The Establishment of Marine Protected Area Networks in China

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Unequally Unemployed: Labor Market Stratification After the Great Recession

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Coral mortality increases wave energy reaching shores protected by reef flats: Examples from the Seychelles

In the granitic Seychelles, many shores and beaches are fringed by coral reef flats which provide protection to shores from erosion by waves. The surfaces of these reef flats support a complex ecology. About 10 years ago their seaward zones were extensively covered by a rich coral growth, which reached approximately to mean low water level, but in 1998 this was largely killed by seawater warming. The resulting large expanses of dead coral skeletons in these locations are now disintegrating, and much of the subsequent modest recovery by new coral recruitment was set back by further mortalities. A mathematical model of wave energy reaching shorelines protected by coral reef flats has been applied to 14 Seychelles reefs. It is derived from equations which predict: (1) the raised water level, or wave set-up, on reef flats resulting from wave breaking, which depends upon offshore wave height and period, depth of still water over the reef flat and the reef crest profile, and (2) the decay of energy from reef edge to shoreline that is affected by width of reef flat, surface roughness, sea level rise and 'pseudo-sea level rise' created by increased depth resulting from disintegration of coral colonies. The model treats each reef as one entity, but because biota and zonation on reef flats are not homogenous, all reefs are divided into four zones. In each, cover by both living and dead biota was estimated for calculation of parameters, and then averaged to obtain input data for the model. All possible biological factors were taken into account, such as the ability of seagrass beds to grow upwards to match expected sea level rise, reduction in height of the reef flat in relation to sea level as zones of dead corals decay, and the observed 'rounding' of reef crests as erosion removes corals from those areas. Estimates were also made of all these factors for a time approximately a decade ago, representing a time before the mass coral mortality, and for approximately a decade in the future when the observed rapid state of dead coral colony disintegration is assumed to have reached an end point. Results of increased energy over the past decade explain observations of erosion in some sites in the Seychelles. Most importantly, it is estimated that the rise in energy reaching shores protected by fringing reefs will now accelerate more rapidly, such that the increase expected over the next decade will be approximately double than that seen over the past decade. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Human resource management in the Indian public and private sectors:an empirical comparison

This study compares human resource management (HRM) practices in Indian public- and private-sector organizations. The investigation is based on a questionnaire survey of 137 large manufacturing firms (public sector = 81: private sector = 56). The key areas of analysis include the structure of human resource (HR) department, the role of HR function in corporate change, recruitment and selection, pay and benefits, training and development, employee relations and emphasis on key HRM strategies. Internal labour markets (ILMs) are used to make the comparative analysis. The statistical results show a number of similarities and differences in the HRM systems of Indian public-and private-sector organizations. Against the established notion, the results of this study reveal that the gap between Indian private- and public-sector HRM practices is not very significant. Moreover, in a few HR functional areas (for example, compensation and training and development), Indian private-sector firms have adopted a more rational approach than their public-sector counterparts. © 2004 Taylor and Francis Ltd.

Modelling trade offs between public and private conservation policies

To reduce global biodiversity loss, there is an urgent need to determine the most efficient allocation of conservation resources. Recently, there has been a growing trend for many governments to supplement public ownership and management of reserves with incentive programs for conservation on private land. This raises important questions, such as the extent to which private land conservation can improve conservation outcomes, and how it should be mixed with more traditional public land conservation. We address these questions, using a general framework for modelling environmental policies and a case study examining the conservation of endangered native grasslands to the west of Melbourne, Australia. Specifically, we examine three policies that involve i) spending all resources on creating public conservation areas; ii) spending all resources on an ongoing incentive program where private landholders are paid to manage vegetation on their property with 5-year contracts; and iii) splitting resources between these two approaches. The performance of each strategy is quantified with a vegetation condition change model that predicts future changes in grassland quality. Of the policies tested, no one policy was always best and policy performance depended on the objectives of those enacting the policy. Although policies to promote conservation on private land are proposed and implemented in many areas, they are rarely evaluated in terms of their ecological consequences. This work demonstrates a general method for evaluating environmental policies and highlights the utility of a model which combines ecological and socioeconomic processes.

