Reform Model Research Articles

Understanding complexity of administrative reform

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the complexity of administrative reform and its implications.Design/methodology/approachThis paper is based on an extensive review of the literature.FindingsThe most conspicuous fashion might be new public management (NPM) and its successor, post-NPM. However, recent reforms which involve complexity created the challenge of “rational calculation” in terms of an understanding of administrative reform. The authors observe that the measure of coordination in a response to fragmentation increases complexity and the rationale behind that reform is based on the instrumental rationality. This hinders real meaning of administrative reform, thereby failing to provide lessons for the future administration. Whether market-based reform or neo-Weberian model of reform, the thing should be considered is the condition under which the reform works.Originality/valueThis paper reaffirms the importance of the political-bureaucratic system which has multi-functional nature and competing institutional values when the different recipes for reform are imported into different context and a compatibility test by leaders.

A Core Components Framework for Evaluating Implementation of Competency-Based Medical Education Programs.

The rapid adoption of competency-based medical education (CBME) provides an unprecedented opportunity to study implementation. Examining "fidelity of implementation"-that is, whether CBME is being implemented as intended-is hampered, however, by the lack of a common framework. This article details the development of such a framework. A two-step method was used. First, a perspective indicating how CBME is intended to bring about change was described. Accordingly, core components were identified. Drawing from the literature, the core components were organized into a draft framework. Using a modified Delphi approach, the second step examined consensus amongst an international group of experts in CBME. Two different viewpoints describing how a CBME program can bring about change were found: production and reform. Because the reform model was most consistent with the characterization of CBME as a transformative innovation, this perspective was used to create a draft framework. Following the Delphi process, five core components of CBME curricula were identified: outcome competencies, sequenced progression, tailored learning experiences, competency-focused instruction, and programmatic assessment. With some modification in wording, consensus emerged amongst the panel of international experts. Typically, implementation evaluation relies on the creation of a specific checklist of practices. Given the ongoing evolution and complexity of CBME, this work, however, focused on identifying core components. Consistent with recent developments in program evaluation, where implementation is described as a developmental trajectory toward fidelity, identifying core components is presented as a fundamental first step toward gaining a more sophisticated understanding of implementation.

Unitary enterprises: objective need or past remnant?

The article discusses the legal issues of reforming unitary enterprises, examines the models of such reform. Based on the analysis of the negative impact of unitary enterprises on the state of economic competition of economic entities and in general on the state of the Russian economy, author concludes that it is necessary to introduce a legal ban on the activity by unitary enterprises on the commodity markets.

Testimony on 'The State of Patent Eligibility in America' before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Intellectual Property Subcommittee

This invited testimony was prepared for Senate Judiciary Committee, Intellectual Property Subcommittee, hearing on reforming § 101. It identifies several reasons that justify congressional action in reforming § 101 and abrogating Alice-Mayo framework created by Supreme Court in its patent eligibility cases between 2010 and 2014. First, it details very high rates of invalidation of patents and rejection of patent applications under § 101 since 2014. Second, it explains why USPTO’s recent reforms in its § 101 examination guidelines are insufficient to solve problems of excessive cancellations of patents by courts and uncertainty for innovators. Third, it identifies a guidepost for congressional action today in 1952 Patent Act. Congress has abrogated Supreme Court doctrines many times before, and its enactment of § 103 in 1952 Patent Act is a model for reform of § 101 today. Section 103 is succinct, technology neutral, and simple in setting forth procedural and substantive limits for nonobviousness doctrine. It does this because it responded to same problems in nonobviousness doctrine that innovators face today under patent eligibility doctrine: Supreme Court created a very restrictive test (“the flash of creative genius”) that resulted in extensive invalidations of patents and uncertainty for innovators. In 1949, Justice Robert Jackson lamented in dissent that the only patent that is valid is one which this Court has not been able to get its hands on. This could have been written today about patent eligibility cases. Congress should act again to rein in a judicial doctrine that is undermining function of patent system in driving innovation economy.

Exploring a Basic Model of the State-owned Enterprise Reform

The new round of state-owned enterprise reform is being deepened. As of now, the reform has achieved positive results, and there are still some difficult problems that need to be solved through overall planning. The overall direction of SOE reform is clear, but the specific reform model needs to be explored in practice. This paper attempts to propose a relatively feasible basic model of reform in the long run to accelerate the reform of SOEs.

