bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fiscal Federalism, Performance Policies, and Education Reforms: Are States Using Performance Policies to Improve Workforce Quality?
Authors: Patrick Barbara
Published: October 2015

Performance policies aim to use provisions such as competitive recruitment packages, performance pay, outcome‐based tenure decisions, and sanction to enhance the quality of the public sector workforce. Federal Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind policies have promoted the adoption of such principles among the states by linking funding to their implementation. While all 50 states have developed performance policies, the policies vary in strength and rigor. This research uses fiscal federalism and other state characteristics to assess factors affecting commitment to performance workforce development policies among the states. It finds that state need and commitment to federal initiatives influence the strength of voluntary state performance policies. It also finds that performance workforce development policies influence the dismissal of underperforming educators and the retention of highly qualified employees. However, a negative relationship is reported between policy strength and the retention of highly qualified teachers.

Related Articles

Webber, David J. 2010. “.” Politics & Policy 38 (): 81‐95. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2009.00229.x/abstract

Roch, Christine, and Amanda Wilsker. 2010. “.” Politics & Policy 38 (): 1187‐1210. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2010.00274.x/abstract

Brill, Sam, and Abby McCartney. 2008. “.” Politics & Policy 36 (): 750‐774. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2008.00133.x/abstract

Related Media

Film Clip: . 2007. “.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSTzLILQx3c

Las políticas basadas en el desempeño tienen como objetivo usar incentivos como contratos de reclutamiento competitivos, salario en base al desempeño, asignación de puestos permanentes en base a resultados, y sanciones para mejorar la calidad de la fuerza laboral del sector público. Las políticas de Federal Race to the Top (Camino federal a la cima) y No Child Left Behind (Que ningún niño de quede atrás) han promovido la adopción de estos principios entre los estados americanos al enlazar fondos para su implementación. Mientras que los 50 estados han desarrollado políticas basadas en el desempeño, las políticas varían en fuerza y rigor. Este estudio hace uso del federalismo fiscal y otras características estatales para evaluar los factores que afectan el compromiso con las políticas de desarrollo de la fuerza laboral entre los estados. Se encuentra que las necesidades estatales y el compromiso con las iniciativas federales tiene un efecto en el esfuerzo voluntario para las políticas estatales basadas en el desempeño. También se encuentra que las políticas para aumentar el desempeño de la fuerza laboral tienen un efecto en la destitución de educadores de bajo rendimiento y la retención de empleados altamente calificados. Sin embargo, se reporta una relación negativa entre el esfuerzo de las políticas y la retención de profesores altamente calificados.
Can Social Dialogue Be a Social Coordination Mechanism? Social Dialogue Policies in Chile between 1990 and 2010
Authors: Cerda Becker Claudia , Valenzuela Hernán Cuevas
Published: October 2015

This article explores social dialogue (SD) as it relates to systems theory. A brief historical overview of Chilean SD policies between 1990 and 2010 precedes analysis of employer and union leader discourse on the topic of SD. We suggest that although SD condenses positive projections, and consequently is valued by the parties involved in labor relations, concrete instances have encountered obstacles related to legitimization and institutionalization of SD. We propose that the primary factors diminishing the probability of communication are the semantics governing each party's perceptions, each party's hetero‐references, and negative expectations of its counterpart. Nevertheless, SD could become an appropriate social coordination mechanism for an increasingly complex, democratic society.

Related Articles in this Politics & Policy Special Issue:

Luckhurst and Zavala de Alba. 2012. “.” Politics & Policy 40 (): 735‐739. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2012.00388.x/abstract

Palonen. 2012. “.” Politics & Policy 40 (): 930‐957. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2012.00389.x/abstract

Zavala de Alba. 2012. .” Politics & Policy 40 (): 783‐801. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747‐1346.2012.00385.x/abstract

Este artículo explora el Diálogo Social (DS) y su relación con la teoría de sistemas. Una breve revisión histórica de las políticas de DS chilenas entre 1990 y 2010 precede el análisis del discurso de los patrones empleadores y líderes sindicales sobre el DS. Nosotros sugerimos que aunque el DS condensa proyecciones positivas y en consecuencia es valorado por las partes involucradas en las relaciones laborales, las instancias concretas han encontrado obstáculos relacionados con la legitimación e institucionalización del DS. Proponemos que los principales factores que disminuyen la probabilidad de la comunicación son: la semántica que rodea la percepción de cada partes y las hetero‐referencias de cada partido y las expectativas negativas de cada contraparte. Sin embargo, el DS se podría convertir en un mecanismo de coordinación social apropiado para una democracia cada vez más democrática y completa.
PHANTOM-S: The Prehospital Acute Neurological Therapy and Optimization of Medical Care in Stroke Patients – Study
Authors: Ebinger Martin , Rozanski Michal , Waldschmidt Carolin , Weber Joachim , Wendt Matthias , Winter Benjamin , Kellner Philipp , Baumann André-Michael , Malzahn Uwe , Heuschmann Peter U. , Fiebach Jochen B. , Endres Matthias , Audebert Heinrich J. ,   for the STEMO-Consortium
Published: October 2015

