High Standards Of Transparency Research Articles

METHODOLOGICAL RECOMMENDATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF SERVICES OF OPEN SCIENCE CLOUD-ORIENTED SYSTEMS IN THE PROCESS OF TRAINING TEACHERS OF NATURAL AND MATHEMATICAL SUBJECTS TO WORK IN SCIENTIFIC LYCEUMS

The statement of basic materials. The open science cloud-oriented systems allow solving a wide range of tasks in the course of scientific research, supporting joint work, collaboration, cooperation, high standards of transparency and openness, search for new information and presentation of scientific results. The article deals with the recommendations for the use of a separate group of services of OSCOS – scientometric and abstract databases. The training for improving the qualifications of teachers is described and practical tasks are offered.

OPEN SCIENCE IN UNIVERSITIES: GOALS AND BENEFITS

Open science, based on high standards of transparency, cooperation and communication, is a priority for the development of research policy in the European Research Area (ERA) and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). The purpose of the article is to analyse the essence of Open Science, its goals and benefits, as well as the necessary changes for large-scale implementation of Open Science policy in universities. Methods of analysis, synthesis, comparison, systematization of scientific works of foreign and domestic scientists and documents of EHEA and ERA are used. Open science is seen as a new approach to the scientific process based on collaboration and new ways of disseminating knowledge through digital technologies and new tools for collaboration. The main goal of Open Science is to improve the exchange, transfer and access to scientific knowledge. The advantages of Open Science are defined as follows: increasing the efficiency of science by reducing duplication and costs of creating, transmitting and reusing data; increasing transparency and quality in the process of confirming the reliability of research results; accelerating the transfer of knowledge, promoting a faster transition from research to innovation; increasing the impact of research results on the economy; a more effective response to global challenges that require coordinated international action; promoting the involvement of citizens in research, active participation in scientific experiments and data collection. It is concluded that Open Science, by maximizing the benefits of the free movement of knowledge, provides a movement towards the fifth freedom in Europe (along with the freedom to move goods, services, persons and capital). The transition to large-scale implementation of Open Science practice in universities requires changes that cover a wide range of academic activities at the institutional level and include: promoting increased knowledge transfer and cooperation between the academic and non-academic sectors; focus on knowledge transfer in the context of digitalization; optimizing the role of universities in research infrastructures.

Integrating pragmatism and rigor - impact of the pandemic on a randomized controlled trial of a complex intervention

The objectives here were to present a model of transparent reporting and pragmatic RCT design adaptation, and to promote discussion regarding best practices for overcoming the challenge of detecting intervention-specific changes in pain within the context of variable psychosocial factors due to the pandemic. Methods included an ongoing randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial is examining the effect of pain education combined with exercise on pain in patients with chronic Achilles tendinopathy. We hypothesized that a biopsychosocial approach to patient education would reduce movement-evoked pain more than standard care (biomedical education and exercise). Since March 2020, challenges have included a temporary halt of in-person human subjects research, adapting virtual screening procedures to maintain confidentiality and safety, need to obtain telehealth license in multiple states, inability to use specialized laboratory equipment to evaluate secondary outcomes, and gradual resumption of in-person visits with PPE. As COVID-19 prevented the trial from proceeding as planned, we adapted our design to both exploit new opportunities and maintain high standards of transparency and rigor. We maintained study enrollment by modifying screening, evaluation, and treatment to accommodate virtual participation with consistent content. We adjusted our aims to include an a priori hypothesis that differential effects of a biopsychosocial versus biomedical approach on pain may be magnified during a pandemic. Additionally, strategies developed to adapt to an altered research-environment may be useful tools for future RCTs to facilitate participant recruitment and retention. We logged changes in a time-stamped manner on Open Science Framework; full disclosure will be ensured in final reports at Clinicaltrials.gov and publications. Adaptive designs are at risk of low confidence unless full transparency is integrated into research processes. Our own efforts to integrate changes to research design and conduct, with contemporary standards of transparency and rigor, provide opportunities for future research practice during and post-COVID. Funding for this study was provided by the National Institute of Arthritis Musculoskeletal and Skin Disease (NIAMS) research grant R00 AR071517 and by the Collaborative Research Grant from the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number UL1TR002537. These funding sources had no role in study design, collection, analysis/interpretation of data, or decision on submission for publication. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Transparency and Security in the Derivatives Market: The Brazilian Case

The over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives were considered a core cause for the increase of the systemic risk in the global markets, which ended up in the burst of the markets on the financial crisis in 2008. Among the lessons learned, the need to improve the transparency, controls and surveillance of the derivatives markets is a key driver to the structural reforms designed to make the derivatives markets less susceptible to the excesses observed in the period before the peak of the crisis. On this paper we compare the intended configuration for the global derivatives markets after the implementation of the reforms proposed by G20/FSB with the one existent in the Brazilian market since the beginning of this century, showing that the Brazilian derivatives market already presented very high standards of transparency and control. Based on this conclusion, we also propose that the global regulators carefully study the Brazilian case, benefiting from the experience of a market that has been working successfully on this subject for more than 30 years.

