Agency Decisions Research Articles

VIETNAMESE LAW ON ENTERPRISES’ RIGHT OF UNILATERAL TERMINATION OF LABOR CONTRACTS

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the law regulating labor relations in the above context need to be considered from all angles to ensure that the interests of employees are in harmony with the interests of enterprises, in accordance with the objective developments of the labor market, employment, and in accordance with international labor standards, with the aim of the scope of work and labor value will be more transparent and effective, avoiding abuses that violate the rights of employees. Theoretical Framework: In this topic, the main concepts and theories that underpin the research are presented contractual relationship are based on the principles of voluntariness, goodwill, equality, and cooperation; unilateral termination of labor contracts must comply with the agreement on the applicable conditions and be in accordance with the provisions of law stand out, providing a solid basis for understanding the context of the investigation. Method: The methodology adopted for this research comprises analysis and evaluation, clarifying the provisions of Vietnamese law, and simultaneously uses the problem of methodological research through trial practice in Court. Data collection was carried out through collecting legal provisions related to the topic, labor contracts transacted by businesses and dispute resolution decisions of competent Court agencies. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed The above studies are evidence that regulations under Vietnamese law have expanded the concept of labor relations and forms of labor contracts, contributing to strengthening labor responsibility for businesses. Actual law also demonstrates the strict binding of legal conditions for enterprises to unilaterally terminate labor contracts, especially procedures for notifying employees of labor contract termination. In the discussion section, these results are contextualized in light of the theoretical framework, highlighting the implications and relationships identified. Possible discrepancies and limitations of the study are also considered in this section. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing insights into how the results can be applied or influence practices in the field of industrial relation. These implications could encompass legitimate rights and interests of workers and businesses. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by resolving the newly emerging labor relations, meeting the needs of the vibrant, diverse, and complex labor market. The relevance and value of this research are evidenced by the right to unilaterally terminate labor contracts of enterprises has been enhanced and tightened by lawmakers. However, the rights of laborers are still guaranteed in the direction of freely choosing jobs that are suitable for their profession and field.

Empowering women in climate-resilient adaptation: A women, peace, and security (WPS) approach to addressing climate challenges in Bangladesh

Bangladesh faces serious threats from climate change, especially for vulnerable groups like women. Existing vulnerabilities are made worse by the combination of gender inequality and climate change, particularly in rural areas with little adaptation capacity. In order to empower women in climate-resilient adaptation initiatives, this article studies how the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) framework can offer a transformative lens. This study identifies ways to improve women's agency in decision-making, ensure their protection against climate-induced vulnerabilities, and fortify their ability to promote sustainable adaptation by incorporating the WPS pillars—participation, protection, prevention, and relief and recovery—into climate action strategies. The study highlights the need of inclusive governance, capacity building, and community-based initiatives in addressing the gendered implications of climate change, drawing on case studies and empirical data from Bangladesh. The results highlight the necessity of coordinating national climate policies with international WPS directives in order to build a society that is more resilient and equitable.

Identifying Priority Science Information Needs for Managing Public Lands.

Public lands worldwide provide diverse resources, uses, and values, ranging from wilderness to extractive uses. Decision-making on public lands is complex as a result and is required by law to be informed by science. However, public land managers may not always have the science they need. We developed a methodology for identifying priority science needs for public land management agencies. We relied on two core data sources: environmental effects analyses conducted for agency decisions and legal challenges to those decisions. We considered needs in four categories: data, science, methods, and mitigation measures. We classified topics as primary science needs when (1) the topic was analyzed frequently in agency environmental analyses, (2) our metric of quality/defensibility was low or mitigation measures were frequently included for the topic, and (3) the agency was challenged on its use of science for the topic. We applied our methodology to the Bureau of Land Management-the largest public land manager in the United States-in Colorado, a state with abundant and diverse public lands. Primary identified needs were data on vegetation; science about effects of oil and gas development and livestock grazing on multiple resources, including terrestrial wildlife; methods for analyzing environmental effects for many topics; and mitigation measures for protecting vegetation, soils, water quality, and archaeological and historic resources. Science needs often reflect needs for facilitating and supporting the use of existing science in agency decision-making. Our method can be applied across agencies, geographies, and timeframes to help strengthen science use in public lands decision-making.

