Mandatory Instruments Research Articles

The Role of Course Evaluation and Needs Analyses for Syllabus Design: An Application to “English Language” Course for Master-Degree Students in Economics

The article considers the adjustment of the course design process to the new education paradigm. The transition to the competence approach imposed by the New Standards of Higher Education requires fresh perspective to syllabus construction and implies flexibility to be used by course designers. The authors highlight the importance of amalgam of formative and summative assessments, needs analysis and pre- and post-course evaluation to be mandatory instruments to this end. The experiment conducted by the researchers proves the need of balanced and broad-based approach to the syllabus design that would lead to better performance and greater learners’ satisfaction. Some recommendations are submitted for approval to the HEI authorities as a practical outcome of the experiment. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2015.v6n1s3p346

Pollution control agreements in Japan: conditions for their success

A Pollution Control Agreement (PCA) is typically an agreement made between a local government and a business with regard to the environmental measures of the business. It can be regarded as a kind of voluntary approach (VA). In preceding case studies, it was found that PCAs played a larger role in reducing sulfur oxides emissions than other policy instruments. To clarify the actual situations of PCAs, two questionnaire surveys were conducted. Upon analysis, it was found that PCAs were used differently by local governments of different scales and confirmed that traditional industrial pollution problems had been controlled to a large extent by PCAs. It is argued in this article that the difference between voluntary and mandatory instruments is the difference of their introduction process. Furthermore, the features of PCAs are investigated by comparing them with other policy instruments that differ from PCAs in this respect. It is concluded that the main strong points of PCAs are the ability to gain residents’ understanding of new locations and operations of business, the flexibility to adapt regulation to the financial conditions of businesses, and that they stem from their individuality of negotiation, conclusion, and implementation. Finally our study on PCAs is compared with other studies on VAs. There it is found that the incentive scheme to motivate businesses to conclude PCAs is different from what other studies found concerning VAs in other countries.

Convergence of Clinical Staff Ratings and Research Ratings to Assess Patients With Schizophrenia in Nursing Homes

Convergence of Clinical Staff Ratings and Research Ratings to Assess Patients With Schizophrenia in Nursing Homes

96/02295 Energy for the future. An environmentally resilient strategy

Abstract ETE 21 (Energy, Technology and the Environment — a Circle to Promote Rational Action for the 21st Century) proposes technological solutions to meeting the growing needs for energy in an ecologically responsible and economically viable manner. When such technological solutions face barriers to their acceptance policy instruments may need to be considered — as a last resort. This paper considers the policy options available after briefly discussing the environmental objectives and technological solutions. Environmental Objectives need to be defined, before policy issues are addressed. In the field of human needs air rates highest, followed by water, food, shelter, comfort, power and mobility. The last three in this league table are particularly dependent on energy in modern society. Meeting he needs for energy creates repercussions higher in the league table either directly through atmospheric or water pollution or indirectly through possible climate change. ETE 21 believes that rational action would require tackling the pollutants and their direct adverse impacts. In most cases this will help relieve the indirect (and still ill-determined) effects of so-called Green House Gases. Technological solutions provide the most logical and promising option to ameliorate the impact of the use of the energy in an ecologically responsible and economically viable way. Most new technologies will enter the system through the commercial pricing mechanism. In certain cases e.g. where heavy front-end (capital) loading is involved some “greening of the invisible hand” might expedite technological penetration. Established accounting systems do not take the negative externalities (pollutants, CO 2 ) into account, nor social costs (health, congestion, time loss). Mechanisms are being devised to quantify such environmental costs. As such they may (via “trial and error”) help to steer public policy . Policy Options can in the first instance be confined to education, persuasion and exhortation. If these do not achieve the environmental objectives within the timescale desired, forms of intervention (dirigism) will need to be introduced. These range from Market to Mandatory Instruments, which in turn can be sub-categorised. This will be discussed in the presentation. A Resilient Strategy can be achieved by testing alternative strategies against a spectrum of environmental objectives.

Energy for the future: An Environmentally Resilient Strategy

ETE 21 (Energy, Technology and the Environment — a Circle to Promote Rational Action for the 21st Century) proposes technological solutions to meeting the growing needs for energy in an ecologically responsible and economically viable manner. When such technological solutions face barriers to their acceptance policy instruments may need to be considered — as a last resort. This paper considers the policy options available after briefly discussing the environmental objectives and technological solutions. Environmental Objectives need to be defined, before policy issues are addressed. In the field of human needs air rates highest, followed by water, food, shelter, comfort, power and mobility. The last three in this league table are particularly dependent on energy in modern society. Meeting he needs for energy creates repercussions higher in the league table either directly through atmospheric or water pollution or indirectly through possible climate change. ETE 21 believes that rational action would require tackling the pollutants and their direct adverse impacts. In most cases this will help relieve the indirect (and still ill-determined) effects of so-called Green House Gases. Technological solutions provide the most logical and promising option to ameliorate the impact of the use of the energy in an ecologically responsible and economically viable way. Most new technologies will enter the system through the commercial pricing mechanism. In certain cases e.g. where heavy front-end (capital) loading is involved some “greening of the invisible hand” might expedite technological penetration. Established accounting systems do not take the negative externalities (pollutants, CO 2) into account, nor social costs (health, congestion, time loss). Mechanisms are being devised to quantify such environmental costs. As such they may (via “trial and error”) help to steer public policy. Policy Options can in the first instance be confined to education, persuasion and exhortation. If these do not achieve the environmental objectives within the timescale desired, forms of intervention (dirigism) will need to be introduced. These range from Market to Mandatory Instruments, which in turn can be sub-categorised. This will be discussed in the presentation. A Resilient Strategy can be achieved by testing alternative strategies against a spectrum of environmental objectives.

Some political influences surrounding the Nurses Registration Act 1919 in the United Kingdom.

Recent research into the Development of the British Poor Law Nursing Service has thrown up interesting attitudes towards the registration of nurses and the delay in achieving this until 1919. These allow a wider understanding of the political considerations surrounding the setting up of the General Nursing Council and the factors which influenced the acceptance of the Syllabus of Examinations and the rejection of the Syllabus of Training as a mandatory instrument. The Poor Law Nursing Service is described as the major section of British nursing during the 1920s which out‐numbered the voluntary nursing sector by about 2 : 1 and cared for 75% of the hospital patients at that period.