Commission Review Research Articles

FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF MOTIVATION ON EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE: A CASE STUDY OF NATIONAL HOSPITAL INSURANCE FUND

The Salaries and Remuneration Commission's continuous review of state and public officers' salaries, aimed at enhancing morale and productivity, has not translated into improved public service delivery, as evidenced by public dissatisfaction with diminishing service quality and a declining number of public servants. This study investigates the impact of motivation on employee performance in the public service, using the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) as a case study. Specific objectives include assessing the effects of compensation, career development opportunities, retirement benefits, and employee recognition on NHIF employee performance. Rooted in theories such as Hierarchy of Needs, Total Reward, Theory of Work Adjustment, and Expectancy Theory of Motivation, this study adopts a descriptive research design. Targeting administrative staff at NHIF Nairobi, the study population comprises 230 staff, and a stratified simple random sampling method is used. Primary data is collected through questionnaires, validated through validity and reliability tests, and analyzed quantitatively using descriptive statistics. The findings reveal that organizations offering competitive salaries attract skilled and high-value employees, contributing significantly to organizational performance. Similarly, organizations investing in training, clear growth paths, mentorship, and meaningful tasks cultivate a highly motivated workforce. The study recommends that NHIF management implement fair, performance-based compensation, regularly reward highperforming employees, provide career development programs, and foster a culture of non-monetary recognition for positive contributions. This research is pertinent to NHIF policymakers, the Central Government of Kenya, other public service sectors, human resource practitioners, and researchers. By exploring the financial implications of motivation on employee performance, the study provides insights for policymaking, resource allocation, and strategic decision-making in public service organizations.

Law Commission Review of the Arbitration Act - Response to Question 1 in the Second Consultation Paper (No 258) on the law applicable to an arbitration agreement

Law Commission Review of the Arbitration Act - Response to Question 1 in the Second Consultation Paper (No 258) on the law applicable to an arbitration agreement

Spectrum Auctions: Designing Markets to Benefit the Public, Industry and the Economy

Evan Kwerel of Federal Communications Commission reviews “Spectrum Auctions: Designing Markets to Benefit the Public, Industry and the Economy” by Geoffrey Myers. The Econlit abstract of this book begins: “Explores challenges of public policy decision-making, providing practical examples of harnessing auctions to elicit information and improve policy decisions.”

Fostering Pharmacists to Succeed in a Drastically Changing Society

In 2006, Japan's pharmaceutical science education was revised to a 6-year enrollment course, placing greater emphasis on cultivating practical clinical ability. Quality Assurance (QA) measures have been implemented including offering education based on a model core curriculum and third-party assessments. In August 2021, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) launched an investigative commission to review the above. For QA, the commission summarized a comprehensive report in August 2022 for items including: modality of selecting entrants; revising enrollment limits; securing education management; information disclosure; corresponding to pharmaceutical education assessments. For revising the model core curriculum, the commission is reviewing correspondence to: demographic changes due to decreasing birthrates, an ageing population, changes in the structure of diseases; rising and emerging infectious diseases; utilizing Big Data and artificial intelligence (AI). As Japan's ageing population is forecast to peak in 2040s, pharmacists must be fostered to provide safe and quality medicine towards a drastically changing future. Medical care is provided through the collaboration of various professions. In such changing demographics, team medicine is crucial to provide quality medical care. Moreover, towards all medical professions sharing the same vision, revisions to the model core curricula for medical and dental education are also being reviewed. The commission is now reviewing detailed curricula to foster pharmacists with competencies to: comprehensively assess patients and ordinary citizens; utilize information science and technology; professionalism. Towards securing quality pharmaceutical education, pharmaceutical departments at universities must also organize and implement an educational curriculum based on the Model Core Curriculum for Pharmaceutical Education. This paper will introduce the investigative commission's review.

Review of wrongful convictions following police misconduct: A study of the English Criminal Cases Review Commission

Abstract The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) reviews possible wrongful convictions in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, referring back to the Court of Appeal cases where there is a ›real possibility‹ that the conviction is unsafe. This article presents findings from a four-year empirical study of decision-making within the CCRC. It explores how Commission staff exercise discretionary powers in identifying and investigating possible wrongful convictions, referring just a few back to the Court.<fnote> Since its inception in April 1997, the CCRC has received almost 29,000 applications and referred 797 back to the Court of Appeal. Of these referrals, the Court has quashed the conviction in 542 cases. In 2019-20, the CCRC received 1,334 applications, and in 2020-21, 1,142.</fnote> It focuses on a sample of cases that turned on police misconduct in pursuit of a socio-legal contribution to our understanding of the response of the state to claims of wrongful conviction. It demonstrates that caseworkers’ approaches to investigation and decision-making is shaped by the law and internal policies such that reasonably consistent decision frames emerge.

