Author Webpage More than fifty years after it all began, regional integration in Europe has developed into a complex system, with no precedent in history and no rival in other parts of the contemporary world. Old and new nation‐states in Europe have joined in: some still anxiously waiting in the antechamber and only a very few willingly staying out (for how long?). Successive rounds of deepening and widening, meaning in plain English that regional integration becomes ever closer and also extends into new areas of policy while membership continues to grow, constitute the best proof of success. The European Union is very much alive and delivering the goods, perhaps against the odds and contrary to all kinds of doomsday scenarios. Unlike empires in the past, European integration is centred on democratic systems and the principle of free association. No country has been forced to join or stay against the collective will of its citizens. It must therefore be judged as satisfying real needs, at least for a sufficient number of people, in government, among interest groups, or among simple citizens who have been ready to lend it their active or passive support.
Kenneth M. Anderson, Aaron Andersen, Neet Wadhwani, Laura M. Bartolo
The Metis project is developing workflow technology designed for use in digital libraries by avoiding the assumptions made by traditional workflow systems. In particular, digital libraries have highly distributed sets of stake-holders who nevertheless must work together to perform shared activities. Hence, traditional assumptions that all members of a workflow belong to the same organization, work in the same fashion, or have access to similar computing platforms are invalid. The Metis approach makes use of event-based workflows to support the distributed nature of digital library workflow and employs techniques to make the resulting technology lightweight, flexible, and integrated with the Web. This paper describes the conceptual framework behind the Metis approach as well as a prototype which implements the framework. The prototype represents a proof-of-concept of the Metis framework and approach as we show how it can both model and execute a peer review workflow drawn from a real-world digital library. After describing related work, the paper concludes with a discussion of future research opportunities in the area of digital library workflow and outlines how Metis is being deployed to a small set of digital libraries for additional evaluation.
The past years have seen a decentralization of R&D to local markets and centres‐of‐excellence. Supported by modern information and communication technologies, ‘virtual project teams’ were formed to facilitate transnational innovation processes. With their boundaries expanding and shrinking flexibly with changing project necessities, virtual teams are believed to be an important element in future R&D organization. Based on 204 interviews with R&D directors and project managers in 37 technology‐intensive multinational companies we identify four distinct forms of virtual team organizations used to execute R&D projects across multiple locations. Ordered by increasing degree of central project coordination, these four team concepts are based on: (1) decentralized self‐organization, (2) a system integrator as a coordinator, (3) a core team as a system architect, and (4) a centralized venture team. Our contingency approach for organizing a transnational R&D project is based on four principal determinants: (1) the type of innovation (radical/incremental), (2) the systemic nature of the project (systemic/autonomous), (3) the mode of knowledge involved (tacit/explicit), and (4) the degree of resource bundling (complementary/redundant). According to our analysis, the success of virtual teams depends on the appropriate consideration of these determinants.
Nicaragua has embarked on a reform of the way in which publicly provided medical care is organized and financed. A principal feature of the reforms includes a decentralization of decision-making authority coupled with an increase in local accountability. Local decision-making authority has been increased by allowing managers more freedom to allocate inputs. Accountability has been strengthened by stipulating what is expected of hospitals and health centres in the form of performance agreements, and tying rewards (i.e. bonuses) to the satisfaction of these requirements provides incentives. This paper provides a critical assessment of these reforms, and presents some early evidence of their effects.
Abstract We study optimal financial contracting for centralized and decentralized firms. Under centralized contracting, headquarters raises funds on behalf of multiple projects. Under decentralized contracting, each project raises funds separately on the external capital market. The benefit of centralization is that headquarters can use excess liquidity from high cash‐flow projects to buy continuation rights for low cash‐flow projects. The cost is that headquarters may pool cash flows from several projects and self‐finance follow‐up investments without having to return to the capital market. Absent any capital market discipline, it is more difficult to force headquarters to make repayments, which tightens financing constraints ex ante. Cross‐sectionally, our model implies that conglomerates should have a lower average productivity than stand‐alone firms.
