Merry christmas and happy new year 2023

 

Photo Jordi Soldevila. 

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Generational conflict: what works for one generation will not work for all generations

A Study of Generational Conflicts in the Workplace. Steven H. Appelbaum, Anuj Bhardwaj, Mitchell Goodyear, Ting Gong, Aravindhan Balasubramanian Sudha, and Phil Wei (2022) Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Access Article (pdf)

This article reviews research around generational differences and examines the causality between these differences and conflicts usually happening at the workplace. 

The conflicts can be defined as 

• Value-based: Each generation has different views and work values that motivates them 
• Behaviour-based: 
• conflict comes from how each generation communicates. Research has shown that different generations do not communicate with each other
• conflict comes from the differences in the expectation of feedback. Gen Y requires constant feedbak on their work
• Identity-based.
• conflict arises when differences exist between the ways one generation sees their own identities and the identities of other generations
• conflict originates form the general sense of wanting to belonging to a group of by comparing themselves to other groups.

These generational differences also affect managers’ strategies when dealing with conflicts at work. Morton Deutsch’s theory of cooperation and competition is often used for organisations to understand the nature of conflicts, and the Conflict Process Model can be used to examine how conflicts can evolve. 

Studies show that once a generational conflict is identified and understood, organizations can mitigate and resolve the conflict by developing mentorship between the parties involved to embrace generational diversity. Various components of the HR activities should also be altered to adapt generational differences for an organization to attract and retain talents. However, some studies raised debate about the causality between generations and behavioural characteristics at work and argued the necessity of managing conflicts caused by generational differences, raising concerns that attributing conflicts to generational differences potentially oversimplifies the problems.

photo Jordi Soldevila. Màcules de Barcelona. Constel.lació blava

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The state of science in Catalonia

The Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRI), a private organisation set up in 1986, that disseminates research and innovation among society to promote scientific culture, careers in science and Technology and public-private relationships and entrepreneurship publishes its first report about the state of the science in Catalonia

The report starts from the analysis of the key elements that have allowed Catalonia to become a pole of knowledge and talent in Europe over the last two decades, both in the scientific research carried out in the universities and in the research centers, large scientific infrastructures and scientific parks.

The report highlights the main strengths of the Catalan research system, in terms of scientific publication and the management of research projects and the training of research staff. It also values ​​the capacity of the Catalan system for attracting Spanish and European competitive funds, and the fact that the research policies entrusted to 25 years have allowed Catalonia to be recognized internationally as a center for knowledge and talent.

The document also highlights five conditions in favor to the research ecosystem such as 

• the approval of the National Pact for the Knowledge Society, 
• the recovery in Catalonia de Department of Research and Universities, 
• the European strategy of the European Green Deal, 
• the Next Generation projects 
• the future Catalan Science Law. 

The report puts the attention to the measures that should be introduced into the knowledge system to guarantee the continuity of scientific quality indicators and the ability to attract competitive research funds: 

• the increase public and private investment in R+D+I, 
• support for the professional career of researchers 
• improve in the field of transfer and innovation. 

In the areas for improvement, the work points to the aging of the teaching and research staff, the difficulty for young people to start and consolidate a scientific career and the more than difficult reconciliation of family and work, which mainly affects female talent. The report is in favor of more internationalizing the workforce and encouraging the recruitment and retention of international talent. 

In terms of funding, the report emphasizes the need to substantially increase public and private investment in R+D+I, currently below the European average indicators. The report also recommends the necessity to connect the research and innovation ecosystem (the universities, research centers, sicentific parks...) with industrial and technological companies.  

Web access: https://estatciencia.fundaciorecerca.cat/

Report and indicators

photo Jordi Soldevila. Homenatge a Toni Catany. Plat Pobre

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Back to basics: Michael Grossman

The Health Economics journal publishes the Michael Grossman editorial related to the 50th anniversary of the publication of the demand for health model in “On the Concept of Health Capital and the Demand for Health,” Journal of Political Economy 80(2): 223–255, and in The Demand for Health: A Theoretical and Empirical Investigation, NBER Occasional Paper 119 New York: Columbia University Press for the NBER.

The editorial focuses on the history of the model and its impacts on the field of health economics.

Editorial:  The demand for health turns 50: Reflections Michael Grossman

Michael Grossman and the Demand for Health Model

The Demand for Health introduced a new theoretical model for determining the health status of the population. His work uniquely synthesized economic and public health knowledge and has catalyzed a vastly influential body of health economics literature.

The demand for health is somewhat more complicated than the demand for a typical product. Here, the individual demands health and not health care. The demand for health care is, therefore, a derived demand.

The central idea behind Grossman’s model of demand for health is how age, education, health status, income etc. affect the production of health through the demand for health capital. Michael Grossman defined health both as a consumption good as well as a production good. He provided two reasons behind this; one health is consumed directly i.e. people are happier when they are healthier. Second, health is an investment i.e. good health permits people to do other things. Thus, the individual is both the consumer and the producer of health.