Rationale

Time from symptom onset to treatment is closely associated with the effectiveness of intravenous thrombolysis in acute ischemic stroke patients. Hospitals are encouraged to take every effort to shorten delay of treatment. Despite combined efforts to streamline procedures in hospitals to provide treatment as soon as possible, most patients receive tissue plasminogen activator with considerable delay and very few of them within 90 mins. Germany has an internationally acknowledged prehospital emergency care system with specially trained doctors on ambulances. We developed an ambulance equipped with a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner, point-of-care laboratory, teleradiological support, and an emergency-trained neurologist on board. In the Pre-Hospital Acute Neurological Therapy and Optimization of Medical care in Stroke Patients study, we aim at a reduction of the current alarm-to-needle time by prehospital use of tissue plasminogen activator in an ambulance.

Aims

We hypothesized that compared with regular care, we will reduce alarm-to-needle time by a minimum of 20 mins by implementation of the stroke emergency mobile unit.

Design

Prospective study comparing randomly allocated periods with and without stroke emergency mobile unit availability.

Study Outcomes

Primary end point of the study is alarm-to-needle time. Secondary outcomes include thrombolysis treatment rates, modified Rankin scale after three-months, and alarm-to-imaging or alarm-to-laboratory time; safety aspects to be evaluated are mortality and rates of (symptomatic) intracerebral hemorrhage.
Assessment of Additional Endpoints for Trials in Acute Stroke – What, When, Where, in Who?
Authors: Schellinger Peter D. , Bath Philip M. W. , Lees Kennedy R. , Bornstein Natan M. , Uriel Eitan , Eisert Wolfgang , Leys Didier ,   for the European Stroke Organisation Outcomes Working Group†
Published: October 2015

Functional outcome in acute stroke trials among others is usually measured on the modified Rankin Scale. However, new onset of depression, cognitive decline, and communication deficits alone or in combination affect more than 25% of patients. This report summarizes the findings and conclusions of a workshop by the European Stroke Organization held in February 2011 We propose that assessment of mood disorders, cognitive impairment/dementia, language or communication dysfunction, and quality of life should supplement outcome measures after acute stroke.
Unpackaging synthetic biology: Identification of oversight policy problems and options
Authors: Kuzma Jennifer , Tanji Todd
Published: October 2015

The emerging field of synthetic biology (SB) is just entering policy debates. Reports from non‐governmental organizations, such as the ETC Group and the International Risk Governance Council, have recently been issued, but there have been few systematic analyses of the policy problems that we will likely face as this area develops. Biosecurity issues are the most defined; other societal oversight issues and implications have not been well explored. Although SB could assist in addressing pressing global challenges, such as sustainable and renewable energy, there are considerable societal concerns that accompany its development and applications. This article is designed to anticipate and prepare for these concerns by identifying policy problems associated with SB oversight, upstream of its development. Projected applications of SB are reviewed and a typology of them is developed. Key oversight policy problems are then identified based on historical experiences with other emerging technologies, such as nanotechnology and biotechnology. Problems associated with biosecurity, biosafety, intellectual property, and ethics are discussed in relation to the typology of SB applications to identify applications of the highest potential concern. Finally, policy options for SB oversight are considered, preventative to promotional. We propose that different categories of SB application may warrant different oversight regimes: there might not be an appropriate “one size fits all” approach. We stop short of making specific recommendations, but suggest that the typology, problems, and oversight options identified in this article be used as a starting point for deliberative, democratic decisionmaking processes that take into account a wide range of perspectives about risk, economic impact, scientific progress, and moral reasoning in the design of oversight systems.
The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, Public Health, and the Elusive Target of Human Rights
Authors: Gable Lance
Published: October 2015

The passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March 2010 represents a significant turning point in the evolution of health care law and policy in the United States. By establishing a legal infrastructure that seeks to achieve universal health insurance coverage in the United States, the ACA targets some of the major impediments to accessing needed health care for millions of Americans and by extension attempts to strengthen the health system to support key determinants of health. Yet, like many newly passed legislative provisions, the ultimate effects and significance of the ACA remain uncertain. Those charged with implementing the ACA face formidable obstacles — indeed, some of the same obstacles that have been erected to impede other major pieces of social legislation in the past — including entrenched political opposition, constitutional challenges, and what will likely be a prolonged struggle over the content and direction of how the law is implemented. As these debates continue, it is nevertheless important to begin to assess the impact that the ACA has already had on health law in the United States and to consider the likely effects that the law will have on public health going forward.
The New Era of Comparative Effectiveness: Will Public Health End up Left Behind?
Authors: Saver Richard S.
Published: October 2015