Impacts of flood hazards on small and medium companies:strategies for property level protection and business continuity

Worldwide floods have become one of the costliest weather-related hazards, causing large-scale human, economic, and environmental damage during the recent past. Recent years have seen a large number of such flood events around the globe, with Europe and the United Kingdom being no exception. Currently, about one in six properties in England is at risk of flooding (EA, 2009), and the risk is expected to further increase in the future (Evans et al., 2004). Although public spending on community-level flood protection has increased and some properties are protected by such protection schemes, many properties at risk of flooding may still be left without adequate protection. As far as businesses are concerned, this has led to an increased need for implementing strategies for property-level flood protection and business continuity, in order to improve their capacity to survive a flood hazard. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute a significant portion of the UK business community. In the United Kingdom, more than 99% of private sector enterprises fall within the category of SMEs (BERR, 2008). They account for more than half of employment creation (59%) and turnover generation (52%) (BERR, 2008), and are thus considered the backbone of the UK economy. However, they are often affected disproportionately by natural hazards when compared with their larger counterparts (Tierney and Dahlhamer, 1996; Webb, Tierney, and Dahlhamer, 2000; Alesch et al., 2001) due to their increased vulnerability. Previous research reveals that small businesses are not adequately prepared to cope with the risk of natural hazards and to recover following such events (Tierney and Dahlhamer, 1996; Alesch et al., 2001; Yoshida and Deyle, 2005; Crichton, 2006; Dlugolecki, 2008). For instance, 90% of small businesses do not have adequate insurance coverage for their property (AXA Insurance UK, 2008) and only about 30% have a business continuity plan (Woodman, 2008). Not being adequately protected by community-level flood protection measures as well as property- and business-level protection measures threatens the survival of SMEs, especially those located in flood risk areas. This chapter discusses the potential effects of flood hazards on SMEs and the coping strategies that the SMEs can undertake to ensure the continuity of their business activities amid flood events. It contextualizes this discussion within a survey conducted under the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) funded research project entitled “Community Resilience to Extreme Weather — CREW”.

A közérdek védelmének intézményei Public-Private Partnership esetében = Institutional approaches to protecting public interest in Public-Private Partnership projects

A tanulmány a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) egyik nagy kérdésének megközelítéseit vizsgálja: miként védhető a közérdek e projektekben. Piaci és nem piaci megoldásokat tesz az elemzés mérlegre, valamint kitér arra, hogy miért különleges a PPP projektek esetében a közérdek védelmének kérdése. A szabályozott verseny körülményeinek kialakítása több megközelítésben is perdöntő kérdés a PPP értéknövelésének előmozdításához, bár a létező megoldások nem mentesek anomáliáktól. A képviseleti demokrácia intézményi működésének támogatására pedig a társadalmi részvétel megoldásait javasolja az irodalom. E megközelítés is több formájában, többféle céllal és szintén kihívásokkal segítheti az értéknövelő PPP projekteket. A tanulmány az elvi lehetőségek értékelő elemzését követően a megvalósítás realitásait is mérlegre teszi. = This study focuses on a key issue in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects: how may public interest be protected. It assesses market based and non market based approaches, and also explains why PPP projects are peculiar when addressing the protection of public interest. Setting up the conditions for simulated competition is of paramount importance for different reasons in order to enable value creating PPP projects. Existing solutions however are not without anomalies. To promote the institutions of democracy, participatory solutions are recommended in the literature. That approach may help value creating PPP projects in various forms, with a range of objectives and challenges. The study concludes the analytical assessment of options by highlighting the realistic conditions of implementation.

A Public-Private Partnership Magyarországon– egy félreértés volt? (Public-Private Partnerships in Hungary – was it a mistake?)