Internationalization of Higher Education in the Autonomy Context: A Case Study of Vietnam National University, Hanoi

In the movement of integration and development in Vietnam, universities are moving from centralized management to subsidized decentralization and strengthening the autonomy of universities to meet the goals of the innovation and integration phase. This paper would evaluate the international identity in Vietnam and at Vietnam National University, Hanoi (VNU) in the context of higher education autonomy. A number of policy factors affect international cooperation at the VNU; The role of scholarly exchanges for students, lecturers in the context of international integration; the impact of international affiliate programs to the internationalization of higher education at VNU.
 Keywords
 VNU, Vietnam, autonomy, internationalization, higher education
 References
 [1] N.V. Varghese, Michaela Martin, Governance reform in higher education: a study of institutional autonomy in Asian countries. Pg. 22. International institute for educational planning, 2014. [2] M. Kreysing, Autonomy, accountability, and organizational complexity in higher education: the Goettingen model of university reform, Journal of Educational Administration. 40(6) 2002) 552 Emerald Publishing Limited.[3] D. Anderson, R. Johnson, University Autonomy in Twenty Countries. Pg 20. Australia. Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs, 1998.[4] P. Koudelková, W. Strielkowski, D. Hejlova, Corruption and System Change in the Czech Republic: Firm-level Evidence, Law and Economics Review. 6(1) (2015) 2546.[5] J.V. Thomas, Ben Wikinson, Vietnamese Higher education: Crisis and Response, Memoradum Higher Education Task Force Nov 2008, USA, Harvard Kenedy School, ASH Institue, 2008. [6] Pham Thi Thanh Hai, Autonomy and Accountability of Higher Education In the process of innovation and international integration in Vietnam. Vietnam. Science Journal, VNU Human and Social Sciences University. 3(1b) (2017) 87-97.[7] I. Moses, Institutional Autonomy Revisited: Autonomy Justified and Accounted, Higher Education Policy. 20 (2007) 261-274. [8] J. Knight, Internationalization brings important benefits as well as risks, International Higher education. 46 (2007) 8-10. [9] Vietnam National Assembly, Laws on Education, Educational Publishing House, 2005.[10] Vietnam National Assembly, Laws on Higher Education, Educational Publishing House, 2012.[11] Bui Tu, Đại học Ngoại thương: Thực hiện thí điểm tự chủ là cơ hội lớn, Financial Times. (2007http://thoibaotaichinhvietnam.vn/pages/nhip-song-tai-chinh/2017-08-11/dai-hoc-ngoai-thuong-thuc-hien-thi-diem-tu-chu-la-co-hoi-lon-46550.aspx)/, [12] Prime Minister, University Charter, Decree 58/2010/QĐ-TTg, 2010.[13] Prime Minister, University Charter, Decree 70/2010/QĐ-TTg, 2014.[14] Vietnam Government, Resolution 77/NQ-CP. Piloting innovative mechanisms of action for public higher education institutions during 2014-2017 period, 2014. [15] Vietnam Government, Socio-Economic Development Plan 2006-2010, Resolution No. 25/2006/NQ-CP, 2016.[16] Vietnam Government, Fundamentally and Comprehensively Innovation of Vietnam Higher Education, Resolution 14/2005/NQ-CP, 2005.[17] The Prime Minister, Approval of ‘scheme on using national budget to pay for training staffs conducting research on science and engineering working in foreign countries. Decision 322/2000/QĐ-TTg, 2000.[18] The Prime Minister, Approval of “scheme on training lecturers with PhD degree at universities and colleges in the period 2010-2020”, Decision 911/QĐ-TTg, 2010.[19] The Prime Minister, Approval of “scheme on using national budget to pay for training staffs in foreign countries in the period 2013-2020”, Decision 599/QĐ-TTg, 2013.

Negotiation of Tradition, Islam, and Modernity in The Movement of The Kaum Mudo Islamic Reform in Minangkabau

At the beginning of the 20th century when the modernism of Islam in Minangkabau was strengthened, many academics saw the Kaum Mudo Islamic movement in a paradoxical perspective. On the one hand, the movement is considered to be progress-oriented by negotiating and accommodating with adat and hence they are referred to as reformers. On the other hand, the movement is seen as opposing and eliminating the integration of the elements of local cultures (adat) and modern ideas into Islam. Therefore, they are also referred to as puritans. Employing Stella Ting-Toomeys’s identity negotiation theory, which refers to ethnic (traditional) and religious identities as primary identities, this article concludes that the Islamic Movement for the Kaum Mudo in Minangkabau is a reform movement rooted in Islamic customs and traditions and not a purification movement. It can be observed, among others, in the following cases: (1) the existing social groups contest each other and fight for their mutual influence; (2) the ethnic background of each character at that time required an attitude which gives room for negotiations; (3) the existing madrasa reform model negotiated between the traditional surau system and the modern Dutch school; and (4) there has been a synthesis of adat with Islam and modernity in Minangkabau which are also negotiating each other.

