions to attain vaccination
value and consequences of a free choice policy.
Results: Of the 173 stakeholders interviewed, 78% of Medical Doctors, 82% Policy Makers and 46%
General Population believe that vaccination is important for health. The most important actions suggested
for strengthening vaccination were information about its efficacy and safety and studies on its impact on
Public Health, according to most of General Population and of Medical Doctors and Policy Makers, respectively.
According to 60.4% Medical Doctors, 72.8% Policy Makers and 56.3% General Population the abolition
of compulsory vaccination would lead to a reduction of vaccinees in all the Italian regions.
Conclusions: Our study confirms the need for a thorough “education in vaccination”. Among stakeholders
there are still doubts that hinder the decision process about vaccination policies and programmes. On
the other hand, a call for an “Alliance” for promoting and implementing vaccination to its full potential
would be favoured, as

Implementation as transfer between policy, research and practice in care.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heiligers, P.J.M.; Niet, A. van der

2010-01-01

Background: Health Services Research is policy related and results have an impact on practices. Implementation of research output into practices is performed with a variety of strategies. Type of policy intentions and research output create a specific context for implementation. The main question

Nuclear questions; Le nucleaire en questions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Berg, Eugene

2012-02-15

Civilian and military nuclear questions fill a multitude of publications these days, especially after the Japanese tsunami and the Fukushima disaster. The author analyses some of them and highlights the links between civil and military nuclear industries, the realities of the nuclear cycle and related industrial questions before concluding on the controversial issue of weapons and their proliferation potential

Designing collaborative policy innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agger, Annika; Sørensen, Eva

2014-01-01

Recent approaches to enhancing public innovation suffer from two shortcomings: They overemphasize competition as a driver of innovation and overlook the fact that public sector innovation involves policy innovation as well as service innovation. Drawing on governance research and innovation theory......, the chapter investigates the extent to which and how collaboration between politicians and relevant stakeholders can spur the formulation, implementation and diffusion of new innovative policies. A case study of a process of collaborative policy innovation in a Danish municipality shows that collaborative...... policy arenas do contribute to policy innovation but also that the degree to which they do so depends on the institutional design of these arenas....

Internet Acceptable User Policies in Alabama School Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Feng; McLean, James E.

The purpose of this study was to determine the current status of and need for acceptable use policies (AUPs) for students' use of the Internet in Alabama school systems. Alabama superintendents were questioned using an electronic survey that could be returned via e-mail on an anonymous Internet site. Primary questions were: (1) What is your level…

Ten questions about radiant heating and cooling systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rhee, Kyu-Nam; Olesen, Bjarne W.; Kim, Kwang Woo

2017-01-01

to extend the applicability of the RHC system are providing the continuous impetus for research on RHC systems. This paper summarizes the important issues involved in the research on RHC system, whereby ten questions and answers concerning the RHC system are discussed, which will help researchers to conduct...

Implementing European climate adaptation policy. How local policymakers react to European policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Hartmann

2015-04-01

Full Text Available EU policy and projects have an increasing influence on policymaking for climate adaptation. This is especially evident in the development of new climate adaptation policies in transnational city networks. Until now, climate adaptation literature has paid little attention to the influence that these EU networks have on the adaptive capacity in cities. This paper uses two Dutch cities as an empirical base to evaluate the influence of two EU climate adaptation projects on both the experience of local public officials and the adaptive capacity in the respective cities. The main conclusion is that EU climate adaptation projects do not automatically lead to an increased adaptive capacity in the cities involved. This is due to the political opportunistic use of EU funding, which hampers the implementation of climate adaptation policies. Furthermore, these EU projects draw attention away from local network building focused on the development and implementation of climate adaptation policies. These factors have a negative cumulative impact on the performance of these transnational policy networks at the adaptive capacity level in the cities involved. Therefore, in order to strengthen the adaptive capacity in today’s European cities, a context-specific, integrative approach in urban planning is needed at all spatial levels. Hence, policy entrepreneurs should aim to create linkage between the issues in the transnational city network and the concerns in local politics and local networks.

New Territorial Development Tools in the Cohesion Policy 2014-2020

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Györgyi Nyikos

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Nowadays an important question is how to use the limited resources available in the most efficient and sustainable way. The assessment of development policy interventions and the question of successful absorption of development funds shifted clearly towards stronger enforcement of the aspects efficiency and effectiveness. There is clearly a need for an integrated approach to deliver an effective and sustainable response. The question is how the new territorial development tools – established by the new cohesion policy regulation for the coming programming period - can fit in these conditions, how can they help to achieve the common goals and response to the integrated approach. Cooperation and in-depth knowledge is required for stakeholders to make use of the new tools in an integrated manner.

Las Preguntas Que Hacen los Padres sobre la Escuela (Questions Parents Ask about School).

Science.gov (United States)

National Opinion Research Center, Chicago, IL.

This guide presents questions that parents frequently ask about their children's school along with answers to those questions. The questions and answers were prepared based on the results of studies conducted by the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education, the U.S. Department of Education, the GTE Foundation, and by the National Center for…

Assessing Patient Participation in Health Policy Decision-Making in Cyprus

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kyriakos Souliotis

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Although the importance of patient participation in the design and evaluation of health programs and services is well-documented, there is scarcity of research with regard to patient association (PA participation in health policy decision-making processes. To this end, the present study aimed to validate further a previously developed instrument as well as to investigate the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making in Cyprus. A convenient sample of 114 patients-members of patients associations took part in the study. Participants were recruited from an umbrella organization, the Pancyprian Federation of Patient Associations and Friends (PFPA. PA participation in health policy decision-making was assessed with the Health Democracy Index (HDI, an original 8-item tool. To explore its psychometric properties, Cronbach α was computed as regards to its internal consistency, while its convergent validity was tested against a self-rated question enquiring about the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making. The findings revealed that the HDI has good internal consistency and convergent validity. Furthermore, PAs were found to participate more in consultations in health-related organizations and the Ministry of Health (MoH as well as in reforms or crucial decisions in health policy. Lower levels were documented with regard to participation in hospital boards, ethics committees in clinical trials and health technology assessment (HTA procedures. Overall, PA participation levels were found to be lower than the mid-point of the scale. Targeted interventions aiming to facilitate patients’ involvement in health policy decision-making processes and to increase its impact are greatly needed in Cyprus.

Assessing Patient Participation in Health Policy Decision-Making in Cyprus.

Science.gov (United States)

Souliotis, Kyriakos; Agapidaki, Eirini; Peppou, Lily Evangelia; Tzavara, Chara; Samoutis, George; Theodorou, Mamas

2016-06-20

Although the importance of patient participation in the design and evaluation of health programs and services is well-documented, there is scarcity of research with regard to patient association (PA) participation in health policy decision-making processes. To this end, the present study aimed to validate further a previously developed instrument as well as to investigate the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making in Cyprus. A convenient sample of 114 patients-members of patients associations took part in the study. Participants were recruited from an umbrella organization, the Pancyprian Federation of Patient Associations and Friends (PFPA). PA participation in health policy decision-making was assessed with the Health Democracy Index (HDI), an original 8-item tool. To explore its psychometric properties, Cronbach α was computed as regards to its internal consistency, while its convergent validity was tested against a self-rated question enquiring about the degree of PA participation in health policy decision-making. The findings revealed that the HDI has good internal consistency and convergent validity. Furthermore, PAs were found to participate more in consultations in health-related organizations and the Ministry of Health (MoH) as well as in reforms or crucial decisions in health policy. Lower levels were documented with regard to participation in hospital boards, ethics committees in clinical trials and health technology assessment (HTA) procedures. Overall, PA participation levels were found to be lower than the mid-point of the scale. Targeted interventions aiming to facilitate patients' involvement in health policy decision-making processes and to increase its impact are greatly needed in Cyprus. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

Deciding Who Decides Questions at the Intersection of School Finance Reform Litigation and Standards-Based Accountability Policies

Science.gov (United States)

Superfine, Benjamin Michael

2009-01-01

Courts hearing school finance reform cases have recently begun to consider several issues related to standards-based accountability policies. This convergence of school finance reform litigation and standards-based accountability policies represents a chance for the courts to reallocate decision-making authority for each type of reform across the…

Striking the Right Balance : Effectiveness of Anti-Doping Policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Hon, O.M.

2016-01-01

Doping, and anti-doping, is in the news on a continuous basis. At the core of these stories and discussions is the question how effective anti-doping policies are to curb the use of doping in sports. Anti-doping policies are based on ethical values, a juridical framework, laboratory analyses,

Policies and Processes for Social Inclusion: Using EquiFrame and EquIPP for Policy Dialogue Comment on "Are Sexual and Reproductive Health Policies Designed for All? Vulnerable Groups in Policy Documents of Four European Countries and Their Involvement in Policy Development".

Science.gov (United States)

MacLachlan, Malcolm; Mannan, Hasheem; Huss, Tessy; Munthali, Alister; Amin, Mutamad

2015-11-16

The application of EquiFrame in the analysis of sexual and reproductive health policies by Ivanova et al to a new thematic area, their selection of only some of the Core Concepts of human rights in health service provision and the addition of new vulnerable groups relevant to the purpose of their analysis, are all very welcome developments. We also applaud their application of EquiFrame to policies in countries where it has not previously been used, along with their use of interviews with policy-makers to produce a deeper understanding of policy processes. We argue that clear justification for the inclusion of additional, or replacement of some exiting vulnerable groups within EquiFrame should be accompanied by clear definitions of such groups, along with the evidence-base that justifies their classification as a vulnerable or marginalised group. To illustrate the versatility of EquiFrame, we summarise a range of ways in which it has been used across a number of regions; including a brief Case Study of its use to develop the National Health Policy of Malawi. While EquiFrame focuses on policy content, we preview a new policy analysis tool - Equity and Inclusion in Policy Processes (EquIPP) - which assesses the extent of equity and inclusion in broader policy processes. Together, EquiFrame and EquIPP can be used to help governments and civil society ensure that policies are addressing the much stronger emphasis on social inclusion, now apparent in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

The Impact of Political Context on the Questions Asked and Answered: The Evolution of Education Research on Racial Inequality

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Amy Stuart; Roda, Allison

2016-01-01

This chapter examines how the larger political context and policies enacted at different points in American history have affected the questions education researchers asked and answered. The authors argue that while education researchers are often quick to consider how their research should shape policy, they are less likely to contemplate the…

Mobilizing Drug Consumption Rooms: inter-place networks and harm reduction drug policy.

Science.gov (United States)

McCann, Eugene; Temenos, Cristina

2015-01-01

This article discusses the learning and politics involved in spreading Drug Consumption Rooms (DCRs) globally. DCRs are health facilities, operating under a harm reduction philosophy, where people consume illicit drugs in a supervised setting. Approximately 90 are located in almost 60 cities in 11 countries. They are intensely local attempts to improve the lives of specific populations and urban neighborhoods. DCRs are also global models that travel. This article examines the relationship between DCRs as facilities that are fixed in place and DCRs as globally-mobilized models of drug policy and public health practice. Drawing on research from seven countries, we apply concepts from the policy mobilities literature to analyze the travels of the DCR model and the political strategies involved in the siting of these public health service facilities. We detail the networked mobilization of the DCR model from Europe to Canada and Australia, the learning among facilities, the strategies used to mold the DCR model to local contexts, and the role of DCR staff in promoting continued proliferation of DCRs. We conclude by identifying some immobilities of DCRs to identify questions about practices, principles and future directions of harm reduction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Primer on Macroprudential Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Poutineau, Jean-Christophe; Vermandel, Gauthier

2015-01-01

This article introduces macroprudential policy using a static New Keynesian Macroeconomics model with financial frictions. The authors analyze two related questions: First, they show how the procyclicality of financial factors, captured by the financial accelerator, amplifies the transmission of supply and demand shocks and impacts the intuition…

Policy issues for improving monitoring and evaluation of agricultural extension programmes in Nigeria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akinnagbe O. Matthew

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Monitoring and evaluation are important, yet, frequently neglected functions in most organisations. In Nigeria, many programmes have been established over the years but only little monitoring and evaluation have been carried out because of many implementation problems and lack of realistic and/or stable policy framework. This paper was designed to X-ray policy issues for improving monitoring and evaluation of agricultural programmes in Nigeria. Inductive and deductive reasoning through a review of relevant literature was used in this philosophical paper. To improve the performance of agricultural extension programmes in Nigeria, the following policy issues must be addressed: The questions of what should be monitored or evaluated, when should monitoring and/or evaluation be carried out and who should monitor and/or evaluate; and the methodology to be adopted in any project should be included in any agricultural programmes and/or policies. Manpower and financial resources, effective communication and the issue of accountability must be properly considered. The tools for monitoring and evaluation are also very crucial. The paper concluded that planning a good agricultural programme is not a problem in Nigeria but poor implementation is, as a result of poor monitoring and evaluation. Therefore, attention should be on when, how and who should be involved in monitoring and evaluation.