Examining the Lancet Commission risk factors for dementia using Mendelian randomisation

BackgroundDementia incidence is increasing across the globe and currently there are no disease-modifying pharmaceutical treatments. The Lancet Commission on dementia identified 12 modifiable risk factors which explain 40% of dementia...

Which Mergers Should the European Commission Review under the Digital Markets Act?

Which Mergers Should the European Commission Review under the Digital Markets Act?

The voice of the child in dental care plans: a service evaluation.

Introduction The voice of the child (VOC) is vitally important in the dental setting as 'patient participation' is a key clinical governance pillar. A recent Care Quality Commission review of Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust identified 'the voice of the patient was not always clear in the care plans stored on the electronic system'.Aims To determine if Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust's Community Dental Service was recording and acting upon the voice of children and young people (CYP) regarding their dental care.Methods Retrospective case note analysis of CYP who had completed a course of treatment between January and March 2019. Patient notes were reviewed to determine if key indicators of the VOC were included. Verbal communication, communication barriers and evidence treatment options were discussed with CYP wherever feasible and whether comments by CYP were used to tailor their care.Results Review of 200 patients aged 4-16 years old found that no CYP notes recorded all key VOC indicators. In total, 36% of dentists recorded if the CYP had verbal communication or otherwise; 26% of notes evidenced treatment options had been discussed; and 11% of notes evidenced that CYP comments were used to tailor their care.Discussion Presentation of results to clinicians locally highlighted the importance of the VOC and the need to improve documentation. Subsequently, implementation of a modified clinical note pro forma has taken place which includes VOC indicators, thus providing evidence that CYP are being listened to and, where feasible, their opinions used to tailor care.Conclusion The VOC was not routinely being documented in clinical notes, thus it was difficult to prove/disprove if the VOC was being listened to.

Surrogacy Legislation and Kenya's ART Bill 2019: Reproductive Uhuru (Freedom) A Myth or a Reality for Infertile Citizens?

In 2014, Kenyan parliamentarian Odhiambo Millie MP tabled the Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Bill [2019] to regulate assisted reproduction. The Bill restricts surrogacy to married couples only, prohibits payment to surrogates and makes no provision for surrogacy services or its oversight. It is modelled on the United Kingdom's surrogacy laws, although this article confirms the UK's surrogacy laws were intended to discourage surrogacy in the first place, and a Law Commission review shall be published in 2022. In 2007, Thiankolu Muthomi called for Kenyan-designed ART legislation. Kenya's customary woman-to-woman marriage is examined as a taking-off point for technologising Kenya's surrogacy services. The woman-to-woman marriage was constitutionally protected in 2010 and embedded by the enactment of the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act No. 33 [2016] that promotes the right to cultural expression. This cultural reality should provide the launching pad for a more permissive and auditable surrogacy legislation in Kenya and transferability to sub-Saharan Africa burdened, with the exception of South Africa, by unregulated ART practice.

Cocreating a Harmonized Living Lab for Big Data-Driven Hybrid Persona Development: Protocol for Cocreating, Testing, and Seeking Consensus.

BackgroundLiving Labs are user-centered, open innovation ecosystems based on a systematic user cocreation approach, which integrates research and innovation processes in real-life communities and settings. The Horizon 2020 Project VITALISE (Virtual Health and Wellbeing Living Lab Infrastructure) unites 19 partners across 11 countries. The project aims to harmonize Living Lab procedures and enable effective and convenient transnational and virtual access to key European health and well-being research infrastructures, which are governed by Living Labs. The VITALISE consortium will conduct joint research activities in the fields included in the care pathway of patients: rehabilitation, transitional care, and everyday living environments for older adults. This protocol focuses on health and well-being research in everyday living environments.ObjectiveThe main aim of this study is to cocreate and test a harmonized research protocol for developing big data–driven hybrid persona, which are hypothetical user archetypes created to represent a user community. In addition, the use and applicability of innovative technologies will be investigated in the context of various everyday living and Living Lab environments.MethodsIn phase 1, surveys and structured interviews will be used to identify the most suitable Living Lab methods, tools, and instruments for health-related research among VITALISE project Living Labs (N=10). A series of web-based cocreation workshops and iterative cowriting processes will be applied to define the initial protocols. In phase 2, five small-scale case studies will be conducted to test the cocreated research protocols in various real-life everyday living settings and Living Lab infrastructures. In phase 3, a cross-case analysis grounded on semistructured interviews will be conducted to identify the challenges and benefits of using the proposed research protocols. Furthermore, a series of cocreation workshops and the consensus seeking Delphi study process will be conducted in parallel to cocreate and validate the acceptance of the defined harmonized research protocols among wider Living Lab communities.ResultsAs of September 30, 2021, project deliverables Ethics and safety manual and Living lab standard version 1 have been submitted to the European Commission review process. The study will be finished by March 2024.ConclusionsThe outcome of this research will lead to harmonized procedures and protocols in the context of big data–driven hybrid persona development among health and well-being Living Labs in Europe and beyond. Harmonized protocols enable Living Labs to exploit similar research protocols, devices, hardware, and software for interventions and complex data collection purposes. Economies of scale and improved use of resources will speed up and improve research quality and offer novel possibilities for open data sharing, multidisciplinary research, and comparative studies beyond current practices. Case studies will also provide novel insights for implementing innovative technologies in the context of everyday Living Lab research.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/34567

