Policy Reform Research Articles

How does the domestic firm utilize spillovers from foreign suppliers in its post-absorption strategic development? A qualitative study in China based on the behavioral theory of the firm

Expanding upon the literature on foreign supplier’s spillovers, which predominantly adopts an economic lens and focuses on short-term effects on the domestic firm’s performance increases, our study employs the behavioral theory of the firm to investigate the long-term effects of these spillovers on the strategic development of domestic firms in the post-absorption stage. We conducted a case study of a Chinese distributor that grew into a diversified conglomerate over twenty years after absorbing spillovers from its dominant foreign supplier. Based on richly grounded data collected from this particular distributor firm, our findings reveal that these spillovers enhanced short-term performance and played a crucial role in guiding the firm’s search behaviors for recruiting new suppliers and entering new businesses over the long term. Moreover, we have identified search barriers imposed by the foreign supplier and local government that hindered the domestic firm’s search behaviors until economic reform policies were implemented.

WHAT IS THE ROLE OF JOURNALISM IN THE POLITICAL ADVOCACY OF HEALTH POLICY IN INDONESIA?

In this short commentary article, the complex association between journalism, health policy, and political campaigning in Indonesia is explained, in need of more scholarly expansion. Within those limitations, the paper does alert to the necessary function journalism serves intrinsic to the public discourse that drives health policy recommendations, as well as noting how this has been perverted by misinformation and dwindling faith in the media. The article examines how journalism (including digital and social media) has shaped health policy advocacy and public opinion and highlights the role of the media in health communication campaigns and policy reform. Through scrutiny of its role in health policy advocacy, with a broader look at how journalism roles have shifted over time. In this article, the author demonstrated that journalism is a bridge between health policy experts and the public, enabling a more informed democratic engagement with health policy. These conclusions highlight the need to build a nexus between democratic journalism and health policy advocacy for public health priorities in Indonesia. Keywords: health policy, journalism, political campaign

Location matters! Geospatial dynamics of MP responses to Covid‐19 protests in multilevel systems

AbstractIn liberal democracies, protest can serve as a trigger for necessary policy reforms, but it can also be used by a loud minority to advance political goals against the will of the majority. Focusing on such vocal protests in the context of the Covid‐19 pandemic, we investigate the following question: How does the location of protest events affect the likelihood of political engagement with the protests in a multilevel system? Combining social movement literature with studies of issue attention and rhetorical responsiveness, we analyze how German members of parliaments’ (MPs) responses vary using their tweets from the onset of the pandemic to the German federal election in September 2021. Using quantitative text analysis, we measure rhetorical responsiveness to Covid‐19 protests and apply multilevel regression analyses and difference‐in‐differences. We find that more protests lead to more attention; however, MPs respond most strongly to protests within the state they represent. Furthermore, politicians’ level within the German multilevel system affects their attention to these protests, with MPs elected at lower levels of an electoral system responding more to local protest events than MPs elected at higher levels. The results highlight the importance of the location of protests in attracting political attention.

Towards design reparations: remedying urban morphologies through policy reform in Harlem, New York

This article critically examines the paradox of housing as a symbol of societal progress in the United States, juxtaposed against the historical legacy of housing segregation, regulatory policy and market biases. It underscores the far-reaching consequences of such policies, which have not only exacerbated the current national housing crisis and widened the racial wealth gap, but also entrenched social inequalities, disproportionately affecting marginalised and minority communities. The article assesses the role of housing market segregation, slum clearance, urban renewal and contemporary zoning regulations and architecture in steering urban development practices, and how they have inadvertently and, in some cases intentionally, hindered equitable spatial opportunities, particularly in housing. Utilising a case study centred on Harlem, New York, this article explores the concept of spatial reparations as a catalyst for policy reform and emergent spatial morphologies that promote redressing both past and current injustices. It emphasises the potential of design-based interventions that materialise from the use of policy as a crucial medium of exploration, in this case for future models of housing-supply innovation. These explorations aim to stimulate meaningful policy and design debates about just-city making, while concurrently serving as a strategic countermeasure to the detrimental consequences of advancing gentrification and related market forces. This research offers a transformative examination of urban housing in the United States and Harlem, challenging traditional perspectives and practices, and advocating for more equitable spatial distribution and opportunities.

