Volume 1, Issue 1, January 2008 Edition
Urban Governance of Disease
Rebecca Katz, Sangeeta Mookherji, Morgan Kaminski, Vibhuti Haté, and Julie E. Fischer
Abstract
Rapid population growth, urbanization, and the growing challenges faced by the urban poor require redefining the paradigm for public health interventions in the 21st century, creating new approaches that take urban determinants of health into consideration. The widening disparity between the urban poor and the urban rich further exacerbates health inequities. Existing tools for global governance of urban health risks fall short, particularly in the lack of formal mechanisms to strengthen collaboration and communication among national and municipal agencies and between their local and international non-governmental partners. There is also a clear disconnect between governance strategies crafted at the international level and implementation on the ground. The challenge is to find common ground for global goods and municipal needs, and to craft innovative and dynamic policy solutions that can benefit some of the poorest citizens of the global urban network.
Key words: global health governance; urban health governance; poverty; urbanization
Individual Learning and Social Learning: Endogenous Division of Cognitive Labor in a Population of Co-evolving Problem-Solvers
Myong-Hun Chang and Joseph E. Harrington, Jr.
Abstract
The dynamic choice between individual and social learning is explored for a population of autonomous agents whose objective is to find solutions to a stream of related problems. The probability that an agent is in the individual learning mode, as opposed to the social learning mode, evolves over time through reinforcement learning. Furthermore, the communication network of an agent is also endogenous. Our main finding is that when agents are sufficiently effective at social learning, structure emerges in the form of specialization. Some agents focus on coming up with new ideas while the remainder of the population focuses on imitating worthwhile ideas.
Key words: individual learning; social learning; organizational learning
Initial Findings on the Pursuit of Excellence in Teacher Training
Sor Heoh Saw
Abstract
This article reports the initial findings of a study carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of an academic skills training programme that prepares new university college teachers for teaching. Videotaped recordings of training, classroom observation of teaching and student evaluation of teaching were carried out and the results were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery and the activities for one of the module in achieving the stated objectives of the module. New teachers found the two activities in the Module 1 useful and were able to apply what they learned through these activities in their classroom teaching. The activities carried out supported the achievements of the intended outcomes of the module. However the new teachers demonstrated different levels of competence.
Key words: Teachers Training, Higher Education
Effects of Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy on the Stock Market in Poland
Yu Hsing
Abstract
The focus of this paper is to examine potential impacts of fiscal and monetary policies on stock market performance in Poland. Applying the GARCH model and based on a sample during 1999.Q2 to 2012.Q4, this paper finds that Poland’s stock market index is not affected by the ratio of government deficits or debt to GDP and is negatively influenced by the money market rate. The stock index and the ratio of M3 to GDP show a quadratic relationship with a critical value of 46.03%, suggesting that they have a positive relationship if the M3/GDP ratio is less than 46.03% and a negative relationship if the M3/GDP ratio is greater than 46.03%. Furthermore, Poland’s stock index is positively associated with industrial production and stock market performance in Germany and the U.S. and negatively affected by the nominal effective exchange rate and the inflation rate.
Key words: stock market index; fiscal policy; monetary policy; macroeconomic variables; GARCH
Stress, Health and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Employee and Organizational Commitment
Ajay K. Jain, Sabir I. Giga, and Cary L. Cooper
Abstract
This study investigates the mediating impact of organizational commitment on the relationship between organizational stressors and employee health and well-being. Data were collected from 401 operator level employees working in business process outsourcing organizations (BPOs) based in New Delhi, India. In this research several dimensions from ASSET, which is an organizational stress screening tool, were used to measure employee perceptions of stressors, their commitment to the organization, their perception of the organization’s commitment to them, and their health and well-being. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling on AMOS software. Results of the mediation analysis highlight both employee commitment to their organization and their perceptions of the organization’s commitment to them mediate the impact of stressors on physical health and psychological well-being. All indices of the model fit were found to be above standard norms. Implications are discussed with the view to improving standards of health and well-being within the call center industry, which is a sector that has reported higher turnover rates and poor working conditions among its employees internationally.
