Size and distributional uncertainty, public information and the information paradox

In this paper we examine the strategic implications of collective acquisition of information in a committee or in a legislature. We show that the prospect of acquiring information can harm a majority even if information is only available by the support of a majority. Moreover, the model provides two results about incentives to acquire information. First, for policies with high distributional uncertainties, we expect that less information is acquired collectively by a committee than for other policies. Second, for policies that show only size uncertainty, our model predicts intense efforts to acquire information collectively. Received: 20 January 1997/Accepted: 15 February 1999     

谁能在科技实践和发展中承担责任

在科技和经济中的道德评价及伦理问题一般是责任的承担、归属和分配问题。责任本身是一个结构或关系多变的概念,有不同的种类和层次;在责任分配模型中,核心是标准化责任和描述责任分配以及集体责任简化为个人责任的问题,个人责任对于科技的实践和发展是至关重要的,集体责任和共同责任的问题也变得越来越有时代性。当专业伦理准则和责任发生冲突时,必须保持伦理规范的优先地位和决定标准,发展、改进并在实际中执行工程道德规范。     

Formulating waste management strategies based on waste management practices of households in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

Rapid urbanisation, population growth and changes in lifestyles in low- and middle-income countries contribute to increasing the per capita domestic waste generation. This trend leads to deplorable environmental and public health conditions, especially in rapidly expanding cities of low- and middle-income countries lacking appropriate waste management systems, Santiago de Cuba is no exception. To improve solid waste management in the city of Santiago de Cuba, the generation of household waste was studied and individual waste treatment approaches were assessed. The principle of a household level analysis was adopted to enable the development of strategies based on the specific conditions of households, their awareness and needs.In February 2004, a survey covering 1180 households was conducted on issues such as monthly consumed goods, waste generated and its treatment. The waste generated by the households was subsequently assessed by means of a measuring campaign. The measured volume not only comprised the collected waste fraction but also the waste materials treated on-site or recovered and recycled by all the different means available.The paper contains the results of the composition and distribution of the waste generated by the households as a function of socio-demographic data. Furthermore, the paper describes the various household treatment strategies dependent on specific waste material types. Several types of household waste can be differentiated by statistical cluster analysis. These household types are characterised not only by the amount of waste generated but also by socio-economic status and waste treatment practices. The results obtained are used to develop a range of waste management strategies, each relating to a household type and characterised by its generated amount, waste material type and spatial urban distribution. Since the strategies are adapted to the requirements and needs of the households, they are more readily accepted by the population concerned. Such socially anchored strategies will contribute to improving the waste situation in the city of Santiago de Cuba and allow an optimised allocation of local resources.     

RISK AND THE VALUE OF INFORMATION IN IRREVERSIBLE DECISIONS

The analysis of the nexus between the value of information and risk is examined for sequential decisions with different degrees of future commitment, as e.g. environmental decisions. We find that in the linear case a riskier environment in general will increase the value of information. This result will be extended in the separable case to decreasing and increasing stochastic returns to scale. An example shows the ambiguity in the general case.     

Consistent voting systems with a continuum of voters

Voting problems with a continuum of voters and finitely many alternatives are considered. Since the Gibbard–Satterthwaite theorem persists in this model, we relax the non-manipulability requirement as follows: are there social choice functions (SCFs) such that for every profile of preferences there exists a strong Nash equilibrium resulting in the alternative assigned by the SCF? Such SCFs are called exactly and strongly consistent. The paper extends the work of Peleg (Econometrica 46:153–161, 1978a) and others. Specifically, a class of anonymous SCFs with the required property is characterized through blocking coefficients of alternatives and through associated effectivity functions.     

Testing Karasek's learning and strain hypotheses on young workers in their first job

This study tests the core hypotheses of Karasek's job demand-control model: high job demands (workload) in combination with low job control (autonomy) increase strains (job dissatisfaction; strain hypothesis), whereas high job demands in combination with high job control increase learning and development in the job (here: learning new skills in the first job; learning hypothesis). These hypotheses are tested in two ways: (a) the mere combination of both job characteristics is associated with the expected outcomes, and (b) a statistical interaction between both job characteristics in predicting the outcomes is expected. A large dataset (n=2,212) of young workers in their first job was used to test all hypotheses. As young workers are presumably still in the process of adjusting themselves to their work environment, we expected that the effects of work characteristics on work outcomes would be stronger for this group than for more experienced workers. The results confirm both the strain and the learning hypothesis. We found a combined effect of both job characteristics, as well as a statistical interaction between both variables. The lowest level of job satisfaction was found in the “high strain” job, whereas the highest increase in skills was found in the “active” job. The consequences of these findings for theory and practice are discussed.     

BANGLADESH The Grameen Bank health programme

In May 1993 the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh - one of the most successful and internationally best-known self-help projects - launched a programme to provide poor people in rural areas with basic health care. The first four medical centres were followed by six more by July 1995. The organization and methods of operation of the Grameen Health Programme are based on the tried and tested self-help principles underlying the loan programme which has been in operation since 1976. The services offered include medical care at reduced fees and free counselling. Target groups are primarily poor women, to whom the programme's women field workers initially give information on simple preventive measures plus advice on avoidance of unwanted pregnancies. This article presents a provisional evaluation based on two primary inquiries conducted in 1994 and 1995. The overall conclusion was that the health programme has still far to go in order to attain the longer-term objective of becoming self-financing. Nevertheless, it demonstrates that decentralized access to health services, and preventive healthcare counselling in particular, can be of real assistance to poor people in rural areas.