Draft Proposal Research Articles

Dlaczego jest tak źle, jeśli jest tak dobrze… Krytycznie o niektórych przepisach polskiej ustawy transplantacyjnej

Why is it so bad, if it is so good… Critical analysis of the Polish Organ Transplant ActDespite the Polish Organ Transplant Act is considered very advanced, the number of organs sourced from deceased donors in Poland is highly insufficient. We believe that this could be improved by modi­fying the existing Act. In this paper we present our findings and draft proposals for changes of law

Need for micro-finance self-help groups among women family caregivers of persons with mental disability in rural India

PurposeMicro-finance self-help groups empower caregivers to indulge in productive activities based on the local availability of resources to reduce their financial burden. The purpose of this paper is to assess the need for and feasibility of initiating micro-finance groups for the caregivers of persons with mental disability in a rural socio-economically backward community of Karnataka, India.Design/methodology/approachThe design of the study was a cross-sectional survey, with mixed methodology design out of the eight localities where the Mental Health Public Health Centres (PHC) were running successfully in Konandur area, Thirthahalli Taluk, Karnataka, one PHC was selected using simple Random Sampling Design and a 5 kms radius from Konandur town was selected as the area of the survey (190 households). During door-to-door survey, if the family indicated that a particular member is mentally unwell, the GHQ-5 and Symptoms and Others checklist were administered on him/her and the women caregiver was interviewed using qualitative needs assessment schedule and Perceived Social Support Scale.FindingsTen persons/households with mental illness (5.26 per cent) were identified in the community. Themes of financial needs, capacity of the caregiver, community resources, need for the microfinance self-help groups, informational needs, social support, burn out, and stigma elicited in the interview were depicted in the form of a conceptual framework to understand the inter-connectedness between the various themes.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is the first initiative in the field of micro-finance self-help groups for the persons with mental illness and families. The design of the study was a cross-sectional survey, which is found globally to be the most suited in conducting prevalence studies, as it provides accurate results for future studies as well as it is the first step to obtain accurate baseline values to later plan a prospective follow up study. The study used mixed methodology design. Though the sample size was small, the information collected from the participants in qualitative and quantitative method was triangulated and conceptual frameworks were developed. As this study is one of the first of its kind in the country, the results of this study from the stated sample can be considered as an important pilot for future longitudinal and cross-sectional studies to be planned in the community.Originality/valueThere is hardly any scientific literature which talks about the need for Micro-finance self-help groups for Persons with Disability, especially with person with mental disability. In order to initiate any Micro-finance SHG activities, it is essential to first undertake the need for and feasibility of initiating such micro-finance group activities in any given area. This study will be an important milestone in initiating any self-help group activity for caregivers of persons with mental disability, as it would help us understand the financial needs of the community, based on which a draft proposal to initiate micro-finance self-help group activities can be drawn up.

Design of REST API for Local Public Transportation Information Services in Malang City

Abstract.Utilization of information technology in the field of public transportation has been proven in improving the quality of public transportation services. The availability of information technology that supports public transportation in Malang city is still limited. An effort is required to encourage the availability of information technology that support public transportation in Malang city. This research attempts to propose a draft proposal of REST API designed for supporting information about public transportation services in Malang city. The result of this research showed that the REST API should provide a search facility to find proper service mode of transportation, cost estimation, time estimation, calling or booking a public transportation, a list of all the modes of transportation that exist, as well as detailed information on a mode of transport in which includes the name of public transportation, index of comfortability, index of security, index of safety, index of privacy, index of availability, index of accessibility index, and route.Keywords: Transportation, Public Transportation, API, REST, Service-Oriented Architecture, Web Service.

Strategic health assessment for large scale industry development activities: An introduction

Attention to the determinants of health and health equity in impact assessment remains under-utilised at the project, Environmental Impact Assessment, level. Determinants focussed health impact assessment has developed at an upstream, policy level, but tends to assess draft proposals rather than form the basis of policies and plans. Project level health (risk) impact assessment tends to focus on a project by project basis, and generally eschews a broad model of health. One answer to this ‘health and impact assessment’ problem is to shift attention to the strategic level, in a similar manner to, and learning from, the development of Strategic Environmental Assessment and its theoretical and practical derivatives. In this article we explain the need for this shift both conceptually and practically by navigating the literature. Our analysis derives specifically from developing the Strategic Health Impact Assessment section of new international industry HIA guidance, coupled with work in and around health impact assessment and policy analysis for the past decade. We develop characteristics of conducting strategic health assessments for multiple industry development activities at the supra national, national or regional level. Our intended audience are public administrators, industry planners and financial sector investors. A particular focus is low and middle income countries, now seen by industry as emerging markets.

