Government Point Of View Research Articles

Information Flow Between the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange: A Transfer Entropy Approach

The purpose of this paper is to determine whether there was information flow between the stock markets of Zimbabwe and South Africa during the time the Zimbabwean economy was dollarized. The author used econophysics-based Shannonian and Rényian transfer entropy estimates to establish the flow of information between the markets in tranquil periods as well as at the tails of return distributions. The only significant Shannonian transfer entropy estimate was from Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) resources index to Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) mining index. The findings show that the only significant tail dependence was between JSE All Share Index (JALSH) and ZSE Mining on the one hand, and between JSE Resources and ZSE Mining on the other hand. However, the magnitudes of the effective transfer entropy values are relatively low, showing that there are weak linkages between the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. The lack of significant information flows between the exchanges of the two countries offer opportunities to fund managers for portfolio diversification. From a government point of view, it is imperative that the tempo of economic and political reform be accelerated so that integration between the markets can be fast-tracked. Integrated markets will benefit Zimbabwe as this will reduce the cost of equity and accelerate economic growth.

Facilitators and barriers for the implementation of telemedicine from a local government point of view - a cross-sectional survey in Germany

BackgroundTelemedicine offers additional ways of delivering medical care, e.g., in primary care in rural areas. During the last decades, projects including telemedicine are being implemented worldwide. However, implementation of telemedicine is in some countries, e.g., Germany somewhat slower compared to northern European countries. One important part of successful implementation is to include the citizen perspective. The aims of this study were to explore the perception of representatives of the local government regarding telemedicine in the context of a perceived GP shortage and to tailor future telemedicine offers according to these perceived needs.MethodsConsidering the multidisciplinary assessment suggested by the Model for Assessment of Telemedicine a questionnaire with 19 questions was developed by identifying determinants of telemedicine out the literature. After pre-testing, the questionnaire was sent to all 2199 mayors from the federal states of Schleswig-Holstein (North Germany) and Baden-Württemberg (South Germany) as representatives of the citizens (cross- sectional study; full population survey). The final questionnaire contained sections for socio-demographic data, telemedicine and perceived GP shortage. All responses from November 2018 until 2019 were included and analyzed descriptively.ResultsThe response rate was 32% (N = 699), of which 605 were included in the analysis. A majority of the participants stated they live in a rural area and 46% were in the office for up to 8 years. The mayors had predominantly a positive perception about telemedicine (60%) and 76% of them stated, their community would benefit from telemedicine. A GP shortage was reported by 39% of the participants. The highest risk of telemedicine was seen in misdiagnosing. In case of an emergency situation 291 (45%) of the participants considered data privacy as not as relevant. Mayors from a community with a perceived GP shortage had a more negative perception regarding telemedicine.ConclusionThe acceptance of telemedicine is rapidly rising compared to former studies. Communities with a perceived GP shortage had a more negative perception. Barriers like data security concerns were seen as less important in case of an emergency. The highest risk of telemedicine was seen in misdiagnosing. These findings need to be considered in designing future telemedicine offers.

Impact investment in marine conservation

Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are promising examples of Nature-Based Solutions that can protect diversity while delivering ecosystem services. However insufficient funding for effective management and expansion of MPAs remains a challenge and one that particularly affects developing countries. During the last ten years, a community of investors seeking positive social and environmental impacts alongside financial returns, have stepped in to help fill this marine conservation financing gap. An innovative collaborative management approach has been recently implemented in the Dominican Republic for one of the largest MPAs in the Caribbean. Blended finance solutions mixing catalytic, development and impact finance have been used to cover the up-front capital needs. MPA revenues are being generated for MPA management and investor returns, via a range of sustainable finance tools including fees paid by visitors. The solution offers interesting outcomes that uses catalytic and development finance to mobilise commercial impact finance into MPAs. From a Government point of view, the approach provides empirical evidence of how non-public funding can become part of the financing options for a country’s MPA network, reducing the financial burden on Public Budgets. Scalability of the approach seems limited by the number of MPAs with tangible business models.