Empowering Muslim Women: Bridging Islamic Law and Human Rights with Islamic Economics

This intersectional study investigates the harmonisation of Islamic law and human rights in the context of empowering Muslim women through Islamic economics. This study applies an intersectional approach in carrying out the library research method with literature analysis carried out integratively and comprehensively to explore and review various literature sources relevant to the research topic, including journal articles, books, research reports, policy documents, and other related sources of information. The results show that harmonisation between Islamic law and human rights in empowering Muslim women through Islamic economics significantly impacts achieving gender equality and supporting sustainable development. The complexity of Muslim women's identities influenced by factors such as religion, gender, and social class demands a holistic and integrated policy approach in the economy. While the Islamic economy offers great potential to enhance the role of women as agents of change and key drivers of economic development, the incompatibility between Islamic law and human rights conventions and issues of gender inequality points to the need for more inclusive legal and policy reforms. Identifying and recognising these challenges underscores the importance of adopting a comprehensive and coordinated approach. Specific measures that need to be strengthened include inter-agency cooperation, legal and policy reforms to support better gender equality, capacity building of women in the Islamic economic sector, and raising public awareness on the importance of women's empowerment. As such, this study enriches the academic literature and offers practical guidance for policymakers, stakeholders in the Islamic economy, and the general public in advocating and implementing effective and sustainable women's empowerment.

After the Greenfire Revolution: Reimagining Collective Identities of the Future Wildland Fire Workforce in a Paradigm Shift for Ecological Fire Management

This concept paper explores possible collective identities for a future wildland fire workforce. Taking inspiration from the work of futurists who foresee an end to the dominant fire exclusion/suppression paradigm, and assuming that an emerging fire restoration/resilience paradigm shift replaces it, this paper engages in speculative explorations of the process and product of this paradigm shift with respect to the future collective identities of a workforce conducting ecological fire management. Social constructionist assumptions from symbolic interactionist sociological theory, Gramscian political theory’s concept of hegemony, and new social movement theory’s concept of collective identity all provide the intellectual foundations for the discussion. This concept paper argues that in order to actualize a paradigm shift, more than advances in scientific research or reforms of government policies will be required—the wildland fire community will need to become (or join) a social movement engaged in collective actions. An imaginary social movement, the “Greenfire revolution,” is invented to help illustrate how the selected theories and concepts might apply in the social construction of ecological fire management and the collective identities of its future workforce.

Implementasi Kurikulum Merdeka dan Pendidikan Karakter: Strategi Meningkatkan Kualitas Siswa di Era Modern

As a result of the lack of character education for children, it causes a moral crisis, such as social problems in society, drinking, bullying and others. Character education in the Independent curriculum is very important because it has several main objectives. First, the character of Education aims to develop the basic character of students in accordance with the values of Pancasila, such as religious, nationalist, integrity, independence, and mutual assistance. Second, the character of education is expected to form students who have religious spiritual strength, self-control, personality, intelligence, noble character, and other skills needed to face complex future challenges. The method in this study using literature studies. Through the new policy of Education Quality reform in Indonesia curriculum “Merdeka belajar " and character education is expected to be a significant movement in the learning process to improve the quality of Education and improve the quality of students in the modern era

Does green finance reform hit urban employment? — Evidence from China's green finance pilot policy

This study aimed to examine the impact of China's Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zone policy on urban employment trends. The policy was used as a quasi-natural experiment to understand its influence on the average annual employment dynamics across Chinese cities from 2013 to 2022. We employed a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to examine the policy's effect on urban employment carefully. Our findings indicate that the green finance pilot policy stimulated employment growth at the city level. Subsequently, we discuss the contrasting firm-level effects. Interestingly, the green finance pilot policy has a negative impact on firm-level employment growth. Moreover, the influence varies significantly depending on regional financial development, corporate factor intensity, and ownership structures. This difference between city-level and firm-level outcomes is due to labor shifting from firms with high environmental and social risks to those with lower risks and reallocating labor from secondary to tertiary industries. These findings suggest that green finance reforms have nuanced effects on employment. While they may dampen growth at the firm level, they could foster growth at the city level. Our study provides empirical insights that could help refine the green finance pilot policy and optimize urban industrial structures.

Anthropologies of health policy

In this introduction to our special issue, we take a wide view of the history and epistemic stakes of anthropological and ethnographic approaches to health policy. Drawing on the history of critical medical anthropology, the anthropology of policy, and critical policy studies, we show how anthropologies of health policy are particularly essential in this current moment, as policy production becomes increasingly abstracted and even more entwined with specific forms of evidence making. Taken together, the contributors of this special issue argue that anthropology’s interventions into health policy are essential in three ways. First, they shed light on the practices of policy ‘communities’, the pragmatic parameters under which they work, and the central logics under which health policy actors are operating. Second, they examine the effects of policy implementation upon those intended to be the subjects of health policy, highlighting the effects of policy for those marginalised by gender, race, and caste. Here, anthropology provides a view into the ‘lived experience’ of those targeted by health policy, but it also demands that anthropologists provide ‘counter-stories’ and ‘counter-evidences’ that dismantle narrow systems of policy knowledge production. Finally, anthropological attention provides an essential lens into the things that carry over in the act of policy reform—the past reverberations and imperial inheritances. Together with our contributors, we call for anthropologies of health policy that work to highlight and dismantle such inheritances.

