Policy Council Research Articles

A autonomia federativa e o problema da unanimidade nos convênios do Confaz

Os autores do artigo questionam a necessidade de haver decisões unânimes nos convênios do Conselho Nacional de Política Fazendária (CONFAZ) sobre a concessão de benefícios ou incentivos fiscais de ICMS. Para tanto, é apresentado o posicionamento do STF sobre o tema, o procedimento legislativo adotado pelos Estados para enfrentar as declarações de inconstitucionalidade, a ocorrência da chamada “inconstitucionalidade útil”, bem como é examinada a Lei Complementar n° 24/75. Além disso, é realizada uma análise crítica do perigo de se perpetuar a “ditadura da minoria” na Federação brasileira. Somando-se a isso, uma abordagem histórica é realizada, destacando-se o posicionamento doutrinário sobre a questão. Por fim, são apresentadas sugestões para se enfrentar o problema da unanimidade nos convênios do CONFAZ.

Responsible conduct of research: enhancing local opportunities.

Research integrity is the foundation of credible research and a pre-requisite for a successful academic research environment. Lately, a lot of revelations of fraud and other unacceptable behaviour in research have been highly publicized in scientific journals and mass media. Whereas institutions in developed countries have developed guidelines and regulations to ensure responsible conduct of research and appropriately deal with cases of research misconduct, low- and middle-income countries seem to be lagging behind. In Uganda, there seems to be lack of coordinated efforts to address the problem of research misconduct both at the national and institutional level. To propose a framework for fostering scientific integrity and deterring misconduct in research in Ugandan research and academic institutions. A review of literature on scientific integrity, scientific misconduct, responsible conduct of research, and international ethical guidelines was done. Basing on the 2012 Inter-Academy Council policy report, initiatives to promote responsible conduct of research in Ugandan research and academic institutions are proposed. With the proposed framework, an honest and trustworthy research enterprise in Uganda based on principles of scientific integrity is envisioned.

A 6-year update of the health policy and advocacy priorities of the Society of Behavioral Medicine.

Government policy affects virtually every topic of interest to health behavior researchers, from research funding to reimbursement for clinical services to application of evidence to impact health outcomes. This paper provides a 6-year update on the expansion of Society of Behavioral Medicine's (SBM) public policy and advocacy agenda and proposed future directions. SBM's Health Policy Council is responsible for ensuring coordination of the policy-related activities of the Health Policy Committee (HPC), the Civic and Public Engagement Committee (CPEC), and the Scientific and Professional Liaison Council (SPLC). These committees and councils have written letters to Congress, signed onto advocacy letters with hundreds of organizations, and developed and disseminated 15 health policy briefs, the majority of which have been presented to legislative staffers on Capitol Hill. With the assistance of the SPLC, SBM has collaborated on policy efforts with like-minded organizations to increase the impact of the Society's policy work. Moving forward, SBM plans to continue to increase efforts to disseminate policy work more broadly and develop long-term relationships with Congressional staffers. SBM leadership realizes that to remain relevant, demonstrate impact, and advance the role of behavioral medicine, we must advance a policy agenda that reflects our mission of better health through behavior change.

Central Council and zemstvo self-government: march–october 1917

As a social and political association, the Central Council emerged on March 3, 1917 as a result of the February Revolution in Russia. At that time, under the conditions of the First World War, there was a decline in zemstvo economy, increase in an amount of unpaid zemstvo taxes, decrease in a volume of zemstvo income and concurrently increase in spendings. As a consequence, there was a financial failure of zemstvos. Taking this into consideration, they lost public trust and support. Therefore, one of the most important reforms of the Provisional Government of Russia was to be a reform of zemstvo self-government that received a full support of the Central Council. According to the leaders of the Central Council, the reform would provide ukrainization, democratization and modernization of zemstvos, establishing such local authorities on their basis which the Central Council would rest upon in its regional policy. As a result of the reforms and establishing cooperation between the Central Council and zemstvos, they had to be transformed into genuine local authorities and form the foundation of the Ukrainian statehood.In the spring of 1917, zemstvos expressed their support for the Central Council. They started ukrainization of their own institutions, conducted active social, political and educational activities which were aimed at supporting nation creative activities of the Central Council, spreading the ideas of the Ukrainian statehood and carrying out democratic reforms. Zemstvos promoted in the making of the social and political association «Prosvita» (Enlightenment). However, in July 1917, the Central Council started preparations for introduction of a new system of local self-government.According to legislation of the Provisional Government of Russia, in September 1917, democratic elections for councilors of provincial, county and township zemstvos were held. As a consequence of the elections, the process of democratization and ukrainization of zemstvos took place. Not nobles but peasants constituted more than 60% of zemstvo composition. The newly elected zemstvos fully supported the policy of the Central Council. However, the distancing process between the Central Council and zemstvos continued to develop after the democratic elections to zemstvos. This contradictory attitude of the Central Council to zemstvo self-government was due to two main factors. On the one hand, zemstvos actively supported the national state creative process that prompted the Central Council to cooperate with them. However, during the First World War, there was a decline in zemstvo economy, zemstvos lost public trust and support. So, on the other hand, cooperation with zemstvo self-government discredited the Central Council.