Manifestations of integrated public health policy in Dutch municipalities.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Dorothee; Harting, Janneke; van Oers, Hans; Schuit, Jantine; de Vries, Nanne; Stronks, Karien

2016-06-01

Integrated public health policy (IPHP) aims at integrating health considerations into policies of other sectors. Since the limited empirical evidence available may hamper its further development, we systematically analysed empirical manifestations of IPHP, by placing policy strategies along a continuum of less-to-more policy integration, going from intersectoral action (IA) to healthy public policy (HPP) to health in all policies (HiAP). Our case study included 34 municipal projects of the Dutch Gezonde Slagkracht Programme (2009-15), which supports the development and implementation of IPHP on overweight, alcohol and drug abuse, and smoking. Our content analysis of project application forms and interviews with all project leaders used a framework approach involving the policy strategies and the following policy variables: initiator, actors, policy goals, determinants and policy instruments. Most projects showed a combination of policy strategies. However, manifestations of IPHP in overweight projects predominantly involved IA. More policy integration was apparent in alcohol/drugs projects (HPP) and in all-theme projects (HiAP). More policy integration was related to broad goal definitions, which allowed for the involvement of actors representing several policy sectors. This enabled the implementation of a mix of policy instruments. Determinants of health were not explicitly used as a starting point of the policy process. If a policy problem justifies policy integration beyond IA, it might be helpful to start from the determinants of health (epidemiological reality), systematically transform them into policy (policy reality) and set broad policy goals, since this gives actors from other sectors the opportunity to participate. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A strategy different from France's: German energy policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linkohr, R.

2013-01-01

Shortly after the Fukushima accident, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, announced a new course for the country's energy policy: nuclear power is to be fully abandoned by 2022, owing to a massive recourse to renewable sources of energy. The proclaimed goal is for renewable energy to make up 35% of the country's energy mix by 2035 and even 80% by 2050. This energy transition, though benefiting from a consensus, has run up against several difficulties: an unadapted electric power grid, the excessively high costs of investment, and exorbitant electricity rates for consumers.... Till now, this energy policy's basis principles have not come under question, but questioning are arising about the pace and cost of this transformation. (author)

A Multilevel, Statewide Investigation of School District Anti-Bullying Policy Quality and Student Bullying Involvement

Science.gov (United States)

Gower, Amy L.; Cousin, Molly; Borowsky, Iris W.

2017-01-01

Background: Although nearly all states in the United States require school districts to adopt anti-bullying policies, little research examines the effect of these policies on student bullying and health. Using a statewide sample, we investigated associations between the quality of school district anti-bullying policies and student bullying…

Representations of women and drug use in policy: A critical policy analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas, Natalie; Bull, Melissa

2018-06-01

Contemporary research in the drugs field has demonstrated a number of gender differences in patterns and experiences of substance use, and the design and provision of gender-responsive interventions has been identified as an important policy issue. Consequently, whether and how domestic drug policies attend to women and gender issues is an important question for investigation. This article presents a policy audit and critical analysis of Australian national and state and territory policy documents. It identifies and discusses two key styles of problematisation of women's drug use in policy: 1) drug use and its effect on women's reproductive role (including a focus on pregnant women and women who are mothers), and 2) drug use and its relationship to women's vulnerability to harm (including violent and sexual victimisation, trauma, and mental health issues). Whilst these are important areas for policy to address, we argue that such representations of women who use drugs tend to reinforce particular understandings of women and drug use, while at the same time contributing to areas of 'policy silence' or neglect. In particular, the policy documents analysed are largely silent about the harm reduction needs of all women, as well as the needs of women who are not mothers, young women, older women, transwomen or other women deemed to be outside of dominant normative reproductive discourse. This analysis is important because understanding how women's drug use is problematised and identifying areas of policy silence provides a foundation for redressing gaps in policy, and for assessing the likely effectiveness of current and future policy approaches. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effective Macroprudential Policy: Cross-Sector Substitution from Price and Quantity Measures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Cizel, J.; Frost, J.; Houben, A.; Wierts, P.

Macroprudential policy is increasingly being implemented worldwide. Key questions are its effectiveness in influencing bank credit and substitution effects beyond banking. Our results confirm the expected effects of macroprudential policies on bank credit, both for advanced economies and emerging

Immigration Policy and Interethnic Tolerance

OpenAIRE

J Sadilek

2010-01-01

The problem of migration is gaining in importance throughout the world and involves the appropriate policy compatible with the contemporary state of society. The article offers the insight into migration policies in Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia and provides their comparative analysis.

Broadening health policy education in medical school

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nur A

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Ahmed Nur, Aqib Chaudry, Amar SodhaFaculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, UKWe read with great interest the article by Malik et al1 exploring medical studentparticipation in health policy roles. As medical students who recently completed anintercalated degree in healthcare management at Imperial College London, we spent alarge proportion of our time learning about health policy. Thus, we can offer a uniqueperspective on this issue.    We firstly commend the authors for identifying factors that act as barriers to medical student involvement in health policy roles. Noteworthy barriers impacting student involvement included: a lack of knowledge regarding health policy, an unawareness of opportunities available, and a lack of time. It was found that 43% identified lack of time as a barrier to their involvement in health policy.1 Bicket et al similarly found that time commitments and opportunity costs were the main drawbacks for students not pursuing their interests in leadership roles in medical school.2View the original paper by Malik and colleagues.

The Greenhouse Effect: Science and Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, Stephen H.

1989-01-01

Discusses many of the scientific questions surrounding the greenhouse effect debate and the issue of plausible responses. Discussion includes topics concerning projecting emissions and greenhouse gas concentrations, estimating global climatic response, economic, social, and political impacts, and policy responses. (RT)

Can multiple-choice questions simulate free-response questions?

OpenAIRE

Lin, Shih-Yin; Singh, Chandralekha

2016-01-01

We discuss a study to evaluate the extent to which free-response questions could be approximated by multiple-choice equivalents. Two carefully designed research-based multiple-choice questions were transformed into a free-response format and administered on the final exam in a calculus-based introductory physics course. The original multiple-choice questions were administered in another similar introductory physics course on final exam. Findings suggest that carefully designed multiple-choice...

A game theory analysis of green infrastructure stormwater management policies

Science.gov (United States)

William, Reshmina; Garg, Jugal; Stillwell, Ashlynn S.

2017-09-01

Green stormwater infrastructure has been demonstrated as an innovative water resources management approach that addresses multiple challenges facing urban environments. However, there is little consensus on what policy strategies can be used to best incentivize green infrastructure adoption by private landowners. Game theory, an analysis framework that has historically been under-utilized within the context of stormwater management, is uniquely suited to address this policy question. We used a cooperative game theory framework to investigate the potential impacts of different policy strategies used to incentivize green infrastructure installation. The results indicate that municipal regulation leads to the greatest reduction in pollutant loading. However, the choice of the "best" regulatory approach will depend on a variety of different factors including politics and financial considerations. Large, downstream agents have a disproportionate share of bargaining power. Results also reveal that policy impacts are highly dependent on agents' spatial position within the stormwater network, leading to important questions of social equity and environmental justice.

Multinationals and international environmental policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dam, L.; Scholtens, B.

2009-01-01

Multinationals with relatively poor environmental policy establish themselves in countries with weak environmental regulation. These activities are not undertaken in the poorest or most corrupt countries though. The question arises if multinationals with relatively developed environmental behavior settle less or more often in countries with environmental legislation. [mk] [nl

Qualitative methods for the study of policy diffusion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Starke, Peter

2013-01-01

This article deals with the question whether and how processes of policy diffusion can be examined with qualitative methods. More specifically, how can qualitative methods address the “twin challenge of interdependence,” namely the challenge to identify diffusion, on the one hand, and the challen...... closes with some suggestions for further methodological development in the study of policy diffusion, including the combination of quantitative and qualitative methods.......This article deals with the question whether and how processes of policy diffusion can be examined with qualitative methods. More specifically, how can qualitative methods address the “twin challenge of interdependence,” namely the challenge to identify diffusion, on the one hand, and the challenge...... to discriminate between mechanisms of diffusion, on the other? I argue, first, that there are three distinct qualitative techniques that can be used, namely cross-case analysis (often based on systematic case selection), within-case process tracing, and counterfactual reasoning. I demonstrate how these techniques...

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

Teachers' use of questioning in supporting learners doing science investigations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umesh Ramnarain

2011-01-01

Full Text Available I examine how teachers employ a questioning strategy in supporting Grade 9 learners doing science investigations in South African schools. A particular focus of this study was how teachers use questioning in contributing towards the autonomy of these learners. The research adopted a qualitative approach which involved the collection of data by means of classroom observations and interviews with five teachers at schools resourced for practical work. The analysis of transcript data revealed that teachers support learners by asking probing questions at all stages of the investigation. The teachers used a questioning strategy in enabling the learners to understand more clearly the question or hypothesis they intended investigating, to review and reconsider their planning, to rethink some of their actions when collecting data, to make sense of their data, and to revisit and amend their plan after generating incorrect findings. The significance of this study, in making explicit teacher questioning at the stages of the investigation, is that it provides a guideline for teachers on how to support learners attain greater autonomy in doing science investigations.

Public Policies – Embodiments of Democratization Processes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dorina Ţicu

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Public policies are the most practical part of the triad polity-politics-policy. Public policies are related to the practical areas of planning, implementation and evaluation of the governmental activities. From this perspective, to talk about a perfect public policy (or which aspires to perfection means to speak about an efficient institutional system of a state as a sign of its degree of democratization. This article aims to explore “the cuisine” of democratic systems taking into account the applied perspective of public policy functionality, a type of functionality which is determined by a particular decision, by a kind of rationality or motivation of the actors involved or by a type of an organizational culture. Thus, the study of democracies involves an analytical approach developed at a micro level (the types of parties, institutional designs, election systems, public policies becoming indices of democratization for every state system.

Attitudes towards assisted dying are influenced by question wording and order: a survey experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Magelssen, Morten; Supphellen, Magne; Nortvedt, Per; Materstvedt, Lars Johan

2016-04-27

Surveys on attitudes towards assisted dying play an important role in informing public debate, policy and legislation. Unfortunately, surveys are often designed with insufficient attention to framing effects; that is, effects on the respondents' stated attitudes caused by question wording and context. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate and measure such framing effects. Survey experiment in which an eight-question survey on attitudes towards assisted dying was distributed to Norwegian citizens through a web-based panel. Two variations of question wording as well as two variations of question order were employed. Respondents were randomized to receive one of four questionnaire versions. Three thousand and fifty responses were received. There were moderate to large question wording and question order effects. A majority of Norwegian citizens favour the legalization of assisted dying for patients with terminal or chronic disease. Stakeholders in the assisted dying debate need to acknowledge potential framing effects, and accordingly should interpret survey results with caution. The same holds for researchers who conduct attitude surveys in the field of bioethics.

