School management and sexual behavior of teenagers

This paper asks whether school based management may help reducing risky sexual behavior of teenagers. For this purpose we use student level data from Bogot´a to identify students from Concession School (CS), who are enrolled in public education system with a more school management autonomy at school level, and to compare them with those students at the traditional public education system. We use propensity score matching methods to have a comparable sample between pupils at CS and traditional schools. Our results show that on average the behavior of students from CS do not have a sexual behavior that differs from those in traditional public schools except for boys in CS who have a lower probability of being sexual active. However, there are important differences when heterogeneity is considered. For example we find that CS where girls per boys ratio is higher have lower teenage pregnancy rates than public schools with also high girls per boys ratios. We also find that teachers’ human capital, teacher-pupil ratio or whether school offers sexual education are also related to statistically significant differences between CS and traditional public schools.

Copyright exceptions and contract in the UK: the impact of recent amendments

In June and October 2014 a number of amendments to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 came into effect, introducing new copyright exceptions and amending several existing exceptions. Whilst following recent judicial review the private copying exception has been quashed, many of the remaining new exceptions significantly alter the relationship between copyright exceptions and contract, making contractual terms unenforceable where those terms restrict users from taking advantage of an exception. This paper explores the rationale for the UK amendments and considers whether the changes, as implemented, prevent rightsholders from contracting out of exceptions and whether they increase the clarity of the copyright system.

The Strategic outsourcing Decision of IT and eCommerce: The Case of Small Businesses in New Zealand

In New Zealand, small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a very important role in the economy by their contribution to both employment and gross domestic product. Addressing issues pertinent to SMEs is of paramount importance in driving this sector forward. Information Technology (IT) emerges as one main enabler for SMEs in automating their operations, seeking new opportunities and enhancing their strategic business positioning in local and international markets. However, the inability of SMEs to handle the dynamic nature of IT due to problems inherent in their size, structure and resources, makes it difficult for them to take appropriate decisions to benefit from the IT technologies. The advent of eCommerce (EC) has only compounded this problem. One way out of this complex situation is to outsource the IT and EC technology requirements by the SMEs. This study endeavours to identify the pattern of IT and EC outsourcing issues of SMEs within New Zealand. This research attempts to identify the main driver for IT/EC outsourcing in SMEs as well as to explore the problems of IT outsourcing and makes suggestions for further research in this crucial sector.

Case note - Roosters, ducks and labour hire arrangements : Damevski v Guidice (2003) 202 ALR 494 (FCA Full Court)

One of the features of the current Australian labour market is the growth in the number of businesses "contracting out" work that was previously performed by their employees. The "contracting out" is often done through labour hire arrangements: the business engages a labour hire agency to provide it with suitable labour on an "as needs" basis. A common scenario is that the labour hire agency contracts both with the workers who provide the services to the agency's client, and with the client to whom those services are provided. Often the agency pays the workers and bills its client for the labour costs, plus a service fee. Research indicates that during the first half of the 1990s, "the number of agency workers more or less doubled."1 Analysis of the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on the number of workers employed through labour hire arrangements has suggested: "290,100 employees were 'on-hired' through agencies in June 2002 and 162,000 workers were paid by labour hire firms in November 2001 (almost doubling from 84,300 some three years earlier)." The value of the employment services industry in 2001-02 was $10.2 billion. 2

Clinical trials in Asia Pacific

The article provides information on biotechnology in Asia. According to research, Asian Pacific biotechnology is known for its competent staff, world class technologies, efficient utilities, and abundance of reasonably priced raw materials. Other attributes of the Asia Pacific region that makes it a sought-after location in conducting clinical studies are also discussed. Meanwhile, the role of Contract Research Organization (CRO) in clinical studies in the Asia Pacific region is also presented.

An overview of IT outsourcing in public secto agenices

For the past 15 years, governments in the developed, Western world have been contracting out, or outsourcing, services as a key part of public sector reforms. Outsourcing has been argued to lead to cost savings, improved discipline, better services, access to scarce skills, and the capacity for managers to focus more time on the core business of their organizations (Domberger, 1998). Government outsourcing initiatives have encompassed a range of services, but given the large sums of money invested in IT assets, the outsourcing of IT services (IT outsourcing, or ITO) has been a major initiative for many agencies. Lacity and Willcocks (1998, p. 3) defined ITO as "handing over to a third party [the] management of IS/IT assets, resources and/or activities for required results." For public-sector outsourcing, this handover is usually made by way of a competitive tender. Case studies have reported ITO successes and failures (e.g., Currie & Willcocks, 1998; Rouse & Corbitt, 2003; Willcocks & Currie, 1997; Willcocks & Lacity, 2001; Willcocks & Kern, 1998), but much of the evidence presented to public-sector decision makers to justify this reform is anecdotal and unsystematic, and when investigated in depth, does not necessarily support widespread conclusions.

