Management of risk in the public interest

1991 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 446-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. C. Lind ◽  
J. S. Nathwani ◽  
E. Siddall

There is no Canadian policy for the management of health and safety in the public interest. Both lives and resources are lost as a result. Limited life-saving resources ought to be spent efficiently in the public interest. If the life expectancy at birth is the measure of safety overall, then account must be given of the efficiency of any safety program, policy, project, or regulation in terms of the years of life in good health saved and the cost incurred. A comparison is made of 26 programs implemented in the United States, and it is shown that they collectively waste several thousand lives per year; 95 cents on the dollar is wasted. An absolute upper cost limit is established, which no life-saving program can exceed without consuming more human time than it returns. Some elements of a rational safety policy, and some concrete steps that ought to be taken now towards its implementation, are suggested. Key words: risk, management, public interest, health, safety, life, human development, index, efficiency, ethics, profession, accountability.

1989 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 87-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Perry Moore

This research provides information about the health care cost containment efforts of local governments and agencies across the United States, particularly in large American cities. Survey results indicate that while the public sector lags behind the private sector, public agencies are beginning to match the cost containment efforts of private employers. While initiation of these efforts represents considerable recent progress, their tangible benefits are not yet apparent.


2015 ◽  
Vol 109 (1) ◽  
pp. 161-167
Author(s):  
Anne-Marie Carstens

In Technische Universität Darmstadt v. Eugen Ulmer KG, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ or Court) addressed several important copyright issues stemming from a practice that continues to confound many legal practitioners and adjudicators: the mass digitization of library collections. The judgment adds to an emerging body of jurisprudence decided in the context of a trend toward greater digitization that could ultimately facilitate the development of a global, digital library. To date, the jurisprudence has largely been formed by cases challenging mass digitization that are percolating through the United States courts and have attracted international attention and criticism. The ECJ decision thus provides an important point of reference for evaluating how different jurisdictions balance the rights of authors against the public interest, as served by relevant fair use exceptions consistent with their international obligations under traditional copyright treaties, the 1996 WIPO Copyright Treaty, and the 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) applicable to all WTO member states.


2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 309-327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Paradise

Perpetual debate regarding the delicate balance between access and innovation and the protection of the public health and safety dominate discussions of the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). Established chiefly as a command and control federal administrative agency, iterative changes in legislation have shaped the FDA's activity in drug, biologic, and medical device regulation over the course of the last one hundred plus years. The most recent fundamental reframing of the agency's authority and directive presented itself in the 21st Century Cures Act, reflecting an important role for patient perspectives in the regulatory process. This Article explores recent developments in patient-focused product development efforts at the FDA and offers modest insights on the increasing role of patients, and patient advocacy groups, in agency decision-making. The Article terms this era “21st century citizen pharma.”


Author(s):  
Ginette Wessel

Beginning in 2008, city policymakers across the nation became increasingly involved in regulatory debates and policy revisions surrounding mobile food vending. Despite vendors’ abilities to reactivate neglected urban areas and increase food access for underserved neighborhoods, many issues related to unfair competition, public health and safety, and prejudices continue to dominate regulatory frameworks that limit vendors’ entrepreneurial freedoms and spatial opportunities. Using three regulatory conflicts between food vendors and policymakers, this chapter highlights the motivating factors that can guide regulatory decision-making and the ways vendors destabilize and shape formal mechanisms of regulatory control. Topics include public health, restaurant protectionism, and cultural injustice at both state and city levels. This research suggests that despite rigid regulatory policies and the variety of economic, social, and political factors that influence governments’ responses to mobile food vending, active municipal investment in the public realm combined with vendors’ grassroots efforts can generate just policies. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the significance of vendor advocacy and the supportive roles of food vending organizations across the United States to illustrate the ways vendors increase social justice in cities.


1992 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 328-335
Author(s):  
J Levrio

The postsecondary accreditation process is a unique system that attempts to evaluate and enhance the quality of higher and professional education in the United States. Critics of accreditation see the process as coercive and a deterrent to academic freedom while others call for accreditors to exercise greater authority. The origination of the process was a result of a number of coinciding events involving the development of educational and professional standards and concern over access. The current focus on assessment of educational outcomes has further established the credibility of postsecondary accreditation and its role in protecting the public interest.


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