Personal trust extends cooperation beyond trustees: A Mexican study.

We studied 2 groups of workers from Oaxaca (Mexico) with different levels of income and education to investigate the role that the affective-based psychological mechanism of personal trust, as evolutionarily acquired, plays on group cooperation. We measured trust levels through some questionnaires and cooperative behaviour through an iterated prisoner's dilemma under different conditions and analysed trust networks of group members. While these groups did not differ in trust levels or cooperation among trustees, they did differ in terms of cooperation with other group members. Such differences are related to dissimilarities in the trust network topology-as a measure of group cohesion. These results suggest that some personal trust networks extend cooperation within a group beyond trustees in a way that complements the role of the reputation for indirect reciprocity.

Prevenção do suicidio: um recurso para conselheiros: uma serie de recursos: 7

Este documento faz parte de uma série de recursos dirigidos a grupos sociais e profissionais específicos que são particularmente relevantes na prevenção do suicídio. Foi preparado como parte do SUPRE, a iniciativa global da Organização Mundial de Saúde para a prevenção do suicídio. ISBN 92 4 159431 4 (Classificação LC/NLM: HV6545)- ISBN 978 92 4 159431 8

Boards of trustees must assume responsibility for making alcohol prevention on campus a top priority.

Few colleges have made the prevention of alcohol-related injuries and deaths an institutional priority, and even fewer have implemented prevention strategies with a solid evidentiary base. We look to presidents to provide leadership on this issue, but those who do are atypical. Boards of trustees should step in by asserting that student wellness be a primary focus in the institution's strategic plan, with specific, measurable goals; holding the president accountable for progress in reducing high-risk drinking and its consequences; and mandating a line item in the annual budget, with adequate staffing and revenues to put evidence-based practices in place. Boards will be more likely to respond when led to focus on the cost implications of the campus alcohol problem; the link between high-risk drinking and mission-critical institutional objectives such as academic performance, student engagement, and retention; and the institution's potential liability if evidence-based prevention strategies are not in place.

The Essential Mindset.

Today's health care trustees and executives need a "transorganizational" mindset to understand connections among different organizations and stakeholders.

Getting ready to govern.

Taking time to "check in" at meetings unites board members.

Accountability of foundation trusts in the English NHS: views of directors and governors.

OBJECTIVES: To map and describe the formal accountability relationships of foundation trusts in England and to explore the interpretations of these relationships by the key actors. METHODS: Documentary analysis and interviews with chief executives, chairs, directors and governors in six acute trusts and two Strategic Health Authorities. RESULTS: Although vertical accountability to the Department of Health (via Strategic Health Authorities) has, in formal terms, been removed some foundation trusts continue to be held to accountability by Strategic Health Authorities, albeit informally. Directors of foundation trusts perceive strong accountable to their regulator, Monitor, particularly for financial performance, but there is some confusion about where accountability for quality of care rests. Horizontal lines of accountability to the local population (through Local Involvement Networks and local government Overview and Scrutiny Committees) remain weak. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to the major policy objectives of giving greater autonomy to foundation trusts and making them more accountable to the local population, they continue to look towards the Department of Health rather than to the local population and its representatives. The accountability of foundation trusts needs to be simplified, clarified and strengthened.

How to make a board retreat pay dividends.

Board retreats offer trustees and senior management an exceptional environment for fostering both relationships and insights.

Impact of discussion on preferences elicited in a group setting.

BACKGROUND: The completeness of preferences is assumed as one of the axioms of expected utility theory but has been subject to little empirical study. METHODS: Fifteen non-health professionals was recruited and familiarised with the standard gamble technique. The group then met five times over six months and preferences were elicited independently on 41 scenarios. After individual valuation, the group discussed the scenarios, following which preferences could be changed. Changes made were described and summary measures (mean and median) before and after discussion compared using paired t test and Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test. Semi-structured telephone interviews were carried out to explore attitudes to discussing preferences. These were transcribed, read by two investigators and emergent themes described. RESULTS: Sixteen changes (3.6%) were made to preferences by seven (47%) of the fifteen members. The difference between individual preference values before and after discussion ranged from -0.025 to 0.45. The average effect on the group mean was 0.0053. No differences before and after discussion were statistically significant. The group valued discussion highly and suggested it brought four main benefits: reassurance; improved procedural performance; increased group cohesion; satisfying curiosity. CONCLUSION: The hypothesis that preferences are incomplete cannot be rejected for a proportion of respondents. However, brief discussion did not result in substantial number of changes to preferences and these did not have significant impact on summary values for the group, suggesting that incompleteness, if present, may not have an important effect on cost-utility analyses.

Wanted: a few good trustees.

As health care governance becomes increasingly complex and time-consuming, recruiting new trustees is more difficult. The solution? Open your mind to different options, including compensation, going outside the community, and making your meetings shorter and more efficient.