Government-funded Projects Research Articles

Job Switch From the Private Sector to the Public Sector: The Characteristics of the Switchers

While significant attention has been directed to the job switchers from the public sector to the private sector, there have been few studies about the job switchers in the opposite direction. This paper examines whether sector switchers’ characteristics from the private to the public sector are different from stayers. It is related to a broader set of questions that ask how employees’ characteristics and sector switching are related. The empirical analysis using the National Survey of College Graduates (2003, 2006, 2010, and 2013) shows the switchers’ characteristics. First, females and unmarried employees were more likely to switch their jobs from the private to the public sector from 2003 to 2006. However, these gender and marriage status differences became insignificant from 2010 to 2013. Second, black employees were more likely to move from the private to the public sector for the whole period. Third, the more educated employees seemed to have more freedom to change their private to public careers. Fourth, employees with experience in government-funded projects were more likely to switch jobs from the private to the public. Fifth, workers who showed a low satisfaction level in job security and considered PSM as an essential job principle were more likely to shift across sectors from the private to public. This paper’s findings highlight a neglected sector switch from private to public and open a window into the extent and characteristics of employees who switch their jobs from the private to the public sector.

Использование специальных строительно-технических знаний в борьбе с коррупцией

Introduction. Corruption risks are essential restrictive factors that hamper the normal operation of the construction industry; they are the obstacles that hamper investment and construction activities; they prevent the successful implementation of government-funded projects and development programmes. Elimination of corruption threats through the expert examination of draft legal acts in terms of corruptogenicity, law enforcement monitoring, research into practical corruption, control over business processes in the construction industry and other actions represent the top priority actions performed within the framework of Russia’s effective anti-corruption policy. Materials and methods. Corruption risks can be easily differentiated depending on specific stages of investment and construction projects. It is logical to distinguish corruption risks at due diligence and project implementation stages, at the stages of construction and commissioning, and at the stage of facility operation. Results. The co-authors have analyzed the anti-corruption efforts exerted in the construction industry both by the federal government and parties to investment construction projects. The co-authors describe several elements of anti-corruption actions aimed at the improvement of the system of state governance, in particular, the co-authors address several actions, taken by the Ministry of construction, housing and utilities of the Russian Federation. The business community considers corruption control as an effectively operating multi-faceted system, that encompasses supervision, reporting, and law enforcement. Today any control over corruption threats, that accompany the implementation of investment and construction projects, is undergoing substantial transformations triggered by the introduction of information technologies (BIM, improvement of electronic purchasing and tendering systems, etc.) Traditional instruments of control (for example, audi­ting) should focus on the involvement of competent professionals, having in-depth knowledge of construction processes and capable of performing an expert examination of project’s economic and construction constituents and accompanying business processes. Conclusions. The co-authors have substantiated the need to apply a flexible multi-faceted approach to corruption control, which should not be limited to controlling instruments to ensure the comprehensive tackling of the corruption problem.

The Role of Collaboration Breadth Attributes in Research Project and Innovation: The Example of National Funded Projects in China

Collaboration is regarded as an effective approach to improve the efficiency of research resources and reduce risks in innovation activities. Collaboration breadth is an important feature of collaborative extent. Therefore, it is necessary to analyse its role between R&D subsidy and innovation and to explore its direct and indirect ties to innovation. The paper is based on government-funded research projects, and the results show that R&D subsidy and collaboration breadth of organizations have positive direct effect on innovation output. Meanwhile, R&D subsidy has positive effect to collaboration breadth. However, the linkage of collaboration breadth of researchers on innovation output is uncertainty. That is, the direct effect is positive, while the indirect effect is negative. It may suggest that collaboration breadth of researchers and innovation output may be affected by other factors, such as knowledge sharing or diffusion. Our contribution is to extend the theory of collaboration breadth and to suggest discussion of the role of knowledge in collaboration breadth.

