Showing papers on "White paper published in 2016"

Public Health – mehr Gesundheit für alle

Abstract: Public health is a population- and system-based approach that is needed to improve the health of societies and to decrease health inequalities. In the face of global challenges, the public health approach is essential. In Germany, the importance of public health is only partly reflected by its institutions and institutional arrangements. This applies equally to research, teaching and training, as well as to the public health service. Furthermore, the public health perspective is not sufficiently considered in cross-sectional topics that are relevant for health.There have been several initiatives to overcome structural deficits which can partly be traced back to historical circumstances. The White Paper presented here should encourage discussions about future policy options in public health. The authors represent public health in practice, research, and teaching in Germany.

The 'White paper for vulnerable children' and the 'Munro review of child protection in England': A comparative critique

Abstract: The apparent understandings of knowledge for child protection social work practice which inform the New Zealand White Paper for Vulnerable Children are contrasted with the views expressed in the Munro Review of Child Protection in England. It is argued that the rational-technical view of child protection practice knowledge critiqued in the Munro Review is the driving influence in the White Paper. It is further suggested that the White Paper is underpinned by neoliberal conceptions of individuated responsibility which conflict with the socially situated and relational understandings which are native to the theory and practice of social work. Consequently, the socio-technical social work practice knowledge form recognised and promoted in the Munro Review is marginalised in the White Paper. It is also argued that the failings of the child protection system in Aotearoa New Zealand are more appropriately associated with political and managerial misapprehension of knowledge for competent practice than with the shortcomings of social work as a vehicle for effective child protection. It is suggested that it is high time for the social work voice to be rediscovered and reasserted if effective, relationally engaged, practice with high needs children and their families is to be developed and promoted in politically challenging times.

Participatory mechanisms as symbolic policy instruments

Abstract: Over the last 10 years, the European Union has been talking a lot about citizens’ participation, not least in its 2001 white paper on governance. But has there really been a participatory turn in the European political system, or is this simply a rhetorical change, without concrete implications? This article aims to answer the question on the basis of a research on the first participatory experiments conducted at the European level (citizens’ conferences, deliberative polls and consultations of citizens) and on European citizens’ initiative introduced by the Lisbon Treaty. As will be shown, such experiments or tools have been scarcely used, and they have failed to involve ‘ordinary’ citizens and to produce significant outputs. In short, they seem more important at the discursive level than in practice. This suggests that more attention should be given to the symbolic dimension of policy instruments.

Governance:public governance to social innovation?

Abstract: This paper reviews governance and public governance related to an emerging area of policy interest – social innovation. The European Commission’s White Paper on European Governance (2001) focused on openness, participation, accountability, effectiveness and coherence in public policy as characteristics of good governance. The EC has prioritised social innovation to address policy problems. Yet, the extant literature and research on social innovation is sparse. The paper questions whether it is a new mode of governance which contributes to good governance or a continuum of neoliberal reforms of the state which alters the relationship between the state, market and civil society.

White Paper on Dental Caries Prevention and Management: A summary of the current evidence and the key issues in controlling this preventable disease

Abstract: Citing this paper Please note that where the full-text provided on King's Research Portal is the Author Accepted Manuscript or Post-Print version this may differ from the final Published version. If citing, it is advised that you check and use the publisher's definitive version for pagination, volume/issue, and date of publication details. And where the final published version is provided on the Research Portal, if citing you are again advised to check the publisher's website for any subsequent corrections.

Energy Projects, Social Licence, Public Acceptance and Regulatory Systems in Canada: A White Paper

Abstract: This white paper reports on the results of a year-long interdisciplinary collaboration aimed at identifying and summarizing extant research regarding social licence and related concepts, with a particular emphasis on understanding its implications for public acceptance of energy projects in Canada, and their related regulatory processes.

Calibrating fundamental British values: how head teachers are approaching appraisal in the light of the Teachers’ Standards 2012, Prevent and the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act, 2015

Abstract: In requiring that teachers should ‘not undermine fundamental British values (FBV)’, a phrase originally articulated in the Home Office counter-terrorism document, Prevent, the Teachers’ Standards has brought into focus the nature of teacher professionalism. Teachers in England are now required to promote FBV within and outside school, and, since the publication of the Counter Terrorism and Security Act of 2015 and the White Paper ‘Educational Excellence Everywhere’, are required to prevent pupils from being drawn towards radicalisation. School practices in relation to the promotion of British values are now subject to OfSTED inspection under the Common Inspection Framework of 2015. The research presented here considers the policy and purpose of appraisal in such new times, and engages with 48 school leaders from across the education sector to reveal issues in emerging appraisal practices. Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of Liquid Modernity is used to fully understand the issues and dilemmas that are emerging in new times and argue that fear and ‘impermanence’ are key characteristics of the way school leaders engage with FBV.

