The literature addressing bias and fairness in AI models (fair-AI) is growing at a fast pace, making it difficult for novel researchers and practitioners to have a bird’s-eye view picture of the field. In particular, many policy initiatives, standards, and best practices in fair-AI have been proposed for setting principles, procedures, and knowledge bases to guide and operationalize the management of bias and fairness. The first objective of this paper is to concisely survey the state-of-the-art of fair-AI methods (...) and resources, and the main policies on bias in AI, with the aim of providing such a bird’s-eye guidance for both researchers and practitioners. The second objective of the paper is to contribute to the policy advice and best practices state-of-the-art by leveraging from the results of the NoBIAS research project. We present and discuss a few relevant topics organized around the NoBIAS architecture, which is made up of a Legal Layer, focusing on the European Union context, and a Bias Management Layer, focusing on understanding, mitigating, and accounting for bias. (shrink)

The economic pastoral letter states that employees have rights to employment, non-discriminatory treatment, adequate wages, health care, old age and disability insurance, healthy working conditions, rest and holidays, reasonable protection from arbitrary dismissal, notice of plant closings, unionization and collective bargaining. In addition, the bishops call for better cooperation between labor and management. This paper discusses how these rights can be protected by good personnel/human resource policies and procedures.

It is inevitable that some inmates in large state prison systems will suffer from terminal conditions and die while incarcerated. But how those inmates experience that event is primarily controlled by correctional policies and by the prison medical and correctional staff assigned to their care. Compassion for inmates who are dying cannot be legislated or mandated, but humane and compassionate care for the dying can be facilitated or thwarted by legislative and correctional policies, and by the manner in which (...) correctional personnel interpret those policies.Death in New York State prisons is a frequent event, occurring at a rate substantially higher than that in most other states. With a prison population that has risen to 70,000 inmates and with the nation’s highest rate of human immunodeficiency virus infection, more than 2,817 inmates died in New York prisons during the period 1990-1998. In April 1992, in the face of an ever-increasing death rate in its prisons, the New York State legislature passed the Medical Parole Law, a measure designed to permit dying inmates to be released on parole prior to their normal release eligibility date. (shrink)

It is inevitable that some inmates in large state prison systems will suffer from terminal conditions and die while incarcerated. But how those inmates experience that event is primarily controlled by correctional policies and by the prison medical and correctional staff assigned to their care. Compassion for inmates who are dying cannot be legislated or mandated, but humane and compassionate care for the dying can be facilitated or thwarted by legislative and correctional policies, and by the manner in which (...) correctional personnel interpret those policies.Death in New York State prisons is a frequent event, occurring at a rate substantially higher than that in most other states. With a prison population that has risen to 70,000 inmates and with the nation’s highest rate of human immunodeficiency virus infection, more than 2,817 inmates died in New York prisons during the period 1990-1998. In April 1992, in the face of an ever-increasing death rate in its prisons, the New York State legislature passed the Medical Parole Law, a measure designed to permit dying inmates to be released on parole prior to their normal release eligibility date. (shrink)

This article details the results of a national survey conducted in 1999 of statewide laws and protocols providing for the creation and recognition of donot- resuscitate orders effective in nonhospital settings. Applicable primarily to emergency medical services personnel, most of these laws and protocols have been in existence for less than ten years, and there is little current comparative information on them. Such policies are commonly called out-of-hospital or prehospital DNR orders, although one state-Virginia-recently amended its DNR law (...) to establish a durable DNR order applicable to all health care providers and all settings. I will refer to the laws and policies examined here interchangeably as out-of hospital DNR protocols or EMS-DNR protocols. The survey produced a descriptive snapshot of such laws and protocols in effect on a statewide basis as of March 1999. (shrink)

