A New Conceptual Model for the Continuum of Land Rights

This paper presents a new conceptual model for the land rights continuum. In developing the argument for the proposed model, the theoretical assumptions of the former model are challenged and an understanding of land rights and tenure elements is explored. The evolutionary approach is rejected in order to accommodate diversity and reflect the coexistence of multiple forms of land rights. In order to inform the development of a new model, a systems understanding is used to identify five primary elements of land rights and land tenure. These are expanded in a tabular form in the Appendix to the paper. An aspect of this is land value and the degree of simplicity/complexity in land value is found to be well-aligned with the land rights types in the former continuum model. This is adopted as a suitable substitute for the former measure of informality/formality when locating land rights types on the horizontal axis. Legitimacy, legality and complexity are identified as indicators of land tenure security. These lead to the triple vertical indices of land tenure security in the new model. The range of land rights options in use, their associated land tenure, as well as mobility of people and flexibility of land parcels between land rights types, can be modelled

Compulsory Acquisition and Urban Land Delivery in Customary Areas in Ghana

Most land in Ghana is held by communities under customary tenure. About 20% of land in Ghana was acquired through a legal process of compulsory acquisition by the government. This process extinguishes all proprietary and jurisdictional rights, titles, or other interests vested in the stool  (traditional authority) or any other person. Among other things, compulsory acquisition aims to provide land for public purposes, to correct economic and social inefficiencies in the use of land and also to deliver on broader goals of social justice and equity in the land sector through the redistribution of land. Most compulsory acquisition laws make provision for prompt payment of adequate compensation for those who are dispossessed, but this has not always been the case resulting in disputes. This paper adopts a case study approach in Tema (Accra) and Aprade (Kumasi), Ghana, to investigate compulsory acquisition and to assess the consequences of this process on urban land delivery. The study seeks to understand why the affected communities have re-occupied land that was acquired from them through compulsory acquisition many years ago. The paper concludes that the general policy on compulsory acquisition is in need of review while the payment of compensation requires further detailed investigation.Keywords:Customary land, customary tenure systems, traditional authorities, peri-urban land, land tenure, good governance, land administration, compulsory acquisitio

Municipal Boundary Demarcation in South Africa: Processes and Effects on Governance in Traditional Rural Areas

After democracy in 1994, South Africa underwent a period of reform in order to address inequalities and effect broad social change. As part of this, the Municipal Demarcation Board began determining the locations of local government boundaries in 1998. The traditional communal lands and rural villages were often split by municipal boundaries which failed to follow complex social boundaries. Contest between the government and traditional governance over land resulted in escalation of disputes. A duality in governance in traditional rural areas was thus created and rural communities were severely affected. This research adopts a multiple case study approach to understand disputes over municipal boundary   demarcation. The causes of disputes are investigated and the processes of municipal demarcation and boundary dispute resolution are analysed using the goals of good governance in land administration, rights, restrictions and responsibilities, Kotter’s eight stages of change management and the 7Es performance measurement frameworks. The analysis shows that theprocess of municipal demarcation can be improved and provides proposals which should contribute to reducing boundary demarcation disputes.Keywords:Demarcation, dispute resolution, performance measurement, change management, good governanc

Good e-Governance and Cadastral Innovation: In Pursuit of a Definition of e-Cadastral Systems

The development and implementation of an e-cadastre, called Project Vulindlela, is underway in South Africa yet there is little literature/research to guide e-cadastral development and implementation globally. Also, the meanings of the terms ‘e-cadastre’ and ‘e-cadastral system’ are unclear. This paper seeks to address these limitations. We begin with a look at definitions of key terms in the field of cadastral development. Then an understanding of what constitutes an ecadastral system is formed through an exploration of: good governance as related to cadastral development, e-government and e-governance, and a study of global cadastral and landadministration trends and ‘future cadastres’. The e-cadastral system is thereafter defined as an electronic, parcel-based land tenure information system (LTIS) that combines the roles of the agencies in control of surveys and mapping, land registration, land valuation and land use / development in a manner that aims to broadly satisfy e-governance outcomes as related to cadastral systems development. Finally, the implied goals of the e-cadastral system are described. It is hoped that this exploration will stimulate further development of the concepts of e-cadastral systems such that formal critique of these systems will be possible in the future

Development and validation of the Negative Attitudes towards CBT Scale

Background: Clinicians commonly fail to use cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) adequately, but the reasons for such omissions are not well understood. Aims: The objective of this study was to create and validate a measure to assess clinicians’ attitudes towards CBT - the Negative Attitudes towards CBT Scale (NACS). Method: The participants were 204 clinicians from various mental healthcare fields. Each completed the NACS, measures of anxiety and self-esteem, and a measure of therapists’ use of CBT and non-CBT techniques and their confidence in using those techniques. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the NACS, and scale internal consistency was tested. Results: A single, 16-item scale emerged from the factor analysis of the NACS, and that scale had good internal consistency. Clinicians’ negative attitudes and their anxiety had different patterns of association with the use of CBT and other therapeutic techniques. Conclusions: The findings suggest that clinicians’ attitudes and emotions each need to be considered when understanding why many clinicians fail to deliver the optimum version of evidence-based CBT. They also suggest that training effective CBT clinicians might depend on understanding and targeting such internal states