Institutional support for strategic planning and economic development in the Republic of Croatia

The Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds (MRDEUF) has prepared a Draft Proposal for an Act on the Strategic Development Planning and Development Management System with a view to systematically solving the problems of strategic economic development planning, public policy coordination and governance by means of a more transparent division of roles between Parliament and the Government, as well as between the ministries and government bodies. The public hearing on the draft act proposal stays open until August 5, 2017.

心理学研究を実践に活かすための試案 : "エビデンス"と豊かな実践の両立を目指すために( 実践に「役立つ」心理学の専門性)

心理学研究を実践に活かすための試案 : "エビデンス"と豊かな実践の両立を目指すために( 実践に「役立つ」心理学の専門性)

HBIM CHALLENGE AMONG THE PARADIGM OF COMPLEXITY, TOOLS AND PRESERVATION: THE BASILICA DI COLLEMAGGIO 8 YEARS AFTER THE EARTHQUAKE (L’AQUILA)

Abstract. In December 2012 ENIservizi (the Italian multi-national energy agency operating in many countries), after the Earthquake that occurred in April 2009, decided to undertake the project ‘Re-start from Collemaggio’ with the aim of giving new hope to the L’Aquila community, funding around 14 million Euro to restore the Basilica di Collemaggio. The Superintendence Office carried on the restoration project with the scientific support of the Università degli Studi de L’Aquila and the Università La Sapienza di Roma, under the coordination of the Politecnico di Milano. ENIservizi, aware of the BIM potential in the complex building and infrastructure domain in the world, required an advanced HBIM from the laser scanner and photogrammetric surveying to support the diagnostic analysis, the design project, the tender and the restoration itself, today still on course. Plans and vertical sections were delivered (2012) starting from the surveying campaigns (February and June 2013), together with the first HBIM advancement from the end of 2012 in support of the preliminary-definitive-executive steps of the restoration design project (2013-14-15). Five years later, this paper tries to make a synthesis of the different lessons learnt, in addition to the positive and critical aspects relating HBIM feasibility, sustainability and usefulness to the challenging restoration work. In particular, the Collemaggio BIM experience anticipated the new Italian Public Procurement Legislation (D.Lgs 50/2016, Nuovo Codice degli Appalti pubblici) aligned with to the EUPPD 24/2014: the EU Directive on Public Procurement asked all the 28 EU countries to adopt building informative modelling by February 2016 in order to support the whole LCM (Life Cycle Management), starting from the project and the intervention, through rewarding scores or mandatory regulations. Many analyses foresees to save from around 5% to 15% of the overall investment by adopting mature BIM (Level 3 to 5), particularly 4D remotely controlled BIM in support of the LCM, as in the case of maintenance and management process. The tender for Basilica restoration was published in 2015: the process was not developed enough to introduce selective criteria based on BIM adoption by the Construction Industry due to the lack of legislation at that time and the lack of BIM skills among the companies. Nevertheless ENIservizi also separately funded aside the HBIM of the Basilica to tackle an advanced BIM able to address decision-making processes in the heritage domain among the different actors: to support operators, architects, structural engineers, economic computation, construction site management and restoration, the theoretical and practical approach adopted by the HBIM, overcame the current logic based on sequential LoD (from simplex to complex, from the preliminary to the executive design) that is typical of new constructions in favour of a complex LoD approach that could guarantee management of the richness, unicity and multiplicity of each component and the maximum degree of knowledge in order to derive the decisions from the starting phases of the project. On the lesson learnt from this experience, the process of updating the current codification criteria (UNI11337-2009) was started with a draft proposal stimulating a debate for the future of HBIM adoption.

A Report on Health Resource Use in Internal Radiation Therapy with Radium Chloride (223Ra) (2nd Survey).

Internal radiation therapy using radium (223Ra) chloride injection (223Ra injection) is already being applied in actual clinical practice, however the NHI medical technical fee for the use of 223Ra injection has not yet been set. The Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine surveyed health resource use for internal radiation therapy using 223Ra via questionnaires sent to medical institutions that have used 223Ra injection. Results showed that the necessary cost per patient is 1,005,567 JPY, based on the Draft Proposal for Medical Examination Value (Ver. 7.1) of the Japanese Health Insurance Federation for Surgery. 223Ra injection is supposed to be administered 6 times to each patient at 4-week intervals, and the fee per treatment was calculated to be 167,595 JPY. The appropriate NHI medical technical fee is thus considered to be 16,759 points per patient per treatment, which can be claimed 6 times per patient.