In his ambitious new book, William Fischel, a Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, gives us a new political animal: "The Homevoter." The homevoter is simply a homeowner who votes (p. ix). According to Fischel, she is the key to understanding the political economy of American local government. By implication, she is the key to understanding state and national government as well. Homeowners warrant special attention because "residents who own their own homes have a stake in the outcome of local politics that make them especially attentive to the public policies of local government" (p. ix). That is because local decisions - about how much to spend on schools or trash pick-up, for instance - directly affect home values in ways that most state or national decisions do not. The "homevoter hypothesis" is deceptively straightforward: decentralized, local governments provide a desirable balance of taxes and government services because the homevoter seeks to maintain or increase the value of her single largest asset - the family home (pp. 4-6). The homevoter explains why local governments "work better at providing local services than do larger-area governments" (p. x). This plausible sounding thesis has its roots deep in the decentralizing tradition of public finance theory. The idea that multiple local governments provide government services more efficiently than does a centralized government originated with Charles Tiebout's seminal article, A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures. Tiebout's solution to the problem of how to ensure the proper level of expenditures on public goods was to posit a market in public services. In his model, multiple local governments offer distinctive tax and spending packages, and "consumer-voters" choose to reside in jurisdictions that best fit their preferences, exiting those jurisdictions that do not. The notion that consumers of public goods "vote with their feet" by choosing where to live has become something of an economic maxim.
Education reform is a long-term project, Mr. Levin and Mr. Wiens argue, and the Manitoba Education Agenda for Student Success will not meet the immediate political need to demonstrate bold action. However, by focusing on teaching and learning, respecting all participants, building capacity, and making use of research, it just might achieve the goals we want for all our children. FOR THE LAST 20 years, governments across North America and around the world have been concerned with improving the outcomes of schooling. The pressure to make changes in schools is fueled by national and international test comparisons and driven by the belief that economic competitiveness rests increasingly on people's skills and knowledge. The specifics of education reform vary from setting to setting, shaped by particularities of history, culture, political structures, demography, and other factors. Nonetheless, some common elements are evident across the English-speaking industrialized countries.1 The main strategies have included: * greater specification of curriculum standards and outcomes, with more focus on reading, writing, mathematics, science, and technology; * more assessment of student outcomes and public reporting of the results on a school-by-school basis; * greater opportunity for parents and students to choose the school the student attends; * more pressure on teachers through measures that control their work, limit their pay, test their competence, and so on; * altered finance structures to reward schools that are able to increase academic results or attract more students or both; and * within these policy frames, greater decentralization of managerial responsibility to individual schools. Kappan readers will be familiar with many examples. In the U.S., reforms in Chicago, Kentucky, North Carolina, Texas, and California have been the subject of much discussion, but every state has had some kind of major reform program, and some states have had several different reform programs over the last 10 years. Countries such as England and New Zealand as well as some of the Australian states have gone through some dramatic changes. In Canada, reforms have been particularly extensive in provinces such as Ontario and Alberta. All this reform has produced a great deal of upheaval and much controversy. Many speeches have been made, much improvement has been promised, lots of money has been spent, and many educators have felt disheartened. The results in terms of increased student achievement have been generally disappointing. In reviewing five large-scale change efforts, Ken Leithwood, Doris Jantzi, and Blair Mascall concluded: Most large-scale reforms have not produced gains [in student achievement], however. . . . Furthermore, where data were available on other types of student-related outcomes across the five cases, results were negative. None of the . . . cases of large-scale reform demonstrated evidence of increasing graduation rates, college attendance, or student retention.2 Why have the results of so many reforms been so disappointing? The answer is no great mystery. Reforms have not worked because they have not focused on the things that we know can affect student performance in schools.3 To put it bluntly, improved student outcomes result from appropriate changes in classroom and school practices that are widely accepted and implemented by teachers, seen as meaningful by students, and supported by parents and communities. We have in recent years been learning more and more about each of the elements of this definition. There is growing - though far from complete - agreement on approaches to teaching that are more and less effective. In areas such as reading, writing, mathematics, science, and citizenship we have increasing evidence on the kinds of instructional practices that are most likely to improve students' skills and commitment. …
In the last two decades, educational policy makers and educational leaders have reemphasized the importance of decentralization in education and its critical role in democratization of education and society. Leading scholars in the field state that educational decentralization is a complex process that deals with different dimensions of educational reform efforts and changes about policy making, finance, curriculum and administration of local schools in education. The purpose of this study was to examine the literature concerning decentralization and democratization efforts in education to provide a brief guidelines for government officials, educational policy makers and those who are intended to lead Turkish education and public schools for the twenty first century.