This article details the results of a national survey conducted in 1999 of statewide laws and protocols providing for the creation and recognition of donot- resuscitate orders effective in nonhospital settings. Applicable primarily to emergency medical services personnel, most of these laws and protocols have been in existence for less than ten years, and there is little current comparative information on them. Such policies are commonly called out-of-hospital or prehospital DNR orders, although one state-Virginia-recently amended its DNR law (...) to establish a durable DNR order applicable to all health care providers and all settings. I will refer to the laws and policies examined here interchangeably as out-of hospital DNR protocols or EMS-DNR protocols. The survey produced a descriptive snapshot of such laws and protocols in effect on a statewide basis as of March 1999. (shrink)

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the United States has faced the challenge of reorienting its foreign policy to address post-Cold War conditions. In this new edition of a groundbreaking work -- one of the first to bring critical theory into dialogue with more traditional approaches to international relations -- David Campbell provides a fundamental reappraisal of American foreign policy, with a new epilogue to address current world affairs and the burgeoning focus on culture and identity in (...) the study of international relations. Extending recent debates in international relations, Campbell shows how perceptions of danger and difference work to establish the identity of the United States. He demonstrates how foreign policy, far from being an expression of a given society, constitutes state identity through the interpretation of danger posed by others. Copyright © Libri GmbH. All rights reserved. (shrink)

This essay examines certain epistemic problems facing administrative states’ efforts to draft efficient regulations for their societies. I argue that a basic feature of the administrative state’s authority, namely its monopoly over the production of legally binding rules for all members of a geographically defined society, creates epistemic problems that impede efficient rule-making. Specifically, the administrative state’s monopoly over the production of legally binding rules prevents multiple public policies from being simultaneously implemented and compared. The resulting singularity of (...) administrative states’ regulatory decisions prevents observation of the counterfactual effects of policies that were possible but which were not implemented. The absence of observable policy counterfactuals frustrates efforts to assess the efficiency of administrative states’ decisions, as it is impossible to determine whether different policies would have generated greater benefits at lower cost than the policy the state implemented. As these epistemic problems are derived from the singularity of administrative states’ decisions, they exist independently of principal agent problems, suboptimal incentives, or the preferences and capabilities of administrative personnel. (shrink)

In the aftermath of allegations of the misuse of human eggs in the United States, questions are being raised about whether profitable reproductive services should continue to function in a free market under the aegis of physicians or should be regulated. Other countries in which reproductive technologies are employed to a significant degree have developed regulations governing their use, many as a result of recommendations made by inter‐disciplinary commissions that solicited public input. Policy makers in the United States have (...) been reluctant to regulate reproductive technologies, however, because their use is politically controversial, they want to whittle down government, some do not consider infertility an illness, and some believe regulation would interfere with the right to reproduce. Yet the unfettered use of reproductive technologies can create such harms as lack of informed consent, providing procedures not medically indicated for financial gain, practice by unqualified personnel, injury to patients and donors, failure to screen donated gametes, and inadequate medical record keeping. Americans place special value on the welfare of children and those who bring them into the world. Such values can outweigh individual procreative liberty when new reproductive technologies are at issue. Although the optimal course would be to establish a regulatory body to govern reproductive technologies, this is not politically feasible now. The newly established National Bioethics Advisory Commission provides a forum in which issues surrounding reproductive technologies should be addressed at this time in the United States. (shrink)

American policymakers delegate the administration of many welfare programs to states, where officials implement them in increasingly diverse ways. Welfare state scholarship has little to say about this subnational policy divergence, and it portrays the complexity of delegated governance as a barrier to nonelite legislative influence. Drawing on an ethnographic study of one state’s Medicaid program, this article shows that delegated governance offers ample opportunity for nonelite influence and policy divergence, but through regulatory governance rather than (...) legislative advocacy. Medicaid is opaque to politicians, whose inability to monitor program details creates conditions of bureaucratic autonomy and even activism: health-care agency personnel sequence regulatory tweaks to protect and expand entitlements. But budget cuts, outsourcing, and fraught provider relations also deprive bureaucrats of street-level know-how, and bureaucrats depend on beneficiaries’ advocates who selectively illuminate a path to reform. A full rendering of subnational divergence in American federalism requires attention to underexamined factors such as bureaucratic activism, agency advocacy, and regulatory governance. (shrink)