Researches on thermal hydraulics and fuel performance of ATFs during extreme steam generator tube failure without ECCS and DHRS in NuScale

The small modular reactor NuScale has completed Standard Design Approval of Nuclear Regulatory Commission review by good safety performance and it makes history with the first SMR to receive NRC design approval. In this paper, to ensure the safety of the fuel rod in steam generator tube failure, accident tolerant fuels are selected as candidates for the traditional fuel rod. The primary and second circuit of NuScale were modeled, and compared with standard data to ensure accuracy. Thermal hydraulics and fuel performance of ATFs at NuScale during SGTF are analyzed. The results show that the fuel centerline temperature lower by loading with Th0.923U0.077O2-SiC ATF system in the steady-state. Moreover, it can prolong the time for radiotoxicity to leak during SGTF. In short, the safety of NuScale is improved with the replacement of ATF fuel system.

Carcinogenic assessment of cobalt-containing alloys in medical devices or cobalt in occupational settings: A systematic review and meta-analysis of overall cancer risk from published epidemiologic studies

In 2020, the European Commission up-classified pure cobalt metal to a Category 1B hazard, based primarily on data from rodent inhalation carcinogenicity studies of metallic cobalt. The European Commission review did not evaluate cobalt-containing alloys in medical devices, which have very different properties vs. pure cobalt metal and did not include a systematic epidemiologic review. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of published, peer-reviewed epidemiologic studies evaluating the association between overall cancer risk and exposure to orthopedic implants containing cobalt alloys or cobalt particulates in occupational settings. Study-specific estimates were pooled using random-effects models. Analyses included 20 papers on orthopedic implants and 10 occupational cohort papers (~1 million individuals). The meta-analysis summary estimates (95% confidence intervals) for overall cancer risk were 1.00 (0.96–1.04) overall and 0.97 (0.94–1.00) among high-quality studies. Results were also similar in analyses stratified by type of exposure/data sources (occupational cohort, implant registry or database), comparators (general or implant population), cancer incidence or mortality, follow-up duration (latency period), and study precision. In conclusion, meta-analysis found no association between exposure to orthopedic implants containing cobalt alloys or cobalt particulates in occupational settings and overall cancer risk, including an analysis of studies directly comparing metal-on-metal vs. non-metal-on-metal implants.

Social work education in India: old and new

ABSTRACT The article discusses on background of social work and social work education as it began in India. It provides details on the curriculum of the discipline and discussions regarding its diversity and specialisations. It, further, highlights the process of indigenization, indigenous knowledge, Indianisation and the various debates related to it. The article also traces, in brief, the developmental history of the social work curricula in India, the University Grants Commission (UGC) review committees and the Model Curriculum. There is a brief description of the Self Learning Material (SLM) developed by the School of Social Work, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi. Towards the end, we have discussed the major findings related to the gaps in social work education in India. This article will be very useful for social work teachers, researchers and practitioners as it will help in building a theoretical understanding of social work education, in general and in context of India, in particular.

EssilorLuxottica's GrandVision acquisition approved

Andrew McClean reports on the conditions detailed in the European Commission's review of the proposed takeover

High-Flow Nasal Cannula Therapy for the Management of Hypoxaemic Respiratory Failure in Patients with SARS-CoV-2 Pneumonia: An Observational Cohort Study

Background: The utility of high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) to reduce the need for invasive mechanical ventilation (IMV) in patients with hypoxaemic respiratory failure due to COVID-19 is poorly understood.Methods: We designed a prospective observational study of a large cohort of patients at the Temporary COVID-19 Hospital (TCH) in Mexico City who had COVID-19-related hypoxaemic respiratory failure. The primary outcome was the success rate of HFNC to prevent the progression to IMV. We also evaluated the risk factors associated with HFNC success or failure.Findings: This study included 378 patients who met the criteria for hypoxaemic respiratory failure and for HFNC use. This study showed that HFNC effectively prevented IMV in 71.4% of patients (n=270; 95% CI: 66·6–75·8). Factors that were significantly different between patients who were only treated with HFNC and those who progressed to IMV included age, the presence of hypertension, and the Charlson comorbidity index. Predictors of HFNC failure included the CALL score at admission (adjusted hazard ratio [HR]: 1·27; 95% CI, 1·09–1·47; pInterpretation: The present study showed that treating patients with HFNC at admission was effective and prevented the worsening of symptoms in some patients with COVID-19.Funding: Carlos Slim FoundationDeclaration of Interests: APC, ESL, MGN, RRVV, HHB, LMJ, MAA, LERG, LMC, RVB, RVAW, BSO, and MLRC are fulltime employees of the Temporary COVID-19 Hospital. HGR, JLG, LAMJ, and RTC are full-time employees of the Carlos Slim Foundation in Mexico. The authors declare no other conflicts of interest or outside funding from any other organizations.Ethics Approval Statement: The study protocol was approved by an independent Investigation Commission and Ethical Review Board. This study was submitted to the ethics committee of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (FM/DI/099/2020).

