Combining Work and Care: Carers' Decision-making in the Context of Competing Policy Pressures

Issues related to paid work and care are of global importance, reflecting the twin pressures of population ageing and efforts to increase labour market participation. Informal carers of sick, disabled or older people can experience tensions between policies aimed at support for care and support for employment. This article discusses a study of carers’ decision‐making around work and care, drawing on evidence from interviews with 80 working‐age carers in England. Carers are not homogeneous; their circumstances and needs differ reflecting age, gender, ethnicity, labour market participation, and the condition and/or needs of the person they support. This diversity is illustrated by contrasting rural and urban carers’ decisions and experiences about work and care. Key factors that impact on carers’ decisions are: current and anticipated financial need; the constraints arising from receipt of carers’ and other means‐tested income maintenance benefits; personal identity; job opportunities and scope for flexibility; social services provision; carers’ own health. Distance, travel times and transport are unique additional challenges for rural carers who (wish to) work. These difficulties are further intensified when they intersect with other factors such as the Carer's Allowance, the local labour market and social services provision. The findings are evaluated in terms of the adequacy of current government policy measures.     

完善决策机制对规范我国财政过程的指导意义

党的十六大报告深刻地论述了政府决策必须遵守决策程序的科学性、规范性及决策目标和方向的公共性。这一原则和精神必将对我国的财政过程和财政理念产生巨大影响 ,对改革和规范我国财政过程具有重要的指导意义 ,有助于提高我国财政收入、预算、支出的公正性、公开性和规范化程度 ,有助于我国确立以“公共性”为价值基础与核心精神的财政理念 ,从而有利于推进我国公共财政和民主财政建设的进程。     

From ‘weak’ to ‘strong’ multifunctionality: Conceptualising farm-level multifunctional transitional pathways

Building on normative conceptualisations of multifunctionality as a decision-making spectrum bounded by productivist and non-productivist action and thought, this paper analyses farm-level multifunctional agricultural transitions. First, the paper suggests that it may be possible to categorise different farm types along the productivist/non-productivist multifunctionality spectrum, and that transitional potential from weak to strong multifunctionality often differs between different categories of farms and types of farm ownership. Second, the paper conceptualises multifunctional transitional processes at farm level over time, and introduces the notions of multifunctional path dependency and decision-making corridors, the latter of which can be understood as ‘bundles’ of decision-making opportunities bounded by productivist and non-productivist action and thought. The analysis suggests that system memory plays an important role in defining the likelihood of multifunctional actions, and argues that transitional ruptures—sudden breaks in transitional pathways—often characterise farm-level transitions. The paper concludes by highlighting the methodological challenges awaiting future researchers of multifunctional agricultural transitions.     

A multi-criteria approach for managing inter-enterprise collaborative relationships

Collaboration amongst enterprises is a common strategy used to increase competitiveness. Thus, enterprises that are collaborating need to define and use performance measurement/management frameworks composed of performance elements (objectives, performance indicators, etc.) that facilitate the management of their activity, as well as monitor their strategy and processes. There are many factors, e.g. trust, interoperability of Information Systems, etc. that need to be managed properly in order to support collaborative success. However, such factors and performance are not usually managed together. Furthermore, these factors and performance elements are interrelated but these influences are commonly overlooked. This paper aims to present an approach based on the Analytic Network Process (ANP) to manage collaborative relationships under an integrated approach by considering not only the inter-enterprise performance elements, but also the factors that influence collaboration. The approach is then applied to a collaborative enterprise network belonging to the renewable energy sector. With this innovative approach, enterprises will obtain significant information for the decision-making process, regarding which are the factors and performance elements that have the greatest impact on their competitiveness, and therefore should be prioritized.     

农村公共产品供给决策机制研究 ———以河北周村修路事件分析为例

国家外部资源在试图进入村庄的过程中,由于各种因素的影响而无法顺利地与村庄内部资源结合,完成村庄公共产品的供给。存有小农理性的村民在决策过程中对于公共产品供给的关联因素的权衡选择以及目前在农村实行的"一事一议"决策制度在具体执行过程中存在的一些实践偏差,是导致目前农村公共产品供给决策执行困境的主要原因。从外部进入村庄的强制力试图通过对于村落理性的限制而解决现实困境的效果甚微,一种基于村落新的共同体认同和民间权威认同的内生约束力量却在一定程度上成为了村庄决策执行的真正行动力。公共决策的顺利实行有赖于在村落中寻找基于"公"的认同而发挥约束作用的公共产品与理性追求个体私利的村民的联络点,以最终实现公共产品的决策与供给。     

唐代中央军事决策与军队领导体制论略

唐代中央在君相对军国大政进行决策的前提下 ,尚书省兵部负责政令的制定与推行。中央和地方的军队统帅机构则是实施军事行动的指挥组织。它们组合在一起构成了唐代的军事领导体制的基本内容。唐代军队的统领和指挥机关前后变化最大。从最初的行台、天策上将府 ,到藩镇节度使、天下兵马大元帅府 ,唐代中央和地方的军队统帅组织发生了巨大的变化。但终唐之世 ,唐朝都没有形成全国统一的军队领导组织和指挥机构     

Influencing factors in midwives’ decision-making during childbirth: A qualitative study in the Netherlands

Background

Dutch maternity care is based on the principle that pregnancy and childbirth are physiological processes. However, the last decade an increase of intra-partum referrals to obstetric-led care has been observed. Most of these referrals are among nulliparous women, non-urgent and occur during the first stage of labour. The increase in referrals seems not associated with better perinatal outcomes.

Factors Associated with the Decision-Making Process in Kinship Diversion

During the past two decades, child welfare professionals have given kinship care priority as the preferred least restrictive, most family-like placement option when a child has to be removed from his or her family. However, the available literature lacks investigation into what factors drive the decision to use kinship care, specifically an understanding of why some children are diverted from child welfare system (CWS) into unpaid kinship arrangements while other children enter the traditional foster care system. This study uses baseline (Wave 1) data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being II (NSCAW II), which provides information about children and caregivers in different types of kinship care. The data were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression based on the multiple imputed data files using NSCAW II weights. Results show important predictors of a child being diverted into private kinship care included the child’s age, caseworker’s educational background, and caseworker’s assessment of harm level. Important predictors of a child being diverted into voluntary kinship care included the maltreatment type, family structure, caseworker’s educational background, and caseworker’s assessment of risk level. Differentiating between the types of kinship diversion has important implications for practice and policy. Examining a variety of factors can help child welfare scholars develop a comprehensive understanding of the decision-making processes used in selecting kinship diversion for out-of-home placements.     

试论阿盟决策制度与阿拉伯一体化的发展

阿盟采取国家间合作与协商来防止冲突的决策制度。理论上,这种决策模式只有在某些合作收益大于单方面行动成本的政策领域才会产生共同政策,但缺乏纯粹的区域层面上的有效运作;实践上,即使在共同利益较多的经济和安全领域,阿盟一体化也只在既定的制度框架下徘徊,仅能达成各国有限的、最低的共同愿望。本文用制度主义和一体化理论来透视阿盟决策制度的本质功能及其对阿拉伯一体化发展的影响,并进一步指出未来的阿盟选择何种决策制度决定着其一体化发展的方向和水平。