Linking Governance to Performance of Government-funded Projects in Kenya

The purpose of this paper is to identify project governance practices that affect the performance of government funded projects, especially in developing economies such as Kenya. Research has shown that successful project implementation plays a major role in building a country's economy. Despite this fact, failure in such projects is persistently being witnessed. To understand this, extant literature was conducted on project governance and performance of projects. Various studies seem to agree that project governance is a major project success factor that ensures project success criteria is met. While this has been renowned, there is no set of agreed upon project governance practices that suits all types of projects and consequently these practices will be determined by the specific project context. This then formed the basis of the study. Four governance practices are identified as contractual governance, business model governance, project risk governance and monitoring and control that if implemented well in projects may increase chances of project success. Future studies should however be geared towards developing a comprehensive list of project governance practices.

Survey on Adoption of Capstone Design Courses in Cosmetology Department

In non-engineering departments such as cosmetology as well, capstone design has been operated as an educational program and evaluation method, generating some positive educational effects. To examine the adoption of capstone design among domestic cosmetology-related college curriculums, this study investigated the total number of credits granted, distribution of academic departments by school, supporting units within academic departments and schools and receipt of government subsidy from the Ministry of Education, and the results found the followings: In 2018, a total of 3,590 students from 31 departments under school of natural sciences and 22 departments under school of art and physical education completed cosmetology-related capstone design courses. In average, each student was assisted by KRW 90,532. The supporting units were operated in cooperation with office of academic affairs (23 colleges), academia-industry cooperation foundation (21 colleges) and strategic support center for government-funded projects (8 colleges). The course titles differed by college. In fact, new and unique capstone design course titles have been used by academic major. It is anticipated that the study results would be available as basic data needed to enhance educational effects for applying capstone design courses and planning government-funded projects, search new items and improve their utilization.

Exploring the resources associated with consumer vulnerability: Designing nuanced retail hardship programs

Retailers across a variety of sectors offer hardship programs to assist consumers who are experiencing vulnerability. Hardship programs are typically designed as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, viewing consumer recipients as one homogenous group. To investigate the resources associated with consumer vulnerability, we thematically analyzed reports from 20 government-funded projects in Australia which directly assisted 32,498 low-income households in the energy retail sector. Our findings reveal three resource ‘bundles’: connections-resource-bundle, convenience-resource-bundle and security-resource-bundle. We then provide recommendations for retailers and service providers on what they can do to alleviate hardship for consumers within each resource-bundle.

Foreign assistance or attack? Impact of the expanded Global Gag Rule on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Kenya

In 2017, the Trump Administration reinstated and expanded the Global Gag Rule (GGR). This policy requires non-governmental organisations (NGOs) not based in the US to certify that they will not provide, counsel, refer, or advocate for abortion as a method of family planning in order to receive most categories of US global health assistance. Robust empirical evidence demonstrating the policy’s impacts is acutely lacking. This paper describes the effects of the expanded GGR policy in Kenya eighteen months after its reinstatement. We conducted semi-structured interviews with purposively selected representatives of US- and non-US-based NGOs, as well as managers and health providers at public and private health facilities, between September 2018 and March 2019. Organisations reported critical funding loss as they were forced to choose between US government-funded projects and projects supporting safe abortion. This resulted in the fragmentation of sexual and reproductive health and HIV services, and closure of some service delivery programmes. At public and private health facilities, participants reported staffing shortages and increased stock-outs of family planning and safe abortion commodities. The expanded GGR’s effects transcended abortion care by also disrupting collaboration and health promotion activities, strengthening opposition to sexual and reproductive health and rights in some segments of Kenyan civil society and government. Our findings indicate that the GGR exposes and exacerbates the weaknesses and vulnerabilities of the Kenyan health system, and illuminates the need for action to mitigate these harms.

Inequalities in Pediatric Fracture Care Timeline Based on Insurance Type.

