A systems approach to evaluate One Health initiatives

Challenges calling for integrated approaches to health, such as the One Health (OH) approach, typically arise from the intertwined spheres of humans, animals, and ecosystems constituting their environment. Initiatives addressing such wicked problems commonly consist of complex structures and dynamics. As a result of the EU COST Action (TD 1404) “Network for Evaluation of One Health” (NEOH), we propose an evaluation framework anchored in systems theory to address the intrinsic complexity of OH initiatives and regard them as subsystems of the context within which they operate. Typically, they intend to influence a system with a view to improve human, animal, and environmental health. The NEOH evaluation framework consists of four overarching elements, namely: (1) the definition of the initiative and its context, (2) the description of the theory of change with an assessment of expected and unexpected outcomes, (3) the process evaluation of operational and supporting infrastructures (the “OH-ness”), and (4) an assessment of the association(s) between the process evaluation and the outcomes produced. It relies on a mixed methods approach by combining a descriptive and qualitative assessment with a semi-quantitative scoring for the evaluation of the degree and structural balance of “OH-ness” (summarised in an OH-index and OH-ratio, respectively) and conventional metrics for different outcomes in a multi-criteria-decision-analysis. Here, we focus on the methodology for Elements (1) and (3) including ready-to-use Microsoft Excel spreadsheets for the assessment of the “OH-ness”. We also provide an overview of Element (2), and refer to the NEOH handbook for further details, also regarding Element (4) (http://neoh.onehealthglobal.net). The presented approach helps researchers, practitioners, and evaluators to conceptualise and conduct evaluations of integrated approaches to health and facilitates comparison and learning across different OH activities thereby facilitating decisions on resource allocation. The application of the framework has been described in eight case studies in the same Frontiers research topic and provides first data on OH-index and OH-ratio, which is an important step towards their validation and the creation of a dataset for future benchmarking, and to demonstrate under which circumstances OH initiatives provide added value compared to disciplinary or conventional health initiatives

Government debt management in the euro area - recent theoretical developments and changes in practices

This paper reviews recent developments in the management of government debt in the euro area, covering both theoretical and practical aspects. It focuses on key aspects of debt management; the objectives of debt management, its organisation, the maturity of debt, inflation-indexation, currency-denomination, the ownership of debt, and debt issuing and trading practices. Main adjustments include an increase in autonomy of debt management agencies, and a convergence in debt maturities and in debt issuing strategies. Issuance of inflation-indexed bonds and the use of interest rate swaps have increased strongly. While the share of government debt denominated in non-domestic currencies is falling, foreign ownership of euro area government debt is increasing markedly. The observed changes in recent years in part reflect the introduction of the euro and the related integration of European capital markets.

Strategies for sustainable socio-economic development and mechanisms their implementation in the global dimension

The authors of the book have come to the conclusion that it is necessary to effectively use modern approaches to developing and implementation strategies of sustainable socio-economic development in order to increase efficiency and competitiveness of economic entities. Basic research focuses on economic diagnostics of socio-economic potential and financial results of economic entities, transition period in the economy of individual countries and ensuring their competitiveness, assessment of educational processes and knowledge management. The research results have been implemented in the different models and strategies of supply and logistics management, development of non-profit organizations, competitiveness of tourism and transport, financing strategies for small and medium-sized enterprises, cross-border cooperation. The results of the study can be used in decision-making at the level the economic entities in different areas of activity and organizational-legal forms of ownership, ministries and departments that promote of development the economic entities on the basis of models and strategies for sustainable socio-economic development. The results can also be used by students and young scientists in modern concepts and mechanisms for management of sustainable socio-economic development of economic entities in the condition of global economic transformations and challenges

