Towards actionable international comparisons of health system performance: expert revision of the OECD framework and quality indicators

Objective To review and update the conceptual framework, indicator content and research priorities of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Health Care Quality Indicators (HCQI) project, after a decade of collaborative work. Design A structured assessment was carried out using a modified Delphi approach, followed by a consensus meeting, to assess the suite of HCQI for international comparisons, agree on revisions to the original framework and set priorities for research and development. Setting International group of countries participating to OECD projects. Participants Members of the OECD HCQI expert group. Results A reference matrix, based on a revised performance framework, was used to map and assess all seventy HCQI routinely calculated by the OECD expert group. A total of 21 indicators were agreed to be excluded, due to the following concerns: (i) relevance, (ii) international comparability, particularly where heterogeneous coding practices might induce bias, (iii) feasibility, when the number of countries able to report was limited and the added value did not justify sustained effort and (iv) actionability, for indicators that were unlikely to improve on the basis of targeted policy interventions. Conclusions The revised OECD framework for HCQI represents a new milestone of a long-standing international collaboration among a group of countries committed to building common ground for performance measurement. The expert group believes that the continuation of this work is paramount to provide decision makers with a validated toolbox to directly act on quality improvement strategie

The Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost:A Grounded Theory approach to the comparative study of decision-making in the NAC and PSC

Studies of the relationship between the EU and NATO often focus on the limitations of cooperation, be it at the political or the operational level. However, little is known about the functioning of the political institutional linkages between the EU and NATO. This article therefore studies the main decision-making bodies of the two organisations at the political, ambassadorial level, namely the Political and Security Committee (PSC) of the EU and the North Atlantic Council (NAC) in NATO, as well as their joint meetings. The article employs an inductive Grounded Theory approach, drawing on open-ended interviews with PSC and NAC ambassadors, which reveal direct insights from the objects of analysis. The findings emphasise the impact of both structural and more agency-related categories on decision-making in these three fora. The article thus addresses both the paucity of study on these bodies more broadly and the complete lacuna on joint PSC–NAC meetings specifically, warranting the inductive approach this article endorses

Psychometric Curve and Behavioral Strategies for Whisker-Based Texture Discrimination in Rats

The rodent whisker system is a major model for understanding neural mechanisms for tactile sensation of surface texture (roughness). Rats discriminate surface texture using the whiskers, and several theories exist for how texture information is physically sensed by the long, moveable macrovibrissae and encoded in spiking of neurons in somatosensory cortex. However, evaluating these theories requires a psychometric curve for texture discrimination, which is lacking. Here we trained rats to discriminate rough vs. fine sandpapers and grooved vs. smooth surfaces. Rats intermixed trials at macrovibrissa contact distance (nose >2 mm from surface) with trials at shorter distance (nose <2 mm from surface). Macrovibrissae were required for distant contact trials, while microvibrissae and non-whisker tactile cues were used for short distance trials. A psychometric curve was measured for macrovibrissa-based sandpaper texture discrimination. Rats discriminated rough P150 from smoother P180, P280, and P400 sandpaper (100, 82, 52, and 35 µm mean grit size, respectively). Use of olfactory, visual, and auditory cues was ruled out. This is the highest reported resolution for rodent texture discrimination, and constrains models of neural coding of texture information

A Normative Basis for EU External Relations? Protecting Internal Values Beyond the Single Market

This chapter analyses the EU’s obligation to uphold and promote its values and interests in its external polies, in particular as regards some of the values generally underpinning the EU’s internal market, and the rules and principles concerning services of general interest in particular. The first part of the chapter offers a mapping exercise of the relevant Treaty provisions—seeking to establish connections and ways of reading them so that they may “inform” each other. The second part puts them in the context of the debate about Normative Power Europe (NPE) —a much used, but not undisputed international relations concept coined to express the nature of the EU’s external policies and projection. The third inquires further into the “normative” nature and effect of the EU’s constitutional values and objectives. It will be argued that the Treaty normative basis for the EU’s external relations is meaningful and is to be taken seriously

Casting for a sovereign role:Socialising an aspirant state in the Scottish independence referendum

This article examines international reactions to Scotland’s 2014 bid for independence as an instance of socialisation of an aspirant state, what we term ‘pre-socialisation’. Building on and contributing to research on state socialisation and role theory, this study proposes a nexus between roles and sovereignty. This nexus has three components: sovereignty itself is a role casted for by an actor; the sovereign role is entangled with the substantive foreign policy roles the actor might play; and the sovereign role implicates the substantive foreign policy roles of other actors. The Scottish debate on independence provides an effective laboratory to develop and explore these theoretical dimensions of pre-socialisation, revealing the contested value and meaning of sovereignty, the possible roles that an independent Scotland could play, and the projected implications for the role of the UK and other international actors. Our analysis of the Scottish case can provide insights for other cases of pre-socialisation and is more empirically significant following the UK’s 2016 referendum to leave the European Union.PostprintPeer reviewe

Setting International Public-Sector Accounting Standards: Does ‘Public’ Matter? The Case of Revenue from Non-Exchange Transactions

This paper investigates accounting for non-exchange revenue, an issue which has a strong relevance in public sector accounting, but which is rarely encountered in the private sector. The IPSASB consultation paper 'Accounting for Revenue and Non-exchange Expenses' is analyzed to illustrate that the specificities of the public sector are not necessarily taken into account when developing public sector accounting standards. Our analysis is informed by literature on the political nature of accrual accounting in public sector entities. The paper highlights the territorializing role of the IPSASB, the mediating role attributable to the consultation paper, and the potential adjudicating and subjectivizing roles of a future public sector accounting standard on revenue recognition

Cooling of soybean seeds and physiological quality during storage

<div><p>Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological quality of soybean seeds submitted or not to dynamic cooling, and kept in cold storage (CS) and non-cold storage (NCS). A soybean seeds lot, variety M7639RR, was divided into two parts, and each one was subdivided into three parts that were subjected to one of these cooling procedure: seeds without cooling (SWC), dynamic cooling at 17 °C (SC17), and dynamic cooling at 13 °C (SC13). Seeds were kept in CS and NCS at 20 °C. Samples were collected at six times (0, 45, 90, 135, 180 and 225 days), and then submitted to germination, tetrazolium, accelerated aging and seedling emergence tests. Dynamic artificial cooling at 13 °C followed by maintenance at 20 °C ensured the preservation of physiological quality of soybean seeds for up to 225 days. The vigor of the soybean seeds subjected to dynamic cooling at 13 °C was better preserved than that of the non-cooled or of the cooled at 17 °C ones and kept in NCS for 225 days. CS at 20 °C contributed to the preservation of the physiological quality of the soybean seeds, regardless of whether or not they were submitted to the dynamic procedure.</p></div