In Antiguo régimen y liberalismo, Gabriela Tío Vallejo details the political history of Tucumán as it made the transition from colony to liberal provincial capital. Vallejo focuses on Tucumán’s cabildo and elections; she makes extensive use of census materials and a variety of other primary and secondary sources.In the first section, Vallejo sets the stage for the end of the colonial period by describing the type of society present in Tucumán, as well as the political institutions that supposedly carried out the crown’s wishes in that region. The most important political and social group was the vecinos—merchants and hacendados— which is not unusual in an area far from the Spanish centers of power. The vecinos occupied the important positions within the cabildo, and through their work represented all tucumanos.Politically, the two most important institutions within colonial society in Tucumán were the cabildo and the intendant system, instituted after 1796 as part of the Bourbon reforms. Tucumán did not have a governor or a corregidor. The cabildo’s members were elected by the urban vecinos, who thus wielded extraordinary authority and power over the political life of the city. Furthermore, in the case of Tucumán the powers of the creoles relative to the peninsulares increased with the intendant system and the Bourbon reforms. The most important creole families in Tucumán became even more powerful after the changes instituted after 1796. Vallejo argues that the Bourbon reforms did not bring about absolutism in Tucumán as they did elsewhere in Latin America. In fact, they did the exact opposite; they further decentralized political power and increased Tucumán’s autonomy vis-à-vis the crown.In the second half of the book, Vallejo discusses the impact of revolution and war on politics and the political process in Tucumán. She argues that war, which lasted from 1808 until 1819, caused only limited change in the city and that there was no political change. She observes that the cabildo changed with the times, forming ties that eventually enabled it to transform itself into a more autonomous institution. Additionally, indirect community participation increased in the post-independence period, though it had antecedents in the colonial regime.By the 1820s, Tucumán had its hands full dealing with provinces along its borders. Neighboring provinces often acted as foreign countries, and bandits roamed the frontier areas between provinces, usually supported by provincial governments on one side or the other. Military uprisings and liberalized electoral laws transformed politics in the city. Vallejo argues that during this period political leaders in Tucumán implemented liberal practices and principles that had evolved from traditional forms.Nonetheless, Vallejo contends that the organization of the provincial state suffered from two problems in the 1820s: terrible economic crises and the new reluctance of the vecinos to participate in politics. These problems had a direct bearing on the survival of the cabildo. Very few vecinos were willing to accept a political office that provided few benefits and in some cases could be dangerous. They thus became apathetic about the political process, evidenced by their poor participation in elections during this period. Furthermore, the institution that replaced the cabildo in the 1820s, the Sala de Representantes, did so only after the cabildo ceased to function as a political power precisely because its members, the vecinos, refused to hold political posts that could endanger their political and economic interests within the community.Vallejo’s point about the decentralizing effects of the Bourbon reforms is an innovative one that broadens our understanding of these reforms and suggests that we ought to revisit their local implications on a case-by-case basis. However, she offers fewer original insights about the postindependence period. Additionally, the book’s overly lengthy chapters make it difficult for a reader to follow Vallejo’s main arguments and conclusions. Nonetheless, this study provides a wealth of information about the political development and transformation of a city in a lesser-known and -studied region of Latin America.
Prof. Dr. Mehmet ŞİŞMAN, Doç. Dr. Selahattin TURAN
In the last two decades, educational policy makers and educational leaders have reemphasized the importance of decentralization in education and its critical role in democratization of education and society. Leading scholars in the field state that educational decentralization is a complex process that deals with different dimensions of educational reform efforts and changes about policy making, finance, curriculum and administration of local schools in education. The purpose of this study was to examine the literature concerning decentralization and democratization efforts in education to provide a brief guidelines for government officials, educational policy makers and those who are intended to lead Turkish education and public schools for the twenty first century.
States and municipalities have privatized services in an effort to improve their cost‐effectiveness and quality. Competition provides the logical foundation for an expectation of cost savings and quality improvements, but competition does not exist in many local marketplaces—especially in the social services, where governments contract primarily with nonprofit organizations. As government increases its use of contracting, it simultaneously reduces its own public‐management capacity, imperiling its ability to be a smart buyer of contracted goods and services. This article examines two questions about the privatization of social services based on interviews conducted with public and nonprofit managers in New York state: Does social services contracting exist in a competitive environment? And do county governments have enough public‐management capacity to contract effectively for social services? The findings suggest an absence of competition and public‐management capacity, raising the question of why governments contract when these conditions are not met.
