Conclusions Of Report Research Articles

The UK and the Eurozone

The article reviews the case for the UK to join the Eurozone by way of presenting a review of HM Treasury's widely well-regarded Euro Report (2003). The review provides an opportunity to rehearse and update the elements of optimum currency area (OCA) theory. In particular, the study draws attention to fresh estimates of the trade effect of the UK's adhesion to the Eurozone, the small size of which sharply contrasts with earlier estimates. They substantially remove a challenge to the Report's negative conclusion. The study sets the review in the perspective of public opinion surveys and HM Government's decisions. (JEL codes: E42, F0, F15) Copyright 2006, Oxford University Press.

Science Education Review

The board that oversees the National Science Foundation is hoping that a new study of U.S. math and science education will help make the case for a bigger NSF education budget. The study, commissioned by the National Science Board, comes as the White House has proposed shifting precollege science and math instruction funds from NSF to the Department of Education. But many education researchers say NSF has a better track record on science-based reforms. Although the study's exact focus is still unclear, board president Warren Washington says he'll be looking for outside education experts who have the political savvy to sell the report's conclusions.

Britain's HFEA Is Caught in the Middle

The publication in March of this year of Human Reproductive Technologies and the Law, a report by the House of Commons' Science and Technology Committee, provoked a powerful reaction in the British press. More extreme reactions described it as a Frankenstein report, while less violent comments saw it as excessively libertarian, or simply as lacking any substantial ethical basis for its conclusions. The reactions stemmed from three of the report's conclusions: that a total prohibition on reproductive cloning has not been justified by ethical arguments (although the current concerns about welfare and safety warrant a temporary ban), that the welfare of the child provision in the current Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act is discriminatory against the infertile and should be dropped, and that sex selection of embryos should be considered for social, not only for medical, reasons. The report also recommends that a recent ruling on removing the anonymity of gamete donors should be revisited and that the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which oversees all reproductive technology and embryo research in the United Kingdom, should be reduced to a technical regulatory authority. Ethical policy issues would become the domain of a new parliamentary ethics committee. These are certainly radical suggestions, most of them echoing the well-publicized views of some British bioethicists, notably John Harris and Julian Savulescu. But a closer look at the report suggests that any fears that the parliament has turned radically libertarian are premature. House of Commons select committees, such as the Science and Technology Committee, are made up of representatives of the main parties in the House, with the majority on the committee (and the chair) drawn from the party in power. The Science and Technology Committee has eleven members--seven Labour, three Conservative, and one Liberal Democrat. Of these, one Labour member took no part in the proceedings because of government duties, and five of the remaining ten members (four of whom were Labour) dissented from the report. In any case, select committee reports do not define government policy (though they may help to inform it), and the Labour Government has made it clear that this report does not reflect its views. So what is the report's significance? Paradoxically, it poses a threat, not to conservative, but to moderate and liberal opinion. Britain has been a pioneer in the careful regulation of reproductive technology, following the early identification of the ethical issues by the Warnock Report in 1984. It still holds a unique place in Europe, providing a template for many other regulatory regimes and yet representing a liberal position on key issues, such as the creation of embryos for research and the use of embryonic stem cells, including those coming from cloned embryos. …

RE integration: Can the UK electricity networks accommodate the 2010 renewable target?

Can the UK electricity networks accommodate the 2010 Renewable Target and the UK Government's aspiration of doubling that target by 2020? This was the question that Mott MacDonald answered as part of a study commissioned by the Carbon Trust and the DTI on behalf of the DTI's Renewables Advisory Board 1 . Isabel Boira-Segarra and Simon Luby, Mott MacDonald draw on the report's analysis and conclusions and discuss the transmission and distribution network issues raised by adding increasing numbers of renewable projects in order to achieve the 2010 renewable target 2 .