Features of modern models of public administration

The emergence of the latest nature of public administration is one of the main instruments for the approval of a public governance model, which implies the need to replace bureaucratic mechanisms with socially-oriented market relations.
 Level of scientific reflection there is an expansion of the range of applicability of existing concepts and the development of new, increasing hybridization of public administration systems.
 The purpose of the article is to identify features and generalized characteristics of the main models of public administration and to formulate proposals for the formation of the most optimal model of public administration in accordance with the stages of transformation of the domestic society.
 Old Public Management – the classic bureaucratic form of organization described by Max Weber as the ideal type of rational form of government based on the principle of law-making, with a high level of predictability for both policy in general and for citizens.
 New Public Management is a modern model of public administration reform. An important place within the framework of this model is the concept of Digital Government, Network model of government, Anti-crisis Public Administration, Open Government Partnership.
 It should be noted that in the "pure" form, these models of public administration are almost never found in any country in the world, although this or that set of elements of certain models is introduced into the practice of modern state regulation. In the majority of foreign countries there is currently a certain tendency towards convergence, a kind of diffusion of various approaches to public administration.
 From the elements of these concepts one can form the theoretical basis for the "ideal model" of public administration, which can then be used to study administrative reforms in different countries.
 The main essential features of the "ideal model" of a public administration model are to justify the following: implementation of the concept of "good" public administration as part of the Good Governance model, system simplification of legislation (as one of the elements and inherent tools of a "new" public management model), reduction the total number and narrowing of segments of the subject-object area of ​​public administration with the transfer of public functions and public authority by the public administration, ensuring subsidiarity in public-private services development, public-private partnership development, de-bureaucratization and de-concentration of public sector entities, activation of the interaction of public administration and other types of social management, realization and progressive development of the concept of "electronic state", significant increase of requirements for transparency and accountability of public administration, development tools of public administration, increase the variety of their modifications and complication of their combinations, implementation of the concept of management of results, increase ting susceptibility and complementarity against the public interest.

Success Factors of Land Reform and Sustainable Rural Development: History Background and Tendencies

Success factors of the of land reforms and sustainable development of the rural areas. Ownership and use of land resources has a dynamic and increasing tendency towards the concentration of land by certain state and public institutions as well as individuals in the historical aspect. It leads to the enrichment of the small monopolists and the poverty of the village. Usually, when a critical limit of conflict will be reached, it should be resolved by state reforms. From the second half of the 19th century, on the territory of today’s Ukraine there were three significant land reforms. First two are the reforms in 1848 in Austrian-Hungary, and Stolypin reform of 1906–1907. Their purpose and solutions can be directly related to the land reform that has started in the beginning of 1991 in Ukraine. Until now, this reform has not yet been fully implemented. It causes a number of progressive prods, connected primarily with the land market. The moratorium on the sale of agricultural land does stands in the way of land mortgages, land capital, investment attractiveness, issues related to land protection, soil fertility conservation, land use optimization, excessive use, land reclamation, and the development of small and medium-sized agricultural producers. Small and large villages have been disappearing, the problems of preserving forests, reservoirs, and biological diversity has been worsening. Certain risks can be seen in the newly amalgamated territorial communities as there is a high dependence between the number of village councils and villages. There are different models of land reforms applied in the world. European models of land reform, particularly Polish and French models are the most suitable in the light of current situation in Ukraine. The model of the harmonious development of rural areas, covering about 90% of the entireterritory of the country, should be based on the paradigm of sustainable development. In Europe, three major models of rural development have emerged: sectoral based on the development of agriculture; redistribution, which involves the reduction of discrepancies between the more underdeveloped rural areas and advance industries and the territorial (cluster) model that implies the development of the rural territories is carried out on the basis of the corresponding interdependencies within the local economy. There five models of rural development in Ukraine at the current stage: sectoral (intersectoral); redistributive; cluster; model, focused on the village, that entails priority given to meet the needs of the specific territory and local tradition preservation; and finally, the mixed, based on several components of the different models, mainly sectoral and cluster. Education, professional enhancement, spirituality and Christian ethics, citizens’ activism and civic society development also belongs to the crucial factors for the sustainable development of rural areas.