The (mis)use of the Finnish teacher education model: ‘policy-based evidence-making’?

Abstract: Background: International achievement studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) have an increasing influence on education policy worldwide. The use of such data can provide a basis for evidence-based policy-making to initiate educational reform. Finland, a high performer in PISA, is often cited as an example of both efficient and equitable education. Finland’s teachers and teacher education have not only garnered much attention for their role in the country’s PISA successes, but have also influenced education policy change in England. Main argument: This article argues that the Finnish model of teacher education has been borrowed uncritically by UK policy-makers. Finnish and English philosophies of teacher preparation differ greatly, and the borrowing of the Finnish teacher education model does not fit within the teacher training viewpoint of England. The borrowed policies, thus, were decontextualised from the wider values and underpinnings of Finnish education. This piecemeal, ‘pick “n” mix’ approach to education policy reform ignores the fact that educational policies and ‘practices exist in ecological relationships with one another and in whole ecosystems of interrelated practices’. Thus, these borrowed teacher preparation policies will not necessarily lead to the outcomes outlined by policy-makers in the reforms. Sources of evidence: Two teacher preparation reforms in England, the University Training Schools (outlined in the UK Government’s 2010 Schools White Paper, The Importance of Teaching) and the Master’s in Teaching and Learning (MTL), are used to illustrate the problematic nature of uncritical policy borrowing. This article juxtaposes these policies with the Finnish model of teacher education, a research-based programme where all candidates are required to complete a Master’s degree. The contradictions exposed from this analysis further highlight the divergent practices of teacher preparation in England and Finland, or the disparate ‘ecosystems’. Evidence of educational policy borrowing in other settings is also considered. Conclusions: Both the MTL and the White Paper reforms overlook the ‘ecosystem’ surrounding Finnish teacher education. The school-based MTL contrasts with the research-based Finnish teachers’ MA. Similarly, the University Training Schools scheme, based on Finnish university-affiliated, teaching practice schools, contrasts heavily with the rest of the White Paper reforms, which contradict the philosophies and ethos behind Finnish teacher education by proposing the move of English teacher preparation away from the universities. The analysis highlights the uncritical eye through which politicians may view international survey results, looking for ‘quick fix’ options instead of utilising academic evidence for investigation on education and education reform.

Foreign language policies in Asia and Australia in the Asian century

Abstract: This article provides a comparative analysis of foreign language policies in Asia and Australia with reference to policy contexts, motivations and processes. The analysis is specifically motivated by the recent publication of the Australia in the Asian Century White Paper that represents Australia’s renewed desire to engage with Asia by developing “Asia literacy” including the development of national proficiency in selected Asian languages. It is argued that, although foreign language policies in the two regions present interesting similarities in terms of policy contexts and goals, there is notable disconnect between Asia and Australia that potentially undermines Australian policy desire to connect with Asia. Furthermore, although languages, like other national resources, are planned to address social needs and aspirations, subjecting languages to economic imperative reflects not only misconceptions of languages but also misappropriation of their potential.

Building community resilience to dynamic mass casualty incidents: A multiagency white paper in support of the first care provider.

Abstract: N and manmade disasters are becoming more common and are creating increasingly complex response challenges. The current US emergency responsemodel relies heavily on the availability and expertise of highly trained public safety agencies. Too often, this leads the public to assume that professional emergency medical care will be immediately available. Unfortunately, there are frequent delays in first responders accessing victims, especially in complex high-threat events such as the attacks inNorway, theAurora shootings, theVirginiaTech shooting, the Westgate Mall attack, and most recently, the shootings at Umpqua College. Initiatives, such as theArlingtonRescue Task Force and 3-ECHO program, are creating ‘‘warm zone/indirect threat care’’ operational paradigms for first responders and are an important first step in shortening the time from injury to first medical intervention. However, despite aggressive and expedient deployment of professional medical providers, there remains a significant time gap from point of injury to lifesaving intervention that only first care providers (FCPs) can address. As noted in the original Tactical Emergency Casualty Care (TECC) guidelines and the Hartford Consensus III statement, empowered and trained community members can serve a critical role as FCPs during the initial moments after complex and dynamic disasters. The Hartford Consensus calls for ‘‘empowering the public to provide emergency care.’’ These FCPs often have immediate access to severely injured victims and can provide time-sensitive, lifesaving interventions. Appropriately trained and equipped, the FCP can be the first link in the trauma chain of survival. Public safety and first response agencies should acknowledge this operational reality and should lead the effort to integrate the FCP into the whole of community crisis response plans built on the tiered application of the civilian TECC medical guidelines. The purpose of this article was to render recommendations of a group of subject matter experts in civilian active shooter events regarding initial scene management and how to quickly and efficiently render care to the wounded using FCPs and the principles enumerated in TECC.