Improving the flow of scientific information across the interface of forest science and policy

The ever-expanding knowledge base of forest science is a challenge for scientists, the public and decision-makers to incorporate into forest policy and management. Scientific assessments have been used as a process to synthesize information on a variety of resource issues, including climatic change. As a process of communication, three attributes of assessments, assessment capacity, stakeholder participation, and articulation of uncertainty, can strongly influence the ability of the assessments to communicate scientific information. The institutional structure of the USDA Forest Service to conduct resource assessments has allowed a sustained effort to conduct periodic synthesis of scientific information and to address new policy issues, such as climate change. The US National Assessment on Climate Variability and Change engaged diverse stakeholders, such as public and private decision-makers, resource and environmental managers, the general public and scientific experts in a broad national and regional dialogue about changes in climate, their impacts, and what can be done to adapt to an uncertain and continuously changing climate. Both the National Assessment and the Third Assessment Report of the International Panel on Climate Change incorporated a language of uncertainty to describe consensus of the scientific community on the report's conclusions. These attributes are important elements of improving the flow of information across the science–policy interface.

From major to minor: Are all endoscopic complications created equal?

From major to minor: Are all endoscopic complications created equal?

COMMUNITIES OF SUPPORT OR COMMUNITIES OF SURVEILLANCE AND ENFORCEMENT IN WELFARE REFORM DEBATES

Australian Journal of Social IssuesVolume 37, Issue 3 p. 247-262 Article COMMUNITIES OF SUPPORT OR COMMUNITIES OF SURVEILLANCE AND ENFORCEMENT IN WELFARE REFORM DEBATES Bettina Cass, Bettina Cass Social Work, Social Policy and Sociology, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this authorDeborah Brennan, Deborah Brennan Government and International Relations, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this author Bettina Cass, Bettina Cass Social Work, Social Policy and Sociology, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this authorDeborah Brennan, Deborah Brennan Government and International Relations, University of SydneySearch for more papers by this author First published: 22 December 2016 https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1839-4655.2002.tb01120.xCitations: 6 AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume37, Issue3August 2002Pages 247-262 RelatedInformation

Earnings management and corporate governance: the role of the board and the audit committee

We examine the role of the board of directors, the audit committee, and the executive committee in preventing earnings management. Supporting an SEC Panel Report's conclusion that audit committee members need financial sophistication, we show that the composition of a board in general and of an audit committee more specifically, is related to the likelihood that a firm will engage in earnings management. Board and audit committee members with corporate or financial backgrounds are associated with firms that have smaller discretionary current accruals. Board and audit committee meeting frequency is also associated with reduced levels of discretionary current accruals. We conclude that board and audit committee activity and their members' financial sophistication may be important factors in constraining the propensity of managers to engage in earnings management.

Constitutionalizing the Federal Criminal Law Debate: Morrison, Jones, and the ABA

This article considers impact of recent Supreme Court cases on reach and interpretation of federal criminal law, and extent to which debates about that law should be more grounded in constitutional considerations. Special attention is paid to problem of statutes with jurisdictional elements, using Hobbs Act as an example. The article begins with what Professors Abrams and Beale call great debate on nature of federal role. This debate is generally presented as a matter of how far Congress should go in developing our system of overlapping state and federal crimes. It was assumed, certainly before Lopez, that constraints on Congress were few. There is a wealth of scholarly analysis of Lopez and its impact on federal power. However, to some extent, debate on federal criminal law remains cast as primarily one of policy. The article examines report of American Bar Association's Task Force on Federalization of Criminal Law. It considers both Report's analysis of present system and its recommendations to Congress. The analysis reflects a strongly federalistic approach. However, despite federalistic premises, there is relatively little discussion of possible constitutional limits on Congress. After Lopez, these considerations would bolster Report's analysis and conclusions. The article notes in particular strength of an individual rights critique of dual systems of criminal law, and suggests that it fits comfortably within classical notions of federalism as advancing protection of rights. The Report was written after Lopez but prior to recent decisions in United States v. Morrison and Jones v. United States. The article discusses these cases in some depth. Morrison is presented as primarily a reaffirmation of Lopez. Of particular interest are dissents of Justices Souter and Breyer; for example, former criticized current majority's approach as a doomed attempt to return to the federalism of some earlier time. In light of sharp Lopez-like disagreements in Morrison, decision in Jones is somewhat surprising. The specific result was narrow construction of a federal arson statute. What is striking is that constitutional concerns played a substantial role in this construction and that Justice Ginsburg - a Lopez dissenter - cited Lopez as source of these concerns. Jones involved a statute with a jurisdictional element. The article turns to questions raised by such statutes, noting that majority opinions in Lopez and Jones suggested a hospitable approach toward them. The general question is how to transpose limits on Congress' power to legislate over a class of activities to context of individual instances of an activity. Serious theoretical problems are present. For example, should courts aggregate effect of individual acts when a statute contains a jurisdictional element, thus suggesting a focus on individual case? These problems are surfacing in litigation under Hobbs Act. Ultimately, Supreme Court will need to clarify constitutional and other issues presented by statutes with jurisdictional elements.