As a result of health care reform, medicine has entered a new era of comparative effectiveness. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) created the nation’s first comprehensive comparative effectiveness research (CER) program, investing in CER at record levels and establishing a new regulatory framework for oversight of the research. CER attracts considerable enthusiasm as a tool for reform because it compares competing interventions to determine which works best, supplying critical information for medical decision-making and health policy. In theory, better evidence of how treatments fare relative to one another will translate to better medical care. According to some optimistic accounts, CER can lead to a “revolution” in clinical practice, has transformative power “to reshape major portions of the practice of medicine,” and represents a major “turning point” for the health care system.
Justice, Fairness, and Membership in a Class: Conceptual Confusions and Moral Puzzles in the Regulation of Human Subjects Research
Authors: Iltis Ana S.
Published: October 2015

Much of the human research conducted in the United States or by U.S. researchers is regulated by the Common Rule. The Common Rule reflects the decision of 17 federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (whose regulations appear at 45CFR46), to require that investigators follow the same rules for conducting human research. (The Food and Drug Administration [FDA] has its own rules (at 21CFR50 and 21CFR56), though there is significant overlap with the Common Rule.) Many of the obligations delineated in the Common Rule can be traced back to the work of the National Commission for the Protection of Human Subjects of Biomedical and Behavioral Research (hereafter the National Commission). The National Commission was appointed in 1974 as part of the National Research Act (P.L. 93-348) in response to revelations about serious abuses involving human subjects, most notably the Tuskegee/United States Public Health Service Syphilis Study.
Paying Human Subjects in Research: Where are We, How Did We Get Here, and Now What?
Authors: VanderWalde Ari , Kurzban Seth
Published: October 2015

On November 14, 1996, an in-depth report on the recruiting and testing practices of Lilly Pharmaceuticals appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Laurie Cohen reported that most pharmaceutical companies had difficulty recruiting healthy subjects to participate in testing of “untried and potentially dangerous” drugs. These companies often had to pay subjects up to $250 a day to ensure adequate enrollment, and some even gave referral bonuses to doctors who sent potential subjects their way. Cohen then exposed how Lilly was able to keep costs down: by recruiting homeless alcoholics to serve as research guinea pigs. “In many ways,” Cohen reported, “the practice is mutually beneficial. For Lilly, it is efficient and limits the risk that subjects will sue if harmed by an experiment or divulge particulars of a drug.” And the subjects “get several weeks or months of free room and board, and in interviews they express voluble gratitude for what they often call easy money.”
Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't? The Lundbeck Case of Pentobarbital, the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and Competing Human Rights Responsibilities
Authors: Buhmann Karin
Published: October 2015

In early 2011, news emerged that United States authorities had begun to apply injections of pentobarbital, a substance provided by Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck, when executing capital punishments. Lundbeck reported to be appalled by such unintended usage of pentobarbital, which is licensed for treatment of refractory forms of epilepsy and for usage as an anaesthetic.

The human rights NGOs Reprieve and Amnesty International urged Lundbeck to ensure that pentobarbital was not made available to U.S. authorities for use in capital punishments. Lundbeck argued that complete halting of provision of pentobarbital would be detrimental to patients suffering from conditions of severe epilepsy for whom the substance was developed and intended for treatment for life-threatening epileptic seizures. Lundbeck’s Danish headquarters also argued that controlling the provision of pentobarbital was out of Danish Lundbeck’s hands because the substance is produced at Lundbeck’s plant in the United States. Eventually, after talks with Amnesty International and Reprieve, Lundbeck in July 2011 announced that it would seek to put a stop to using pentobarbital in capital punishment through the introduction of a “drop-ship” program (ensuring that the drug is distributed through one specific channel and buyers are required to sign a statement that the product will not be applied towards capital punishment).
Health Reform and the Preservation of Confidential Health Care for Young Adults
Authors: Slive Lauren , Cramer Ryan
Published: October 2015

A major issue facing the health of both minors and young adults in the United States is the often unintentional lack of confidentiality maintained in the provision of sensitive health services. Studies have shown that access to confidential care is crucial for minors seeking preventive care and treatment for sensitive services. Evidence demonstrates that many minors will not seek health care if confidentiality cannot be ensured, which can have significant negative health implications; this finding can be extended to young adults covered under their parents health plans. Young adults, not just minors, also often forgo important sensitive services when they face a breach of confidentiality, which most likely occurs when their parents have access to the adult child's health information.

