The following study is based on the comparison of the actual transition processes in Estonia and Slovenia in 1991-2000 with the aim of testing two conceptual models (shock therapy versus gradualism) ...of transition theory in practice. This article has two main goals, closely interlinked with each other. The first task is to analyse whether the reform paths undertaken by Estonia and Slovenia followed the theoretical concepts of 'shock therapy' and 'gradualism', the models the states are often symbolising in theoretical debates. The second task is to evaluate the ability of the theoretical models to correctly allocate the classical country examples to the shock therapy and gradualist models. This research study is also interested in what are the advantages and disadvantages of a polarised approach to transition theory models and how these models can be improved.
Gresham's Law, the oft-quoted aphorism that 'bad money drives out good', is a theoretical lens through which coinage reforms and their effects are usually interpreted. However, as the wealth of ...evidence available to us continues to increase, it is becoming clear that this can no longer be stated with certainty. The extent to which the public was aware of and reacted to coinage reforms is a continuing point of contention, as is the impact of these responses on monetary policy and the wider economy. My research aims to begin to fill this deficiency in modern scholarship through a large-scale examination of silver coin hoarding patterns from across the Roman Empire, alongside select studies of hoards from beyond the frontiers. This study is being carried out in conjunction with new analyses of the composition of Roman silver coinage, currently being undertaken by Professor Kevin Butcher and Dr Matthew Ponting. By examining changes to the way people hoarded coins, we can begin to investigate the extent of public knowledge of reform and the nature of any ensuing reaction. This in turn can help to shed new light on a variety of subjects, from the nature of hoarding and Roman conceptions of value to the role of coinage reforms in precipitating the so-called 'Crisis of the Third Century.' The reforms of Nero, Domitian and the Severan emperors are examined in detail through an analysis of coin hoards and their contents, before the similarities and differences between each series of events are discussed. A repeating pattern of debasement, popular reaction, renewal and recall is identified, suggesting commonalities between coinage reforms across a two-hundred-year time span. This in turn demonstrates the value of carefully considered large scale coin hoard studies to students of the Roman world.
Seeking Value Sowers, Wesley E; Ranz, Jules M; Psychiatry, Group for the Advancement of
2020, 2020-11-13
eBook
This comprehensive volume examines the myriad factors that have led to the current state of health care in the United States -- starting with an analysis of the meaning and history of value ...measurement -- but it does not stop there. It offers a holistic vision for health care reform, one in which psychiatric professionals play a pivotal role.
The social sciences have sophisticated models of choice and equilibrium but little understanding of the emergence of novelty. Where do new alternatives, new organizational forms, and new types of ...people come from? Combining biochemical insights about the origin of life with innovative and historically oriented social network analyses, John Padgett and Walter Powell develop a theory about the emergence of organizational, market, and biographical novelty from the coevolution of multiple social networks. They demonstrate that novelty arises from spillovers across intertwined networks in different domains. In the short run actors make relations, but in the long run relations make actors.
This theory of novelty emerging from intersecting production and biographical flows is developed through formal deductive modeling and through a wide range of original historical case studies. Padgett and Powell build on the biochemical concept of autocatalysis--the chemical definition of life--and then extend this autocatalytic reasoning to social processes of production and communication. Padgett and Powell, along with other colleagues, analyze a very wide range of cases of emergence. They look at the emergence of organizational novelty in early capitalism and state formation; they examine the transformation of communism; and they analyze with detailed network data contemporary science-based capitalism: the biotechnology industry, regional high-tech clusters, and the open source community.
Evidence increasingly shows that changes to social security policies can affect population mental health. Thus, in the context of rising burden of mental illness, it is of major importance to better ...understand how expansions and contractions to the social security system may impact on mental health of both adults and children. The aim of this systematic review is to provide a synthesis of observational literature on the effects on mental health and inequalities in mental health of social security reforms.
We conducted a systematic review of quantitative observational studies of specific national and regional social security policy changes in high-income countries and summarised the mental health effects of these policies. We searched seven electronic databases, including Medline, PsychInfo, Embase, CINAHL, ASSIA (Proquest), Scopus and Research Papers in Economics from January 1979 to June 2020. We included both objective and subjective mental health and wellbeing measures. The study quality was assessed using the Validity Assessment tool for econometric studies.
We identified 13,403 original records, thirty-eight of which were included in the final review. Twenty-one studies evaluated expansionary social security policies and seventeen studies evaluated contractionary policies. Overall, we found that policies that improve social security benefit eligibility/generosity are associated with improvements in mental health, as reported by fourteen of the included studies. Social security policies that reduce eligibility/generosity were related to worse mental health, as reported by eleven studies. Ten studies found no effect for either policies contracting or expanding welfare support. Fourteen studies also evaluated the impact on mental health inequalities and found that contractionary policies tend to increase inequalities whereas expansionary policies have the opposite effect.
Changes in social security policies can have significant effects on mental health and health inequalities across different recipient groups. Such health effects should be taken into account when designing future social policy reforms.
