The Institutional Foundations of Public Policy: A Transactions Approach with Application to Argentina

Public policies are the outcomes of complex intertemporal exchangesamong politicians. The political institutions of a country constitutethe framework within which these transactions are accomplished.We develop a transactions theory to understand the ways in whichpolitical institutions affect the transactions that politicalactors are able to undertake, and hence the quality of the policiesthat emerge. We argue that Argentina is a case in which thefunctioning of political institutions has inhibited the capacityto undertake efficient intertemporal political exchanges. Weuse positive political theory and transaction cost economicsto explain the workings of Argentine political institutionsand to show how their operation gives rise to low-quality policies.     

Strategies for Improving Codes of Ethics Implementation in Construction Organizations

It is necessary to reconsider the assumptions upon which the process of implementing compliance with ethical programs rests, in both theoretical and practical terms. These assumptions should hinge on organizational enablers that allow embeddedness of codes of ethics in the web of an organization's processes. This article sets out to describe an approach that will facilitate implementation of codes of ethics in construction organizations and a comprehensive literature survey approach is adopted to achieve this. The paper equally employs the application of the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) model as a tool to stimulate ethical behavior in an organization, with the focus on the enabler criterion of the model. The authors discuss organizational enablers in relation to the implementation of ethical codes. The study demonstrates how ethics can be managed in an organization by proposing a framework to enhance codes of ethics embeddedness in the web of an organization. The paper indicates current research gaps and future opportunities for both academics and practitioners.     

Minimum nurse staffing ratios for nursing homes

The authors explored minimum nurse staffing ratios for nursing homes using production function simulations. Minimum levels of registered nurse hours per resident day were 0.31, 1.83, and 3.3 at 50%, 75%, and 90% levels of quality respectively. These results suggest that efficiency-oriented minimum nurse staffing points exist, and could be used to inform policymakers and nursing home administrators on better resource allocation and health care delivery.     

Shrinkage estimation of semiparametric multiplicative error models

Within models for nonnegative time series, it is common to encounter deterministic components (trends, seasonalities) which can be specified in a flexible form. This work proposes the use of shrinkage type estimation for the parameters of such components. The amount of smoothing to be imposed on the estimates can be chosen using different methodologies: Cross-Validation for dependent data or the recently proposed Focused Information Criterion. We illustrate such a methodology using a semiparametric autoregressive conditional duration model that decomposes the conditional expectations of durations into their dynamic (parametric) and diurnal (flexible) components. We use a shrinkage estimator that jointly estimates the parameters of the two components and controls the smoothness of the estimated flexible component. The results show that, from the forecasting perspective, an appropriate shrinkage strategy can significantly improve on the baseline maximum likelihood estimation.     

Interpartner Legitimacy in the Alliance Development Process*

abstract We propose a framework to understand interpartner legitimacy in strategic alliances. Interpartner legitimacy is the mutual acknowledgment by the alliance partners that their actions are proper in the developmental processes of the alliance. We argue that interpartner legitimacy is needed for cooperation to achieve alliance objectives. We propose three types of interpartner legitimacy – pragmatic, moral, and cognitive legitimacy – and discuss the dynamics of these three types in the formation, operation, and outcome stages of alliance development. Further, we discuss the salience of interpartner legitimacy in different alliance types. Finally, we derive propositions for further research, and discuss strategies that alliance managers can adopt to develop interpartner legitimacy.     

You should know better! Do health students have different risk attitudes to unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases?

Because healthcare professionals are in the best position to assess, assist and educate those participating in risky sexual behaviour, understanding if (and how) their risk attitudes differ from the wider population is of vital importance. In this study, we explore university health students’ risk attitudes towards unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). We examine whether university students pursuing health-related degrees, who hypothetically should have more exposure to and understanding of the risks associated with unplanned pregnancy and STD, have more risk averse attitudes to sexual behaviour. We find that health students’ sexual attitudes are significantly more risk averse than those of their nonhealth peers in relation to STDs but not unplanned pregnancy. In line with previous research, age and no previous sexual history (virginity) appear to increase risk-averse attitudes to both unplanned pregnancy and STDs. Moreover, males and singles are more risk seeking in their sexual attitudes. These findings suggest that, because unplanned pregnancy and STDs are ongoing global issues, further research is warranted into the risk attitudes of those healthcare professionals most able to provide education and support for individuals participating in risky sexual behaviour.     

Graphic Geopolitics: An Interview with Comics Artist Joe Sacco

Joe Sacco is best known for works that blend journalism with the format and structure of comic books. Sacco’s prior work has considered themes of political conflict, legacies of violence, and marginalization across a range of geographic contexts, including Bosnia, the Middle East, and the United States. This interview, conducted by the authors with Joe Sacco on 16 November 2015, explores these and other themes in an attempt to situate the positionality and choices of the creator of geopolitical narratives in the broader literature on critical geopolitics. We consider the themes of subject, representation, audience response, and stylistic influences, among others, in our conversation.     

Polanyi’s ‘substantive approach’ to the economy in action? Conceptualising social enterprise as a public health ‘intervention’

For several decades now, critical public health researchers have highlighted the deleterious effects that pursuing neoliberal policies can have on the ‘causes of the causes’ of poor health and upon growing health inequalities. This paper argues that the conceptual tools of Karl Polanyi can help lend particular insight into this issue. The specific example that this paper focuses upon is the ‘social enterprise’: a form of organisation that combines both social and business objectives. The paper explores, conceptually, whether social enterprises may have the potential to act as one component of a neo-Polanyian countermovement: helping to re-embed the economy back into society, and offering greater recognition for a more comprehensive and socially imbued concept of health. Importantly, this potential is critically examined in the context of neoliberal hegemony, where challenges to the status quo have regularly been met with assimilation, co-option and/or repression.     

Characterization of Normal Distribution Related to Two Samples Based on Regression

Characterization of normal distribution related to two samples based on second conditional moments has been obtained. This characterization has been transformed to a characterization based on the UMVU estimators of the density function. These results are generalized to k samples from normal distributions. Finally applications of these characterization results to goodness-of-fit test are discussed.