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Future Policy (future + policy)
Selected AbstractsOpen Borders: Absurd Chimera or Inevitable Future Policy?INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 5 2010John P. Casey In the current climate of security concerns, the movement of people across borders is becoming increasingly criminalised. Yet there is a parallel political and economic reality in which borders are opening and the movement of people is being liberalised: zones of free movement such as the European Union expand; other bilateral and multilateral agreements include provisions for more fluid cross-border movement; international trade negotiations seek to facilitate the flow of those providing goods and services; developing countries' push for greater access for their citizens to the labour markets of the industrialised world; and a new class of "gold collar" professionals moves with increasing ease around the globe. This paper explores the possibilities of universal open borders as a future policy option. The author accepts realpolitik and understands that the free flow of immigrants is currently impossible, but also maintains that open borders are an inevitable long-term consequence of globalisation, as well as a policy option for addressing North-South inequalities and a moral touchstone for the global extension of human rights. The paper does not advocate for more migration, but instead explores the paradox that the creation of the conditions that would allow for the opening of borders is likely to reduce the incentives for emigration. The paper explores the policy changes needed to achieve open borders. [source] Drivers of Unsustainable Land Use in the Semi-Arid Khabur River Basin, SyriaGEOGRAPHICAL RESEARCH, Issue 1 2009FRANK HOLE Abstract The semi-arid zone of Southwest Asia, known as the Fertile Crescent, is under unprecedented stress because of agricultural development. Where rain-fed agriculture and transhumant herding had prevailed over ten millennia, today intensive cultivation with irrigation threatens future sustainability. A number of interconnected, but uncoordinated drivers of change combine to shape the landscape and its future, and their changes make it hard to anticipate future requirements and opportunities, as well as to implement policies, whether by local stakeholders or at the national level. Among the factors that comprise the socio-natural systems are (1) climate, (2) water and soil resources, (3) history of land use, (4) social, economic and political factors, (5) infrastructural developments (6) interstate impacts, and (7) legacies of the past. The example of the Khabur River drainage in northeastern Syria shows the dynamic interplay among these factors over the past 70 years, with implications for the way future policies and practices are developed. [source] Occupational stress, negative affectivity and physical health in special and general education teachers in GreeceBRITISH JOURNAL OF SPECIAL EDUCATION, Issue 4 2006Lambros Lazuras Teacher stress has attracted considerable attention, yet few studies have focused on special education teachers. This article, by Lambros Lazuras of the South-East European Research Centre (SEERC) in Thessaloniki, reports research designed to explore differences in the stress levels of general and special educators in Greece and provides preliminary evidence for a framework to understand the process of special education teacher stress. A total of 70 teachers from general and special education schools from a large Greek city participated in the study by completing questionnaires. Measures included occupational stress deriving from interpersonal conflict, organisational constraints, workload, work-related negative affectivity and health outcomes. Data analyses allowed for inferences regarding the dynamic interaction among the study variables. Findings appear interesting in terms of advancing current understanding of the relationships between different sources of job stress within the special education teaching context and provide general guidelines for future policies aiming to counter special education teacher stress. [source] Strategic corporate environmental management within the South African automotive industry: motivations, benefits, hurdlesCORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 6 2009Anderson Gwanyebit Kehbila Abstract This paper conveys the experiences of the South African automotive industry as it attempted to implement the ISO 14001 standard. Through a questionnaire-based survey, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as larger companies were asked about the key motivations for engaging in environmental change, the benefits accrued and the barriers that prevented them from doing so. This paper analyzes the variation in adoption rates in order to establish different relationships between them. The results reveal substantial differences and some similarities with regard to the hurdles, benefits and motivations behind the implementation of environmental management systems (EMSs) that are hidden behind corporate rhetoric and commitment to sustainability. This paper concludes by prescribing robust recommendations that would set off the pace for government officials to incorporate effective and realistic incentives into future policy to better encourage environmental compliance and improved performance while minimizing costs both to businesses and to the Government. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] The determinants of environmental innovation: the impacts of environmental policies on the Nordic pulp, paper and packaging industriesENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 2 2007Paula Kivimaa Abstract Innovations may have positive societal effects such as improved environmental performance, and they are often portrayed as solutions to environmental problems. However, the mechanisms through which innovations develop and the ways in which public incentives support improved environmental performance of innovations are complex. This paper uses empirical cases to examine how environmental policies, market factors and technological push affect process and product innovations in the Nordic pulp, paper and packaging industries. The results show that environmental improvements in technologies and products are simultaneously driven by all three of these factors. Environmental innovations are often developed in anticipation of future policy or as side-effects of existing policies. However, while environmental policy directly influences process innovations, its connection to product innovations is less clear. The study points towards the importance of gradually tightening and predictable environmental policies that are flexible enough to allow the exploration of new technological developments. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source] Survey of the medical financial assistance schemes of the urban poor in ShanghaiINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HEALTH PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT, Issue 2 2002Sun Xiao-ming Abstract After 1990, being a ,pilot city' for health care reform, Shanghai constructed modernized medical financial assistance schemes (MFAS), which were progressively applied by the central government rate in the 1990s. As the pioneer of social security reform in China, Shanghai again is the place with most experience of the problems of the transition from ,Public-Relief' to ,Social-Assistance'. From the ,user' perspective of MFAS, the study reported has attempted to evaluate MFASs. Furthermore, the research seeks to point to future policy and programme options for implementing MFAS and optimizing the allocation of urban health care resources. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Working to Make Interdisciplinarity Work: Investing in Communication and Interpersonal RelationshipsJOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS, Issue 2 2006Mariella Marzano Abstract In this paper, we apply qualitative methodologies to explore the practice of interdisciplinary research. The UK's Rural Economy and Land Use (RELU) Programme aims to advance understanding of the challenges faced by rural areas through funding interdisciplinary research to inform future policy and practice on management choices for the countryside and rural economies. Addressing the challenges faced by rural areas often requires a combination of different perspectives, involving research to address subjects that may lie beyond the skills of individual researchers. An interdisciplinary approach requires the integration of both data/information and the experiences and perspectives of different people (natural/social scientists, local people and policy-makers). We focus here on the processes involved in making interdisciplinarity work, documenting the experiences, perceptions, ideas and concerns of researchers working in interdisciplinary projects (specifically two EU-funded projects but also the first wave of RELU projects). A key finding from this research is that interdisciplinarity requires conscious effort, time and resources for the development of interpersonal relationships to enhance effective communication and thus successful collaboration. [source] The psychology of deception in marketing: A conceptual framework for research and practicePSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 7 2001Ram N. AdityaArticle first published online: 25 MAY 200 The Federal Trade Commission's current policy statements on deceptive and unfair marketing practices are predicated primarily on economic considerations, ignoring the broader ramifications of trade policy for society as well as specific considerations with regard to the individual consumer. In part, this is due to the fact that research in this area has addressed only isolated aspects of the problem of deception in marketing. This article takes a pluralistic perspective on the issue in an attempt to stimulate research into hitherto unexplored avenues and provide a platform for future policy. The relevant psychological processes in consumer behavior are discussed in the light of product attributes and situational characteristics in a framework that takes into account the needs of the individual as well as the broader values of society. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. [source] Overcoming remoteness in CME videoteleconferencing: "I want my MD TV"THE JOURNAL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS, Issue 1 2000Dr. Jeanne E. Bitterman EdD Lecturer, Education Consultant, Research Associate Abstract Videoteleconferencing in continuing medical education (CME) is here to stay. In the growing health care climate, with increased mergers of institutions and facilities, education's reliance on this medium promises to grow. This project summary describes one large metropolitan institution's effort to improve the commitment to, use in, and effectiveness of Videoteleconferencing in its multisite delivery of CME programs. The institution is a nationally renowned interdisciplinary teaching and research hospital health center, with more than 1000 beds. The medical staff numbers more than 1100. The CME program, accredited by the Medical Society of the State of New York, sponsors more than 44 activities a year, awarding over 13,000 certified category 1 CME credits and serving a combined total of over 806 participating MDs and DOs. A study team comprised of the Medical Board Education Committee's Chair-director of CME, an adult education consultant-professor of adult