•Social security systems have experienced major reforms over the past few decades.•First systematic review on the effects of social security reforms on mental health.•Found that expansions in social security benefits improve mental health outcomes.•Reductions in social security support lead to adverse mental health outcomes.•This is important for developing evidence-based policies for post Covid-19 recovery.
In times of ever-changing healthcare policy, many organizations have developed methods for reforming and optimizing healthcare systems. One prevailing healthcare approach is the Quadruple Aim, which ...incorporates four different goals: improving population health; improving experience of care; lowering healthcare costs; and improving provider work life (team vitality). Created by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, the Quadruple Aim method is not nursing-specific, but its framework for optimizing health system performance is coherent with the nursing profession today. This book argues that the widespread adoption of the Quadruple Aim could help create a sustainable healthcare system. Using the work and legacy of nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, this book provides an early example of successful, holistic healthcare that balances cost-effectiveness with quality of care for both patients and nurses.
Wychodząc poza paradygmat totalitarystyczny - przez pryzmat którego najczęściej jest przedstawiony okres komunizmu - autorka stawia sobie za cel „rozbrojenie jednolitej wizji stalinowskich reform i ...?zniewolonego uniwersytetu?" (s. 297). Dla syntetycznego ujęcia wyników badań autorki warto zacytować fragment zakończenia: O ile można uznać, że pierwsza hipoteza pracy została zweryfikowana pozytywnie i w okresie powojennym mamy do czynienia z projektem modernizacyjnym, zakładaj ącym zwiększenie dostępu do uczelni wyższych osobom z klas pracujących, to druga hipoteza o roli uniwersytetów podczas realizacji tego projektu została zweryfikowana negatywnie - uniwersytety jako instytucje, a w szczególności Uniwersytet Łódzki, nie stały się najważniejszymi miejscami zmiany społecznej. Jeśli taki pogląd autorki jest spójny z jej patrzeniem na PRL jako na projekt modernizacyjny, to z drugiej strony wydaje się - szczególnie biorąc pod uwagę mizerne rezultaty reform (o czym dalej) - że może ona przeszacowywać znaczenie zmian dyskursywnych, co z kolei postrzegać można jako rezultat uniwersalizacji inteligenckich sporów symbolicznych, pozostających (w dużym stopniu) w oderwaniu od „realnego" życia warstw mających być adresatami zmiany. Roberta Zajonca, UW, e-mail: andrzej.turkowski@student.uw.edu.pl
With an increased awareness of the detrimental effects of corruption on development, strategies to fight it are now a top priority in policy circles. Yet, in countries ridden with systemic ...corruption, few successes have resulted from the investment. On the basis of an interview study conducted in Kenya and Uganda—two arguably typically thoroughly corrupt countries—we argue that part of an explanation to why anticorruption reforms in countries plagued by widespread corruption fail is that they are based on a theoretical mischaracterization of the problem of systemic corruption. More specifically, the analysis reveals that while contemporary anticorruption reforms are based on a conceptualization of corruption as a principal–agent problem, in thoroughly corrupt settings, corruption rather resembles a collective action problem. This, in turn, leads to a breakdown of any anticorruption reform that builds on the principal–agent framework, taking the existence of noncorruptible so‐called principals for granted.
An intense appetite for reforming and transforming child welfare services in the United States is yielding many new initiatives. Vulnerable children and families who become involved with child ...welfare clearly deserve higher quality and more effective services. New policies, programs, and practices should be built on sound evidence. Reforms based on misunderstandings about what the current data show may ultimately harm families. This review highlights 10 commonly held misconceptions which we assert are inconsistent with the best available contemporary evidence. Implications for better alignment of evidence and reform are discussed.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) government aspires to build a world class health system to improve the quality of healthcare and the health outcomes for its population. To achieve this it has ...implemented extensive health system reforms in the past 10 years. The nature, extent and success of these reforms has not recently been comprehensively reviewed. In this paper we review the progress and outcomes of health systems reform in the UAE.
We searched relevant databases and other sources to identify published and unpublished studies and other data available between 01 January 2002 and 31 March 2016. Eligible studies were appraised and data were descriptively and narratively synthesized.
Seventeen studies were included covering the following themes: the UAE health system, population health, the burden of disease, healthcare financing, healthcare workforce and the impact of reforms. Few, if any, studies prospectively set out to define and measure outcomes. A central part of the reforms has been the introduction of mandatory private health insurance, the development of the private sector and the separation of planning and regulatory responsibilities from provider functions. The review confirmed the commitment of the UAE to build a world class health system but amongst researchers and commentators opinion is divided on whether the reforms have been successful although patient satisfaction with services appears high and there are some positive indications including increasing coverage of hospital accreditation. The UAE has a rapidly growing population with a unique age and sex distribution, there have been notable successes in improving child and maternal mortality and extending life expectancy but there are high levels of chronic diseases. The relevance of the reforms for public health and their impact on the determinants of chronic diseases have been questioned.
From the existing research literature it is not possible to conclude whether UAE health system reforms are working. We recommend that research should continue in this area but that research questions should be more clearly defined, focusing whenever possible on outcomes rather than processes.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
CEKLJ, DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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