Beginning in 1868, the United States Army Medical Museum issued a request to Army medical personnel situated in ‘Indian country’ for specimens of skulls from Native Americans. The purpose of this collection was to promote the study of craniometry, a branch of racial science commonly used to delineate the different varieties of mankind and to rank them according to their perceived intellectual attributes. Yet, as this paper argues, the efforts of Army surgeons in amassing hundreds of crania for the (...) Army Medical Museum were not matched by a similar level of commitment on the part of racial researchers. In examining why this seemingly impressive collection fell rapidly into disuse, this paper explores the creation and abandonment of one of the largest craniological collections formed in the United States in relation to the trajectory of craniometrical studies during this period. It also questions the link between the interests of racial researchers in the late nineteenth century and those of government policy makers, arguing that the two might not have been particularly closely aligned in the case of craniological research in Washington. (shrink)

Military reproductive health policies affect large numbers of women. In 2006 servicewomen numbered nearly 350,000 and comprised 14.5% of active-duty forces and 17.4% of the reserve force. In addition, approximately 165,000 female dependents of active duty military personnel and 157,000 female dependents of reserve duty personnel are between the ages of 12 and 22 and are eligible for military health care services. Dependents of military personnel are eligible for military health care coverage until age 21, or up (...) to the age of 23 if considered a full-time student.About 10% of active duty female servicemembers become pregnant each year. Pregnant servicewomen are considered non-deployable and are usually not assigned to overseas commands. Pregnant women in the Army, the service branch with the greatest number of women on active duty, can choose to remain on active duty, request temporary leave from service, or request separation from service. Separation options include either discharge, honorable or uncharacterized depending on rank, or transfer to individual ready reserve. (shrink)

Women's access to reproductive health care is an ongoing source of conflict in U.S. politics; however, women in the military are often overlooked in these debates. Reproductive health care, including family planning, is a fundamental component of health care for women. Unintended pregnancy carries substantial health risks and financial costs, particularly for servicewomen. Compared with their civilian counterparts, women in the military experience greater challenges in preventing unwanted pregnancy and have less access to contraceptive services and abortion. Current military policies, (...) federal laws, and health care practices are not always consistent with evidence-based research and patient-centered care. A multidisciplinary effort on the part of military personnel, lawmakers, and health care providers is needed to eliminate these disparities. We discuss recommendations in the following categories: improving contraceptive education and adherence, expanding research, broadening access to the full range of contraceptive options including emergency contraception, and ensuring access to safe abortion. (shrink)

The problem of the concept of Ukraine’s state economic policy of regulation of human resources international movement in the context of global intellectualization remains topical throughout the existence of Ukraine as an independent state. It should be noted that the favorable geopolitical position of Ukraine provides potential opportunities for the development of both regions and the state as a whole, creates conditions that are associated with the involvement in international migration, tourism and transit and professional processes. (...) Their number increases in modern conditions of globalization development. The analysis of features of Ukraine's participation in the processes of intellectualization of the human resources international movement demonstrates the necessity of developing the state economic policy of the human resources international movement, which would become part of the global space and have certain benefits. (shrink)

The welfare reform law of 1996 completely overhauled the nation's system of assistance to low-income families. The reauthorization of that law, now several months overdue because of congressional delays, presents an opportunity for religious social ethicists to evaluate the adequacy of our nation's anti-poverty efforts. This paper surveys policy developments from 1996 to 2003 and analyzes five key issues in the reauthorization debate: the size and structure of welfare block grants; work requirements; welfare time limits, sanctions, and exemptions; marriage (...) promotion and the family cap; and ancillary programs providing work supports such as food stamps, Medicaid, and child care subsidies. A variety of ethical critiques of policy proposals is offered, some of them from the perspective of Catholic social teaching. The trail of missed opportunities in welfare reform will probably continue, as American social policy fails to act upon an accurate portrayal of the challenges facing poor families today. (shrink)

