Inter-jurisdictional Comparisons Research Articles

Author Correction: Inter-Jurisdictional Comparison of Public Asset Utilization in Tokyo Metropolitan Local Governments

Author Correction: Inter-Jurisdictional Comparison of Public Asset Utilization in Tokyo Metropolitan Local Governments

Inter-Jurisdictional Comparison of Public Asset Utilization in Tokyo Metropolitan Local Governments

Inter-Jurisdictional Comparison of Public Asset Utilization in Tokyo Metropolitan Local Governments

Comparison of Crude Population-Level Indicators of Opioid Use and Related Harm in New Zealand and Ontario (Canada).

North America and select other Commonwealth jurisdictions have been experiencing unprecedented opioid epidemics characterized by excessive and persistently high levels of opioid misuse, morbidity and mortality, and related disease burden. Recent discussions have considered whether New Zealand might undergo or needs to expect a similar ‘opioid crisis’. Towards further informing these considerations, we examine and compare essential, publicly available indicators of opioid utilization and harms (mortality) from New Zealand and the Canadian province of Ontario, due to the fact that both operate public health care systems in similar socio-cultural settings. We find that the two jurisdictions have featured vastly different population levels of opioid exposure, opioid consumption patterns (e.g., high-dose/long-term/high-risk prescribing) known as key predictors of adverse outcomes, and levels of opioid mortality as evidenced by concrete epidemiological indicators and data. Specifically for opioid-related death rates, these were already approximately threefold higher in Ontario compared to New Zealand based on most recent comparison data (e.g., 2012); these differentials have likely further grown more recently given major and distinct changes in population-level opioid exposure and risks, and subsequent opioid-related deaths since then in Ontario. Based on the present data and related evidence, New Zealand does not seem to need to anticipate an opioid mortality epidemic similar to that experienced in North America; however, it would be of interest to establish more comprehensive and timely surveillance of key system-level indicators of opioid use and harms as are standard in North America. As such, this inter-jurisdictional comparison makes for a case study in starkly contrasting scenarios of opioid use and harms, the drivers behind which deserve further systematic examination.

Governance and decentralized energy transitions: a comparative case study of three medium-sized cities in Sweden, Canada, and the United States.

Aim: This study examines the impact of governance on decentralized energy transitions. Knowledge of how particular jurisdictions and their governance arrangements influence these transitions can help strengthen and contextualize divergent trajectories of decentralized energy transitions and—most importantly—reveal the role of geographical context in policy change. Design: This research gap is addressed in this paper by comparing the uptake of decentralized energy transitions in three cities in three different countries—Luleå (Sweden), Saskatoon (Canada), and Anchorage (United States). The jurisdictions in each city has unique governance contexts pertaining to electric utilities, regulations, public policy, and public acceptance. By comparing these transitions, this study highlights the governance considerations for decentralized energy transitions and asks how does governance impact decentralized energy transitions in cities? To answer this question, actors within various public, private, and sectoral capacities were interviewed to provide their insights on decentralized energy transitions in each jurisdiction. Conclusion: I present five governance dimensions that impact decentralized energy transitions and explain how these factors can be included to provide a more contextual understanding of patterns of decentralized energy transitions in cities. Originality: Much of the literature on decentralized energy and cities has focused on project and sectoral level analysis and hasn’t considered the holistic nature of the energy system transition. A particular gap that would help inform a broader understanding is the jurisdictional governance impacts of decentralization energy transitions. Implications of the Research: In practical terms, the results could be used to inform inter-jurisdictional comparisons of decentralization energy projects. Limitations of the Research: Given that there were three case studies, it is not possible to make generalizable claims from the results.

