Integrating multiple criteria decision analysis in participatory forest planning

Forest planning in a participatory context often involves multiple stakeholders with conflicting interests. A promising approach for handling these complex situations is to integrate participatory planning and multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA). The objective of this paper is to analyze strengths and weaknesses of such an integrated approach, focusing on how the use of MCDA has influenced the participatory process. The paper outlines a model for a participatory MCDA process with five steps: stakeholder analysis, structuring of the decision problem, generation of alternatives, elicitation of preferences, and ranking of alternatives. This model was applied in a case study of a planning process for the urban forest in Lycksele, Sweden. In interviews with stakeholders, criteria for four different social groups were identified. Stakeholders also identified specific areas important to them and explained what activities the areas were used for and the forest management they wished for there. Existing forest data were combined with information from interviews to create a map in which the urban forest was divided into zones of different management classes. Three alternative strategic forest plans were produced based on the zonal map. The stakeholders stated their preferences individually by the Analytic Hierarchy Process in inquiry forms and a ranking of alternatives and consistency ratios were determined for each stakeholder. Rankings of alternatives were aggregated; first, for each social group using the arithmetic mean, and then an overall aggregated ranking was calculated from the group rankings using the weighted arithmetic mean. The participatory MCDA process in Lycksele is assessed against five social goals: incorporating public values into decisions, improving the substantive quality of decisions, resolving conflict among competing interests, building trust in institutions, and educating and informing the public. The results and assessment of the case study support the integration of participatory planning and MCDA as a viable option for handling complex forest-management situations. Key issues related to the MCDA methodology that need to be explored further were identified: 1) The handling of place-specific criteria, 2) development of alternatives, 3) the aggregation of individual preferences into a common preference, and 4) application and evaluation of the integrated approach in real case studies

Patients' associations and HTA for medicines: actual and future role in Italy

Introduction: This paper aims at investigating the role of Patients' Associations in drugs assessment and appraisal in Italy. Methods: Information were gathered through a mostly structured (forced ranking) questionnaire. The questionnaire, once validated, was administered to two national HTA organisations (AIFA and ISS) and Therapeutic Committees / Departments of five regions (Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia Romagna, Latium, Sicily). The average rank and the Kendall rank correlation coefficient were calculated where respondents were forced ranking. Results: The interactions with Patients' Associations are very different across HTA organisations, with only three respondents declaring a systematic relationship with these Associations and a focus on therapeutic targets more affected by new drugs launches. Patients' Associations are perceived more expert on the organisation of the Italian health care system and drugs reimbursement process than on technical issues (e.g. PROs – Patient Reported Outcomes). Respondents declared that fragmentation of relationships, with many associations involved, is the most important barrier to a systematic interaction with Patients' Associations and advocated for a stronger integration among them. Discussion: The interaction between HTA organisations and Patients' Associations is expected to increase in the future. To make this interaction more useful, Patients' Associations should improve their knowledge on drugs assessment techniques - mainly PRO - and enhance their awareness on budget issues for payers: the former could create a virtuous cycle that may drive HTA organisations paying more attention to PROs; the latter may help Patients' Associations and payers agreeing on actions aimed at making drugs more sustainable