After completing this article, readers should be able to: Although there have been major reductions in the number of children and adolescents dying from injuries in the United States over the last 2 decades, trauma remains the most important cause of serious morbidity and mortality in the pediatric age group beyond infancy. Pediatricians play a central role in reducing the toll from injuries, a role that stretches beyond their office and into the community. In this article, we review the current magnitude of the problem and discuss prevention for some of the most important injuries to children and adolescents.The injury control model is based on the concept that the overall burden of trauma can be reduced through the primary prevention of injuries, optimal acute care of the injured patient, and rehabilitation to regain as much preinjury functioning as possible. The focus of this review is primary prevention, but the other components of injury control are within the purview of pediatricians and should not be ignored (Fig. 1).The injury control community has shifted away from use of the term “accident” to use of the term “injury.” More than just a semantic difference, this represents a shift in thinking from the idea that “accidents” are, for the most part, random, unpredictable, and nonpreventable events to the approach that “injuries” are preventable and to some degree predictable. It also focuses attention on the damage to the individual and the methods of controlling this damage through primary prevention, acute care, and rehabilitation. In addition, this conceptual shift allows similar approaches to control of intentional injuries (ie, assaults and self-inflicted injuries) and unintentional injuries (ie, “accidents”) that employ the same tools.In 1998, more than 18,000 children and adolescents in the United States died from injuries (Table 1). Two thirds of these injuries were unintentional, with motor vehicle injuries accounting for the single greatest cause of death. The cause of injury death varies with age. Drowning and fire and burn injuries exact the greatest toll in younger children; intentional injuries are primarily a problem in older adolescents. Motor vehicle occupant injuries are a leading cause of trauma death at all ages, but the number of deaths increases dramatically in the later teen years as adolescents become drivers and ride with other teen drivers.Although death is the most serious outcome from trauma, there are an estimated 18 injury hospitalizations and 200 injury-related emergency department (ED) visits for each child injury death. Among children younger than 21 years of age, there are more than 500,000 hospital admissions for injuries annually. More than 10 million injured children and adolescents are treated each year in hospital EDs. Falls represent the most common injury leading to ED care for children younger than age 15 years; being struck by or against something and motor vehicle injuries are the most common sources of ED trauma visits for teens ages 15 to 19 years.Prevention of motor vehicle injuries must be approached from a developmental perspective because the reasons for injury occurrence and the prevention strategies vary substantially across the pediatric age spectrum. Many of the strategies are well known and are not reviewed here; rather, we concentrate on newer problems and strategies.Pediatricians have been at the forefront of occupant protection for infants and toddlers. All 50 states have laws mandating the use of child restraint devices for infants traveling in motor vehicles; many state laws also cover toddlers and children up to 3 years of age. When children graduate from child car seats, they commonly are placed in adult seat belts or travel unrestrained. Only about one fifth of 4- and 5-year-old children are reported always to be restrained in a child-specific device. Some children place the shoulder belt of adult restraint systems behind them because it comes high across the neck or even the face. Others slouch forward in the seat to allow the knees to bend over the edge of the seat, which causes the lap belt to ride up on the abdomen instead of being anchored on the bony pelvis.There are clear hazards to young children using adult restraint systems. Seat belt-related injuries commonly consist of perforation and deserosalization injuries of the intestine and flexion-distraction injuries of the lumbar spine, with potential for cord damage (Fig. 2). In addition, there is an increased risk of head injuries from striking the interior parts of the car. These injuries are due to the lap belt riding up onto the abdomen instead of being anchored on the pelvis and lack of adequate restraint of the torso in a crash.Seat belt-related injuries can be prevented through the use of booster seats, which are perhaps better labeled “belt-positioning devices.” These relatively inexpensive seats raise the child up to allow proper use of the shoulder harness and provide an “artificial pelvis” to serve as the anchor points for the lap belt. Available data indicate that they can reduce the risk of injury substantially among children in the 4- to 8-year age group. Educational programs can increase use because most parents are unaware of the proper age for graduation of children to adult restraint systems (Table 2). A successful program in Seattle doubled booster seat use within 1 year. The impact of educational programs can be enhanced through legislation mandating use. Washington was the first state to pass such legislation, and other states, including Arkansas and California, have followed. Up-to-date information on choosing the correct car seats for children is available from the American Academy of Pediatrics (Table 3).Ample data indicate that the rear seat is safer than the front seat for both children and adults. One study of children younger than age 15 years found that the risk of serious or fatal injury in a crash was 27% lower for children in the rear seat compared with those sitting in the front seat. In addition, studies conducted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and others indicate that airbags increase the risk of death for children younger than age 13 years who are seated in the front seat. Front airbags appear to offer little protection to children in a crash, but present a risk of serious or fatal injury from airbag deployment. The safest place for children clearly is in the rear seat, properly restrained for their age and size. Educational and legislative interventions to increase the number of children traveling in the rear have been successful.Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of injury death among teens in the United States. About 50% of teens who die in motor vehicle crashes are passengers; about 60% of those who die are riding with a teen driver. The risk of motor vehicle crashes is highest among teen drivers and higher among males than females. A 16-year-old teen driver is seven times more likely to crash per mile driven than is a 25- to 29-year-old driver. Research over the last decade has revealed a number of important risk factors for this increased likelihood to crash as well as some effective countermeasures.The number of passengers traveling with teen drivers appears to have a clear influence on the risk of crash. The risk of death among 17-year-old drivers is 50% greater driving with one passenger compared with driving alone; this risk is 2.6-fold higher with two passengers and threefold higher with three or more passengers. The risk is increased further if the passengers are younger than 30 years of age. Dangerous driving behaviors, such as speeding, swerving, running a red light, and drinking while driving, are more common if peers are in the car.Nighttime crashes account for more than one third of teen motor vehicle fatalities. Teens are five- to tenfold more likely to be in a fatal crash driving at night compared with driving during the day. The difficulty of driving at night combined with the inexperience of teen drivers is a deadly combination.Driving after drinking increases the risk of a crash at all ages, but especially for teens. Studies show that the threshold for impairment of driving skills is far below the 0.1 g/dL blood alcohol level commonly defined as intoxication. Recognizing this, all states have now adopted a “zero tolerance” policy for alcohol use among teen drivers. As a result of these and other policies, alcohol-involved fatal crashes among teens have decreased by 61% over the last 2 decades to a low of 21% of fatal crashes in 1998.One strategy for addressing the risks of teen driving is a program of graduated driver licensing (GDL). GDL is based on the premise that driving is a skill that must be practiced, and the time of practice for new drivers should occur under the safest possible conditions. In the past 4 years, 34 states and the District of Columbia have implemented GDL systems. To be effective, at least three stages in GDL are necessary: a beginner stage that has maximum restrictions to ensure safe learning, an intermediate stage that has restrictions on passengers and nighttime driving, and a final stage of unrestricted licensing. A teen moves through the stages only when skills have been demonstrated without citations or crashes and there has been sufficient time for practice. Recent studies from North Carolina and Michigan indicate that fatal crashes among 16-year-old drivers declined by 57% and 25%, respectively, following the institution of GDL. Not surprisingly, GDL laws are widely supported by most parents.High school driver education is a rite of passage for most teens in the United States. A recent evaluation of high school driver education, however, found no good evidence that teens who complete these courses have fewer crashes or violations than those who do not. No differences were found in the short or long term. Additionally, there may be a hidden risk in these programs if state law allows teens who take driver education to be fully licensed at an earlier age. If more young drivers are on the road without a demonstrable increase in driver safety, the net effect may be an increase in motor vehicle deaths.Approximately 250,000 people are hospitalized each year in the United States for traumatic brain injury (TBI), and about 50,000 die. TBI accounts for 70% to 80% of trauma deaths in children, with a particularly high risk among adolescent males. Many survivors have lifelong disability. The most common cause of TBI among children is motor vehicle crashes. Strategies to reduce motor vehicle occupant injury, described previously, are crucial in the prevention of childhood TBI. However, recreational injuries are another important cause of TBI that are amenable to injury control efforts.Bicycles are ubiquitous in childhood; unfortunately, many children do not practice proper riding habits or wear bicycle helmets. Consequently, 30% of bicycle deaths occur in the 5- to 14-year-old age group. Although 90% of these deaths involve collision with a motor vehicle, most nonfatal head injuries are the result of a simple fall. More than 100,000 child cyclists suffer nonfatal head or facial injuries each year, with 20% sustaining a traumatic brain injury.Studies of helmet effectiveness reveal that helmets decrease the risk of bicycle-related TBI by 70% to 88%. They also appear to decrease the risk of injury to the mid- and upper face by 65%. Helmets are effective at all ages and appear to provide benefit whether the crash is a result of a fall or collision with a motor vehicle. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) now sets standards for all helmets sold in the United States. Safe helmets can be purchased for less than $20. Community-based programs have been effective in increasing the use of helmets by children. These programs are most effective when they involve multiple venues for the message, when physicians are involved, and when legislation requires children to be helmeted.Parents play a key role in bicycle safety for children. Studies by various groups indicate that most children wear helmets if their parents or accompanying adults are helmeted; fewer than one third of children are helmeted if the accompanying adult fails to wear a helmet. Inculcating the need for wearing a helmet from the first time children ride is the best way to ensure helmet use throughout childhood. Just as young children should not cross streets by themselves, parents need to choose safe areas for young children to bicycle that are away from traffic. Most severe bicycle injuries occur in bicycle-motor vehicle collisions. Parents should limit riding by adolescents who refuse to wear helmets.Head injuries are common in other sports, including skiing, snowboarding, horseback riding, and skateboarding. Although case-control studies have not examined helmet effectiveness for these sports, as they have for bicycling, the overwhelming evidence from studies of bicycle helmets and the availability of helmets for these other sports at a reasonable price strongly argue for their use.Nearly all fire and burn-related deaths to children and adolescents in the United States are due to residential fires. Most of these deaths occur at the scene and are due to smoke inhalation. Those at greatest risk are children younger than age 5 years and the