Search

Background and Objectives In 2022, 239 New York state long-term care facilities (LTCFs) challenged a "Safe Staffing" law in court. Our study compares LTCFs involved and not involved in the lawsuit, testing for differences in staffing measures and resident outcomes during the first year of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Research Design and Methods New York LTCF-level data were obtained from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2019 organization and 2020 COVID-19 data files. These data were then linked to data from the Long-Term Care Community Coalition, which identified the LTCFs involved in the "Safe Staffing" lawsuit. We first tested for differences in reported 2019 staffing levels by lawsuit involvement. Second, we specified "Doubly Robust" regression models to test if lawsuit involvement was associated with differences in resident COVID-19 infections, COVID-19 deaths, and overall mortality. Results LTCFs involved in the lawsuit reported lower staff ratings and fewer staffing hours compared to LTCFs not involved in the lawsuit. Despite finding higher rates of admissions with COVID-19 in LTCFs involved in the lawsuit, we did not find that COVID-19 infections, COVID-19 deaths, or overall mortality differed by lawsuit involvement. Discussion and Implications LTCFs involved in the lawsuit were deemed by policymakers as reducing staff, earning excess profits, and placing residents at risk. While these LTCFs reported lower staffing levels, we observed no differences in resident outcomes during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers and policymakers should develop more nuanced perspectives concerning the relationship among LTCF staffing, outcomes, and organizational profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political economists have long acknowledged the importance of funded pensions acting as catalysts for processes of financialization. The transformation from rule- to risk-based pension fund governance is particularly important for pension financialization. Risk-based governance involves monitoring of internal decision-making procedures by new professionals rather than compliance with highly detailed legal restrictions. Scholars of financial regulation have termed this kind of supervision 'regulation from the inside'. Being part of the organization they monitor, internal regulators hold fundamentally ambivalent positions. Existing studies emphasize the duality of internal regulators' role perceptions as well as their attempts to span the boundaries between themselves and other organizational actors. In this paper, we extend scholarly insights on risk-based supervision of private (non-)financial institutions to pension institutions by focusing on a peculiar form of 'regulation from the inside': so-called internal supervisors in Dutch occupational pension funds. Internal supervisors are pension fund functionaries, responsible for evaluating the governing board's performance and holding the board accountable. We report findings from an original survey and interview study among internal supervisors. Contrary to the formal requirement of independence between governing board and internal supervision (a 'checks and balances' perspective), we find that internal supervisors often adopt a 'fusion of powers' approach that emphasizes collaboration with the governing board. We attribute this finding not only to internal supervision's institutional design but also to the highly networked character of Dutch pension governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Foco (Interdisciplinary Studies Journal) is the property of Revista Foco and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Independent regulatory agency has become the standard institutional choice in Western Europe. Little is known, however, about the involvement of legislators in their design and in their monitoring. In this paper, we analyse ex-ante and ex-post legislative involvement for 48 regulatory agencies enacted in France. We show that legislators debate and design more substantially agencies for which the government bill has already granted them more powers to appoint members to their board, or to be appointed as board members themselves. Once enacted, agencies that allow greater participation by legislators in their decision-making are subject to greater scrutiny, and this even after controlling for routine oversight activities. Regulatory domains matter, though only for ex-post legislative oversight. These results suggest that legislative involvement is selective and driven by strategic considerations. More fundamentally, they imply that legislative involvement could be more important in regulatory agency activities than usually assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orthobiologic therapies show significant promise to improve outcomes for patients with musculoskeletal pathology. There are considerable research efforts to develop strategies that seek to modulate the biological environment to promote tissue regeneration and healing and/or provide symptomatic relief. However, the regulatory pathways overseeing the clinical translation of these therapies are complex, with considerable worldwide variation. The introduction of novel biologic treatments into clinical practice raises several ethical dilemmas. In this review, we describe the process for seeking approval for biologic therapies in the United States, Europe, and Japan. We highlight a number of ethical issues raised by the clinical translation of these treatments, including the design of clinical trials, monitoring outcomes, biobanking, "off-label" use, engagement with the public, marketing of unproven therapies, and scientific