New directions and trends in social compensation programmes in the region

Includes bibliography

How do driver compensation schemes affect bus system performance?: a comparison between fixed wage and "guerra por el boleto" in Santiago, Chile.

Two systems of bus driver compensation exist in Santiago, Chile. The majority of drivers are paid per passenger transported, which leads to drivers trying to maximize the number of passengers each one conveys. Some of these effects are beneficial, such as a more active effort to minimize the problem of bus bunching, while others, such as aggressive driving, can be harmful. Drivers are said to "race" and the term "War for the Fare" is commonly used. Drivers also pay freelance workers called "sapos" to provide spacing information. Similar phenomena occur in other Latin American capitals.The other system, a fixed wage, is used by 2 companies holding recently awarded concessions for routes feeding metro stations.This paper discusses, quantitatively and qualitatively, the effects of these two compensation systems on accidents, quality of service, attitudes of both users and drivers, and average waiting times for passengers.

MODEL-BASED COMPENSATION FOR BURST MESSAGE LOSS IN WIRELESS NETWORKED CONTROL SYSTEMS: EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS

A recent trend in networked control systems (NCSs) is the use of wireless networks enabling interoperability between existing wired and wireless systems. One of the major challenges in these wireless NCSs (WNCSs) is to overcome the impact of the message loss that degrades the performance and stability of these systems. Moreover, this impact is greater when dealing with burst or successive message losses. This paper discusses and presents the experimental results of a compensation strategy to deal with this burst message loss problem in which a NCS mathematical model runs in parallel with the physical process, providing sensor virtual data in case of packet losses. Running in real-time inside the controller, the mathematical model is updated online with real control signals sent to the actuator, which provides better reliability for the estimated sensor feedback (virtual data) transmitted to the controller each time a message loss occurs. In order to verify the advantages of applying this model-based compensation strategy for burst message losses in WNCSs, the control performance of a motor control system using CAN and ZigBee networks is analyzed. Experimental results led to the conclusion that the developed compensation strategy provided robustness and could maintain the control performance of the WNCS against different message loss scenarios.

Multistage Transmission Expansion Planning Considering Fixed Series Compensation Allocation

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Perceptions of Procedural and Distributive Justice in the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund

The September l1th Victim Compensation Fund (the Fund) was created in response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Much has been written about the Fund, both pro and con, in both popular media and scholarly literature. Perhaps the most widely used term in referring to the Fund is "unprecedented." The Fund is intriguing for many reasons, particularly for its public policy implications and its impact on the claimants themselves. The federal government has never before provided compensation to victims of terrorism through a special master who had virtually unlimited discretion in determining awards. Consequently, this formal allocation of money by a representative of the federal government to its citizens has provided an opportunity to test theories of procedural and distributive justice in a novel context. This article tests these theories by analyzing the results of a study of the Fund's claimants. Part I provides general background, summarizes existing commentary on the Fund, and discusses prior research on social justice that is relevant to the 9/11 claimants' experiences with the Fund. Part II of this article describes the methodology behind the study, in which seventy-one individuals who filed claims with the Fund completed surveys about their experiences with and perceptions of the Fund. Part III discusses the survey results. We found that participants were reasonably satisfied with the procedural aspects of the Fund, such as representatives' impartiality and respectful treatment. Participants were less satisfied, however, with the distributive aspects of the Fund, such as the unequal distribution of compensation and the reduction in compensation if claimants received compensation from other sources (e.g., life insurance). Part IV of this article addresses the implications of the study results for public policy and for theories of social justice.

Maternal Moderate Physical Training during Pregnancy Attenuates the Effects of a Low-Protein Diet on the Impaired Secretion of Insulin in Rats: Potential Role for Compensation of Insulin Resistance and Preventing Gestational Diabetes Mellitus

The effects of pregestational and gestational low-to-moderate physical training on insulin secretion in undernourished mothers were evaluated. Virgin female Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: control (C, n = 5); trained (T, n = 5); low-protein diet (LP, n = 5); trained with a low-protein diet (T + LP, n = 5). Trained rats ran on a treadmill over a period of 4 weeks before mate (5 days week(-1) and 60 min day(-1), at 65% of VO2max). At pregnancy, the intensity and duration of the exercise were reduced. Low-protein groups were provided with an 8% casein diet, and controls were provided with a 17% casein diet. At third day after delivery, mothers and pups were killed and islets were isolated by collagenase digestion of pancreas and incubated for a further 1 h with medium containing 5.6 or 16.7 mM glucose. T mothers showed increased insulin secretion by isolated islets incubated with 16.7 mM glucose, whereas LP group showed reduced secretion of insulin by isolated islets when compared with both C and LP + T groups. Physical training before and during pregnancy attenuated the effects of a low-protein diet on the secretion of insulin, suggesting a potential role for compensation of insulin resistance and preventing gestational diabetes mellitus.

