Equity In Distribution Of Resources Research Articles

PLANNING PROGRAMMING BUDGETING SYSTEM (PPBS) AND CONTROL OF PUBLIC SECTOR ORGANISATIONS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF INDUSTRIALIZED AND EMERGING ECONOMIES

Public sector organizations play a critical role in the economic and social development of both industrialized and emerging economies. The Planning, Programming, Budgeting System (PPBS) and Control is a management approach that has been widely adopted to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of resource allocation and utilization in public sector organizations. This study provides an overview of the key principles and practices of PPBS, and it highlights the differences and similarities in its implementation in industrialized and emerging economies. In these contexts, PPBS is often used to enhance fiscal discipline, promote equity in resource distribution, and reduce corruption. The focus is on short-term planning and basic budgeting practices, with a greater reliance on traditional input-based budgeting methods. While there are clear differences in the sophistication and maturity of PPBS in industrialized and emerging economies, both share common goals, including improved governance, enhanced service delivery, and efficient resource utilization. Furthermore, many developing economies are gradually adopting elements of the PPBS from their developed counterparts, incorporating best practices and adapting them to their specific circumstances. This study underscores the importance of considering the unique context and challenges that public sector organizations face in industrialized and emerging economies when implementing PPBS. It also highlights the potential for cross-learning and knowledge transfer between these two groups, contributing to the continued evolution and improvement of public sector management practices worldwide. KEYWORDS: Budgeting; Control; Industrialized economies; Emerging economies; Public sector organization; Planning programming budgeting system

Exploring Student-Administration Relations in Educational Institutions: A Multifaceted Analysis

Through an in-depth investigation, this article explores the intricate relationship between students and administration in educational institutions. In order to comprehend the mechanisms that shape a vital relationship, the study looks into a variety of aspects, including communication, resource allocation, leadership, conflict resolution, and student empowerment. To obtain the research objectives, the researcher distributed 60 Likert scale structured questionnaires directly to the students in the 10 different colleges for the data collection. The data were collected from March 10 to April 25 2023. The survey research design was used. The collected data was analyzed using the SPSS 20 and excel software to determine the results. The statistical tools correlation and regression were used to analyze the data. The findings provided insights into the effectiveness of communication channels, equity in resource distribution, leadership impact on student engagement, conflict resolution strategies, and student empowerment initiatives. Thus, this investigation enhances our comprehension of the intricate relationships between students and administration, assisting in developing more encouraging and inclusive learning environments.

The role of production factors on landings heterogeneity between EU countries

Distribution of natural resources is considered to be a key aspect in ensuring the success of conservation policies. The Common Fisheries Policy, implemented by the European Union (EU), is an example of long-term international cooperation for sustainability of the marine environment. Nonetheless, continued enforcement of the policy is threatened by its insufficient effectiveness in restoring fish stocks and the tensions that have arisen over unequal distribution of benefits. Recent adoption of the Blue Growth Strategy represents an additional challenge for EU fisheries, since it encourages new alternative economic activities. The present analysis aims to identify ways of enhancing the sustainability of EU fisheries while achieving greater equity in resource distribution and maintaining the activity of the fishing industry, an important staple of many coastal communities in the EU. To this end, the study decomposes heterogeneity amongst per capita landing rates of EU Member States. A number of findings from the decompositions used may be highlighted. Firstly, most of the heterogeneity in per-capita landing rates between Member States occurs within the main EU fishing areas, especially FAO Areas 27 and 37. Secondly, fishing production factors affect per-capita landing heterogeneity to a different extent in Areas 27 and 37. The only exception is the number of fishers, the factor contributing most to heterogeneity in both areas. Technological factors appear to diminish heterogeneity in Area 27 whilst positively contributing to heterogeneity in Area 37. More efficient fleet adjustments could be designed taking into account these contributions by production factors to heterogeneity within fisheries.

Public Financing of Human Development in India: A Review

Role of public financing of human development (HD) is inevitable, especially for developing countries like India where access to resources and economic opportunities are not equitably distributed among people. Governments aim to achieve equity in distribution of resources through allocative and redistributive policies whereas macroeconomic stabilisation policies aim to achieve higher economic growth and stability in the price level. Expenditure policies of the governments envisage in delivering larger public goods and services to enable people to take part in economic activities by investing in human capital and infrastructure developments. Progressivity of the tax system helps in achieving equity by redistribution of resources among people. Being merit goods, expenditures on education, health, and poverty eradication make it a case for public investment which empowers people to improve human capital. The benefit of universal economic participation is expected to contribute in larger mobilisation of public resources over time. Lack of economic opportunities and earning a respectable income may increase dependence on public transfers which may reduce fiscal space of the governments to finance programmes to promote overall economic growth. The objective of this article is to review existing studies on public financing of HD in India and highlight emerging challenges.