People who are not Muslims but live under the rule of the Islamic state under certain conditions are called "non-Muslim". With the Prophet’s migration to Madinah, he encountered a non-Muslim community and clearly demonstrated his stance on them with the "Madinah Convention". As a result of the intense conquest movements that started with the Companions period, non-Muslim people became the citizen of the Islamic state. Legal arrangements have been made regarding these, and their status before the state (...) and within the society has been determined. These people, who were not forced to accept the Islamic faith, were also given the freedom of belief and worship. However, by limiting the framework of this freedom to the interests of the Islamic state and Muslim society, social security and peace were ensured, and the basic parameters of coexistence were tried to be established. Islamic states have evaluated the non-Muslim temples in the places taken by peace and the places taken as a result of war. While obtaining the consent of the non-Muslim people for the demolition of the temples or the conversion of them into mosques in the places taken by peace; In the dispositions on the temples located in the places taken by the war, they were treated more freely. In principle, the principle of not touching or repairing the temples of non-Muslims built before the conquest was preserved in almost all periods, and the construction of new temples was not viewed positively. Yes, as a requirement of religion, non-Muslims were freed in their beliefs and were not forced to become Muslims, taking into account the freedom of religion and conscience. However, in order for the Muslim community to preserve its religion, non-Muslims are not allowed to live their religion, culture and traditions in front of the public; Restrictions have also been imposed on their temples. In this context, a series of measures were taken, such as the demolition of some churches and the reduction of the number of existing temples. Despite this, it was also allowed to build new temples in case of necessity. In this case, the magnificent construction of the temples was not allowed, and they were required to comply with some criteria in architecture. In this study, starting from the time of the Prophet, an answer will be sought to the question of whether the policies carried out by the Islamic states towards the places of worship of non-Muslims are religious or political, with some examples of practice from different periods of the history of Islamic law. In this context, the status of the temples belonging to these people, who are defined as "dhimmis" in the Islamic state, rather than their general legal status, forms the basis of our study. Our study has been limited to Christian and Jewish temples. (shrink)

The aim of the present article is to explain the role of the judiciary in forming the family policy in Lithuania. For this purpose in the first part of the article the legal basis for the state family policy formation is discussed. The conclusion is drawn that the judiciary is not separated from the formation of the family policy by any constitutional means. The article further describes how this function is actually implemented by the judiciary. The (...) actual influence of the judiciary is demonstrated by an analysis of the Lithuanian case law in three different areas: dissolution of marriage, child maintenance and the protection of the rights of children born outside marriage. The results of the analysis suggest that the influence of the judiciary on the state family policy works in diverse ways: when filling in legal gaps overlooked by the legislator; determining specific criteria which are important to the state family policy (while the legislator has determined only general principles); introducing international human rights standards in the national legal system, etc. One of the most controversial ways for the case law to influence the state family policy is through the modification of the legal regulation models prescribed by the laws. (shrink)

Knowledge of pedagogy and social studies content influences a teacher's decision making and helps teachers conduct sound instructional practices despite the influence of high-stakes testing policies. Using national data from the Survey of the Status of Social Studies (S4), this study examined the associations of teachers’ professional characteristics, school environmental factors, and state testing policy on self-reported levels of authority that secondary level social studies teachers (grades 6–12) hold over key classroom tasks. Through hierarchical multiple regression analysis, key (...) findings from this study indicated that greater minority enrollments are associated with lower levels of instructional authority. Teachers who worked in states where a state-mandated social studies test was administered reported less freedom to choose what to teach and how to teach than those in non-testing states. Also, this study showed that in-field status, the type of licensure, and years of teaching experience are important factors in exercising social studies teachers’ instructional authority (e.g., their ability to balance effectively the demands of state-mandated reforms with teaching for meaningful student learning). This study recommends that schools with high minority enrollments, especially if these districts exist in a high stakes testing environment, should invest in teachers with high-quality social studies preparation. (shrink)