Currently, private insurance companies generally send the policyholder an explanation of benefits (EOB) whenever a service is provided under a plan. EOBs generally include information identifying the patient, provider, type of care received, total charge for services, amount paid by the insurance company, and any financial obligation of the policyholder.
Conflicts of Interest, Institutional Corruption, and Pharma: An Agenda for Reform
Authors: Rodwin Marc A.
Published: October 2015

Why do physicians have financial conflicts of interest? They arise because society expects physicians to act in their patients’ interest, while simultaneously, financial incentives encourage physicians to practice medicine in ways that promote their own interests or those of third parties. Because physicians’ clinical choices, referrals, and prescriptions affect the fortune of third parties (providers, medical facilities, insurers, drug firms and suppliers of ancillary services), these third parties may offer physicians financial incentives to make income-driven clinical choices. In the past, physicians and scholars typically conceived of conflicts of interest as an ethical issue to be resolved according to individual judgment or professional and organizational norms. However, society can mitigate or eliminate conflicts of interest by changing financial and organizational arrangements in medicine. Conflicts of interest, therefore, are as much matters of public policy and management as individual choices or social norms.
A Trade Secret Model for Genomic Biobanking
Authors: Conley John M. , Mitchell Robert , Cadigan R. Jean , Davis Arlene M. , Dobson Allison W. , Gladden Ryan Q.
Published: October 2015

The current ethical norms of genomic biobanking creating and maintaining large repositories of human DNA and/or associated data for biomedical research have generated criticism from every angle, at both the practical and theoretical levels. The traditional research model has involved investigators seeking biospecimens for specific purposes that they can describe and disclose to prospective subjects, from whom they can then seek informed consent. In the case of many biobanks, however, the institution that collects and maintains the biospecimens may not itself be directly involved in research, instead banking the biospecimens and associated data for other researchers. Moreover, the future uses of biospecimens may be unknown, if not unknowable, at the time of collection. Biobanking may thus stretch the meanings of inform and consent to their breaking point: if you cannot inform subjects about what their biospecimens will be used for (because you do not know), what can they consent to? Given that informed consent by individual subjects is the ethical gold standard, the seeming dilution of the concept in the context of biobanking is a profound problem.
An Empirical Examination of the Current State of Publically Available Nanotechnology Guidance Materials
Authors: Fleege Laura , Lawrenz Frances
Published: October 2015

Nanotechnology not only offers the promise of new enhancements to existing materials but also allows for the development of new materials and devices. The potential applications of nanotechnology range from medicine to agriculture to health and environmental science and beyond. Nanotechnology is growing at such a rate that Lux Research in 2007 estimated that nanotechnology will be incorporated into 15% of global manufactured goods by 2014. The U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative defines nanotechnology as the following: “(1) Research and technology development involving structures with at least one dimension in the range of 1-100 nanometers (nm), frequently with atomic/molecular precision; (2) Creating and using structures, devices, and systems that have unique properties and functions because of their nanoscale dimensions; (3) The ability to control or manipulate on the atomic scale.” Nanomedicine and its subcategories of nanotherapeutics and in vivo nanodiagnostics incorporate nanoscale materials with unique properties that can enable new or improved treatments and diagnostics for many diseases and disorders.
Global and Euro Imbalances: China and Germany
Authors: Ma Guonan , McCauley Robert N.
Published: October 2015

We analyze global and euro area imbalances by focusing on China and Germany as large surplus and creditor countries. In the 2000s, domestic reforms expanded the effective labor force, restrained wages, shifted income toward profits and increased corporate saving. As a result, the Chinese and German current account surpluses widened, and that of Germany has proven more persistent, with subdued domestic investment. China is an early‐stage creditor, holding a short equity position and a long position in safe debt. Germany's balanced net debt and equity claims mark it as a mature creditor that provides insurance to the rest of the world. China pays to lay off equity risk, while Germany, by contrast, harvests a moderate yield on its net claims. In both economies, the shortfall of the net international investment position from cumulated current account surpluses arises from exchange rate changes, asymmetric valuation gains, and, in Germany's case, credit losses.
Neurological diseases of ruminant livestock in Australia. IV: viral infections
Authors: Kessell AE , Finnie JW , Windsor PA
Published: October 2015

Most viral infections that affect the central nervous system of ruminants are exotic to Australia. As such, this review focuses on viruses of importance in Australian ruminants, including Akabane virus and the ruminant pestiviruses, bovine viral diarrhoea virus and border disease virus, as well as bluetongue virus. Each virus is discussed in terms of pathogenesis, clinical signs and diagnosis.
Quarantine, exports and animal disease in Australia 1901–2010
Authors: Turner AJ
Published: October 2015

