Note: All policy statements below refer to performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast with contrast and a breast coil. MRI of the breast without a breast coil, regardless of the clinical indication, is considered investigational. See additional comments in Policy Guidelines about the breast imaging team and the need for breast MRI centers to perform MRI-guided biopsy and localiza...

When advising policy we face the fundamental problem that economic processes are connected with uncertainty and thus policy can err. In this paper we show how the use of simulation models can reduce policy errors. We suggest that policy is best based on socalled abductive simulation models, which help to better understand how policy measures can influence economic processes. We show that abduct...

Cfengine is a distributed agent framework for performing policy-based network and system administration that is used on hundreds of thousands of Unix-like and Windows systems. This paper describes cfengine’s stochastic approach to policy implementation using distributed agents. It builds on the notion of ‘convergent’ statements, i.e. those which cause agents to gravitate towards an ideal config...

Smart specialisation is a policy concept that has enjoyed a short but very exciting life! Elaborated by a group of academic “experts” in 2008, it very quickly made a significant impact on the policy audience, particularly in Europe. Such a success story in such a short period of time is a perfect example of “policy running ahead of theory”: while smart specialisation seems to be already a polic...

BACKGROUND The Medicare Drug Benefit (Part D) was implemented on January 1, 2006. The principal emphasis in the first year was education of beneficiaries as part of the effort by health plans and prescription drug providers to enroll beneficiaries. There was continued emphasis on enrollment in the second year in 2007, with some refinement of the benefit such as removal of coverage for erectile ...

In this paper we describe an application of language technology to policy formulation, where it can support policy makers assess the acceptance of a yet-unpublished policy before the policy enters public consultation. One of the key concepts is that instead of relying on thematic similarity, we extract arguments expressed in support or opposition of positions that are general statements that ar...

Explaining dividend policy has been one of the most difficult challenges facing financial economists. Despite decades of study, we have yet to completely understand the factors that influence dividend policy and the manner in which these factors interact.The aim of this paper is to examine the relation between dividend policy and share price volatility in Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE). The analys...

Abstract National Visions are policy instruments characterized by an outlook that is constitutional in nature, while also appealing to a country’s external relations, as well its citizens. They unique the law and of Gulf States set out decade-long aims subsequently translated into legislation or/and foreign objectives. This article examines sports-related dimension Qatari Vision, which was basi...