Key words: organizational stress; physical health; psychological well-being; commitment; India; business process outsourcing organizations; ASSET
Blended Learning: Reflections on Teaching Experiences across the Pharmacy Education Continuum
Theresa J. Schindel, Christine A. Hughes and Cheryl A. Sadowski
Abstract
Experiences with online learning in higher education have grown due to advancements in technology, technological savviness of students, changes in student expectations, and evolution of teaching approaches in higher education. Blended learning, the thoughtful fusion of face-to-face instruction with online learning, can enhance student learning and provide rewarding teaching experiences for faculty members. Pharmacy educators are beginning to employ blended learning across the continuum of professional education from entry-to-practice programs to continuing professional education programs. The objectives of this paper are to describe our early experiences with blended learning and how it has enhanced our teaching experiences. Possibilities for blended learning are considered as new curricula for pharmacy programs are developed at our institution.
Key words: blended learning; higher education; continuing professional education; pharmacy
Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication
Bridie McGreavy, Karen Hutchins, Hollie Smith, Laura Lindenfeld, and Linda Silka
Abstract
Sustainability science seeks to identify and implement workable solutions to complex problems. This transdisciplinary approach advances a commitment to work across boundaries that occur among individuals, disciplines, and institutions to build capacities for informed and innovative decision making in the face of uncertainty and change. The concept of boundary work and related discussions of boundary objects and organizations are important, expanding focal areas within sustainability science. While communication is described as central to boundary work, insights from the field of communication have largely yet to inform theorizing about boundaries within sustainability science. In this paper, we highlight three communication perspectives, namely media studies, collaboration and partnerships, and systems theories, which are particularly relevant for understanding how boundaries form, the social context in which boundary work occurs, and informed strategies for enhanced boundary spanning and management. We use three case studies to illustrate how communication theories and methods provide dynamic and strategic lenses within transdisciplinary processes to enable collaborators to build capacity for change, sustain critical and reflective inquiry, and approach difference as generative in collective efforts to produce sustainability.
Key words: sustainability science; boundary work; communication theory; transdisciplinarity; media analysis; collaboration and partnerships; systems theory
Pricing Policies in Managing Water Resources in Agriculture: An Application of Contract Theory to Unmetered Water
Francesco Galioto, Meri Raggi, and Davide Viaggi
Abstract
The paper explores how agricultural water pricing could contribute to lowering water demand when uses are unobserved (asymmetric information). The topic of the paper is justified by the fact that most water authorities worldwide do not control water uses at the farm scale. The study draws inspiration from the pricing policies of a Reclamation and Irrigation Board in Northern Italy. It analyses the optimal design of current tariff strategies with respect both to the actual regulator’s goals and the cost recovery objective of an ideal regulator driven by European Water Framework Directive principles and having full information. The analysis is based on the logic of a Principal-Agent model implemented as a mathematical non-linear programming model. Given the current pricing structure and assuming zero transaction costs, the results show a relevant increase in net benefits for the ideal scenario with respect to the actual one as water use costs increase. Benefits differences between the two scenarios mark a limit in value below which mechanisms able to solve the existing asymmetries between the principal and the agents are economically desirable. The study concludes by showing that the current regulator’s discriminatory strategy (pricing structure) would be better justified with higher levels of cost for water use. However, the existence of non-zero transaction costs related to the control of water uses points to the need for further research in order to analyze incentive mechanisms in the absence of water metering.
Key words: unmetered water; asymmetric information; pricing schemes; water framework directive; irrigation; economic analysis; mathematical simulation
Rebecca Katz, Sangeeta Mookherji, Morgan Kaminski, Vibhuti Haté, and Julie E. Fischer
Abstract
Rapid population growth, urbanization, and the growing challenges faced by the urban poor require redefining the paradigm for public health interventions in the 21st century, creating new approaches that take urban determinants of health into consideration. The widening disparity between the urban poor and the urban rich further exacerbates health inequities. Existing tools for global governance of urban health risks fall short, particularly in the lack of formal mechanisms to strengthen collaboration and communication among national and municipal agencies and between their local and international non-governmental partners. There is also a clear disconnect between governance strategies crafted at the international level and implementation on the ground. The challenge is to find common ground for global goods and municipal needs, and to craft innovative and dynamic policy solutions that can benefit some of the poorest citizens of the global urban network.
