Regulatory effectiveness: the impact of good regulatory governance on electricity industry capacity and efficiency in developing countries

This paper assesses for 28 developing countries over the period 1980-2001 whether the existence of a regulatory law and higher quality regulatory governance are significantly associated with superior electricity outcomes. The analysis draws on theoretical and empirical work on the impact of independent central banks and of developing country telecommunications regulators. The empirical analysis concludes that, controlling for other relevant variables and allowing for country specific fixed effects, a regulatory law and higher quality governance is positively and significantly associated with higher per capita generation capacity levels and higher generation capacity utilisation rates. In addition, at least for three years or more, this positive regulatory impact appears to increase with experience

Using therapeutic groups to support women with faecal incontinence.

In this paper, the authors describe the use of facilitated patient groups, in the management of women with faecal incontinence (FI). Two types of groups are discussed--a psychoeducational group and a psychotherapy group. Detailed descriptions of some of the themes which emerged in these groups are provided. The effectiveness of such groups is described, with regard to both psychological and physical functioning. Further investigation into the use of groups for this patient population is recommended

The Other Pathway To The Boardroom: Interpersonal Influence Behavior As A Substitute For Elite Credentials And Majority Status In Obtaining Board Appointments

Using survey data on interpersonal influence behavior from a large sample of managers and chief executive officers (CEOs) at Forbes 500 companies, we examine how ingratiatory behavior directed at individuals who control access to board positions can provide an alternative pathway to the boardroom for managers who lack the social and educational credentials associated with the power elite. Findings show that top managers who engage in ingratiatory behavior toward their CEO, with ingratiation comprising flattery, opinion conformity, and favor-rendering, will be more likely to receive board appointments at other firms where their CEO serves as director and at boards to which the CEO is indirectly connected in the board interlock network. Further results suggest that interpersonal influence behavior substitutes to some degree for the advantages of an elite background or demographic majority status. Our findings help explain why norms of director deference to CEOs have persisted despite increased diversity in the corporate elite and have implications for research on corporate governance, social networks in the corporate elite, and for the sociological question of whether demographic minorities and individuals who lack privileged backgrounds have equal access to positions of leadership in large U.S. companies. Our study ultimately suggests that such individuals face a rather subtle and perhaps unexpected form of social discrimination, in that they must engage in a higher level of interpersonal influence behavior in order to have the same chance of obtaining a board appointment.Managemen