Az elemzés a PPP (Public-Private Partnership) magyarországi felfutásának és visszaesésének izgalmas éveit tárja fel, amelynek alapján megállapítható, hogy a magyar gyakorlatban körvonalazódó PPP nem az a PPP, amely a nemzetközi tapasztalatok alapján a közfeladatok megvalósításának közgazdaságilag megalapozott eszköze lehetne. A szerző úgy gondolja, hogy nem a PPP-módszer elvetése a megfelelő válasz a létező hibákra, hanem alkalmazásának módján kell javítani, a fokozatosan halmozódó tapasztalatok értő felhasználásával. ______ Public-Private Partnership (PPP) has quickly become a well-known phenomenon in Hungary. Despite its proliferation in various areas of activities, and the fact that most of these projects are still running, interest for starting new PPP projects has ceased, and even the cancellation of the project has become an issue. My research objective was to understand better how the concept of PPP has been interpreted by the wider public, through the assessment of the projects appearance in the main economic newspapers. The analysis shows that what has been implemented as PPP projects in Hungary are conceptually different from what PPP as an economically justified concept substantiates. PPP seems to be a phenomenon grossly misunderstood in Hungary.

Variables motivating parents to choose a specific type of private school

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reasons associated with parents' choices of specific types of private schools. The researcher hoped to determine if there were any significant differences in the reasons parents reported for enrolling their child in a specific private school. Studies in the past have explored why parents choose private schools. This study focused on why parents chose a specific type of private school, what were the variables involved, and were there any significant differences in the motivation of parents with children enrolled in different types of private schools.^ The study gathered data using a survey instrument which centered on 14 variables generally associated with the choice of private schools. The survey asked parents to rate the variables using a Likert type scale. The Likert rating was used because it does not require respondents to choose between variables. The general areas of emphasis were (a) academics, (b) religion and values/morals, (c) nurturing educational environment, and (d) proximity and convenience of the school. The survey also gather qualitative data in the form of comments volunteered by over a third of the respondents.^ The survey was mailed to 560 randomly selected families from 30 private high schools in a 50 mile radius of Miami, Florida. The 10 high schools, represented five types of private schools, Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Independent, Jewish, and Fundamentalist Christian. After four mailings a total of 401 surveys were returned for a rate 72%.^ Significant differences appeared as the data was analyzed using ANOVA and Tukey's HSD pairwise analysis. The variables showing significant differences between types of schools were (a) quality of instruction, (b) commitment of teachers, (c) emphasis on religion, (d) small class size, (e) well-defined academic goals, (f) proximity of the school's location, (g) preparation for desired secondary schools/colleges, and (h) convenience of school's operating schedule.^ Parents appeared to have specific reasons for choosing a particular private school. They appeared to look for a school that would satisfy the special needs of their child and would be compatible with their own values, morals, and personal philosophy. ^

Assessing the sources, quantities, and trends on human waste contamination along protected south Florida ecosystem: A chemical tracer based study