Crisis of the EU Eastern Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Irina V. Bolgova

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The results of the Vilnius summit of the EaP project and the consequent Ukrainian crisis with major international effects make possible questioning about the eventual scenarios of the EU eastern politics and possible configurations ofinternational interactions. The article elaborates on the key elements and trends of the EU activities at the post-soviet space that are likely to frame the context of its further developments. The most visible trends analysed here are the extreme differentiation of bilateral relations within the EaP project alongside with the growing symbolism of official rhetoric and program practices of the European Union. As a result, we see the EU's intention to narrow the geographical and qualitative field of its activities on the eastern directionwith saving the shell of the EaP for nominal functioning. Such tactics is not likely to result in a drastic change of the model of conflict dependencies in the "shared neighbourhood". The article analyses key misperceptions of the actors involved in the complex of interactions in the region. The structure is complicated by the deepening and widening of Russia-lead Eurasian integration project. Current crisis of the EU eastern policy is considered to derive from the exaggeration of the value-based, normative aspect of the common foreign policy in general and will have the systemic consequences both for the European external actions and for its internal developments.

Reagan outlines nonproliferation policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walsh, J.

1981-01-01

The Reagan Administration wants to shift from efforts to impose direct control over the fuel cycle and nuclear technology to a framework based on cooperation and initiatives for greater political stability. A nuclear-free zone for the Middle East is one area to explore. Congress responded to this announced plan with a counter move to tighten non-proliferation strategies. Reagan's policy will be to restore the US as an aggressive, but reliable nuclear trading partner operating under adequate safeguards. Critics find this approach dangerous and contradictory. The policy is still too general to answer specific questions about bilateral arrangements, generic permits, plutonium recycling, and other matters

Four Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Hark-Weber, Amara G., Ed.

2013-01-01

The author is pleased to introduce a new section in "TAJ," Four Questions. The structure is simple: four questions are asked to teaching artists working in various media and locations. The questions are always the same, but because each teaching artist's approach is unique, their answers will provide an insight into particular methodologies that…

The European Union, the ESDP, and the question of Turkey /

OpenAIRE

Taylor, Alistair

2005-01-01

This paper analyses the potential contribution in terms of crude capabilities that Turkey could bring to the European Union’s ESDP security framework. The history of the European Union’s security aspirations and the security policy preferences of the major actors in European security will also be examined as a way of framing the question of Turkey's potential role within the emerging European security and defense framework. The second chapter will look at how European security has evolved fro...

Climate Policy Under Fat-Tailed Risk: An Application of Dice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hwang, I.C.; Reynès, F.; Tol, R.S.J.

2013-01-01

Uncertainty plays a significant role in evaluating climate policy, and fat-tailed uncertainty may dominate policy advice. Should we make our utmost effort to prevent the arbitrarily large impacts of climate change under deep uncertainty? In order to answer to this question, we propose a new way of

Stakeholder involvement: views from a policy maker

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gray, Elizabeth

2006-01-01

In 1999 powers and responsibilities were devolved from the UK government to the new devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. This paper deals with the issue of radioactive waste management in the Scottish context as, following devolution, responsibility for radioactive waste management in Scotland is a devolved responsibility of the Scottish Parliament. The founding principles of the Scottish Parliament are: Openness and participation, Accountability, Power sharing, Equal opportunities. The government of Scotland is known as the Scottish Executive and has 22 Ministers covering a wide range of devolved responsibilities including: wider environmental matters, health, socioeconomic, skills and education. The Scottish Ministers also have specific responsibility in legislation regarding the governance of the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA). Scotland also has its own agencies to deliver his government policies, such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and enterprise and skills delivery bodies. There is a high level of interest in nuclear and radioactive waste issues in Scotland as Scotland has both civil nuclear and defense sites around the country which generate radioactive waste. Alongside this is its close proximity to the largest nuclear site in the UK: Sellafield

Policy Board Proposals Ignore Real Problems.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawley, Willis D.

1989-01-01

The recent National Policy Board for Educational Administration report ("Improving the Preparation of School Administrators: An Agenda for Reform") does not address fundamental questions or make convincing proposals concerning the preparation of school administrators. The report's nine overall recommendations for improving school administration…

Fear of Floating: An optimal discretionary monetary policy analysis

OpenAIRE

Madhavi Bokil

2005-01-01

This paper explores the idea that “Fear of Floating” and accompanying pro-cyclical interest rate policies observed in the case of some emerging market economies may be justified as an optimal discretionary monetary policy response to shocks. The paper also examines how the differences in monetary policies may lead to different degrees of this fear. These questions are addressed with a small open economy, new- Keynesian model with endogenous capital accumulation and sticky prices. The economy ...

New prospects in EU environmental policies. The Integrated Product Policy (IPP)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carnimeo, G.; Iraldo, F.

2000-01-01

The Integrated Product Policy - IPP - is becoming one of the top priorities for the European Commission within the framework of the product-oriented environmental policies. Rather than a new policy, this is an innovative approach aimed at co-originated existing and forthcoming environmental policies, in order to manage in an integrated way and minimise the impacts connected with the whole product life-cycle. The underlying life-cycle guideline requires the management of each phase by considering what happens in all the other phases. What clearly emerges from a research carried out by Iefe Bocconi is, on the one hand, the effectiveness of co-operation and networking between all the actors involved in the product environmental management within the different phases of its life cycle (policy makers, producers, retailers, consumers, NGOs, etc.) and, on the other, the opportunity of developing an integrated management of both environmental policy instruments and corporate management tools [it

16 CFR 1.1 - Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... 16 Commercial Practices 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Policy. 1.1 Section 1.1 Commercial Practices FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION ORGANIZATION, PROCEDURES AND RULES OF PRACTICE GENERAL PROCEDURES Industry... substantial or novel question of fact or law and there is no clear Commission or court precedent; or (2) The...

Immigration Policy and Interethnic Tolerance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Sadilek

2010-03-01

Full Text Available The problem of migration is gaining in importance throughout the world and involves the appropriate policy compatible with the contemporary state of society. The article offers the insight into migration policies in Great Britain, France, Germany and Russia and provides their comparative analysis.

Canadian Government Electronic Information Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nilsen, Kirsti

1993-01-01

Examines development and evolution of Canadian government information policy in response to issues of preservation of data, information industry involvement in government data development and marketing, role of Crown copyright, and public access to government information in electronic formats. Six key information policy instruments are also…

Problema Basarabiei reflectată în rapoartele ambasadorului francez la Petersburg Charles Auguste de Morny (1856-1857 / Bessarabian question reflected in the reports of the French ambassador in Petersburg Charles Auguste de Morny (1856-1857

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugen-Tudor Sclifos

2016-10-01

Full Text Available After the Crimean War the Bessarabian question had an important place in the foreign policy of the Great Powers. During the preliminaries of peace in 1855 it was decided that Russia should cede Southern Bessarabia to the Principality of Moldavia. Russia, of course, did not accept this point and at the Congress of Paris proposed a territorial exchange - the condition unacceptable to British diplomats. Thus it was created a commission to study the problem of border delimitation in Bessarabia. In August 1856, Charles Auguste de Morny, half-brother of Emperor Napoleon III, was appointed Ambassador to St. Petersburg. Count de Morny was significantly involved in the solution of the Bessarabian question. According to documents from the archives of foreign policy in Paris, the diplomat was obsessed with the idea that Southern Bessarabia must remain part of the Russian Empire and tried to convince the Emperor Napoleon III and Count Walewski that France should support the Russian point of view. De Morny had a rival, Count Persigny, the French Ambassador in London, who believed that this area should be part of the Principality of Moldavia. After long negotiations the Bessarabian question was resolved not in favor of Russia.

Questioning the No-Touch Discourse in Physical Education from a Children's Rights Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Öhman, Marie; Quennerstedt, Ann

2017-01-01

In this paper we question the rationality of "no-touch policies" and offer an alternative approach to the matter of physical contact between teachers and students in the context of physical education (PE) in schools. Earlier research has drawn attention to how a discourse of child protection is starting to affect how physical contact is…

Children’s questions as a base of teaching

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavlović Branka S.

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The paper considers interrelationships between children’s questions and teaching and learning in the light of experimental studies on the role and aim of children’s questions in Nature and Society teaching in the third grade of primary school. The experiment comprising two parallel groups was carried out on the sample of 150 respondents from two primary schools in Šabac during the second term of the academic year 2002/2003. The present paper involves a portion of the results obtained for the type of questions children asked during teaching process as classified by independent observers; average distribution of some types of questions; qualitative analysis of discussions conducted with children after two classes where identical teaching content was presented in groups E and K; qualitative analysis of two interviews conducted with teachers after those classes in groups E and K; observers’ general impression of classes in groups E and K. The results showed that teaching based on children’s questions encourages children’s proactive attitude towards learning and leads to its higher cognitive efficiency and that children express a high degree of satisfaction by participating in thus organized work during classes and preference of atmosphere present in the classroom during such classes compared to the atmosphere during classes managed in a traditional way. Communication between children and between teacher and children is less formal, more relaxed and dynamic, which all produces motivational effects on children makes them more engaged in learning during teaching whose base is in their questions and not in teaching managed by teacher’s questions.

A Flexible Question-and-Answer Task for Measuring Speech Understanding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Virginia Best

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This report introduces a new speech task based on simple questions and answers. The task differs from a traditional sentence recall task in that it involves an element of comprehension and can be implemented in an ongoing fashion. It also contains two target items (the question and the answer that may be associated with different voices and locations to create dynamic listening scenarios. A set of 227 questions was created, covering six broad categories (days of the week, months of the year, numbers, colors, opposites, and sizes. All questions and their one-word answers were spoken by 11 female and 11 male talkers. In this study, listeners were presented with question-answer pairs and asked to indicate whether the answer was true or false. Responses were given as simple button or key presses, which are quick to make and easy to score. Two preliminary experiments are presented that illustrate different ways of implementing the basic task. In the first experiment, question-answer pairs were presented in speech-shaped noise, and performance was compared across subjects, question categories, and time, to examine the different sources of variability. In the second experiment, sequences of question-answer pairs were presented amidst competing conversations in an ongoing, spatially dynamic listening scenario. Overall, the question-and-answer task appears to be feasible and could be implemented flexibly in a number of different ways.

Maintenance Policy in Public-Transport Involving Government Subsidy

Science.gov (United States)

Pasaribu, U. S.; Bayuzetra, Y.; Gunawan, L. E.; Husniah, H.

2018-02-01

A public transport with government subsidy is considered to encourage the sustainability of the transportation. The transportations revenue is determined by the maximum of the uptimes of the vehicle. In this paper, we study a one-dimensional maintenance policy for new vehicle which is characterized by age parameter. We consider that the degradation of the vehicle is affected by the age of the vehicle, and modelled by using a one-dimensional approach. The owner performs both preventive and corrective maintenance actions, and the preventive maintenance action will reduce the vehicle failure rate and hence it will decrease the corrective maintenance cost during the life time of the vehicle. The decision problem for the owner is to find the optimal preventive maintenance time of the vehicle of each subsidy option offered by maximizing the expected profit for each subsidy.

The community involvement of nursing and medical practitioners in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A team of four medical students was trained to collect the data and interviewed the subjects in their places of work using open-ended questions. ... this study indicates the absence of expectation and policy in this area of practice in South Africa.

Zero Tolerance Policy in Schools: Rationale, Consequences, and Alternatives.