Food Policy Council Self-Assessment Tool: Development, Testing, and Results.

A large number of food policy councils (FPCs) exist in the United States, Canada, and Tribal Nations (N = 278), yet there are no tools designed to measure their members’ perceptions of organizational capacity, social capital, and council effectiveness. Without such tools, it is challenging to determine best practices for FPCs and to measure change within and across councils over time. This study describes the development, testing, and findings from the Food Policy Council Self-Assessment Tool (FPC-SAT). The assessment measures council practices and council members’ perceptions of the following concepts: leadership, breadth of active membership, council climate, formality of council structure, knowledge sharing, relationships, member empowerment, community context, synergy, and impacts on the food system. All 278 FPCs listed on the Food Policy Network’s Online Directory were recruited to complete the FPC-SAT. Internal reliability (Cronbach’s α) and inter-rater reliability (AD, rWG(J), ICC [intraclass correlations][1], ICC[2]) were calculated, and exploratory and a confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Responses from 354 FPC members from 94 councils were used to test the assessment. Cronbach’s α ranged from 0.79 to 0.93 for the scales. FPC members reported the lowest mean scores on the breadth of active membership scale (2.49; standard deviation [SD], 0.62), indicating room for improvement, and highest on the leadership scale (3.45; SD, 0.45). The valid FPC-SAT can be used to identify FPC strengths and areas for improvement, measure differences across FPCs, and measure change in FPCs over time.

The Principles of Designing Hospital Hotel with the Approach of Health Tourism in Kish Island

Medical tourism is known as one of the fastest growing sectors of the world tourism industry. Today, medical tourism has been highly considered by tourists to take advantage of the health benefits and physical and psychological effects of specific areas. Medical tourism as one of the tourism dimensions helps the economy of the country. Given the lucrative nature of the industry, many developing and even developed countries, focus their attention on the industry sector and plan for it. Hospital hotel is a combination of a hotel as a resort and a hospital as a place of healing and rejuvenation that in addition to the course of treatment provides accommodations after treatment as well. Hence, the present study examined the background of this type of application and its advantages and disadvantages and its feasibility in Kish Island to investigate the growth factors and potential of health tourism and ways to overcome obstacles to attract medical tourism. The findings show that the Island faces challenges in basic and health infrastructure, government’s efficient support, having a program for the development of medical tourism, having centers providing the health service with the international credit and promotion and integrated marketing. Proper planning, cheap prices of tourism services, medical education, creating websites of medical tourism and health tourism policy council are also the strategies mentioned in this study.

Levando a Democracia a Sério: Uma Abordagem da Regra Decisória Ideal para o CONFAZ (Taking Democracy Seriously: An Approach to the Optimal Decision Rule for the Brazilian National Finance Policy Council)

Portuguese Abstract: Tendo como panorama teorico a analise comparativa, que busca contribuir para a justificacao de escolhas institucionais, tanto em sede de desenho e reforma constitucional, quanto em nivel de direito infraconstitucional e politicas publicas, o objetivo deste trabalho e enfrentar a polemica relativa a definicao da regra decisoria ideal para a concessao de incentivos e beneficios fiscais do Imposto sobre Circulacao de Mercadorias e Servicos – ICMS no âmbito do Conselho Nacional de Politica Fazendaria – CONFAZ. Para tanto, sera necessario confrontar as regras da unanimidade e da maioria, assim como os principais modelos de democracia, a luz dos principios constitucionais e dos ideais do federalismo fiscal cooperativo e da justica social. English Abstract: Taking comparative analysis as a theoretical background, which seeks to contribute in justifying institutional choices, whether in constitutional design and reform, or in law and public policy, this work’s goal is to address the controversy over the definition of the optimal decision rule for granting tax incentives and benefits under the National Finance Policy Council – CONFAZ. In order to do so, it is necessary to confront both unanimity and majority rules, as well as the main democratic models, in light of constitutional principles, and the ideas of cooperative fiscal federalism and social justice.