Faciliating More Efficient Negotiations for Innovative Therapies: A Value-Based Negotiation Framework

OBJECTIVES: An increasing number of innovative therapies (e.g., gene- and cell-based treatments) have been developed in the past 20 years. Despite the significant clinical potential of these therapies, access delays may arise because of differing perspectives of manufacturers and payers regarding issues such as the value of the product, clinical and financial uncertainties, and sustainability.Managed entry agreements (MEAs) can enable access to treatments that would not be reimbursed by conventional methods because of such concerns. However, although MEA typologies exist, there is currently no structured process to come to agreements on MEAs, which can be difficult to decide upon and implement.To facilitate more structured MEA negotiations, we propose a conceptual "value-based negotiation framework" with corresponding application tools. METHODS: The framework was developed based on an iterative process of scientific literature review and expert input. RESULTS: The framework aims to (i) systematically identify and prioritize manufacturer and payer concerns about a new treatment, and (ii) select a mutually acceptable combination of MEA terms that can best address priority concerns, with the lowest possible implementation burden. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed framework will be tested in practice, and is a step toward supporting payers and manufacturers to engage in more structured, transparent negotiations to balance the needs of both sides, and enabling quicker, more transparent MEA negotiations and patient access to innovative products

Spallation Neutron Production by 0.8, 1.2 and 1.6 GeV Protons on various Targets

Spallation neutron production in proton induced reactions on Al, Fe, Zr, W, Pb and Th targets at 1.2 GeV and on Fe and Pb at 0.8, and 1.6 GeV measured at the SATURNE accelerator in Saclay is reported. The experimental double-differential cross-sections are compared with calculations performed with different intra-nuclear cascade models implemented in high energy transport codes. The broad angular coverage also allowed the determination of average neutron multiplicities above 2 MeV. Deficiencies in some of the models commonly used for applications are pointed out.Comment: 20 pages, 32 figures, revised version, accepted fpr publication in Phys. Rev.

Efficacy of exposure versus cognitive therapy in anxiety disorders: systematic review and meta-analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is growing evidence of the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for a wide range of psychological disorders. There is a continued controversy about whether challenging maladaptive thoughts rather than use of behavioural interventions alone is associated with the greatest efficacy. However little is known about the relative efficacy of various components of CBT. This review aims to compare the relative efficacy of Cognitive Therapy (CT) versus Exposure (E) for a range of anxiety disorders using the most clinically relevant outcome measures and estimating the summary relative efficacy by combining the studies in a meta-analysis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Psych INFO, MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from the first available year to May 2010. All randomised controlled studies comparing the efficacy of exposure with cognitive therapy were included. Odds ratios (OR) or standardised means' differences (Hedges' g) for the most clinically relevant primary outcomes were calculated. Outcomes of the studies were grouped according to specific disorders and were combined in meta-analyses exploring short-term and long-term outcomes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>20 Randomised Controlled Trials with (n = 1,308) directly comparing the efficacy of CT and E in anxiety disorders were included in the meta-analysis. No statistically significant difference in the relative efficacy of CT and E was revealed in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), in Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and in Panic Disorder (PD). There was a statistically significant difference favouring CT versus E in Social Phobia both in the short-term (Z = 3.72, p = 0.0002) and the long-term (Z = 3.28, p = 0.001) outcomes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>On the basis of extant literature, there appears to be no evidence of differential efficacy between cognitive therapy and exposure in PD, PTSD and OCD and strong evidence of superior efficacy of cognitive therapy in social phobia</p

When it's at: An examination of when cognitive change occurs during cognitive therapy for compulsive checking in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract Background and objectives The cognitive theory of compulsive checking in OCD proposes that checking behaviour is maintained by maladaptive beliefs, including those related to inflated responsibility and those related to reduced memory confidence. This study examined whether and when specific interventions (as part of a new cognitive therapy for compulsive checking) addressing these cognitive targets changed feelings of responsibility and memory confidence. Methods Participants were nine adults with a primary or secondary diagnosis of OCD who reported significant checking symptoms (at least one hour per day) on the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale. A single-case multiple baseline design was used, after which participants received 12 sessions of cognitive therapy. From the start of the baseline period through to the 1 month post-treatment follow-up assessment session, participants completed daily monitoring of feelings of responsibility, memory confidence, and their time spent engaging in compulsive checking. Results Results revealed that feelings of responsibility significantly reduced and memory confidence significantly increased from baseline to immediately post-treatment, with very high effect sizes. Multilevel modelling revealed significant linear changes in feelings of responsibility (i.e., reductions over time) and memory confidence (i.e., increases over time) occurred following the sessions when these were addressed. Finally, we found that improvements in these over the course of the treatment significantly predicted reduced time spent checking. Limitations The small sample size limits our ability to generalize our results. Conclusions Results are discussed in terms of a focus on the timing of change in cognitive therapy