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Effective Policies (effective + policy)
Terms modified by Effective Policies Selected AbstractsPolicy implications of the widespread practice of ,pre-drinking' or ,pre-gaming' before going to public drinking establishments,are current prevention strategies backfiring?ADDICTION, Issue 1 2009Samantha Wells ABSTRACT Aim To describe the research, policy and prevention implications of pre-drinking or pre-gaming; that is, planned heavy drinking prior to going to a public drinking establishment. Methods The authors describe the phenomenon of pre-drinking, motivations for pre-drinking and its associated risks using available research literature, media and popular internet vehicles. Results Heavy drinking prior to going out has emerged as a common and celebrated practice among young adults around the world. Apparent motivations are: (i) to avoid paying for high priced drinks at commercial drinking establishments; (ii) to achieve drunkenness and enhance and extend the night out; and (iii) to socialize with friends, reduce social anxiety or enhance male group bonding before going out. Limited existing research on pre-drinking suggests that it is associated with heavy drinking and harmful consequences. We argue that policies focused upon reducing drinking in licensed premises may have the unintended consequence of displacing drinking to pre-drinking environments, possibly resulting in greater harms. Conclusions Effective policy and prevention for drinking in licensed premises requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account the entire drinking occasion (not just drinking that occurs in the licensed environment), as well as the ,determined drunkenness' goal of some young people. [source] A multicriterion classification approach for assessing the impact of environmental policies on the competitiveness of firmsCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2007V. Hontou Abstract The key objective of the European Union's environmental policy is to successfully combine environmental protection with sustainable economic growth in the long term. Nowadays, it is increasingly recognized that environmental policies, besides increasing production cost, may at the same time give incentives to firms for undertaking innovative actions and/or developing and exploiting differentiation opportunities. Both differentiation capacity and cost increase are strongly dependent on a multiplicity of internal and external factors, such as energy intensity, type of technology used, characteristics of the competitive environment etc. The present paper presents a multicriterion approach for classifying firms into discrete categories of possible impact, according to their sensitivity to cost increases and their differentiation potential. The resulting environment,competitiveness matrix can be exploited for establishing sustainability strategies and designing effective policies in the industrial sector. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Strengthening Public Safety Nets from the Bottom UpDEVELOPMENT POLICY REVIEW, Issue 5 2002Jonathan Morduch Helping to reduce vulnerability poses a new set of challenges for public policy. A starting point is understanding the ways in which communities and extended families try to cope with difficulties in the absence of public interventions. Coping mechanisms range from the informal exchange of transfers and loans to more structured institutions that enable an entire community to provide protection to its neediest members. This article describes ways of building public safety nets to complement and extend informal and private institutions. The most effective policies will combine transfer systems that are sensitive to existing mechanisms with new institutions for providing insurance and credit and for generating savings. [source] Review of Policies and Guidelines on Infant Feeding in Emergencies: Common Ground and GapsDISASTERS, Issue 2 2001Andrew Seal Recent crises in regions where exclusive breastfeeding is not the norm have highlighted the importance of effective policies and guidelines on infant feeding in emergencies. In 1993, UNICEF compiled a collection of policy and guideline documents relating to the feeding of infants in emergency situations. In June 2000 Save the Children, UK, UNICEF and the Institute of Child Health undertook a review of those documents, updating the list and identifying the common ground that exists among the different policies. The review also analysed the consistency of the policy framework, and highlighted important areas where guidelines are missing or unclear. This article is an attempt to share more widely the main issues arising from this review. The key conclusions were that, in general, there is consensus on what constitutes best practice in infant feeding, however, the lack of clarity in the respective responsibilities of key UN agencies (in particular UNICEF, UNHCR and WFP) over issues relating to co-ordination of activities which affect infant-feeding interventions constrains the implementation of systems to support best practice. Furthermore, the weak evidence base on effective and appropriate intervention strategies for