integrity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This article traces the journey of France towards an institutionalization of parliamentary ethics. Since the 1980s, French parliamentarians have adopted a series of laws creating institutions and instruments to control their finances and regulate their conduct, most often in reaction to political scandals. This case study is based on the analysis of parliamentary archives, administrative documents and semi-structured interviews with actors involved in the regulation of parliamentary ethics. The article shows that parliamentary ethics in France has been transformed over the last thirty years, from a prohibition-based regime focusing on a priori bans and wealth control to a regulatory regime introducing disclosure obligations and ethical counsel. Parliamentary ethics regulation in France also evolved from a system of self-regulation to a system of co-regulation, with the creation of several oversight institutions and a move towards further externalization since the 2010s. The multiplication of oversight institutions and mechanisms, while strengthening control over parliamentarians’ conduct, however resulted in the fragmentation of parliamentary ethics oversight, rendering the system overly complex. Lastly, the article argues that, while the French parliamentary ethics regime remains largely compliance-based, relatively few parliamentarians have actually been sanctioned for ethical violations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When does legislation trigger regulation? The US Congress regularly passes laws that authorise government agencies to write legally binding regulations. Yet, when this occurs, agencies may take years to act – or, at times – may never act at all. We theorise that the breadth of the congressional statutory delegation drives the timing of agency policy production. In particular, when Congress expressly tells an agency to promulgate a rule, we expect agencies to do so quickly. Yet, when Congress provides greater policymaking discretion to agencies, we expect other factors – and especially, internal agency considerations – to drive regulatory timing. We use data from almost 350 statutes spanning four decades, which are then matched up with thousands of regulations, to assess the argument. Using innovative methods, we find support for our hypotheses. Overall, we produce a deeper understanding of the link between delegation and discretion: suggesting when it occurs, as well as, importantly, why. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The proliferation of contracts outsourcing military functions to private companies raises serious oversight concerns vis-à-vis regulation and accountability. As the industry is emerging, regulation of these outsourced function is considered weak. While critics predict an unchecked industry, supporters have defended the lack of an adequate accountability mechanism by touting self-regulation as a potential solution. Following this discussion, we examine whether the frequency of contractor violations and legal repercussions within the overall contracting industry differed between those in the burgeoning security-contracting community and those in the traditional contracting community. We utilize a preexisting dataset of American contractors' misconduct to compare military contacting to non-military contracting and military contractors to non-military contractors. Our results indicate that contracting military functions is associated with higher levels of violations and lower levels of legal repercussions, while military contractor companies themselves are not associated with higher levels of violations or legal repercussion. These findings support calls for improved oversight of conflict area's contracting in order to prevent contractors' misconduct with impunity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotech developers are concerned about the future of gene editing having experienced the contentious history of first-generation GM foods. They have also expressed desires to do better with public engagement in gene-editing innovation. The framework of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) may provide a way forward to act on their desires for greater public legitimacy. However, in the United States, -there has also been reluctance to incorporate RRI into biotechnology innovation systems like gene editing in food and agriculture. In this article, we investigate individual- and group-level factors, including demographic, sociographic, and cultural factors, that influence attitudes towards RRI among biotechnology United States stakeholders. Using the Advocacy Coalition Framework’s (ACF) hierarchy of beliefs as a theoretical guide, biotechnology stakeholders (n = 110) were surveyed about their cultural (deep-core) beliefs and then about their attitudes towards principles (policy-core beliefs) and practices (secondary beliefs) of RRI applied to biotechnology innovation. Through statistical analysis of the results, we found significant relationships between stronger egalitarian cultural-beliefs and positive attitudes towards both the principles and practices of RRI. We also found that participants with higher levels of experience held more positive attitudes towards principles of RRI. In contrast, we found a significant inverse relationship between professional affiliation with industry or trade organizations and attitudes towards RRI practices. With these results, we present a model of factors that influence RRI attitudes for future testing. In closing, we interpret the results in the context of ACF to examine the potential for building cross-sector coalitions for practicing RRI within United States gene-editing innovation systems.