A framework for analyzing impact of potential financial/fiscal incentives for promoting institutional solar cooking in India

A framework to estimate the extent of various incentives required to ensure financial attractiveness of institutional solar cooking is presented with typical examples from India. Incentives considered are capital subsidy/viability gap funding, accelerated depreciation, interest subsidy, and investment tax credit have been considered for three commercially available designs of solar cookers that can be used for institutional cooking (SK-23, Scheffler dish (direct), and Scheffler dish (steam)). Depending on the location, the extent of viability gap funding (VGF) for Scheffler dish (steam) solar cooking system varies from 18.7% to 66.5% of the capital cost, while the same for SK-23 and Scheffler dish (direct) varies from 8.7% to 82.9%, and 33.4%–94.5% respectively. From the government point of view, the provision of accelerated depreciation for incentivising institutional solar cooking is found to be the least cost option followed by viability gap funding, investment tax credit and interest subsidy in the order of increasing cost to the government. At locations in the cold and cloudy climatic zone of India, there is invariably a need to provide a combination of incentives (as the current provision of 30% capital subsidy is not adequate) to ensure a breakeven condition.

Tiroteo en Stoneman Douglas

El tiroteo ocurrido en la secundaria Stoneman Douglas el 14 de febrero de 2018, en el estado de la Florida, derivó en un intenso debate público en torno a la tenencia, comercialización y uso de armas en los Estados Unidos. Con proyección global más allá del territorio norteamericano, esta tragedia en particular se convirtió en el punto de partida para encontrar una solución a este problema. Por tanto, el presente artículo de análisis, a través de la aplicación de los postulados del análisis crítico del discurso de Teun A. van Dijk, combinado con las categorías del orden del discurso propuestas por Michel Foucault, refleja la convergencia de la materialidad política de los principales discursos emitidos tras el tiroteo. El análisis propuesto contrasta cuatro discursos que conforman un dispositivo que junta lo gubernamental (presidente de los Estados Unidos Donald Trump), la seguridad local (Sheriff del Condado de Broward Scott Israel) y la posición ciudadana (Activista Cameron Kasky), frente a lo institucional (Segunda Enmienda de la Constitución de los estados Unidos). El principal resultado muestra que, aún cuando los cuatro discursos son enunciados por diversos sujetos discursivos, se articulan convergentemente en torno a un proceso ideológico con fines políticos claramente definidos. En el caso de los sujetos analizados, se evidencia una interdiscursividad no intencionada, su relación, especialmente con las materialidades del poder y la ideología muestran tres diferentes posturas con un mismo fin, el imponer sus propósitos y objetivos a través del discurso hacia receptores que puedan subordinarse a los mecanismos de poder y saber. Ningún discurso está aislado y en este caso en particular la incidencia significativa del proceso discursivo está equiparada con el principio del comentario. Los tres sujetos convergen discursivamente en una imposición ideológica que no contempla sus orígenes tampoco la investidura social que representan. La realidad constitucional de una Enmienda, la cual defiende la naturaleza de un derecho no forma parte de la estructura discursiva de los sujetos analizados.

Management of teachers’ education in the area of Administration facing the competitive and technological challenges of the XXI century

Corruption, financial disequilibrium, unemployment, inflation, among other factors, have been the cause of the general crisis in today’s society, they have produced a time lag for the economic, educational and social development of Latin American countries. Colombia is not the exception to this set of problems, on the contrary, it is a country that today has been hit by economic and financial difficulties, corruptive acts at a national governmental level, drug trafficking, and a series of conflicts that have brought instability to the productive system of the country, therefore affecting growth in as much as competitiveness, innovation and technology.
 Facing these problems from the national government point of view, it is necessary to shape some educative policies at a higher educational level. The Higher Educational Institutions, including technical and technological must make reforms to their institutional structures, adapting them to market demands. That is why, inside general parameters, the education of teachers must be included as a main cross sectional axis for student’s learning.

