Ownership, Contractual Practices and Technical Efficiency: The Case of Urban Public Transport in France

This paper investigates the impact of ownership structure and contractual choices on technical efficiency in the French urban public transport sector. The central proposition, which relies on classical contract theory arguments, is that ownership regime and contractual practices are key determinants of performances.To test this proposition, we use an original panel data set covering 135 different French urban transport networks over the period 1995-2002 and we apply a stochastic frontier methodology.The econometric results corroborate our proposition: the technical efficiency of urban public transport operators depends on the ownership regime and on the type of contract governing their transactions.Contracts ; Contractual Incentives ; Contractual arrangements ; Ownership ; Efficiency ; Performance ; Urban Public Transport ; Public Service Governance

The use of figures in the evaluation or rural development policies: a quest for knowledge Counting, to tell and understand

Using figures seems to create rigour, objectivity, knowledge and it facilitates comparisons. Consequently, an evalution without figures is hardly conceivable. Nonetheless, objectivity and precision can be just an impression given the fact that figures are constructions built on a modeled description of reality. The simplification of reality operated through a figure can hide subtle elements regarding the way public policies work. If figures can legitimately be used in evaluation, every kinds of figures and evaluations are not equivalent. Therefore, our main research question is what place for figures in evalution? This contribution relates to research about policy evaluation, seen as a mean to produce knowledge useful for the understanding of policies and their implementation. Based on the analysis of the evaluations of rural development policies conducted by the French ministry of agriculture our goal is to increase practical and theoretical knowledge of those policies through well-designed evalutions.Data, evaluation, methods, rural development policies, Agricultural and Food Policy, R58, Q18, H50,

L'évaluation du non-marchand : pourquoi et à quelles conditions ?

L’évaluation est de plus en plus présente dans le quotidien des acteurs du monde social et médico-social. Or, ce type d’activité ne s’inscrit pas dans les logiques et régulations marchandes alors même qu’elles constituent le cadre d’analyse de référence de l’économiste. Dès lors, le non marchand bouscule l’économiste standard et les concepts qu’il mobilise. Être en capacité d’appréhender les réalités non marchandes est un vrai défi pour l’économiste souhaitant révéler l’apport, la contribution socio-économique, des organisations dites non marchandes. C’est à la réflexion suscitée par ce défi que la communication souhaite participer nourrit des expériences issues du monde médico-social

Alien Registration- Roy, Marie Anne (Biddeford, York County)

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Shared Intentions, Loose Groups and Pooled Knowledge

We study shared intentions in what we call “loose groups”. These are groups that lack a codified organizational structure, and where the communication channels between group members are either unreliable or not completely open. We start by formulating two desiderata for shared intentions in such groups. We then argue that no existing account meets these two desiderata, because they assume either too strong or too weak an epistemic condition, that is, a condition on what the group members know and believe about what the others intend, know, and believe. We propose an alternative, pooled knowledge, and argue that it allows formulating conditions on shared intentions that meet the two desiderata

Shared Intentions, Loose Groups and Pooled Knowledge

We study shared intentions in what we call “loose groups”. These are groups that lack a codified organizational structure, and where the communication channels between group members are either unreliable or not completely open. We start by formulating two desiderata for shared intentions in such groups. We then argue that no existing account meets these two desiderata, because they assume either too strong or too weak an epistemic condition, that is, a condition on what the group members know and believe about what the others intend, know, and believe. We propose an alternative, pooled knowledge, and argue that it allows formulating conditions on shared intentions that meet the two desiderata

La recherche au sein des organismes publics de l’Outaouais : survol des publications récentes

Depuis 1983, suite au dévoilement des politiques du gouvernement québécois en matière de planification régionale, l'Outaouais a connu une réorganisation de sa structure régionale de développement socio-économique et d'aménagement du territoire. Dans le cadre de ces changements, il y a eu une production considérable de documents de planification et de définitions des directions du développement. Plusieurs des organismes publics impliqués ont ainsi accordé une certaine importance à la recherche appliquée mais celle-ci demeure mal connue des milieux universitaires. Cette note est un aperçu bibliographique des activités de recherche des principaux organismes régionaux de planification et de développement.Since 1983, following the disclosure of the Québec governement's policies regarding regional planning, the Outaouais region has undergone a reorganization of its socio-economic development and regional planning structure. In the course of these modifications, a great number of documents were produced on the objectives and strategies of development. This research remains relatively unknown to academies. This paper provides a bibliographical outline of the research activities of the main agencies of regional planning and development concerned

Comment répondre aux nouveaux besoins de l'observation locale ? Retour sur une expérience d'observation locale