Science.gov (United States)

Casella, Ronnie

2003-01-01

Discusses theory/policies supporting zero tolerance policy in schools, including rational choice theory in criminology and national crime policies based on deterrence. Potential consequences of zero tolerance policy implementation are described and shown to involve outcomes similar to those identified by researchers studying national crime policy.…

101 questions about energy; 101 questions sur l'energie

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Furfari, S. [Commission Europeenne, Bruxelles (Belgium)

2009-07-01

Today, energy in the center of the world events. People get swamped with information about energy, environment, energy saving or renewable energy sources. However, the solutions proposed are still in the centre of debates and no consensus exists which allows to define a clear policy: nuclear energy or wind power? Solar energy or biomass fuels? And what about the meaning of the expression 'clean coal'? And why oil prices go up and down while it is said that the resource is close to exhaustion? Mass media are trying to tell us that 'urgency is here', mainly because of the climatic threat of greenhouse gases and because of a world economy totally dependent of politically unstable areas, like Middle East, Africa or Caucasus, but with huge oil and gas resources. And what about Europe, and what about all this gas in Russia? It is hard for a non-specialist to find his way in this complex domain. This is the aim of this book which has opted for the non-politically correct attitude to answer 101 key-questions about the energy topic: Europe's security of supply, energy geopolitics, oil future, energy crises, sustainable development etc. (J.S.)

Governing EU employment policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sørensen, Eva; Triantafillou, Peter; Damgaard, Bodil

2015-01-01

In the European Union (EU), employment policy is a prerogative of the member states. Therefore the EU's ability to govern in this area depends on its capability to involve national governments and relevant stakeholders in a collaborative effort to formulate and implement shared policy objectives....... of collaboration, the implementation phase mainly consists in the less demanding forms of cooperation and coordination....

Environmental Education Policy Processes in the Southern African ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

implementation of environmental education policy. Further questions .... for Environmental Management (in Ketlhoilwe, 2003) calls for an informed and environmentally ..... As priority issues such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, water resources and solid.

Defining stakeholder involvement in participatory design processes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vink, P.; Imada, A.S.; Zink, K.J.

2008-01-01

A participatory approach could be used to implement work place or organizational improvements. However, the question is which participants should be involved and how. In this paper the theoretical involvement in different steps of a linear stepwise approach is described and compared with the latest

Align, share responsibility and collaborate: potential considerations to aid in e-health policy development.

Science.gov (United States)

Ragaban, Nouran; Day, Karen; Orr, Martin

2012-01-01

Policies that support strategic development and implementation are related to health ICT implementation successes. This research aimed to explore the question, 'Why have we not seen more successful ICT implementation in healthcare, and what does policy have to do with success?' Healthcare systems are faced with rising costs, increased prevalence of chronic diseases and diminishing resources. E-health initiatives have gained acceptance in addressing these crucial health sector issues. National governments and healthcare organisations are finding it necessary to have health Information and Communications Technology (ICT) systems in place. However, poorly developed health information policies, lack of a clear business plan and ineffective leadership contribute to failure of ICT implementation in healthcare. This study uses a Grounded Theory approach, in which a series of data gathering activities will be completed. The first author attended the Health Information Management & Systems Society (HIMSS) Policy Summit in the USA in 2011. Five Summit participants were approached individually and informally discussed the 'meaningful use' policy and how it influences ICT implementation in healthcare. Field notes were made and analysed for themes relating to the research question. There were three overlapping concepts that all of the participants indicated as primary considerations for policymakers. The alignment aspect stresses the need to align e-health initiatives with overall health policy, ensuring that e-health is incorporated with other healthcare investments. The shared responsibility theme involves the need for e-health initiatives to be recognised as a priority along all levels of government, i.e. local, state, federal, and national. This stresses the importance of health ICT development and implementation in a joint government direction. The last theme is collaboration with stakeholders, including clear division of tasks and clarity about technical and non

Analysis of selected policies towards universal health coverage in Uganda: the policy implementation barometer protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Hongoro, Charles; Rutebemberwa, Elizeus; Twalo, Thembinkosi; Mwendera, Chikondi; Douglas, Mbuyiselo; Mukuru, Moses; Kasasa, Simon; Ssengooba, Freddie

2018-01-01

each level will be randomly assigned to either face-to-face or on-line interviews. An integrated questionnaire for these interviews will collect both quantitative data through Likert scale-type questions, and qualitative data through open-ended questions. And finally focused dialogues will be conducted with selected stakeholders for feedback on the PIB findings. Secondary data will be collected using data extraction tools for performance statistics. It is anticipated that the PIB findings and more importantly, the focused dialogues with relevant stakeholders, that will be convened to discuss the findings and establish corrective actions, will enhance uptake of results and effective health policy implementation towards universal health coverage in Uganda.

Legitimizing policies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jørgensen, Martin Bak

2012-01-01

The focus of this article is on representations of irregular migration in a Scandinavian context and how irregular migrants are constructed as a target group. A common feature in many (Western-)European states is the difficult attempt to navigate between an urge for control and respecting......, upholding and promoting humanitarian aspects of migration management. Legitimizing policies therefore become extremely important as governments have to appease national voters to remain in power and have to respect European regulations and international conventions. Doing so raises questions of social...

Public management, policy capacity, innovation and development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erkki Karo

2014-03-01

Full Text Available In this paper we discuss the question of what factors in development policy create specific forms of policy capacity and under what circumstances developmentoriented complementarities or mismatches between the public and private sectors emerge. We argue that specific forms of policy capacity emerge from three interlinked policy choices, each fundamentally evolutionary in nature: policy choices on understanding the nature and sources of technical change and innovation; on the ways of financing economic growth, in particular technical change; and on the nature of public management to deliver and implement both previous sets of policy choices. Thus, policy capacity is not so much a continuum of abilities (from less to more, but rather a variety of modes of making policy that originate from co-evolutionary processes in capitalist development. To illustrate, we briefly reflect upon how the East Asian developmental states of the 1960s-1980s and Eastern European transition policies since the 1990s led to almost opposite institutional systems for financing, designing and managing development strategies, and how this led, through co-evolutionary processes, to different forms of policy capacity.

Informed policies

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT RESEARCH CENTRE. Informed ... more evidence-based policy on social ... Community involvement is key to the success of CBMS in reducing poverty. IDRC ... nationwide network of “telecentres” that ... and holidays for young people to use for ... National Conference on Youth led to the.

Vaccination Policies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verweij, M.F.

2013-01-01

Vaccination involves priming the immune system with an antigenic agent that mimics a virus or bacterium, which results in immunity against the “real” microorganism. Collective vaccination policies have played an important role in the control of infectious disease worldwide. They can serve the

48 CFR 3019.201 - General policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... Section 3019.201 Federal Acquisition Regulations System DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, HOMELAND SECURITY ACQUISITION REGULATION (HSAR) SOCIOECONOMIC PROGRAMS SMALL BUSINESS PROGRAMS Policies 3019.201 General policy. (d) DHS is committed to a unified team approach involving senior management, small business...

Media independence and dividend policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Farooq, Omar; Dandoune, Salma

2012-01-01

independence and dividend policies in emerging markets. Using a dataset from twenty three emerging markets, we show a significantly negative relationship between dividend policies (payout ratio and decision to pay dividend) and media independence. We argue that independent media reduces information asymmetries...... for stock market participants. Consequently, stock market participants in emerging markets with more independent media do not demand as high and as much dividends as their counterparts in emerging markets with less independent media. We also show that press independence is more important in defining......Can media pressurize managers to disgorge excess cash to shareholders? Do firms in countries with more independent media follow different dividend policies than firms with less independent media? This paper seeks to answer these questions and aims to document the relationship between media...

A brief history of economic evaluation for human papillomavirus vaccination policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Beutels, Philippe; Jit, Mark

2010-09-01

This commentary discusses key issues for health economic evaluation and modelling, applied to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine programs. We outline some of the specific features of HPV disease and vaccination, and associated policy questions in light of a literature search for economic evaluations on HPV vaccination. We observe that some policy questions could not be reliably addressed by many of the 43 published economic evaluations we found. Despite this, policy making on universal HPV vaccination followed shortly after vaccine licensure in many developed countries, so the role economic evaluation played in informing these decisions (pre-dating 2008) seems to have been fairly limited. For more recent decisions, however, economic evaluation is likely to have been used more widely and more intensively. We expect future cost-effectiveness analyses to be more instrumental in policy making regarding vaccines covering more HPV types, therapeutic HPV vaccines, and novel diagnostic tests for biomarkers of HPV infection and disease integrated with cervical screening programs.

Alternative policy study. Environment and energy in Europe and Central Asia 1990-2010. Energy-related environmental impacts of policy scenarios. GEO 2000 alternative policy study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Vuuren, D.P.; Bakkes, J.A.

2000-01-01

The GEO-2000 study into alternative policy options for Europe and Central Asia focuses on energy use as an important driver for environmental problems across the region. The problems analyzed are climate change, acidification, summer smog, urban air pollution and risks of reactor accidents associated with nuclear power generation. The analysis includes the effects on biodiversity and population health. It considers the question of what can be achieved by moderate measures, and whether this will be enough. Similar Geo-2000 region-specific studies on alternative policies have been compiled other world regions. This report outliners the general methodology for these reports

Physical inactivity as a policy problem: applying a concept from policy analysis to a public health issue.

Science.gov (United States)

Rütten, Alfred; Abu-Omar, Karim; Gelius, Peter; Schow, Diana

2013-03-07

Despite the recent rapid development of policies to counteract physical inactivity (PI), only a small number of systematic analyses on the evolution of these policies exists. In this article we analyze how PI, as a public health issue, "translates" into a policy-making issue. First, we discuss why PI has become an increasingly important public health issue during the last two decades. We then follow Guy Peters and conceptualize PI as a "policy problem" that has the potential to be linked to policy instruments and policy impact. Analysis indicates that PI is a policy problem that i) is chronic in nature; ii) involves a high degree of political complexity; iii) can be disaggregated into smaller scales; iv) is addressed through interventions that can be difficult to "sell" to the public when their benefits are not highly divisible; v) cannot be solved by government spending alone; vi) must be addressed through a broad scope of activities; and vii) involves interdependencies among both multiple sectors and levels of government.We conclude that the new perspective on PI proposed in this article might be useful and important for i) describing and mapping policies to counteract PI in different contexts; ii) evaluating whether or not existing policy instruments are appropriate to the policy problem of PI, and iii) explaining the factors and processes that underlie policy development and implementation. More research is warranted in all these areas. In particular, we propose to focus on comparative analyses of how the problem of PI is defined and tackled in different contexts, and on the identification of truly effective policy instruments that are designed to "solve" the PI policy problem.

Separation Of Powers In Ghana: The Evolution Of The Political Question Doctrine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mtendeweka Owen Mhango

2014-12-01

Full Text Available In some democracies judiciaries have developed the political question doctrine to jurisprudentially resolve political questions and define their relationship with other branches of government. This doctrine is a function of the principle of the separation of powers and provides that there are certain questions of constitutional law that are constitutionally committed to the elected branches of government for resolution. As a result, such questions are non-justiciable and require the judiciary to abstain from deciding them if doing so would intrude upon the functions of the elected branches of government. This article examines the evolution and current status of the political question doctrine in Ghanaian jurisprudence, which developed from American jurisprudence. It begins by briefly discussing the history of the doctrine and its modern application in America. It then discusses how this doctrine was imported into Ghana and applied by the Ghanaian judiciary. The article argues that while there are differences of opinion around the application of the political question doctrine within Ghana's judiciary, the doctrine is firmly part of Ghanaian constitutional law. The article observes that the difference of opinion among judges is over the proper application of the doctrine rather than on whether it forms part of Ghanaian constitutional law. The article also discusses a related issue of the constitutional status of Directive Principles of State Policy in chapter 6 of the Constitution of Ghana.