Renewable Energy Investment for Middle and Upper Class Housing Sector in Indonesia: Investigating the Scope for a Change in Policy

The household sector plays an important role in the energy demand in Indonesia. Households consume more than 50% of total energy in many major cities in Indonesia and account for 34% of the total energy demand. The main share of capital allocation and attention, however, has gone to rural electrification programs over the past years with mixed results, due to an abundance of problems during the operation phase. We propose that government attention and capital should be broadened to policy development for solar home systems for urban areas. The problems that are encountered by rural electrification projects are mainly due to a lack of resources and unclear task allocation between involved parties and difficulties of addressing problems in remote environments. These risks are insignificant in urban areas where maintenance services are available and where solar home systems can be commercially interesting for higher income consumers without the need for subsidy. By means of a cost benefit analysis, this paper shows that solar home systems can be commercially interesting for households in urban areas. Different investment scenarios were worked out with systems costing 5%, 10%, and 15% of the total average house price. The analysis indicates that the policy is feasible when solar systems are coupled to the grid but not for off-grid systems. This is because the battery leads to high investment and maintenance cost. From a government point of view, developing policy towards renewable energy usage in urban households could help to reach national electrification and environmental targets without extra capital allocation as well as relieve pressure on the already overburdened state electricity company, the PLN.

Resilient regional energy benchmarking of classified public buildings

Reasonable regional energy benchmarking of public buildings can assist the energy supervision and planning from the government point of view, especially when faced with the uncertain features of planning stage. With 195 samples of three public building types, the Lorenz curve was introduced to present the distribution inequality and diversity of energy consumption within a building type, and thus a target-oriented regional energy benchmarking model was established, by accumulation between the pre-set upper and lower EUI limitations along with the corresponding part of Lorenz curve. Besides an applied case study, the adaptability of Lorenz curves in different cities and the flexible responding ability to dynamic energy strategies were also tested respectively. This paper attempts to offer a reliable resilient energy benchmarking model at regional scale as the corresponding demand basis of resilient energy planning.

Which strategies might improve local primary healthcare in Germany? An explorative study from a local government point of view

BackgroundFacing rising inequities and poorer accessibility of physicians in rural areas, new healthcare delivery structures are being considered to support local healthcare in German communities. To better understand perspectives on and attitudes towards different supplementary models, we examined attitudes among local politicians in the German federal state of Lower Saxony towards the suitability of supplementary care models.MethodsAs part of a cross-sectional study, we surveyed local politicians in Lower Saxony at the local authority and district levels (n = 449) by mail questionnaire. We asked for an assessment of four potential supplementary healthcare models at the local level: the use of trained medical assistants, patients’ buses, mobile physicians’ offices, and telemedicine.ResultsThe response rate was 71.0% for mayors (n = 292) and 81.6% (n = 31) for county administrators. In summary, 72.4% of respondents supported the use of trained medical assistants, 48.9% voted for patients’ buses, 22.0% for mobile physicians’ offices, and 13.9% for telemedicine. Except for telemedicine, the politicians’ approval of the supplementary models in rural areas was higher than in urban areas. The assessment regarding the suitability of each model was not significantly connected with indicators of a positively or negatively assessed local healthcare situation. The analyses showed that the use of trained medical assistants was associated with the positive effects of division of labor and potential to relieve physicians. In contrast, there was skepticism about technical support via telemedicine, mostly due to concerns about its unsuitability for elderly people and the potential lower quality of healthcare delivery.ConclusionLocal politicians widely accept the use of trained medical assistants, whereas the applicability of technical solutions such as telemedicine is perceived with skepticism. Therefore, the knowledge gap between evidence for and prejudices against telemedicine needs to be addressed more effectively. Reasons for the assessments of the presented models are more likely traceable to personal views than to assessments of the actual estimated local primary care situation.

Evaluation of commonly used fertilizers, fish and poultry feeds as potential sources of heavy metals contamination in food