Physical Education Teacher Education Leaders’ Perceptions on a National Curriculum in Physical Education

ABSTRACTPurpose: Given criticism of P-12 physical education and wide variability in instructional quality and subject matter outcomes in the United States (US), a national curriculum has been debated by some scholars as a mechanism for improving the status of the subject matter. Grounded in the systemic reform (SR) model, the purpose of this study was to explore physical education teacher education (PETE) leaders’ perceptions regarding the implementation of a national curriculum. Method: In total, 28 individuals participated in in-depth interviews that were inductively/deductively coded and triangulated. Results: Themes indicated that nationalizing the curriculum has the potential to offer explicit educational goals, substantial pedagogical guidelines, and valid assessments. Despite recognizing the potential benefits of national curriculum, however, the majority of participants were opposed because of the inflexibility of such a system in the culturally and geographically diverse school contexts across the US. Conclusions: The concept of national curriculum can be differently interpreted in different countries based on sociocultural, historical, and contextual factors, and its relevance depends primarily on one’s perceptions and previous experiences.

Forty Years of American Sentencing Guidelines: What Have We Learned?

Since 1980, 22 state and federal jurisdictions have adopted sentencing guidelines. Nineteen still have them. No two systems are alike. Experience suggests that any well-designed system requires five core features: a permanent, balanced, independent, and adequately funded sentencing commission; typical-case presumptive sentences and departure criteria; a hybrid sentencing theory that recognizes both retributive and crime control purposes; balance between the competing benefits of rules and discretion; and sentence recommendations informed by resource and demographic impact assessments. Balance is needed in terms of commission composition, between conflicting sentencing purposes, between rules and discretion, and between the influence of the commission, the legislature, and case-level actors. Guidelines proponents disagree about a number of important issues. Some relate to which crimes and sentencing issues should be regulated. Others concern the design details that determine how the system actually works. It is clear, however, that preguidelines regimes of unstructured, highly discretionary sentencing are unacceptable and that commission-drafted guidelines, endorsed by the American Bar Association and the American Law Institute, are the only successful sentencing reform model. In four decades, no competing model of comparable detail and scope has been seriously proposed.

Effect of an Integrated Payment System on the Direct Economic Burden and Readmission of Rural Cerebral Infarction Inpatients: Evidence from Anhui, China.

Rural China is piloting an integrated payment system, which prepays a budget to a medical alliance rather than a single hospital. This study aims to evaluate the effect of this reform on the direct economic burden and readmission rates of cerebral infarction inpatients. The settlement records of 78,494 cerebral infarction inpatients were obtained from the New Rural Cooperative Medical Scheme (NRCMS) database in Dingyuan and Funan Counties in the Anhui Province. The direct economic burden was estimated by total costs, out-of-pocket expenditures, the out-of-pocket ratio, and the compensation ratio of the NRCMS. Generalized additive models and multivariable linear/logistic regression were applied to measure the changes of the dependent variables along with the year. Within the county, the total costs positively correlated to the year (β = 313.10 in 2015; 163.06 in 2016). The out-of-pocket expenditures, out-of-pocket ratios, and the length-of-stay positively correlated to the year in 2015 (β = 105.10, 0.01, and 0.18 respectively), and negatively correlated to the year in 2016 (β = −58.40, −0.03, and −0.30, respectively). The odds ratios of the readmission rates were less than one within the county (0.70 in 2015; 0.53 in 2016). The integrated payment system in the Anhui Province has considerably reduced the direct economic burden for the rural cerebral infarction inpatients, and the readmission rate has decreased within the county. Inpatients’ health outcomes should be given further attention, and the long-term effect of this reform model awaits further evaluation.

State-Owned Enterprises in Singapore: Historical Insights Into a Potential Model for Reform

This article argues that the Singapore GLC Model is so closely intertwined with Singapore’s idiosyncratic history and unique regulatory culture that, although the model has been extremely successful within Singapore, transplanting it to China could be difficult. The article also explores the extent to which the success of the Singapore GLC Model and China’s ambition to emulate it challenge notions that corporate governance systems are converging towards a market-oriented (American) model of the shareholder centric corporation and the extent to which the success of the Singapore GLC Model challenges the basic conception that private enterprise rather than the state is necessarily more efficient at allocating capital to its most productive use.

