Observation and Observing in Economics

Two themes are generative for revealing and understanding the history of observation in economics. First, we argue for the importance of noting that observation is an activity as well as a result, and second that observation is no more identical with quantification than observing is with measuring. These two themes enable us to discuss different historical dimensions of the ways in which economists have observed their economies and so enlarge our understanding of their observational practices. These problematics especially help in delineating the intricate, multilayered, and active interactions between the observer and the observed that take place in all social science observation, and from which our pictures of the economic world emerge.

Medical nutrition in oncology : potential solution for managing malnutrition in cancer patients in Switzerland

The objective of this study is to: - Describe the cancer related complications, prevalence and economic burden of cancer; - Provide the review of the studies that have been done until now proving that specialized nutrition; can improve quality of life (QoL), shorten the length of hospital stay and reduce overall cost of patients care; - Describe different types of specialized nutritional support and tools/ guidelines used for nutritional screening; - Justify the use of specialized nutrition as an integral part of cancer treatment [Author, p. 6] [Contents] 3. General overview of cancer. 4. Specialized nutritional support and nutritional screening. 4.4 European guidelines for nutritional screening [Screening tools: Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST); Nutritional Risk Screening (NRS-2002); Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA)]. 5. Implementation of nutritional support in Swiss hospitals as an integral part of oncology treatment. 5.1 Nutritional guidelines used in Switzerland. 5.2 Status of prevention of malnutrition in cancer patients in Swiss hospitals. 5.3 Malnutrition in Swiss hospitals: medical costs and potential economies. 5.4 Recommendations for implementation of nutritional guidelines and nutritional support in Swiss hospitals.

Is Transnational Private Regulation Potentially an Effective Means of Promoting Collective Industrial Relations?

This paper asks whether collective industrial relations can be promoted by means other than seeking change in public policy. Recent research points to the increasing significance of transnational private regulation (TPR) in developing economies. There is an emerging consensus that market incentives to improve wages and conditions of work can have a modest positive effect on measurable outcomes like hours of work, and health and safety. However, it appears that TPR has little impact on the capacity of workers to pursue such improvements for themselves via collective action. The paper takes a closer look at the potential of TPR to enhance worker voice and participation. It argues that this potential cannot be properly evaluated without understanding how local actors mobilise the social and political resources that TPR provides. The case studies presented show how different TPR schemes have been used by unions in Africa as a means to pursue the interests of members. The authors found that the scale of the impact of TPR in all of the contexts studied depended almost entirely on the existing capacities and resources of the unions involved. TPR led to the creation of collective industrial relations processes, or helped unions to ensure that certain enterprises participated in existing industrial relations processes, but did virtually nothing to enhance the political and organisational capacity of the unions to influence the outcomes of those processes in terms of wages and conditions of employment. The paper concludes that the potential of TPR to promote the emergence of collective industrial relations systems is very low.