This model introduces the idea of investing in human capital (health and education) to improve outcomes in both the market (work) and non-market (household) sectors. The goal is to improve the earnings. Health is characterized as a capital good because it can be seen as lasting over time periods and depreciating at a non-constant rate.

Grossman bases his approach on Gary S. Becker's household production function model and his theory of investment in human capital. Consumers demand health, which can include illness-free days in a given year or life expectancy, and then produce it through the input of medical care services, diet, other market goods and services, and time.

Grossman also treats health and knowledge as equal parts of the durable stock of human capital. Consumers therefore have an incentive to invest in health to increase their earnings in the future. 

Grossman examines complementarities between health capital and other forms of human capital, the most important of which is knowledge capital earned through schooling and its effect on the efficiency of production.

He concludes that the rate of return on investing in health by increasing education may exceed the rate of return on investing in health through greater medical care. Higher income may not lead to better health outcomes, as wealth enables the consumption of goods and services with adverse health effects.

photo Jordi Soldevila. Homenatge a Toni Catany. Ampolles silencioses  

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sick planet, sick people

"No amount of medical technology will enable us to have healthy humans on a sick planet." Thomas Berry

We have come to recognize that the health of humanity depends on ensuring the health and resilience of our planet — from our climate, to our forests, to the air we breathe and the water we drink,”

A proper understanding of the health impacts of environmental exposures depends on many scientists from different disciplines working closely together.

The Planetary Health Alliance is a growing consortium of over 300 universities, non-governmental organizations, research institutes, and government entities from around the world committed to understanding and addressing global environmental change and its health impacts.

If you have 10m watch this video

Photo: Author: Homentatge a Toni Catany Jordi Soldevila

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The addiction to technology adoption in health

A major driver of cost growth in health care is the rapid increase in the utilisation of existing technology and not simply the adoption of new technology.

Health economists and health technology assessment analysts have become obsessed by technology adoption questions and have largely ignored ‘technology management’ questions.

Technology management would include the life-cycle assessment of technologies in use, to assess their real-world performance; and monitoring of technology indication creep. A rebalancing of focus might serve to encourage a more self-critical and learning culture amongst those involved in technology evaluation analysis.

Further, health economists and health technology assessment analysts could make a more significant contribution to system efficiency through rebalancing their efforts away from technology adoption questions towards technology management issues.

Article (pdf) 
Url: Health Economics:  

Authors: Cam Donaldson , Stirling Bryan , Craig Mitton

photo: Rose generated by Artificial Intelligence Sant Jordi 2022 (UPC)

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War is hell: Mental health consequences of war #stopthewar

War has a catastrophic effect on the health and well being of nations. Studies have shown that conflict situations cause more mortality and disability than any major disease. War destroys communities and families and disrupts the social and economic development of nations.

The effects of war include long-term physical and psychological harm to children and adults, as well as reduction in material and human capital. Among the consequences of war, the impact on the mental health of the civilian population is one of the most significant. Other consequences, besides deaths include endemic poverty, malnutrition, disability, economic/social decline and psychosocial illness, to mention only a few.

Women are more affected than men. Other vulnerable groups are children, the elderly and the disabled.

This paper briefly reviews the evidence from published literature about the impact of war on the mental health of the general population, the refugees, the soldiers and specific vulnerable groups. The review presents data concerning some major wars/conflicts and then briefly outlines the risk factors emerging from the literature.

Prevalence rates are associated with the degree of trauma, and the availability of physical and emotional support. The use of cultural and religious coping strategies is frequent in developing countries.

Mental health and war: brief review (article pdf) (2006)

photo: Emilio Morenatti

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Trust in public institutions and the Code of Ethics of the public service in Catalonia

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs provides thought leadership through its UN DESA Policy Briefs series, presenting timely and relevant analysis and policy guidance on global economic and social issues. Here we present the policy brief #108

Trust in public institutions: Trends and implications for economic security
The legitimacy of public institutions is crucial for building peaceful and inclusive societies.

While levels of trust in institutions vary significantly across countries, opinion surveys suggest that there has been a decline in trust in public institutions in recent decades.

Economic insecurity—which the COVID-19 crisis threatens to exacerbate—and perceptions of poor or corrupt government performance undermine the social contract and are closely linked to declines in institutional trust. Rebuilding public trust in the light of the current crisis demands services that work for everyone and jobs that provide income security, as well as more inclusive institutions.

Policy brief #108

The Code of Ethics of the Public Service of Catalonia

This code, was approved in october 2021 and constitutes a common ethical framework for all the people who work in the respective administrations and public sectors (politicians, civil servants, managers, advisers,...) as well as those who work in private organizations and entities that carry out effective public services on behalf of the administrations.

The main objective of the Code is to guide the actions of public servants from the key of values, thus strengthening the integrity of their actions and thus helping to promote the improvement of public service, the improvement of democratic quality, and the recovery of the confidence of the citizenship in its institutions.

Catalan government web: Ethics code

photo: Una habitación donde siempre llueve (Barcelona) Juan Muñoz

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