「学習指導要領国語科編(試案)」(昭和22年12月20日)の日本語草案 : 井上敏夫資料の紹介

「学習指導要領国語科編(試案)」(昭和22年12月20日)の日本語草案 : 井上敏夫資料の紹介

Towards a metric for the energy efficiency of computer servers

A globally accepted metric on the energy efficiency of computer servers in business applications is still missing, despite a great interest from stakeholders. In the context of the implementation of the European Ecodesign Directive, a detailed analysis has been carried out on the feasibility of policy requirements for computer servers addressing, among others, the relation between energy use and performance. The lack of such a metric weakens the effectiveness of a regulation on the server energy efficiency in “on-mode”. "Capping" energy use would be the alternative, although complex and disputable because of virtually unlimited internal configuration options of the products placed in the market. In this framework, a dedicated research stream has been devoted to the development a draft proposal for a metric. The paper describes in detail the procedural as well as the theoretical steps to date. The preliminary results show how the draft proposed metric is representative of the user pattern of servers, scalable, technology neutral and does not entail excessive costs. This work could well represent the basis for an international standard, in particular in the framework of a standardisation mandate from the European Commission on the energy efficiency of information and communication technology products.

Syariah-Compliant Milk Bank According to the Opinions of Early and Contemporary Islamic Scholars

Milk bank is undergoing a rapid development in western countries. The proposal to establish Milk Bank in Islamic countries, however, has created issues among the Muslim community. This is due to the fact that milk bank is synonym with nursing in Islam. Breast milk taken from a milk bank, when meets certain criteria, will have an impact on the institution of nursing mahram. In fact, the National Fatwa Council that convened in 2011 has banned the establishment of milk bank in Malaysia. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to identify the criteria needed to make sure that milk bank complies with syarak regulations and able to prevent overlapping in nursing mahram (unmarriagable kin) relationship. This research is based on qualitative method where data collected from documents and interview sessions were gathered and analyzed in terms of content analysis. The result of this research is a draft proposal for a syariah-compliant milk bank (BSPS) that may be able to save infants’ lives while at the same time complies with syarak regulations.

Biodiversity protection under the habitats directive

Although the Habitats Directive has enhanced nature conservation in Europe, it has failed to stop deterioration in its biodiversity. A significant contribution to this failure is the weak provision on compensatory measures under Article 6(4) of the directive in the event that Member States decide to authorise activities which harm protected areas. As the directive’s Natura 2000 network fails to include sufficient private land, it forms a patchwork of conservation areas which do not thrive. This article investigates the extent to which this weakness could be effectively addressed via habitats banking, a system in which developers purchase credits from private landowners to offset adverse impacts of developments on protected sites. While habitats banking does not prevent developments as such, it ensures the maintenance of a certain biodiversity level on the participating sites. A draft proposal will show how such a banking scheme could work in practice, critically bearing in mind the dangers of a fully privatised system. The article draws the conclusion that a European system of habitats banking with a sensible amount of public administration would improve the overall effectiveness of compensatory measures under the Habitats Directive.

Mecanismos sancionatorios alternativos al proceso penal. Una visión desde el Derecho inglés.

Durante el 2015, el legislador español aprobó dos reformas legislativas a través de las que ha abierto todavía más la posibilidad de plantearse la creación de mecanismos alternativos al proceso penal. En el presente trabajo, partiendo de la base de la eliminación de las faltas penales y de la creación de un nuevo proceso penal monitorio, se analizan las alternativas al proceso penal existentes en el derecho comparado y, en particular, en el ordenamiento jurídico inglés. Con ello, se pondrá de manifiesto las distintas alternativas existentes en otros países europeos así como los distintos problemas que ha planteado su aplicación. Finalmente, se propone un borrador de propuesta para la creación de un mecanismo alternativo al proceso penal en el derecho español aplicable frente a delincuentes primarios y siempre que se cometan delitos leves o menos graves.

The Draft Regulation on Safeguarding Competition in Air Transport:

European carriers are facing growing competition from foreign airlines that have often been accused of receiving government subsidies representing an unfair advantage. To address this issue, the European legislator introduced Regulation 868/2004 allowing to unilaterally impose financial burdens on non-EU carriers in an attempt to level the playing field. However, Regulation 868/2004, designed to protect against unfair pricing practices and subsidisation, remains a dead letter. The Act’s replacement legislation was heralded as one of the key components of the recently revitalised EU Aviation Strategy. This paper analyses the draft proposal for the new Regulation, controversies arising over its interpretation and application and finally the underlying concept of unilateral measures.

Draft Proposal of Determining Charges for Stabling of Rolling Stock within the ŽSR Railway Network

The contribution briefly presents analysis of payment definitions for the access to the railway infrastructure in Slovak Republic and in chosen countries of EU and consequently it suggests payment definitions for long-term track occupation by railway vehicles on ŽSR network.

Remarks on Memory Consistency Description

Two observations in the matter of pictorial as well as formal presentation of some consistency in distributed shared memory are made. The first concerns geometric transformation of line segments and points picturing read/write operations, the second converting partial order of the operations into linear order of their initiations and terminations. This allows to reduce serialization of the read/write operations as a whole to permutations of their beginnings and ends. Some draft proposals are introduced.

