Labor market regulation : international experience in promoting employment and social protection

Labor market regulation involves many aspects, ranging from how employers contract for the services of workers to the nature of the exchange, including terms of conditions of employment. This area of regulation represents an important and often controversial aspect of public policy in both developed and developing countries. Approaches are dominated by opposing views, one which favors the protection of workers through labor legislation and collective bargaining and the other which emphasizes the advantages of encouraging market processes. In the end, however, what matters are the economic and social outcomes of different approaches. This primer paper reviews different regulatory options regarding hiring and firing and wage determination and summarizes the existing knowledge about their labor market effects. It also reviews two important institutional aspects of labor market regulation -- enforcement and dispute resolution. In an annex to the paper, we summarize the statutory arrangements for various topics related to labor market regulation in 17 countries.Labor Management and Relations,Labor Standards,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies

Child labor, education, and children's rights

Child labor is widespread, and bad for development, both that of the individual child, and of the society and economy in which she, or he lives. If allowed to persist to the current extent,child labor will prevent the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals of halving poverty, and achieving Education for All. Nearly all of the world's governments have ratified international human rights conventions, which call for the elimination of child labor, and the provision of universal primary education. Fulfilling these commitments is of critical importance for development. This paper reviews the international legal framework relating to child labor, and access to education, and, provides a statistical portrait of child labor and education participation. It looks at why children work from the perspective of household decision-making. Various policy options are considered, including those which improve the incentives to education relative to labor, remove constraints to schooling, and increase education participation through legislation. Conclusions are drawn in the final section.Children and Youth,Child Labor,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Street Children,Youth and Governance

Active labor market programs : policy issues for East Asia

The study debates on active labor market programs (ALMPs) as a valuable employment policy tool intended to increase the quality of labor supply, and demand, versus the disincentive, and dependent passive measures in combating unemployment. While ALMPs have been implemented to varying degrees in East Asia, they still cannot be considered an important policy instrument; yet, careful consideration by policymakers to such programs, could prove responsive to the economic crisis, and to the longer-term requirements of development. An overview of ALMPs is provided, with key issues reviewed for design consideration. The study discusses the techniques used to evaluate ALMPs, and summarizes the evidence on their impacts, identifying key variables associated with successful outcomes in the region. Recommendations suggest the following issues for the formulation of an active labor market policy: setting priorities, by initially developing strong employment services; identifying the roles of the public, and private sectors, which leads to more diverse, innovative, and cost-efficient services, closely oriented to labor demand, but focused on public priorities; promoting partnerships, and dialogue within coordinated policies, and strengthened administrative and operational capacities, provided a balanced public, and private financing is in place.Banks&Banking Reform,ICT Policy and Strategies,Health Economics&Finance,Environmental Economics&Policies,Labor Standards

The augmented convention offering: the impact of destination and product images on attendees' perceived benefits

In order to benefit from the significant dual spending of meetings, incentives, conventions/conferences, exhibitions/events (MICE) attendees, destination marketers have attempted to identify key success criteria that enable increased convention and exhibition participation. Given the significant growth of the MICE industry in Asia, this study examines the role of destination and product images on Chinese attendees' perceptions of the benefits acquired through convention and exhibition participation in the regions of Macau and Hong Kong. Data were collected using an intercept survey and a systematic random sampling procedure. Structural Equation Modeling was used to test a model that integrates two strands of literature from the fields of marketing and international business: Product–Country Image (PCI) and the Augmented Service Offering (ASO). Results show that a favorable overall destination image positively impacts the image of the MICE product of the destination, which, in turn, leads to a greater perception of personal and professional benefit acquisition. Based on these findings, the authors propose the Augmented MICE Offering as a theoretical framework that can serve as a foundation for more comprehensive inquiry into the decision-making process of the MICE attendee and postattendance behavioral impacts. The study also provides important positioning and communication implications for MICE destinations

