Foreign growth, the dollar, and regional economies, 1970-97

International markets are an important contributor to U.S. economic activity. U.S. regions have varying exposure to the influences of international markets--foreign demand or exchange rate movements. Still, the overriding determinants of regional economic growth is the state of the domestic economy.Foreign exchange rates ; Manufactures ; Middle West ; Exports

African American faculty: A study of their experiences related to intercultural competence at predominantly white institutions

Underrepresentation of faculty of color in higher education is a phenomenon that has been studied and well documented by researchers for many years (e.g., Aguirre, 2000; Aguirre, Martinez, & Hernandez, 1993; Bair, Bair, Mader, Hipp, & Hakim, 2010; Chai et al., 2009; Collins, 1990; Turner & Myers, 2000). This issue is even more evident as it relates to the underrepresentation of African American faculty at predominantly White institutions (PWIs). Many studies have addressed the underrepresentation of African American faculty at PWIs (e.g., Alexander & Moore, 2008; Bower, 2002; Brown & Dancy, 2010; Cleveland, 2004). According to the United States Department of Commerce, Economic and Statistics Administration, United States Bureau of the Census (2016), African Americans represent 13.3% of the United States total population. However, African American faculty account for 6% of full-time faculty in higher learning institutions in the United States according to the 2016 release of the National Center for Education Statistics. This disparity forms the essential component of my investigation and sets the stage for my examination of the experiences of African Americans as they perform their duties as full-time faculty at PWIs. This study takes a new approach to investigating the low number of African Americans serving as full-time faculty in higher education by examining their perceptions of the intercultural competence of their colleagues on campus based on their experiences. Intercultural competence is the ability to proficiently interact with people from different backgrounds using acquired knowledge and experience (Elosúa, 2015). Intercultural competence has been studied in a number of areas including business, government, healthcare, military, and religion (e.g., Bennett, Bennett, & Allen, 2003; Benkert, Tanner, Guthrie, Oakley, & Phol, 2005; Berry, Phinney, Sam, & Vedder, 2006; Deardorff, 2009). There has also been research on intercultural competence in education regarding students studying abroad in other countries, teaching in different cultures, and global citizenship (e.g., Banks, 2017; Byram & Nichols, 1997; Deardorff, 2009). However, my review of the literature indicates that there has not been research about the impact that intercultural competence has on the underrepresentation of African American faculty at PWIs in post-secondary education. This is a qualitative multiple case study that engaged full-time African American educational leadership faculty who were employed at PWIs in post-secondary education as participants. The data were collected through interviews. The collected data were analyzed and the findings used to make recommendations to improve the experiences of African American educational leadership faculty at PWIs in post-secondary education

The dynamic potential of European Union health law

Some understandings of European Union health law are based on a presumption of law as a static and closed system. This approach to the Union as a legal entity has important ramifications. The Union is a political system created by and subject to the rule of law. Its successes (and failures) are attributable to the legalisation of solving externalities and ensuring Member State solidarity to gain benefits from integration. Member States, which create and sustain the Union by repeated acts of sovereign choice, choose to subject themselves to the rule of (Union) law. This protects both the Member States and the Union institutions (imperfectly, but nonetheless) from charges of illegitimacy. While recognising the benefits of such an approach to European Union integration and law-making, we take the view that law also has an important dynamic potential. That dynamic potential is inherent in all law, for law is embodied in text, and always open to interpretation, as the external contexts that give legal text meaning in the real-world change through time. We trace the dynamic potential of Union health law by looking at its legal basis to its foundational Treaties, and we plot its trajectory going forward

The international value of the dollar: an inflation-adjusted index

Dollar, American ; Foreign exchange rates

Abortion law in Europe:The promise and pitfalls of human rights and transnational trade law in the face of criminalization with exceptions

The fairly general consensus position on abortion law across Europe is that of partial decriminalization or, more accurately, criminalization with exceptions. Women in most European countries are able to access abortion, but currently there is no broad individual right to abortion on request. By contrast, abortion is generally a criminal offence. However, the law in each country offers various exceptions to that rule. The specific conditions of decriminalization and consequent access to lawful abortion vary substantially among European countries. These usually establish exceptions (rape, fetal abnormalities, risk to life or health of the woman, emergency/necessity) and other alternative requirements, such as a gestational term, mandatory counselling and waiting periods, parental and/or judicial consent in the case of minors, and limitations related to the type and number of healthcare professionals who need to be involved in the procedure. We show that this position is vulnerable to worrying indications that the direction of travel in Europe is away from liberalization, autonomy or human rights protection, and towards greater restrictions on women’s access to abortion. We consider possible legal and other strategies for women’s empowerment, including cross-border provision of abortion services in Europe

Successes and Challenges of Optimal Trauma Care for Rural Family Physicians in Kansas

Introduction. Kansas has a regionalized trauma systemwith formal mechanisms for review, however, increasedcommunication with rural providers can uncover opportunitiesfor system process improvement. Therefore, thisqualitative study explored perceptions of family medicinephysicians staffing emergency departments (ED) in rural areas,specifically to determine what is going well and what areasneeded improvement in relation to the trauma system. Methods. A focus group included Kansas rural family physiciansrecruited from a local symposium for family medicinephysicians. Demographic information was collected via surveyprior to the focus group session, which was audiotaped.Research team members read the transcription, identifiedthemes, and grouped the findings into categories for analysis. Results. Seven rural family medicine physicians participated inthe focus group. The majority were male (71%) with the mean age46.71 years. All saw patients in the ED and had treated injuriesdue to agriculture, falls, and motor vehicle collisions. Participantsidentified successes in the adoption and enforcement of standardizedprocesses, specifically through level IV trauma centercertification and staff requirements for Advanced Trauma LifeSupport training. Communication breakdown during patient dischargeand skill maintenance were the most prevalent challenges. Conclusions. Even with an established regionalized traumasystem in the state of Kansas, there continues to be opportunitiesfor improvement. The challenges acknowledged byfocus group participants may not be identified through patientcase reviews (if conducted), therefore tertiary centersshould conduct system reviews with referring hospitals regularlyto improve systemic concerns. KS J Med 2017;10(1):12-16

Assessment of Alternative Energy/Environment Futures for Austria, 1977-2015: An Executive Summary

This report was prepared to complement a presentation made October 25, 1977 at IIASA. The presentation, titled "An Executive Briefing Session", was designed to present the final results of a thirteen-month study of the Austrian Energy/Environment System to leaders in Austrian government, industry, and science. This written documentation of the results (of which a German translation is also available) presents in a brief form the final conclusions of this study. The study results provide a comprehensive spatial and sectoral description of Austrian energy consumption, and examine alternative energy and environmental policy strategies. This report, however, is only a summary and a more complete description will appear in Research Report form in 1978