A Theoretical and Conceptual Approach to Public Policy , State Models and Brazilian Judiciary Practice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrea Abrahão Costa

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Since the consolidation of Western democratic regimes, the issue of public policy takes greater prominence in the academic setting and was taken as an object of study by different branches of knowledge. In the present paper attempts to map the various concepts built for public policy, in order to try to answer three questions: what would be the public policy, which the theories that could be used to give them support and what historical context discussion would have appeared. In addition, it seeks to systematize the interaction between public policy and law from three aspects: their integration in the context of the Constitutional State, legalization of phenomenon of emergence of the policy and its relationship with the notions that inform the public governance. It is stated, finally, that the presented questioning aims to contribute to the start of construction of a proper legal analysis of the field of public policy.

Analyzing public health policy: three approaches.

Science.gov (United States)

Coveney, John

2010-07-01

Policy is an important feature of public and private organizations. Within the field of health as a policy arena, public health has emerged in which policy is vital to decision making and the deployment of resources. Public health practitioners and students need to be able to analyze public health policy, yet many feel daunted by the subject's complexity. This article discusses three approaches that simplify policy analysis: Bacchi's "What's the problem?" approach examines the way that policy represents problems. Colebatch's governmentality approach provides a way of analyzing the implementation of policy. Bridgman and Davis's policy cycle allows for an appraisal of public policy development. Each approach provides an analytical framework from which to rigorously study policy. Practitioners and students of public health gain much in engaging with the politicized nature of policy, and a simple approach to policy analysis can greatly assist one's understanding and involvement in policy work.

Renewable Energy Policies and Market Developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Van Dijk, A.L.; Beurskens, L.W.M.; Boots, M.G.; Kaal, M.B.T.; De Lange, T.J.; Van Sambeek, E.J.W.; Uyterlinde, M.A.

2003-03-01

Reviews and an analysis of the policy support for the stimulation of renewable electricity in the current energy market are presented, and an overview is given of the main new developments influencing the renewable energy market. The report is part of the analysis phase of the project REMAC 2000, which has led to the publication of a roadmap for the acceleration of the RE market. REMAC 2000 aims to promote a sustainable growth of the renewable energy market. For such a sustainable growth, important success factors are not only effectiveness of policy, but also security for investors, which is essential for building up a sector and developing the renewable energy market. Consistency of regulations and policies at different levels and between policy fields form a condition for security, as does the active involvement of market stakeholders. Further, the increasing role of trade within the energy and renewable energy sector leads to a priority for international coherence of policies and markets. To guarantee a sustainable growth of the renewable energy sector, a broad perspective of policy makers and planners is required- to include a long time frame, a comprehensive view of related policy fields and authorities involved, and an orientation that looks beyond national borders

Policy and Strategies for Environmental Remediation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

In the environmental remediation of a given site, concerned and interested parties have diverse and often conflicting interests with regard to remediation goals, the time frames involved, reuse of the site, the efforts necessary and cost allocation. An environmental remediation policy is essential for establishing the core values on which remediation is to be based. It incorporates a set of principles to ensure the safe and efficient management of remediation situations. Policy is mainly established by the national government and may become codified in the national legislative system. An environmental remediation strategy sets out the means for satisfying the principles and requirements of the national policy. It is normally established by the relevant remediation implementer or by the government in the case of legacy sites. Thus, the national policy may be elaborated in several different strategies. To ensure the safe, technically optimal and cost effective management of remediation situations, countries are advised to formulate an appropriate policy and strategies. Situations involving remediation include remediation of legacy sites (sites where past activities were not stringently regulated or adequately supervised), remediation after emergencies (nuclear and radiological) and remediation after planned ongoing operation and decommissioning. The environmental policy involves the principles of justification, optimization of protection, protection of future generations and the environment, efficiency in the use of resources, and transparent interaction with stakeholders. A typical policy will also take into account the national legal framework and institutional structure and applicable international conventions while providing for the allocation of responsibilities and resources, in addition to safety and security objectives and public information and participation in the decision making process. The strategy reflects and elaborates the goals and requirements set

Do Voters Affect Policies? Within-Coalition Competition in the Chilean Electoral System

OpenAIRE

Argote, Pablo; Navia, Patricio

2018-01-01

It has been argued that close elections lead to policy convergence, as legislators elected by a small margin are more likely to adopt moderate policy positions (Downs 1957). However, Lee, Moretti, and Butler (2004) find that electoral competition does not affect legislators’ policy preferences in the United States, questioning the median voter paradigm. To help to discern this paradox, we estimate the effect of close elections on legislators’ subsequent policy positions under different electo...

Australia's national men's health policy: masculinity matters.

Science.gov (United States)

Saunders, Margo; Peerson, Anita

2009-08-01

The development of Australia's first national men's health policy provides an important opportunity for informed discussions of health and gender. It is therefore a concern that the stated policy appears to deliberately exclude hegemonic masculinity and other masculinities, despite evidence of their major influence on men's health-related values, beliefs, perspectives, attitudes, motivations and behaviour. We provide an evidence-based critique of the proposed approach to a national men's health policy which raises important questions about whether the new policy can achieve its aims if it fails to acknowledge 'masculinity' as a key factor in Australian men's health. The national men's health policy should be a means to encourage gender analysis in health. This will require recognition of the influence of hegemonic masculinity, and other masculinities, on men's health. Recognising the influence of 'masculinity' on men's health is not about 'blaming' men for 'behaving badly', but is crucial to the development of a robust, meaningful and comprehensive national men's health policy.

Key policy choices in groundwater quality management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Batie, S.S.; Diebel, P.L.

1990-01-01

The fundamental policy choice of who has the right to do what to whom is a pivotal issue of governance. Over the last few decades, the answer to that question has become more restrictive to those who own and use natural resources as inputs into production processes. Increasingly, the beneficiaries of new policy initiatives are those who desire higher protection of groundwater quality. With respect to groundwater management, policy design increasingly reflects such diverse interests as agriculturists, industrialists, homeowners, local government officials and state officials. Policy design is becoming complex, in part because of this diversity and in part because scientific uncertainty hampers informed policy design. No umbrella federal legislation exists for managing groundwater resources. EPA's role has been mainly an advisory one on groundwater issues. The difficulties and responsibilities of protecting groundwater thus remain with the states. For the near future, it is the states that will address key policy choices with respect to groundwater quality management issues

Exploring Fiscal Policy at Zero Interest Rates in Intermediate Macroeconomics

Science.gov (United States)

Ramamurthy, Srikanth; Sedgley, Norman

2013-01-01

Since the financial meltdown of 2007, advanced macroeconomic theory has delved more deeply into the question of the appropriate fiscal policy when the nominal interest rate is close to or at zero percent. Such analysis is typically conducted with the aid of New Keynesian Dynamic Stochastic General Equilibrium models. The policy implications are,…

Client Involvement in Home Care Practice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Glasdam, Stinne; Henriksen, Nina; Kjær, Lone

2013-01-01

, political and administrative frames that rule home- care practice. Client involvement is shown within four constructed analytical categories: ‘Structural conditions of providing and receiving home care’; ‘Client involvement inside the home: performing a professional task and living an everyday life......’; ‘Client involvement outside the home: liberal business and mutual goal setting’; and ‘Converting a home to a working place: refurnishing a life’. The meaning of involvement is depending on which position it is viewed from. On the basis of this analysis, we raise the question of the extent to which...

Modes of Governing and Policy of Local and Regional Governments Supporting Local Low-Carbon Energy Initiatives; Exploring the Cases of the Dutch Regions of Overijssel and Fryslân

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Beau Warbroek

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Recent scholarly attention shows increasing involvement of local low-carbon energy initiatives (LLCEIs in governance and policy, in particular in relation to innovations regarding low-carbon energy and energy efficiency. The future perspective of active citizenship in the production of locally generated low-carbon energy is largely dependent on the existing institutional and policy frameworks and settings. Subnational governments, in particular, can have a prominent role in this process by engaging in institutional adaptation and policy innovation. The central research question of this paper is: In what ways do local and regional governments innovate in governing to respond to the emergence of LLCEIs? The research question is answered by comparing two case studies: the Dutch regions of Overijssel and Fryslân. We have conceptualized a meta-governing approach of experimentation, characterizing the innovations in governing that emerge when governments respond to the emergence of LLCEIs. We specifically focus on two capacities that subnational governments can use to enhance their governing capacity vis-à-vis LLCEIs and which substantiate the experimental meta-governance mode: institutional adaptation and policy innovation. We then formulated hypotheses that specify the expected policy innovations and institutional adaptations employed vis-à-vis LLCEIs. Data collection involved in-depth interviews and use of secondary data. The results show that a balancing process of authoritative and enabling modes of governing particularly characterized the type of policy innovations that were developed and the institutional adaptations that took place. Both provinces govern LLCEIs at arm’s length and issue significant capacity-building strategies that vary in terms of their conditions. Municipalities, however, incline towards impromptu and opportunistic responses, some of them having lasting effects by patching up existing institutional settings, others

Innovation and learning curves. Report on knowledge questions of the Working Group Energy and Climate

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoots, K.

2010-05-01

This report has been written on account of knowledge questions formulated by the Working Group Energy and Climate. This Working Group has been established in the framework of the Broad Reconsideration of Dutch government policy caused by the economic crisis of 2008-2009. Its task is to investigate the possibilities for a structural reduction of government spending by 20% on sustainable energy, energy saving and fiscal advantages carrying non-sustainable incentives. Apart from that, spending on policies aimed at mitigating climate change are scrutinized. In connection with this task, the working group has formulated knowledge questions which refer to cost effectiveness and possibilities for target achievement, possibilities within the European Renewables Directive and learning curves and innovation. This report addresses the latter two themes: learning curves and innovation. The selection of technologies assessed is not all-embracing, but based on the technologies within the SDE regulation (Dutch regulation on support for sustainable energy) supplemented by some promising innovations. [nl

Development Strategies and Cultural Policies in Romania. The Case of Cluj-Napoca

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anamaria TOMIUC

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Once with Romania’s integration in the EU, a long series of structural reforms have been at the core of the national, regional and local policies. There are three major aims of this paper. The first is to investigate the culture-oriented policies that have been envisaged in post-communist Romania, before and after joining the EU, in order to point out the correlation with the European cultural agenda, and to observe the transition towards a decentralized vision on culture that would redirect the cities’ contributions to their urban development. The second is to analyze what types of development strategies and cultural policies have been developed and implemented in Cluj-Napoca (Romania that frame a new vision on the city and propose the concepts of ‘participation, creativity and university’ at the core of its transformation. The third is to question the role of the festival use (as a cultural form involving large participation and to discuss the specificity of the city of Cluj-Napoca where the enthusiastic support from the local authorities for this type of actions is balanced by a more reasonable consideration within the cultural strategy. The research is based on document analyses and interviews with decision-makers and stakeholders’ representatives

Urban photovoltaic electricity policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2009-10-15

This report for the International Energy Agency (IEA) made by Task 10 of the Photovoltaic Power Systems (PVPS) programme takes a look at urban photovoltaic electricity policies. The mission of the Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme is to enhance the international collaboration efforts which accelerate the development and deployment of photovoltaic solar energy as a significant and sustainable renewable energy option. The objective of Task 10 is stated as being to enhance the opportunities for wide-scale, solution-oriented application of photovoltaics in the urban environment. The goal of the study presented was to evaluate a standardised basis for urban policies regarding photovoltaic integration in a set of cities in the countries participating in the IEA's Task 10, Urban Scale PV. The investigation was focused on three topics: the present state of the policies, the prospects for future policies fostering photovoltaic deployment and the prospects for future policies to cope with large-scale photovoltaic integration. The first section analyses the state of the policies; this analysis is then confirmed in section 2, which deals with present obstacles to PV deployment and solutions to overcome them. The third section investigates future prospects for PV deployment with the question of mastering large scale integration. The report concludes that cities could formulate urban solutions by developing integrated, specific provisions for PV deployment in their urban infrastructure planning.

