Involvement of Ministries of Health in Health Service Coverage Decisions: Is England an Aberrant Case?

This article examines the involvement of ministries of health in making health service coverage decisions in Denmark, England, France and Germany. The study aims to inform debate in England about the feasibility of reducing perceived ministerial and bureaucratic ‘interference’ in decisions affecting the National Health Service, based on interviews with senior government officials and other health system stakeholders. Ministries of health differ in their involvement in health system governance and coverage decisions (‘the benefits package’), reflecting differences in institutional arrangements. In all four countries, organizations at arm's length or independent from government are either involved in providing technical advice to the ministry of health or have been mandated to take these decisions themselves. However, ministries of health occasionally intervene in the decision‐making process or ignore the advice of these organizations. The Department of Health in England is not an aberrant case, at least in relation to coverage decisions. Indeed, ministries of health in Denmark and France play a larger role in making these decisions. Public pressure, often amplified by the media, is a shared reason for ministerial and ministry involvement in all four countries. This dynamic may thus limit the feasibility of attempts to further separate the NHS from both the Department of Health and wider political pressures.     

Emotion Knowledge, Social Competence, and Behavior Problems in Childhood and Adolescence: A Meta-analytic Review

The present meta-analytic review examined the magnitude of the relation between discrete emotion knowledge and three of its most commonly studied correlates in childhood and adolescence: social competence, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems. Emotion knowledge demonstrated small to medium-sized relations with each correlate. Moderators of effect size were also examined and included multiple sample and methodological characteristics. Using random effects models, significant moderators of effect size for relations between emotion knowledge and externalizing problems included sample recruitment, sample age, and the source of externalizing problems ratings. Moderators of effect size were not found for emotion knowledge and social competence, and the effect sizes across samples for emotion knowledge and internalizing problems were homogeneous. Results highlight the relatively consistent yet modest relations between emotion knowledge and its correlates. Implications for applied research and new directions for research on emotion knowledge using innovative methods are discussed.     

Preschoolers' Attachment to Mother and Risk for Adjustment Problems in Kindergarten: Can Teachers Make a Difference?

Based on attachment theory, two aims were addressed. Firstly, we tested whether close teacher–child relationships may buffer children who are less securely attached to their mothers against negative outcomes, such as aggressive behavior. Secondly, our study evaluated whether teacher sensitivity may protect less securely attached children against forming less close relationships with their teachers. In a sample of 127 children, mother–child attachment was observed in preschool. In kindergarten, teacher sensitivity was observed, and teacher–child closeness and child aggressive behavior were rated by the teacher. Results of multilevel hierarchical regression analyses first showed that with high teacher–child closeness, less securely attached children are no longer at risk for more aggressive behavior. Secondly, it was found that with high teacher sensitivity, less securely attached children are no longer at risk for developing less close relationships with their teachers.     

The value of a name: Estimating the economic impact of public land designation

Public land designations have been shown to have significant impact on their contextual regional economies. This paper reviews the existing literature on how public lands impact the proximate regional economies in which they are situated. Based on this collected wisdom the paper synthesizes past lessons into a comprehensive impact methodology. This methodology distinguishes quality effects in terms of visitors’ willingness to pay for sites of higher quality and quantity effects in terms of additional visitation to such sites to give a more comprehensive methodology for characterizing visitation and economic impact of protected area designation. We focus on National Monuments and National Parks, given that these two types of public lands have the broadest popular exposure and feature the most reliable data. A case study is then presented for a hypothetical protected area in Ferry County, Washington, USA, applying this new methodology to assess the likely economic effects of different types of protected areas.     

Cell Phone Survey Feasibility in The U.S.: Sampling and Calling Cell Numbers Versus Landline Numbers

In 2004, we conducted a nationwide dual frame survey of landlineand cell phone numbers to evaluate the feasibility of includingcell phone numbers in a random digit dial telephone survey.Households with both landline and cell phones were eligiblefor selection in both samples. This article describes our designand data collection methods; compares the results from the twosamples (with an emphasis on operational characteristics); andpresents the outcomes of two experimental manipulations designedto improve the cell phone response rate.     

Assessing the Playing Field: A Prospective Longitudinal Study of Internet Sports Gambling Behavior

Internet gambling is growing rapidly, as is concern about its possible effect on the public’s health. This paper reports the results of the first prospective longitudinal study of actual Internet sports gambling behavior during eight study months. Data include recorded fixed-odds bets on the outcome of sporting contests and live-action bets on the outcome of events within contests for 40,499 Internet sports gambling service subscribers who enrolled during February 2005. We tracked the following primary gambling behaviors: daily totals of the number of bets made, money bet, and money won. We transformed these variables into measures of gambling involvement. We analyzed behavior for both fixed-odds and live-action bets. The median betting behavior of the 39,719 fixed-odds bettors was to place 2.5 bets of €4 (approximately $5.3 US) every fourth day during the median 4 months from first to last bet. This typical pattern incurred a loss of 29% of the amount wagered. The median betting behavior of the 24,794 live-action bettors was to place 2.8 wagers of €4 every fourth day during the median duration of 6 weeks at a loss of 18% of the amount wagered. We also examined the behavior of empirically determined groups of heavily involved bettors whose activity exceeded that of 99% of the sample.     

Is Work-Family Policy Use Related to the Gendered Division of Housework?

Researchers have proposed that work-family policy use may either reinforce or challenge the existing gendered division of labor within couples, but results from prior studies have been inconclusive. Using data from a regional survey of work and family life, we extend this research by focusing on how housework is divided within couples and by differentiating between traditionally female- and male- typed housework tasks. Results show that among dual-earning women, policy use is not related to share of female- or male-typed tasks. Among dual-earning men, policy use is positively related to share of female-typed tasks and negatively related to share of male-typed tasks. These findings suggest that work-family policy use does not reinforce the gendered division of housework.

'The grit in the oyster': Community development workers in a modernizing local authority

This article offers a brief overview of the challenges facingUK local authorities, including the need to enhance public participationin decision making and service delivery, improve service performanceand increase partnership working. It explores the potentialcontribution of community development work to meeting thesechallenges, drawing on a case study of one UK county council.The essential tensions and conflicts in the role of communitydevelopment workers in a local authority are highlighted, showinghow the modernization process introduced by the New Labour governmentis adding further layers of complexity and ambiguity.