Earnings Management and Corporate Governance: The Roles of the Board and the Audit Committee

We examine the role of the board of directors, the audit committee, and the executive committee in preventing earnings management. Supporting an SEC Panel Report's conclusion that audit committee members need financial sophistication, we show that the composition of a board in general and of an audit committee more specifically, is related to the likelihood that a firm will engage in earnings management. Board and audit committee members with corporate or financial backgrounds are associated with firms that have smaller discretionary current accruals. Board and audit committee meeting frequency is also associated with reduced levels of discretionary current accruals. We conclude that board and audit committee activity and their members' financial sophistication may be important factors in constraining the propensity of managers to engage in earnings management.

Ensuring safe nurse-to-patient ratios: Safe Staffing Bill mandates ratios based on patients' needs rather than budgets.

In the 1990s, hospital industry consultants and executives made dramatic changes to California's hospitals, completely restructuring care delivery. They reduced the number of licensed beds and replaced many licensed nurse staff with unlicensed personnel who were expected to perform complex nursing functions with little or no training. Managed care meant that only the most seriously ill patients were admitted to hospital. In 1999, the nonprofit Institute for Health and Socio-Economic Policy published a report of California's nurse staffing ratios.1 Primary data sources included 18.2 million patient discharge records of California hospitals, hospital financial and bed data, and aggregated data from American Hospital Association sources on registered nurse employment levels. The report's stark conclusion was that The portrait is one of fewer full-time registered nurses caring for the same or increased number of patients, who are largely more ill, in far fewer beds. These significantly more ill patients are thus in need of more complex and intensive care from fewer full-time registered nurses. Without addressing staffing ratios at the level of policy rather than the market, this vicious circle is one that can only grow. The California Nurses Association (CNA) noted that patients were being transferred quickly out of critical care units. Patients in transitional units and medical-surgical wards were often as sick as those receiving their nursing care in critical units, although the nurse-to-patient ratios were far lower. Such transfers out of intensive care units were simply unsafe. Nurses have become increasingly reluctant to work in such unsafe facilities. A 1997 survey by the California Board of Registered Nursing found that only 60% of registered nurses holding active licenses chose to work in hospitals.2 Why are registered nurses steering clear of hospitals? The number one reason, cited by nurses in survey after survey, is unsafe staffing ratios.3 With about 100,000 deaths a year in hospitals caused by medical error,4 the unsafe hospital atmosphere keeps nurses away. Hospital industry groups argue that they are already overregulated, that they need flexibility, and that they consult the staffing guidelines of professional societies to ensure safe care. But they are being disingenuous. The experience at the CNA is that the industry abuses flexibility, ignores voluntary guidelines, and continues to push staff nurses to care for yet more patients. Hospital industry groups regularly staff hospitals by coercing nurses to work mandatory overtime. They will not regulate themselves. Hospitals must implement suitable staffing ratios that ensure that skilled nurses—who are often the interceptors of medical errors—are present in proper numbers for safe patient care. In October 1999, California introduced landmark legislation that made it the first US state to mandate safe licensed nurse-to-patient ratios in all acute care units. This extended the 25-year California tradition of regulating nurse-to-patient ratios in intensive care units and surgical departments. The regulation for intensive care units stated that 1 licensed nurse should be on staff for every 2 patients, with the stipulation that more nurses should be employed according to the intensity of patient need. The new law, AB 394,5 will extend this system of staffing beyond critical care to all units. The California Department of Health Services will establish what the minimum nurse-to-patient ratios will be in these units. As is the case with intensive care settings, the bill requires that additional nurses be added in accordance with a patient classification system based on the severity of patient need. If a hospital does not supply more nurses when they are needed for patient care, it will be deemed noncompliant and may be cited. With the enactment of AB 394 and the establishment of statewide safe-staffing ratios, the CNA hopes that nurses will return to hospital floors, restoring uniform safety standards for everyone.