Child dental neglect laws: Specifications and repercussions for dentists in 51 jurisdictions

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to perform an interjurisdictional comparison of statutes and regulations (collectively laws) pertaining to the reporting of child dental neglect by dentists. Case law interpretation or enforcement of the laws was not included in this study. MethodsChild neglect laws were identified in 51 jurisdictions (50 states and the District of Columbia) by performing a Westlaw legal database search, conducting a systematic internet search, and engaging in direct communication with each jurisdiction. Laws on 2 domains relative to dentists were evaluated: protection from civil and criminal liability when reporting child neglect and sanctions for failing to report child neglect. ResultsAll jurisdictions have child neglect laws; however, only 8 specify failing to seek dental treatment as child neglect and none adopt the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry’s definition. Although all jurisdictions protect dental professionals who report child dental neglect in good faith, sanctions for failing to report neglect include imprisonment from 6 months (49%) through 5 years (2%) and fines from $1,000 (61%) through $10,000 (6%). ConclusionsAlthough the laws vary across jurisdictions, dentists are protected when reporting child dental neglect but can be sanctioned for failing to report it. Practical ImplicationsDentists may not be aware of the current sanctions or interjurisdictional differences. Becoming informed about these laws may incentivize dentists to establish reporting protocols for child dental neglect.

Pan-Canadian Real-World Health Data Network: Building a National Data Platform

IntroductionResearchers and decision makers from across Canada use linked provincial administrative data for analysis and to address research and policy questions. Currently there are several impediments to working harmoniously across provincial boundaries. A group of academic and policy researchers are working to address these multi-jurisdictional obstacles.
 Objectives and ApproachResearchers and data organizations from across Canada are working together as the Pan-Canadian Real-World Health Data Network PRHDN). PRHDN aims to: (1) create harmonized data, algorithms and analytic protocols, and (2) link administrative databases to other types of data, including electronic medical records, clinical trials records, “omics data” and records from pan-Canadian cohort studies. PRHDN’s vision is to construct a unified, documented infrastructure to advance pan-Canadian population-based research and analysis. This presentation incorporates material that is part of PRHDN’s response to a funding call to create national, collaborative infrastructure.
 ResultsScientists and staff at PRHDN organizations will create three main categories of infrastructure: 1) Algorithms: Reusable processes, ideally in the form of documented code, which implement a common approach or definition, e.g. to define cases or to create derived variables; 2) Harmonized Common Data: Based on the Sentinel model, we will establish a standardized subset of harmonized common data that are analysis-ready; 3) Common Analytic Protocols: Complementing work of the Canadian Network for Observational Drug Effect Studies (CNODES), we will establish processes for distributed analysis with common analytic protocols and meta-analysis of results to provide pan-Canadian estimates. Source data would remain within jurisdictional boundaries and only aggregate results would be pooled across jurisdictions. Details of these approaches will be presented.
 Conclusion/ImplicationsThis initiative will improve coordinated access to distributed data from across Canada that is built once then used by many stakeholders for a variety of purposes including: research, benchmarking, performance monitoring to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement, multi-jurisdictional evaluations of novel interventions and inter-jurisdictional comparisons.

Validating health conditions in a clinical registry using administrative data algorithms

IntroductionClinical registries are a potentially valuable resource to study the effects of medical interventions on outcomes, particularly patient-reported outcomes like health-related quality of life, which are not included in administrative data. However, because clinical registries are primarily intended for patient management and not for research, their validity must be established.
 Objectives and ApproachOur objective was to validate patient self-reported health conditions in a clinical registry. Study data were from a population-based regional joint replacement registry in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The clinical registry data were linked to administrative health data. Validated administrative data algorithms for 12 conditions were defined using diagnosis codes in hospital and physician records and medication codes in prescription drug records for the period up to three years prior to the joint replacement surgery. Accuracy of the clinical registry data was estimated using Cohen’s kappa coefficient, sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values (PPV; NPV); 95% confidence intervals were also estimated. Analyses were stratified by joint type, age group, and sex.
 ResultsThe study cohort included 20,592 individuals (average age 66.3 years; 58.4% female); 8,424 (40.9%) had a total hip replacement. Sensitivity of the clinical registry data ranged from 16% (anemia) to more than 70% (diabetes, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis); specificity was greater than 92% for all conditions, except back pain and high blood pressure. PPV ranged from 19% (back pain) to 83% (diabetes). Chance-adjusted agreement was very good for diabetes (kappa: 0.74), moderate for heart disease and high blood pressure (kappa range: 0.41-0.53) and poor or fair for back pain, anemia, cancer, depression, kidney disease, liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis and stomach ulcers (kappa range: 0.14-0.37). Estimates varied by sex (i.e., generally higher agreement for females) and age (i.e., generally lower agreement for older age groups), but not joint type.
 Conclusion/ImplicationsSelf-reported health conditions in registry data had good validity for conditions with clear diagnostic criteria, but low validity for conditions that are difficult to diagnose or rare (e.g., cancer). Linked registry and administrative data is strongly recommended to ensure valid and accurate comorbidity measures when developiong risk prediction models and conducting inter-jurisdictional comparisons of patient-reported outcome measures.