The Constitution forming the Australian Commonwealth Government on 1 January 1901 provided that animal and animal products imported into and exported from Australia would be under the authority of the national government. By mutual agreement, the Quarantine Act 1908 provided for the states to continue the delivery of services under contract until 1995 when the Commonwealth took back full responsibility for quarantine services. In the 1940s, 50s and 60s there were world pandemics of livestock diseases and Australia ceased the import of many species. By the 1970s, the livestock industries sought relaxation of import restrictions to gain access to diversified genetic stock. By the use of new technologies, many species can now be imported into Australia through tight importation protocols. With the advent of the World Trade Organization and implementation of the Sanitary Phytosanitary Agreement, Australia has developed a risk‐based framework to support the development of import conditions for animals and animal products. Australia's ‘Acceptable Level of Protection’ has been set to provide a low likelihood of disease entry. Being an island continent, Australia can apply strong controls over imports and exports of all commodities and relatively few outbreaks of exotic animal diseases have occurred by breach of quarantine, but the outbreaks of rinderpest in 1923 and equine influenza in 2007 were notable exceptions.
In this issue – September 2011
Authors: Jackson AE
Published: October 2015

Racing 2‐year‐old Standardbred horses · Review of viral infections affecting the CNS in ruminants · Subacute rumen acidosis in beef cattle · Intralesional amphotericin B for feline sporotrichosis · Market for companion animal veterinary services in Australia · Blood parameters of lace monitors · Development of quarantine services in Australia
Making Learning Visible
Authors: Urrea Claudia , Bender Walter
Published: October 2015

Almost two million children in more than 40 countries around the world have received a One Laptop per Child (OLPC) XO netbook computer. These netbooks represent the commitment of politicians, community leaders, and educators to implement disruptive, large‐scale education reform initiatives that will advance their countries into the 21st century and prepare their children for interconnected, global, creative, and knowledge economies. Expectations for the success of these initiatives are high, and local stakeholders as well as numerous international organizations look to these experiments with cautious optimism. These programs hold the promise to expand the learning and creative potentials of broad populations. As such, arguably, one of the greatest challenges facing these initiatives is designing and implementing mechanisms that help make the outcomes visible, understandable, and actionable by all audiences. In this article, we discuss initiatives being developed by OLPC at different levels of scale: at the meta level to understand impact across nations and learn about the emerging developments in the different programs; at the mezzo level to allow stakeholders to understand the development of the program in their countries and their schools; and at the micro level to help teachers and students understand emerging learning by children over a given period of time. We present some examples of student work to illustrate how some children are making creative contributions to OLPC.

Inspired in the collaboration and work by Project Zero and Reggio Children, this article was given the name “Making Learning Visible.” Beyond the title, the work presented in this article recognizes the child both as an individual and a group learner; recognizes the acts as well as the products of learning; and above all, values the children's reflections and approaches to make their learning visible.
Application of phytochemicals as immunostimulant, antipathogenic and antistress agents in finfish culture
Authors: Chakraborty Suman Bhusan , Hancz Csaba
Published: October 2015

Phytochemicals such as alkaloids, flavonoids, pigments, phenolics, terpenoids, steroids and essential oils are a large group of plant‐derived compounds commonly found in diets high in fruits, vegetables, beans and cereals. Plant remedies are closely linked to the maintenance of good health in the cultural heritage of many countries. Despite the potential benefits to health and performance as noted in various terrestrial animals, the use of phytochemicals in fish farming has rarely been investigated. Fish culture is under pressure to decrease the use of synthetic antibiotics and chemotherapeutics because of the risk caused to humans by chemical residues in food and by antibiotic resistance being passed on to human pathogens. Consequently, efforts are being made to exploit plants, plant extracts or natural plant compounds as potential alternatives to synthetic chemicals for the stimulation of immune responses and disease resistance in fish. The phytochemicals contained in herbs may enhance the innate immune system and possess antimicrobial capabilities that may be of immense use in fish culture without causing any environmental and/or hazardous problems. Most phytochemicals are redox active molecules that have anti‐oxidant characteristics that may improve the general physiological condition of fish. This review discusses the results emanating from different studies related to the in vivo application of plants and/or phytochemicals in fish in relation to immunostimulation, antipathogenic and antistress activities. Special emphasis is given to the use of Chinese and Indian herbs as immunostimulants in different finfish species during culture and as antibacterial agents against Aeromonas hydrophila.
Stress response for disease control in aquaculture
Authors: Sung Yeong Yik , MacRae Thomas H. , Sorgeloos Patrick , Bossier Peter
Published: October 2015