Fall 2017 ACS national meeting

Fall 2017 ACS national meeting

The Importance of Foreign Language Education

Foreign language knowledge is a basis of understanding other cultures, different ways of life and of intercultural communication. What is more, foreign languages offer an advantage when it comes to getting job, they facilitate travelling; they open the possibilities to study abroad. The European Union encourages and supports foreign language teaching and learning. European Union documents are made available multilingully, so that they becme pervious to all citizens of member countries. Foreign language education has a long- tradition in the Czech school system. At its disposal, it has l sophisticated methods. They are continuously modernized and harmonized in accordance with recommendations, documents and projects concerning the language policy of European Council and Commission. The academic community gets the familiarization with them by means of national and international activities. Keywords: Blended learning; Foreign language; Language education; German language

FOOD POLICY COUNCIL AS CIVIC ENGAGEMENT FOR FOOD ISSUES

The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the nature of food issue in our society and propose a forum to discuss multi-facet issues of food based on the North American experience, such as food policy council (FPC). Contemporary food system in Japan is full of problems, such as low level self-sufficiency, food loss, problem of food access, large food miles, declining food culture under globalization, and so on. After reviewing these food related issues, the paper refers to the US and Canadian experiences on food policy council as a model to provide a forum for various stakeholders with different or even conflicting interests. Based on observations on the FPCs, such as Knoxville (US) and Toronto (Canada), author emphasized public aspect of food issues and draw attentions to differences in structural aspects of food between North America and Japan. The paper also tries to draw attention to differences between North America and Japan in terms of food issues. In particular, the demographic and geographical differences would exist of a major structural aspect when considering food issue in Japan.

Food justice and municipal government in the USA

This article examines the role of municipal food systems planning practice in the USA in advancing “food justice”. Specifically, two cases are investigated: the Puget Sound Regional Food Policy Council (PSRFPC) and the City of Seattle in western Washington state. I assess how these two planning organizations address five major contours of food justice: trauma/inequity, exchange, land, labor, and democratic process. Drawing on document analysis, observations, and interviews, I point out where each institution has made strong or tentative progress on advancing food justice, and where progress has halted. The principal aim of the article is to understand the opportunities and constraints of municipal governments in the USA in fostering food justice.

Central Council and issue of local self-government reform: november 1917 – april 1918 (on the occasion of centenary of Central Council establishment)

The article deals with the activities of the Central Council which intended to carry out a local self-government reform. The Third Universal of the Central Council provided for expansion of powers of zemstvo self-government but subordinated them to the General Secretariat of the Internal Affairs, which is contrary to democratic principles of local self-government. Expansion of zemstvo powers was provided by the “Law on Elections to the Constituent Assembly of the UPR” (Ukrainian People’s Republic) on 16 November 1917, according to which organization and conduct of elections were relied on local self-government. Aggression of the Bolshevik Russia and deepening the crisis of zemstvo self-government forced the Central Council to declare extraordinary elections to people’s (zemstvo) councils and introduction of a brand new system of local self-government by the Fourth Universal of 9 (22) January 1918. On March 6, 1918, the Central Council adopted the Law “On Administrative and Territorial Division of Ukraine” which provided “establishment of new bodies of self-government and authorities” due to liquidation of provinces and districts and establishing a division of the UPR into states. However, the Central Council failed to implement this law and zemstvos continued to perform the functions of local self-government. The policy of the Central Council, which had the goal to eliminate zemstvo self-government, caused deterioration of relations between zemstvos and the Central Council. To preserve zemstvo self-government, representatives from seven provincial boards established the All-Ukrainian Union of Zemstvos in April 1918. But establishment of theUniondid not contribute to overcoming the economic and fiscal zemstvo crisis and led to deepening the process of politicization of zemstvo self-government. The Constitution of the UPR of 1918 provided a three-tier system of local self-government in which the leading role was given to a local element – a community. The Constitution of the UPR was based on the key democratic principles of local self-government arrangement, provided for mechanisms of power decentralization. However, it is known that the Constitution of the UPR of 1918 could not be enforced due to a loss of the state power by the Central Council. The reform of local self-government in the UPR was hindered by aggression of the Bolshevik Russia, conditions of internal political instability and social and economic crisis. However, these were inadvertences made by the Central Council that were the main reason for failure of the reform.