Drug Diversion: Could be a Serious Concern in Global Healthcare System

Prescription drug diversion is a significant $25 billion-a-year problem in the US. Diversion can occur at any stage of the medicine delivery process, from manufacturing to the patient. Common diversion methods include illegal selling by doctors/pharmacists, “doctor shopping,” theft/forgery of prescriptions, and burglaries/thefts. Emerging diversion methods include theft by healthcare workers, fraud involving insurance, and theft from medicine cabinets. The main sources of diverted medications are at the practitioner-patient level, such as through “doctor shopping” and friends/family sharing prescriptions. Diversion from healthcare settings like hospitals accounts for a smaller proportion, though the exact extent is difficult to quantify. Some diversion occurs through theft from pharmacies, manufacturers, and supply chain points, but this makes up a relatively small percentage. Healthcare providers who engage in drug diversion have been linked to infectious disease outbreaks in hospitals, exposing patients to pathogens like hepatitis C. Intelligent systems and machine learning can help rapidly detect diversion anomalies. Comprehensive solutions are needed, including policy reforms, communication strategies, and a public health approach.

Impact of Human Resource Management on The Implementation of Physical Education Program in Selected Universities in Guizhou Province: Basis for Inputs to Policy Reformulation

This study investigated the impact of human resource management (HRM) strategies on the implementation of Physical Education Programs (PEPs) in selected universities within Guizhou Province, China. Employing a descriptive-correlational research design, data were gathered through self-made questionnaires assessing the implementation of HRM practices and PEPs. The study involved 310 physical education teachers from Guizhou Medical University, Guizhou University, and Guizhou Normal University. Findings revealed moderate to high levels of HRM implementation across various aspects, with room for improvement in employee satisfaction and compensation. Similarly, PEP implementation demonstrated moderate levels across key areas, suggesting opportunities for enhancement. Significant correlations were observed between certain HRM practices, such as performance evaluation, and aspects of PEP implementation, notably curriculum integration. However, other HRM factors showed less substantial impacts on PEP implementation. Based on these findings, recommendations were proposed to optimize HRM practices and improve PEP effectiveness. These included tailored professional development initiatives, revised performance evaluation practices, prioritization of employee satisfaction, enhancement of compensation and benefits, promotion of academic freedom, adoption of a holistic HRM approach, facilitation of collaborative partnerships, and establishment of a culture of continuous improvement and evaluation.

Harmony of Food Security: A Study of the Legal Basis of Agrarian Law in Supporting Food Self-Sufficiency in Ngawi District

Food is a basic need that must be fulfilled. In general, food availability that is smaller than the needs can cause instability in society. Indonesia is an agrarian country, whose source of livelihood is through agriculture, plantations and fisheries. This means that, objectively, Indonesia's food security rests on these three sources. The legal basis and foundation related to agrarian policy or land reform have basically been carried out for a long time, starting from President Soekarno to President Joko Widodo. However, its implementation is not as easy as turning the palm of the hand. The purpose of this research is to objectively assess the harmonization of food security through agrarian law policies in food self-sufficiency in Ngawi Regency. Data collection techniques used observation and documents with source triangulation. Meanwhile, data analysis uses the stages of reduction, presentation of data, drawing and validating conclusions. Type of field research, with descriptive qualitative method. The results found that the implementation of agrarian law policy in Ngawi Regency has been optimally successful. Food security in Ngawi Regency has proven to be able to overcome social, health and economic problems in addition to problems related to production. Ngawi District has the capacity to produce food but is unable to guarantee food security, as seen from the various achievements of Ngawi District in food security, as well as being named the best district in agriculture nationally. Legal policies ranging from UUPA, agrarian law to regional policies that regulate and support regional potential in agriculture.

Developmental Education for College Students with Learning and Attention Disabilities

As postsecondary developmental education policy reforms are implemented, increased attention must be given to students with learning and attention disabilities. The purpose of this study was to bring these students into the conversation, by examining their representation in developmental education broadly, as well the effect of this intervention on their college persistence and credit accumulation. Results show students with learning or attention disabilities are overrepresented in developmental education and could experience heterogenous effects on their postsecondary outcomes. Policymakers should be purposeful about consideration of this growing group of students in continued developmental education reforms.

