Public Policy Actions Research Articles

Desigualdades que atraviesan fronteras. Procesos de inserción laboral de mujeres haitianas al mercado de trabajo en Chile

El estudio explora la realidad laboral y social que las mujeres inmigrantes haitianas están viviendo en Chile y específicamente describe cómo se desarrolla su experiencia de inserción laboral en el mercado del trabajo chileno. El trabajo remunerado como único espacio de “integración social” para la población migrante, se convierte en un predictor tanto del bienestar individual como social de la persona y en el caso de las mujeres, se añade la interacción de factores de desigualdad distintos que sus pares hombres. El enfoque es de carácter cualitativo y utiliza el estudio de casos como su metodología de base. Entre sus conclusiones, se propone incorporar acciones concretas en las políticas públicas que permitan disminuir las barreras y riesgos en el campo del trabajo, a los que se exponen cotidianamente estas mujeres migrantes y sus familias en el Chile actual.

Think tanks, Tories and the austerity discourse coalition

Political parties change their policy positions for a variety of reasons. Among these can be changing interpretations of economic or other kinds of knowledge. The article investigates whether think tanks, as producers, synthesisers and disseminators of knowledge, may have contributed to changes in the British Conservative Party’s positions on public spending, debt and deficit following the Global Financial Crisis and the onset of the Great Recession between 2008 and 2009. The article does not seek to attribute causality to think tanks’ activities and the Conservatives’ changing positions on public spending. However, it proposes that think tanks were relevant actors in the British ‘austerity discourse coalition’ and were, more specifically, relevant for the Conservatives’ adoption of a strict austerity agenda. The article also emphasises that think tanks should be considered as relevant actors in any analysis of the link between the cognitive dimension of public policy and political action.

Innovation and development: a revision of the Latin American thought

PropósitoEl propósito de este trabajo es el de reflexionar sobre algunas aportaciones provenientes de lo que hemos denominado pensamiento latinoamericano en relación con la innovación, la ciencia, la tecnología y su relación con el desarrollo.Diseño/metodología/enfoqueEl método de análisis se basa en la revisión de un conjunto de autores latinoamericanos y latinoamericanistas que hemos seleccionado con base en sus aportaciones para la explicación y sus propuestas de política pública en relación con la CTI. Algunas preguntas que guían nuestro análisis son las siguientes: ¿en qué medida el pensamiento latinoamericano en CTI ha contribuido a la teoría del desarrollo? y ¿dada la existencia de otros enfoques que predominan como pensamiento único, podemos hablar de una vigencia del pensamiento latinoamericano?ConclusionesLa principal conclusión de nuestro trabajo es que hay un pensamiento latinoamericano vigente que ha sido y aún es un referente actual para la discusión del desarrollo en la región latinoamericana, como lo muestran la creación de conceptos y esquemas analíticos como los de heterogeneidad estructural, estilos de desarrollo, la competitividad auténtica y espuria, el Triángulo de Sábato, centro-periferia, así como estrategias de política en CTI.Originalidad/valorComo parte del marco analítico hemos agrupado al conjunto de aportaciones en tres direcciones: a) la participación del Estado (intensidad, composición); b) la industrialización como impulso al desarrollo y c) los instrumentos y medidas de política pública a implementar o que han sido implementados.

Assuming policy responsibility for health equity: local public health action in Ontario, Canada

In Canada's liberal welfare state the public is given little exposure by governmental authorities to the importance of promoting health equity through public policy action on the social determinants of health (SDoH). Not surprisingly, Canada lags in implementing health equity-enhancing public policy. In Ontario, Canada's most populous province, a local public health unit (PHU) took on the task of promoting health equity by developing the video animation Let's Start a Conversation about Health and Not Talk about Health Care at All. In the wake of this work, an additional 17 local PHUs (of 36) adapted it for local use. By placing these activities within Nutbeam's and de Leeuw's concepts of critical health literacy as an essential component of health promotion, we examine how these PHUs came to adopt the video, their intended uses, and supports and barriers encountered. These efforts by local PHUs to promote health equity through action on the SDoH have implications for those in jurisdictions where State attention to these issues is lacking.