Food Policy Council Self-Assessment Tool: Development, Testing, and Results

Food Policy Council Self-Assessment Tool: Development, Testing, and Results

Food Policy Council Case Study Describing Cross-sector Collaboration for Food System Change in a Rural Setting.

Food Policy Councils (FPCs) are cross-sector collaborations that bring representatives from across the food system together to identify issues, coordinate programs, and inform policy. Little is known about how rural FPCs operate to influence food access in their communities. To explore how a rural FPC facilitates cross-sector partnerships and influences food system change through interviews with eight members of the Adam's County FPC. Connections developed through the FPC helped council members work more effectively in their home organizations. Four themes were discussed: council dynamics and structure; sharing resources, expertise, and information; promoting healthy food access through programs; and food policy opportunities and challenges. This case study illustrates connections between FPC members in a rural county and identifies how FPCs can facilitate food system change in their communities. Improving our understanding of how rural FPCs function can help to advance the potential public health impact of councils.

Food policy council case study describing cross-sector collaboration for food system change in a rural setting

Food policy council case study describing cross-sector collaboration for food system change in a rural setting

School Council Policy in Punjab: Policy Formulation without Participation of Stakeholders

School Council Policy in Punjab: Policy Formulation without Participation of Stakeholders

Reviews of Books

ATLAS OF IRELAND. Prepared under the direction of the National Committee for Geography. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1979. vii + 104 pp. £45.00. Reviewed by: J. H. JohnsonNORTHERN IRELAND: A CENSUS ATLAS, by P. A. Compton. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan, 1978. 169 pp. £15.00. Reviewed by: B. W. LanglandsDISPLACEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT: CLASS, KINSHIP AND SOCIAL CHANGE IN IRISH RURAL COMMUNITIES, by Damian F. Hannan. Dublin: Economic and Social Research Institute Paper No. 96, 1979, 231 pp. £5.00. Reviewed by: Mary E. CawleyIRISH RESOURCES AND LAND USE, edited by D. A. Gillmor. Dublin: Institute of Public Administration, 1979. 295 pp. £11.99. Reviewed by: F. WalshIRELAND'S WETLANDS AND THEIR BIRDS, by Clive Hutchinson. Dublin: Irish Wildbird Conservancy, 1979. 201 pp. £4.95. Reviewed by: Stu DaultreyIRISH FORESTRY POLICY, National Economic and Social Council Report No. 46 (by Frank J. Convery). Dublin: Stationery Office, [1979]. 225 pp. £2.25. Reviewed by: M. B. ThorpURBANISATION AND REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN IRELAND, National Economic and Social Council Report No. 45 (by P. N. O'Farrell). Dublin: Stationery Office, [1979]. 128 pp. £1.65. Reviewed by: F. W. BoalAN ANALYSIS OF NEW INDUSTRY LOCATION: THE IRISH CASE, by P. N. O'Farrell. Oxford: Pergamon Press, Progress in Planning, 9 (3), 1978. 129–229. £4.00. Reviewed by: J. A. WalshI.D.A. INDUSTRIAL PLAN 1978–82. Dublin: Industrial Development Authority, 1979- 77 PP- £2.97. Reviewed by: M. J. BannonTHE IRISH HOUSING SYSTEM: A CRITICAL OVERVIEW, by T. J. Baker and L. M. O'Brien. Dublin: Economic and Social Research Institute Broadsheet No. 17, 1979, 272 pp. £4.50. Reviewed by: Andrew MacLaranTHE GEOGRAPHY OF IRELAND, by Joseph P. Haughton and Desmond A. Gillmor. Dublin: Department of Foreign Affairs, 1979. 59 pp. £2.50; FACTS ABOUT IRELAND. Dublin: Department of Foreign Affairs, 1979. 258 pp. £3.30. Reviewed by: S. WatermanTHE ISLANDS OF IRELAND, by Kenneth McNally. London: Batsford, 1978. 168 pp. £7.95. Reviewed by: F. H. A. AalenTHE TORY ISLANDERS: A PEOPLE OF THE CELTIC FRINGE, by Robin Fox. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978. 210 pp. £3.95. Reviewed by: F. H. A. AalenTHE LANDSCAPE OF SLIEVE BLOOM, A STUDY OF ITS NATURAL AND HUMAN HERITAGE, by John Feehan. Dublin: BlackwatEr Press, 1979. xix+284pp. £10.00. Reviewed by: Colin A. LewisCOBH: ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE, by William Garner. Dublin: An Foras Forbartha, 1979. 86 pp. £1.50. Reviewed by: Kevin HourihanGEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF IRELAND GUIDE SERIES: I. GEOLOGICAL GUIDE TO THE DINGLE PENINSULA, by Ralph R. Home. First edition 1976, revisions to 1979. £1.00; 2. FIELD GUIDE TO THE CALEDONIAN AND PRECALEDONIANROCKS OF SOUTH-EAST IRELAND, by P. M. Bruck, P. R. R. Gardiner, M. D. Max and C. J. Stillman. 1978. £3.00; 3. A TRAVERSE IN THE NORTH-WEST IRISH CALEDONIDES, by T. B. Anderson, D. H. W. Hutton, W. E. A. Phillips and J. C. Roberts. 1978. £1.50; GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF IRELAND INFORMATION CIRCULAR 79/1: WATER WELLS. 1979. Reviewed by: R. J. N. DevoyTHE QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY OF BELFAST DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY JUBILEE 1928–1978: GEOGRAPHY AT QUEEN'S, AN HISTORICAL SURVEY, by John A. Campbell. Queen's University Department of Geography, Departmental Research Paper No. 2, 1978. 55 pp. Reviewed by: Gordon L. Herries Davies