Do Transparent Firms Pay out More Cash to Shareholders? Evidence from International Cross‐Listings

This paper examines the relation between agency costs and payout policy using a sample of 755 firms that cross‐list shares abroad. Firms increase cash payouts to shareholders by about 9% of earnings after cross‐listing on exchanges with high standards of transparency and shareholder protection. The shift in payout policy is more pronounced in firms controlled by management. No shift is observed if shareholder protection in the country of incorporation is already strong, or if the host exchange does not mandate additional disclosure. The findings support the theory that high corporate payouts are the outcome of transparency and shareholder protection.

A Commodity Curse? The Dynamic Effects of Commodity Prices on Fiscal Performance in Latin America

The recent boom and bust in commodity prices has raised concerns about the impact of volatile commodity prices on Latin American countries’ fiscal positions. Using a novel quarterly dataset─ which includes unique country specific commodity price indices and a comprehensive measure of public expenditures─ this paper analyzes the dynamic effects of commodity price fluctuations on fiscal revenues and expenditures for 8 commodity exporting Latin American countries. The results indicate that Latin American countries’ fiscal positions generally react strongly to shocks to commodity prices, yet there are marked differences across countries in observed reactions. Fiscal variables in Venezuela display the highest sensitivity to commodity price shocks, with expenditures reacting significantly more than revenues. On the other side of the spectrum, Chile’s fiscal indicators react very little to commodity price fluctuations, and their dynamic responses are very similar to those seen in high-income commodity exporting countries. A plausible explanation to this distinct behavior across countries could be related to the efficient application of fiscal rules, accompanied by strong institutions, political commitment and high standards of transparency.

The Dynamic Effects of Commodity Priceson Fiscal Performance in Latin America

The recent boom and bust in commodity prices has raised concerns about the impact of volatile commodity prices on Latin American countries’ fiscal positions. Using a novel quarterly data set-which includes unique country-specific commodity price indices and a comprehensive measure of public expenditures-this paper analyzes the dynamic effects of commodity price fluctuations on fiscal revenues and expenditures for eight commodity-exporting Latin American countries. The results indicate that Latin American countries’ fiscal positions react strongly to shocks to commodity prices, yet there are marked differences across countries. Fiscal variables in Venezuela display the highest sensitivity to commodity price shocks, with expenditures reacting significantly more than revenues. At the other end of the spectrum, in Chile expenditure reacts very little to commodity price fluctuations, and the dynamic responses of its fiscal indicators are very similar to those seen in high-income commodity-exporting countries. This distinct behavior across countries may relate to institutional arrangements, which in some cases include the efficient application of fiscal rules amid political commitment and high standards of transparency.

The Dynamic Effects of Commodity Prices on Fiscal Performance in Latin America

The recent boom and bust in commodity prices has raised concerns about the impact of volatile commodity prices on Latin American countries’ fiscal positions. Using a novel quarterly data set-which includes unique country-specific commodity price indices and a comprehensive measure of public expenditures-this paper analyzes the dynamic effects of commodity price fluctuations on fiscal revenues and expenditures for eight commodity-exporting Latin American countries. The results indicate that Latin American countries’ fiscal positions react strongly to shocks to commodity prices, yet there are marked differences across countries. Fiscal variables in Venezuela display the highest sensitivity to commodity price shocks, with expenditures reacting significantly more than revenues. At the other end of the spectrum, in Chile expenditure reacts very little to commodity price fluctuations, and the dynamic responses of its fiscal indicators are very similar to those seen in high-income commodity-exporting countries. This distinct behavior across countries may relate to institutional arrangements, which in some cases include the efficient application of fiscal rules amid political commitment and high standards of transparency.

