Health initiatives to target obesity in surface transport industries: review and implications for action

Lifestyle-related chronic diseases pose a considerable burden to the individual and the wider society, with correspondingly negative effects on industry. Obesity is a particular problem for the Australasian road and rail industries where it is associated with specific cardiac and fatigue-related safety risks, and levels are higher than those found in the general population. Despite this recognition, and the introduction of National Standards, very little consensus exists regarding approaches to preventative health for surface transport workers. A review of evidence regarding effective health promotion initiatives is urgently needed to inform best practice in this cohort. This review draws together research informing the scope and effectiveness of health promotion programs, initiatives and interventions targeting overweight and obesity in safety critical surface transport domains including the truck, bus and rail industries. A number of health interventions demonstrated measurable successes, including incentivising, peer mentoring, verbal counselling, development of personalised health profiles, and offer of healthier on-site food choices – some of which also resulted in sizeable return on investment over the long term. &nbsp

Food security, risk management and climate change

This report identifies major constraints to the adaptive capacity of food organisations operating in Australia. This report is about food security, climate change and risk management. Australia has enjoyed an unprecedented level of food security for more than half a century, but there are new uncertainties emerging and it would be unrealistic – if not complacent – to assume the same level of food security will persist simply because of recent history. The project collected data from more than 36 case study organisations (both foreign and local) operating in the Australian food-supply chain, and found that for many businesses,  risk management practices require substantial improvement to cope with and exploit the uncertainties that lie ahead. Three risks were identified as major constraints to adaptive capacity of food organisations operating in Australia:  risk management practices; an uncertain regulatory environment – itself a result of gaps in risk management; climate change uncertainty and projections about climate change impacts, also related to risk management

How Will Comparative Effectiveness Research Affect the Quality of Health Care?

Outlines how the use of comparative effectiveness research on the relative merits of a healthcare intervention compared with others could improve quality of care and outcomes. Presents challenges in enhancing CE research and expanding its adoption

Medium-term National Development Policy Framework: Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA), 2010-2013

In preparing this Medium-Term Development Policy Framework, Ghana Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA, 2010-2013), Government responds to the constitutional injunction, which requires that policies leading to the establishment of a just and free society are pursued by the state. Government's Better Ghana Agenda also emphasises the following: expanding access to potable water and sanitation, health, housing and education; reducing geographical disparities in the distribution of national resources; ensuring environmental sustainability in the use of natural resources through science, technology and innovation; pursuing an employment-led economic growth strategy that will appropriately link agriculture to industry, particularly manufacturing; and improving transparency and accountability in the use of public funds and other national resources

Livestock and Livelihoods in Africa: Maximising Animal Welfare and Human Wellbeing

Livestock perform several vital roles in rural livelihoods in Africa, providing food (meat, milk, eggs), draught power and transport, as well as income from sales of animals and animal products. However, the implications for animal welfare are not always considered. Theory suggests that animal welfare follows an ‘n-curve’ in relation to productivity. It tends to be low in smallholder farming and pastoral systems (due to inadequate feed, water and veterinary care), to rise with semi-commercial livestock production (increasing the use-value of animals requires investment), and to fall again with full commercialisation (exploitation for profit maximisation overrides welfare considerations). This paper argues that livestock keepers invest in animal welfare to the extent that this increases their productivity, but they might also derive non-use value from treating their animals well. If the economic returns plus non-use value are not sufficient, regulations to protect livestock must be introduced and compliance must be enforced, to ensure that an adequate investment in animal welfare is achieved and to achieve a better balance between human and animal welfare

Enforcement Guide: Near Shore Artisanal Fisheries

We need healthy oceans to support our way of life. Unfortunately, fish stocks are under growing pressure and the need to find innovative and pragmatic resource management strategies is more important than ever. Disregard for fisheries and environmental laws is common and if we are to succeed in reversing the declining trend, we must draft relevant regulations, design and fund comprehensive enforcement programs and cultivate a culture of compliance. Historically, marine law enforcement has been the competency of Naval and Coast Guard authorities; however, many fishery and park agencies, who lack training, equipment, and at times controlling legal authority, are tasked with fisheries management and enforcement. Complicating matters, most agencies are understaffed; lack budgetary resources, and possess limited authority (i.e. power of arrest and the ability to use force). WildAid in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy developed this guide to assist managers in designing a cost effective enforcement strategy for near shore artisanal fisheries. This document is not a recompilation of literature, but a practical guide based on our experience in the Eastern and Western Pacific. Generally, an enforcement system is designed to monitor all activities within a given area ranging from tourism, investigation, and transportation to fisheries; however, this guide will focus primarily on near shore artisanal fisheries. The objectives of this guide are three-fold:1. Examine all factors considered for the design and operation of a marine law enforcement system; 2. Illustrate key components of an enforcement system and evaluate surveillance technology and patrol equipment options; 3. Guide managers in the design and implementation of an enforcement system.In summary, it aims to equip managers with the tools needed to strengthen fisheries management and design enforcement systems that are practical, affordable and feasible to implement in a timely manner. Fisheries enforcement requires a holistic approach that accounts for surveillance, interdiction, systematic training, education and outreach and lastly, meaningful sanctions. Although it explores many surveillance technologies and management tools, this guide more importantly provides a blueprint for the capacity building and professionalization of enforcement officers, who truly are the core component of any fisheries enforcement program