Introduction:Socioeconomic and insurance status are often linked with limited access to health care. Despite several government-funded projects aimed at curtailing these barriers, pediatric orthopaedic patients continue to experience delays in receiving timely care for fracture treatments. This delay has been well-identified within the orthopaedic literature but, to our knowledge, has never been characterized based on timeline. Thus, the goal of this study is to evaluate the role of ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and insurance type on the timeline of pediatric patients to obtain orthopaedic care within our community.Methods:Pediatric patients presenting to our clinic for the treatment of one of 21 most common fractures were included. Patient demographics and the timeline of patient care were collected by retrospective chart review.Results:Government-funded insurance accounted for 60.6% of the 413 patients. These patients experienced significant (P < 0.001) delays in access to care when compared with commercial insurance patients; the time between injury and referral as well as the overall time from injury to orthopaedic evaluation was 2.8 and twofold greater at 4.4 days and 9.2 days, respectively. A strong correlation was established between income levels and insurance type.Discussion:Pediatric patients with a lower socioeconomic status are more likely to rely on government-funded insurance and experience delays in fracture evaluation.

Modeling the System Acquisition Using Deep Reinforcement Learning

The process of acquiring large-scale complex systems is usually characterized by cost and schedule overruns. We develop and evaluate a model of the acquisition process that accounts for the strategic behavior of different parties. Specifically, we cast our model in terms of government-funded projects and assume the following steps. First, the government publishes a request for bids. Then, private firms offer their proposals in a bidding process and the winner bidder enters in a contract with the government. The contract describes the system requirements and the corresponding monetary transfers for meeting them. The winner firm devotes effort to deliver a system that fulfills the requirements. This can be assumed as a game that the government plays with the bidder firms. The objective of this paper is to study how different parameters in the acquisition procedure affect the bidders' behaviors and therefore, the utility of the government. Using reinforcement learning, we seek to learn the optimal policies of involved actors in this game. In particular, we study how the requirements, contract types such as cost-plus and incentive-based contracts, number of bidders, problem complexity, etc., affect the acquisition procedure. Furthermore, we study the bidding strategy of the private firms and how the contract types affect their strategic behavior. Also, we study the effects of different contract types on the winner's optimal effort level necessary to meet the system requirements. We run exhaustive numerical simulations, which show that cost-plus contracts are particularly prone to strategic misrepresentation. This analysis can be expanded to help the government select procedures that achieve specific goals, such us minimizing cost overruns.

정부 보조금 사업의 성과평가방안에 관한 연구: 보조금 사업의 성과평가 지표설계를 중심으로

정부 보조금 사업의 성과평가방안에 관한 연구: 보조금 사업의 성과평가 지표설계를 중심으로

USING ACTIVITY THEORY FOR MODELLING TRANSFORMATIVE DIGITAL LEARNING

In support of ongoing educational transformation in post-Soviet nations, this article positions activity theory (in the tradition of Engeström) as a framework for modelling changes towards innovative forms of collabo-rative, fully online digital learning. A strength of activi-ty theory is that it adopts a holistic socio-technical per-spective in which teachers, learners, technologies, peda-gogical values, roles/identities and rules/cultures are considered together as interdependent elements of col-lective activity. An illustrative example is offered to model a current and envisioned (target) activity system. In addition, a few considerations to guide research are offered. These include an emphasis on measuring the general readiness of students and teachers, and the need to explore gender divides. The goal is to help envision program transformations towards online learning at two partner universities as part of Ukrainian and Lat-vian, government-funded projects.

Public funding, perverse incentives, and counterproductive outcomes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the adverse incentives at the front end of government-funded projects with concentrated benefits and no liabilities for the privileged groups. In particular, the author discusses the risk of perverse incentives of the types typically found in the development aid sector that results in counterproductive outcomes. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses a simple conceptual framework based on agency theory. A qualitative, case-based approach with purposive sampling was chosen for the empirical part of the study. Eight Norwegian projects were selected because incentive problems were to be expected, and one development aid project served as a reference case. Findings The paper finds that low strategic project success corresponded well with the terms of financing. There were clear indications of agency problems, in three cases to the extent that the incentives turned perverse. The paper concludes with a discussion of relevant measures to prevent the emergence of perverse incentives. Originality/value The paper contributes to an improved understanding of the incentives related to public project initiation and selection, which is an under-researched topic and generally not included in formal project governance schemes. The research should therefore be useful to scholars as well as practitioners within the field of project governance.