Labour market forecasts and their use: Practices in the Scandinavian countries

The ongoing restructuring of todays labour markets and the swift changes in occupational structures and skill requirements generate a risk for unbalanced growth in the supply and demand for qualifications. This paper concentrates on the instruments employed in Scandinavia to identify labour market mismatches, understood as shortages of qualifications related to a certain occupation or education group. There are various actors engaged in the forecasting of labour market developments in the individual countries. The public employment services (PES) stand out as the main actor concerning the identification of short-term needs and the characteristics of current mismatches. The PES efforts are primarily carried out on the regional and/or local levels, and the central tools are comprehensive company surveys and ongoing regular contacts with the surrounding society. The information obtained is essential to adjust the focus of labour market training, which has the primary objective to support the employment offices in their efforts to smooth the matching process on the labour market. -- Die kontinuierlichen Strukturveränderungen an den Arbeitsmärkten führen zu starken Veränderungen in der Beschäftigungsstruktur und den Qualifikationserfordernissen. Unter diesen Bedingungen besteht die Gefahr für Ungleichgewicht im Angebot und in der Nachfrage von Qualifikationen. Das vorliegende Papier fokussiert auf die Instrumente, die in Skandinavien eingesetzt werden, um Mismatch verstanden als nicht erfüllte Qualifikationserfordernisse, die an eine bestimmte Tätigkeit oder ein bestimmtes Qualifikationsniveau gerichtet sind zu identifizieren. Es gibt verschiedene Akteure, die an Arbeitsmarktprognosen in den einzelnen skandinavischen Ländern arbeiten. Bezogen auf kurzfristige Prognosen sind die nationalen Arbeitsmarktverwaltungen (PES) mit Abstand die wichtigsten. Die zentralen Werkzeuge der PES sind umfassende statistische Untersuchungen und kontinuierliche Kontakte mit der umgebenden Gesellschaft, die hauptsächlich auf der regionalen und/oder lokalen Ebene durchgeführt werden. Die Prognosen, die auf die Unterstützung der Tätigkeit der Arbeitsämter ausgerichtet sind, beeinflussen den Fokus der beruflichen Aus- und Weiterbildung.

Towards a Robuster Interpretive Parsing

The input data to grammar learning algorithms often consist of overt forms that do not contain full structural descriptions. This lack of information may contribute to the failure of learning. Past work on Optimality Theory introduced Robust Interpretive Parsing (RIP) as a partial solution to this problem. We generalize RIP and suggest replacing the winner candidate with a weighted mean violation of the potential winner candidates. A Boltzmann distribution is introduced on the winner set, and the distribution’s parameter $T$ is gradually decreased. Finally, we show that GRIP, the Generalized Robust Interpretive Parsing Algorithm significantly improves the learning success rate in a model with standard constraints for metrical stress assignment

Pay for Performance Where Output is Hard to Measure: the Case of Performance Pay for School Teachers

The introduction of performance-related pay with Performance Management in the state school sector of England and Wales represents a considerable change in the school management system. After 2000, all teachers were subject to annual goal setting performance reviews. Experienced teachers were offered an extended pay scale based on performance instead of seniority, and to gain access to the new upper pay scale, teachers had to go through a 'threshold assessment' based on their professional skills and performance. This paper reports the results of a panel survey of classroom and head teachers which started in 2000 just before implementation of the new system, and then after one and after four years of operation. We find that both classroom and head teacher views have changed considerably over time, from initial general skepticism and opposition towards a more positive view, especially among head teachers by 2004. We argue that the adoption of an integrative bargaining approach to performance reviews explains why a growing minority of schools have achieved improved goal setting, and improved pupil attainments as they have implemented performance management. Pay for performance has been one of the measures of organizational support that head teachers could bring to induce changes in teachers' classroom priorities. We argue that the teachers' case shows that a wider range of performance incentives than previously thought can be offered to employees in such occupations, provided that goal setting and performance measurement are approached as a form of negotiation instead of top-down.Education, teachers, performance related pay, public sector, compensation, industrial relations

Firm Diversification in the European Union: New Insights on Return to Core Business and Relatedness

According to ex-ante expectations, one effect of the increased competitive pressure within the Single Market was to drive firms to reduce diversification and refocus on their core business. This paper addresses two main questions: the extent and the purpose of multi-product strategies. Using a large database of 223 leading manufacturing firms in the EU, we document whether EU leaders reduced diversification over the decade 1987-1997. We then investigate if firms have de-diversified by re-focussing around a core of related activities, testing for alternative measures of "core" and "relatedness". Our results confirm that firms readjusted corporate structures around one (or more) core(s) of related activities.Firm diversification, European integration, Return to Core