Unsafe prisons mean unsafe societies Prison safety matters and effective ombud institutions could stimulate improved prison safety (Tomczak [63]). In our case, the PPO seeks to effect change in prisons to ensure that the circumstances of prison deaths are brought to light, any relevant failing is exposed, examine whether any changes in operational methods, policy, practice or management arrangements would help prevent recurrence and 'ensure as far as possible that [...] lessons from the death are made clear' (PPO [49], p. 9). Keywords: Prison: Ombudsman; regulation; accountability; monitoring; oversight; serious case review; domestic homicide review EN Prison: Ombudsman regulation accountability monitoring oversight serious case review domestic homicide review 212 230 19 05/24/21 20210601 NES 210601 Introduction The investigation of deaths occurring in unnatural, surprising and unclear circumstances is an important area. [Extracted from the article]

Background/objectives: Regulatory oversight has been a central strategy to assure nursing home quality of care for decades. In response to COVID‐19, traditional elements of oversight that relate to resident care have been curtailed in favor of implementing limited infection control surveys and targeted complaint investigations. We seek to describe the state of nursing home oversight during the pandemic to facilitate a discussion of whether and how these activities should be altered going forward. Design and setting: In a retrospective study, we describe national oversight activities in January–June 2020 and compare these activities to the same time period from 2019. We also examine state‐level oversight activities during the peak months of the pandemic. Participants: United States nursing homes. Data Publicly available Quality, Certification, and Oversight Reports (QCOR) data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Measurements Number of standard, complaint, and onsite infection surveys, number of deficiencies from standard and complaint surveys, number of citations by deficiency tag, and number and amount of civil monetary penalties. Results: The number of standard and complaint surveys declined considerably in the second quarter of 2020 relative to the same time frame in 2019. Deficiency citations generally decreased to near zero by April 2020 with the exception of infection prevention and control deficiencies and citations for failure to report COVID‐19 data to the national health safety network. Related enforcement actions were down considerably in 2020, relative to 2019. Conclusion: In the months since COVID‐19 first impacted nursing homes, regulatory oversight efforts have fallen off considerably. While CMS implemented universal infection control surveys and targeted complaint investigations, other routine aspects of oversight dropped in light of justifiable limits on nursing home entry. Going forward, we must develop policies that allow regulators to balance the demands of the pandemic while fulfilling their responsibilities effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The regulation of digital technology is gaining increased attention within policy making circles. With growing recognition of the power held by digital media companies and the need to enforce democratic values online, policy makers are reviewing opportunities for oversight. Introducing a special section looking at the regulation of digital election campaigning, this article reviews the case for regulatory reform, the proposed type of regulatory change, and the practice of regulatory innovation. Noting the pace of digital change, it argues that there is a need to think more extensively about the design of any regulatory response in order to prevent systems of oversight becoming obsolete. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Paid detail police work has grown in recent years across municipal/local and state/provincial jurisdictions in the United States and Canada, but not without controversy. Using Stenning's (2000) accountability framework for private and public police, we consider how and the extent to which the private employment of public police is regulated and rendered accountable. To accomplish this, we draw on interviews with 63 employers of paid detail as well as police officers, policies collected through freedom of information requests from 30 North American police departments about paid detail procedures as well as logs, and media coverage of paid detail issues. We found incredible variation in how paid detail is regulated, as well as many instances where accountability and oversight are lacking. After examining the consequences of ineffective or absent accountability mechanisms, we suggest a more uniform approach to paid detail standards. We conclude by discussing future research about paid detail regulation and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Politicians react to administrative policy making by developing systems of oversight. Existing studies largely emphasize the advantages of reactive oversight, where politicians wait for interest groups to pull a “fire alarm” on noncompliant activity. Less attention has been paid to proactive oversight, where politicians police administrators directly. To evaluate the effectiveness of “police patrol” oversight, I look to the White House, which has been policing regulatory proposals since the Nixon administration. I show how policing, or regulatory review, has made agencies more responsive to the president, both by singling out noncompliant proposals and, critically, by shaping