Wicked problems are most simply defined as ones that are impossible to solve. In other words, the range of complex interacting influences and effects; the influence of human values in all their range; and the constantly changing conditions in which the problem exists guarantee that what we strive to do is improve the situation rather than solve the wicked problem. This does not mean that we can...

This paper analyzes the management of investment portfolios by social security institutes in eight Latin American countries, the Bahamas, Barbados, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru. In general, pension reserves have not been invested in instruments with the highest economic returns. Capital markets are poorly developed, inflation has had a pervasive negative effect on the v...

Introduction Analysis of local privatization is giving increasing relevance to the insights provided by transaction costs and industrial organization theories. These theories point to the importance of a sector's market structure and incentives as the key factors explaining differences between sectors and dynamics within sectors. By focusing on incentives we see how contracting creates pressure...

— The privatization of water is being strongly promoted by the World Bank in Peru and other countries as a solution to the problems commonly afflicting irrigation and water management, a proposal that has inspired strong protest among peasant farmers throughout the Andes. A viable alternative to it is presented here, one that would allow the Bank to do many of the things it would like to in cre...

The Department of Defense’s utility systems have suffered from under-funding and lack of technology investment, thereby creating a service gap between these DoD systems and systems operated by commercial providers. In order to overcome this gap and refurbish their systems, the DoD has focused its efforts on privatization of these systems. Although the Air Force has published source selection gu...

Early intervention (EI) providers increasingly coach and collaborate with caregivers to strengthen and support caregiver–child interactions. The EI providers learning to coach other adults benefit from knowing what, exactly, they should do to support caregivers. This article serves two purposes. First, it proposes an operationally defined, theoretically based, and reliably used set of definitio...

this study examined the knowledge and perception of farmers regarding privatization and commercialization of agricultural extension services in delta state, nigeria. a sample size of 90 farmers in contact with extension agents was randomly selected for the study. data for the study was collected through the use of a validated structured interview schedule. both descriptive and inferential stati...

The effects of privatization on firms and on social welfare : the Chilean case / by R. The views and interpretations in this document are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Inter-American Development Bank, or to any individual acting on its behalf. The Research Department (RES) produces a quarterly newsletter, IDEA (Ideas for Development in the Americas), as well as workin...

Our motor actions are sometimes not properly performed despite our having complete understanding of the environmental situation with a suitable action intention. In most cases, insufficient skill for motor control can explain the improper performance. A notable exception is the action of stepping onto a stopped escalator, which causes clumsy movements accompanied by an odd sensation. Previous s...

PURPOSE The study's goals were to understand what changes in management practices would most improve the jobs of frontline workers from the perspective of workers themselves and to analyze differences across settings. DESIGN AND METHODS The baseline survey of direct care workers (N=3,468) conducted as part of the National Study of the Better Jobs Better Care demonstration asked the following:...