“What Cultural Policies?” Explicit and Implicit Cultural Policies in Lebanon

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadia von Maltzahn

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Cultural policies define a vision for culture, and provide frameworks for institutional practice to translate this vision on the ground. A 1981 study on Lebanese cultural policy reached the conclusion that one cannot speak of cultural policies in Lebanon if one refers to state laws, regulations and plans. However, if cultural policy was understood as the method of a state to give its citizens the space to develop themselves in a way that they could create culture, one could certainly speak of cultural policies in Lebanon (Abou Rizk. In cultural policy research, there is a distinction between explicit and implicit cultural policy (Ahearne. In this article, the concept of explicit and implicit cultural policy is applied to the case of Lebanon. The two terms are extended so that the former does not only include cultural policies designatedas such by the state, but also those created by civil society actors, and that the latter does not only include political strategies, but also practices that in the end determine cultural policies. Drawing on empirical research conducted in the context of a larger study on the role of cultural institutions in the public sphere, the power struggles between different actors involved in cultural policy making cultural policy defined in the Lebanese context, which in turn will be positioned within the regional context.

Photovoltaic policy is questioned

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piro, P.; Cessac, M.

2011-01-01

The French government has decided a freeze and a reassessment of the measures taken to support the photovoltaic sector. Only the installations with a power output over 3 kWc are concerned so the market of solar roofs for homes is spared. The main reasons for this reversal is the quick and chaotic development of photovoltaic projects, a lot of projects are only motivated by the lure of high purchase prices of the electricity produced imposed by the law on EDF. Another reason is that 90% of the solar panels installed in France come from China, the photovoltaic sector retorts that 75% of the price of a complete installation pays for services produced in France. (A.C.)

Media and politics: Empirical data on their cross-influence in health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

OBJECTIVES: Despite the central influence of public policies on health and welfare, relatively little is known about actual health care policy-making processes. This presentation will offer preliminary results from a federally funded project aimed at gaining insights into the interrelations among interest-group strategies, media discourses and political debates in health care. The policy debate on health care privatization in Quebec is used as a case study. APPROACH: Two sources of data were used: media sources and political debates. Media sources were the six main provincial newspapers in Quebec, two national newspapers and The Canadian Press, as well as transcripts from specific news-related programs of three national television stations and two national radio stations. Political debates were obtained through transcripts of all question periods in the Parliament and debates in the standing committee on health. Sources were systematically searched to identify all relevant data. Multiple search syntaxes were developed and tested to maximize sensitivity and specificity. All data was entered and coded into qualitative analysis software. RESULTS: Data was analyzed longitudinally from June 2005 to January 1, 2010. Four levels of results will be presented: 1) Descriptive analysis of the interest groups involved, their policy preferences and the rhetoric they employed to support their views. 2) Descriptive analysis of the main policy proposals that structured the debate as well as of the coalition of groups behind those proposals. 3) Graphic longitudinal analysis of the intensity of the debate and of the relative importance and evolution of various policy proposals. 4) Preliminary results on the nature, direction and level of inter-influence between the policy and media agendas. CONCLUSION: This presentation provides empirical evidence on current policy-making processes in health care. It shows, unsurprisingly, that policy-making is a circumvoluted process of inter

Policy silences: why Canada needs a National First Nations, Inuit and Métis health policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Lavoie, Josée G

2013-12-27

Despite attempts, policy silences continue to create barriers to addressing the healthcare needs of First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The purpose of this article is to answer the question, if what we have in Canada is an Aboriginal health policy patchwork that fails to address inequities, then what would a Healthy Aboriginal Health Policy framework look like? The data collected included federal, provincial and territorial health policies and legislation that contain Aboriginal, First Nation, Inuit and/or Métis-specific provisions available on the internet. Key websites included the Parliamentary Library, federal, provincial and territorial health and Aboriginal websites, as well as the Department of Justice Canada, Statistics Canada and the Aboriginal Canada Portal. The Indian Act gives the Governor in Council the authority to make health regulations. The First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB) of Health Canada historically provided health services to First Nations and Inuit, as a matter of policy. FNIHB's policies are few, and apply only to Status Indians and Inuit. Health legislation in 2 territories and 4 provinces contain no provision to clarify their responsibilities. In provinces where provisions exist, they broadly focus on jurisdiction. Few Aboriginal-specific policies and policy frameworks exist. Generally, these apply to some Aboriginal peoples and exclude others. Although some Aboriginal-specific provisions exist in some legislation, and some policies are in place, significant gaps and jurisdictional ambiguities remain. This policy patchwork perpetuates confusion. A national First Nation, Inuit and Métis policy framework is needed to address this issue.

Comments on "Women, Development Planning and Government Policies in Pakistan".

Science.gov (United States)

Hafeez, S

1992-01-01

Commentary on Shahnaz and Bilquees Raza's paper on women in development in Pakistan is supportive of the content analysis of the Sixth and Seventh 5-Year Plans and policies, but critical of the methods used n the analysis. The parallel to survey research methods was made in that there was a specification of 1) the unit of analysis (reference to each policy measure, each chapter, each page of the plan), 2) the rationale for the plan, 3) specific objectives of the examination, and 4) the criteria for analysis. Missing also was the identification of policy trends from the Fourth and Fifth 5-Year Plans. The question is never answered as to why gender issues were not directed to the agricultural sector. The conclusion that there was a hugh gap between intentions and implementation was an issue not unique to women's issues, and a deeper analysis may have been required in order to understand the nature and magnitude of the gaps for women's policies and their productive roles. Questions should have been directed to the issues of the root causes of gaps in planning and implementation of policies and programs for women in development, and the identification of quantitative and qualitative indicators of gaps. Questions arise as to whether the gaps have changed with changes in the strength of political and social will in various decades. Recognition was given by the authors to the low budget allocations between 1955 and 1970 to education and health which affected both men and women, but there was scant mention of the strong social, not political, will to enhance women's welfare prevalent at this time. Information was lacking on the differences between the Sixth and Seventh sectoral plans for agricultural employment and women and the working groups plans that did include women in agricultural employment; the question is why the working plans were not incorporated into the final plans, and why the working groups did not protest this omission. The lack of political and social

NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTING THE INTERESTS OF PATIENTS’ ENGAGEMENT IN HEALH POLICY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gintarė Petronytė

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This article focuses on engagement in health policy of non-governmental organizations representing the interests of patients (NGOs. A qualitative study using a semi-structured interview method was performed in July–October 2015, involving nine representatives of NGOs from Vilnius and Kaunas. NGOs’ engagement in health policy was evaluated by applying the framework of the theoretical stakeholder participation ladder, which was developed by Arnstein and later extended by Friedman and Miles. NGOs’ engagement in health policy could be attributed to the levels of consultation and involvement, considering their collaboration with governmental institutions and political involvement. Their engagement in health policy could not be attributed to the level of delegated power (shared influence and responsibility when involved into the processes of decision formulation and decision-making. NGOs are involved in health policy by working groups and other working bodies established by governmental institutions. Financing, close interinstitutional collaboration, competencies of NGOs and their active participation are required for NGOs’ engagement in health policy. The main collaboration form between NGOs and the Ministry of Health is the Lithuanian patients’ forum, however, constant information, involvement in decision making processes and the initiation of collaboration are the key prerequisites for the development of closer collaboration. Internal and external barriers limit NGOs’ engagement in health policy: hierarchical relationships, the lack of equal collaboration and dialogue with governmental institutions, limited financial, time and human resources.

Mothers' and Fathers' Questions to Their Child in Mexican-Descent Families: Moderators of Cognitive Demand during Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Tenenbaum, Harriet R.; Leaper, Campbell

1997-01-01

The cognitive demand in questions directed to Mexican-descent children by their mothers and fathers were analyzed for videotaped play situations involving gender-neutral, masculine-, or feminine-stereotyped toys. Mothers asked proportionately more conceptual questions than did fathers. Mothers' question asking was influenced by child gender,…

Policy Driven Development: Flexible Policy Insertion for Large Scale Systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Demchak, Barry; Krüger, Ingolf

2012-07-01

The success of a software system depends critically on how well it reflects and adapts to stakeholder requirements. Traditional development methods often frustrate stakeholders by creating long latencies between requirement articulation and system deployment, especially in large scale systems. One source of latency is the maintenance of policy decisions encoded directly into system workflows at development time, including those involving access control and feature set selection. We created the Policy Driven Development (PDD) methodology to address these development latencies by enabling the flexible injection of decision points into existing workflows at runtime , thus enabling policy composition that integrates requirements furnished by multiple, oblivious stakeholder groups. Using PDD, we designed and implemented a production cyberinfrastructure that demonstrates policy and workflow injection that quickly implements stakeholder requirements, including features not contemplated in the original system design. PDD provides a path to quickly and cost effectively evolve such applications over a long lifetime.

Students' Reactions to Course Policy Decisions

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Sarah F.; Jenkins, Jade S.; Barber, Larissa K.

2016-01-01

Classroom management involves managing students' requests for course policy changes. Instructors can adhere to the course policies or convey flexibility through making an exception for the student. The current study empirically examines students' emotional reactions (hostility, guilt, and surprise) and fairness perceptions to course policy…

Federal Republic of Germany: family planning, family policy and demographic policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Zuhlke, W

1989-01-01

Decades of social change in West Germany and the emergence of an ideology that stresses individualism have altered dramatically procreative behavioral patterns. At present, West Germany is characterized by a low marriage rate (6.1/1000 in 1986), declining fertility (10.3 birth/1000), rising divorce rates (20.1/1000), and increases in the proportion of single-person households (34%). The relationship between family planning, family policy, and demographic policy is unclear and changing. Family planning practice is viewed as a part of comprehensive life planning and is based on factors such as partnership or marital status, sex roles, the conflict between working in the home and having a career, consumer aspirations, and housing conditions. The Government's family policy includes the following components: child benefits, tax relief on children, tax splitting arrangements for married couples, childcare allowance, parental leave, student grants, tax deductions for domiciliary professional help and nursing assistance, and the provision of daycare. Thus, West Germany's family policy is directed more at encouraging and facilitating parenthood and family life than at a setting demographic goals. There is no evidence, however, that such measures will be successful and divergent influences of other policy areas are often more compelling. Nor is there any way to quantify the fertility-costing impact of individual family policy measures. The indistinct nature of family planning policy in West Germany mirrors political differences between the current coalition government, which maintains a traditional view of the family, and the opposition Social-Democratic and Green Parties, which question whether the equality of men and women can be achieved in the context of old family structures.

Using game theory to analyze green stormwater infrastructure implementation policies

Science.gov (United States)

William, R. K.; Garg, J.; Stillwell, A. S.

2017-12-01

While green stormwater infrastructure is a useful approach in addressing multiple challenges facing the urban environment, little consensus exists on how to best incentivize its adoption by private landowners. Game theory, a field of study designed to model conflict and cooperation between two or more agents, is well-suited to address this policy question. We used a cooperative game theory framework to analyze the impacts of three different policy approaches frequently used to incentivize the uptake of green infrastructure by private landowners: municipal regulation, direct grants, and stormwater fees. The results indicate that municipal regulation leads to the greatest environmental benefits; however, the choice of "best" regulatory approach is dependent on a variety of different factors including political and financial considerations. Policy impacts are also highly dependent on agents' spatial positions within the stormwater network. This finding leads to important questions of social equity and environmental justice.

Discourses of State identity and Post-Lisbon National Foreign Policy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsen, Henrik

2014-01-01

The political system of the EU and its member states is frequently seen as postWestphalian within constructivist-inspired research. This is based on the view that political authority and legitimacy are to be found both at the EU level and the national level with no clear borders between them....... The question raised in this article is how the member states conceive of themselves as foreign policy actors in this situation where they are both politically embedded in EU foreign policy structures and, in most cases, formally able to act outside the EU structures in the field of foreign policy. The overall...... argument is that a pertinent answer to this question can be provided by looking at how (or whether) state identity is articulated in relation to the EU. The paper first presents theoretical considerations relating to discursive articulations of state identity in an EU context. The relevance...