Essays On CEO Compensation: New Evidence On The Managerial-Power Vs. Optimal Contracting Debate

This dissertation analyzes the effect of market analysts’ expectations of share prices (price targets) on executive compensation. It examines how well the estimated effects of price targets on compensation fit with two competing views on determining executive compensation: the arm’s length bargaining model, which assumes that a board seeks to maximize shareholders’ interests, and the managerial power model, which assumes that a board seeks to maximize managers’ compensation (Bebchuk et al. 2005). The first chapter documents the pattern of CEO pay from fiscal year 1996 to 2010. The second chapter analyzes the Institutional Broker Estimate System Detail History Price Target data file, which that reports analysts’ price targets for firms. I show that the number of price target announcements is positively associated with company share price’s volatility, that price targets are predictive of changes in the value of stocks, and that when analysts announce positive (negative) expectations of future stock price, share prices change in the same direction in the short run. The third chapter analyzes the effect of price targets on executive compensation. I find that analysts' price targets alter the composition of executive pay between cash-based compensation and stock-based compensation. When analysts forecast a rise (fall) in the share price for a firm, the compensation package tilts toward stock-based (cash-based) compensation. The substitution effect is stronger in companies that have weaker corporate governance. The fourth chapter explores the effect of the introduction of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) in 2002 and its reinforcement in 2006 on the options granting process. I show that the introduction of SOX and its reinforcement eliminated the practice of backdating options but increased “spring-loading” of option grants around price targets announcements. Overall, the dissertation shows that price targets provide insights into the determinants of executive pay in favor of the managerial power model.

Determination of Pelvic Orientation from Ultrasound Images Using Patch-SSMs and a Hierarchical Speed of Sound Compensation Strategy

In the field of computer assisted orthopedic surgery (CAOS) the anterior pelvic plane (APP) is a common concept to determine the pelvic orientation by digitizing distinct pelvic landmarks. As percutaneous palpation is - especially for obese patients - known to be error-prone, B-mode ultrasound (US) imaging could provide an alternative means. Several concepts of using ultrasound imaging to determine the APP landmarks have been introduced. In this paper we present a novel technique, which uses local patch statistical shape models (SSMs) and a hierarchical speed of sound compensation strategy for an accurate determination of the APP. These patches are independently matched and instantiated with respect to associated point clouds derived from the acquired ultrasound images. Potential inaccuracies due to the assumption of a constant speed of sound are compensated by an extended reconstruction scheme. We validated our method with in-vitro studies using a plastic bone covered with a soft-tissue simulation phantom and with a preliminary cadaver trial.

Can imagined whole-body rotations improve vestibular compensation?

Unilateral damage to the labyrinth and the vestibular nerve cause rotational vertigo, postural imbalance, oculomotor disorders and spatial disorientation. Electrophysiological investigations in animals revealed that such deficits are partly due to imbalanced spontaneous activity and sensitivity to motion in neurons located in the ipsilesional and contralesional vestibular nuclei. Neurophysiological reorganizations taking place in the vestibular nuclei are the basis of the decline of the symptoms over time, a phenomenon known as vestibular compensation. Vestibular compensation is facilitated by motor activity and sensory experience, and current rehabilitation programs favor physical activity during the acute stage of a unilateral vestibular loss. Unfortunately, vestibular-defective patients tend to develop strategies in order to avoid movements causing imbalance and nausea (in particular body movements towards the lesioned side), which impedes vestibular compensation. Neuroanatomical evidence suggests a cortical control of postural and oculomotor reflexes based on corticofugal projections to the vestibular nuclei and, therefore, the possibility to manipulate vestibular functions through top-down mechanisms. Based on evidence from neuroimaging studies showing that imagined whole-body movements can activate part of the vestibular cortex, we propose that mental imagery of whole-body rotations to the lesioned and to the healthy side will help rebalancing the activity in the ipsilesional and contralesional vestibular nuclei. Whether imagined whole-body rotations can improve vestibular compensation could be tested in a randomized controlled study in such patients beneficiating, or not, from a mental imagery training. If validated, this hypothesis will help developing a method contributing to reduce postural instability and falls in vestibular-defective patients. Imagined whole-body rotations thus could provide a simple, safe, home-based and self-administered therapeutic method with the potential to overcome the inconvenience related to physical movements.