The Growth Challenge ofWestern smes in Emerging Markets: An Exploratory Framework and Policy Implications

In this paper, we explore the main inhibiting factors associated with the process of entry and escalation of SMES in international markets, with a focus on Emerging Markets. We identify and propose seven main categories of Institutional Voids and three main types of resources that may critically determine SMES’ performances on EMS, namely, internationalization knowledge, social capital resources and marketing capabilities. Institutional Voids and resources are brought together within a conceptual framework suggesting that resource-scarce SMES will hold back in their attempts to commit further to Emerging Markets and will be further dissuaded the higher the Institutional Voids in the market. The paper contributes to the policy literature on SME internationalization by focusing on two areas of public policy action that could have a clear and manifest impact on SMES conduct in Emerging Markets, the first related to the resources available to and exploitable by SMES and the latter associated with Institutional Voids.

Perceived consumption vulnerability of elderly citizens

PurposeThis study aims to explore the dimensions of perceived consumption vulnerability (PCV) for the elderly citizens (EC) in India and its consequences. Consumer vulnerability is a recent and important construct for marketers and policymakers to understand the consumption behavior of the EC.Design/methodology/approachTo achieve the study objectives, the authors conducted 50 in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions of ECs in two large cities in India. The authors used grounded theory methodology to understand the PCV construct.FindingsThe findings suggest a five-dimensional formative PCV construct with the dimensions being Physical, Financial, Social, Technological and Service Vulnerability contributing to PCV. The findings also suggest a relationship between PCV and consumption variables such as search cost, choice evaluation, consumption and overall satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsThe major contribution of the present study is the exploration of the PCV construct for the EC and its dimensions. The propositions developed in the study could be tested in future studies using a quantitative approach.Practical implicationsThe findings call for compassion from the marketers while dealing with the ECs and a separate service strategy that addresses the specific needs of the ECs.Social implicationsThe findings call for public policy action to protect the consumption rights of the ECs to reduce their consumption vulnerability.Originality/valueThe present study is a novel attempt to explore the PCV construct and its role in defining consumer behavior of the ECs.

Curbing food waste: A review of recent policy and action in the USA

AbstractThe present study reviews previous published estimates as to the scale of food waste in the USA and its ecological toll (e.g., in terms of methane emissions and water usage to support the production of wasted food). The review further discusses recent public policy and private action designed to curb food waste or to apply wasted food toward hunger alleviation, biofuel production and soil nourishment. We further consider and expand upon previous estimates comparing the scale of food waste to the present scale of the US hunger problem. These estimates suggest that the recovery and redirection of an additional 15% of the present stock ofediblefood waste would meet 35% of the caloric needs of all Americans living in a food insecure household or very low food security household. Then, a modest to moderate proportional increase in edible food waste recovery could greatly reduce the US hunger problem in its present state. We estimate that the successful redirection of 15% of presently-wasted (edible) food in the USA would be sufficient to fully sustain 18.45 million individuals. Given available data, we cannot precisely assess the nutritional characteristics of this potential stock of food. The present study emphasizes the traditional and future importance of integrated public policy and private action at the municipal level, as food waste is typically disposed of or recovered at this level.

Logística inversa de envases de plaguicidas: percepción de los pequeños y medianos productores agrícolas

Este estudio pretende analizar si los pequeños y medianos productores agrícolas del Estado de São Paulo, en la región Alta Paulista donde predomina la agricultura con un uso considerable de plaguicidas, practican la logística inversa de envases vacíos de plaguicidas. Atendiendo a las disposiciones legales y discusiones de investigadores, se realizó un cuestionario a 48 agricultores de la región para recolectar datos que son analizados, cuantitativamente, mediante escalamiento multidimensional en el programa SPSS 22.0. Se concluye que la logística inversa en el primer eslabón de la cadena, los agricultores, no funciona satisfactoriamente, pues cerca del 83% de estos agricultores no devuelven el envase y/o no cumplen con sus obligaciones legales, debido principalmente a la falta de fiscalización, motivación y concienciación de los agricultores por parte del Gobierno. El estudio incentiva nuevas investigaciones en otros lugares, proponiendo como desafío incrementar políticas públicas adecuadas para control y eficacia de la logística inversa.

Contrasting academic and lay press print coverage of the 2013-2016 Ebola Virus Disease outbreak.