Key words: global health governance; urban health governance; poverty; urbanization
 [Abstract-PDF]
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[References]
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1.1.1.2008.1
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Individual Learning and Social Learning: Endogenous Division of Cognitive Labor in a Population of Co-evolving Problem-Solvers
Myong-Hun Chang and Joseph E. Harrington, Jr.
Abstract
The dynamic choice between individual and social learning is explored for a population of autonomous agents whose objective is to find solutions to a stream of related problems. The probability that an agent is in the individual learning mode, as opposed to the social learning mode, evolves over time through reinforcement learning. Furthermore, the communication network of an agent is also endogenous. Our main finding is that when agents are sufficiently effective at social learning, structure emerges in the form of specialization. Some agents focus on coming up with new ideas while the remainder of the population focuses on imitating worthwhile ideas.
Key words: individual learning; social learning; organizational learning
| [Abstract-PDF]
|
[References]
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1.1.1.2008.2
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Initial Findings on the Pursuit of Excellence in Teacher Training
Sor Heoh Saw
Abstract
This article reports the initial findings of a study carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of an academic skills training programme that prepares new university college teachers for teaching. Videotaped recordings of training, classroom observation of teaching and student evaluation of teaching were carried out and the results were analyzed to evaluate the effectiveness of the delivery and the activities for one of the module in achieving the stated objectives of the module. New teachers found the two activities in the Module 1 useful and were able to apply what they learned through these activities in their classroom teaching. The activities carried out supported the achievements of the intended outcomes of the module. However the new teachers demonstrated different levels of competence.
Key words: Teachers Training, Higher Education
| [Abstract-PDF]
|
[References]
|
1.1.1.2008.3
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Effects of Fiscal Policy and Monetary Policy on the Stock Market in Poland
Yu Hsing
Abstract
The focus of this paper is to examine potential impacts of fiscal and monetary policies on stock market performance in Poland. Applying the GARCH model and based on a sample during 1999.Q2 to 2012.Q4, this paper finds that Poland’s stock market index is not affected by the ratio of government deficits or debt to GDP and is negatively influenced by the money market rate. The stock index and the ratio of M3 to GDP show a quadratic relationship with a critical value of 46.03%, suggesting that they have a positive relationship if the M3/GDP ratio is less than 46.03% and a negative relationship if the M3/GDP ratio is greater than 46.03%. Furthermore, Poland’s stock index is positively associated with industrial production and stock market performance in Germany and the U.S. and negatively affected by the nominal effective exchange rate and the inflation rate.
Key words: stock market index; fiscal policy; monetary policy; macroeconomic variables; GARCH
| [Abstract-PDF]
|
[References]
|
1.1.1.2008.4
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Stress, Health and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Employee and Organizational Commitment
Ajay K. Jain, Sabir I. Giga, and Cary L. Cooper
Abstract
This study investigates the mediating impact of organizational commitment on the relationship between organizational stressors and employee health and well-being. Data were collected from 401 operator level employees working in business process outsourcing organizations (BPOs) based in New Delhi, India. In this research several dimensions from ASSET, which is an organizational stress screening tool, were used to measure employee perceptions of stressors, their commitment to the organization, their perception of the organization’s commitment to them, and their health and well-being. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling on AMOS software. Results of the mediation analysis highlight both employee commitment to their organization and their perceptions of the organization’s commitment to them mediate the impact of stressors on physical health and psychological well-being. All indices of the model fit were found to be above standard norms. Implications are discussed with the view to improving standards of health and well-being within the call center industry, which is a sector that has reported higher turnover rates and poor working conditions among its employees internationally.