Examining Relationships Between Physicians and Their Patients: A Psychoanalytic Model

This is a study of a group of physicians' reflections about their communication with patients. Using an applied psychoanalytic framework for self-inquiry in groups, the authors summarize their findings and provide a model for others to use. They describe their method of conducting and studying three physician groups. The authors identify six essential dynamics within groups and illustrate the dynamics with examples of physician reflections. They summarize further their observations about the composition, dominant themes, and phases of development for each group. The intent of the self-inquiry groups—to clarify physicians' habits and thought patterns about patients—is upheld in the report's conclusion, in which the authors report participants' evaluation of their learning experience. Recommendations are made for analysts to apply the model in work with general physicians.

A Practitioner's Perspective of Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children

In this paper, the report by the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children is discussed from a practitioner's perspective. The many and notable strengths are described, including the comprehensive review of the topic, the balanced manner of the report's conclusions, and the way in which the report was written. The weaknesses of the report also are presented.

Comment from Richard Lingham

Professor Gournay's commentary on the issues and roles in mental health nursing could equally have been titled: situation and process, skills and experience, genericism and specialism, clinical and eclectic, or proactive and preventive. His research review supports a viewpoint at the structured/tested end of this continuum, where he sees ready evidence that nurses now require clinically focused training and re-training if they are to provide care and treatment for patients with the most seriously disabling mental illnesses. This reinforces the Butterworth Report's conclusions, the Health of the Nation's expectations and the specifications in Building Bridges.

The ‘Smee Report’ as a Contribution to The Tobacco Advertising Debate

The UK Department of Health's consultative document on tobacco advertising (informally known as the ‘Smee Report’) occupies a curious position with respect to debates on public policy about advertising. While its conclusions have not been accepted by the UK government, they continue to be used, uncritically, elsewhere in the world as part of the ‘justification’ for bans on tobacco advertising. This article examines the basis of the Smee Report's key conclusions concerning the UK, Canada, Norway, and Finland, and argues that its claims with respect to the effectiveness of advertising bans are untrue.

Russian Business

World practice convincingly attests to the leading role of national chambers of commerce, industry, and economy in representing and protecting business interests. This is a reference point that Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry should strive for from the first days of its creation. Many chambers have long and successfully used annual reports as a form of representation of the consolidated position of national business on current socioeconomic problems. This is the first experience of this type for Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The report of the RFCCI essentially synthesizes the concepts and materials of different scientific schools and analytical centers. The report reflects assessments, judgments, and proposals of regional chambers, of businessmen's alliances and associations, and of the Chamber's member organizations. We believe that the report's conclusions and recommendations will serve as a basis for the constructive joint work of those who are interested in the development of civilized Russian business.

The ethics of genetic screening: the first report of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics: another personal view.