Enterprise Imaging Governance: HIMSS-SIIM Collaborative White Paper

Abstract: Enterprise imaging governance is an emerging need in health enterprises today. This white paper highlights the decision-making body, framework, and process for optimal enterprise imaging governance inclusive of five areas of focus: program governance, technology governance, information governance, clinical governance, and financial governance. It outlines relevant parallels and differences when forming or optimizing imaging governance as compared with other established broad horizontal governance groups, such as for the electronic health record. It is intended for CMIOs and health informatics leaders looking to grow and govern a program to optimally capture, store, index, distribute, view, exchange, and analyze the images of their enterprise.

Understanding and Challenging Opposition to Housing Construction in California’s Urban Areas

Abstract: Housing affordability is one of the most pressing issues facing California today In the intense public debate over how to make housing affordable, the role of new supply is a key point of contention This debate continues despite robust empirical evidence demonstrating that supply constraints — low-density zoning chief among them — are a core cause of increasing housing costs Many California residents resist new housing development, especially in their own neighborhoods This white paper provides background on the opposition to new housing construction and a set of policy recommendations for the state government to address this resistance I first describe how limiting new construction makes all housing less affordable, exacerbates spatial inequalities, and harms the state’s economic productivity and environment I then discuss the varied motivations for opposing more intensive land use, and highlight the way the complexity of the housing market confuses public debates over this topic In the fourth section, I list various tactics used to block housing projects and demonstrate just how many veto points there are in our current system I conclude by presenting several proposals for reform that have potential to reduce the power of local opposition to new housing The state government should take action in at least four areas — enforcing and enhancing existing laws, pushing local planning agencies to represent more people more equally, providing information for public discussion, and developing ways to make planning decisions at a metropolitan, not neighborhood scale

Perspectives on human factors in a shifting operational environment

Abstract: A significant number of catastrophic incidents occur primarily due to human factors. Despite the use of advanced automation, the implementation of more sophisticated management systems and increased training, many organizations are still finding that their approaches to reducing incidents are failing. This paper looks at why addressing human factors in today's shifting operating environment is important to reduce incidents and shares insights in the following three key areas for incident prevention: • The critical need to deepen incident investigations; • Why technical solutions and automation may not be sufficient; and • How expectations affect behaviour and the role of biases and preconceptions in human errors. These factors are reviewed from the perspective of operational discipline, an expanded view of leadership and the power of interdependent culture. Whether applied to safety, reliability, quality or capital effectiveness, the insights provided in this white paper will help readers appreciate the opportunities to broaden, as well as deepen, their human factor perspectives to reduce their organization's risks and strengthen their performance at all levels. This paper was prepared by the author in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this paper are the author's own and does not reflect the view of the organization in which he is currently employed.

Interlocking Directorates in the European Union: An Argument For Their Restriction

Abstract: The EU Commission has recently undertaken a review of the EU Merger Regulation. In this process it has published a White Paper that proposes to extend the Regulation to cover situations in which firms acquire minority shareholding in their competitors. However, the White Paper is silent about the closely related phenomenon of interlocking directorates (interlocks), which occurs when the same person sits on the board of two firms. This issue has never been directly addressed by the European Union, perhaps because the theory of interlocks is underdeveloped in Europe. This paper provides comprehensive antitrust arguments for why the EU should restrict certain interlocking activity. The main argument is that the EU should prohibit horizontal interlocks (interlocks between competing firms) per se, as they raise serious antitrust concerns. The paper further argues that non-horizontal interlocks should be monitored, and it addresses certain important policy questions that the EU might face when designing the regulatory framework.