Key words: organizational stress; physical health; psychological well-being; commitment; India; business process outsourcing organizations; ASSET
| [Abstract-PDF]
|
[References]
|
1.1.1.2008.5
|
Blended Learning: Reflections on Teaching Experiences across the Pharmacy Education Continuum
Theresa J. Schindel, Christine A. Hughes and Cheryl A. Sadowski
Abstract
Experiences with online learning in higher education have grown due to advancements in technology, technological savviness of students, changes in student expectations, and evolution of teaching approaches in higher education. Blended learning, the thoughtful fusion of face-to-face instruction with online learning, can enhance student learning and provide rewarding teaching experiences for faculty members. Pharmacy educators are beginning to employ blended learning across the continuum of professional education from entry-to-practice programs to continuing professional education programs. The objectives of this paper are to describe our early experiences with blended learning and how it has enhanced our teaching experiences. Possibilities for blended learning are considered as new curricula for pharmacy programs are developed at our institution.
Key words: blended learning; higher education; continuing professional education; pharmacy
| [Abstract-PDF]
|
[References]
|
1.1.1.2008.6
|
Addressing the Complexities of Boundary Work in Sustainability Science through Communication
Bridie McGreavy, Karen Hutchins, Hollie Smith, Laura Lindenfeld, and Linda Silka
Abstract
Sustainability science seeks to identify and implement workable solutions to complex problems. This transdisciplinary approach advances a commitment to work across boundaries that occur among individuals, disciplines, and institutions to build capacities for informed and innovative decision making in the face of uncertainty and change. The concept of boundary work and related discussions of boundary objects and organizations are important, expanding focal areas within sustainability science. While communication is described as central to boundary work, insights from the field of communication have largely yet to inform theorizing about boundaries within sustainability science. In this paper, we highlight three communication perspectives, namely media studies, collaboration and partnerships, and systems theories, which are particularly relevant for understanding how boundaries form, the social context in which boundary work occurs, and informed strategies for enhanced boundary spanning and management. We use three case studies to illustrate how communication theories and methods provide dynamic and strategic lenses within transdisciplinary processes to enable collaborators to build capacity for change, sustain critical and reflective inquiry, and approach difference as generative in collective efforts to produce sustainability.
Key words: sustainability science; boundary work; communication theory; transdisciplinarity; media analysis; collaboration and partnerships; systems theory
| [Abstract-PDF]
|
[References]
|
1.1.1.2008.7
|
Pricing Policies in Managing Water Resources in Agriculture: An Application of Contract Theory to Unmetered Water
Francesco Galioto, Meri Raggi, and Davide Viaggi
Abstract
The paper explores how agricultural water pricing could contribute to lowering water demand when uses are unobserved (asymmetric information). The topic of the paper is justified by the fact that most water authorities worldwide do not control water uses at the farm scale. The study draws inspiration from the pricing policies of a Reclamation and Irrigation Board in Northern Italy. It analyses the optimal design of current tariff strategies with respect both to the actual regulator’s goals and the cost recovery objective of an ideal regulator driven by European Water Framework Directive principles and having full information. The analysis is based on the logic of a Principal-Agent model implemented as a mathematical non-linear programming model. Given the current pricing structure and assuming zero transaction costs, the results show a relevant increase in net benefits for the ideal scenario with respect to the actual one as water use costs increase. Benefits differences between the two scenarios mark a limit in value below which mechanisms able to solve the existing asymmetries between the principal and the agents are economically desirable. The study concludes by showing that the current regulator’s discriminatory strategy (pricing structure) would be better justified with higher levels of cost for water use. However, the existence of non-zero transaction costs related to the control of water uses points to the need for further research in order to analyze incentive mechanisms in the absence of water metering.
Key words: unmetered water; asymmetric information; pricing schemes; water framework directive; irrigation; economic analysis; mathematical simulation
| [Abstract-PDF]
|
[References]
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1.1.1.2008.8
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