Prison architecture and privatisation : project delivery in the Australian context

The study is a comparison of the relationship between the architect and associated parties in the planning, design and construction of private and public prisons in Australia between 1985-2000.

Investigation of the interaction between risk types in the outsourcing of the information technology function

Describes a new theory of behaviour of risks in an information technology (IT) outsourcing exercise. A framework developed during the study allows practioners and managers to allay anxieties about managing uncertainty from risks that manifest when multiple parties interact over long periods of time in this environment.

Analysis of outsourcing in the Victorian public health sector

The research has uncovered a major reason for outsourcing in this sector as a desire to improve middle management, specifically their skill levels and familiarity with new operating procedures. Outsourcing negative outcomes were the result of decision-makers not considering the length of relationships between parties and the lack of information available to monitor quality and other contractual terms. Outsourcing has been performed for various reasons, but rarely have decision-makers considered the full range of factors that may potentially affect the optimal nature of the decision, or the organisational characteristics of their workplaces.

Gestão estratégica de políticas públicas de saúde pelos governos subnacionais: estudo sobre o processo de parceria na gestão de serviços hospitalares entre a secretaria estadual de saúde de São Paulo e organizações sociais no contexto da reforma do estado

O estudo analisa a parceria firmada entre a Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de São Paulo e Organizações Sociais na gestão de serviços de saúde, hospitalares em particular. São analisadas a terminologia jurídica e os formatos institucionais utilizados no processo. É efetuada comparação com outras alternativas, como a administração pública direta, a terceirização e os consórcios de saúde.

Gestão estratégica de políticas públicas pelos governos subnacionais: análise da experiência de delegação da prestação direta dos serviços de saúde e implantação de um sistema de regulação no estado da Bahia

A pesquisa objetiva: a) compreender o novo papel dos Estados subnacionais, especialmente em nível regional, no contexto de globalização, fragmentação, enfraquecimento do Estado-nação e emergência de instâncias supranacionais de poder; b) suprir a carência de estudos atuais voltados para a regionalização da gestão da saúde, dado que a ênfase vem recaindo sobre o processo de municipalização; c) analisar experiências inovadoras visando subsidiar a formulação de propostas de reforma que levem em conta as mudanças recentes no padrão de relacionamento Estado-sociedade e as novas formas de provisão dos serviços de saúde, as quais demanda um maior esforço de coordenação ao nível regional. É analisado o papel desempenhado pela Secretaria de Estado da Saúde na experiência de delegação da prestação direta dos serviços de saúde e implantação de um sistema de regulação no Estado da Bahia. A escolha justifica-se dada o pioneirismo deste Estado em termos de políticas públicas inovadoras no contexto de descentralização, municipalização e mudança no papel dos vários níveis da federação.

Análise do custeio administrativo das entidades fechadas de previdência privada no Brasil

Este trabalho verifica a hipótese de que há economias de escala presentes na administração de planos fechados de previdência privada no Brasil, utilizando três índices para medição do custeio administrativo das Entidades Fechadas de Previdência Privada (EFPPs): despesas administrativas sobre as receitas; despesas administrativas sobre o total de ativos e despesas administrativas por participante. Verifica-se ainda as hipóteses de que o percentual de participantes assistidos sobre o total de participantes, indicando a maturidade do plano, e o número de planos geridos por uma mesma EFPP exercem um efeito importante sobre os índices de custeio. Finalmente, analisa-se o peso das despesas administrativas relativas à gestão dos investimentos no total do custeio de uma EFPP.

Terceirização e terceirizados: um estudo sobre os impactos objetivos e subjetivos da terceirização sobre trabalhadores terceirizados que atuam no setor de limpeza em Escolas Estaduais no Município de Marília-SP

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Terceirização e trabalhadores da construção civil na cidade de Araraquara/SP

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)