The practice of crime prevention: Design principles for more effective security governance

Abstract: South Africa has had a comprehensive crime prevention policy agenda for some time in the form of the 1996 National Crime Prevention Strategy and the 1998 White Paper on Safety and Security. Despite this, prevention has remained very much a second cousin within the South African criminal justice family, notwithstanding the fact that there is widespread agreement that it warrants far more attention. In this article we briefly review some of the principal obstacles to effective crime prevention. Our understanding of ‘crime prevention’ is a broad one – it involves simply asking the question: How can we reduce the likelihood of this happening again? This question opens up a range of preventative possibilities. Whether they are of a socio-economic, environmental or law enforcement nature depends on the nature of the (crime) problem. On the basis of our analysis, we propose three design principles to be followed if we, South Africans are to establish crime prevention as a central focus of our security governance. These design principles articulate what might be thought of as ‘best thinking’ rather than ‘best practice’.

Ethics and Self-driving Cars: A White Paper on Responsible Innovation in Automated Driving Systems

Abstract: In the context of the knowledge agenda automated driving (knowledgeagenda.connekt.nl/engels/), Rijkswaterstaat commissioned TU Delft to write a white paper on ethical issues in automated driving to provide a basis for discussion and some recommendations on how to take into account this subject when deploying automated vehicles. In this paper I present, discuss, and offer some recommendations on some major ethical issues presented by the introduction on the public road of automated driving systems (ADS), aka self-driving cars. The recommended methodology is that of Responsible Innovation and Value-Sensitive Design. The concept of “meaningful human control” is introduced and proposed as a basis for a policy approach which prevents morally unacceptable risks for human safety, and anticipates issues of moral and legal responsibility for accidents. The importance of the individual rights to safety, access to mobility and privacy is highlighted too.

The Current State and Path Forward For Enterprise Image Viewing: HIMSS-SIIM Collaborative White Paper

Abstract: Clinical specialties have widely varied needs for diagnostic image interpretation, and clinical image and video image consumption. Enterprise viewers are being deployed as part of electronic health record implementations to present the broad spectrum of clinical imaging and multimedia content created in routine medical practice today. This white paper will describe the enterprise viewer use cases, drivers of recent growth, technical considerations, functionality differences between enterprise and specialty viewers, and likely future states. This white paper is aimed at CMIOs and CIOs interested in optimizing the image-enablement of their electronic health record or those who may be struggling with the many clinical image viewers their enterprises may employ today.

The Australian Government’s “White Paper on Reform of the Federation” and the Future of Australian Local Government

Abstract: The Abbott Government announced its White Paper review of the Australian Federation on June 28, 2014. Set against this backdrop, discussions of the future of Australian local government may provoke an assumption that its role will be cruelled. However, reflection suggests that such an assumption is misplaced. In particular, when the complexities of regionalism in Australia are considered, the potential role of local government begs revisiting. We argue that local government ought to adopt a forthright position in the current debate, particularly with respect to financial reform.

White Paper on Research Data Service Discoverability

Abstract: This White Paper reports the outcome of a Workshop on “Research Data Service Discoverability” held in the island of Santorini (GR) on 21–22 April 2016 and organized in the context of the EU funded Project “RDA-E3”. The Workshop addressed the main technical problems that hamper an efficient and effective discovery of Research Data Services (RDSs) based on appropriate semantic descriptions of their functional and non-functional aspects. In the context of this White Paper, by RDSs are meant those data services that manipulate/transform research datasets for the purpose of gaining insight into complicated issues. In this White Paper, the main concepts involved in the discovery process of RDSs are defined; the RDS discovery process is illustrated; the main technologies that enable the discovery of RDSs are described; and a number of recommendations are formulated for indicating future research directions and making an automatic RDS discovery feasible.

Transforming the post-school sector in South Africa: Limits of a skills-driven agenda

Abstract: This theoretical and conceptual article explores the planned post-school sectoral reform in South Africa. The reform proposals set out in the White Paper (DoHET 2013) privilege a skills-based transformation agenda which we argue is inadequate to service the needs of a diverse post-schooling sector in South Africa. In addition to a skills-driven discourse that is underpinning thinking about transforming the post-school sector, transformation as a construct has also not been fully engaged with in education policy. We thus also argue in this article that the good intentions that underpin the transformative process do not, on their own drive meaningful change in the sector. As a contribution to the development of a theoretically nuanced framing of transformation and as a prelude to articulating and implementing policy, the article proposes a force field of change defined by four pillars of transformation, which include the need to explore the impetus for change; capitalising on and developing the levers of change; reflecting on theoretical perspectives of educational transformation and understanding the mitigating barriers of transformation. We argue in this article that these aspects have received differentiated but broadly inadequate attention and that this may be partly responsible for the floundering nature of transformation in the post-school sector in South Africa.

