The Reciprocity Dimension of Solidarity: Insights from Three European Countries

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - The article argues that closer attention to how solidarity is understood and expressed in different European contexts can...     

Standardisation—the end of professional discretion?†

This article analyses and discusses standardisation in human service organisations and its implications for professionals and for professionalism in social work. The theoretical framework derives from neo-institutional theory and theories regarding professionalism. By highlighting the role of professionals within a field influenced by organisational demands and market endeavour, this article contributes to the understanding of increased standardisation as a way to reduce uncertainty and enhance legitimacy for human service organisations, but at the expense of traditional professional discretion. This development has been interpreted as de-professionalisation and as an adjustment to organisational demands. It could also be seen as a professional strategy to strengthen professional trust and provide a sense of certainty for professionals. It can also lead to professional uncertainty about how to handle the discretion in the light of standardised tools. This development might, depending on the organisational context and the individual professional's choices, result in a manual-mental specialised professionalism as well as a strictly mechanical form of work. Standardisation thus puts high demands on professionals and how they use the professional discretion, since professionalism requires professionals capable of handling a mix of logics without totally yielding discretionary power and making professional judgement.     

Asymptotic properties of a stochastic EM algorithm for mixtures with censored data

Weak consistency and asymptotic normality is shown for a stochastic EM algorithm for censored data from a mixture of distributions under lognormal assumptions. The asymptotic properties hold for all parameters of the distributions, including the mixing parameter. In order to make parameter estimation meaningful it is necessary to know that the censored mixture distribution is identifiable. General conditions under which this is the case are given. The stochastic EM algorithm addressed in this paper is used for estimation of wood fibre length distributions based on optically measured data from cylindric wood samples (increment cores).     

Time Consistency of Fiscal and Monetary Policy: A Solution

This paper demonstrates how time consistency of the Ramsey policy—the optimal fiscal and monetary policy under commitment—can be achieved. Each government should leave its successor with a unique maturity structure for nominal and indexed debt, such that the marginal benefit of a surprise inflation exactly balances the marginal cost. Unlike in earlier papers on the topic, the result holds for quite general Ramsey policies, including time‐varying polices with positive inflation and positive nominal interest rates. We compare our results with those in Persson, Persson, and Svensson (1987), Calvo and Obstfeld (1990), and Alvarez, Kehoe, and Neumeyer (2004).     

Organizational capacity and entrepreneurial behavior

In this research note, we examine the relationship between organizational capacity and entrepreneurial behavior in a global sample of 165 nonprofit organizations operating in a single, rapidly growing field of nonprofit activity. Our findings show a strong relationship between organizations' entrepreneurial behavior and levels of organizational capacity. We discuss our results relative to the importance of both organizational capacity and entrepreneurial behavior in a rapidly growing nonprofit subsector. The results contribute to the continued development and refinement of theoretical and empirical work on the causal links between organizational capacity and entrepreneurial behavior more generally.     

Trends in College Binge Drinking During a Period of Increased Prevention Efforts: Findings from 4 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study Surveys: 1993–2001

Abstract

The 2001 Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study surveyed students at 119 4-year colleges that participated in the 1993, 1997, and 1999 studies. Responses in the 4 survey years were compared to determine trends in heavy alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and encounters with college and community prevention efforts. In 2001, approximately 2 in 5 (44.4%) college students reported binge drinking, a rate almost identical to rates in the previous 3 surveys. Very little change in overall binge drinking occurred at the individual college level. The percentages of abstainers and frequent binge drinkers increased, a polarization of drinking behavior first noted in 1997. A sharp rise in frequent binge drinking was noted among students attending all-women's colleges. Other significant changes included increases in immoderate drinking and harm among drinkers. More students lived in substance-free housing and encountered college educational efforts and sanctions resulting from their alcohol use.     

Peer 2 Peer: Efficacy of a Course-Based Peer Education Intervention to Increase Physical Activity Among College Students

Abstract

There are few physical activity (PA) interventions in higher education, and they have been only minimally effective. Objective: To determine if a course-based, peer education intervention was associated with increases in PA and physical fitness. Participants: Participants were 178 students enrolled in a personal health class during the 2007–2008 academic year. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used to assess the effect of the intervention. Repeated measures analysis of covariance was employed to test the impact of the intervention on students’ PA, body composition, waist-to-hip ratio, cardiovascular fitness, flexibility, and muscular strength. Results: Women in the treatment group classified as “Inactive” at baseline increased PA, whereas “Inactive” control women had reductions in PA. Women in the treatment group who were “Active” at baseline reduced their waist-to-hip ratio and increased flexibility. There were no differences by treatment group among men. Conclusions: The intervention was effective in improving PA and physical fitness among college women.