Emerging risks identification on food and feed - EFSA

The European Food Safety Authority's has established procedures for the identification of emerging risk in food and feed. The main objectives are to: (i) to carry out activities aiming at identifying, assessing and disseminating information on emerging issues and ensure coordination with relevant networks and international organisations; (ii) promote the identification of data sources and data collection and /or data generation in prioritised emerging issues; and the (iii) evaluate of the collected information and identify of emerging risks. The objective(s) of the Standing Working Group on Emerging Risks (SWG‐ER) is to collaborate with EFSA on the emerging risks identification (ERI) procedure and provide strategic direction for EFSA work building on past and ongoing projects related to EFSA ERI procedure. The SWG‐ER considered the ERI methodologies in place and results obtained by EFSA. It was concluded that a systematic approach to the identification of emerging issues based on experts’ networks is the major strength of the procedure but at present, it is mainly focused on single issues, over short to medium time horizons, no consistent weighting or ranking is applied and clear governance of emerging risks with follow‐up actions is missing. The analysis highlighted weaknesses with respect to data collection, analysis and integration. No methodology is in place to estimate the value of the procedure outputs in terms of avoided risk and there is urgent need for a communication strategy that addresses the lack of data and knowledge uncertainty and addresses risk perception issues. Recommendations were given in three areas: (i) Further develop a food system‐based approach including the integration of social sciences to improve understanding of interactions and dynamics between actors and drivers and the development of horizon scanning protocols; (ii) Improve data processing pipelines to prepare big data analytics, implement a data validation system and develop data sharing agreements to explore mutual benefits; and (iii) Revise the EFSA procedure for emerging risk identification to increase transparency and improve communication

SCOPE Report: How a Functioning Grievance Procedure May Positively Impact a Factory’s Performance

This document is part of a digital collection provided by the Martin P. Catherwood Library, ILR School, Cornell University, pertaining to the effects of globalization on the workplace worldwide. Special emphasis is placed on labor rights, working conditions, labor market changes, and union organizing.FLA_SCOPE_GP_Report_March_2008_1_.pdf: 283 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Priorities in public relations research: An international Delphi study

A Delphi study on the priorities for public relations research, conducted in 2007 amongst academics, practitioners and senior executives of professional and industry bodies in five continents, has ranked the ten most important topics for research and proposed the associated research questions. This is the first completed Delphi study into public relations research since Synnott and McKie (1997) which was itself a development of earlier studies of this type by McElreath (1980, 1989 and 1994). Some of the outcomes are comparable with the earlier studies; for instance, evaluation of public relations programmes ranks third in 2007 and was amongst the leaders in the Synnott and McKie (1997) study. After piloting, twenty six public relations topics were chosen. These were sent by email to the Delphi panel. After three rounds of intensive email debate, the Top Ten public relation research topics were in ranked order: 1) Public relations’ role in contributing to strategic decision-making, strategy development and realisation, and organisational functioning 2) The value that public relations creates for organisations through building social capital, managing key relationships and realising organisational advantage 3) The measurement and evaluation of public relations, both offline and online 4) Public relations as a fundamental management function 5) Professional skills in public relations; analysis of the industry’s need for education 6) Research into standards of performance among PR professionals; the licensing of practitioners 7) Management of corporate reputation; measurement of reputation 8) Ethics in public relations 9) Integration of public relations with other communication functions; the scope of public relations practice; discipline boundaries 10) Management of relationship

The Quality of Death: Ranking End-of-Life Care Across the World

As the proportion of the world's population grows disproportionately older, the need for end-of-life services will only increase. This paper ranks 40 countries in terms of the quality and availability of end-of-life care. For this paper, the author also conducted in-depth interviews with over 20 experts on the subject from across the world -- including palliative care specialists, physicians, healthcare economists and sociologists -- and reviewed existing research on the topic

The pharmaceutical distribution chain in the European Union: structure and impact on pharmaceutical prices

In an environment characterised by fragmentation in the market structure of wholesale and retail entities, significant diversity in terms of remuneration schemes as well as regulations pertaining to operational features of wholesale and retail entities, but also significant developments in policy and practice concerning distribution, the objective of this report, is twofold: First, to map the distribution chain in EU Member States, including the main actors in wholesaling and retailing, discuss the requirements to provide certain services and outline their sources of remuneration, both direct and indirect. Second, to collect and analyse data on distribution margins, fees and service requirements in the originator and generic markets in EU Member States with a view to understanding the impact the distribution chain is having on the prices of reimbursable prescription only medicines (POMs). The report does not address issues relating to over-the-counter (OTC) medications