Good Governance: developing effective board-management relations in public and voluntary organizations

The research suggests that boards do make a number of important contributions to the organisations they serve. The nature of these contributions caries and is influenced by a variety of factors: for example the way the organisation is regulated; the history and culture of the organisation; the way board members are chosen; board member's skills and experience; the relationship with senior managers; and the way the governance function is managed

FARMER STORAGE OF IRRIGATION WATER IN FEDERAL PROJECTS

This study estimates some of the economic impacts of a program that would allow farmers to save a part of their annual surface irrigation water allocation. The objective would be to save water in full allocation years to be used in water short years. The study area consisted of the El Paso County Water Improvement District. Results indicate that optimal temporal water use would increase district net farm revenue by three percent or less above actual water use. For the study area vegetables were the most profitable crop while laser leveling was not economically feasible.Farm Management, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The integrated database for African policymakers

The Integrated Database for African Policymakers (IDAPs; http://www.walker.ac.uk/projects/idaps-integrated-database-for-african-policy-makers/), is a technological initiative to intended to provide valuable insight and quantitative evidence to policy makers, planners and doers, at international, national and local levels to inform scenario planning and support investment interventions for early action and adaptation. It also provides a rich source of data for researchers exploring the impacts of climate change in rural African communities, and potentially beyond. IDAPS is jointly led by the Walker Institute and Evidence for Development, our embedded NGO partner

Plastic Analysis of Two Hinged Circular Arches

Architectural Engineerin

Estimating the conditions for polariton condensation in organic thin-film microcavities

We examine the possibility of observing Bose condensation of a confined two-dimensional polariton gas in an organic quantum well. We deduce a suitable parameterization of a model Hamiltonian based upon the cavity geometry, the biexciton binding energy, and similar spectroscopic and structural data. By converting the sum-over-states to a semiclassical integration over $d$-dimensional phase space, we show that while an ideal 2-D Bose gas will not undergo condensation, an interacting gas with the Bogoliubov dispersion $H(p)\approx s p$ close to $p=0$ will undergo Bose condensation at a given critical density and temperature. We show that $T_c/\sqrt{\rho_c}$ is sensitive to both the cavity geometry and to the biexciton binding energy. In particular, for strongly bound biexcitons, the non-linear interaction term appearing in the Gross-Pitaevskii equation becomes negative and the resulting ground state will be a localized soliton state rather than a delocalized Bose condensate.Comment: 2 figure

The governance of co-operatives and mutual associations: a paradox perspective

This paper presents a new theoretical framework for understanding the governance of co-operative and mutual organisations. The theoretical literature on the governance of co-operatives is relatively undeveloped in comparison with that on corporate governance. The paper briefly reviews some of the main theoretical perspectives on corporate governance and discusses how they can be usefully extended to throw light on the governance of co-operatives and mutuals. However, taken individually these different theories are rather one dimensional, only illuminating a particular aspect of the board's role. This has lead to calls for a new conceptual framework that can help integrate the insights of these different theories. The paper argues that a paradox perspective offers a promising way forward. Contrasting the different theoretical perspectives highlights some of the important paradoxes, ambiguities and tensions that boards face

A Public Health Service-Learning Capstone: Ideal for Students, Academia and Community

Undergraduate public health degree programs strive to educate students to improve the health of communities. As such we have an obligation to develop curricula that push students to think critically about their perspectives, examine assumptions, and provide supported opportunities to apply their academic learning. In addition, curricula ideally develop and nurture students' sense of civic responsibility. Community-engaged learning provides opportunities for students to interact with populations with a range of needs and different perspectives. Students need to be prepared to engage ethically and respectfully, while thinking critically about and reflecting on their roles in these communities. Service-learning is a high-impact practice that combines community service with structured academic learning, including preparation, and reflection. In line with public health community-based work, a key aspect of service-learning is the intentional development of community partnerships to ensure that students are filling the needs defined by the communities themselves. Accreditation criteria may guide what is taught but say little about how it should be taught. However, how we teach matters. Service-learning is a high impact practice that not only aligns well with the goals and objectives of an accreditation required culminating senior experience but shares many of the values of the discipline of public health. This paper analyzes the use of service-learning in the development and delivery of the University of Washington School of Public Health undergraduate Public Health-Global Health majors' culminating experience. We describe the course learning objectives, structure, and assessment tools. In addition, we present quantitative and qualitative results on the impact of the course. We argue that it is feasible, sustainable, and beneficial to students and communities when the high impact practice of service-learning is used in delivery of a culminating senior experience