agency behavior in anticipation of review. My findings suggest that police patrol oversight is more efficient than previously acknowledged, notably because the associated deterrence effects yield low-cost compliance. I conclude with a discussion of why Congress, despite having similar incentives to control administrators, has not adopted a parallel system of policing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gene editing technologies are revolutionising plant biotechnology. They allow for the rapid editing of multiple genes with either mutational, cisgenic, or transgenic approaches. They are also challenging regulations in several countries, as definitions and processes are based upon first generation methods for genetic engineering. In this paper, we present results from a U.S. study investigating the attitudes of subject matter experts (SMEs) towards the governance of genome editing. We find some areas where SMEs seem to agree, including the need for pre-market oversight and stakeholder engagement. However, the SMEs had different visions as to the novelty of the technology, primary issues of concern, hopes for the technology, and what specifically should be done in a regulatory context. Key narratives arose including the view that gene editing provides an new opportunity to rethink the oversight of agricultural biotechnology to improve existing systems (adapter view), that gene editing although revolutionary should undergo less regulation than 1st generation biotechnology (technohype-hyporeg view), and that gene editing makes the engineering process so easy that risk analysis and the regulatory system might not be able to accommodate the speed of development and thus greater caution is warranted. Current policy debates are revealing these differing perspectives,and formal decisions about how to govern this next generation of agricultural biotechnology are pending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reviews and models major financial governance structures and practices in Canadian governments. Political, legal, and institutional structures complicate effective financial governance in Canadian governments. These factors may have delayed the adoption and implementation of some key financial governance practices such as accrual-based financial reporting in Canadian governments. Nonetheless, significant progress has been made in the Canadian public sector during the past 10-15 years to bring such financial governance practices closer to those used in several other Anglo-Saxon countries. These initiatives have been propelled by increasing public demands for greater accountability and transparency concerning government operations and finances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Safety in aviation activities has always been one of the overriding considerations of ICAO. Article 44 of the Chicago Convention charges ICAO with ensuring the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation throughout the world. From a regulatory perspective, ICAO's role is to provide procedures and guidance for the safe conduct of international aircraft operations and to foster the planning and development of air transport. This is largely achieved by developing standards and recommended practices (SARPs), which are contained in Annexes to the Chicago Convention and reflect the best operational experience of member states. As stated in ICAO Doc 9774 (Manual on Certification of Aerodromes) Chapter 3 Section B, the specifications in ICAO Annex 14, Vol. I Aerodrome Design and Operations, unless otherwise indicated in a particular context, apply to all aerodromes open to public use in accordance with the provisions of Article 15 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The responsibility to ensure safety and order at all aerodromes open to public use under their jurisdiction rests with states. Importantly, member states have the prerogative of determining the structure of civil aviation within their borders, including regulation. While the requirement for aerodrome certification may not be applied by a state to all aerodromes under its jurisdiction, aerodromes used for international operations should not be exempted from the requirement. To this end, states need to establish appropriate criteria and then ensure that the criteria are actually implemented. Some states, however, do not refer only to international operations and it is for this reason that all the specific regulatory criteria need to be well understood, particularly where a 'trigger point' for certification may be reached. This paper aims to highlight the significance of aerodrome certification, not just in terms of overall compliance, but also being mindful to take practicable approaches to managing risk effectively, particularly at small and emerging airports across the globe. In context, this paper defines 'small' and 'emerging' airports as those airports with around I million passengers per year or those with greater numbers but going through a period of significant exponential growth given their current economic positioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The UK prime minister is committed to leading the first government ‘in modern history to leave office having reduced the overall burden of regulation rather than increased it’. In our paper in Public Money & Management in 2012 (Vol. 32, No. 4), we set out the role of the Regulatory Policy Committee (RPC) in the government's better regulation agenda (Gibbons and Parker, 2012). Since then a number of changes to the regulatory process has