Studying Up Public Sector AI: How Networks of Power Relations Shape Agency Decisions Around AI Design and Use

As public sector agencies rapidly introduce new AI tools in high-stakes domains like social services, it becomes critical to understand how decisions to adopt these tools are made in practice. We borrow from the anthropological practice to "study up" those in positions of power, and reorient our study of public sector AI around those who have the power and responsibility to make decisions about the role that AI tools will play in their agency. Through semi-structured interviews and design activities with 16 agency decision-makers, we examine how decisions about AI design and adoption are influenced by their interactions with and assumptions about other actors within these agencies (e.g., frontline workers and agency leaders), as well as those above (legal systems and contracted companies), and below (impacted communities). By centering these networks of power relations, our findings shed light on how infrastructural, legal, and social factors create barriers and disincentives to the involvement of a broader range of stakeholders in decisions about AI design and adoption. Agency decision-makers desired more practical support for stakeholder involvement around public sector AI to help overcome the knowledge and power differentials they perceived between them and other stakeholders (e.g., frontline workers and impacted community members). Building on these findings, we discuss implications for future research and policy around actualizing participatory AI approaches in public sector contexts.

Women in mining: an ethnographic study of heavy equipment operators in Indonesian coal industry

This research investigates the factors motivating women to work in the traditionally male-dominated mining industry, focusing on heavy equipment operators at a coal mine in Sangatta, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Employing an ethnographic approach with a phenomenological study design, data were collected through in-depth interviews with three informants with varying lengths of work experience to identify shared values. The findings reveal three primary factors underpinning women's decisions to pursue mining careers: strong work ethic, economic motivations, and an orientation towards self-development and securing their children's future. These findings demonstrate women's agency in career decision-making and their ability to transcend gender stereotypes. This study recommends that mining companies foster inclusive work environments that support women in balancing their multiple roles.

Neonicotinoid pesticides: evidence of developmental neurotoxicity from regulatory rodent studies.

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used class of insecticides in the United States (U.S.). and the world. Consistent with their high use and persistence, neonicotinoids are often found contaminating drinking water and food. They are also detected in human urine, breast milk, amniotic and cerebrospinal fluids, as well as the brains of treated rodents. Neonicotinoids were once thought to pose little neurotoxic risk to humans, but a growing body of research challenges that assumption. In this study we provide the first comprehensive assessment of unpublished rodent developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) studies on five neonicotinoids that were submitted to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by neonicotinoid manufacturers. Groups of female rats were administered three different doses of a neonicotinoid during pregnancy and lactation, and their offspring subjected to various neurological tests and brain measurements. We identified nicotine-like effects such as reduced brain size, indicative of neuronal cell loss. Statistically significant shrinkage of brain tissue was observed in high-dose offspring for five neonicotinoids: acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid, and thiamethoxam. Two brain regions reduced in the rodent studies-the corpus callosum and caudate-putamen-tend to be smaller in people diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and in children of mothers who smoked during pregnancy, suggesting a possible link between perinatal neonicotinoid exposure and ADHD. A decreased auditory startle reflex was reported for acetamiprid at all doses and was statistically significant in the mid- and high-dose offspring, and for clothianidin in juvenile high-dose females. No mid- or low-dose brain morphometric data were submitted for acetamiprid, imidacloprid, or thiacloprid. Thiamethoxam mid- and low-dose brain morphometric data were provided to EPA upon request. Only partial mid-dose brain morphometry data were submitted for clothianidin, but no low-dose data. Yet despite this lack of data, EPA concluded that only the high-dose brain morphometric effects were treatment-related-setting the mid-dose as the study's No Observed Adverse Effect Level (NOAEL) or failing to find a definitive NOAEL for acetamiprid, clothianidin, imidacloprid, thiacloprid and thiamethoxam. We found numerous deficiencies in EPA's regulatory oversight and data analyses. EPA dismissed statistically significant adverse effects, accepted substandard DNT studies despite lack of valid positive control data, and allowed neonicotinoid registrants to unduly influence agency decision-making. We conclude that perinatal exposure to neonicotinoids and their metabolites induces adverse, nicotine-like neurotoxic effects in rodent bioassays, and that the exposure limits set by EPA for human exposure are either not protective or not supported by available neurotoxicity data. We propose regulatory changes to empower EPA to better protect public health from developmental neurotoxins like neonicotinoids.