A performance-based budget in the judiciary: allocation of resources and performance variability in first instance courts. An analysis of three case studies

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to compare the different performance-based budgeting models used in the judiciaries of three European countries: Italy, Finland and the Netherlands. In particular, this paper focusses on the criteria adopted by these three countries to fund the courts, and it analyses the effects of these criteria on the distribution of resources and performance variability among first instance courts.Design/methodology/approachThis exploratory research is based on a literature review and data analysis of three case studies. Equity in resource distribution and equality in courts' performance are assessed using the coefficient of variation.FindingsThe preliminary findings suggest the following: (1) funding models with a close link between performance and budget better guarantee equitable allocation of resources among courts and, therefore, more equal performance among courts within a country; (2) unbalanced allocation of resources is associated with disparities among courts in terms of judicial efficiency and effectiveness and consequently, unequal treatment of/outcomes for citizens coming before the law.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper is part of a broader research project aimed at analysing the impact of performance budgeting on the efficiency, quality, organization and values of judiciaries. This study only considers quantitative aspects of performance, but it will be followed by further analysis that will explore performance and judicial budgeting from other perspectives.Practical implicationsThis paper describes examples of three different models of performance-based judicial budgeting from other countries, which aim to reform the budgeting processes of the judiciaries in question. The paper emphasizes the importance of adopting rational and transparent funding criteria in order to ensure judicial independence and accountability and to balance courts' performance, guaranteeing the principle that every citizen must obtain the same treatment before the law.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the existing performance-based budgeting literature by studying its application to the judiciary, which, due to its peculiarities, is an area that has been overlooked in previous studies and deserves further attention. This study contributes to the court administration literature by exploring the issue of budgeting, which, despite its importance, is still a neglected subject.

Universal Health Coverage

Universal Health Coverage has attracted global attention as an ideal vehicle that will drive health care services to the individuals, families, and communities globally. Good health systems are capable of serving the needs of entire populations, including the availability of infrastructure, human resources, health technologies, and medicines. This study seeks to identify the barriers and challenges which have hindered the provision of basic health care to communities and suggest ways of addressing some of them. Literature search reviewed 40 materials which were more relevant. Results revealed that there have been disparities in the provision of healthcare. Challenges in service provision include; lack of political commitment, weak health system resulting from limited financial allocation and poor leadership, lack of adequate number of skilled human resources, equipment and supplies and poor infrastructures. For UHC to be successful, an effective and well-functioning Primary Health Care (PHC) system is essential. Thus health systems can be strengthened through financial allocation; training of skilled and well-motivated healthcare workers. Also provision of right equipment and supplies, equity in resource distribution, improvement of infrastructures to meet the needs of the people is fundamental.

Correlation of the Dimensions of Organizational Justice and Responsibility in Hospitals

Background and Objectives: organizational justice is employees’ perceptions of fairness and equity in their behaviors and relationships so this perception can be effective in responding to patients. Accordingly, this study aimed to decide the correlation between the dimensions of organizational justice and responsibility at affiliated hospitals of Tehran University of Medical Sciences in 2015. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study performed on 342 patients and staff with direct relation to patients. Niehoff and Moorman’s questionnaire and WHO standard questionnaire used to measure justice and responsibility. Data analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics (t-test, ANOVA and Pearson) with SPSS software. Results: The mean and standard deviation of justice and responsibility was obtained 62.70±15.23 and 105.16 ± 18.75. Correlation analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between justice dimensions and responsibility so that the weakest and strongest relationship was obtained between distributive justice and Quality of Basic Amenities and interactional justice and dignity. In addition, there was no significant relationship between demographic variables and justice, and only type of insurance and academic degree had a significant relationship with responsibility. Conclusion: The results showed that the level of responsibility could be improved by improving employees' perceptions of justice. This will lead to a better vision of the hospital in the minds of patients, which will increase the ability to attract customers. Therefore, it is recommended to managers to enhance the responsibility by organizational justice, especially equity in resource distribution.