The power of words in capital markets: SEC comment letters on foreign issuers and the impact of home country enforcement

In this paper, we examine the language tone of comment letters issued to foreign firms listed on US stock exchanges and the impact of home country enforcement. We find that the tone of US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviews has capital market implications following the dissemination of comment letters. Using a textual analysis methodology, we gauge SEC linguistic nuance by creating a customized wordlist for the US regulatory context. We evaluate alternative measures of tone and present evidence that our discipline-specific tone measure outperforms the frequently-cited dictionaries employed in analyses of corporate narratives. We document that negative-tone regulatory language, in contrast to positive, produces significant investor reactions. We further demonstrate that negative market reactions are amplified relative to the strength of home country enforcement environments. We offer important implications for enforcement agencies, companies, lenders and investors.

The New South Wales Law Reform Commission Draft Proposals on consent in sexual offences: a missed opportunity?

ABSTRACT This article analyses the Draft Proposals that emerged from the New South Wales Law Reform Commission (NSWLRC) Review of Consent in Relation to Sexual Offences. The NSWLRC Review was prompted in significant part by the high-profile case of R v Lazarus. We argue that the Draft Proposals do not adequately respond to the legal failures highlighted by Lazarus. In this sense, they represent a missed opportunity for substantive law reform.

The SEC Filing Review Process: Insights from Accounting Research

As part of its goal to monitor and enhance the quality of information available to investors, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) reviews companies’ filings to ensure compliance with applicable financial reporting and disclosure requirements. Increased public interest and the substantial costs for both the SEC in reviewing and the companies in responding have led to a rapidly growing body of accounting literature that examines the filing review process. We survey and comment on 80 published and unpublished academic research papers in this literature and identify significant gaps that future research should address. We also summarize the institutional features of the filing review process, aiming to inform future academic studies. Our survey should be of interest to both academics and market participants evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the filing review process. To download the SAS codes, please visit https://lcunningham.utk.edu/sec-filing-review-process-sas-codes/

Implementation of adverse event reporting for medical devices, India.

ProblemRapid growth in the use of medical devices has drawn attention to gaps in the systematic monitoring of medical device-associated adverse events in India.ApproachImplementation of national regulations on medical devices started in January 2018. Supported by a nationwide network of monitoring centres, the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission coordinates adverse event reports from manufacturers, legal representatives and patients or users. The commission follows-up and reviews reports with subject expert groups and sends recommendations on necessary action to the national regulatory authority.Local settingBefore 2015, no systematic structure was in place to collate adverse events associated with medical devices. Several reports of deaths and hospitalization due to faulty hip implants, cardiac stents and poor-quality devices prompted the health ministry to launch the materiovigilance programme.Relevant changesFrom July 2015 to October 2019, the commission received 1931 adverse event reports, mostly from marketing authorization holders; 1277 were serious events. Reporting increased markedly after 2017. Cardiac stents were the most reported device (926 events; 47.95%). To encourage a culture of reporting, the commission has raised awareness about the programme among stakeholders, developed user-friendly reporting tools and guidelines, and conducted training for hospital personnel on medical device adverse event reporting.Lessons learntRegular training to stakeholders develops a sense of responsibility towards reporting medical device adverse events and ensures quality data reporting. Reporters must be assured that reporting adverse events does not have any legal implications for them and given acknowledgement of their role in high-quality device associated adverse event reporting.

Fair use and fairness in copyright: A distributive justice perspective on users' rights

Australia is once again considering how to best protect the public interest in copyright. One of the most contested current issues in Australian copyright law is the question of limits and exceptions to the rights of copyright owners. The recent Australian Law Reform Commission (‘ALRC’) review into copyright exceptions recommended broadening and simplifying the exceptions to better protect the interests of users to access and reuse copyright material for socially beneficial purposes. Despite the exhaustive consultation and report produced by the ALRC, and the support lent to it by the recent Productivity Commission Inquiry Report, there is little consensus about its recommendations. The proposal to introduce fair use is strongly contested by rightsholder groups, who are reluctant to cede further control over the use of information and cultural goods, particularly given the challenges they have faced transitioning to a digital environment.