Cultural heritage, which serves as a substratum of national identity, forms the right of the state to its own sovereignty. The substantiated proof of the possibility of independence from other cultures and nations has relatively recently entered the conceptual field of the philosophy of culture. In January 2023, significant changes made to the Foundations of the state Cultural Policy took into account the concept of cultural sovereignty and, to the necessary extent, justified its high importance for the (...) development of the state and society. The fundamental role of culture in the creation and development of the state has been repeatedly recognized as one of the priorities. It should be noted that even later this priority was not a Russian regulatory novel. The purpose of the study is to consider a range of concepts and legal novels reflecting the sphere of cultural heritage. The long-term work of an extensive circle of philosophers and culturologists has been crowned with the recognition of the value of culture in the system of state regulation of various spheres of human activity. As a result of the research, the conclusion is made about the relevance and timeliness of the implementation of the most important philosophical concepts in strategic planning documents and the high potential practical significance of the actualization of cultural heritage in order to achieve the results of the state cultural policy. In conclusion, it is noted that heritage as a cultural phenomenon has direct access to its semantic and value core. The preservation of cultural identity through the consistent building of cultural sovereignty is one of the most important priorities of modern state policy. (shrink)

This paper discusses the genesis of human DNA patents and the legal confusion and ramifications that ensued. Beginning in the mid-1970s with policymakers and lawmakers in the United States, confronted with an economy impacted by an oil crisis, inflation, growing and persistent unemployment and the fledgling biotechnology industry, this paper tracks the development of the practice until its banning in the US Supreme Court in June 2013. The paper raises serious questions regarding the relevance of a patent system—a system that, (...) as the patenting of naturally occurring biological materials demonstrates, is so easily manipulated through the use of legal contrivances. The paper outlines that potential future manipulation poses as a significant threat to the national economy and security of the United States if history is allowed to repeat itself in the context of biological materials. (shrink)

Indigenous Zuni farming, including cultural values, ecological and biological diversity, and land distribution and tenure, appears to have been quite productive and sustainable for at least 2000 before United States influence began in the later half of the 18th century. United States Government Indian agriculture policy has been based on assimilation of Indians and taking of their resources, and continues in more subtle ways today. At Zuni this policy has resulted in the degradation and loss of natural resources (...) for farming, reduction in the number of Zuni farmers and their control over farming resources, individualization of rights in farmland, consolidation of farm fields, and declining biological diversity in agriculture. The Zuni Sustainable Agriculture Project with the Zuni Irrigation Association and the Zuni community, are now working to revitalize sustainable Zuni farming, based on traditional values, knowledge, and technology, combined with modern knowledge and technology where appropriate. The United States government can support these efforts through appreciation of the need for Zuni control and the potential value of cultural and biological diversity. (shrink)

Dictatorships destroy intellectual freedom, yet universities need it. How, then, can universities function under dictatorships? Are they more a support or a danger for the system? In this volume, leading experts from five countries explore the many dimensions of accommodation and conflict, control and independence, as well as subservience and resistance that characterized the relationship of universities to dictatorial regimes in communist and fascist states during the twentieth century: Nazi Germany, Mussolini’s Italy, Francoist Spain, Maoist China, the Soviet Union, and (...) the Soviet bloc countries of Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, and Poland. Comparisons across these cases reveal that the higher-education policies of modern dictatorships were characterized by a basic conflict of aims. On the one hand, universities were supposed to propagate reigning ideology and serve as training grounds for a dependable elite. Consequently, university autonomy was restricted, research used for political legitimation, personnel policies subjected to political calculus, and many undesired scholars simply put out on the street. On the other hand, modern dictatorships needed well-educated scientists, physicians, teachers, and engineers for the implementation of their political, economic, and military agendas. Communist and fascist leaders thus confronted the basic question of whether universities should be seen primarily as producers of ideology and functionaries loyal to the party line or as places where indispensable knowledge was made available. Dictatorships that opted to subject universities to rigorous political control reduced their scholarly productivity. But if the institutes of higher learning were left with too much autonomy, there was a danger that they would go astray politically. Besides the editors, the contributors are Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Michael David-Fox, Jan Havránek, Ralph Jessen, György Péteri, Miguel Ángel Ruiz Carnicer, and Douglas Stiffler. (shrink)