Optimal positioning of dynamic wireless charging infrastructure in a road network for battery electric vehicles

Dynamic wireless charging (DWC) offers a plausible solution to extending Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) driving range. DWC is costly to deploy and thus its locations need to be optimized. This raises a question often encountered in practice for infrastructure investment: how to determine the optimal locations of DWC facilities in a network. In this paper, we propose a sequential two-level planning approach considering the objectives of both the public infrastructure planning agency and the BEV users. Two different planners’ objectives namely, total system travel time and total system net energy consumption are considered. Besides these objectives, constraints such as agency budget, range reassurance, and equity in resource distribution are also addressed at the planner’s level. For each objective, BEV drivers respond by choosing their preferred route based on the location of DWC facilities implemented by the planner. An effective solution algorithm is utilized that has the capability of solving relatively large-scale real-world networks within a reasonable computational time. The numerical experiment and case study results provide useful insights on optimally positioning DWC infrastructure to minimize societal cost and energy.

Records management practice in support of governance in the county governments of Kenya, a case of Nyamira County

PurposeThe study aims to establish the records management practice, in support of governance in Nyamira County. The objectives were to determine the types of records managed in Nyamira County, to establish the contribution of records management in the running of Nyamira County, to determine the adoption of records management policies in Nyamira County and to assess strategies that will lead to sound records management in Nyamira County.Design/methodology/approachThe sample population comprised 27 respondents who were drawn from different categories of staff through census sampling as follows: 4 records officers, 3 record clerks, 10 chief officers and 10 secretaries. The study used a qualitative research approach where interview schedules and observation were used for data collection.FindingsIt was established that Nyamira County generated various types of records including policy related records, financial records and auditing records. It was submitted that records management is essential in support of governance as it forms a basis for equity in resource distribution, hence fostering confidence among the public, which results in good will from the people on County government projects. The study noted various challenges including inadequately trained staff on records management, lack of records disposal and retention schedules, inadequate equipment and space and inadequate policies and standards.Originality/valueThe study concluded that poor records management practiced in Nyamira County was a great hindrance to good governance and recommended that county governments should formulate and implement records management policies, standards and guidelines and provide adequate budgetary allocations to ensure that the records management practice that is in place supports governance.

Association of regional disparity of obstetrics and gynecologic services with children and infants mortality rates: A cross-sectional study

Equity in distribution of resources is considered as an important priority in health care systems. Equitable distribution of obstetrics and gynecology (Ob/Gyn) services in the country level is critical in maternal and neonatal health for qualitative promotion of maternal care in pregnancy, delivery, and post-delivery periods. The present study aimed at determining regional disparity of obstetrics and gynecology services and its association with children and infants mortality rates. This was a descriptive-analytical study conducted in 2015 to investigate distribution of Ob/Gyn services using three indicators of number of nursing and midwifery personnel, total Ob/Gyn specialists, and total delivery beds among 30 provinces of the country. Equity criteria in the present study included population, normal vaginal deliveries, cesarean sections, and total deliveries. Data were gathered using a researcher-made form and Stata 12 was used to calculate Gini coefficient. The association of Ob/Gyn services with children and infant mortality rates was investigated using SPSS package and linear regression test. The lowest Gini coefficient was observed in distribution of nursing and midwifery personnel in delivery wards in terms of vaginal delivery (0.38 from 1) and the highest value was related to distribution of Ob/Gyn specialists in terms of vaginal delivery (0.73 from 1). Infant mortality was significantly associated with number of nursing and midwifery personnel in delivery wards, and total number of Ob/Gyn specialists. Considering new population policies in Iran and increased fertility rate, it is recommended to facilitate accessibility of the required services for the women, particularly those of reproductive age.