Which households matter most? Capturing equity considerations in tax reform via generalised social marginal welfare weights

Social marginal welfare weights reflect the values of the social planner, or equivalently the underlying social welfare function, when evaluating the welfare impact of a change in public policy such as a tax reform. Using the nationally representative Irish Household Budget Survey, we empirically examine the sensitivity in the distribution of welfare weights to applying alternatives to the commonly employed “default” of Utilitarianism. The alternative weighting schemes we analyse are based upon: the principles of Equal Sacrifice, poverty alleviation, government self-interest and the distinction between deserving and undeserving income. We first examine the correlation between these welfare weights and the underlying measure of household resources. Then, applying these alternative welfare weights to a commonly used indirect tax reform model, the ranking of goods by distributional characteristic, the component of the model capturing distributional concerns, is shown to be highly sensitive to the choice of welfare weights. This sensitivity does not persist when demand responses are also incorporated.

Effect of a typical systemic hospital reform on inpatient expenditure for rural population: the Sanming model in China

BackgroundConsidering catastrophic health expenses in rural households with hospitalised members were unproportionally high, in 2013, China developed a model of systemic reform in Sanming by adjusting payment method, pharmaceutical system, and medical services price. The reform was expected to control the excessive growth of hospital expenditures by reducing inefficiency and waste in health system or shortening the length of stay. This study analyzed the systemic reform’s impact on the financial burden and length of stay for the rural population in Sanming.MethodsA total of 1,113,615 inpatient records for the rural population were extracted from the rural new cooperative medical scheme (NCMS) database in Sanming from 2007 to 2012 (before the reform) and from 2013 to 2016 (after the reform). We calculated the average growth rate of total inpatient expenditures and costs of different medical service categories (medications, diagnostic testing, physician services and therapeutic services) in these two periods. Generalized linear models (GLM) were employed to examine the effect of reform on out-of-pocket (OOP) expenditures and length of stay, controlling for some covariates. Furthermore, we controlled the fixed effects of the year and hospitals, and included cluster standard errors by hospital to assess the robustness of the findings in the GLM analysis.ResultsThe typical systemic reform decreased the average growth rate of total inpatient expenditures by 1.34%, compared with the period before the reform. The OOP expenditures as a share of total expenditures showed a downward trend after the reform (42.34% in 2013). Holding all else constant, individuals after the reform spent ¥308.42 less on OOP expenditures (p < 0.001) than they did before the reform. Moreover, length of stay had a decrease of 0.67 days after the reform (p < 0.001).ConclusionsThese results suggested that the typical systemic hospital reform of the Sanming model had some positive effects on cost control and reducing financial burden for the rural population. Considering the OOP expenditures as a share of total expenditures was still high, China still has a long way to go to improve the benefits rural people have enjoyed from the NCMS.

Fostering agency to overcome barriers in college science teaching: Going against the grain to enact reform‐based ideas

AbstractStudent‐centered and inquiry‐based teaching improve science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) learning at all levels. However, reform efforts have been met with limited success due to complex interactions between structural relics of our education systems and the pre‐existing beliefs of STEM instructors. Using the Teacher‐Centered Systemic Reform model and the construct of agency, we investigated these interactions through three case studies of new undergraduate science instructors after they completed a graduate introductory course: college science teaching. Data included interviews, in‐class observations, surveys, and classroom artifacts. Forming a case narrative, data revealed instructors' beliefs, practices, and the barriers that had to be circumnavigated, overcome, or accommodated by instructors. Results demonstrated how different forms of agency mediated the barriers and outcomes that emerged between the personal and contextual factors associated with college science teaching. This study provides insight for supporting new college instructors, fills a gap in the literature, and enhances theoretical understanding of the importance of agency in systemic reform.

Effective sensor placement in a steam reformer using gappy proper orthogonal decomposition

In this study, a gappy proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method was applied to a steam reformer model with combustion, flow, and catalysis to determine the optimal number and placement of sensors. The dominant POD modes were identified based on a limited number of snapshots obtained from a spatial domain simulation, and the POD modal content was calculated from the corresponding gappy data. This information was used to estimate the differences between the sensor measurements and actual fields. The estimation results were utilized to verify the accuracies of gappy POD projections of 20 snapshots of the positions of six, three, and two sensors, and the sensor arrangements determined by using a proposed objective function were compared to those resulting from applying the conventional method. In addition, reconstructions based on gappy data were evaluated in four validation cases, and the accuracy and robustness of the sensor positions in various situations were confirmed. Consequently, this paper optimized sensor placement for the steam reformer in terms of temperature prediction and proposed modified the objective function which maintains orthogonality of the mask matrix.