Economic reform policies and their relationship to the structure of the trade balance and economic exposure in Iraq (2003-2021)

The distinctive feature of our contemporary world is the increase in proposals about economic reform, privatization, and globalization, and their importance and impact on economic development and on the future relations of countries in global economic activity. The importance of (economic reforms), which is being addressed by researchers and thinkers, and from many aspects, has increased, especially in the mid-eighties of the last century, and has accelerated in The nineties, and in the third millennium, because economic reform processes represent great importance in addressing the structural imbalances that affect the economies of different countries. The research aims to study and analyze the specificity of the elements of economic reform and the effectiveness of the economic mechanisms that will be applied in line with the reality of the Iraqi economy to improve the performance of the public sector and its management, streamline its structure and define its fields, develop institutional structures in Iraq, lift restrictions and activate the performance of market forces. As for the research hypothesis, it sought to prove that there is a statistically significant relationship between the economic variables represented by economic reform and economic exposure. The study reached many conclusions, the most important of which was a short-term indicative relationship between economic variables and economic.

Trends and Inequities in Use of Abortion Services in Nepal: A Nepal Demographic and Health Survey Data Analysis 1996-2022 A.D.

Despite policy advances and public health initiatives in Nepal to improve access to reproductive healthcare, disparities persist in utilization of abortion services. Grounded in longitudinal data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey from 1996 to 2022, this study aims to shed light on evolving patterns in pregnancy outcomes and inequities in use of abortion services across ecological zones and wealth quintiles. Utilizing six rounds of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey data, pregnancy outcomes were categorized as abortion, delivery, miscarriage, or stillbirth. Income-related inequality in the utilization of abortion services was assessed through the concentration index, ranging from -1 to 1. Trends over time were evaluated using the annual rate of change. The ARC indicated a substantial rise in induced abortion rates, surging from 0.4% in 1996 to 8.8% in 2022. In contrast, live births witnessed a decline from 92.8% to 81.2%. Significant variations were observed across ecological zones and wealth quintiles, with the Mountain zone and the Poorest group experiencing the most pronounced increases in induced abortion rates. By 2022, the concentration index reached a near-zero value, signifying a near-elimination of income-related disparities in the use of induced abortion services. The findings suggest that while there has been significant progress in access to and use of abortion services in Nepal, particularly post-2002 policy shifts, challenges remain. Women from lower socio-economic backgrounds continue to face barriers, indicating the need for a multi-pronged approach to address residual challenges. Nepal has made remarkable strides in enhancing equitable access to and use of induced abortion services, but more needs to be done to guarantee equitable access for all women. Future efforts should focus on policy reforms, infrastructural improvements, and societal change to eliminate existing barriers to reproductive healthcare.

Changes Under Pressure: Mapping Recent Developments in Long-Term Care Policy

Social, economic, and technological challenges have imposed transformations of the long-term care services in order to improve the system efficiency, the quality of services and the satisfaction of beneficiaries. The article aims to provide a review of the policy reforms and performance of the long-term care system in Romania. To support the effects of these transformations, a review of the scientific literature was conducted. We then highlighted characteristics of the current long-term care system that are evolving in response to the changing social and economic environment. Several issues related to the public financing, labor force, quality assurance, and unmet needs are discussed. The analysis suggests that evaluation of the long-term care system in terms of sustainability, health and quality of life of beneficiaries and their families impose a good coverage with long-term care quality services. Policy makers should ensure adequate collection of data to substantiate further policy measures, as well as full implementation of the long-term care policy.

ETHICAL AND LEGAL FRONTIERS IN MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY: NAVIGATING PATIENT CARE, CONSENT AND LIABILITY

This paper examines the complex ethical dilemmas and legal challenges in the management of mild Traumatic Brain Injuries (mTBIs), focusing on issues of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, liability, compensation, and insurance. Through a comprehensive literature review and analysis, we explore the current medical understanding of mTBIs, including diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis, alongside the ethical considerations critical to patient care. Furthermore, we analyze medicolegal implications, highlighting the gaps and inconsistencies in existing legal frameworks that affect the management and protection of individuals with mTBIs. The paper proposes an integrated approach to address these challenges, emphasizing the need for enhanced clinical guidelines, legal reforms, interdisciplinary collaboration, and increased research funding. Our findings underscore the importance of developing standardized protocols that incorporate ethical principles and legal safeguards, ensuring equitable and effective management of mTBIs. Recommendations for policy and practice reforms are offered to improve patient outcomes and navigate the ethical and legal complexities associated with mTBIs.