elderly. Counseling to prevent residential fires might include advice to quit smoking (or to keep matches and smoking materials securely stored) and to maintain and use space heaters or other electrical devices properly. Unfortunately, the benefit of such counseling is unproven.Smoke detectors are designed as early warning devices to alert residents that a fire has started so they can vacate the premises and call the fire department. Smoke detectors appear to decrease the risk of fatality in a house fire by 60% to 70%. The prevalence of smoke detectors in the United States varies from 79% in Hawaii to 99% in Maryland. Homes that are most likely to require protection (older dwellings in deprived areas) are least likely to have working smoke detectors.One barrier to smoke detector effectiveness is homeowners taking out the batteries because of frequent false alarms. Among smoke detectors that failed to alarm in a house fire, 59% had been disconnected from their power source, most commonly because of nuisance alarms. One approach to reducing false alarms is to employ photoelectric rather than ionization smoke detectors. Photoelectric detectors have a far lower false alarm rate and are more sensitive to smoldering fires. Unfortunately, most smoke detectors in current use are ionization detectors, in part because they are about half the price.Counseling in physician offices may increase smoke detector ownership and use. Pediatricians can remind families to replace detector batteries every 6 months and to consider obtaining photoelectric detectors if nuisance alarms are a problem. A more practical approach may be to ask public health nurses or other home health visitors to provide information about proper smoke detector installation and use, along with access to low-cost safety equipment. Families also can be encouraged to develop and practice a fire escape plan for their home.Scald injuries are the most common burns in children younger than 4 years of age. Children may be burned when they pull hot liquids onto themselves from a stove, counter, or table. Children have thinner skin than adults and suffer deeper injuries when exposed to the same amount of thermal energy. In addition, a given volume of hot liquid burns a larger proportion of a child’s skin surface than an adult’s. Families can be reminded to use the rear burner on the stovetop, to turn pot handles away from exploring hands, and to keep hot liquids at least 10 in from the table’s edge.Tap water scalds can occur while bathing or washing with inadequate supervision. Although parents always should supervise bathing, simple adjustments to the water heater may be a more effective countermeasure to prevent these scald injuries. Tap water at 160°F (40.7°C) can produce a full-thickness scald burn in less than 1 second. At 120°F (48.4°C), many minutes of exposure are required to produce the same degree of injury. Although many new water heaters are factory-set to maintain a lower water temperature, most families are not served by new water heaters. Parents should be encouraged to test the temperature of their hot water, adjust the water heater as required, and retest the temperature. A water temperature of 120°F (48.4°C) reduces the risk of unintentional tap water scalds, saves energy and energy and not the of most Pediatricians may need to for this on of families in injuries to children are because of their high fatality The outcome for most children who is by their on at the and care care appear to have relatively little impact on in morbidity and mortality must from primary strategies to prevent are are as a to children safer water and decrease the risk of death. Some have implemented for young children. high in Hawaii have implemented a program that requires to complete a The in this allows for energy while No however, have the effect of One study demonstrated that and safety skills of children were through this into an in during a is are the most important of for young children. adult is required when children have access to protection strategies also can play a the last many have laws the of and public More studies have examined whether the of a a studies of show to be much more effective in reducing the risk of to this are studies that to of of the are the most by children as young as 2 years of age. little if the child can one study the time for to a was have been as a better barrier that reduces but a that is not the most important is a these and other into the has a of for residential available at their (Table in of water while or as children into Among alcohol use is with as many as 50% of to reduce access to along with educational designed to reduce alcohol while represent a approach to teen prevention and should be use of devices or also has been as an important to decrease in water such as should not be in place of or for Unfortunately, because no studies have examined the of to prevent the magnitude of protection is One was successful in increasing use from 20% to Children were most likely to use if by an adult using a that use was among adolescents and young adults. Pediatricians can review safe with families at risk and should use by of all ages, of and adult of children year in the United an estimated to million people accounting for up to of all ED Children younger than age 10 years are at greatest and most injuries in this age group involve the head and of are in severe and fatal of the deaths in the United States from are to and a number of were in the other Most are or are known to the are more likely to a child than are of strategies has been including children about and a and one who is of of by control and educational programs ownership and Unfortunately, the effectiveness of these strategies is Parents must consider the risks of especially those who have the burden that injury-related morbidity and mortality on children, pediatricians have long been in the of injury It is to that United States child injury mortality has declined by in the last However, the United States among the most in of child injury death that for with the and impact of childhood injury may to in to this It is on however, to the same standards of evaluation to injury prevention programs as they to or community In an of physicians should consider the of a prevention program to their with the program an injury that is common or especially it require to there evidence from that the reduces Many programs can be demonstrated to about injury but this into in their or in the risk of injury A review of childhood injury prevention strategies is available at the and Research (Table are the group in the United States. injury prevention strategies must take into account children and parents who only and of materials and to pediatricians in practice should that the office is not always the for injury Families at the highest injury risk also are the least likely to have access to primary care and In many with community or is required to the impact of physician in injury