United States Taxes and Tax Policy supplements and complements the theoretical material on taxes found in public finance texts using a combination of institutional, theoretical and empirical information. By adding flesh to theoretical bones, this textbook provides insight into the behaviour of individuals in both the private and public sectors. Specifically, the economic effects of taxes and tax policy are stressed and, as a result, students will gain an appreciation and understanding of how tax policy actually affects (...) the economy. For example, where many texts typically stop with a rather pristine treatment of the income and substitution effects of a tax, this book goes further by examining econometric studies of the supply of labour, and the relationship of this work to taxes, the Laffer curve, and the role and magnitude of the underground economy. Using this approach, Professor Davies brings life to what can be a dull subject. (shrink)

Introduction. The need for a transition to a new system of motivating state and municipal employees’ activities has been widely discussed in recent years. Moreover, some government bodies have taken certain actions in this direction. But in general, there have not been any significant changes. The authors of the article are convinced that the transition to more effective management is impossible without changing the civil servants’ remuneration system, which should motivate them to achieve significant results in the areas for (...) which they are responsible. The paper considers the conceptual approach of transferring the civil servants’ remuneration to a new system, shows the advantages of using performance indicators to stimulate the employees’ activities. The purpose of the article is to justify the reasonability of using performance indicators when remunerating state and municipal employees. Methods. Within the framework of the systems approach, the authors use structural and functional analysis, as well as general scientific methods: abstraction, comparison, description and explanation. Scientific novelty. The authors show possibilities of using the personnel performance indicators in the state and municipal service in order to increase their motivation for obtaining significant results in their work. Results. The authors analyze the conditions for successful implementing the key personnel performance indicators in the state and municipal service, describe the typical mistakes militating the effectiveness of the personnel performance indicators in public authorities. The authors develop some recommendations to improve the use of the personnel performance indicators in the system of state and municipal administration. Conclusions. The proper use of key performance indicators of state and municipal employees will significantly increase their motivation in order to achieve high efficiency in their work. At the same time, the personnel performance indicators must be balanced and matched taking into account the goals of the organization. (shrink)

This paper sketches a framework for the separation of church and state and, with the framework in view, indicates why a government’s maintaining such separation poses challenges for balancing two major democratic ideals: preserving equality before the law and protecting liberty, including religious liberty. The challenge is particularly complex where healthcare is either provided or regulated by government. The contemporary problem in question here is the contraception coverage requirement in the Obama Administration’s healthcare mandate. Many institutions have mounted legal (...) challenges to the mandate on grounds of religious freedom. The paper proposes a number of interconnected principles toward a resolution of the problem: for the institutional realm, specific principles for church-state separation and a principle concerning the protection of citizens’sense of identity; and for the ethics of citizenship in the conduct individuals, principles that provide an adequate place for natural (thus secular) reason in lawmaking and political decisions. (shrink)

The paper examines the social contradictions generated by patterns of reproduction of accumulation of capital, social legitimation and by present agricultural policies fostered by the State. Through a scrutiny of the role of the State in capitalism it is argued that agricultural overproduction, the widening of the gap between small and large farms, the fiscal crisis of the State associated with agricultural programs and waste of resources are the outcomes of an attempt on the part of the (...) State to promote simultaneously accumulation and legitimation. The possibility of enhancing accumulation and maintaining legitimation clashes with the diverse socio-economic demands associated with the present agricultural production system and the general viability of the social structure as a whole. (shrink)

