The exchange rate mechanism's role in the european monetary system

The European Community was established with the intent of reaching full economic, monetary, and political union among its member countries. The three elements of the European Monetary System—the Exchange Rate Mechanism, the European Currency Unit, and the European Monetary Fund—were designed to work together to achieve monetary integration among the member states. German reunification, as a result of the collapse of the Berlin Wall, played an important role in the failure of the Exchange Rate Mechanism. Many steps will need to be taken in order for the European community to obtain full economic and monetary union.     

Strategies and goals of community-based injury prevention programmes--a mixed-methods study of 25 Scandinavian WHO Safe Communities

Documentation and analysis of prevention goals and interventions employed by community-based injury prevention programmes is vital to advance the knowledge and understanding of synergistic multi-strategy injury prevention programmes. This study examined the goals and interventions of 25 Scandinavian community-based injury prevention programmes in WHO-designated Safe Communities. Collection and analysis of quantitative data from survey questionnaires to the programme coordinators was followed by collection and analysis of qualitative data from structured interviews with programme coordinators from eight of the programmes. The results demonstrated that the programmes under study predominantly relied on "intuitive" and subjective methods for selecting interventions. The programmes largely failed to transform injury surveillance data into information and knowledge that could prioritize community safety strategies and measures, due to insufficient time and personnel resources. The results demonstrated the importance of combining passive approaches with active interventions. Educational efforts were considered essential to the programmes. The programmes preferred to rely on broadly stated goals rather than specific objectives.     

Risk Sharing and Compensation Guides for Managers and Members of Vertical Beef Alliances

Vertical alliances in beef are growing in importance. Alliances struggle with decisions on how to compensate members. Both conceptual development and empirical analysis are needed. A conceptual framework building on transaction cost and principal agent literature is developed and strategies for sharing feeding and packing margins are analyzed. Premiums for high-quality cattle increase revenues to the alliance. Margin and premium sharing interactions are investigated and guidelines are presented. Compensations that provide incentives for improving cattle quality help ensure the success of alliances as vertical coordination and quality control mechanisms.     

Consistency of risk premium measures

This research uses the results of a series of within‐sample experiments to elicit risk premium measures from agricultural producers. Results show that there is little consistency between measures in different contexts and using different elicitation methods, suggesting that underlying risk preferences are not consistent. These results highlight some of the difficulty with expected utility theory and risk measurement.     

Reviews

UNITARY AUTHORITIES.

Coopers & Lybrand Deloitte, 1992: Partnership in Prosperity: local government's role in economic development. Association of County Councils: The review of local government — Paper No 6 (February).

THE NISSAN ENIGMA.

Garrahan, P. and Stewart, P. 1992: The Nissan Enigma: Flexibility at Work in a Local Economy. London: Mansell, £35.00 cloth, £12.99 paper.

THE INTELLIGENT REGION.

Cooke, P. and Morgan, K. 1991: The Intelligent Region: Industrial and Institutional Innovation in Emilia-Romagna. Cardiff: Regional Industrial Research, Report 7, PO Box 906, Cardiff CF1 3YN.

STRENGTHENING BRITAIN'S TECHNOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE.

Brunskill, 1.1992: Making It: A Federal approach to industrial policy. London: Institute for Public Policy Research, £10.00 paper.

INVISIBLE MINORITIES.

Wrench, J., Brar, H. and Martin, P. 1991: Invisible Minorities: The employment experiences and needs of black and ethnic communities in Harlow. University of Warwick: Centre for research in Ethnic Relations. Available from Harlow District Council.

RURAL RESTRUCTURING.

Gilg, A.W. (ed), 1992: Restructuring the Countryside: Environmental Policy and Practice, Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, £32.50 cloth.     

Public and Patient Engagement in Commissioning in the English NHS: An idea whose time has come?

Abstract

Public and patient engagement (PPE) has a limited record of achievement in the English National Health Service (NHS), and this has been further complicated by the split between commissioning and providing remits. The passage of the NHS and Social Care Act 2012 has opened up new possibilities for enhancing PPE in the commissioning of health care. This article outlines the new context, describes a conceptual framework for locating different sorts of PPE activity, and provides some practical illustrations. It argues for greater conceptual clarity and clearer understandings on the purpose of PPE as prerequisites to change.     

The challenges of longitudinal surveys in the flood risk domain

Abstract

There has been much research regarding the perceptions, preferences, behaviour, and responses of people exposed to flooding and other natural hazards. Cross-sectional surveys have been the predominant method applied in such research. While cross-sectional data can provide a snapshot of a respondent’s behaviour and perceptions, it cannot be assumed that the respondent’s perceptions are constant over time. As a result, many important research questions relating to dynamic processes, such as changes in risk perceptions, adaptation behaviour, and resilience cannot be fully addressed by cross-sectional surveys. To overcome these shortcomings, there has been a call for developing longitudinal (or panel) datasets in research on natural hazards, vulnerabilities, and risks. However, experiences with implementing longitudinal surveys in the flood risk domain (FRD), which pose distinct methodological challenges, are largely lacking. The key problems are sample recruitment, attrition rate, and attrition bias. We present a review of the few existing longitudinal surveys in the FRD. In addition, we investigate the potential attrition bias and attrition rates in a panel dataset of flood-affected households in Germany. We find little potential for attrition bias to occur. High attrition rates across longitudinal survey waves are the larger concern. A high attrition rate rapidly depletes the longitudinal sample. To overcome high attrition, longitudinal data should be collected as part of a multisector partnership to allow for sufficient resources to implement sample retention strategies. If flood-specific panels are developed, different sample retention strategies should be applied and evaluated in future research to understand how much-needed longitudinal surveying techniques can be successfully applied to the study of individuals threatened by flooding.