Corporate Governance and Stock-Based Incentives – An Analysis of European Firms

We analyze the role of corporate governance in the use of stock-based incentives for executives of large European listed firms. Using a novel, hand-collected dataset covering non-financial firms from 13 European countries, we are able to distinguish between firm-level governance mechanisms and country-specific external governance structures. In line with the hypothesis of governance substitution, we find that firm size and operational complexity foster the use of stock-based incentives, while firms with large blockholders are less likely to grant such incentives. Examining institutional differences, we find that the origin of law affects the importance of stock-based incentives and that high standards of transparency and disclosure are considered a prerequisite for the dissemination of stock-based incentives. Overall, our results indicate that firms use stock-based incentives to align the interests of executives with those of shareholders whenever the institutional environment ensures sufficient transparency and effective shareholder rights.

Beyond the Box: Innovation Policy in an Innovation-Driven Economy

Everybody agrees that innovation is important to our nation’s economic growth and future prosperity, but what can the government do to promote it? The consensus of four years ago focused on remedying our perceived competitive shortcomings in science education and research, especially in the physical sciences. Today, the question takes on new urgency with the recognition that much of the economic growth experienced over the past decade was illusory. For the long term, we need to take a closer look at the institutions that enable innovation, not only to see how they can be better coordinated but also how they can respond to the evolving forms and practice of innovation. This kind of adaptive intelligence has not been a strong point of the federal government, but it is essential to long-term economic growth and security. It will require infusing competence, innovation, and entrepreneurship into the government. Yet it also means recognizing that the capacity and role of government is limited, and that the functions of government are subject to high standards of transparency, accountability, and participation. A national commitment to innovation requires not only remediation but exploiting our strengths and enhancing the fabric of innovation, especially in the social, commercial, and institutional applications of technology. Innovation policy as practiced to date tends to take a top-down macroeconomic approach that views public research funding and tax credits as the primary policy tools. Those are important tools, but they are limited (and costly) and get caught up political processes that have become all too familiar. Important as they are, they should not distract from a closer appreciation and understanding of the processes of innovation — processes that can be improved by a focused and coordinated approach to standards, infrastructure, enabling technology, clusters, and patents, an approach that takes into account evolving practices and models in the many contexts in which innovation takes place.

Refocusing acute psychiatry, performance management, standards and accountability, a new context for mental health nursing

The term 'performance management' has an aversive 'managerial' aspect, is unappealing to many public sector staff and has an 'image problem'. Perhaps as a consequence, it has failed to make a significant impact on Irish public sector workers, notably mental health nurses. In this paper, performance management is introduced and examined within an Irish healthcare context and with reference to its use in other countries. Some of the challenges faced by Irish mental health nurses and the potential benefits of working within a performance managed workplace are discussed. The paper concludes that performance management is likely to increasingly affect nurses, either as active agents or as passive recipients of a change that is thrust on them. The authors anticipate that the performance management 'image problem' will give way to recognition that this is a fundamental change which has the potential to enable health services to change. This change will bring high standards of transparency, worker involvement in decision making, an explicit value base for health services and individual teams. It provides the potential for clear practice standards and high standards of transparency as well as worker welfare in all aspects, including supporting employment and career progression.

Do Transparent Firms Pay Out More Cash to Shareholders? Evidence from International Cross-listings

This article examines the relationship between agency costs and corporate payout policies using a sample 755 firms that cross-list shares abroad. I document that firms cross-listing on exchanges with comparatively high standards of transparency and shareholder protection increase their cash payouts to shareholders by about 9% of earnings after cross-listing. The shift in payout policy is more pronounced in firms controlled by management, and it is not observed if external shareholder protection in the country of incorporation is already strong, or if the host exchange does not mandate additional disclosure. These findings provide support for the theory of La Porta et al. (2000) that high corporate payouts are the outcome of transparency and shareholder protection.

On Target? the International Experience with Achieving Inflation Targets

This paper examines the international experience with full-fledged inflation targeting monetary regimes. Stylized facts are brought together from a review of the institutional elements of inflation targeting frameworks, a comparison of actual and targeted inflation outcomes, and case studies of large inflation target misses. Inflation targets are missed about 40 percent of the time and often by substantial amounts and for prolonged periods, yet no country has dropped inflation targeting. The resilience of the inflation targeting regime is attributable to the flexibility of the framework, its high standards of transparency and accountability, and the lack of realistic alternatives.

On Target?: The International Experience with Achieving Inflation Targets

This paper examines the international experience with full-fledged inflation targeting monetary regimes. Stylized facts are brought together from a review of the institutional elements of inflation targeting frameworks, a comparison of actual and targeted inflation outcomes, and case studies of large inflation target misses. Inflation targets are missed about 40 percent of the time and often by substantial amounts and for prolonged periods, yet no country has dropped inflation targeting. The resilience of the inflation targeting regime is attributable to the flexibility of the framework, its high standards of transparency and accountability, and the lack of realistic alternatives.