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors trial data sharing requirement and participants' consent

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) has published a draft proposal on de-identified individual clinical trial participant data (IPD) sharing, stating that sharing trial data requires planning to ensure appropriate research ethics committee approval and participants' informed consent. This is why its implementation will be deferred for 1 year after the publication of the final version of the policy. When conducting research with anonymous data, it is not feasible to obtain the informed consent from research participants. De-identified IPD are anonymous to the investigator who is performing the secondary analysis. De-identified IPD meta-analyses have been conducted for decades. Public funders, industry and foundations have recently implemented new IPD sharing procedures; almost all trials used for secondary analyses so far were conducted without participant's consent to de-identified IPD. As stated by the ICMJE, de-identified IPD protects participant's confidentiality. It follows that publishing secondary analyses from completed trials without participant's consent is ethically acceptable. From the ethical perspective, the ICMJE requirement on de-identified IPD sharing should be implemented from the day the policy is published.

Editorial

In this special issue, we have gathered a collection of a rather diverse, some may also argue, “unconventional”, set of articles utilising both knowledge from disciplines as well as utilising very different methodological approaches. The idea of this special issue was initially discussed with Dr Victor Zheng from the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Dr Caleb Kwong from the University of Essex, back in 2013. Two more colleagues, Professor Wong Siu-lun from the University of Hong Kong and Cherry Cheung from the London South Bank University, soon came on board. We took the idea to Dr Jun Li, then the General Editor of the Journal of Chinese Entrepreneurship, and were encouraged to submit a draft proposal. The guest co-editors of this issue drafted several versions of the call-for-papers in consultation with the editors and other entrepreneurship researchers. We decided to focus on the following themes: “stay within the family”, “Chinese aboard”, “entrepreneurship under special conditions”, “law and order”, “culture and Chinese entrepreneurialism” and “studying Chinese entrepreneurship in history”. As the proposal for the special issue developed, we submitted it to the renamed Journal of Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies. We announced the call-for-papers in Summer 2014 and attracted a good number of interests. All the articles in this issue have gone through rounds of revision and resubmission. Our reviewers have also played a major part in shaping the contribution and direction of the articles. All the reviews are blinded, and we would like to thank the reviewers for their constructive feedback. For quality control, the allocations of reviewers for each of the research papers were conducted by an editor, including the General Editor, who was not involved in the paper. We would also like to thank Dr Jun Li, the General Editor, for the opportunity and his guidance. Finally, we thank our authors for their stimulating and engaging manuscripts. © Emerald Group Publishing Limited 2016 Published by Emerald Group Publishing Limited

China's Proposed New Foreign Investment Law: A New Era for Foreign Investment in China

On January 19, 2015, China’s Ministry of Commerce released a Draft proposal for a new Foreign Investment Law in order to solicit opinions from the public. This new law, which if promulgated will replace the existing laws governing foreign investments, will reduce restrictions on foreign investment and streamline the approval process for foreign investment. However, the law also constitutes a crackdown on foreign investment in sensitive sectors. Most notably, the law will bring the variable interest corporate structure within the definition of foreign investment, and therefore within the ambit of regulation. This structure has been widely used by foreign investors to circumvent restrictions and prohibitions imposed on foreign investment in China. Many of the largest Chinese companies listed on U.S. exchanges are operating in China through a variable interest entity. Their standing under the new law is therefore of paramount importance.Unfortunately, the proposed law does not provide much clarity regarding how existing and new variable interest entities will be treated. Instead, the Draft maintains a broad and flexible approach that has informed the last 30 years of economic transition in China. This approach allows Chinese regulators to engage in selective enforcement, and has therefore been a popular policy choice of the Communist Party of China in it’s desire to enjoy the benefits of a market economy, while maintaining tight control. However, it also leaves many questions unanswered and issues unresolved and reduces legal certainty.It is therefore important to develop a more comprehensive understanding of how the FIL fits with the overall objectives of the Communist Party of China, which can provide some indication as to how these unresolved issues may be addressed. Examining the proposed law in its larger context, as a step in China’s economic transition, it becomes clear that ultimately Beijing adopts a cautious approach to foreign investment. The Draft, if enacted in its current form is neither a death sentence nor a thumb of approval for the VIE corporate structure. Instead, its provisions are broad enough that the impact of the law will depend upon their interpretation by authorities and courts.

Development of Uniform Design for Family Restaurants

This study proposed new uniform designs to increase the uniqueness of family restaurants located in S city; it aimed to develop different designs in consideration of brand image. Previously published studies on uniform marketing in the restaurant industry were reviewed and uniform designs were examined in four family restaurants in S city. With the basic data we obtained, two draft proposals were created for this city