supporting optimal infant feeding in emergencies means that there is poor understanding of the practical tasks needed to support mothers and minimise infant morbidity and mortality. We, therefore, have two key recommendations: first that the operational UN agencies, primarily UNICEF, examine the options for improving co-ordination on a range of activities to uphold best practice of infant feeding in emergencies; second, that urgent attention be given to developing and supporting operational research on the promotion of optimal infant-feeding interventions. [source] Alcohol policy in South Africa: a review of policy development processes between 1994 and 2009ADDICTION, Issue 8 2010Charles D. H. Parry ABSTRACT Background Implementation of effective policies to reduce harmful alcohol consumption requires both a good understanding of the policy development process and which strategies are likely to work. Aims To contribute to this understanding by reviewing four specific policy development initiatives that have taken place in South Africa between 1994 and 2009: restrictions on alcohol advertising and counter-advertising, regulation of retail sales of alcohol, alcohol taxation and controls on alcohol packaging. Methods Material was drawn from a record of meetings and conferences held between 1994 and 2009 and a database of reports, newspaper clippings and policy documentation. Findings When the policy process resulted in a concrete outcome there was always a clear recognition of the problem and policy alternatives, but success was more likely if there was an alignment of ,political' forces and/or when there was a determined bureaucracy. The impact of the other factors such as the media, community mobilization, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the liquor industry and research are also discussed. Future avenues for policy research are identified, including the need for more systematic studies that give greater consideration to economic factors. Conclusions Alcohol policy development in South Africa takes place in a piecemeal fashion and is the product of various competing influences. Having a comprehensive national alcohol strategy cutting across different sectors may be a better way for other developing countries to proceed. [source] TURNING OFFENDERS INTO RESPONSIBLE PARENTS AND CHILD SUPPORT PAYERS,FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 3 2005Esther Ann Griswold This article describes four demonstration projects that strive to promote responsible behavior with respect to parenting, child support payment, and employment among incarcerated and paroled parents with child support obligations. These projects, conducted in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Texas, with support from the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement and evaluated by the Center for Policy Research, led to a number of common outcomes and lessons. The projects revealed that inmates want help with child support, parenting, and employment and that prisons can be effective settings in which to conduct such interventions. Family reintegration programs were popular with inmates and may have helped to avoid the rupture of parent,child relationships commonly associated with incarceration. Although employment is the key to child support payment following release, rates of postrelease employment and earnings at all project sites were low and the employment programs were of limited utility in helping released offenders find jobs. Agencies dealing with child support, employment, and criminal justice need to adopt more effective policies with incarcerated parents including transitional job programs that guarantee immediate, subsidized employment upon release, child support guidelines that adjust for low earnings, and better training and education opportunities during incarceration. [source] Whither Latin America? trends and challenges of science in Latin AmericaIUBMB LIFE, Issue 4-5 2007Marcelo Hermes-Lima Abstract Science in Latin America has experienced vigorous growth in the past decade, as demonstrated by the fact that the Latin American share of the world's scientific publications increased from 1.8% in 1991 - 1995 to 3.4% in 1999 - 2003. Significant growth has also taken place in the numbers of PhDs in science and engineering (S&E) awarded in Latin American countries in recent years, including those in the natural sciences. Importantly, albeit at different rates, growth has been verified in almost all countries in the region, indicating a general effort to promote the development of S&E. In most research fields, however, the recognition or relative impact of Latin American science, as measured by the average number of citations received by published articles (CpP), is still below world averages and much lower than in developed nations. We show that average CpP values for a set of 34 representative developing and developed countries correlate significantly with gross expenditure in research and development (GERD), with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and with the number of researchers per million inhabitants (RpM). Among those countries, Latin American nations present some of the lowest average values of