The common occurrence of human derived contaminants like pharmaceuticals, steroids and hormones in surface waters has raised the awareness of the role played by the release of treated or untreated sewage in the water quality along sensitive coastal ecosystems. South Florida is home to many important protected environments ranging from wetlands to coral reefs which are in close proximity to large metropolitan cities. Since large portions of South Florida and most of the Florida Keys population are not served by modern sewage treatment plants and rely heavily on the use of inefficient septic systems; a comprehensive survey of selected human waste contamination markers is needed in these areas to assess water quality with respect to non-traditional micro-constituents. ^ This study reports the development and application of new sensitive and selective analytical methods for the fast screening of multiple wastewater tracers, classified as Emergent Pollutants of Concern (EPOC). Novel methods for the trace analysis of non-traditional markers of human-specific contamination such as aminopropanone were developed and used to assess the potential of non-traditional markers as wastewater tracers. ^ During our investigation, surface water samples collected from near shore environments along the South Florida were analyzed for fifteen hormones and steroids, and five commonly detected pharmaceuticals. The compounds most frequently detected were: coprostanol, cholesterol, estrone, β-estradiol, caffeine, triclosan and DEET. Concentrations of caffeine, bisphenol A and DEET were usually higher and more prevalent than the hormonal steroids. In general, it was found that common pharmaceuticals and steroids are widely present in major coastal environments in South Florida. It is also evident that aquatic bodies in heavily urbanized sectors such as the Miami River and Key Largo Harbor contain higher concentrations of several compounds while relatively open bay waters and agricultural areas show reduced chemical signatures. Concentrations of hormones in the Little Venice area of Marathon Key were above the Lowest Observable Effect Levels (LOELs) for several species, indicating that biological resources in this area are at risk. Water quality issues in some of these coastal water environments go beyond eutrophication, thus EPOC should be the target goal for future mitigation projects. ^

Private higher education policy in Ohio, 1980--2006: A case study demonstrating the usefulness of Zumeta's public policy posture model

This study describes the case of private higher education in Ohio between 1980 and 2006 using Zumeta's (1996) model of state policy and private higher education. More specifically, this study used case study methodology and multiple sources to demonstrate the usefulness of Zumeta's model and illustrate its limitations. Ohio served as the subject state and data for 67 private, 4-year, degree-granting, Higher Learning Commission-accredited institutions were collected. Data sources for this study included the National Center for Education Statistics Integrated Postsecondary Data System as well as database information and documents from various state agencies in Ohio, including the Ohio Board of Regents. ^ The findings of this study indicated that the general state context for higher education in Ohio during the study time period was shaped by deteriorating economic factors, stagnating population growth coupled with a rapidly aging society, fluctuating state income and increasing expenditures in areas such as corrections, transportation and social services. However, private higher education experienced consistent enrollment growth, an increase in the number of institutions, widening involvement in state-wide planning for higher education, and greater fiscal support from the state in a variety of forms such as the Ohio Choice Grant. This study also demonstrated that private higher education in Ohio benefited because of its inclusion in state-wide planning and the state's decision to grant state aid directly to students. ^ Taken together, this study supported Zumeta's (1996) classification of Ohio as having a hybrid market-competitive/central-planning policy posture toward private higher education. Furthermore, this study demonstrated that Zumeta's model is a useful tool for both policy makers and researchers for understanding a state's relationship to its private higher education sector. However, this study also demonstrated that Zumeta's model is less useful when applied over an extended time period. Additionally, this study identifies a further limitation of Zumeta's model resulting from his failure to define "state mandate" and the "level of state mandates" that allows for inconsistent analysis of this component. ^

Universalização do acesso à saúde e regulação dos planos privados de assistência à saúde: a atuação regulatória da ANS como instrumento de harmonia contratual e viabilização do papel suplementar da iniciativa privada na efetivação do direito social à saúde