Heat shock proteins (Hsps) are robustly induced by diverse stressors that denature proteins. In addition to stress resistance, Hsps are involved in the folding of nascent proteins, plant and animal development, aging, environmental adaptation and the immune response, demonstrating the fundamental importance of these proteins to cell survival. Heat shock proteins are induced in aquatic organisms by perturbations of temperature and salinity, environmental contaminants, handling, hormones and biotic stressors. Exposure to sublethal stress may enhance tolerance to a subsequent stress, a process termed induced thermotolerance, and provide protection to stressors other than the initial stress, known as cross‐tolerance. In the present review, we briefly describe the established approaches that are used to control disease during aquaculture. This is followed by documentation of Hsp induction after exposure to stressors commonly encountered by aquatic organisms. Induced thermotolerance, cross‐tolerance and immune enhancement by Hsps are also considered. Although physiological stress is known to decrease disease resistance it is now becoming clear that stress‐induced Hsps enhance the tolerance of aquatic organisms to disease. Potential applications for Hsps in the commercial production of fish, crustaceans and molluscs are indicated, an issue of significance when the importance of aquaculture in feeding the world’s population is realized.
Marginal Religious Affiliates in Canada: Little Reason to Expect Increased Church Involvement
Authors: Thiessen Joel
Published: October 2015

Dans cette document, j'utilise les données des entrevues avec vingt et un filiales religieuse au Canada qui assistent aux offices religieux surtout pour des fêtes religieuses et les rites de passage, en demandent pourquoi ils ont cessé de fréquenter sur une base régulière, pourquoi ils continuent à fréquenter une ou deux fois par année, et expriment‐ils tout intérêt à être plus impliqués dans leur groupe religieux, et si oui, quels facteurs pourraient conduire à une implication accrue. Contrairement à Reginald Bibby, et d'autres sources qui expliquent les modèles d'implication aux églises par insistant sur le côté de l'offre du marché religieux, je soutiens que nous devrions nous concentrer d'avantage sur le côté de la demande.
Les acteurs sociaux et la modélisation phénoménologique1
Authors: Laflamme Simon
Published: October 2015

L'approche phénoménologique détient un quasi monopole en sciences sociales pour ce qui est des analyses de l'acteur social et de sa subjectivité. Pourtant, l'appareil conceptuel qui lui est associé est très restrictif. L'être humain doit être compris comme rationnel, conscient, intentionnel, autonome, et, de surcroît, il est entendu que cet être n'agit qu'en fonction de son intérêt. Pour cette raison, une importante dimension de l'activité humaine ne peut pas être prise en considération : tout ce qui échappe à ces catégories analytiques (le non‐rationnel, le non‐conscient, etc.). Plus encore, cette approche ne peut pas vraiment s'ouvrir vers une analyse relationnelle à moins que la relation soit étudiée entre des individus prédéfinis par son appareil conceptuel. Ce défaut de complexité rend difficile la création de liens entre la phénoménologie et l'analyse systémique dans laquelle la relation (et ses dérivés comme la récursivité, la dialectique, la corrélation) joue un rôle essentiel. Cet article entend proposer une voie par laquelle les analyses systémiques pourraient se donner accès à l'individu sans transiter par la phénoménologie.
The Continuities of an East German Heimat: Gender and Technological Progress in Du bist min. Ein deutsches Tagebuch.
Authors: Fritzsche Sonja
Published: October 2015

East Germany adopted past notions of German Heimat and rearticulated them to fit the contemporary political situation. Annalie and Andrew Thorndike's 70mm film Du bist min (1969) reconciles the tension between a traditional, timeless notion of German Heimat and the ideologically driven, future‐oriented communist vision. However, it ultimately fails to question adopted patriarchal continuities with the past. Instead, the film's personal narrative serves more as the authentic objective voice of a disembodied woman who is placed outside of history, and retains the comfort of home and the beauty of nature found in past conceptions of German Heimat. The women remain in rural or small town settings, and work in traditional, non‐mechanized industries. At the same time, the new socialist Heimat of the future remains masculine in both the film's content and form.
Transmigratory Buddhism and travelling feminisms: globalisation and cross‐cultural difference1
Authors: Hannah Michelle
Published: October 2015

Recent global linkages have brought about increased cross‐cultural encounters between diverse Buddhist groups. While this often results in rich, rewarding relationships, it has also resulted in cross‐cultural tensions. This article examines disputes that arose between diverse groups of Buddhists during international Buddhist conferences about proposals to introduce full ordination for Tibetan Buddhist nuns. I argue that this debate and conflict is largely the result of globalisation and the resultant interactions between indigenous Buddhists and western converts and, in turn, western moral discourses and feminisms.
Aspects of the semantics of emotions and feelings in Dalabon (South‐Western Arnhem Land, Australia)
Authors: Ponsonnet Maïa
Published: October 2015