Intentions, Strategies, and Actions: How Refugees Exert Agency in the Resettlement and Humanitarian Admission Process from Jordan and Turkey to Germany

Although refugee resettlement is characterized by opaque decision-making of United Nations and government agencies, refugees may exert agency throughout the resettlement process. Tracing the journeys of several refugees through the resettlement and humanitarian admission processes from Jordan and Turkey to Germany, this article highlights refugees’ intentions, strategies, and actions to access and navigate the process in Jordan and Turkey. Defining agency as a combination of intention and action, without reference to a specific outcome, the article argues for a nuanced conceptualization of agency that can be employed in situations where people’s agency is very limited.

The two lives of the Mental Capacity Act: rethinking East-west binaries in comparative analysis.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 in England and Wales and Singapore's Mental Capacity Act 2008 (which substantially transplants provisions from the former statute) might appear to be twins on paper, but they have gone on to lead very different lives. In this article, we examine how two broadly identical laws have taken on divergent identities within their respective jurisdictions when implemented and interpreted in the courtroom. We reveal and analyse differences in parliamentary intent concerning at what stage a person's decision-making agency is putatively empowered; judicial development of central concepts; underlying socio-cultural commitments; and outline opportunities for bi-directional learning in mental capacity law across both jurisdictions.

The ongoing and contentious coverage of abortion in a progressive context: a long-term cross-outlet assessment of Dutch abortion news (2000–2022)

Utilising automated content analysis with transformer-based topic modelling (BERTopic), this study examines cross-outlet variation in volume and topics over two decades (2000–2022) of abortion coverage in seven major daily newspapers in the Netherlands. Our findings reveal an ongoing coverage of abortion. Volume of coverage was notably highest in religious newspapers, indicating that these newspapers constitute a prominent voice in Dutch abortion debate. We discerned four distinct frames used in abortion news coverage. The first emphasised political developments as well as protest and advocacy related to abortion, framing the issue as a controversial political and moral topic. The second emphasised uncommon and problematic aspects of abortion, neglecting to present it as a commonplace and safe reproductive healthcare procedure. Two other frames seek to undermine women’s decision-making agency: the marginalisation of women’s personal perspectives; and the highlighting of prerequisites for abortion care. The media’s emphasis on a hierarchy of deservedness may consequently reduce public support for particular reasons for choosing abortion. Overall, our findings show that abortion remains a regularly covered and contentious issue, even amidst progressive legislation. This study highlights the need for balanced reporting that engages with women’s diverse personal experiences and perspectives.

Institutional pressures and the prevalence of nonprofit sector support organizations

AbstractThis study focuses on the prevalence of nonprofit sector support organizations (NSSOs)—a form of nonprofit organization (NPO) devoted to providing services and resources to support grassroots development. Contrary to previous studies that emphasize the importance of institutions in shaping the NPO population through their effect on citizens and nonprofit managers, this study links three institutional pressures—coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures—to the decisions of public agencies to establish NSSOs. This study examines this claim using a newly constructed dataset of NSSOs across 330 Chinese cities between 2012 and 2021 (N = 2385). The results indicate that cities with greater pressure from provincial governments, neighboring cities, and professional associations are more likely to promote the establishment of NSSOs. This study advances the understanding of the impact of institutions on the dynamics of the NPO population by demonstrating their effect on public agencies.