Building a Pan-Canadian Real World Health Data Network

BackgroundIn December 2017 the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) issued a request for proposals to develop a pan-Canadian health data platform. This platform will enable cross-jurisdictional research by facilitating the use of rich provincial and national data and ensure engagement with patients and specific populations including Indigenous partners. Academics and policy makers from across Canada operating under the banner of the Pan-Canadian Real-World Health Data Network (PRHDN) have joined forces to address this call.
 ObjectivesCreate national infrastructure that is built once then made available for research, benchmarking, performance monitoring, multi-jurisdictional evaluations and inter-jurisdictional comparisons to address pressing health and social policy problems in Canada.
 MethodsOur approach will address several issues including creating significant efficiencies in data access, streamlining cross provincial/ territorial ethics and access approvals, establishing standards for data and methods harmonization and providing innovative and privacy-conscious solutions to data access and use. The presentation will focus on the plan to create harmonized common data, algorithms and analytic protocols, and link administrative data to electronic medical records and clinical trials to create an integrated and documented infrastructure for pan-Canadian studies. Comparisons to PopMedNet and the Sentinel Initiative in the US will be made.
 ConclusionProvincial centres across Canada hold rich sources of health and social data that are linkable at the person-level. With the exception of standardized data managed by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), these data are often not comparable from one province to another, thereby limiting use to single-province studies. There is growing interest in Canada in creating an environment that would enable cross-jurisdictional data sharing and analysis’ and in sharing experiences to make effective use of linkable administrative data.

Adherence to secondary prophylaxis for rheumatic heart disease is underestimated by register data.

ObjectiveIn high-burden Australian states and territories, registers of patients with acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are maintained for patient management, monitoring of system performance and research. Data validation was undertaken for the Australian Northern Territory Rheumatic Heart Disease Register to determine quality and impact of data cleaning on reporting against key performance indicators: overall adherence, and proportion of patients receiving ≥80% of scheduled penicillin doses for secondary prophylaxis.MethodsRegister data were compared with data from health centres. Inconsistencies were identified and corrected; adherence was calculated before and after cleaning.Results2780 penicillin doses were validated; 426 inconsistencies were identified, including 102 incorrect dose dates. After cleaning, mean adherence increased (63.5% to 67.3%, p<0.001) and proportion of patients receiving ≥80% of doses increased (34.2% to 42.1%, p = 0.06).ConclusionsThe Northern Territory Rheumatic Heart Disease Register underestimates adherence, although the key performance indicator of ≥80% adherence was not significantly affected. Program performance is better than hitherto appreciated. However some errors could affect patient management, as well as accuracy of longitudinal or inter-jurisdictional comparisons. Adequate resources are needed for maintenance of data quality in acute rheumatic fever/rheumatic heart disease registers to ensure provision of evidence-based care and accurate assessment of program impact.

Varieties of Independent Directors in Asia: A Taxonomy

This working paper chronicles the meteoric rise of the independent director in Asia. It reveals a reality which is the opposite of what conventional wisdom suggests: many of Asia’s leading economies have surpassed those in the West in terms of the proportion of ‘independent directors’ on corporate boards and the strictness of the laws promoting ‘independent directors’. The paper explains why the meteoric rise of the ‘independent director’ in Asia is complex. Although the label ‘independent director’ has been transplanted precipitously from the US (in some cases via the UK) throughout Asia, who is labelled an ‘independent director’ (i.e., the ‘form’ that independent directors take) and what independent directors do (i.e., the function they perform) in Asia differ significantly from the American concept of the independent director. To add to the complexity, the form and function of ‘independent directors’ varies within Asia from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. As such, in reality, there are ‘varieties of independent directors in Asia’—none of which conform to the American concept of the independent director. This challenges the widely-held assumption that independent directors are universally similar, and complicates inter-jurisdictional comparisons. The paper attempts to overcome this comparative hurdle by identifying six factors that have driven the evolution of diverse, jurisdiction-specific, varieties of independent directors in Asia: (1) shareholder ownership structures; (2) legal origins; (3) types of shareholders; (4) functional substitutes; (5) political economy; and, (6) cultural norms. These factors provide a basis for constructing a ‘loose taxonomy’ of the varieties of independent directors in Asia, which provides a useful tool for identifying which inter-jurisdictional comparisons are likely to yield significant insights and which are likely to mislead. It concludes with a discussion on how an understanding of the varieties of independent directors in Asia can advance corporate governance practice and contribute to comparative corporate governance theory.