ЗАЛУЧЕННЯ ПРЯМИХ ІНОЗЕМНИХ ІНВЕСТИЦІЙ В ЕКОНОМІКУ ІНДІЇ: ДОСВІД ДЛЯ УКРАЇНИ

One of the priority tasks for many countries of the world is to increase the volume of foreign investment. In Ukraine the volume of direct foreign investments is insignificant and the dynamic of their attraction is rather slow. Therefore, the study of the experience of India, which is one of the leading countries in attracting foreign direct investment, is of scientific and practical interest. The subject of the article's research is the foreign direct investment in the Indian economy. The goal is to determine opportunities to apply the India's experience to stimulate foreign direct investment in Ukraine. The objective is to research the measures taken by the Indian Government to increase the attractiveness of the country for foreign investors. Methods: system analysis is used to determine the key characteristics of the Indian Economic Reform Model; trend analysis – to predict the inflow of FDI to India; correlation analysis – to determine the correlation between GDP and inflow of foreign direct investment to India. The following results were obtained: India's position in international ratings related to investment attractiveness was researched; the connection between FDI inflow and India's credit ratings was analyzed; the correlation between GDP and inflow of foreign direct investment to India was determined; India’s reasons for attracting foreign investors were systematized; general opportunities for using India's experience to stimulate the attraction of foreign direct investment to Ukraine were summarized. Conclusions: some aspects of Indian experience in attracting foreign direct investment can be used as recommendations to stimulate the attraction of foreign direct investment to Ukraine.

Utility of Anxiety/Depression Domain of EQ-5D to Define Psychological Distress in Spine Surgery

Prospective patient-reported outcomes (PROs) registries are central to emerging evidence-driven reform models. These registries entail significant operator and responder burden to capture PROs data. It is important to limit the number of PROs administered. We sought to determine whether the anxiety/depression domain of EQ-5D could be used to define preoperative psychological distress in patients undergoing elective spine surgery. Patients undergoing elective spine surgery and enrolled into a prospective registry were analyzed. The 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey Mental Component Summary, Zung depression scale, Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire, and EQ-5D were completed. The anxiety/depression domain of EQ-5D was used to define psychological distress; responses were captured as 1) not anxious or depressed, 2) moderately anxious or depressed, or 3) extremely anxious or depressed. Univariate correlation and proportional odds logistic regression analyses were conducted. Of 2470 included patients undergoing elective spine surgery, 45% (n= 1109) reported no psychological distress, 47% (n= 1168) reported moderate psychological distress, and 8% (n= 193) reported extreme psychological distress on EQ-5D. Psychological distress on EQ-5D had positive correlation with Zung depression scale (P < 0.0001, r= 0.620) and Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (P < 0.0001, r= 0.450) and negative correlation with 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey Mental Component Summary (P < 0.0001, r=-0.662). In proportional odds logistic regression models, EQ-5D psychological distress had significant correlations with 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey Mental Component Summary (P < 0.0001, C-index= 0.831), Zung depression scale (P < 0.0001, C-index= 0.802), and Modified Somatic Perception Questionnaire (P < 0.0001, C-index= 0.711). The anxiety/depression domain of EQ-5D could be used to categorize preoperative psychological distress. Spine registries could use this information to potentially limit the number of validated PROs administered.

Global Environmental Governance Reform: The Emerging Debate on the Need for a World Environment Organisation

Environmental problems, such as climate change, ocean pollution, the depletion of fisheries, and loss of biological diversity, have come to demonstrate most openly our current global interconnectedness. Governments continue to set-up international mechanisms for tackling global-scale environmental problems which has led to a complex international bureaucracy, significant burdens on national administrative capabilities in both the developed and the developing world, and, most importantly, inability on the part of existing international or national bodies to successfully deal with the problems at hand. In this context, the question of the most suitable governance architecture for the scale and scope of contemporary global environmental problems has become an important focus of both policy and academic debates. Scholars and politicians alike have argued that if we do not address governance failures, our stewardship of the environment will persist to be ineffective and inequitable, with little possibility of finding a pathway toward sustainability. Consequently, national governments, civil society groups, and experts on global environment policy have called for the reform of the global environmental governance structure. This paper reviews the most prominent policy options for environmental governance reform that have received attention in the literature, and identifies key points of contention and convergence. To achieve its aim, the paper is divided as follows: introduction, core issues of debate on the need for a World Environment Organization, models of global environmental governance reform, arguments against a World Environment Organization and the concluding remark.