Aviation Noise in the United States: The FAA's Civil Aviation Noise Policy Review

The FAA has long recognized that aircraft noise is a primary and pivotal concern of many stakeholders. Through input received via a Federal Register notice on its noise research portfolio, FAA was encouraged by stakeholders to revise its policy in light of its research findings. In response to this feedback, the FAA initiated a review of the foundational elements of its Noise Policy (noise metrics and noise thresholds), which aims address four key considerations: how the FAA analyzes, explains, and publicly presents changes in noise exposure from aviation activity, how changes to the civil aviation noise policy may better inform agency decision-making, the types of impacts it considers in making decisions, and potential improvements to how the FAA analyzes, explains, and presents changes in exposure to civil aviation noise. This paper will present an overview of the FAA's rationale for and approach to the noise policy review. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the next steps FAA expects to take in the review process.

Refugee agency in secondary mobility decision-making: a systematic literature review

Decisions made by millions of refugees about where to go, how to make a living and how to secure a future are fundamental drivers of secondary movements. While a substantial body of literature addresses factors contributing to migrants’ decision-making, a comprehensive understanding of the central role of refugees in secondary mobility decision-making, including agency and strategies employed, remains underexplored. This is partly due to the belief that refugees are constrained by external and structural factors and cannot exercise agency, which we challenge. This article provides a systematic analysis of the literature on refugees’ secondary mobility decision-making processes. Using a systematic literature review (SLR) methodology, it presents an in-depth analysis of 40 peer-reviewed, English-language research articles selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases published before September 2022. The article critically examines the drivers, prevailing dichotomies and conceptual frameworks surrounding refugee categorization, agency, and mobility. By synthesizing a wide range of literature, our paper presents emerging alternative concepts and frameworks that shed light on the complex dynamics of decision-making.

Relief item inventory planning under centralized and decentralized bilateral cooperation and uncertain transshipment quantities

Pre-positioning relief inventory ensures timely delivery of in-kind aid after a catastrophe. Tragic disasters like major earthquakes are rare and unpredictable; therefore, stockpiled items may not be used. To avoid over-stocking and reduce shortage risk, the cooperation of two humanitarian agencies in supporting each other in case of shortages is suggested in the literature. In this study, we utilize newsvendor-based quantitative models to optimize the pre-disaster stocking decisions of agencies under centralized and decentralized cooperation mechanisms. In the former, both agencies jointly determine their inventory levels to maximize their combined benefits of relief operations, whereas, in the latter, each agency establishes its stocking level in isolation via a game theoretic approach. In both systems, the two agencies agree to transship their excessive items to the other party if needed. In this regard, we investigate the situation where only a portion of the transshipped items, denoted as the reliability factor, can be received and effectively utilized at the destination due to the chaotic nature of the disaster. Considering a deterministic reliability factor, we obtain the singular optimal inventory levels in the centralized system and identify the unique Nash Equilibrium in the decentralized system. Subsequently, we formulate a two-stage stochastic program, considering a random reliability factor for both cooperation systems. The study concludes by offering a range of managerial insights. Our analyses quantify the sub-optimality resulting from decentralized decision-making across diverse parameter settings using the concept of the price of anarchy. The findings highlight that centralized cooperation becomes particularly advisable when the average demand within either agency is high, the transshipment process is secure (i.e., the reliability factor is high), and transshipment costs remain low.

Sensitivity to the Instrumental Value of Choice Increases Across Development

Across development, people tend to demonstrate a preference for contexts in which they have the opportunity to make choices. However, it is not clear how children, adolescents, and adults learn to calibrate this preference based on the costs and benefits of agentic choice. Here, in both a primary, in-person, reinforcement-learning experiment (N = 92; age range = 10–25 years) and a preregistered online replication study (N = 150; age range = 8–25 years), we found that participants overvalued agentic choice but also calibrated their agency decisions to the reward structure of the environment, increasingly selecting agentic choice when choice had greater instrumental value. Regression analyses and computational modeling of participant choices revealed that participants’ bias toward agentic choice—reflecting its intrinsic value—remained consistent across age, whereas sensitivity to the instrumental value of agentic choice increased from childhood to early adulthood.