In the previous issue of the journal Dr Gillon opened up a debate about the role and work of the Nuffield Council through the critical comments he offered on the council's first report, Genetic Screening: Ethical Issues (1). He did so in a manner which was, to borrow his words, 'liberal, commonsensical and humane'. I am grateful for his personal invitation to respond as Executive Secretary of the council. He also deserves the thanks of the council itself. The report was intended to provoke public discussion. As the chairman's preface made clear: 'The report could not hope to identify exhaustively, let alone answer, all the ethical questions which may confront individuals, families and professionals' (2). What the council had sought to do was to expose 'the complex range of ethical issues ... to wide professional and public debate'. Dr Gillon's editorial makes a welcome contribution to that debate; after an admirable introductory summary of the report's conclusions and recommendations, he sets out a challenge to what he describes as 'the relative lack of academic rigour of its argument and justification for its conclusions', and to what, in his view, is the Nuffield Council's failure to measure up to 'the Gold Standard of such reports provided by the US President's Commission on Bioethics' (1). To consider first the specific example cited by Dr Gillon: the 'release of genetic information to potentially seriously affected family members. The council hardly acknowledges the existence of arguments in favour of maintaining absolute confidentiality ...' (3). But, as the report points out: 'the duty of confidentiality is not absolute' (4) whether under common law, under the Data Protection Act 1984, or under the General Medical Council's guidance to doctors. This follows a lengthy passage (5) that starts with an exposition of 'the importance of confidentiality'. Dr Gillon goes on to say that the report presents no argument at all against making appropriate sharing with family members a condition of screening.

Anything new in the miracle report? Yes and no

This note first identifies new elements in the conceptual framework employed in The East Asian Miracle (EAM) by comparing it with the market-friendly approach propounded in WDR 1991. It then examines the evidence and reasoning on the basis of which EAM comes out reaffirming the World Bank's official position that emphasizes policy fundamentals and opposes industrial policy. Main conclusions are: (a) EAM's claim that selective intervention has not significantly affected sectoral growth patterns is not well substantiated; and (b) the report's conclusion that sectoral composition did not affect the overall rate of productivity growth, although technically correct, is only as good as the underlying assumptions. Remarks on possible alternative ways of conceptualizing the development process conclude the note.

Pediatric Workforce Statement

Developing accurate forecasts for physician workforce needs is an extraordinarily difficult task. In 1980 the Graduate Medical Education National Advisory Committee (GMENAC) completed a comprehensive workforce study. Based on estimates of growth of the number of pediatricians, GMENAC predicted a potential excess of 4950 pediatricians by 1990.1 The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) studied the report and issued a response in 1981 that questioned many elements in the model.2 However, the Academy was concerned that an excess number of pediatricians would be produced by the 1990s, and a statement published in 1985 and revised in 1987 recommended government and academic policies ensuring the production of pediatricians of the highest quality, but in fewer numbers.3 Subsequent to the 1987 statement, consistent evidence has pointed to shortages of pediatricians rather than the projected surplus in all regions of the country. A 1990 survey of residency program directors provided the strongest empirical evidence to date that the supply of new pediatricians is not meeting the demand.4 In 1990, the Council on Graduate Medical Education (COGME) contracted with the consulting firm of Abt Associates, Inc to reexamine the adequacy of physician workforce supply. The resulting report, commonly referred to as the Abt report, contends there would be an even greater oversupply of peditricians than projected in the 1980 GMENAC report.5 The AAP concerns with this report's methodology and conclusions were strongly voiced to the COGME and in the literature.6,7 Subsequent to the Abt Report, the COGME published a report which emphasizes a growing shortage of practicing generalists (ie, general pediatricians, general internists, and family physicians) and calls for an increase in the percentage of residents who complete a 3-year training program in the generalist specialties.8

Cost of Recycling Municipal Solid Waste With and Without a Concurrent Beverage Container Deposit Law

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the literature on the effect of beverage container deposit legislation (BCDL) on the cost and amount of the household portion of municipal solid waste recycled. A U.S. General Accounting Office report concluded that dual systems cost more than either alone and that the combination diverts a greater amount of solid waste from landfills, which is supported by this analysis. However, the report's conclusion that a dual system becomes more cost‐effective as landfill disposal costs increase cannot be supported over reasonable ranges of the marginal savings from not having to dispose of recycled materials. The cost of recycling is higher in communities with dual systems. Recycling programs without BCDL divert as much or more waste from disposal than with BCDL.