Implementing Evidence-Based Practice in Health Care

This article summarizes recent research on the effectiveness of efforts to implement evidence-based health care. The authors conclude that the evidence in support of single interventions being effective in bringing about practitioner change is weak at best. The authors give examples and evaluative comments on more complex organizational and systemic interventions that are aimed at changing clinical practice, and discuss some of the barriers to their application.     

浅谈企业决策监督

从企业决策监督的意义、内容和体系三个方面探讨了当前企业兴衰的因素及衡量企业经营水平高低的标志。     

The Impact of Evidence on Transport Policy-Making: The Case of Road Construction

For many years, lack of consensus about the goals of transport policy resulted in evidence being used selectively to justify particular policies—rather than to establish whether (when judged against suitable criteria) the policies were actually working. Forecasts of traffic growth were taken as evidence of the need for road construction programmes; now, the phenomenon of 'induced traffic' has led to a re-think, and a more evidence-based approach to transport policy.     

Dealing with Clinical Risk: Implications of the Rise of Evidence-Based Health Care

This article considers the nature of risk in health care and the use the National Health Service (NHS) makes of risk management. It explores how the concept of risk has been challenged by the rise of 'evidence-based' health care, accompanied and accelerated by a decline in professional prestige, status and mystique and much greater use of external measurement and controls as part of the New Public Management. The nature of evidence-based health care is outlined and the implications of the use of guidelines and other practice aids are explored. Finally, the article discusses how evidence-based health care is affecting our views of clinical risk.     

The Politics of Transaction Costs

This article aims to develop a model for analysing the operation and outcomes of the contracting process as it applies to public services, and to explore the politics of transaction costs involved in this process using a case study of Compulsory Competitive Tendering (CCT) in the UK. For this purpose the article deals with the policy outputs from two time periods, 1991 and 1994, which are regarded as the most dynamic years in terms of CCT policy implementation. The article also demonstrates how transaction costs may be manipulated in the contracting process by the interested parties. Finally, it suggests that the politics of transaction costs should be studied systematically in the future.     

国际政治与经济关系

中国与东盟国家都是发展中国家，都有相似的经济特征，加之地缘政治的关系，入世后的中国学习借鉴东盟国家发展市场经济的经验、做法，加强与东盟国家的经济合作，既有利于中国社会主义市场经济体制的建立和完善，也有利于中国－－东盟经济自由贸易区的早日建成。     

民族性与当前的国际政治(一)

正看清当前的国际政治须从分析各国的民族性:开始世界的一体化趋势势不可挡,为了在这个前所未有的历史时期保持住已有的资源和利益,不让自己成为落伍者,每一个民族都要在这个过程中的每一个关键时点不断地做出抉择。现在,发生在这个动荡的世界的每一个重大事件都会影响到所有民族的切身利益。尤其是大国,必须在事件发生之初就要做出最有利于自身长远利益的判断。否则,将会在犹豫不决和反复变换政策     

The Decision to Privatize: Finance and Politics

We investigate the influence of political and financial factors on the decision to privatize government‐owned firms. The results show that profitable firms and firms with a lower wage bill are likely to be privatized early. We find that the government delays privatization in regions where the governing party faces more competition from opposition parties. The results also suggest that political patronage is important as no firm located in the home state of the minister in charge is ever privatized. Using political variables as an instrument for the privatization decision, we find that privatization has a positive impact on firm performance.     

The Politics of Financial Development: Evidence from Trade Liberalization

Incumbents in various industries have different incentives to promote or oppose financial development. Changes in the relative strength of promoter and opponent industries thus result in changes in the political equilibrium level of financial development. We conduct an event study using a sample of 41 countries that liberalized trade during 1970 to 2000, and show that the strengthening of promoter relative to opponent industries resulting from liberalization is a good predictor of subsequent financial development. The benefits of developing the financial system are insufficient for financial development, and rents in particular hands appear to be necessary to achieve it.     

The Politics of Accountability: Institutionalising Internal Auditing in Israel

Israel's attempt at strengthening public sector internal audit is found to have limited success, conforming with experiences of other countries. The adopted internal audit policy had little more than symbolic value, being devoid of stipulations to affect significant change. This is confirmed by implementation data that reveal low scores for most organizations across dimensions of structure, process and outcome. Politics of accountability and policy change models help to explain the causes of ineffectual internal audit legislation and of weak implementation. Findings suggest that top–down approaches to strengthening public sector internal audit are misplaced.     

The New Accountability? Devolution and Expenditure Politics in Scotland

Devolution is seen to be a means for enhancing democratic control and accountability in the British political system (Scottish Office, 1997). Proponents of such change have presented it as offering the prospect of a more consensual, transparent and inclusive form of governance, in effect a 'new politics', with less executive dominance than at Westminster. This would be delivered in part by proportional representation, by strengthening the role of the legislature, and by adopting a more consultative approach to decision-making (Scottish Constitutional Convention, 1995). This article focuses on expenditure politics in the budget and audit processes of the Scottish Parliament.     

The Politics of Needs Assessment: The Treasury Select Committee and the Barnett Formula

Parliamentarians' interest in Scottish public expenditure has been rising since 1987, when the electoral results left the Conservatives vulnerable in Scotland. Southern English MPs described the Scottish Office budget as a 'slush fund', and argued that Scots were being 'force-fed' with public expenditure. This interest has deepened as a direct result of the public debate over devolution (Midwinter, 1989). Although the author focuses here on developments in Scotland, many of the issues are relevant to devolution proposals in Wales, Northern Ireland and perhaps the English regions also.     

养生初体验(一)

敢教白发换黑发2009年11月的最后一天,我理了发,极短。这似乎是一次精神剃度。因为从明天开始,我将体验不寻常的养生过程,其成果之一就是守住能量,让灰白的头发黑回来……病是因缘     

上市也要讲政治

上市固然是企业的自主行为,也是一种市场行为。但企业的自主行为、市场行为必须听从政府这只＂有形之手＂的指挥。听从指挥有两种,一种是被动地＂听从＂;一种是主动地听从.     

Politics and the Fed

In the standard policy model, a policymaker optimizes the welfare of a representative agent. In practice, policies are chosen in a political process by agents elected by voters. Drawing on evidence from my two-volume history of the Federal Reserve, the paper reports many examples of decisions influenced by political pressures. The history shows that the meaning of the independence of the Federal Reserve changed over time reflecting political influences.     

The Health Insurance Reform Debate

This article provides an overview of the U.S. health care reform debate and legislation, with a focus on health insurance. Following a synopsis of the main problems that confront U.S. health care and insurance, it outlines the health care reform bills in the U.S. House and Senate as of early December 2009, including the key provisions for expanding and regulating health insurance, and projections of the proposals' costs, funding, and impact on the number of people with insurance. The article then discusses (1) the potential effects of the mandate that individuals have health insurance in conjunction with proposed premium subsidies and health insurance underwriting and rating restrictions, (2) the proposed creation of a public health insurance plan and/or nonprofit cooperatives, and (3) provisions that would modify permissible grounds for health policy rescission and repeal the limited antitrust exemption for health and medical liability insurance. It concludes by contrasting the reform bills with market-oriented proposals and with brief perspective on future developments.     

医疗卫生体制改革对我国商业健康保险市场潜力影响分析

2009年,我国新一轮医疗卫生体制改革拉开了序幕,其对商业健康保险发展的影响又将如何?本文分析了医疗卫生体制改革对商业健康保险市场潜力的影响机制,对我国当前商业健康保险潜力进行定量评估,并对此次新一轮医疗卫生体制改革的影响作了预测,最后就我国健康保险监管思路调整给出了建议。