This article describes two of the principal roots allowing the expression of emotions and feelings in Dalabon, an endangered language of South‐Western Arnhem Land. The first root, kangu, ‘belly’, is depicted linguistically as the location of emotions induced by interpersonal relationships. The belly is thus presented as the locus of good and bad moods generally and of conflict more specifically. Furthermore, the material properties of the belly—its fluidity in particular—impact on one’s temper and ability to deal with others in an ideologically prescribed manner. Speakers describe ritual manipulations undertaken on the belly of young infants in order to shape their temper. Kangu‐no may thus be described as a malleable interface between the person and the outside world, principally other people. The second root, yolh, may at first sight translate as ‘feelings’, either good or bad, but also means ‘appetite’, ‘drive’, ‘pep’. Yolh‐no is associated with the most intimate part of the person, one’s own aspirations that are independent of interactions with others. Although yolh‐no connotes the core self and kangu‐no, the belly, connotes relatedness to others, they are conceived as physiologically connected, so that material properties of the belly impact on the self. Thus, the semantic analysis of Dalabon, along with related anthropological observations, unveils an explicit conceptual and cultural attention to the distinction between emotions and feelings (as respectively defined in the article) and to the autonomy of the person within a constraining social framework. The article shows how this concern echoes and challenges both anthropological and philosophical considerations.
Firm Size and National Profiles of IFRS Policy Choice
Authors: Nobes Christopher , Perramon Jordi
Published: October 2015

Previous research on the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) policy choices of large listed companies found a very strong association between policy choice and country. Nationally based pre‐IFRS practices largely explain IFRS policy choices. Nevertheless, some of the policy choices appear to be influenced from abroad, perhaps chosen in order to increase comparability. It has been suggested that smaller companies might be less influenced from abroad, and therefore might display even clearer national profiles of IFRS practice. This paper examines the accounting policy choices made within IFRS financial statements by small listed companies in five major countries. We find highly significant differences between the policies of small and large companies. We also find that small companies make more homogeneous choices, within a country, than large companies do. As a result, the previously published national profiles of the IFRS practices of large companies are misleading in the context of smaller ones.
Social Exclusion and Subjectivity: Youth Expressions in Latin America
Authors: Saraví Gonzalo A. , Makowski Sara
Published: October 2015

El propósito de este artículo es explorar las dimensiones y expresiones subjetivas de la exclusión social. Su principal objetivo es ofrecer nuevas perspectivas sobre las consecuencias de la desafiliación, el abandono y la precariedad social sobre la subjetividad de quienes viven en dichos contextos. El análisis está basado en las voces y prácticas cotidianas de dos grupos de jóvenes en situaciones paradigmáticas de exclusión en dos contextos urbanos de América Latina: “jóvenes de la esquina” en Buenos Aires y “jóvenes de la calle” en la Ciudad de México.
Listing BRICs: Stock Issuers from Brazil, Russia, India, and China in New York, London, and Luxembourg
Authors: Wójcik Dariusz , Burger Csaba
Published: October 2015

abstract

In the past decade, hundreds of companies from emerging markets have listed their shares on American and European stock markets. Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) are the main countries of origin of issuers, and stock exchanges in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Luxembourg are the main destinations involved in the process. We use a comprehensive data set for these home and host markets for the end of 2008 to explore the intensity of foreign listings, the subnational geography of cross‐listed firms, and the destinations of foreign listings. Cross‐listing firms tend to be relatively large and come from capital‐intensive, export‐oriented, and high‐growth sectors. Trading links with and industrial specialization of the host markets affect the choice of destination markets. These patterns, however, are not universal across countries. There is a high concentration of cross‐listed firms in the leading financial centers of the BRIC countries, particularly in Russia and Brazil. Firms outside of the leading centers rarely cross‐list, and when they do, they enter second‐tier host markets. While BRIC countries have a large potential for further foreign listings, the process remains politically sensitive. Our results highlight the shortcomings of the literature on cross‐listing in economics and the significance of the cross‐listing phenomenon to future research in financial geographies.
Environmental Taxation and Development: A Scoping Study
Authors: Spratt Stephen
Published: October 2015

Developing countries face increasing environmental pressures across a range of dimensions. At the same time, the capacity of these governments to effectively pursue policy goals is often constrained by a lack of resources, with tax revenues in many countries being half of what is common in developed economies. For some, these are distinct issues that should be considered separately. For others, they can and should be dealt with together. This paper reviews the potential of one type of mechanism to address both goals simultaneously: environmental taxation.