“So that I can trust them with my body:” How people with low incomes who may become pregnant define and prioritize quality reproductive health care

ObjectivesAs part of a larger mixed-methods study to better define equity in access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care in Georgia, this analysis sought to understand: (1) how individuals define quality care for their SRH services; and (2) how quality of care is salient in their SRH care-seeking. Study designFrom January 2019 to February 2020, we conducted life history interviews with individuals with the capacity to become pregnant in suburban areas in Georgia. We analyzed interviews using thematic analysis. ResultsSRH care quality was shaped by experiences with health center environment, with providers, and with staff. Study participants emphasized elements associated with trusted SRH care such as showing compassion, respecting and non-judging, taking time, providing information, and assuring agency. Participants also voiced a desire for holistic care that addressed the lived experiences of the individual. Participants took quality of care into account when care-seeking but sometimes had to weigh out preferences for quality with issues of affordability. ConclusionsAccess to quality person-centered care is an essential component of realized access to SRH services. Measures of equitable access and quality should account for experiences of quality care that include both provider and staff interactions as well as the larger healthcare environment and ability to use quality care despite financial constraints. ImplicationsQuality family planning care should involve both clinicians and staff to incorporate showing compassion, providing respectful and non-judgmental care, taking time with patients, providing information, assuring agency in decision-making, as well as addressing the lived experiences of individuals.

Public Control as a Tool for Combating Crime

The article is devoted to the analysis of the place and role of the institution of public control in the system of tools to combat crime. This institution of civil society is analyzed as the most important legal guarantee for the implementation, protection and defense of the system of constitutional principles in Russia, as well as the system of human and civil rights and freedoms, the rights and legitimate interests of numerous public associations and other non-governmental non-profit organizations. The authors substantiate the importance of the institution of public control in the Russian Federation as a tool for the prevention and suppression of crimes. At the same time, the role of this institution of civil society is particularly highlighted as a tool in the fight against corruption and other crimes committed by officials of public authorities, state and municipal organizations, and other bodies and organizations that exercise certain public powers on the basis of federal laws. The article formalizes and explores the main problems that impede the use of the institution of public control in the fight against crime in the Russian Federation, in particular due to: the lack of mention of this institution of civil society in the Basic Law of Russia; imperfect legislation on public control; weak powers of its subjects; removing from the scope of the Federal Law of dated of 21.06.2014 № 212-FL “On the Fundamentals of Public Control in the Russian Federation” the activities, acts and decisions of the majority of Russian law enforcement agencies, as well as types of public relations where there is a high crime rate; weak funding from the budgets of all levels of activities of subjects of public control; weak use of positive foreign experience of civil society institutions in the fight against crime; insufficient use of modern information and communication technologies. The authors have developed and justified a system of measures to resolve these problems, including by: incorporating public control into the Constitution of Russia; developing a system of federal laws devoted to the organization and implementation of public control in relation to the activities, acts and decisions of the country's law enforcement agencies; expanding the powers of subjects of public control; active use of foreign positive experience of civil society participation in the fight against crime; development of a system of federal programs for organizational, legal, financial, technical support for the institution of public control in Russia.

Health Promotion Quality Regarding Post-Placental IUDs in Malang Regency

Introduction: Community welfare is confronted with a substantial challenge by Indonesia's burgeoning population, and the government's principal aim is the promotion of Long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC). Post-placental IUD is an efficacious method that incorporates health promotion by means of midwife-delivered contraceptive counseling. Counseling promotes the development of positive relationships, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, thereby fostering responsible behavior and individual agency in decision-making. Nevertheless, the low utilization rate of postpartum IUD contraception can be attributed to the scarcity of information regarding the mother. The objective of this study is to examine the level of health promotion regarding post-placental IUD family planning in Malang Regency. Material and Methods: Descriptive methods will be employed, including verbal and written observations of behavior and descriptive data on individuals. The interview-based data collection process spanned the months of June to August 2023. Results: The research results suggest that inadequate efforts to promote postpartum IUD contraception are due to a dearth of understanding, motivation, resources, geographical proximity, and community customs. The objective is to improve the existing insufficiency of post-placental IUD family planning promotion in Malang Regency. Conclusion: From the beginning of pregnancy onwards, expectant women must be consistently motivated and educated about health promotion and family planning in order to develop an interest in and understanding of the choice of post-placental IUD family planning.