Are the responsibility and yardstick competition hypotheses mutually consistent?

This paper tests the consistency between the responsibility and the yardstick competition hypotheses. If no evidence is found that voters reelect mayors comparing their performance with those of neighboring jurisdictions, strategic interactions among municipalities cannot be properly interpreted as yardstick competition. We innovate on the literature by looking at different indicators of popularity and several specifications of inter-jurisdictional comparisons. The dataset includes all Italian municipalities for the entire period when mayors could set the property tax rate, e.g., 1995–2004, considering all interjurisdictional comparisons and relaxing the implicit hypothesis of cross section analysis that observed phenomena are on their steady state equilibrium. The estimates confirm the presence of electoral concerns of the incumbents and a significant spatial correlation of the tax rates, especially among neighboring nonterm limited mayors. Given these results, strategic interactions among Italian municipalities appear consistent with the predictions of yardstick competition theory.

Using Routinely Collected Hospital Data for Child Maltreatment Surveillance: Issues, Methods and Patterns

BackgroundInternational data on child maltreatment are largely derived from child protection agencies, and predominantly report only substantiated cases of child maltreatment. This approach underestimates the incidence of maltreatment and makes inter-jurisdictional comparisons difficult. There has been a growing recognition of the importance of health professionals in identifying, documenting and reporting suspected child maltreatment. This study aimed to describe the issues around case identification using coded morbidity data, outline methods for selecting and grouping relevant codes, and illustrate patterns of maltreatment identified.MethodsA comprehensive review of the ICD-10-AM classification system was undertaken, including review of index terms, a free text search of tabular volumes, and a review of coding standards pertaining to child maltreatment coding. Identified codes were further categorised into maltreatment types including physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional or psychological abuse, and neglect. Using these code groupings, one year of Australian hospitalisation data for children under 18 years of age was examined to quantify the proportion of patients identified and to explore the characteristics of cases assigned maltreatment-related codes.ResultsLess than 0.5% of children hospitalised in Australia between 2005 and 2006 had a maltreatment code assigned, almost 4% of children with a principal diagnosis of a mental and behavioural disorder and over 1% of children with an injury or poisoning as the principal diagnosis had a maltreatment code assigned. The patterns of children assigned with definitive T74 codes varied by sex and age group. For males selected as having a maltreatment-related presentation, physical abuse was most commonly coded (62.6% of maltreatment cases) while for females selected as having a maltreatment-related presentation, sexual abuse was the most commonly assigned form of maltreatment (52.9% of maltreatment cases).ConclusionThis study has demonstrated that hospital data could provide valuable information for routine monitoring and surveillance of child maltreatment, even in the absence of population-based linked data sources. With national and international calls for a public health response to child maltreatment, better understanding of, investment in and utilisation of our core national routinely collected data sources will enhance the evidence-base needed to support an appropriate response to children at risk.

Trace DNA analysis: Do you know what your neighbour is doing?: A multi-jurisdictional survey