Under a traditional paradigm, only those with the expected background knowledge consume academic literature. The lay press, as well as government and non-government agencies, play a complementary role of extracting findings of high interest or importance and translating them for general viewing. The need for accurate reporting and public advising is paramount when attempting to tackle epidemic outbreaks through behavior change. Yet, public trust in media outlets is at a historic low. The Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) model for media reporting on public health emergencies was established in 2005 and has subsequently been used to analyze media reporting on outbreaks of influenza and measles as well as smoking habits and medication compliance. However, no media analysis had yet been performed on the 2013–2016 Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak. This study compared the EVD information relayed by lay press sources with general review articles in the academic literature through a mixed-methods analysis. These findings suggest that comprehensive review articles could not serve as a source to clarify and contextualize the uncertainties around the EVD outbreak, perhaps due to adherence to technical accuracy at the expense of clarity within the context of outbreak conditions. This finding does not imply inferiority of the academic literature, nor does it draw direct causation between confusion in review articles and public misunderstanding. Given the erosion of the barriers siloing academia, combined with the demands of today’s fast-paced media environment, contemporary researchers should realize that no study is outside the public forum and to therefore consider shifting the paradigm to take personal responsibility in the process of accurately translating their scientific words into public policy actions to best serve as a source of clarity.

Nonstationary POT modelling of air pollution concentrations: Statistical analysis of the traffic and meteorological impact

Predicting the occurrence, level, and duration of high air pollution concentrations exceeding a given critical level enables researchers to study the health impact of road traffic on local air quality and to inform public policy action. Precise estimates of the probabilities of occurrence and level of extreme concentrations are formidable due to the combination of complex physical and chemical processes involved. This underpins the need for developing sophisticated extreme value models, in particular allowing for nonstationarity of environmental time series. In this paper, extremes of nitrogen oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ozone (O3) concentrations are investigated using two models. Model I is based on an extended peaks‐over‐threshold (POT) approach developed by A. C. Davison and R. L. Smith, whereby the parameters of the underlying generalized Pareto distribution (GPD) are treated as functions of covariates (i.e., traffic and meteorological factors). The new Model II resolves the lack of threshold stability in the Davison–Smith model by constructing a special functional form for the GPD parameters. For each of the models, the effects of traffic and meteorological factors on the frequency and size of extreme values are estimated using Markov chain Monte Carlo methods. Finally, appropriate goodness‐of‐fit tests and model selection criteria confirm that Model II significantly outperforms Model I in estimation and forecasting of extremes.

Defensive medicine: No wonder policymakers are confused.

Discussions regarding defensive medical practice often result in proposals for public policy actions. Such proposals generally are premised on assumptions about defensive medicine, namely, that it (a) is driven by physicians' legal anxieties, (b) constitutes bad medical practice, (c) drives up health care costs, (d) varies depending on a jurisdiction's particular tort law climate, (e) depends on medical specialty and a physician's own prior experience as a malpractice defendant, and (f) is a rational response to actual legal risks confronting physicians. This article examines a sample of recent literature focusing on defensive medicine and finds that the messages conveyed vary widely, helping to explain the confusion experienced by many policymakers trying to improve the quality and affordability of health care.

Aquífero costeiro de Icapuí, Ceará, Brasil: uma proposta de avaliação ambiental

A cidade de Icapuí, localizada na parte mais oriental do litoral do Estado do Ceará, nordeste do Brasil, foi classificada, no último zoneamento econômico-ecológico costeiro (ZEE), como polo de interesse ecológico da região e, dobrou o Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano Municipal (IDHM), nas últimas duas décadas. Com uma população ativa, economicamente, em torno de 70%, mais de 90% destes estão envolvidos com a cadeia produtiva da lagosta. Destaque nas atividades econômicas do município vão para o turismo comunitário, a agricultura e a aquicultura. Busca-se, neste estudo, subsidiar ações de políticas públicas, por meio de estudos de vulnerabilidade do aquífero, voltadas para melhorar a condição de vida e a valoração dos recursos naturais. Por meio de construção de matriz de valoração de impactos ambientais e, agregando outros valores intangíveis da biodiversidade, conclui-se que as riquezas naturais e o saber popular, podem ser melhor utilizados com uma maior participação de órgãos públicos e empresas privadas, proporcionando linhas de créditos mais específicas e presença de consultorias especializadas. Tais observações/sugestões, devidamente estudadas e implantadas, permitiriam um crescimento da localidade, sem perder a classificação de polo de interesse ecológico.