CpP (<6), GERD (,1% of GDP) and RpM (<2,000). We also examined recent trends in scientific activity in Latin America, with focus on the natural sciences and on biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB). In terms of citation scores, publications in BMB compare favorably to those in other research fields within Latin America. At the same time, however, Latin American BMB is one of the areas for which relative impact - compared to developed nations or normalized to world averages - is lowest. These observations clearly indicate the need to establish effective policies to increase competitiveness in terms of the quality and international recognition of Latin American natural sciences in general, and BMB in particular, as opposed to merely increasing the absolute numbers of publications or the numbers of PhDs awarded in the region. IUBMB Life, 59: 199-210, 2007 [source] Cropping strategies, soil fertility investment and land management practices by smallholder farmers in communal and resettlement areas in ZimbabweLAND DEGRADATION AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 5 2009J. G. Cobo Abstract Three smallholder villages located in typical communal (from 1948), old (1987) and new (2002) resettlement areas, on loamy sand, sandy loam and clay soils, respectively, were selected to explore differences on natural resource management and land productivity. Focus group discussions and surveys were carried out with farmers. Additionally, farmers in three wealth classes per village were chosen for a detailed assessment of their main production systems. Maize grain yields (t,ha,1) in the communal (1·5,4·0) and new resettlement areas (1·9,4·3) were similar but significantly higher than in the old resettlement area (0·9,2·7), despite lower soil quality in the communal area. Nutrient input use was the main factor controlling maize productivity in the three areas (R2,=,59,83%), while soil quality accounted for up to 12%. Partial N balances (kg,ha,1,yr,1) were significantly lower in the new resettlement (,9·1 to +14·3) and old resettlement (+7·4 to +9·6) than in the communal area (+2·1 to +59·6) due to lower nutrient applications. Averaged P balances were usually negative. Consistently, maize yields, nutrient applications and partial N balances were higher in the high wealth class than in poorer classes. This study found that most farmers in the new resettlement area were exploiting the inherent soil nutrient stocks more than farmers in the other two areas. We argue that effective policies supporting an efficient fertilizer distribution and improved soil management practices, with clearer rights to land, are necessary to avoid future land degradation and to improve food security in Zimbabwe, particularly in the resettlement areas. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Additive preconditioning in matrix computationsPROCEEDINGS IN APPLIED MATHEMATICS & MECHANICS, Issue 1 2007V. Y. Pan We combine our novel SVD-free additive preconditioning with aggregation and other relevant techniques to facilitate the solution of a linear system of equations and other fundamental matrix computations. Our analysis and experiments show the power of our algorithms, guide us in selecting most effective policies of preconditioning and aggregation, and provide some new insights into these and related subjects. Compared to the popular SVD-based multiplicative preconditioners, our additive preconditioners are generated more readily and for a much larger class of matrices. Furthermore, they better preserve matrix structure and sparseness and have a wider range of applications (e.g., they facilitate the solution of a consistent singular linear system of equations and of the eigen-problem). (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source] Learning, governance and economic policy1BRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 4 2003Hugh Pemberton This article examines the relationship between economic policy networks and policy learning during the 1960s, using recently released files to flesh out the operation of both networks and learning. It finds that policy failure in the 1950s brought into being a new policy network which was able to secure a radical shift in the economic policy of the core executive in the early 1960s. However, it then proved impossible to craft, implement and sustain a coherent and enduring set of new policies within the new policy framework due to the ability of competing networks to resist central control. This leads to three conclusions. First, peripheral actors may obtain influence over policy-making in the core executive by means of a policy network. Second, policy learning does not necessarily generate policy change of a similar order because, whilst networks may facilitate learning, competing networks may block the translation of this learning into effective policies. Third, ,governance' is not solely a phenomenon of the years since 1979: in the 1960s the British core executive was already operating within a polity characterised by fragmentation, inter-dependency and self-organising policy networks. [source] The Conservation Relevance of Epidemiological Research into Carnivore Viral Diseases in the SerengetiCONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 3 2007SARAH CLEAVELAND conservación de carnívoros; investigación epidemiológica; moquillo; rabia; Serengeti Abstract:,Recent outbreaks of rabies and canine distemper in wildlife populations of the Serengeti show that infectious disease constitutes a significant cause of mortality that can result in regional extirpation of endangered species even within large, well-protected areas. Nevertheless, effective management of an infectious disease depends critically on understanding the epidemiological dynamics of the causative pathogen. Pathogens with short infection cycles cannot persist in small populations in the absence of a more permanent reservoir of infection. Development of appropriate interventions requires detailed data on transmission pathways between reservoirs and wildlife populations of conservation concern. Relevant data can be derived from long-term population monitoring, epidemic and case-surveillance patterns, genetic analyses of rapidly evolving pathogens, serological surveys, and intervention studies. We examined studies of carnivore diseases in the Serengeti. Epidemiological research contributes to wildlife conservation policy in terms of management of endangered populations and the integration of wildlife conservation with public health interventions. Long-term, integrative, cross-species research is essential for formulation of effective policy for disease control and optimization of ecosystem health. Resumen:,Brotes recientes de rabia y moquillo en poblaciones silvestres del Serengeti muestran que las enfermedades infecciosas constituyen una causa significativa de mortandad que puede resultar en la extirpación regional de especies en peligro, aun en áreas extensas bien protegidas. Sin embargo, el manejo efectivo de una enfermedad infecciosa depende críticamente del entendimiento de la dinámica epidemiológica del patógeno. Los patógenos con ciclo infeccioso corto no pueden persistir en poblaciones pequeñas en ausencia de un reservorio de la infección más permanente. El desarrollo de intervenciones adecuadas requiere de datos detallados de las vías de transmisión entre reservorios y poblaciones de vida silvestre de preocupación para la conservación. Se pueden derivar datos importantes del monitoreo de poblaciones a largo plazo, de patrones de epidemias y de estudios de caso, del análisis genético de patógenos que evolucionan rápidamente, de muestreos sexológicos y de estudios de intervención. Examinamos estudios de enfermedades de carnívoros en el Serengeti. La investigación epidemiológica contribuye a las políticas de conservación de vida silvestre en términos de la gestión de poblaciones en peligro y de la integración de la conservación con intervenciones de salud pública. La investigación a largo plazo e integradora es esencial para la formulación de políticas efectivas para el control de enfermedades y la optimización de la salud del ecosistema. [source] THE IMPACT OF POLICIES TO CONTROL MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS IN MUMBAI, INDIA,JOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2007Akie Takeuchi ABSTRACT This paper examines the impacts of measures to reduce emissions from buses, cars, and two-wheelers in Mumbai, India. We have considered three possible policies: conversion of diesel buses to CNG, an increase in the price of gasoline and a tax on vehicle ownership. Our results suggest that the most effective policy to reduce emissions from passenger vehicles,in terms of the total number of tons of PM10 reduced,is to convert diesel buses to CNG. The conversion of 3,391 diesel buses to CNG would result in an emissions reduction of 663 tons of PM10 per year, 14 percent of total emissions from transport. [source] On Integrating Immigrants in GermanyPOPULATION AND DEVELOPMENT REVIEW, Issue 3 2006Article first published online: 8 SEP 200 Immigration to Germany in the decades following World War II made the Federal Republic the host of the largest number of immigrants in Europe. The size of the population with an immigration background is on the order of 15 million, nearly one-fifth of the total population. (Many of these are ethnic German returnees.) Although restrictive policies and a less dynamic economy in recent years slowed the annual number of immigrants and asylum seekers, the interrelated demographic influences of very low fertility, negative natural population increase, and population aging make continuing future immigration likely and, judged by influential domestic interests, desirable. Anxieties about inadequate integration of immigrants in German society are, however, apparently strongly felt by large segments of the native population. The "Grand Coalition" government that took office in November 2005 considers the formation of an effective policy of integration a high priority. On 14 July 2006 an "Integration Summit" was convened in the Chancellery with the active participation of representatives of immigrant groups. Chancellor Angela Merkel called the Summit "an almost historical event." Reproduced below in full is a non-official English translation of a government statement (entitled "Good coexistence,Clear rules") presented