Suchergebnisse

Examines popular support for & attitudes toward postcommunist political parties in Russia, drawing on 1992 interview data from 1,509 respondents in 12 urban regions. Findings showed that negative mentions of political parties were significantly more frequent than positive mentions & that support for democratic reform is weak & conditional at best. Despite limited knowledge about active political parties, five main parties were supported by the majority. Using factor analysis, three dimensions of opinions concerning the main parties were distinguished: center/reformist, Right/nationalist, & Left/communist. While popular support was greatest for the democratic reformist & communist dimensions, support for the nationalist dimension was weak. However, because none of these dimensions can claim a secure socioeconomic basis in the electorate, differences are primarily ideological. It is argued that the likely basis for a more stable party system will be formed by reformist & communist dimensions. 6 Tables, 1 Appendix, 57 References. M. Grounds

Well-being advocates state that it provides a more holistic, humanistic focus for public policy. Paradoxically, however, well-being debates tend to be dominated by highly quantitative, de-contextualised statistical methods accessible to only a minority of technical experts. This paper argues the need to reverse this trend. Drawing on original primary mixed method research in Zambia and India it shows the critical contribution of qualitative methods to the development of a quantitative model of subjective perspectives on well-being. Such contributions have a political, ethical and practical urgency if subjective measures of well-being are to be used in policy.

Kibale and Mt Elgon are two National Parks in Uganda valued for their biodiversity and tourism potential as well as for the ecosystem service they provide for neighbouring communities (e.g. as water reservoirs). As with many other parks in Uganda and elsewhere, Kibale and Mt Elgon have been confronted with conflicts with their neighbouring communities, which have posed serious conservation challenges. In the last decade, some new conservation strategies have been adopted at Kibale and Mt Elgon to address those conflicts through partnerships between the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), the neighbouring communities and the local government administrations. This paper describes the experience of UWA in implementing such an innovative, collaborative approach to conservation. The initial observations suggest that the approach is effective, that it addresses the real conflicts by providing a package of options and that it brings benefits to both local people and conservation. The paper discusses the components of the new approach as well as emerging issues and concerns. ; PES-1 (Payments for Environmental Services Associate Award)

In part 1 of this appear we reviewed the principal features and failures of the market for child-care services in cities. A theoretical framework was developed which generated testable labour-supply and service-supply functions. In part 2, an empirical study is reported in which aggregate versions of those functions are calibrated for the supply of labour from mothers with young children and for the supply of childminding services. Special attention has been given to creating a meaningful measure of accessible childminding services. The results indicate that urban labour-market participation among mothers with young children is very responsive to the level of accessible childminders, ceteris paribus. Further, there is evidence that, at current levels of childminding activity in the cities studied, the elasticity of labour supply with respect to service supply is approximately unity, implying that child-care supply is a binding constraint on labour-force participation. Evidence is also found to support the view that childminder supply is quite insensitive to demand.

BACKGROUND: Non-adherence to prescribed medication is a pervasive problem that can incur serious effects on patients' health outcomes and well-being, and the availability of resources in healthcare systems. This study aimed to develop practical consensus-based policy solutions to address medicines non-adherence for Europe. METHODS: A four-round Delphi study was conducted. The Delphi Expert Panel comprised 50 participants from 14 countries and was representative of: patient/carers organisations; healthcare providers and professionals; commissioners and policy makers; academics; and industry representatives. Participants engaged in the study remotely, anonymously and electronically. Participants were invited to respond to open questions about the causes, consequences and solutions to medicines non-adherence. Subsequent rounds refined responses, and sought ratings of the relative importance, and operational and political feasibility of each potential solution to medicines non-adherence. Feedback of individual and group responses was provided to participants after each round. Members of the Delphi Expert Panel and members of the research group participated in a consensus meeting upon completion of the Delphi study to discuss and further refine the proposed policy solutions. RESULTS: 43 separate policy solutions to medication non-adherence were agreed by the Panel. 25 policy solutions were prioritised based on composite scores for importance, and operational and political feasibility. Prioritised policy solutions focused on interventions for patients, training for healthcare professionals, and actions to support partnership between patients and healthcare professionals. Few solutions concerned actions by governments, healthcare commissioners, or interventions at the system level. CONCLUSIONS: Consensus about practical actions necessary to address non-adherence to medicines has been developed for Europe. These actions are also applicable to other regions. Prioritised policy solutions for medicines non-adherence offer a benefit to policymakers and healthcare providers seeking to address this multifaceted, complex problem.