been introduced. In this article we describe the main changes to the UK's regulatory processes introduced since July 2012, including changes to the way the RPC operates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims to describe the establishment and evolution of Ireland's Mental Health Commission including its functions, strategic objectives and the challenges encountered. Design/methodology/approach – This case study is based on an analysis of the outputs of the organisation to date, legislative reviews, and available evidence on the contributions of the organisation to the development of services. Findings – The organisation has a breadth of responsibilities. It has administered reviews of 9,896 involuntary admissions to inpatient units to date since its inception. It has regulatory and enforcement powers in terms of the licensing of inpatient mental health facilities in Ireland. It has issued numerous codes of practice and rules for the guidance of those working across services. It also has an independent Inspectorate arm that inspects the quality of mental health services annually. Research limitations/implications – There is a risk of potential bias given the authors work for the organisation, however, attempts have been made to support observations with evidence from external sources. Practical implications – The organisation's work has been seminal in enhancing the protection of the human rights of persons accessing mental health services. Regulatory measures have also led to changes in the behaviour of service providers, but it has proven to be more challenging to change attitudes and culture within services. Social implications – The Commission has contributed to the reform agenda by focusing greater attention on rights-based, participatory and recovery-oriented models of care provision. Originality/value – This paper documents the work of the Mental Health Commission and highlights the impact changes have had both for those using services and those providing them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The United States Food and Drug Administration's recent approval of the commercial use of Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) as a treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) will be discussed within the context of the existing USA regulatory framework. The purpose will be to illustrate the current lack of regulation and oversight of the DBS market, which has resulted in the violation of basic ethical norms. The discussion will focus on: 1) the lack of available evidence on procedural safety and efficacy, 2) the numerous conflicts of interest held by research investigators, and 3) the ambiguity of both aforementioned categories due to an inherent lack of transparency in the research. It is argued that in order to address these issues, ethical analyses of DBS for psychiatric disorders must include the role of the industry forces that have become the primary impetus for this research. As such, DBS for OCD serves as an important case example in studies of neurotechnology and innovative surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impact assessment is a method of regulatory oversight intended to improve both regulatory processes and outcomes. This article reviews the work of the Regulatory Policy Committee established in 2009 to improve regulatory scrutiny in the UK, including its role in the coalition government's policy of ‘one in, one out’. The new oversight body has improved regulation but weaknesses remain. The UK has been a leading country in the use of impact assessment and the lessons from the work of the committee will be relevant to both those studying UK public administration and those developing better regulation programmes internationally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers dangers and pitfalls associated with a range of oversight options and scenarios, including self-regulation, government regulation, donor monitoring and community participation. The paper outlines the blind spots and sources of potential bias associated with each of these oversight mechanisms. Examining the Ugandan case study we find that perceptions of corruption and ineffectiveness tarnished the reputation of the sector, but at this stage the proposed peer review mechanism and stricter government regulation are unlikely to improve NGO sector outcomes. Government regulation is anticipated to be ineffectual due to poor design and insufficient resource allocation, but both of these factors may be attributable to the underlying political motivations. Similarly, not much is expected from the peer review mechanism because participation is voluntary, offers few benefits and the list of guidelines is too long and contains too many vague and intangible quality standards. The paper argues for more empirical research to inform the design of oversight mechanisms and to monitor the impact of self-regulation and government regulation on the NGO sector. This may also help to expose and limit opportunistic interventions by government, often thinly concealed under the conceptual cloak of accountability and oversight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanotechnology has great potential to transform science and industry in the fields of energy, material, environment, and medicine. At the same time, more concerns are being raised about the occupational health and safety of nanomaterials in the workplace and the implications of nanotechnology on the environment and living systems. Studies on environmental, health, and safety (EHS) issues