Balancing reputational strategies in the European administrative space: how private actors and agencies talk about regulation

ABSTRACT The reputational perspective on agencies has sparked fruitful research. We argue that this perspective can also be applied to private actors in regulatory governance. As they are incorporated into governance because of their expertise, we hypothesise that a technical reputation dominates private actors´ regulatory talk. Furthermore, we test whether agencies have a more multi-dimensional reputational strategy than private actors. We analyse documents of private actors, national regulatory agencies (NRAs) and a European agency (ACER) in energy market regulation. We code rule drafts and agency decisions, and show that private actors not only use technical, but also legal and performative arguments. However, NRAs and ACER have a more balanced reputational strategy. They balance the reputational mix of the private actors when approving rule drafts, adding to the reputational dimensions that private actors neglect. Thus, our article shows how private actors and agencies differ in their regulatory talk within one rulemaking process.

Environmental impact assessments should include rigorous scientific peer review

Twenty USA states or jurisdictions and 125 nations have modeled national environmental policies after the National Environmental Policy Act. That act mandates that federal agencies initiate environmental impact statements (EISs) when substantive environmental or human health consequences are likely because of an agency action related to proposed development projects. The science used to inform the EIS process, however, does not require independent scientific peer review (ISPR) in the USA or most other nations. But ISPR is needed for governments to accurately inform the EIS decision-making and public reporting processes. Instead, science is routinely manipulated during EIS reviews to generate expedient project outcomes with substantially negative ecological, political, and long-term economic consequences. We provide four examples of EISs that lack ISPR, as well as four examples where reviews by independent scientists were helpful to improve agency decisions. We also recommend that independent scientists (no affiliation with the project proponents or agencies overseeing projects) be used to help assess potential environmental and socio-economic impacts, as well as offer appropriate risk assessments, study designs, and monitoring timeframes. We conclude that nations should convene formal reviews using independent scientists as a form of peer review in the EIS process.

경찰기관의 정보공개 처분에 대한 검토

In this study, examine information disclosure and the administrative judgment system, which are means of police control, and examine the current status of the Central Administrative Appeals Commission's citation decision that clearly recognized the illegality and unfairness of the disposition of information disclosure by police agencies in 2023. In addition, it was intended to provide suggestions for reasonable disposition of information disclosure by police agencies. When a citizen exercises the right to request information disclosure from a police agency, the police agency decides whether or not to disclose the information in accordance with the statutory procedures set forth in the Information Disclosure Act. A person requesting information disclosure may appeal a police agency's decision to disclose information by filing an administrative appeal with the Central Administrative Appeals Commission. After reviewing the decision to disclose information to police agencies, be able to confirm the following facts. First, police agencies identified cases where they did not comply with statutory procedures under the Information Disclosure Act or misjudged the application of reasons for non-disclosure. In addition, we were able to confirm cases where police agencies' information disclosure officers lacked basic knowledge of the Information Disclosure Act, adding or changing the reasons for disposition, or restricting the information disclosure claimant's right to object through a substantive refusal with formal legality. The suggestions derived from the review of citation decisions regarding information disclosure by police agencies as discussed above can be summarized as follows. There is a need to do about the First, strengthening disciplinary responsibility for those in charge who do not comply with information disclosure procedures, Second, regular education and evaluation on cases of illegal and unfair information disclosure, Third, the introduction of a training completion system for police agency-specific office workers in the fields of investigation, transportation, and life safety, Fourth, strengthening the supervisory function of the Supervisory Office, Fifth, disclosure of cases of illegal and unfair decisions