Trend of Inequality in the Distribution of Health Care Resources in Iran

Background: Equity of access to health care services is one of the main goals of health system. Equity in resource distribution in health section constitutes one of the main dimensions of the equity. The aim of the study is determining how doctors, paramedics and hospital beds are distributed in Iran.Materials and Methods: This analytical study was conducted in Iran. Data on 2006-2013 were collected from Statistics Center of Iran and Iran Ministry of Health and Medical Education. After determining the population of 31 provinces and number of physician, paramedics and hospital beds in them, the equal distribution of these facilities and personnel were analyzed using Lorenz curve and Gini coefficient. Stata 12 and DASP2.2 were used for analyzing Gini index. Results: The total number of physicians, paramedics and hospital beds were 37,000, 217,000 and 138,000, respectively in 2013. Tehran as the capital of Iran had the highest percentage of beds among all provinces. The number of physicians, paramedics and hospital beds per 10,000 population of the country were 5.6, 31.3 and 18.5, respectively for 2013. The calculated Gini coefficients for each of them were 0.47, 0.39 and 0.58, respectively.Conclusion: According to Gini coefficients, physicians, paramedics and hospital beds have an unequal distribution throughout the country. However, these distributions are different in different provinces. We recommend creating a comprehensive and continuous monitoring system for equitable allocation of health care resources.[GMJ.2016;5(3):122-130]

Lisrel Analysis of Factors for Empowering Producers to Abolish Livelihood Poverty through Optimizing Agricultural Water Resources Management

Problem Statement: Most of the projected increase in global population will take place in third world countries that already suffer from water, food, and health problems. Irrigation in developing countries tends to be stereotyped as equity reducing, in competition with other uses for scarce water resources. Agricultural intensification through the practice of irrigation as a strategy for poverty reduction is examined. Water users were surveyed in order to explore their perception about the factors influencing the optimizing water consumption in agricultural sectors in Iran. This study looks into water-poverty interfaces as well as into approaches to and tools of, managing water in such a manner that water sector activities can contribute to alleviation of poverty. In addition, this study aims to empower water users with information on agricultural wastewater. Approach: The methodology used in this study involved a combination of descriptive and quantitative research. The total population was 350 producers in six provinces in Iran. Results: Based on the perception of the respondents and ordinal factor analysis, the factors were categorized into four group’s namely technical and practical, recognition and managing water equipment and constructive ordered by the magnitude of their impact. The total variance explained by these 4 factors is 54.27% as effective mechanisms in optimizing agricultural water resources management. Structural equation model is expected to be useful for designing targeted optimizing agricultural water resources management and poverty alleviation strategies that also enhance agricultural-productivity growth. Conclusion/Recommendations: Where there is equity in resource distribution, the impact of improved water management on agricultural productivity growth has been more poverty reducing. Using water better means improving the productivity of agricultural water in both irrigated and rainfed systems, through multiple-use water system, integrated water resources planning, and targeted research.

Fighting for Mental Health: A Personal View

NORMAN SARTORIUS: Fighting for Mental Health: A Personal View. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2002, 256 pp., $45.00, ISBN 0-521-58243-1. Fighting for Mental Health is a collection of 19 essays reflecting on Dr. Norman Sartorius's lifetime of work as an international advocate for mental health. Sartorius is a tireless and incredibly prolific psychiatrist who has used his numerous positions, including Director of the Division of Mental Health of the World Health Organization (WHO) from 1976-1993, as a bully pulpit to campaign for greater understanding, study, and provision of mental health services worldwide to 500 million people with mental illness. The well-written, but somewhat repetitive, essays are divided into three areas: Part I reviews the context of mental health programs within society's views of health and medicine in seven essays. The first essay identifies three fundamental principles of civilized society that should be applicable to those with mental illness: equity in resource distribution; attention to those unable to effectively advocate for themselves; and the duties and responsibilities of all members, including those with mental illness. In the second essay, Sartorius argues that a simplistic call for increased resources for education, research, and treatment without attention to the overall socioeconomic development and the political realities of the world, will lead to failure of mental health advocacy. The remaining five chapters present a pessimistic assessment of the semantic confusion and vagueness of mental health concepts; the lack of impact and irrelevance of much research in mental health; the lack of consensus for strategies to address the impact of urbanization on health and mental health; and the low priority given to mental health programs. The five essays in Part II examine the relationship between medicine and mental health. Sartorius begins by providing a context for the necessity of accepting the reality that worldwide mental health services can be provided effectively only in the context of primary health care. The relevance of the WHO definition of five principles of primary health care (emphasis on essential priorities, scientific soundness of treatment and prevention methods, universal accessibility, with active participation of individuals, and practicality/affordability) for mental health is reviewed. He challenges us to see this as an effective collaboration that can enhance the role of psychiatry while providing necessary mental health care to those in need. Two case studies are used to illustrate the problems: the evolution of the mental health program of the WHO during the past fifty years and obstacles to delivering mental health care to the elderly. …