The Changing American Hospital in the Twenty-first Century 14th Annual Herbert Lourie Memorial Lecture on Health Policy

One is always hesitant to speak about the future. A famous philosopher from New York, Yogi Berra, said "Making predictions is difficult, especially about the future," and I have some trepidation about doing so now. There is also the difficulty of understanding what really has happened in the past. I recall the Bolshevik general in 1917 who said "The future is clear, but the past is very murky." We anticipate the future with more clarity than is justified, even as we disagree on what is happening right now or what happened before. In that vein, I will describe the role of the American hospital in our health care system, and the challenges it must meet, reviewing first the murky past by summarizing trends that have made hospitals what they are today.

Critical Condition: A Historian's Prognosis on Canada's Aging Healthcare System

Canada, public healthcare, universality, financial need, Canada's healthcare system

Agriculture and climate change: An agenda for negotiation in Copenhagen

Table of Contents: •Overview by Gerald C. Nelson •Agricultural Science and Technology Needs for Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation by Rudy Rabbinge •Reducing Methane Emissions from Irrigated Rice by Reiner Wassmann, Yasukazu Hosen, and Kay Sumfleth •Direct and Indirect Mitigation Through Tree and Soil Management by Brent M. Swallow and Meine van Noordwijk •The Potential for Soil Carbon Sequestration by Rattan Lal •Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Livestock Systems by M. Herrero and P. K. Thornton •The Role of Nutrient Management in Mitigation by Helen C. Flynn •Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Methodologies for Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use by Sean Smukler and Cheryl Palm •Synergies Among Mitigation, Adaptation, and Sustainable Development by Pete Smith •The Importance of Property Rights in Climate Change Mitigation by Helen Markelova and Ruth Meinzen-Dick •The Important Role of Extension Systems by Kristin E. Davis •Adaptation to Climate Change: Household Impacts and Institutional Responses by Futoshi Yamauchi and Agnes Quisumbing •The Constructive Role of International Trade by Franz FischlerClimate change, Copenhagen, Science and technology, rice, Soil fertility management, Greenhouse gas, Nutrients, Forestry resources, Land use, Sustainable development, International trade, extension activities, Household behavior, Institutional Impacts,

Health care reforms and the rise of multinational health care companies

Executive Summary: The 2008/9 global financial crisis has had an impact on the funding and delivery of health and social care. Until 2010, government spending on health care in OECD countries had been expanding, but following the adoption of austerity policies, several years of zero growth have been recorded. This has restricted access to both health and social care services. From 2000/1, annual rates of development assistance for health were about 10% per year but had dropped to 3.9% by 2012-3. Contributions by bi-lateral aid agencies and the World Bank International Bank for Reconstruction and Development have declined. However, the contributions by the public-private partnerships of GAVI Alliance and Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria have continued to grow. Overall, the contribution of public-private partnerships and NGOs has started to overtake contributions by governments

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2008

Examines ten indicators to assess progress in state readiness to respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. Evaluates the federal government's and hospitals' preparedness. Makes suggestions for funding, restructuring, and other reforms

A legacy handbook for manufacturing

Legacy Handbook reviewing emda's experience of manufacturing activity. Identifies key achievements and draws out lessons learned that may be relevant to successor bodies active in this area

Growing grass for a green biorefinery - an option for Ireland?

Growing grass for a green biorefinery – an option for Ireland? Mind the gap: deciphering the gap between good intentions and healthy eating behaviour Halting biodiversity loss by 2020 – implications for agriculture A milk processing sector model for Irelan

An Examination of the Self-Efficacy Theory Effect on the Recruitment and Training of the 21st Century Worker

The 21st century American worker faces challenges unprecedented in his or her lifetime. The newly expanded global marketplace creates opportunities for employers to produce and sell products and services to more individuals and countries than ever before. However, the pressure of the new global economy places the burden on American employers to transform processes to be highly efficient and productive to remain competitive. Many American employers actively seek to recruit and train skilled employees worldwide who can meet their corporate need for profitability. The American job seeker faces shifting local labor market industries, changing job titles and job descriptions, and the loss of job opportunities in many industries once seen as the backbone of the American workforce. In essence, the American worker faces the risk of being left behind and left out of the possible achievement of the American dream. The challenge of finding effective methods for increasing the skill set of the American workforce looms large and difficult. Many influences will shape the future of the American job seeker as they consider career track options. These influences include their own level of knowledge about job market opportunities and the skills required to perform these jobs; their own level of motivation to seek out training and education needed to meet the demands of the new industries; and ultimately their own level of confidence, or “self-efficacy” in their perceived abilities to succeed in high growth job industry occupations critical to the future health of the American economy and its’ citizens

American Diagnostic Radiology Moves Offshore: Is this Field Riding the Internet Wave into a Regulatory Abyss?

Recent trends in the American workplace are suggesting that outsourcing is becoming more commonplace, and currently no job or its work product may be safe from outsourcing. American blue-collar workers are certainly not surprised by these trends because they have experienced outsourcing related job losses since the early 1970s. Even those white-collar jobs traditionally considered immune to outsourcing pressures, such as those held by medical specialists, are now threatened. Most workers know outsourcing as a process whereby a domestic firm transfers some portion of their work product or a job to a different firm that resides either onshore in America or offshore in some foreign land. The transferring domestic firm contracts with one of these firms, intending to make that new firm its outside supplier. Although most transferring firms see outsourcing as a positive business experience, some work transfers have both intended and unintended consequences. Some transfers may produce a net loss of jobs within the affected sector. Others may create a downward pressure on wage earnings of the affected worker, especially in labor intensive areas, such as those in manufacturing. In still others, workers may even experience personal stresses, such as increased anxiety or fear that are related to their worries over impending or future job losses. These personal stressors may also place an additional burden on affected workers by compelling them to make fewer demands on their managers. Some workers may come to believe that issuing fewer demands will translate into a greater likelihood that they will keep their jobs. Unfortunately, their beliefs may be misguided