State Financial Losses in Public Procurement Construction Projects in Indonesia

To sustainably eradicate corruption, extraordinary efforts are needed particularly in the context of construction projects. In this study, the state losses in government-funded construction projects in Indonesia is analyzed. Research data were collected through field observations for types of work that were not completed per technical specifications. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics. The results indicate that structural work was responsible for 98.70% of total state losses. The top three state losses were found to be associated with concrete, roads, and front stonework, and the values are 40.40%, 28.43%, and 18.23% respectively. Loss in architectural work was the smallest (1.30%). The outcomes of this survey offer a knowledge basis for law enforcement authorities and construction project supervisors to pay more attention to projects involving concrete structures, rigid pavement structures during road construction, and stonework.

Cardiovascular research in France: Evolution of scientific activities and production over the last decade

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a major cause of death worldwide, and fruitful research is needed for future advances in this field. To analyse the scientific production and vitality of French cardiovascular clinical research, and its evolution over the last decade. We first used Lab Times online data obtained through the Web of Science (Thomson-Reuters, Toronto, ON, Canada), then the PubMed database (National Center for Biotechnology Information [NCBI], Bethesda, MD, USA), for studies published between 2005 and 2015 in the multidisciplinary and cardiology journals with the highest impact factors. French abstracts submitted and accepted at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) congress were provided directly by the ESC. The number of cardiovascular projects was analysed through the http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov database and the French site for government-funded projects, over the decade from 2008 to 2017. Overall, France was ranked fifth in Europe and eighth worldwide for CVD publications. During the 10-year period from 2005 to 2015, French publications accounted for 0.2-0.3% of articles in top multidisciplinary journals and 2% of articles in top cardiology journals. We observed a steady decrease in French abstract submissions at the ESC congress (from 5% to 3.5% in 10 years), and in 2017, France was ranked eighth in Europe. Across European countries, France has been ranked first for declared cardiovascular research on http://www.ClinicalTrials.gov over the last 3 years, for both interventional and observational studies. Regarding the Hospital Programme of Clinical Research, heart ranked second after neurosciences. France is very well represented in terms of new CVD projects, but actual French scientific production scores poorly. Investing in CVD research is a priority to increase the level of publication and to compete with other leading countries.

Addressing organizational barriers to continuity of care in the Danish mental health system – a comparative analysis of 14 national intervention projects

Background: Continuity of mental health care is central to improve the conditions of people with enduring mental disorders. In Denmark, several government-funded projects on the improvement of continuity of mental health care have been initiated since 2009.Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate how national intervention projects on continuity of mental health care have addressed major barriers for continuity of care and extract general learning points from the projects on the improvement of continuity of care.Method: The study was designed as a thematic document analysis of external evaluations of 14 major national projects on the improvement of continuity of routine mental health care from 2009 to 2017. The data material was processed through thematic coding and comparative analysis.Results: The analysis was organized around four main barriers for continuity: Lack of models for collaboration, different professional cultures and methods, lack of channels of communication, and intersectoral differences in management, economy, and legislation. The first three barriers were addressed in a predominant part of the projects through development of collaborative models, common tools and communication systems. The latter structural barrier was not addressed in any of the projects.Conclusion: There is an ongoing need to address barriers for continuity of mental health care. So far, there has been a much larger focus on organizational, cultural and communicational aspects of continuity than on structural aspects. The study calls for an increased focus on how changes in existing managerial, economic and legislative structures can improve continuity of care.

Research trends in obesity & obesogenic environments in Korea.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVESGlobally, it has been projected that there will be 2 billion overweight and 1 billion obese individuals by 2030. In Korea, the prevalence of adult obesity (BMI>25) increased from 29.7% in 2009 to 32.4% in 2015. Moreover, childhood obesity, which leads to adulthood obesity, has increasingly become a social problem. The purpose of this review is to summarize the scientific basis for the development of effective models and policies aimed at preventing obesity over a lifetime based on research modeling obesogenic environments.MATERIALS/METHODSThe review focuses on the characteristics of obesity prevalence and trends in 3P analysis (papers, patents, and products) as well as government-funded projects in Korean obesity obesogenic environments over the last 10 years.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONAs a result of the 3P analysis, studies on obesity risk factors were frequently carried out, according to two data bases RISS (4.9%) and PubMed (24.7%). Since there were only 17% patents related to the mechanism of preventing obesity in 7,951 Korean patents related to obesity, new paradigms of technologies to dominate the global obesity markets are needed. After government-funded projects were analyzed, communication and cooperation in multi-governmental departments were suggested to elucidate the characteristics of Korean obesity. Government should also produce short- and long-term road maps to develop a practical, successful outcome. Although the rate of obesity in Korea is currently lower than in other developed countries according to WHO criteria, without adequate governmental intervention, obesity rates will approach those of the top countries with high incidence rates of obesity within the next 10 years.

