Pesticides in Ground Water: Will the EPA's New Regulation Decrease Health Risks?

The EPA's new regulation to protect ground water, the Pesticides and Ground Water Management Plan rule, will not significantly decrease health risks. Existing evidence suggests that the risk from ground water contamination is low and states have effective ground water protection programs. It is therefore unlikely that extensive federal involvement is necessary to protect ground water. The EPA has indicated it will use the new regulation to require states to expand their programs. The EPA did not, however, estimate the benefits of expanding ground water protection in the proposed rule, consider the risk of alternative pesticides, or show that the actual level of risk is potentially greater than existing data suggest. In this paper, I illustrate an approach for estimating the benefits and costs of ground water protection based on a case study of ground water contamination in California's San Joaquin Valley. The study shows that the health risk from ground water contamination is low, the costs of reducing contamination are high, and California is effectively protecting ground water. The study also shows that better analysis of the benefits and costs of ground water protection in each state can help the EPA determine the appropriate level of federal involvement in state ground water protection activities.

Transforming pre-service teacher curriculum: observation through a TPACK lens

This paper will discuss an international online collaborative learning experience through the lens of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework. The teacher knowledge required to effectively provide transformative learning experiences for 21st century learners in a digital world is complex, situated and changing. The discussion looks beyond the opportunity for knowledge development of content, pedagogy and technology as components of TPACK towards the interaction between those three components. Implications for practice are also discussed. In today’s technology infused classrooms it is within the realms of teacher educators, practising teaching and pre-service teachers explore and address effective practices using technology to enhance learning

Is change on the horizon for Maori and Pacifica female high school students when it comes to ICT?

This paper explores some of the factors that discourage the participation of Māori and Pacific girls in ICT in New Zealand. Despite many ICT job opportunities, there has been a steady decrease in the percentage of girls, especial Māori and Pacific girls entering into ICT study, and pursuing ICT careers. This study used a modified version of the conceptual framework designed by Bernhardt (2014) based on the 'STEMcell' model. The STEMcell framework was used to explores the factors that discourage participation in ICT through such concepts as cultural, social, structural and social IT that contribute to the likelihood of student’s career choice in ICT. An online questionnaire gathered data from year 11 students studying at high schools within Wellington, New Zealand. The findings indicated that Pacific girl’s more than Māori girls reported that their family members were seen as role models, which could impact on their future career choices. The statistical results also show that stereotypes are still alive in both Māori and Pacific year 11 student’s perceptions and that both Pacific and Māori girls from year 11 are unlikely to follow a career in ICT. Currently, the number of Māori and Pacific girls enrolling in ICT subjects at secondary school is still substantially below that for boys and, until changes are made, Māori and Pacific girls going into the industry will be in the minority

Developing a Framework for Sensible Regulation: Lessons from OSHA's Proposed Ergonomics Rule

Injuries caused by workplace activities that involve repetitive motion, known as musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), increasingly concern workers, employers, and regulators because of their frequency and high treatment costs. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently proposed a national rule designed to reduce the workplace risk of MSDs. OSHA estimates there were about 626,000 MSDs in 1997, representing about one-third of all serious nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses. OSHA estimates the proposed rule will cost $4 billion per year and generate$9 billion per year in benefits. Yet, OSHA does not provide sufficient evidence that private markets are failing to reduce MSD risk without government intervention and does not convincingly demonstrate that the rule will result in more good than harm. Unless OSHA effectively addresses some of the more serious flaws in the proposed rule, OSHA should not proceed with the final regulation. OSHA should more carefully evaluate the nature and extent of MSDs in the workplace than it did in the proposed rule and use improved economic analysis to target serious MSDs that employers can reduce at low cost. Furthermore, OSHA should include new provisions to improve employer access to information about reducing workplace risk of MSDs. The rule's ergonomics program requirements should apply only to those MSDs which employers do not have sufficient incentive to reduce without government intervention.

COMPANIES ECONOMY IN CONTEXT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

In this article I try to express components of the market economy which may affect an organization of the companies into a period whith decline and resignation reign in human activities. The economic crisis that is the a current world is the climax of financial turmoil which make integral part a normal legislative and the economic calculation which configures a demand and supply of goods.organizational arrangements; company; contracts; legislation; demand; supply; Microeconomics; economic calculation

THE WIND DEFLATION FROM SAND AREAS AFFECTED BY ATMOSFERIC DRYNESS: LEU-ROTUNDA AND DĂBULENI FIELDS (OLTENIA PLAIN)

Leu-Rotunda and Dăbuleni Fields are characterized by substantial extension of sandy soils. The sands on the left of Jiu are poli-stratificated fluvial deposits eolian shaped as dunes and interdunes. During the reported period 1980-2007, it was found that the most exposed time of the year to the wind was during the spring, the months of March, April and May as in speed and frequency. According to the analyzed data, the dominant wind direction during spring season on the sandy soils from Dăbuleni is the western, with negative effects on crops who then begin their vegetation cycle. The shelterbelts have decreased, although lately there have been numerous programs which aimed afforestation of affected areas

Assessing the Quality of Regulatory Impact Analyses

This study provides the most comprehensive evaluation of the quality of recent economic analyses that agencies conduct before finalizing major regulations. We construct a new dataset that includes analyses of forty-eight major health, safety, and environmental regulations from mid-1996 to mid-1999. This dataset provides detailed information on a variety of issues, including an agency's treatment of benefits, costs, net benefits, discounting, and uncertainty. We use this dataset to assess the quality of recent economic analyses and to determine the extent to which they are consistent with President Clinton's Executive Order 12866 and the benefit-cost guidelines issued by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). We find that economic analyses prepared by regulatory agencies typically do not provide enough information to make decisions that will maximize the efficiency or effectiveness of a rule. Agencies quantified net benefits for only 29 percent of the rules. Agencies failed to discuss alternatives in 27 percent of the rules and quantified costs and benefits of alternatives in only 31 percent of the rules. Our findings strongly suggest that agencies generally failed to comply with the executive order and adhere to the OMB guidelines. We offer specific suggestions for improving the quality of analysis and the transparency of the regulatory process, including writing clear executive summaries, making analyses available on the Internet, providing more careful consideration of alternatives to a regulation, and estimating net benefits of a regulation when data on costs and benefits are provided.