The Great Plains Network (GPN) Middleware Test Bed

GPN (Great Plains Network) is a consortium of public universities in seven mid-western states. GPN goals include regional strategic planning and the development of a collaboration environment, middleware services and a regional grid for sharing computational, storage and data resources. A major challenge is to arrive at a common authentication and authorization service, based on the set of heterogeneous identity providers at each institution. GPN has built a prototype middleware test bed that includes Shibboleth and other NMI-EDIT middleware components. The test bed includes several prototype end-user applications, and is being used to further our research into fine-grained access control for virtual organizations. The GPN prototype applications and namespace form a basis for the design and deployment of a robust and scalable attribute management architecture

\u3cem\u3eSignificant Montana Cases\u3c/em\u3e

In the fall of 2022, the Montana Supreme Court was thrust into the national spotlight in the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s June decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Political commentators around the country closely watched the election for one of two seats on the highest court in the Treasure State, speculating as to whether the balance would tip in favor of justices likely to follow the direction of the United States Supreme Court and overturn Montana’s constitutional protection of abortion. The judicial election raised questions of partisan influence among the members of Montana’s highest bench as liberal and conservative officials endorsed incumbent Justice Ingrid Gustafson and her challenger, James Brown, respectively. Much of the media coverage focused on the right to privacy as codified in the Montana Constitution, and the question of whether the Montana Supreme Court would continue to construe that provision as protecting the right to obtain an abortion. Since 2020, the Montana Law Review has regularly published a discussion of cases likely to affect the attorney practicing law in Montana. Several decisions within this edition of Significant Montana Cases show further examples of the Court considering the right to privacy, including Rogers v. Lewis & Clark County (pertaining to inmate strip searches) and State v. Mefford (warrantless cell phone searches). The Court in 2022 also grappled with election law, as detailed in the below summaries of McDonald v. Jacobsen and Montana Democratic Party v. Jacobsen. While space did not allow a summary of all impactful Montana Supreme Court decisions from the previous term, the authors hope that the recapitulations included prove useful to the Montana legal community

Impact of Yoga on Low Back Pain and Function: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

An estimated 70% of people will experience low back pain at some point in their lives, and recurrence rates can be as high as 85%. Recent studies suggest that yoga – a widely practiced physical/mental discipline – may relieve back pain and reduce functional disability. The objective of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the existing research on the effects of yoga on chronic low back pain and function. Our literature search began April 2011 and continued through October 2011. Cochrane, PubMed, CINAHL, Embase, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, Google Scholar, and Clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched electronically. The search terms used were: yoga AND back pain. A total of 58 relevant studies were originally identified through the database searches. Of those, 45 were excluded on the basis of the title and/or review of the abstract. The 13 remaining studies were fully evaluated via a careful review of the full text. On the basis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 6 studies were excluded, leaving a total of 7 studies to be included in the meta-analyses of the impact of yoga on low back pain and function. Effect sizes were calculated as the standardized mean difference and meta-analyses were completed using a random-effects model. Overall, yoga was found to result in a medium, beneficial effect on chronic low back pain [overall effect size (ES) = 0.58, p\u3c0.001], indicating that subjects practicing yoga reported significantly less pain than control subjects. Yoga subjects also reported significantly less functional disability after the intervention (overall ES = 0.53, p\u3c0.001). Moreover, the improvements in pain and function for yoga subjects remained statistically significant 12-24 weeks after the end of the intervention (overall ES = 0.44-0.54, p≤0.002). In conclusion, yoga practice can significantly reduce pain and increase functional ability in chronic low back pain patients

Terms of Engagement: Adults’ Experience in Higher Education

National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) data were re-analyzed to look for differences between traditional and nontraditional-age students. Surprisingly, no significant differences were found for five NSSE Benchmarks, including Supportive Campus Environment. Differences were found in subsequent analysis of two scales of academic engagement identified through follow-up factor analysi