Debates sobre enseñanza de la historia: identidad canadiense, pensamiento histórico y conciencia histórica

Este artículo profundiza en los debates históricos y actuales en Canadá sobre la historia nacional y la enseñanza de la historia en el complicado escenario de trece jurisdicciones educativas de Canadá. En este trabajo se analizan los debates sobre los contenidos en la enseñanza de la historia y en los libros de texto, así como los enfoques en la escuela. Se analizan las formas en que un enfoque de pensamiento histórico está consolidándose en todo el país en el período actual, con una mayor atención a la investigación en la enseñanza de la historia y su difusión y su mayor presencia en los planes provinciales. Se considera el papel del gobierno federal en estos cambios, las organizaciones privadas sin fines de lucro, y los proyectos financiados por el gobierno nacional, tales como el Historical Thinking Project y The History Education Network.

Exploring the Future Directions for the Government-Funded University Development Projects Using Social Network Analysis: Based on the Editorials on University Development and the Fourth Industrial Revolution Published in Major Korean Newspapers

Exploring the Future Directions for the Government-Funded University Development Projects Using Social Network Analysis: Based on the Editorials on University Development and the Fourth Industrial Revolution Published in Major Korean Newspapers

Perspectives on corporate social responsibility as a route to citizen empowerment

ABSTRACTThe integration of corporate social responsibility in existing government-funded projects geared towards community upliftment is fundamental for the restoration of humanity. The study aims to untangle the intricacies by the citizens in imposing support from government-funded projects while significantly aiming to contribute towards policy considerations, enterprises, institutions and communities. The study was approached from a case study perspective. The lessons from the case study will be integrated and synthesised within the content analytical framework. The findings from the literature review demonstrated that citizen empowerment is a critical factor that could contribute to enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in the provision of goods and services. The study recommends that there is a need for a clear regulatory framework for corporate social responsibility in the public sector. This original article contributes to the body of knowledge within the development context and public policy.

Public-private partnership in enhancing farmers’ adaptation to drought: Insights from the Lujiang Flatland in the Nu River (Upper Salween) valley, China

Agriculture is an important type of land use but suffers from drought, especially under global climate change scenarios. Although government is a major actor in helping farmers to adapt to drought, lack of funds has constrained its efforts. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mechanism has been widely applied in urban infrastructure development to raise fund for public goods and services, but very few studies explored its role in rural areas. Based on interview of 139 farming households and open-ended interview of village heads, government officials and company representatives, in the Lujiang Flatland in the Nu River (Upper Salween) Valley, Southwest China, this paper aims to reveal how PPP functions to enhance farmers' adaptation to drought. We found that farmers have developed multiple strategies in their own ways to adapt to drought, including pumping and store water, using water-saving irrigation techniques, changing of crops, and strengthening water management at the community level, while insufficient funds, water resource scarcity and mismatch of time-scale of crop growth and drought even hindered their adaptation options. Limited fund sources, gap in policy implementation and weak performance of government-funded projects hindered governmental supports to be effective. Weak motivation and distrusted by farmers limited the engagement of private enterprises in supporting farmers to adapt to drought. PPP mechanism has the potential to mobilize fund from multiple sources, share costs, risks and benefits among different stakeholders, combine both scientific and local knowledge, and reduce uncertainty through formal and informal institutions. Benefited from these advantages, PPP mechanism could improve project performance, thus increase farmers’ adaptation options and resilience to drought. This study offers referential lessons and valuable insights for agricultural development, especially for mountain communities vulnerable to exceptional and recurrent drought episodes under warming climate.