An experiment was conducted at the Department of Agricultural Chemistry, BAU to assess the heavy metal status in different feed and fertilizer samples collected from Sadar and Trisal upazilas of Mymensingh district. The feed samples included poultry and fish feeds, whereas, fertilizer samples included DAP, TSP, MOP, gypsum and zinc sulphate (ZnSO4). AAS analysis of Cd, Cr and Pb showed variable levels of contamination in the fertilizer and feed samples. In case of feed samples, Cd, and Pb contents in fish feed collected from Sadar upazila was 0.159 and 3.581 mg kg-1, respectively and that of Trisal upazila was 0.441 and 153.824 mg kg-1, respectively. The content of Cd was 0.008 mg kg-1 in poultry feed but in fish feed it was 0.441 mg kg-1. The Cr content in both poultry and fish feeds collected from Sadar and Trisal upazilas were below the detection level. In general, heavy metals contaminations were higher in different fish feed samples compared to that of poultry feed samples, especially in samples from Trisal upazila.The Cd contents in DAP, TSP, MoP, gypsum and ZnSO4 collected from Sadar upazila were 1.560, 14.749, 0.137, 0.906 and 10.312 mg kg-1, respectively, and that of Trisal upazila were 1.780, 15.662, 3.988, 1.180 and 3.165 mg kg-1, respectively. The Cr contents in DAP, TSP, MoP, gypsum and ZnSO4 collected from Sadar upazila were 60.392, 206.667, 15.882, 24.314 and 11.373 mg kg-1, respectively. Whereas, mean Cr concentrations DAP, TSP, MoP and gypsum from Trisal upazila were 54.118, 168.431, 16.078 and 26.863 mgkg-1, respectively. However, in ZnSO4Cr was below the detection limit. Again, Pb contents in DAP, TSP, MoP, Gypsum and ZnSO4 collected from Sadar upazila were 12.633, 45.729, 33.586, 13.319 and 30.014 mg kg-1, respectively, and that of Trisal upazila were 4.062, 46.919, 101.205, 21.681 and 6.676 mg kg-1, respectively. In general, heavy metal contamination levels in different fertilizer samples collected from Mymensingh Sadar were higher compared to that of Trisal upazila. The results showed that despite the close proximity of the market locations, heavy metal contents may vary in fertilizer and feed samples indicating various supply chains of these essential inputs are in place and calls for greater degree of quality monitoring from the government point of view.
 Asian Australas. J. Food Saf. Secur. 2017, 1 (1), 74-81

Evolutionary Game Model Study of Construction Green Supply Chain Management under the Government Intervention

The paper first has defined the concepts of green supply chain management and evolution game theory, and pointed out the characteristics of green supply chain management in construction. The main participants and key links of the construction green supply chain management are determined by constructing the organization framework. This paper established the evolutionary game model between construction enterprises and recycling enterprises for the green supply chain closed-loop structure. The waste recycling evolutionary stability equilibrium solution is obtained to explore the principle and effective scope of government policy intervention. This paper put forward the relevant countermeasures to the green supply chain management in construction recycling stage from the government point of view. The conclusion has reference value and guidance to the final product construction enterprises, recycling enterprises and the government during green supply chain.

The Emergence and Development of Women’s Magazines in Russia and Japan (second half of 18th - 19th century)

The history of development of women’s magazines is closely connected with the change of women’s status in the society. In Russia in the 18th century the reforms of social system under Peter the Great and Catherine the Great influenced the development of education and increase of literacy rate. As a result, noblewomen joined the reading as an intellectual activity. In 1779 N.I. Novikov published the first women’s magazine that marked the start of publication of books and magazines for women. In Japan, the first women’s magazine was published by hands of men in 1884 to enlighten women during the Meiji Era (1868-1912), when Japan underwent metamorphosis from the feudal society to a modern monarchy and introduced the new national system of governance, including education. The emergence of women’s magazines in Japan is also related to the increase of female readers and development of system of girl’s education as an instrument of state policy. There was difference in how the concept of “woman - dutiful wife and devoted mother” was introduced in Russian and Japanese societies, but it was adopted in both countries as dominant ideology for women’s education. It is concluded that women’s magazines from the government point of view, based on the concept “woman - dutiful wife and devoted mother”, were used to a certain extent as study guide for character education of perfect women.