In an effort to prevent tragic incidents like Columbine from recurring, bully-proofing programs are being implemented with the premise that bullies should be identified and an intervention program administered while victims are taught to defend themselves against bullies. However, our survey of middle school students showed that youth could be both bullies and victims at the same time and under variable conditions. The research results call into question the likelihood of success in bully-proofing programs. Instead, the results suggest that promoting positive youth development programs and creating a sense of safety in schools and neighborhoods may be more effective approaches.
This article seeks to explain cross‐cantonal variation in public education expenditure between 1985 and 1998. Four possible explanations are located: socio‐demographic and socio‐economic pressures, the impact of political institutions, the partisan theory, and the power resources of organized interests. Taking the research advantage of Swiss federalism our findings provide strong evidence that educational expenditure is systematically related to the socio‐demographic and socio‐economic pressures in a given canton. Furthermore, consensus democracy promotes educational finance, while the decentralization of the cantonal polity lessens the educational policy output. Finally, the instruments of direct democracy as well as partisan variables do not seem to account for differences regarding the budget expenditures on education in the Swiss cantons.
Walden will always be associated with Henry Thoreau. It should also be associated with Emerson. Everyone knows that Thoreau built his cabin on Emerson's land at Walden Pond; it is less often recalled that Emerson not only owned land out there (which his family made sure would be kept open to public forever) but also that Emerson himself had a primary, crucial, spiritual connection to Walden. Emerson loved pond woods, they were absolutely vital to his own life work. For Emerson, who walked out to Walden almost every day for many years, Walden meant renewal, new possibilities, morning of mind, from his Walden walks came his writings. He once thought of calling his second published book Forest Essays. Perhaps he should have. ********** On October 4, 1844, which just happened to be day after Herman Melville stepped ashore at Boston from his years of travel in South Seas, Emerson, out at Concord, wrote to his brother William in New York that he had lately added an absurdity or two to my usual ones, which am impatient to tell you of. In one of my solitary wood-walks by Walden Pond, met two or three men who told me they had come thither to sell buy a field, on which they wished me to bid as a purchaser. Emerson is quick to point out that this is not just any old field. As it was on shores of pond, now for many years had a sort of daily occupancy in it, bid on it, bought it, eleven acres for $8.10 per acre. The next day carried some of my well-beloved gossips to same place they deciding that field was not good for anything if Heartwell Bigelow should cut down his pine-grove, bought, for 125 dollars more, his pretty wood lot of three or four acres, so am landlord waterlord of 14 acres, more or less, on shore of Walden, can raise my own blackberries. The purchase of course had consequences. I am now, like other men who have hazarded a small stake, mad for more.... Mrs Brown wishes me to build her a cottage on some land near my house; dreaming Alcott is here with his Indian dreams that helped him to some house farm in Spirit Land! Emerson had just sent off proofs for Essays: Second Series. He explained to his brother that his purchases were the light-headed frolics of a hack of a scribe when released at last from months of weary tending on printers devil. (1) Brother William was unimpressed, partly because times were hard neither brother had money to spare. But it is also clear from William's reply that he thought Walden area was already ruined, indeed violated, not worth acquiring. If you had bought shores of Walden Pond he wrote his brother, before they were thrown open to garish eye of railroad traveler, should not have marveled. But confess shall hardly think those years bring you wisdom, if you throw away even these cheap acres upon such a sieve (pardon confusion of metaphor) as orphic philosopher. William obviously didn't think much of Bronson Alcott, but he added, gamely, If you want any money to complete your purchase, will furnish whatever you call for. (2) Whatever William might think, purchase was clearly an important one for Emerson. To his English friend Thomas Carlyle he wrote; and when shall show you a pretty pasture woodlot which bought last week on borders of a lake which is chief ornament of this town called Walden Pond. One of these days, if should have any money, may build me a cabin or a turret there high as treetops spend my nights as well as days in midst of a beauty which never fades for me. (3) But it wasn't Alcott, or Lucy Brown or Emerson who came to Walden built a cabin; it was Henry Thoreau who did so, perhaps in response to a letter from Ellery Channing suggesting that he, Thoreau, go out to Walden begin grand process of devouring yourself alive. …
The purpose of this study is to offer a resonable perspective of local government financial autonomy according to the policy decentralization by focusing on the french experience and to seek suggestions for this policy. In order to explain and analyse french local financial system, this article used the analytical framework concerning the variable elements that can be explained local financial autonomy system in France. This study tried to find the basic principes including financial logic of decentralization, and how these principes had application to local finance. A further purpose is to describe the current and emerging factors of local finance structure in France after the policy decentralization. This study finds the following facts: 1) a guaranty the freedom administration local government in law system of unitary nation 2) the prohibition control of local government on the other local government 3) a simultaneous transfer of competences and resources and a integral compensation of charges 4) the rigorous management control on the financial activity in local government.