Since 1997 the analysis of DNA recovered from handled objects, or ‘trace’ DNA, has become routine and is frequently demanded from crime scene examinations. However, this analysis often produces unpredictable results. The factors affecting the recovery of full profiles are numerous, and include varying methods of collection and analysis. Communication between forensic laboratories in Australia and New Zealand has been limited in the past, due in some part to sheer distance. Because of its relatively small population and low number of forensic jurisdictions this region is in an excellent position to provide a collective approach. However, the protocols, training methods and research of each jurisdiction had not been widely exchanged. A survey was developed to benchmark the current practices involved in trace DNA analysis, aiming to provide information for training programs and research directions, and to identify factors contributing to the success or failure of the analysis. The survey was divided in to three target groups: crime scene officers, DNA laboratory scientists, and managers of these staff. In late 2004 surveys were sent to forensic organisations in every Australian jurisdiction and New Zealand. A total of 169 completed surveys were received with a return rate of 54%. Information was collated regarding sampling, extraction, amplification and analysis methods, contamination prevention, samples collected, success rates, personnel training and education, and concurrent fingerprinting. The data from the survey responses provided an insight into aspects of trace DNA analysis, from crime scene to interpretation and management. Several concerning factors arose from the survey. Results collation is a significant issue being identified as poor and differing widely, preventing inter-jurisdictional comparison and intra-jurisdictional assessment of both the processes and outputs. A second point of note is the widespread lack of refresher training and proficiency testing, with no set standard for initial training courses. A common theme to these and other issues was the need for a collective approach to training and methodology in trace DNA analysis. Trace DNA is a small fraction of the evidence available in current investigations, and parallels to these results and problems will no doubt be found in other forensic disciplines internationally. The significant point to be realised from this study is the need for effective communication lines between forensic organisations to ensure that best practice is followed, ideally with a cohesive pan-jurisdictional approach.

Monitoring and information reporting for sustainable forest management: An inter-jurisdictional comparison of soft law standards

It is difficult to determine the information required to address sustainable forest management (SFM) issues. In the case of local-level soft law standards, such as third-party forest certification, the information must ensure adequate planning, inventory, reporting, inspection and compliance. It must also serve the practical and strategic needs of both the certified and certifying organization. In this study, the nature of the monitoring and information reporting required under soft law was obtained through a purposive sample of forestry soft law standards from North America and Europe. An inductive and investigative process was designed to formulate theory regarding the observed phenomena by systematically gathering and analyzing relevant data. The resulting matrix highlights many similarities and differences in the specific content of the soft law standards from different jurisdictions in North America and Europe. The results emphasise the importance of transparency, cooperation and comparison when evaluating third-party certification in different jurisdictions. They confirm the notion that international comparisons of forest management need to better reflect forest management standards rather than taking forest certification at face value. When considered in the context of globalization and internationalization, the research findings support international efforts to encourage the harmonization of SFM-related monitoring and information reporting.

Monitoring and information reporting through regulation: an inter-jurisdictional comparison of forestry-related hard laws

In most jurisdictions, the rule of law has been the core instrument used to implement rules, regulations and restrictions relating to forests. The results of this approach have relied on the effectiveness of the system for regulating through monitoring and reporting. Despite the obvious differences in the wider operating environment of forestry internationally, issues related to globalization have increased the need for comparison. The potential impact of certain social, economic and environmental differences on the nature of monitoring and information reporting is, therefore, important to forest policy and management. The analysis presented here considered data associated with forestry-related monitoring and information reporting to provide a comparative description of certain hard-law requirements in a sample of jurisdictions. This was done to shed light on the potential for coordinated monitoring and information reporting objectives to be mandated through inter-jurisdictional hard law. Our research suggests that further comparative analysis of hard law monitoring and information reporting requirements could form a central theme in defining the ‘ground rules’ of a global forest law.

Jurists and Judges: An Essay on Influence

Jurists and Judges examines the nature of academic influence,and particularly the influence of juristic commentary on judicial decision-making. Focusing on three legal systems, its author argues that inter-jurisdictional comparisons of juristic influence are often simplistic and inattentive to problems of incommensurability. The centrepiece of the study is a detailed chapter offering a nuanced history of juristic influence in England. All academic lawyers who reflect upon the history and objectives of their profession — who, in other words, wonder what it is that they are about — will profit from reading this most informative and engaging book.

Municipal Finances in Perspective: A Look at Interjurisdictional Spending and Revenue Patterns

This paper deals with inteijurisdictional comparisons of appropriations and revenues for local governments. Section 1 discusses measures of efficiency that might be used, the determination of the makeup of the sample and problems that must be dealt with, format, and finally, the basis on which the information is to be compared. Section 2 shows a 1976 comparison of the cities of Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse, New York, as an example of how an interjurisdictional comparison may be done. Inferences that can be drawn and responses to such a comparison are discussed briefly in Section 3.