Policy analysis in a socioeconomic model of basic needs applied to four countries

This article summarizes the results of a socioeconomic model of basic needs that was applied to four countries—Brazil, Colombia, India, and Kenya. A modeling approach was thought necessary in order to make more precise the concept of basic needs. Although the work has not been entirely successful in doing that, from the policy experiment attempted, and given the limitations of the models used, we believe that an approach centered on the provision of basic needs will help the poorest satisfy their needs more quickly than is possible under alternative approaches.     

Correlates of violent and nonviolent victimization in a sample of public high school students

This study investigates the extent to which student reports of violent and nonviolent victimization in public high schools is associated the presence of hate-related words or symbols, the availability of hard and soft drugs, and the presence of gangs. Data from the 1999 School Crime Supplement of the National Crime Victimization Survey were used for this analysis. In the final multinomial logistic regression model, the presence of hate-related words, the availability of hard drugs, and a gang presence were significantly associated with reports of violent victimization. The availability of soft drugs was significantly associated with nonviolent victimization. Findings held across gender, race/ethnicity, and urbanicity of the school's location with younger students more likely to be both violently and nonviolently victimized than older students. Implications for primary and secondary interventions aimed at school climate and the reduction of correlates of victimization are discussed.     

The art and science of winning physician support for Six Sigma change

Active physician participation and acceptance of Six Sigma is critical to successful implementation. Take a look at strategies and techniques that can help secure physician support for Six Sigma.     

People for sale: the need for a multidisciplinary approach towards human trafficking

The article addresses the question of how to develop appropriate measures to tackle trafficking in women, based on the findings of a study of trafficking between the Philippines and Belgium. It argues that there is no easy or uni-dimensional solution to human trafficking, since it is influenced by a complex set of factors, often working in combination with one another. It concludes that control measures alone cannot stop the flow of trafficking in women and that a legal approach which relies solely on one type of legislation would be too narrow. An effective strategy must combine and balance punitive measures with protection of human rights, stricter border control and the removal of the root causes of irregular movements. Measures must be agreed and coordinated between origin, transit and receiving countries.     

Experiments with incentives in telephone surveys

In an effort to counter the problem of noncooperation, survey organizations are offering incentives to respondents with increasing frequency, some at the outset of the survey, as has traditionally been done in mail surveys, and some only after the person has refused, in an attempt to convert the refusal. This article reports on a series of experiments carried out over a period of about 2 years with a monthly telephone survey, the Survey of Consumer Attitudes, in an effort to increase response rates or reduce interviewer effort. We report on experiments with prepaid versus promised incentives; advance letters; and advance letters with prepaid incentives; and we also report on the effects of incentives on response quality, sample composition, response bias, interviewer and respondent expectations, and costs.     

Profit efficiency analysis under limited information with an application to German farm types

Lack of information about technology and prices often hampers the empirical assessment of the profit maximization hypothesis (viz. by measuring the degree of profit efficiency). The non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology can deal with such incomplete information. We exploit the implicit but largely neglected profit interpretation of the DEA model that builds on assumptions of monotone and convex production possibility sets. We show how its embedded assessment of necessary conditions for profit maximization can be strengthened given partial information in the form of monetary sub-cost/-revenue data (that are often easier obtained than the pure quantity data). Finally, we argue that a ‘mix’ efficiency analysis is naturally complementary to such a profit efficiency analysis. An application to German farm types complements our methodological discussion. By using non-parametric statistical tests, we further demonstrate the potential of the non-parametric approach in deriving strong and robust statistical evidence while imposing minimal structure on the setting under study. In particular, we look for significant efficiency variation over regions.     

Flexible SWAps for Strategic Policy‐making: Reflections on the Zambian Experience

This article offers an alternative view on the emergence of new forms of development co‐operation by analysing the emergence of SWAps in Zambia since the early 1990s. SWAps in Zambia emerged not as part of a grand design but in response to the changing environment in which aid agencies were operating. An examination of the relative success of the health and education SWAps and the spectacular failure of the agriculture SWAp suggests that a flexible approach is more effective than the imposition of a planning template. Furthermore, the failure of the agricultural SWAp has been followed by significant new forms of public/private partnership.     

Informing the Public About Uncertain Risks

Many problems arise in connection with the communication of risk information. In this article the content of the information communicated is taken as a starting-point for analyzing the risk communication process. We studied the way in which authorities communicated health risks to local residents in Dutch soil pollution situations and found that communication problems were characterized more by misunderstanding and conflict between parties with different views and interests than by a lack of understanding. Therefore, it is important to look more closely at the way the communicators of information (in our cases, officials) select risk information from risk assessments, and to study the effects that the information selected has on the receivers (in our cases, residents). Both the process of selection by the officials and the process of interpretation by the residents will be shown to be influenced by the different institutional backgrounds. The article presents a new approach to risk communication. Both the risk information presented by the authorities and the public reactions to this risk information are considered to reflect the institutional background of authorities and residents, and can be analyzed in these terms. Such an approach has consequences for the study of risk communication and the manner in which it is practiced.     

Estimation of the Force of Infection from Current Status Data Using Generalized Linear Mixed Models

Based on sero-prevalence data of rubella, mumps in the UK and varicella in Belgium, we show how the force of infection, the age-specific rate at which susceptible individuals contract infection, can be estimated using generalized linear mixed models (McCulloch & Searle, 2001). Modelling the dependency of the force of infection on age by penalized splines, which involve fixed and random effects, allows us to use generalized linear mixed models techniques to estimate both the cumulative probability of being infected before a given age and the force of infection. Moreover, these models permit an automatic selection of the smoothing parameter. The smoothness of the estimated force of infection can be influenced by the number of knots and the degree of the penalized spline used. To determine these, a different number of knots and different degrees are used and the results are compared to establish this sensitivity. Simulations with a different number of knots and polynomial spline bases of different degrees suggest - for estimating the force of infection from serological data - the use of a quadratic penalized spline based on about 10 knots.     

Communicating Risks and Benefits from Fish Consumption: Impact on Belgian Consumers' Perception and Intention to Eat Fish

Communicating about the health effects of fish and seafood may potentially result in a conflict situation: increasing intake is desirable because of health and nutritional benefits, but higher consumption may also lead to an increased intake of potentially harmful environmental contaminants. In order to anticipate the communication challenge this conflict may pose, the research presented here aimed to assess the impact of risk/benefit communication on Belgian consumers' fish consumption behavior and fish attribute perception. Data were collected in June 2005 from a sample of 381 women, aged between 20 and 50 years. An experimental design consisting of four message conditions (benefit‐only; risk‐only; benefit‐risk; and risk‐benefit) combined with three information sources (fish and food industry; consumer organization; government) was used. Exposure to the benefit‐only message resulted in an increase from a self‐reported fish consumption frequency of 4.2 times per month to an intended fish consumption frequency of 5.1 times per month (+21%), while fish attribute perceptions only marginally improved. The risk‐only message resulted in a strong negative perceptual change in the range of two points on a seven‐point scale. This translated into an 8% decrease of behavioral intention (from eating fish 4.5 times per month to an intention of eating fish 4.1 times per month). Balanced messages referring to both risks and benefits yielded no significant change in behavioral intention, despite a significant worsening of fish attribute perception. The presentation order of benefits and risks in the balanced message showed a tendency to affect both behavioral intention and attribute perception, with the first message component being most influential. Information source did not yield any significant impact either on behavioral intention or on attribute perceptions, independent of the message content. The results from this study provide valuable insights for future risk/benefit and balanced communication about seafood.