Public-Private Partnership Contractual Design: A Computational Model of the Moral Hazard with Lotteries

Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a new model of public management which consists of the contractual relationship between public and private entities. In particular, PPPs enable risk share between public and private sectors making the asymmetric information problem in a contractual arrangement more evident. The aim of this paper was to study a moral hazard problem applied to PPP contracts. To achieve this objective, a PPP computational contractual model including the moral hazard with lotteries was developed to assess how contractual changes could affect the optimum behavior of arrangement members. Simulations indicate that projects with higher economic value should attract more qualified firms, which may be why the companies expend more effort. To deal with possible contractual contingencies and try to minimize the moral hazard problem, the government could draw up more flexible contracts in order to include possible necessary changes and punish unwanted or improper consortium behavior.     

A literature review about usability evaluation methods for e-learning platforms

The usability analysis of information systems has been the target of several research studies over the past thirty years. These studies have highlighted a great diversity of points of view, including researchers from different scientific areas such as Ergonomics, Computer Science, Design and Education. Within the domain of information ergonomics, the study of tools and methods used for usability evaluation dedicated to E-learning presents evidence that there is a continuous and dynamic evolution of E-learning systems, in many different contexts -academics and corporative. These systems, also known as LMS (Learning Management Systems), can be classified according to their educational goals and their technological features. However, in these systems the usability issues are related with the relationship/interactions between user and system in the user's context. This review is a synthesis of research project about Information Ergonomics and embraces three dimensions, namely the methods, models and frameworks that have been applied to evaluate LMS. The study also includes the main usability criteria and heuristics used. The obtained results show a notorious change in the paradigms of usability, with which it will be possible to discuss about the studies carried out by different researchers that were focused on usability ergonomic principles aimed at E-learning.     

Safety illusion and error trap in a collectively-operated machine accident

Workplace accidents involving machines are relevant for their magnitude and their impacts on worker health. Despite consolidated critical statements, explanation centered on errors of operators remains predominant with industry professionals, hampering preventive measures and the improvement of production-system reliability. Several initiatives were adopted by enforcement agencies in partnership with universities to stimulate production and diffusion of analysis methodologies with a systemic approach. Starting from one accident case that occurred with a worker who operated a brake-clutch type mechanical press, the article explores cognitive aspects and the existence of traps in the operation of this machine. It deals with a large-sized press that, despite being endowed with a light curtain in areas of access to the pressing zone, did not meet legal requirements. The safety devices gave rise to an illusion of safety, permitting activation of the machine when a worker was still found within the operational zone. Preventive interventions must stimulate the tailoring of systems to the characteristics of workers, minimizing the creation of traps and encouraging safety policies and practices that replace judgments of behaviors that participate in accidents by analyses of reasons that lead workers to act in that manner.     

TimeOut@UCLA: An Intergenerational Respite Care and Workforce Development Program

TimeOut@UCLA is an intergenerational program that recruits undergraduate college students to provide companionship to older adults with early Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia in a community setting, providing respite for their caregivers. In the program, 86 students and 89 seniors participated from September 2015 to December 2016. This program appears to reinforce positive attitudes about working with older adults among undergraduate students and gives caregivers an innovative option for respite time.     

Constraints and opportunities for civic and political participation: perceptions of young people from immigrant and non-immigrant background in Portugal

Youth civic and political participation (CPP) has been a central concern of research and public policy. This situation has been motivated by growing signs of the disaffection of younger generations, at least regarding conventional forms of participation. Recent theoretical debates stress how forms of CPP are evolving; nevertheless it is obviously important to integrate young people's views in the discussion, particularly taking into account groups at risk of exclusion, such as immigrants. This paper intends to contribute to this discussion by considering the meanings that young people attribute to their civic and political experiences, using data collected with focus groups (N = 94) that address the factors that facilitate and/or inhibit the participation of young people from immigrant (Brazilian and Angolan) and non-immigrant (Portuguese) backgrounds. Data will be analysed according to three main dimensions: (1) participants' sources of knowledge, information and influence; (2) participants' views on civic and political engagement: relevance, resources, personal experiences, trustworthiness and efficacy; and (3) participants' perceptions of excluded groups and proposals to promote inclusion. Results show that the experiences and levels of participation of young people of Brazilian and Angolan origin are influenced by their immigrant background. In addition, they indicate a strong tendency of young people to emphasise constraints over opportunities. They feel like incomplete or in-the-making citizens, and state their claim for rights and opportunities to be heard and to be civic and politically engaged.     

Cross-border school enrolment: Associated factors in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands

This paper examines students who live in Mexico but attend school in the U.S., and looks into the factors associated with their decision to study abroad. Based on Mexico’s 2015 Intercensal Survey, cross-border students are described in terms of their number, location, educational level and socioeconomic characteristics. Subsequently, the study estimates probit models to analyze the factors associated with studying in the United States. Cross-border students are mainly U.S.-born and concentrated in Tijuana and Ciudad Juárez. The probability of being a cross-border student is positively associated with age, household income and having a household member who was born in the U.S. or is a cross-border worker. Cross-border students come from high-income households with strong ties to the United States. The decision to study in the U.S. is likely taken due to the higher quality of the country’s education system and to facilitate an eventual transition into the U.S. labor market.     

An overview of occupational accidents notification systems within the enlarged EU

This paper describes a comparative analysis of the official forms used for reporting occupational accidents within the EU-27 member states. The comparison is based on two analysis grids (coding schedule) created to that effect, which incorporate a set of evaluation criteria and an interpretation key. The results obtained in the analysis allowed for attention to be drawn to the relevant attributes of such forms in terms of their content and format/structure. It also revealed the main similarities and differences between each country, providing a complete assessment of the 27 member states. The discussion gives account of the level of implementation of the "new" Eurostat variables within the European Statistics of Accidents at Work (ESAW). Furthermore, the study shows that certain formats (structure of information fields) appear to facilitate completeness of the information collected. It has also demonstrated that the European harmonisation process is still far from completion, although the newcomer states seem to be adjusting quickly to the process. The findings of this study may bring useful insights to national authorities and European policy-makers, or to employers/enterprises wishing to implement their internal procedures aligned with the ESAW methodology. The scientific community is another interest group, whose research relies on official statistics, preferably comparable across all countries.