In This Issue: Building Our Airplane While Flying It

First paragraphs: In this issue Catherine Sands and colleagues offer a detailed account of their eight-year effort to simultaneously launch and make adjustments to a food policy council in western Massachusetts while keeping its momentum going. They share the trials and tribulations and lessons learned—including many positive outcomes—in Building an Airplane While Flying It: One Community's Experience with Community Food Transformation. The challenge of building an airplane while flying it applies to JAFSCD as well. Over the past year we have been working to maintain our quality and volume of published content while switching to a new review and publishing platform at www.FoodSystemsJournal.org . We, too, have had our share of challenges: Amy has been maintaining our old peer review and publishing websites while designing and migrating content, including subscriber records, to the new platform. I’ve been continuing to guide manuscripts through our old peer review system while learning the new system; we began taking submissions there in late September. It has taken many hours of work, but we are now reviewing and publishing new papers in the new system, and all JAFSCD content since our launch in 2010 are on the new site.

Building an Airplane While Flying It: One Community's Experience with Community Food Transformation

Across the country, local and regional food policy councils are collaborating to make healthy, afford­able food more available to everyone. What ingre­dients are needed for a true collaboration that changes social and racial equity dynamics? How can these collaborations influence systems, policy, and awareness in school food environments, specifically? This reflective case study describes some of the accomplishments and challenges faced by the multistakeholder Holyoke Food and Fitness Policy Council (HFFPC) for nearly a decade. Using a mixed-method participatory evaluation approach to lift up diverse partners’ insights, we conducted key informant interviews with people who were engaged with the project during its eight operating years; focus groups and participatory asset mapping with stakeholders; and reviewed meeting notes from the eight years of the HFFPC. We identify several crucial ingredients that sustain equitable community-based collaboration: changing the dominant narrative, community and youth leader­ship and advocacy, and aligned multistakeholder partnerships. We also discuss critical structural and values-based challenges to multistakeholder organizing, including issues of trust, transparency, resources, leadership development, and differences in perceptions of racial equity in an under­resourced, predominantly Latino community. As such, this case study investigates community engagement and effectiveness. It provides insights for those food policy councils and local coalitions endeavoring to build from within the community while accomplishing policy goals, and will help to further the practice of equity, community food policy and systems change, and governance.

Representation in Collaborative Governance: A Case Study of a Food Policy Council

Representation is a hallmark of democratic governance. Widely studied within traditional modes of governance, representation is less studied in alternative governance settings, such as collaborative governance arrangements. Collaborative governance arrangements are specifically designed to encourage inclusion and participation among a diverse array of stakeholders in some part of the policy process. Our research contrasts different forms of representation observed in a collaborative governance arrangement and identifies factors contributing to observed patterns in representation therein. We analyze descriptive representation (i.e., “representation in form”) or substantive representation (i.e., “representation in practice”) and look for inconsistencies between them. Our case study is a regional food policy council located in the Western United States. Among our findings is that discrepancies between descriptive and substantive representation can be explained by shared goals, local norms, organizational structure, and heterogeneity in member capacity. We conclude our article with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of this research.