Examining Understandings of Parent Involvement in Early Childhood Programs

Science.gov (United States)

Hilado, Aimee V.; Kallemeyn, Leanne; Phillips, Lauren

2013-01-01

The importance of parent involvement in children's development and learning is increasingly recognized in the research literature and in federal and state policies; however, no unified definition of parent involvement exists. This study examined different understandings and definitions of parent involvement in a sample of administrators of…

Improving the evidence base for energy policy: The role of systematic reviews

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sorrell, Steve

2007-01-01

The concept of evidence-based policy and practice (EBPP) has gained increasing prominence in the UK over the last 10 years and now plays a dominant role in a number of policy areas, including healthcare, education, social work, criminal justice and urban regeneration. But despite this substantial, influential and growing activity, the concept remains largely unknown to policymakers and researchers within the energy field. This paper defines EBPP, identifies its key features and examines the potential role of systematic reviews of evidence in a particular area of policy. It summarises the methods through which systematic reviews are achieved; discusses their advantages and limitations; identifies the particular challenges they face in the energy policy area; and assesses whether and to what extent they can usefully be applied to contemporary energy policy questions. The concept is illustrated with reference to a proposed review of evidence for a 'rebound effect' from improved energy efficiency. The paper concludes that systematic reviews may only be appropriate for a subset of energy policy questions and that research-funding priorities may need to change if their use is to become more widespread

Communication among scientists, decision makers and society: Developing policy-relevant global climate change research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernabo, J.C.

1995-01-01

Defining the research most relevant to policy is not simply a technical task that can be answered by scientists. Decision makers need and value information differently than curiosity-driven scientists. In order to link science more effectively to policy, the two communities must gain a greater mutual understanding. Decision makers must define their needs so that scientists can determine how, and by when, research can address these needs. This vital dialogue between communities typically has been more ad hoc than systematic. The complexity and urgency of the global climate change issue necessitate ongoing communication between scientists and decision makers on the information needed for policy development and what research can provide The results of relevant science policy dialogues are discussed herein. Effective communication between researchers and decision makers is a crucial ingredient for successfully addressing society's pressing environmental concerns. The increase in policy makers' demands for research that is relevant to solving societal issues highlights the communication gap between the technical and policy communities. The gap, largely caused by lack of mutual understanding, results in flawed and inadequate communication that hinders decision making and confuses the public. This paper examines the cause of this communication gap and describes the significance of recent efforts to develop more fruitful science-policy dialogues on the issue of global climate change. First, the post-Cold War shift in government priorities for research funding is described; then the underlying relationship between science and policy is explored to identify key sources of ongoing mis-communication. The paper then explains the importance of defining policy-relevant science questions that research can address. Finally, three projects are described involving the elicitation of decision makers' information needs in The United States, The Netherlands, and internationally

Involvement through photography.

Science.gov (United States)

Takai, J

2016-12-01

As a photographer living in Tokyo, I have been visiting Suetsugi village regularly to take photographs and show the printed photographs to the residents. What is the role of photography? What does it mean to be involved in the life of Suetsugi through photography? This article discusses some of the answers to these questions 5 years after the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.

Energy and the greenhouse effect. Answers to 60 questions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Visser, H.; De Wolff, J.J.; Folkert, R.J.M.; Hoekstra, J.; Ruijgrok, W.; Stortelder, B.J.M.; Vosbeek, M.E.J.P.; Ruiter, J.P.

1997-11-01

The aim of this report is to clarify the complex interaction between the greenhouse effect and the energy sector in the Netherlands, focusing on the future of the energy supply and how changes in policies with respect to energy consumption can influence climatic change. The relation between energy sector and greenhouse effect is dealt with on the basis of 60 questions on the greenhouse effect, emission of greenhouse gases and energy scenarios, and concise answers. Calculations of consequences of future scenarios for the climate are executed by means of the KEMA-developed integrated scenario model for climatic change DIALOOG. 27 refs

Technology and Policy: Looking to the Future

Science.gov (United States)

Sylvester, Kory

2009-05-01

As the proper scope and nature of arms control continues to be debated, it is certain that technical capabilities and advice will play a significant role. While national priorities and strategic objectives and broader perspectives of international security and foreign policy will ultimately dictate, technical expertise and assessment is critical to the identification, development and evaluation of alternatives. Strategic linkages between arms control, nonproliferation, and homeland security have perhaps never been so intertwined. Incomplete information and strongly held but disparate views about the potential of science and technology to amplify threats as readily as they mitigate them creates a highly dynamic environment for policymakers. To contribute meaningfully scientists and engineers will have to remain engaged with national security debates and think about the strategic and policy environment in which technical questions are posed to them, and how to identify and frame the important questions that aren't.

Framework for assessing the capacity of a health ministry to conduct health policy processes--a case study from Tajikistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Mirzoev, Tolib N; Green, Andrew; Van Kalliecharan, Ricky

2015-01-01

An adequate capacity of ministries of health (MOH) to develop and implement policies is essential. However, no frameworks were found assessing MOH capacity to conduct health policy processes within developing countries. This paper presents a conceptual framework for assessing MOH capacity to conduct policy processes based on a study from Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic where independence highlighted capacity challenges. The data collection for this qualitative study included in-depth interviews, document reviews and observations of policy events. Framework approach for analysis was used. The conceptual framework was informed by existing literature, guided the data collection and analysis, and was subsequently refined following insights from the study. The Tajik MOH capacity, while gradually improving, remains weak. There is poor recognition of wider contextual influences, ineffective leadership and governance as reflected in centralised decision-making, limited use of evidence, inadequate actors' participation and ineffective use of resources to conduct policy processes. However, the question is whether this is a reflection of lack of MOH ability or evidence of constraining environment or both. The conceptual framework identifies five determinants of robust policy processes, each with specific capacity needs: policy context, MOH leadership and governance, involvement of policy actors, the role of evidence and effective resource use for policy processes. Three underlying considerations are important for applying the capacity to policy processes: the need for clear focus, recognition of capacity levels and elements, and both ability and enabling environment. The proposed framework can be used in assessing and strengthening of the capacity of different policy actors. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A comparative study of Swedish generation Y decision-making style between high involvement and low involvement products.

OpenAIRE

Pakdeejirakul, Warangkhana; Agosi, Micheal

2013-01-01

Title A comparative study of Swedish generation Y decision-making style between high involvement and low involvement products. Research questions  How does product involvement influence consumer decision-making styles in Generation Y of Swedish nationals for the two selected products?  To what level does the model proposed by Sproles and Kendall in 1986 now apply to the modern-day Generation Y in Sweden as they decide on both of the selected products? Purpose The purpose of this research unde...

Analysing the Efficacy of Security Policies in Cyber-Physical Socio-Technical Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lenzini, Gabriele; Mauw, Sjouke; Ouchani, Samir; Barthe, Gilles; Markatos, Evangelos; Samarati, Pierangela

2016-01-01

A crucial question for an ICT organization wishing to improve its security is whether a security policy together with physical access controls protects from socio-technical threats. We study this question formally. We model the information flow defined by what the organization’s employees do (copy,

Research and International Trade Policy Negotiations: Knowledge ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2009-10-07

Oct 7, 2009 ... ... pillar of Latin America's development strategy into the 21st century. ... and policy advisors involved in trade negotiations and the formulation of trade policy. ... Expanding women's financial inclusion: A win-win for women and ...

A comprehensive picture of palliative care at home from the people involved.

Science.gov (United States)

Appelin, Gunilla; Brobäck, Gunilla; Berterö, Carina

2005-12-01

The purpose of this study was to identify the comprehensive picture of palliative care in the home, as experienced by the people involved. The study is a secondary analysis of three phenomenological studies including six cancer patients, six next of kin and six district nurses. Data were collected in qualitative interviews using an interview guide. The interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. In this secondary analysis, data were analysed by hermeneutic analysis guided by Gadamer. The guiding questions during the reading were: Is there an advantage receiving palliative care at home? Is there a disadvantage receiving palliative care at home? The findings indicate that the advantages of palliative care at home is; striving for normal life, including the care in the home composed of physical care and emotional/mental care. Striving for normal life also includes emotional feelings, safety and resources and policies which regulates this activity. Disadvantages of palliative care at home are commitment, composed of adaptation and extra work, and demands, composed of frustration and uncertainty. If the people involved are to be able to manage the situation and optimize living while dying, there must be support and resources facilitating the situation.

Developing radioactive waste management policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gichana, Z.

2012-04-01

A policy for radioactive waste management with defined goals and requirements is needed as a basis for the preparation of legislation, review or revision of related legislation and to define roles and responsibilities for ensuring the safe management of radioactive waste. A well defined policy and associated strategies are useful in promoting consistency of emphasis and direction within all of the sectors involved in radioactive waste management. The absence of policy and strategy can lead to confusion or lack of coordination and direction. A policy and/or strategy may sometimes be needed to prevent inaction on a particular waste management issue or to resolve an impasse. (author)

How do the public and policy makers communicate their perceptions of environmental risk to academics?

Science.gov (United States)

Holden, Jennifer

2010-05-01

This paper investigates the ways that the public and policy makers talk about environmental risk to academics. The case study is heavy-metal contamination of food in Zambia, Southern Africa. In several localities in Zambia, urban agriculture is practised using heavy-metal contamination wastewater for irrigation. This leads to contaminated food crops that are subsequently consumed. One case study site where this occurs is Chunga, situated in the northwest of the Zambian capital: Lusaka. For members of the public, six focus groups were carried out at the Chunga, Zambia study site, involving a total of 48 participants. The participants were those involved in urban agriculture through cultivation, selling and consumption of food crops. Urban agriculturalist focus group participants were recruited through key field informants. Focus group discussion starter questions involved pollution awareness, health impacts of pollution in the area and who is responsible for communicating environmental contamination risks to the general population. For policy stakeholders, 39 semi-structured interviews were conducted with individuals from various organisations including government ministries, non-governmental organisations, community based organisations and international institutions. Semi-structured interviews investigated the perceived major health issues in Zambia, food safety, environmental contamination and specifically heavy-metal contamination. Policy stakeholders were identified through policy mapping and organisations mentioned in focus group discussions and other interviews. The results at the Chunga study site show that members of the public perceive: (i) heavy metal pollution is not an issue in Lusaka and for their irrigation practices, (ii) dirty food can cause illness, (iii) heavy metals in foods can cause illness but they are not present at the Chunga site. Amongst urban agriculturalists the quantity of food available is the greatest issue, with some saying that they

Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Camagni, R.; Capello, R. [Politecnico di Milano, Milan (Italy). Economics Dept.; Nijkamp, P. [Dept. of Spatial Economics. Fac. of Economics and Econometrics. Vrije Univ., Amsterdam (Netherlands)

1995-12-31

While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a `sustainable city`; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined `recipe` is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs.

Sustainable city policy. Economic, environmental, technological

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camagni, R.; Capello, R.