Kongemordet i 1286

Kongemordet i 1286

Dynamics of Income in Jharkhand: Evidences from Village Studies

The study is undertaken in four sample villages of the two sample districts in Jharkhand state, namely, Ranchi and Dumka to track the changes in rural poverty in eastern states of India. The data pertains to these two representative districts, one representing socioeconomically developed district (Ranchi) and other representing the socioeconomically backward district (Dumka). Primary data was collected from four villages of Jharkhand i.e., two villages each from Ranchi and Dumka districts of Jharkhand state. A sample of 40 households from each village, making a total household sample of 160 was selected for detailed investigation in project entitled “Tracking Change in Rural Poverty in Households and Village Economies in South Asia”. Besides simple statistical tools, loreze curve are plotted. Gini Ratio is computed to measure income inequality among villages of Jharkhand. Diversification index is computed to have an idea about diversity of income sources. Linear regression model is adopted to identify the determinants of income. The study reveals per capita income reflects the purchasing power and living standard of the people. The per capita income/annum in sample villages ranged from 6, 378 to 14,871 which shows a difference of more than doubles (8, 493). There are various sources of income however; non-farm activity was prominent source of income among all villages (37.19% to 63.67%). More interestingly, Jajmani system is still prevalent in the state and accumulating a considerable income. This shows that income diversification is a long practiced strategy by many livelihoods in order to reduce risk of external shocks. State has great diversity of income. Livestock system is an integral part of livelihoods of rural poor however its contribution is negligible. Livestock sector could be revived through the technological intervention from research institutes, development departments and policy planners. Study shows that age, education, size of households, non-farming income, and adoption of high yielding varieties are the main determining factors who had a significant impact on households’ income. Gini ratio shows that highest inequality was found in Dumariya village (0.43). The ranges of Gini ratio were 0.33-0.43. The highest inequality was observed among labour class (0.55) followed by large (0.50), medium (0.37) and small (0.34) category. Income inequality is higher across villages and households and education and income level emerged as important sources of inequality. The findings have important policy implications. At government point of view, there is dire need for generating more non-farm labour opportunities through public works. These opportunities could lead to the better infrastructure facilities and rural livelihoods in rural India. Providing labour opportunities outside the agricultural activities can serve manifold and can reduce the income inequalities among the rural poor. It can play an important role in poverty reduction intervention and will provide safety mesh for income shocks. It will assist in reducing unemployment and under-employment in rural area. Education is an instrument for change. It brings the changes in the thinking process, knowledge, skills and attitude of people. Hence it could be an instrument for reducing inequality among the rural poor.

Linking citizens’ ratings to services quality improvements: An empirical analysis and some potential solutions

The “ New Public Management” paradigm strongly relies on a commitment to performance measurement along with citizen orientation. In this perspective, both objective quality assessments and citizens’ perceived (subjective) quality ratings should become inputs for decision-making. Anyway according to available literature, it is still not clear if and how citizen evaluations can be effectively translated into managerial decisions leading to services quality improvements. The aim of this paper is to contribute to close this theoretical and practical gap. A mail survey was conducted among a sample of Italian town mayors in spring 2008 in order to investigate this issue from the local government point of view and to test the viability of some potential solutions. 44 questionnaires were returned, showing unexpected results as compared to available literature. Data, for example, highlights that the link between citizens’ ratings and services quality improvements could become real by enacting a transfer of part of the central government’s financial resources on the basis of annual citizens’ satisfaction ratings. Results will be discussed and managerial implications will be derived.

Evaluation of non-CO2-greenhouse gas emission reductions in the Netherlands in the period 1990–2003

In the Netherlands, several measures were implemented to curb the emissions of non-CO2 greenhouse (NCG) gases in the period 1990–2003. Without the implementation of these reduction measures, emissions of NCG gases in 2003 would have been 11 million tonnes of CO2-eq. higher. Policies which were already in place before specific NCG gas policies were introduced, are predominantly responsible for the reductions achieved so far. Roughly 80% of the achieved reductions in the Netherlands can be attributed to these policies, and 20% to a specific Dutch Reduction Plan on NCG gases that was introduced in 2000. Our analysis shows that the policies in place in the period 1990–2003 were very economical from the government point of view: almost half of the emission reductions can be achieved against costs below 5 euro per tonne CO2-eq. Whereas, for example, the cost-effectiveness of government CO2 reduction programmes in the housing sector ranged from 4 to over 300 euro per tonne of CO2-eq. in the period 1995–2002.

A government point of view

English summaryThe prime responsibility of government is to try not only to foresee but also to prepare the future. As far as possible, it must anticipate developments and encourage those that favour the general wellbeing, and discourage the others if it can. Scientific and technological progress constitutes one of the determining factors, if not the principal factor, in the development of our society. The subject of the responsibility of research and development towards society must therefore be of the greatest interest to a politician.

Public Works and Employment from the Local Government Point of View

Public Works and Employment from the Local Government Point of View