education, and a visual literacy consultant undertook a year-long qualitative research project to explore issues, unearth dilemmas in practice, and generate recommendations for future policy and practice related to videoteleconferencing. The primary objective was to derive strategies for enhancing the educational effectiveness and community building potential of videoteleconferencing at the hospital-health center. [source] Emotional and Behavioral Consequences of Bioterrorism: Planning a Public Health ResponseTHE MILBANK QUARTERLY, Issue 3 2004BRADLEY D. STEIN Millions of dollars have been spent improving the public health system's bioterrorism response capabilities. Yet relatively little attention has been paid to precisely how the public will respond to bioterrorism and how emotional and behavioral responses might complicate an otherwise successful response. This article synthesizes the available evidence about the likely emotional and behavioral consequences of bioterrorism to suggest what decision makers can do now to improve that response. It examines the emotional and behavioral impact of previous "bioterrorism-like" events and summarizes interviews with experts who have responded to such events or conducted research on the effects of communitywide disasters. The article concludes by reflecting on the evidence and experts' perspectives to suggest actions to be taken now and future policy and research priorities. [source] Legislating Against Climate Change: A UK Perspective on a Sisyphean ChallengeTHE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 3 2009Article first published online: 1 MAY 200, Mark Stallworthy The UK's Climate Change Act offers a framework for civil society to achieve ,low carbon' realignment through to 2050. The Act is reviewed for its coherence as a mechanism for directing future policy. The legislation establishes a carbon budgetary process, mandates greenhouse gas reduction targets and strategies, and imposes a novel range of duties supported by processes for ensuring transparency concerning progress. Following an overview of climate change risks and likely economic consequences, the analysis identifies selected regulatory strategies. It explores the main statutory features, with an emphasis upon the implications of imposing mandatory duties on decision makers. An evaluation of the key policy choice of emissions trading is informed by perspectives of environmental justice, in particular as to questions of equitable burden-sharing in relation to impacts of climate change and related policies. A concluding section summarises reasonable expectations and ongoing challenges. [source] Mainstream versus ethno-specific community aged care services: It's not an ,either or'AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL ON AGEING, Issue 2 2009Harriet Radermacher Approximately 16% of the Australian population speak a language other than English at home. Older people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds face many barriers to accessing services which may explain their under-utilisation of community aged care services. The aim of this review is to critique the literature related to the delivery of community aged care services to people from CALD backgrounds. The merits of a partnership model approach are highlighted, in addition to key points for future policy and planning. Understanding the complexities of delivering services to older people from CALD backgrounds is challenging, and requires a stronger empirical base. [source] Formal and informal dimensions of intergovernmental administrative relations in CanadaCANADIAN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION/ADMINISTRATION PUBLIQUE DU CANADA, Issue 1 2007Carolyn M. Johns Associate professor This article investigates how developments in federalism and public administration in the 1990s have affected intergovernmental administrative machinery and the formal and informal structures, functions, and resources of intergovernmental relations compared to findings from the 1980s. Using a survey, interviews with senior intergovernmental officials, and government documents, this paper examines the evolution of the intergovernmental administrative state as opposed to the political realm of executive federalism. The authors outline how the formal structures and functions of intergovernmental agencies and officials have evolved and argue that informal intergovernmental networks are very important in understanding and explaining the capacity of the federation to meet current and future policy and administrative challenges. Sommaire: Au cours des deux dernières décennies, d'importants changements se sont produits au sein du fédéralisme et des relations intergouvernementales au Canada. Le présent article examine comment les récents développements intervenus dans le fédéralisme et l'administration publique dans les années 1990 ont affecté les rouages administratifs intergouvernementaux et les structures officielles et non officielles, ainsi que les fonctions et ressources des relations intergouvernementales au cours de deux dernièves décennies comparativement aux résultats des années 1980. A l'aide d'un sondage, d'interviews de hauts fonctionnaires intergouvernementaux et de documents gouvernementaux, cet article étudie l'évolution de l'État administratif intergouvernemental par opposition au domaine politique du fédéralisme exécutif. Les auteurs ébauchent la façon dont les structures et les fonctions officielles des organismes et des hauts fonctionnaires intergouvernementaux ont évolué et soutiennent que les réseaux intergouvernementaux non officiels sont très importants pour comprendre et expliquer l'aptitude de la fédération à relever les défis politiques et administratifs présents et futurs. [source] | ||||||||||||||||