International Research Project on Job Retention and Return to Work Strategies for Disabled Workers: Key Issues

[From Preface] The International Research Project on Job Retention and Return to Work Strategies for Disabled Workers breaks new ground by examining the inter-relationships of public and enterprise policies and practices as they affect the retention and return to work of disabled workers. The enquiry encompasses public policies to promote employment of disabled people; benefit and compensation programmes; employment support and rehabilitation services; provision to adapt work and workplace; and measures developed and implemented by the enterprise. The Project aims not only to identify successful policies and practices which are transferable from one country to another but also to inform the development of effective, efficient and equitable job retention and return to work strategies for disabled workers. The ultimate objective is to develop strategies which can be put into effect in the workplace

Markets for Nutrient-rich Foods: Policy Synthesis from Three Country Studies

This Evidence Report examines the potential for and limitations of promoting business and market-based approaches to reducing undernutrition through increasing the availability and accessibility of nutrient-rich foods for the undernourished. There is an increasing emphasis by development agencies on the benefits of involving the private sector in strategies to increase food production and consumption and tackle undernutrition. Recognising this trend, the report analyses the effectiveness of market-based approaches in meeting the challenge of micronutrient malnutrition through the provision of nutrient-rich foods to populations at risk of undernourishment. By examining how markets in particular countries operate in practice, the report identifies the situations where market-based approaches are likely to be successful in producing sustainable and effective reductions in undernutrition, and also where they are not. It identifies where there are potentially good returns to promoting markets and the private sector, and where these need to be complemented by alternative approaches in order to provide comprehensive access to nutrient-rich foods. It is based on work carried out in three countries in sub-Saharan Africa – Ghana, Nigeria and Tanzania – complemented by a review of the literature on food market nutrition.UK Department for International Developmen

Experiments on bureaucrat behaviour and public participation

Public participation mechanisms, government-initiated forms of interaction that take place outside the formal electoral process, have been heralded as a potential solution to a lack of popular trust in, engagement and satisfaction with democracy. They have proliferated in their form and use over the last two decades; a development supported by a belief that they help to increase policy effectiveness and promote democratic values. Bureaucrats largely manage public participation processes and thus have ample room to influence their outcomes. It however remains unclear to what extent bureaucrats are responsive to citizen input provided through such mechanisms and what that means for the promises entailed in public participation processes. In a series of experiments, this thesis set out to test what drives bureaucratic responsiveness to citizen input, and what types of government communications can help to increase the number and diversify the composition of citizen groups who take part in public participation processes. In Chapter 2, I use a field experiment with 7,000 bureaucrats to establish to what extent bureaucrats are responsive, and whether interventions targeted at increasing their motivation to engage with citizen input can alter such responsiveness. In Chapter 3, a survey experiment tests how bureaucrats respond when the quality of citizen input varies. More specifically, it evaluates how bureaucrats respond when politicians are opposed to heeding citizen demands, and how this compares to when politicians support policy change demanded through public participation mechanisms. Finally, Chapter 4 addresses the question of input quality from the supply-side. In a field experiment targeting over twenty-nine thousand households, I test whether government communications can increase and diversify turnout for public participation processes. The evidence deriving from this research project shows (i) that motivational rather than time and task related factors drive bureaucrat responsiveness to citizen input; illustrates (ii) how conflict of citizen and political principals causes changes in the willingness of bureaucrats to implement policy and (iii) that behavioural nudges demonstrated to be effective in the Get-Out-The-Vote literature backfired in the context of non-electoral participation. The findings challenge the normative claims of public participation literature and contribute to the theory of the political control of the bureaucracy by providing causal evidence for the importance of motivational and contextual factors in determining bureaucrat behaviour