The “Supply-Side Reform Policy” and the Share of Labor Income in Enterprises

This article takes the supply-side structural reform launched in 2016 as a quasi-natural experiment and uses the “DID” method to analyze the relationship between the policy effects of supply-side reform and the labor income share. Firstly, the basic conclusion is that the “supply-side reform policy” can reduce the labor income share of enterprises in the “six major industries”. The correctness of the benchmark regression results was verified through a series of robustness tests. The results of the main regression were validated based on three different heterogeneity analysis perspectives: firm ownership, firm region, and government intervention. Secondly, two mediation mechanisms were examined, and the results showed that increasing operating income can positively enhance the “supply-side structural reform” in reducing the labor share of income in all enterprises, while increasing R&D investment can negatively enhance the effect of the “supply-side structural reform” on the reduction of the labor share of income in all enterprises. The heterogeneity of the two intermediary effects indicates that state-owned enterprises and private enterprises have different performances. The research results of this article indicate that the “supply-side reform policy” can effectively reduce the labor income share of target enterprises, reduce the proportion of excess employees, and enhance the vitality of target enterprises. The policy suggestion is to continue promoting supply-side structural reform, a policy which is in line with the requirements of the high-quality and sustainable development of Chinese enterprises.

Construction of Gender Equality in Arab News Media: A Critical Discourse Analysis

Women in Arabia are often seen as subjects who need liberation from the constraints of patriarchal culture. Based on a report released by the United Nation in 2020, Saudi Arabia has big challenges in terms of women's empowerment and gender equality. The subject of limited space for women in Arabia has been extensively examined in earlier works from social and political science perspectives. However, there has been a lack of research on this topic from a linguistic viewpoint, particularly in the field of critical discourse analysis. This study aims to examine how Arab media portrays gender equality in the context of reporting on Arab government policy concerning women's rights. This research uses a critical discourse analysis approach initiated by Fairclough (1995) and a transitivity system approach introduced by Halliday (2014). This study discovered that the Arab media perceives Saudi Arabia's policy change on women's rights in a positive light. It is depicted as a demonstration of gender equality, a representation of the women's liberation movement, and a significant advancement that will propel Arab nations forward. In this particular instance, it pertains to the advancement of gender equality, which is being achieved through the implementation of policy reforms by the Saudi Arabian government with regards to women's rights. The reporting that is carried out can be a tool to guide public opinion, in this case, what is being constructed is gender equality which is realized through the Saudi Arabian government's policy reforms regarding women's rights.

Anatomical human body donation in South Africa: Inconsistencies of informed consent

IntroductionInformed consent is critical for maintaining the ethical standards associated with the utilization of human donor bodies by tertiary education institutions. Body donation programs undertake the responsibility for procuring human donor bodies for didactic and research purposes. However, its processes require scrutiny regarding best practice guidelines and the South African National Health Act (SA-NHA) (2013). Moreover, acknowledging and addressing the current perceptions of human body donation are indispensable in bridging the gap between academia and society. This study aimed to compare informed consent documentation and procedures across South African tertiary education institutions and their affiliated human body donation programs (HBDP) in accordance with international guidelines. The findings were used to create a human body donation form template aligned to current international best practices for consideration by the South African HBDP. MethodologyA review of information and consent forms collected from South Africa’s eight HBDP was conducted. The analyses consisted of a broad evaluation of information provided, ranging from the terms-of-use for human donor bodies to the commitments made by HBDP to body-donors. The results were considered in conjunction with the International Federation of Associations of Anatomists and other recent publications on informed consent in HBDP. ResultsOnly two of the eight HBDP provided information and consent forms in more than one language. Most allowed donors to select how their bodies will be utilized – education, training and/or research. Some (6/8) made provisions for the next-of-kin to receive the cremains. Only one tertiary educational institution mentioned the occurrence of a memorial service in its documentation. An HBDF template was created aligned to current international best practices for presentation and possible adaption by SA HBDP. Discussion & conclusionsHuman body donation forms (HBDF) requires thorough examination for the promotion and sustainability of HBDP. Effective communication by employing standardized non-technical terminology conveyed in language that is understandable and native to potential donors facilitates the deliverance of informed consent. Inconsistencies regarding the use and management of bodies catalyze the weakening perception of human body donation. Thus, this process of securing informed consent for body donation should be conducted in conjunction with public awareness campaigns and underpinned by the necessary policy and legislative reform.