Compensability index for compensation radiotherapy after treatment interruptions

Background The goal of our work was to develop a simple method to evaluate a compensation treatment after unplanned treatment interruptions with respect to their tumour- and normal tissue effect. Methods We developed a software tool in java programming language based on existing recommendations to compensate for treatment interruptions. In order to express and visualize the deviations from the originally planned tumour and normal tissue effects we defined the compensability index. Results The compensability index represents an evaluation of the suitability of compensatory radiotherapy in a single number based on the number of days used for compensation and the preference of preserving the originally planned tumour effect or not exceeding the originally planned normal tissue effect. An automated tool provides a method for quick evaluation of compensation treatments. Conclusions The compensability index calculation may serve as a decision support system based on existing and established recommendations.

Compensation, Incentives and Risk: Economic Theory and Russian Practise

Mr. Pechersky set out to examine a specific feature of the employer-employee relationship in Russian business organisations. He wanted to study to what extent the so-called "moral hazard" is being solved (if it is being solved at all), whether there is a relationship between pay and performance, and whether there is a correlation between economic theory and Russian reality. Finally, he set out to construct a model of the Russian economy that better reflects the way it actually functions than do certain other well-known models (for example models of incentive compensation, the Shapiro-Stiglitz model etc.). His report was presented to the RSS in the form of a series of manuscripts in English and Russian, and on disc, with many tables and graphs. He begins by pointing out the different examples of randomness that exist in the relationship between employee and employer. Firstly, results are frequently affected by circumstances outside the employee's control that have nothing to do with how intelligently, honestly, and diligently the employee has worked. When rewards are based on results, uncontrollable randomness in the employee's output induces randomness in their incomes. A second source of randomness involves the outside events that are beyond the control of the employee that may affect his or her ability to perform as contracted. A third source of randomness arises when the performance itself (rather than the result) is measured, and the performance evaluation procedures include random or subjective elements. Mr. Pechersky's study shows that in Russia the third source of randomness plays an important role. Moreover, he points out that employer-employee relationships in Russia are sometimes opposite to those in the West. Drawing on game theory, he characterises the Western system as follows. The two players are the principal and the agent, who are usually representative individuals. The principal hires an agent to perform a task, and the agent acquires an information advantage concerning his actions or the outside world at some point in the game, i.e. it is assumed that the employee is better informed. In Russia, on the other hand, incentive contracts are typically negotiated in situations in which the employer has the information advantage concerning outcome. Mr. Pechersky schematises it thus. Compensation (the wage) is W and consists of a base amount, plus a portion that varies with the outcome, x. So W = a + bx, where b is used to measure the intensity of the incentives provided to the employee. This means that one contract will be said to provide stronger incentives than another if it specifies a higher value for b. This is the incentive contract as it operates in the West. The key feature distinguishing the Russian example is that x is observed by the employer but is not observed by the employee. So the employer promises to pay in accordance with an incentive scheme, but since the outcome is not observable by the employee the contract cannot be enforced, and the question arises: is there any incentive for the employer to fulfil his or her promises? Mr. Pechersky considers two simple models of employer-employee relationships displaying the above type of information symmetry. In a static framework the obtained result is somewhat surprising: at the Nash equilibrium the employer pays nothing, even though his objective function contains a quadratic term reflecting negative consequences for the employer if the actual level of compensation deviates from the expectations of the employee. This can lead, for example, to labour turnover, or the expenses resulting from a bad reputation. In a dynamic framework, the conclusion can be formulated as follows: the higher the discount factor, the higher the incentive for the employer to be honest in his/her relationships with the employee. If the discount factor is taken to be a parameter reflecting the degree of (un)certainty (the higher the degree of uncertainty is, the lower is the discount factor), we can conclude that the answer to the formulated question depends on the stability of the political, social and economic situation in a country. Mr. Pechersky believes that the strength of a market system with private property lies not just in its providing the information needed to compute an efficient allocation of resources in an efficient manner. At least equally important is the manner in which it accepts individually self-interested behaviour, but then channels this behaviour in desired directions. People do not have to be cajoled, artificially induced, or forced to do their parts in a well-functioning market system. Instead, they are simply left to pursue their own objectives as they see fit. Under the right circumstances, people are led by Adam Smith's "invisible hand" of impersonal market forces to take the actions needed to achieve an efficient, co-ordinated pattern of choices. The problem is that, as Mr. Pechersky sees it, there is no reason to believe that the circumstances in Russia are right, and the invisible hand is doing its work properly. Political instability, social tension and other circumstances prevent it from doing so. Mr. Pechersky believes that the discount factor plays a crucial role in employer-employee relationships. Such relationships can be considered satisfactory from a normative point of view, only in those cases where the discount factor is sufficiently large. Unfortunately, in modern Russia the evidence points to the typical discount factor being relatively small. This fact can be explained as a manifestation of aversion to risk of economic agents. Mr. Pechersky hopes that when political stabilisation occurs, the discount factors of economic agents will increase, and the agent's behaviour will be explicable in terms of more traditional models.