Joining the dots: the role of brokers in nutrition policy in Australia

BackgroundPoor diet is the leading preventable risk factor contributing to the burden of disease in Australia. A range of cost-effective, comprehensive population-focussed strategies are available to address these dietary-related diseases. However, despite evidence of their effectiveness, minimal federal resources are directed to this area. To better understand the limited public health nutrition policy action in Australia, we sought to identify the key policy brokers in the Australian nutrition policy network and consider their level of influence over nutrition policymaking.MethodsA social network analysis involving four rounds of data collection was undertaken using a modified reputational snowball method to identify the nutrition policy network of individuals in direct contact with each other. Centrality measures, in particular betweenness centrality, and a visualisation of the network were used to identify key policy brokers.ResultsThree hundred and ninety (390) individual actors with 1917 direct ties were identified within the Australian nutrition policy network. The network revealed two key brokers; a Nutrition Academic and a General Health professional from a non-government organisation (NGO), with the latter being in the greatest strategic position for influencing policymakers.ConclusionThe results of this social network analysis illustrate there are two dominant brokers within the nutrition policy network in Australia. However their structural position in the network means their brokerage roles have different purposes and different levels of influence on policymaking. The results suggest that brokerage in isolation may not adequately represent influence in nutrition policy in Australia. Other factors, such as direct access to decision–makers and the saliency of the solution, must also be considered.

CURRÍCULO MÍNIMO DE MATEMÁTICA PROPOSTO PELA SEEDUC/RJ: PONTUAÇÕES ACERCA DO PROCESSO DE ELABORAÇÃO E INSTITUIÇÃO

Este artigo intenciona apontar para algumas das especificidades que permearam o processo de elaboração e instituição do Currículo Mínimo de Matemática, em nível de Ensino Médio, proposto pela Secretaria de Estado de Educação do Rio de Janeiro (SEEDUC/RJ), em 2011. Cabe ressaltar que diante de uma multiplicidade de materialidades curriculares, o enfoque dessa mudança ocorreu por meio de uma nova estrutura curricular, impactando uma rede com um milhão de alunos e doze mil professores de Matemática. O currículo traz as ideias de seu tempo, o olhar da sociedade para questões humanas e outras ideias tacitamente políticas; além disso, ele traz em seu escopo toda uma trama de heranças históricas e a marca pessoal daqueles que se dedicaram à sua construção. E dessa forma, analisar as tramas de um currículo de Matemática é muito mais que olhar uma sequência de conteúdos linearmente organizados. É, sobretudo, entender, que aquela construção foi tecida de forma a sustentar um corpo de ideias que diz sobre seu tempo. Esse processo refletiu a inexistência de diálogo entre os diversos segmentos sociais e profissionais daquele campo. Interesses governamentais foram além das perspectivas educacionais e nesse ínterim subtraíram a democracia em ações de políticas públicas que se refletiram tão somente no ranking do Índice de Desenvolvimento da Educação Básica (IDEB). Foi evidente a percepção de que não houve clareza de ideias quando dessa elaboração, contrastando com a legislação vigente. A formatação do Currículo Mínimo negou a dialética educacional e a retórica da Matemática acadêmica enquanto disciplina escolar.

E-participation in the Decision-Making Process in Post-Communist Countries

Besides other aspects, one of the fundamental conditions of the modern political system is active and powerful civil society. Representatives of civil society and their increasing influence provide the background for increasing political participation and civic activism with the aim to make decision-making processes more effectual and having an impact on public policy actors. In that context, the objective of the article is to pay particular attention to one of the forms of participation, specifically using a comparative method to theoretically analyse the perspectives and limits of e-participation. The paper presumes the inevitable role of e-participation in the current modernisation of public administration processes which could overcome obstacles related to the participatory gap in post-communist countries.

Política pública para la gestión integral del recurso hídrico en Quindío-Risaralda 2008-2015

La vulnerabilidad hídrica presentada por los cambios del clima es aumentada por la debilidad de los tomadores de decisiones y la pasividad de los ciudadanos; de aquí la importancia de las acciones derivadas de la política pública en cuanto al manejo del recurso hídrico. Con un enfoque metodológico cualitativo que involucrara aspectos exploratorios (estudio de caso, grupos focales, entrevistas semi-estructuradas y técnicas de observación), se identificaron las acciones de política pública en el manejo del recurso hídrico en los departamentos de Quindío y Risaralda (Colombia) para el periodo 2008-2015, entre las cuales se encuentran la adquisición y reforestación de áreas estratégicas para la conservación del recurso; establecimiento de los Sistemas Municipales de Áreas Protegidas SIMAP; campañas frente al uso racional y ahorro del agua; y acciones de limpieza y recuperación de fuentes hídricas. No obstante, estas acciones son insuficientes, debido a las múltiples problemáticas, como la presión generada por el crecimiento poblacional, el crecimiento urbanístico y las actividades económicas que afectan las franjas de protección de las cuencas hídricas y rondas de los nacimientos, demostrándose así las debilidades frente al manejo del recurso hídrico, por lo que es imperante la necesidad de que se fortalezcan las acciones tendientes a responder a esta problemática, lo anterior a partir de la actualización de los instrumentos de ordenamiento territorial, y que los planes de desarrollo municipal y departamental incluyan las determinantes ambientales suministradas por las Autoridades Ambientales, las cuales a su vez deberán aumentar su presencia en aras de cumplir con sus funciones misionales.