Edward W. Hill, Billie K. Geyer, Claudette Robey, John F. Brennan · 5 authors
This paper investigates the transportation expenditure geographic pattern in Ohio from 1980 to 1988. It focuses on the location and spatial patterns of state transportation spending and finance. It then compares these variables with transportation need and demand indicators. The aim of the report is to ascertain whether or not the state's transportation money is being spent appropriately to meet the many challengers occurring today in metropolitan areas. Some of these challenges include traffic congestion, aging infrastructure, and decentralizing economic development.
Eric K. Yamamoto, Susan K. Serrano, Michelle Natividad Rodriguez
Much has been written recently on African American reparations and reparations movements worldwide, both in the popular press and scholarly publications. Indeed, the expanding volume of writing underscores the impact on the public psyche of movements for reparations for historic injustice. Some of that writing has highlighted the legal obstacles faced by proponents of reparations lawsuits, particularly a judicial system that focuses on individual (and not group-based) claims and tends to squeeze even major social controversies into the narrow litigative paradigm of a two-person auto collision (requiring proof of standing, duty, breach, causation, and direct injury). Other writings detail the new research uncovering business and public institutional profiteering on the slave economy--banks, railroads, insurers, and universities. Still other studies document African American social conditions and the persistence of subtle yet invidious discrimination against people of color and especially African Americans. This Essay does not retrace this terrain. Nor does it offer an in-depth study of reparations dynamics in specific cases.
Rather the Essay examines the ongoing and impending African American reparations suits and frames in larger terms what may well be at stake in this forthcoming epochal trial of American Racial Justice. In particular, the Essay draws linkages among African American redress claims, the United States' approach to international human rights and America's moral authority to fight its preemptive “war on Terror.” Drawing upon and extending Professor Derrick Bell's interest-convergence thesis and Professor Mary Dudziak's ensuing research into the international underpinnings of Brown v. Board of Education, the Essay offers insights into what the future might be, here and in the eyes of worldwide communities, depending on what choices we in America make about African American justice claims and human rights.
We present the first complete problem for SZK, the class of promise problems possessing statistical zero-knowledge proofs (against an honest verifier). The problem, called Statistical Difference, is to decide whether two efficiently samplable distributions are either statistically close or far apart. This gives a new characterization of SZK that makes no reference to interaction or zero knowledge .We propose the use of complete problems to unify and extend the study of statistical zero knowledge. To this end, we examine several consequences of our Completeness Theorem and its proof, such as:---A way to make every (honest-verifier) statistical zero-knowledge proof very communication efficient, with the prover sending only one bit to the verifier (to achieve soundness error 1/2).---Simpler proofs of many of the previously known results about statistical zero knowledge, such as the Fortnow and Aiello--Hεstad upper bounds on the complexity of SZK and Okamoto's result that SZK is closed under complement.---Strong closure properties of SZK that amount to constructing statistical zero-knowledge proofs for complex assertions built out of simpler assertions already shown to be in SZK.---New results about the various measures of "knowledge complexity," including a collapse in the hierarchy corresponding to knowledge complexity in the "hint" sense.---Algorithms for manipulating the statistical difference between efficiently samplable distributions, including transformations that "polarize" and "reverse" the statistical relationship between a pair of distributions.