Managing anxiety: neoliberal modes of citizen subjectivity, fantasy and child abuse in New Zealand

Abstract: The neoliberal direction of social policy under New Zealand’s fifth National government (2008–) is demonstrated in its 2012 White Paper for Vulnerable Children. This document advocates increased monitoring and policing of welfare populations and the downgrading of child protection policy to a technical administrative system for managing ‘risky’ families. The White Paper’s release came soon after the coroner’s report into the deaths of the ‘Kahui twins’, which were treated by the media as a shocking case of child abuse, and exemplified the media’s use of a fantasy of a ‘savage’ Maori welfare underclass in reporting cases of child abuse. Drawing on Isin’s analysis of ‘governing through neurosis’, this article explores how these media and policy discourses reinforce normative patterns of neoliberal citizen subjectivity by offering compelling pathways out of anxiety that re-route citizens’ anxiety over child abuse in support of neoliberal modes of citizen subjectivity.

Different Pathways for Achieving Cleaner Urban Areas: A Roadmap towards the White Paper Goal for Urban Transport☆

Abstract: The 2011 White Paper on Transport of the European Commission spells out a series of targets for 2030 and 2050. One of the 10 targets is explicitly related to urban transport and stipulates: “Halve the use of ‘conventionally fuelled’ cars in urban transport by 2030; phase them out in cities by 2050. Achieve essentially CO2-free city logistics in major urban centres by 2030.” With this paper we present and discuss a roadmap that deals with the question who needs to do what by when in order to reach the White Paper goal for urban transport. The “stakeholder-driven” roadmap was developed in the FP7 project TRANSFORuM. The paper will present the key findings and the suggested action steps identified in the roadmap. The paper will also exemplify three possible urban transformation pathways towards the urban target. This approach emerged from stakeholder consultations which highlighted the need to take into account the widely differing conditions among European cities.

Applying Eyewitness Identification Research to the Legal System: A Glance at Where We Have Been and Where We Could Go

Abstract: Psychologists have made attempts to apply psychological knowledge on eyewitness issues to the legal system for over a century. But it was not until the 1990s that an organization of psychological researchers (the American Psychology-Law Society) made concrete recommendations in a white paper concerning eyewitness identification. These recommendations, along with the discovery of wrongful convictions from mistaken identification, have shaped policies and practices in many jurisdictions across the U.S. We discuss the white paper recommendations and how those recommendations have held up over time. Then, we discuss a more recent idea concerning the need for a reasonable-suspicion requirement before subjecting an individual to the inherent risk of an identification procedure.

Scaling up agriculture in city-regions to mitigate FEW system impacts

Abstract: With dramatic growth of urban areas and the majority of the world’s population now living in urban settings, cities have become dominant demand drivers in global food-energy-water (FEW) cycles. Globalization processes have intertwined cities with distant geographies through system interactions that include the exchange of food, energy, water, materials, capital, and the like. Through food consumption, city and ‘hinterland’ have become highly interconnected and interdependent across spatial, temporal, and jurisdictional scale. Growing awareness of the myriad environmental and socioeconomic impacts associated with this food production-consumption nexus has sparked an urban agricultural renaissance. This white paper entitled, “Scaling Up Agriculture in City-Regions to Mitigate Food Energy Water Impacts,” is the result of a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation and held at the University of Michigan on October 5-6, 2015. The document summarizes current knowledge with respect to urban agriculture on: 1) food supply and security; 2) water quality and reuse; 3) energy use; 4) biodiversity and ecosystem health; 5) and equity and governance. Prior to the workshop, working groups prepared on these five issues regarding the state of knowledge, level of implementation, and interactions with other FEW systems. A sixth working group evaluated potential integrative frameworks and modeling approaches to assess urban FEW system interactions. This analysis is also included in this white paper. To uncover the linkages between physical, social, economic, and ecological systems, the project team and workshop participants included a multidisciplinary collection of geographers, engineers, ecologists, biologists, earth systems analysts, complexity modelers, planners, computer scientists, public health policy experts, and others. The white paper concludes by identifying fundamental research needs in order to transition urban food-energy-water systems so that they are more integrated, sustainable, resilient, and equitable.