to the participants at the opening of the meeting. Intended as a "start of the development of a national integration plan," the statement highlights existing deficiencies of integration, especially problems with second- and third-generation immigrants: lack of mastery of the German language, weaknesses in education and training, high unemployment, lack of acceptance of the basic rules of coexistence, and violation of the law. The importance of these issues is underlined by a demographic fact noted in the statement: by 2010 it is expected that in Germany's large cities 50 percent of the population under age 40 will have an immigrant background. The statement recognizes the government's responsibility to help immigrants learn German and become better informed about the country's laws, culture, history, and political system. In turn, it demands reciprocal efforts from migrants living permanently and lawfully in Germany. The original German text of the statement is available at the Bundeskanzleramt home page: «http://www.bundesregierung.d» [source] The impact of geographical indication on the revitalisation of a regional economy: a case study of ,Boseong' green teaAREA, Issue 4 2007Jeongwook Suh Geographical indications are legal signs which identify a good as originating in a specific country or region, where the reputation of the product is attributable to its geographical roots. South Korea has operated with a geographical indication system since 1999. This research analyses the regional impacts of geographical indications using the case study of ,Boseong' green tea. The results show that geographical indication has enhanced the image of the product, leading to increased production and the stimulation of tea-related industries. We argue that geographical indication can be used as an effective policy to cope with trade liberalisation. [source] The big ecological questions inhibiting effective environmental management in AustraliaAUSTRAL ECOLOGY, Issue 1 2009S. R. MORTON Abstract The need to improve environmental management in Australia is urgent because human health, well-being and social stability all depend ultimately on maintenance of life-supporting ecological processes. Ecological science can inform this effort, but when issues are socially and economically complex the inclination is to wait for science to provide answers before acting. Increasingly, managers and policy-makers will be called on to use the present state of scientific knowledge to supply reasonable inferences for action based on imperfect knowledge. Hence, one challenge is to use existing ecological knowledge more effectively; a second is to tackle the critical unanswered ecological questions. This paper identifies areas of environmental management that are profoundly hindered by an inability of science to answer basic questions, in contrast to those areas where knowledge is not the major barrier to policy development and management. Of the 22 big questions identified herein, more than half are directly related to climate change. Several of the questions concern our limited understanding of the dynamics of marine systems. There is enough information already available to develop effective policy and management to address several significant ecological issues. We urge ecologists to make better use of existing knowledge in dialogue with policy-makers and land managers. Because the challenges are enormous, ecologists will increasingly be engaging a wide range of other disciplines to help identify pathways towards a sustainable future. [source] Progressive labour policy, ageing Marxism and unrepentant early capitalism in the Chinese industrial revolutionBUSINESS ETHICS: A EUROPEAN REVIEW, Issue 2 2001Orlan Lee The institutional guarantees of modern labour law, that provide the keystone of progressive liberalism, are often only reactionary to the entrenched concepts of socialist law. Adoption of institutions of "workers rights", and employment protection based upon contract, inevitably nullify the ideological promise of the inalienable "right to work". China, among the last bastions of theoretical Marxist socialism, and among the first socialist countries ready to accept that it has been in desperate need of reforming uneconomical state enterprises, seems willing to sacrifice ideological purity for economic development. Yet, if economic turnaround requires enterprise rationalisation in a market economy, it is understandable that Chinese labour requires the same kinds of protection against unbridled capitalism as progressive labour movements elsewhere. Doubtless, for those who have enjoyed no such institutional guarantees in the past, official commitment to improvement of labour conditions is better than no acknowledgment of need for reform of social policy whatever. Yet, the real question for students of social change is "Are these legislated reforms effective policy guides for local administration and the courts?""|Or are they merely regulations for licensing compliance , primarily for foreign invested enterprises?". In brief, "... to what extent are the new ,workers' rights' realistically attainable sources of judicial remedies for individual workers?" [source] | |||||||||||||