1995-01-01

While the reasons for advocating intensified environmental concerns at the urban level are more and more accepted and clear, the question how to overcome such concerns is still fraught with many difficulties. The aim of the present paper is to formulate some policy guidelines, based on economic principles, for a 'sustainable city'; it is an ambitious aim, since a unique and operationally defined 'recipe' is difficult to envisage. An urban policy for a sustainable city needs to take different (and contrasting) aspects and many conflicting interests into consideration, while many political, social and economic frictions need to be overcome. A description of various aspects and concepts concerning sustainability issues at the urban level is given in Section 2. Section 3 then provides some considerations on possible technological, economic and environmental urban policies, by creating a typo logy of policy tools associated with different causes of urban decline. Section 4 provides some new, and partly provocative, suggestions for specific urban sustainability policies; in particular it deals with the problem of urban sustainability indicators, measures, and critical threshold levels at which urban sustainability policies should be implemented. Some reflective remarks will conclude the paper. 3 figs., 4 tabs., 25 refs

Argumentation in Educational Policy Disputes: Competing Visions of Quality and Equity

Science.gov (United States)

Anagnostopoulos, Dorothea; Lingard, Bob; Sellar, Sam

2016-01-01

Current debates about test-based accountability policies revolve around questions of how to ensure that all students have access to high-quality schools and teachers. Whether and how one can meet this goal depend, in part, on the nature of the arguments that policy proponents and opponents mobilize in these debates. This article examines these…

Advice on cultural policy matters: changing times for the Council for Culture

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lelieveldt, Philomeen; Minnaert, Toine

The central question is the changing role of advisory councils in Dutch cultural policy and the subsequent change in discourse on culture and the arts within cultural policy. Our working hypothesis is that the role of the Council for Culture (Raad voor Cultuur), the formal advisory council, is

How adequate policies can push renewables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldemberg, J.; Coelho, S.T.; Lucon, Oswaldo

2004-01-01

The growing interest in the establishment of a minimum share of renewable sources in the world energy matrix, after the Johannesburg's World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD), has raised the question about the means for such new technologies to compete with the traditional ones. The Brazilian experience in the last 25 years with ethanol as a replacement for gasoline can illustrate this possibility. Moreover, recent policies introduced by the Federal government for a minimum share of new renewable sources - wind, modern biomass and small hydro - in the Brazilian electricity matrix reinforces the country's commitment to utilize adequate policies for achieving sustainable development

Brazil responses to the international financial crisis: A successful example of Keynesian policies?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moreira Cunha André

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The paper analyses the economic policy responses of the Brazilian government to the international financial crisis. In doing so, the paper aims to answer a specific question: Can the economic policies implemented in 2008-09 be identified as Keynesian economic policies? It concludes that, despite the fact the Brazilian economic policies response to the international financial crisis seems remember Keynesian economic policies, it is not possible to argue that the recovery of the Brazilian economy can be considered a Keynesian showcase.

Secondary Students' Stable and Unstable Optics Conceptions Using Contextualized Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Hye-Eun; Treagust, David F.

2014-01-01

This study focuses on elucidating and explaining reasons for the stability of and interrelationships between students' conceptions about "Light Propagation" and "Visibility of Objects" using contextualized questions across 3 years of secondary schooling from Years 7 to 9. In a large-scale quantitative study involving 1,233…

Deploying Renewables -- principles for effective policies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2008-09-29

Renewable energy can play a fundamental role in tackling climate change, environmental degradation and energy security. As these challenges have become ever more pressing, governments and markets are seeking innovative solutions. Yet, what are the key factors that will determine the success of renewable energy policies? How can current policies be improved to encourage greater deployment of renewables? What impact can more effective policies have on renewables' share in the future global energy mix and how soon? This publication addresses these questions. Responding to the Gleneagles G8 call for a clean and secure energy future, it highlights key policy tools to fast-track renewables into the mainstream. This analysis illustrates good practices by applying the combined metrics of effectiveness and efficiency to renewable energy policies in the electricity, heating and transport sectors. It highlights significant barriers to accelerating renewables penetration, and argues that the great potential of renewables can be exploited much more rapidly and to a much larger extent if good practices are adopted. Carefully designed policy frameworks, customised to support technologies at differing stages of maturity, will deliver a strong portfolio of renewable energy technologies. The document provides recommendations on key principles for policy design as a template for decision makers.

Policy training teachers of higher education and training quality: a study on the pedagogy university program as qualifying the possibility of teachers in educational-teaching perspective

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel Cristina de Almeida Mantovani

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The reflections presented in this article are by theme pedagogical-didactic training policies for higher education teachers and quality of education and result of a research developed a Community University interior of Rio Grande do Sul, involving teachers, graduates who sought to answer : "You can establish relationships between the absence of pedagogical-didactic training of teachers and defining policies of training and the quality of teaching in higher education" To answer the research question, we sought to investigate whether the university pedagogy program, service developed can be considered as a space, which meets the lack of didactic-educational training, and is a positive factor as regards the possibility to supply the deficiency in this field.

Pollination ecology in the 21st Century: Key questions for future research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jane C. Stout

2011-03-01

Full Text Available To inspire new ideas in research on pollination ecology, we list the most important unanswered questions in the field. This list was drawn up by contacting 170 scientists from different areas of pollination ecology and asking them to contribute their opinion on the greatest knowledge gaps that need to be addressed. Almost 40% of them took part in our email poll and we received more than 650 questions and comments, which we classified into different categories representing various aspects of pollination research. The original questions were merged and synthesised, and a final vote and ranking led to the resultant list. The categories cover plant sexual reproduction, pollen and stigma biology, abiotic pollination, evolution of animal-mediated pollination, interactions of pollinators and floral antagonists, pollinator behaviour, taxonomy, plant-pollinator assemblages, geographical trends in diversity, drivers of pollinator loss, ecosystem services, management of pollination, and conservation issues such as the implementation of pollinator conservation. We focused on questions that were of a broad scope rather than case-specific; thus, addressing some questions may not be feasible within single research projects but constitute a general guide for future directions. With this compilation we hope to raise awareness of pollination-related topics not only among researchers but also among non-specialists including policy makers, funding agencies and the public at large.

101 questions about energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Furfari, S.

2009-01-01

Today, energy in the center of the world events. People get swamped with information about energy, environment, energy saving or renewable energy sources. However, the solutions proposed are still in the centre of debates and no consensus exists which allows to define a clear policy: nuclear energy or wind power? Solar energy or biomass fuels? And what about the meaning of the expression 'clean coal'? And why oil prices go up and down while it is said that the resource is close to exhaustion? Mass media are trying to tell us that 'urgency is here', mainly because of the climatic threat of greenhouse gases and because of a world economy totally dependent of politically unstable areas, like Middle East, Africa or Caucasus, but with huge oil and gas resources. And what about Europe, and what about all this gas in Russia? It is hard for a non-specialist to find his way in this complex domain. This is the aim of this book which has opted for the non-politically correct attitude to answer 101 key-questions about the energy topic: Europe's security of supply, energy geopolitics, oil future, energy crises, sustainable development etc. (J.S.)

Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Hakan Türkçapar

2012-04-01

Full Text Available “Socratic Method” is a way of teaching philosophical thinking and knowledge by asking questions which was used by antique period greek philosopher Socrates. Socrates was teaching knowledge to his followers by asking questions and the conversation between them was named “Socratic Dialogues”. In this meaning, no novel knowledge is taught to the individual but only what is formerly known is reminded and rediscovered. The form of socratic questioning which is used during the process of cognitive behavioral therapy is known as Guided Discovery. In this method it is aimed to make the client notice the piece of knowledge which he could notice but is not aware with a series of questions. Socratic method or guided discovery consists of several steps which are: Identifying the problem by listening to the client and making reflections, finding alternatives by examining and evaluating, reidentification by using the newly found information and questioning the old distorted belief and reaching to a conclusion and applying it. Question types used during these procedures are, questions for gaining information, questions revealing the meanings, questions revealing the beliefs, questions about behaviours during the similar past experiences, analyse questions and analytic synthesis questions. In order to make the patient feel understood it is important to be empathetic and summarising the problem during the interview. In this text, steps of Socratic Questioning-Guided Discovery will be reviewed with sample dialogues after eachstep. [JCBPR 2012; 1(1.000: 15-20

Accrediting Professional Education: Research and Policy Issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Koff, Robert H.; Florio, David H.

Research and legal issues that relate to accreditation policy questions for schools, colleges, and departments of education are reviewed, and strategies for integrating empirical information and social/professional values are presented. The discussion divides into three sections: (1) information concerning a variety of contextual issues that…

Evaluating mobile-centric readiness of higher education institutions: the case of institutional policies and information systems students

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Chipangura, B

2015-12-01

Full Text Available . To investigate this question from a policy perspective, nine policies from the open and distance learning (ODL) university in South Africa were analysed for providing institutional mobile-centric support. Policy document analysis was used to evaluate five...

75 FR 36062 - Notice of Enforcement Policy Symposium on Combating Counterfeiting in the 21st Century

Science.gov (United States)

2010-06-24

... second panel on criminal procedure will involve a discussion of enforcement policy involving the... Enforcement Policy Symposium on Combating Counterfeiting in the 21st Century AGENCY: United States Patent and... United States Government enforcement policy regarding counterfeit goods involving health and safety...

Hormesis in Regulatory risk assessment - Science and Science Policy.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, George

2011-01-01

This brief commentary will argue that whether hormesis is considered in regulatory risk assessment is a matter less of science than of science policy. I will first discuss the distinction between science and science policy and their roles in regulatory risk assessment. Then I will focus on factors that influence science policy, especially as it relates to the conduct of risk assessments to inform regulatory decisions, with a focus on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The key questions will then be how does hormesis interact with current concepts of science and science policy for risk assessment? Finally, I look ahead to factors that may increase, or decrease, the likelihood of hormesis being incorporated into regulatory risk assessment.

Policies to promote user innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svensson, Peter O.; Hartmann, Rasmus Koss

2018-01-01

of such policies. It is also not clear whether there is a problem for user-directed policy to solve, or what that problem is. As a first empirical step to answering these questions, we report the results of providing hospital clinicians with access to ‘makerspaces’, i.e. staffed facilities with prototyping tools...... and the expertise in using them. Findings suggest that almost all innovations developed in the makerspaces are user innovations; that the potential returns from the innovations developed in the makerspaces’ first year of operation are more than tenfold the required investment; and that most of the innovations would...... not have been developed without access to makerspaces. Due to lack of diffusion, only a limited share of potential returns is realized. This suggests not only that there are problems of non-development and under-development that policy can solve and that doing so supports social welfare. It also suggests...

Hot Water after the Cold War – Water Policy Dynamics in (Semi-Authoritarian States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter P. Mollinga

2010-10-01

Full Text Available This introductory article of the special section introduces the central question that the section addresses: do water policy dynamics in (semi-authoritarian states have specific features as compared to other state forms? The article situates the question in the post-Cold War global water governance dynamics, argues that the state is a useful and required entry point for water policy analysis, explores the meaning of (semi-authoritarian as a category, and finally introduces the three papers, which are on China, South Africa and Vietnam.

Policy evaluation and democracy: Do they fit?

Science.gov (United States)

Sager, Fritz

2017-08-05

The papers assembled in this special issue shed light on the question of the interrelation between democracy and policy evaluation by discussing research on the use of evaluations in democratic processes. The collection makes a case for a stronger presence of evaluation in democracy beyond expert utilization. Parliamentarians prove to be more aquainted with evaluations than expected and the inclusion of evaluations in policy arguments increases the deliberative quality of democratic campaigns. In sum, evaluation and democracy turn out to be well compatible after all. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Scientific Integrity Policy Creation and Implementation.

Science.gov (United States)

Koizumi, K.

2017-12-01

Ensuring the integrity of science was a priority for the Obama Administration. In March 2009, President Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum that recognized the need for the public to be able to trust the science and scientific process informing public policy decisions. In 2010, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) issued a Memorandum providing guidelines for Federal departments and agencies to follow in developing scientific integrity policies. This Memorandum describes minimum standards for: (1) strengthening the foundations of scientific integrity in government, including by shielding scientific data and analysis from inappropriate political influence; (2) improving public communication about science and technology by promoting openness and transparency; (3) enhancing the ability of Federal Advisory Committees to provide independent scientific advice; and (4) supporting the professional development of government scientists and engineers. The Memorandum called upon the heads of departments and agencies to develop scientific integrity policies that meet these requirements. At the end of the Obama Administration, 24 Federal departments and agencies had developed and implemented scientific integrity policies consistent with the OSTP guidelines. This year, there are significant questions as to the Trump Administration's commitment to these scientific integrity policies and interest in the Congress in codifying these policies in law. The session will provide an update on the status of agency scientific integrity policies and legislation.