While essential to human nature, health and life have been protected since ancient times by various areas of knowledge, particularly by the Law, given its dynamics within the regulation of social interactions. In Brazil, health has been granted major importance by the Federal Constitution of 1988, which, disrupting the dictatorial authoritarianism, inaugurating a Social State and focusing on the values of freedom and human dignity, raises health to the condition of a social right, marked predominantly by an obligational bias directed, primarily, to the State, through the enforcement of public policies. Although, given the limitation of the State action to the reserve for contingencies, it turns clear that an universalizing access to public health is impossible, seen that the high cost of medical provisions hinders the State to meet all the health needs of the rightholders. As a result of the inefficiency of the State, the effort of the Constituent Assembly of 1988 in creating a hybrid health system becomes nuclear, which, marked by the possibility of exploration of healthcare by the private initiative, assigns to the private enterprise a key role in supplementing the public health system, especially through the offer of health insurance plans. At this point, however, it becomes clear that health provisions rendered by the private agents are not unlimited, which involves discussions about services and procedures that should be excluded from the contractual coverage, for purposes of sectoral balance, situation which draws the indispensability of deliberations between Fundamental Rights on one hand, related to the protection of health and life, and contractual principles on the other hand, connected to the primacy of private autonomy. At this point, the importance of the regulation undertaken by the ANS, Brazilian National Health Agency, appears primordial, which, by means of its seized broad functions, considerable autonomy and technical discretion, has conditions to implement an effective control towards the harmonization of the regulatory triangle, the stability and development of the supplementary health system and, consequently, towards the universalization of the right to health, within constitutional contours. According to this, the present essay, resorting to a broad legislative, doctrinal and jurisprudential study, concludes that economic regulation over the private healthcare sector, when legitimately undertaken, provides progress and stability to the intervening segment and, besides, turns healthcare universalization feasible, in a way that it can not be replaced efficiently by any other State function.

Dialogue, partnership and empowerment for network and information security:the changing role of the private sector from objects of regulation to regulation shapers

The protection of cyberspace has become one of the highest security priorities of governments worldwide. The EU is not an exception in this context, given its rapidly developing cyber security policy. Since the 1990s, we could observe the creation of three broad areas of policy interest: cyber-crime, critical information infrastructures and cyber-defence. One of the main trends transversal to these areas is the importance that the private sector has come to assume within them. In particular in the area of critical information infrastructure protection, the private sector is seen as a key stakeholder, given that it currently operates most infrastructures in this area. As a result of this operative capacity, the private sector has come to be understood as the expert in network and information systems security, whose knowledge is crucial for the regulation of the field. Adopting a Regulatory Capitalism framework, complemented by insights from Network Governance, we can identify the shifting role of the private sector in this field from one of a victim in need of protection in the first phase, to a commercial actor bearing responsibility for ensuring network resilience in the second, to an active policy shaper in the third, participating in the regulation of NIS by providing technical expertise. By drawing insights from the above-mentioned frameworks, we can better understand how private actors are involved in shaping regulatory responses, as well as why they have been incorporated into these regulatory networks.

Global Mental Health: Five Areas for Value-Driven Training Innovation.

OBJECTIVE: In the field of global mental health, there is a need for identifying core values and competencies to guide training programs in professional practice as well as in academia. This paper presents the results of interdisciplinary discussions fostered during an annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Psychiatry and Culture to develop recommendations for value-driven innovation in global mental health training. METHODS: Participants (n = 48), who registered for a dedicated workshop on global mental health training advertised in conference proceedings, included both established faculty and current students engaged in learning, practice, and research. They proffered recommendations in five areas of training curriculum: values, competencies, training experiences, resources, and evaluation. RESULTS: Priority values included humility, ethical awareness of power differentials, collaborative action, and "deep accountability" when working in low-resource settings in low- and middle-income countries and high-income countries. Competencies included flexibility and tolerating ambiguity when working across diverse settings, the ability to systematically evaluate personal biases, historical and linguistic proficiency, and evaluation skills across a range of stakeholders. Training experiences included didactics, language training, self-awareness, and supervision in immersive activities related to professional or academic work. Resources included connections with diverse faculty such as social scientists and mentors in addition to medical practitioners, institutional commitment through protected time and funding, and sustainable collaborations with partners in low resource settings. Finally, evaluation skills built upon community-based participatory methods, 360-degree feedback from partners in low-resource settings, and observed structured clinical evaluations (OSCEs) with people of different cultural backgrounds. CONCLUSIONS: Global mental health training, as envisioned in this workshop, exemplifies an ethos of working through power differentials across clinical, professional, and social contexts in order to form longstanding collaborations. If incorporated into the ACGME/ABPN Psychiatry Milestone Project, such recommendations will improve training gained through international experiences as well as the everyday training of mental health professionals, global health practitioners, and social scientists.