International audienceWith the greater autonomy of the local levels, appear new needs of observations. The current deficiencies of the local observation led a study group on the territorial wealth, to try to look otherwise at their territories by experimenting new methods. At first, the group went to the construction of a database fed by existing data. The limits of this work brought to us to question in a reflexive way our approach. So, the first assessment of this experience brings us to advocate the adoption of a methodological posture consisting in "raising the chain of the datum" and to recommend the creation of new data to fill the deficiencies of the territorial information.Avec l'autonomie accrue des échelons locaux, émergent de nouveaux besoins d'observations. Face aux carences de l'observation locale un groupe de réflexion sur la richesse territoriale a cherché à regarder autrement leurs territoires en expérimentant de nouvelles méthodes. Le groupe s'est d'abord dirigé vers la construction d'une base de données alimentée par des données existantes. Les limites de ce travail nous ont amenées à interroger de manière réflexive notre démarche. Un premier bilan de cette expérience nous a conduit à adopter une posture méthodologique consistant à « remonter la chaîne de la donnée » et à préconiser la création de données nouvelles afin de combler les carences de l'information territoriale

Impact of Mathematics Content Course Sequence on CBASE and Praxis II Scores of Elementary Teacher Candidates

Title from PDF of title page, viewed on June 9, 2015Dissertation advisor: Rita H. BargerVitaIncludes bibliographic references (pages 96-104)Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Education and Department of Mathematics & Statistics. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2014The focus of this study was to investigate the impact of the number of developmental mathematics courses and the level of algebraic integration of general education mathematics courses have on elementary teacher candidates’ performance on the CBASE and Elementary Praxis II: Curriculum, Instruction & Assessment. Course work and standardized achievement test performance of 104 elementary teacher candidates at a midsize university located in the state of Missouri from 2001 to 2011 were analyzed. The files of 104 teacher candidates had the mathematics scores for the CBASE and the overall scores for the Elementary Praxis II; 65 of the files contained the mathematics score for the Elementary Praxis II. Nonequivalent groups were formed by using the number of developmental mathematics courses completed, then using the level of algebraic integration in the general education mathematics course completed and, lastly, using the two combined. Developmental mathematics course work had categories of: (1) None, (2) Intermediate Algebra Only and (3) Introductory/Intermediate Algebra Sequence. General education mathematics course work had categories of: (1) Course Emphasized Algebra and (2) Course De-emphasized Algebra. A two-way MANOVA was used to investigate the interaction of the factors of developmental mathematics course work and general education mathematics course work on the dependent variables of mathematics scores on CBASE and overall scores on Elementary Praxis II. Furthermore, two separate follow-up analyses using ANOVA on each of the dependent variables were performed. In addition, a two-way ANOVA was performed to investigate the interaction of the two factors on the dependent variable of mathematics score on Elementary Praxis II. The results of the present study found no significant differences in the mathematics scores on CBASE, the overall score of the Elementary Praxis II or the mathematics score of the Elementary Praxis II among the groups formed using the developmental and general education mathematics courses completed. As a result, the teacher candidates who entered college with deficiencies in mathematics or completed a general education mathematics course that de-emphasized algebra proved to not be at a disadvantage for passing the tests needed for obtaining teaching credentials in Missouri based on the available data information.Introduction -- Review of the related literature -- Research design and methodology -- Results -- Discussion

Pour un usage soutenable du chiffre dans l'action publique : retour réflexif sur un processus de construction d'indicateurs alternatifs dans l'agglomération grenobloise

15 p.The difficulties of local observation stance to support public policy and the role and limitations of the quantification, its uses and misuses, and more generally his misdeeds in the framework of public policies led a group composed of technicians and researchers to the development of new data in the contact of the construction of sustainable territorial social indicators of the urban community of Grenoble (IBEST Grenoble). This project forms part of the ongoing work on alternative indicators which aims to analyze territories in a different way. As well, it seek to be used for public action and to devise replicable methodologies. This communication will develop a reflective analysis of this project started in 2002 and in which we participate for almost five years.Face aux difficultés d'observation locales et prenant acte du rôle du chiffre dans les manières de gouverner, de ses usages et mésusages, et plus généralement des apports et ses méfaits de la mesure dans le cadre des politiques publiques, un collectif grenoblois composé d'acteurs de la politique de ville et d'universitaires, a mis en place une démarche de quantification locale alternative Indicateurs de Bien-être Soutenable Territoriales (IBEST). Cherchant initialement à analyser différemment leurs territoires d'intervention en se situant de manière explicite dans la lignée des travaux sur les nouveaux indicateurs de richesse, le projet vise la mise en place d'une démarche d'observation locale reproductible et au service de l'acteur et l'action publique. C'est à une analyse réflexive de la démarche sous-tendant le projet IBEST impulsée en 2002 et à laquelle nous participons depuis 2009, que cette communication sera consacrée