The purpose of the study is to reveal the state of the regional labor market using the example of the general education system of the Stavropol Territory. The article examines the state of the teaching staff of the regional system of general education in a number of components: the distribution of classes by years of study and the number of students, gender, age and subject composition. Scientific novelty lies in the consideration of the regional system of general education (...) of the mechanism of interaction of a complex of system factors from the perspective of the regional labor market. As a result, an increase in crisis phenomena in the regional system of general education was revealed, which is expressed in the discrepancy between the number and dynamics of students, on the one hand, and teachers, on the other. (shrink)

A new approach to policy analysis is formulated within the framework of the graph model for conflict resolution. A policy is defined as a plan of action for a decision maker (DM) that specifies the DM’s intended action starting at every possible state in a graph model of a conflict. Given a profile of policies, a Policy Stable State (PSS) is a state that no DM moves away from (according to its policy), and (...) such that no DM would prefer to change its policy given the policies of the other DMs. The profile of policies associated to a PSS is called a Policy Equilibrium. Properties of PSSs are developed, and a refinement is suggested that restricts DMs to policies that are credible in that they are in the DM’s immediate interest. Relationships with existing stability definitions in the graph model for conflict resolution are then explored. (shrink)

This paper examines the effect of state-level culture in the US on the adoption of firms’ workplace diversity policies. Using firm-level panel data over the period 2011–2014, we document that firms in highly individualistic states are less likely to adopt workplace diversity policies, which in turn negatively affects firm performance. Our results are robust to alternative variables and econometric specifications. Our findings provide insights into the contemporary debate on the economic aspects of workplace diversity policies for firms operating in (...) different cultural backgrounds. (shrink)

The increasing research on international organisations' education policy lacks analyses of the relation between international organisations and nation states. This paper aims to analyse the power of nation states in international education policy. Focusing on the new degree system in higher education in Europe, partly from Foucault's governmentality perspective, the paper suggests that nation states retain power while operating in international settings. The study's conclusions argue that the nation states' power might be a chance for further participation of (...) affected people. (shrink)

State health departments are at the core of the United States public health infrastructure. Surveillance to monitor trends in disease and injury; the development, coordination, and delivery of services; and public education are some of the core functions health department employees oversee every day. As such, agencies and their employees are well positioned to inform policy decisions that affect the public’s health. However, little is known about the role of health department staff — a sizeable proportion of the (...) public health workforce — as advocates for public health policies, independent of their agency roles. Anecdotally, some health department employees with whom we have spoken expressed reluctance to engage in policy advocacy for fear of violating little known or understood agency or state rules. (shrink)

Weak states and ineffective economic policies are assumed to mediate the constraints of the world system and to prevent upward mobility among peripheral countries. This article tests the effects of state strength and economic policy on world system mobility in the period 1970–85 on a sample of 162 countries. World system role and mobility were operationalized using role equivalence based network measures. Countries with effective neoorthodox policies experience significantly higher mobility, even after controlling for economic performance, as do (...) countries with states that have high despotic capacity. No effect, direct or indirect, was found for infrastructural state capacity. (shrink)

The lead trade associations of the bio-pharma and semiconductor industries have differed systematically in their roles in facilitating the development of innovation networks between Shanghai and Shenzhen, two prominent high-tech metropolises in China. Divergent associational roles stem from variations in the regional state policy regime that has exerted differential shaping influence on the structure of social cleavages and strength of reciprocity norms among member firms and on their willingness to actively and cooperatively engage in association-led networking activities. The (...) bio-pharma and semiconductor associations whose network-building roles have been structured differently through varied state policy regimes have displayed dissimilar abilities to reduce network failures and promote the innovation competences of their member firms between the two metropolises. The empirical findings of the article carry important implications for understanding the causes and consequences of varied associational roles in the process of technology development in China, other emerging markets, and beyond. (shrink)