After distinguishing between different forms, the paper uses a Pigouvian framework to organise and analyse theoretical and empirical evidence on the impacts of environmental taxes in developing countries. Despite limited evidence it is possible to draw some conclusions. First, taxes that are carefully designed and reflect local conditions can be effective in achieving environmental goals, and may be the best instruments under some conditions. Second, while it is possible to raise significant revenues, there may be less potential than is often supposed: environmental goals are more likely to be achieved where tax revenues are used, in part, to further the same ends; it may also be necessary – and desirable – to use some revenue to offset regressive effects; also, support for environmental taxes is likely to be undermined if they are seen to be revenue raising tools. More broadly, limits to the effectiveness of environmental taxes become more severe as the number of policy goals increases: achieving ‘double‐dividends’ may be hard, and ‘triple‐dividends’ harder still. A more realistic aim, therefore, may be a ‘one and a half’ dividend approach, with the environmental goal being the primary focus. Third, regardless of the quality of design, environmental taxes may fail without strong, high‐level political support, particularly where they conflict with other policy goals that do have this support.

In the light of this analysis, the penultimate section of the paper develops a decision‐making framework, designed to help policy‐makers weigh the merits of environmental taxes to achieve specified goals. The paper concludes with a comprehensive research agenda.
A Tale of Two Stories: Sustainability and the Quarterly Earnings Call
Authors: Eccles Robert G. , Serafeim George
Published: October 2015

One of the challenges companies claim to face in making sustainability a core part of their strategy and operations is that the market does not care about sustainability, either in general or because the time frames in which it matters are too long. The response of investors who say they care about sustainability—and their numbers are large and growing—is that companies do a poor job in providing them with the information they need to take sustainability into account in their investment decisions. Whatever the merits of each view, the fact remains that an effective conversation about sustainability requires the participation of both sides of the market.

There are two main mechanisms for companies to communicate to the market as a way of starting this conversation: mandated reporting and quarterly conference calls. In this paper, the authors argue that neither companies nor investors can be seen as taking sustainability seriously unless it is integrated into the quarterly earnings call. Until that happens, the core business and sustainability are two separate worlds, each of which has its own narrator telling a different story to a different audience.

The authors illustrate their argument using the case of SAP, the German software company. SAP was the first company to host an “ESG Investor Briefing,” a conference call for analysts and investors held on July 30, 2013 in which the company discussed both its sustainability performance and its contribution to the firm's financial performance. The narrative of this call was very similar to the narrative of the company's first “integrated report,” which was issued in 2012 and presented the company's sustainability initiatives in the context of its operating and financial performance. Nevertheless, the content and main focus of the “ESG Briefing” were very different from that of most quarterly earnings conferences, and so were the audiences. Whereas the quarterly call was attended mainly by sell side analysts—and the words “sustainability” or “sustainable” failed to receive a single mention—the ESG briefing was delivered to an investor audience made up almost entirely of the “buy side.”
Corporate Disclosure of Material Information: The Evolution—and the Need to Evolve Again
Authors: Rogers Jean , Herz Robert
Published: October 2015

This article by the former chairman of the FASB and the founder and executive director of the new Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) presents the rationale for and mission of the SASB. As the authors point out, both the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was created in 1934, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board, set up in 1973, emerged during times of low investor confidence to restore trust in the capital markets. And the institutional changes brought about by the creation of both the SEC and the FASB succeeded in eliciting new information for investors and in raising the standards by which such information was reported.

But as the authors go on to argue, we now live in a different world, one in which the management of environmental, social, and governance issues is increasingly viewed as critical to the long‐run value creation of companies. And because today's corporate reporting fails to account in a systematic way for material non‐financial issues, it's time once again for the capital markets to evolve. The SASB aims to meet this need by creating sustainability accounting standards for use by public companies in disclosing a minimum set of material sustainability impacts for companies in over 80 different industries. As part of a natural evolution in disclosure, the SASB aims to achieve the same goal the SEC and FASB started with: to protect investors and the public.
Reforming Banks Without Destroying Their Productivity and Value
Authors: Calomiris Charles W.
Published: October 2015

Government‐protected banking systems tend to blow up, imposing huge losses on taxpayers. In a recent much‐publicized book, The Bankers' New Clothes, Anat Admati and Martin Hellwig propose to fix this problem by forcing banks to maintain 25% of their assets in the form of equity rather than debt. But this author argues, the book overstates the benefits and understates the costs of the proposed reform, while also failing to identify additional necessary reforms.

Because bank equity is not true equity, and equity must be evaluated only in relation to risk, increasing required book equity ratios will not necessarily reduce the risk of bank failure significantly.

Raising equity requirements is also socially costly because it reduces banks' willingness to lend. When banks need to raise their equity‐to‐asset ratios, they often choose to do so by cutting back on new loans, rather than paying the high costs of raising new equity. The reduction in loan supply that comes from raising equity ratios can be substantial, and is not just a one‐time cost. Balancing the costs and benefits of higher equity implies a much lower required equity ratio than the 25% posited in The Bankers' New Clothes.

Finally, because equity ratios relative to risk should be the focus of prudential regulation, additional regulatory policy reforms that strengthen incentives for more effective risk management are needed in addition to higher capital ratios.