of nanomaterials have a strong influence on public acceptance of nanotechnology and, eventually, affect its sustainability. Oversight and regulation by government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play significant roles in ensuring responsible and environmentally friendly development of nanotechnology. The EHS studies of nanomaterials can provide data and information to help the development of regulations and guidelines. We present research results on three aspects of EHS studies: physico-chemical characterization and measurement of nanomaterials; emission, exposure, and toxicity of nanomaterials; and control and abatement of nanomaterial releases using filtration technology. Measurement of nanoparticle agglomerates using a newly developed instrument, the Universal NanoParticle Analyzer (UNPA), is discussed. Exposure measurement results for silicon nanoparticles in a pilot scale production plant are presented, as well as exposure measurement and toxicity study of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Filtration studies of nanoparticle agglomerates are also presented as an example of emission control methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article addresses a key question emerging from this project based at the University of Minnesota: the fundamental capacity of government to engage in 'dynamic oversight' of emergent technologies. This conception of oversight requires additional or new types of capacity for government agencies that must arbitrate conflicts and endow any outcomes with necessary democratic legitimacy. Rethinking oversight thus also requires consideration of the fundamental design and organizational capacity of the regulatory regime in the democratic state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After 30 years of work in the field of corporate governance, I find myself reflecting on the origins of the idea and tracing the steps to where we are now. Much hard activist work has gone into furthering the ideals of corporate governance by so many who believed corporations could responsibly regulate themselves. After writing several books on the issue, submitting dozens of shareholder proposals and spending thousands on litigation, proxy issues and board campaigns, I am considering my work in an effort to see the way forward. Even when corporations fought every proposal to separate the chairman and CEO, or Sears spent millions of dollars to keep me off their board or the SEC issued no-action letters on proposals that were identical to those submitted in prior years, I kept pushing for greater corporate responsibility and self-regulation. Therefore, this moment after financial reform and Citizens United seems a good time to reflect upon the twilight of corporate governance and the failures of self-regulation - and where we go from here. This article examines 30 years of corporate self-regulation and its relationship to the recent economic crisis. If corporate governance is at a crossroads, what is needed to go forward? The business corporation has for some 30 years struggled with the challenge of regulating its own affairs and, thereby, liberating the unshackled genius of the capitalist system. Because the government has failed to define precisely the scope of the trustees' responsibility with respect to portfolio companies and has signally declined to enforce the most blatant of fiduciary conflicts, a disincentive for responsible ownership has resulted. This has discouraged the conscientious and enabled disproportionate power for the ruthless. The struggle has, for the present, been lost as the various elements of corporate governance have failed effectively to make corporate power accountable to owners. In addition, as a result of government creation of investment funds and employee benefit plans, trustees whose authority can be derived from existing federal law now are the legal owners of controlling interests in the preponderance of publicly traded companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Historically the horticultural industry has transformed the US landscape through intentional cultivar introductions and unintentional introductions of weeds, insects and plant diseases. While it has been demonstrated that the horticultural industry, in particular the ornamental subsector, is an important vector for the introduction and dispersal of invasive species, known invasive plants continue to be sold while new cultivars are introduced at an ever increasing rate. This study examines the horticultural trade as a vector for invasive species, its agents, and characterizes the complexity of the distribution channel. Numerous factors have contributed to the recent expansion in marketed cultivars, including technological, industry growth, and marketing developments. The result has been an increased and sophisticated consumer demand with a corresponding aggressive scouring of the planet for new crops, many of which are introduced into the market without sufficient testing for invasive tendencies. Traditional approaches to invasive horticultural crop control (regulation, self-regulation), which target players in the distribution channel before and/or after cultivar release, have had limited effectiveness and buy-in because these approaches do not address the industry’s complexities and economic incentives. Involvement and education of consumers may provide better oversight outcomes by addressing the moral hazard problem while acknowledging the key characteristics of the industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]