Social Protection for Children at Times of Disaster

Children in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly those living in poverty, are highly vulnerable to disasters and have been disproportionately and increasingly affected by their impacts. Initial steps have been taken in Latin America and the Caribbean to adopt public policy actions for dealing with disasters. However, these have not explicitly incorporated the children's rights perspective. This article provides a preliminary insight into the subject of social protection against disasters, placing that perspective at the heart of the debate.

“U.S. Pharmaceutical Gray Markets: Why Do They Persist—and What to Do about Them?”

AbstractThis article illustrates how a traditional U.S. pharmaceutical industry supply chain operates, beginning with pharmaceutical compounds and ending at patient‐dispensing hospitals or pharmacies. Furthermore, to place the problem of U.S. drug shortages in historical perspective, a review of the annual volume of such shortages over the last decade is undertaken. Following this review of recent drug shortages is an analysis of the market forces and business decisions that drive the creation of a pharmaceutical gray market, its attendant “price gouging” and product integrity issues, and the alterations in the traditional pharmaceutical industry supply chain model. In response to persistent drug shortages, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has recently been empowered by the executive and legislative branches of the U.S. government to actively address this issue. To reflect these FDA challenges, a thorough review of these new agency charges and responsibilities is undertaken. Lastly, an analysis of the results of recent FDA public policy actions on mitigating drug shortages, as well as recommendations tor market‐based solutions to the gray market problem that pharmaceutical manufacturers, hospitals and pharmacies could institute as industry‐wide standards of business practice, are discussed in the conclusion.

Earthquake preparedness: the case of Eastern UAE

During the last 30 years, UAE witnessed earthquakes that ranged from minor to moderate, with maximum magnitude of 5.1 that occurred in the Masafi area (eastern UAE, on March 11, 2002). Recent earthquakes that hit Iran such as on May 11, 2013, caused tremors and mild shaking of buildings in some UAE cities. Although the tremors are small in magnitude, their sequences apparently become an important research topic and deserve more assessment from different perspectives such as geographical, geological, engineering, and social. This is because low risk does not equal no risk. This study is concerned with public perceptions of earthquake preparedness (reduction of disaster impact) that can be measured by various variables such as developing an emergency plan, preparation of disaster supply kits, and training. The methodology consists of a survey of 470 people who live around the Masafi area, near Fujairah city, UAE. GIS and GPS were used for site selection in conducting the survey, and remote sensing was used as an aid in identification of buildings’ ages. Results show that around 90% of the people surveyed have water tanks that can support them up to 3 days, and 60% of them normally buy food that can support them up to 2 days. Thirty percent of the respondents were familiar with storing first-aid kits and tools such as flashlights. The findings point to a need for more research regarding public awareness about earthquakes. The findings of this study may be useful for people who are involved in the four cornerstones of disaster risk reduction: community participation, public policy actions, safer construction and urban development, and development of a culture of prevention.

Trayectorias escolares de los estudiantes y agrupamiento al interior del aula en los colegios chilenos de enseñanza media. Análisis de la heterogeneidad académica al interior de las escuelas

This article describes the configuration of academic heterogeneity in Chilean secondary schools, with special emphasis on understanding the processes of ability grouping and their relationship with the academic progress of students (schooling paths). The results show that the secondary schools analyzed—those that start at 9th grade and have two or more classrooms in this grade—use multiple ways to organize academic heterogeneity, starting with initial grouping at the beginning of secondary education and continuing throughout all the grades of this educational level, especially for low achieving and low socioeconomic status students. This reveals that schools implement a range of mechanisms to manage academic diversity throughout the entire secondary education, which is complemented by decisions and dynamics of school choice, also impacting on shaping the academic heterogeneity within schools. This evidence raises a number of questions and potential public policy actions, which are discussed in the concluding section.