Local Units Research Articles

FISCAL RULES AT THE LOCAL LEVEL ARE A CONDITION FOR STABLE PUBLIC FINANCES IN THE REPUBLIC OF SRPSKA

<p><i>The fiscal position of municipalities and cities has a great influence on the overall fiscal position of the Republic of Srpska. Bearing in mind that according to the Law on the Budget System, the budget system of the Republika Srpska consists of the budget of the Republic, the budget of municipalities and cities and the financial plans of the funds, then it is clear that the realization of the budget of municipalities and cities with a high budget deficit represents a great risk for excessive realization of the deficit at the level of the Republic . Republika Srpska does not have defined fiscal rules for local self-government units. However, bearing in mind that according to the Law on Fiscal Responsibility in the Republic of Srpska, the consolidated budget deficit is determined as the sum of consolidated budget deficits, the budget of the Republic, the budget of municipalities and cities, and the budget of funds, it is clear that the realization of an excessive deficit of municipalities and cities affects the fiscal rule on deficit at the level of Republika Srpska. The results of the analysis in this paper indicate the need to introduce fiscal rules for local self-government units. The fiscal stability of local self-government units has a positive effect on the overall fiscal stability of the Republic, especially if mechanisms are introduced to suppress the excessive deficit of local self-government units.</i></p>

The local authority in the light of the challenges of energy transition

The article addresses the role of local authority units in the energy transition process, which is crucial because energy generating systems are located in a specific municipality and they contain sources of emissions exerting a negative impact on the climate. Therefore, while the State’s central authorities form the legal framework for the activities of the municipalities, counties and voivodships, it is the actual activities of the voivodship assemblies and boards, the county councils and boards and the municipal councils and executive bodies that enable the planned parameters of this negative impact to be achieved. The article takes into account the obligations arising from Union law.

The institutional intervention of disaster risk management as a territorial development strategy in the Chillanes canton

Canton Chillanes is a territory vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic risks. For this reason, institutional intervention is critical to meet the population's needs. However, the reality is different since the territory under study does not have the assistance of the local Risk Management Unit (UGR) despite its vulnerabil-ity. In this context, the study's objective is to know the institutional reality regarding the process under study and the population's perception of disaster risks. For this purpose, descriptive, documentary, and field research were conducted to determine a representative sample of the population under study and ana-lyze information provided by those involved in Risk Management of the Decentralized Autonomous Gov-ernment (GAD) of Chillanes. The results show that almost 100% of those surveyed indicate no adequate risk management and that at least 80% are unaware of the territory's vulnerability to adverse events. De-spite this background, the municipal entity's RGU has not been strengthened, becoming one of the leading institutional weaknesses. Keywords: Hazards; institutional strengthening; risk management; governance; processes; risk reduction.

The institutional intervention of disaster risk management as a territorial development strategy in the Chillanes canton

Canton Chillanes is a territory vulnerable to natural and anthropogenic risks. For this reason, institutional intervention is critical to meet the population's needs. However, the reality is different since the territory under study does not have the assistance of the local Risk Management Unit (UGR) despite its vulnerability. In this context, the study's objective is to know the institutional reality regarding the process under study and the population's perception of disaster risks. For this purpose, descriptive, documentary, and field research were conducted to determine a representative sample of the population under study and analyze information provided by those involved in Risk Management of the Decentralized Autonomous Government (GAD) of Chillanes. The results show that almost 100% of those surveyed indicate no adequate risk management and that at least 80% are unaware of the territory's vulnerability to adverse events. Despite this background, the municipal entity's RGU has not been strengthened, becoming one of the leading institutional weaknesses. Keywords: Hazards; institutional strengthening; risk management; governance; processes; risk reduction.

A Study on the Role of the ODOP (One District, One Product) Scheme on Strengthening the Metal Craft Industry in Moradabad Region, Uttar Pradesh

The foundation of Uttar Pradesh’s industrial operations and economic development is its traditional occupation, geographic culture and unique products. Products that are unique to a given area play a vital role in the growth of any nation, state or region. The One District, One Product (ODOP) programme, which is being used in Uttar Pradesh, has given the state’s small businesses a new name. In the Moradabad region of Uttar Pradesh, a metal craft enterprise has been chosen under this model to enhance the production capacity, business opportunities and start-up optimisation. This particular product is essential to the state economy’s continued survival. By sponsoring investor exhibits, district fairs and mega craft clusters, which directly affect production, the state government promotes the productivity of metal crafts, creating a new vision for metal products and new opportunities for local and regional companies to gain worldwide prominence through this programme. The researchers of this study conducted a pilot study and primary survey based on the demographic profile of the Moradabad region of Uttar Pradesh to examine the increase in production capacity and its component under the ODOP scheme. The findings of this study indicate that all efforts to strengthen the local metal craft clusters and units through state government initiatives such as investor summits, exhibitions and district fairs under the ODOP scheme prove to be right for the success of productivity. The uniqueness of this research article serves as a living example for other states or countries to successfully implement the ODOP programme, which is a transformative step towards realising the true potential of the metal craft industry. The state government’s strategy like the ODOP scheme can serve as a bridge to strengthen and improve the local specified products like metal crafts by solving the barriers of productivity disparities and geographical product identity imbalances.

Engaging management accountants in corporate sustainability

PurposeExpectations regarding the participation of management accountants (MAs) in the promotion of sustainability of multinational enterprises (MNEs) have been poorly realised. This raises the question of whether MAs are invited to join in sustainability promotion or does sustainability not fit the perceived professional role of MAs. We suggest that the development of individual-level engagement of corporate sustainability is required for MAs to start contributing to corporate sustainability.Design/methodology/approachWe utilise the psychological ownership theory to investigate how MAs’ professional role could develop to incorporate advancing sustainability. Our qualitative study is based on 32 interviews conducted in seven local business units of three different technology-oriented MNEs.FindingsWe reveal features connected to the professional role of MAs that may impede the activation of the routes to psychological ownership of corporate sustainability, thus undermining their involvement in corporate sustainability enhancement. Moreover, we show that MAs’ own perceptions of their professional role may impede the stimulation of the routes.Originality/valueFrom a managerial viewpoint, our study helps readers to understand how the routes to psychological ownership of corporate sustainability could be cultivated in the development of the future role of MAs. It also gives input for MA professional organisations and MA professional education providers to develop conditions that foster sustainability thinking among MAs. Moreover, by integrating the examination of MAs’ professional role with the psychological ownership theory, we broaden the theoretical scene both in management accounting and in business sustainability research.

A lightweight transformer based on feature fusion and global–local parallel stacked self-activation unit for bearing fault diagnosis

Due to the complex environment and limited hardware resources in the industrial practice diagnosis tasks, deploying deep learning-based models with large parameters is challenging. A novel lightweight bearing fault diagnosis method, global–local parallel transformer (GLP-Transformer), is proposed for balanced diagnostic performance within resource constraints. In this end-to-end framework, a multi-channel vibration feature fusion embedding block is designed, which extracts multi-position sensor signals to acquire richer original features. Furthermore, a multi-layer network structure with alternately stacked global–local parallel self-activation unit is presented for fault feature mapping processing at low costs. This unit integrates the parameter efficiency of convolutional operation and the global feature extraction expertise of transformer. Experimental verification is performed on publicly available and self-built data platforms. Compared with other methods, GLP-Transformer significantly reduces the requirements for storage and computational resources (Params: 48.28K, FLOPs: 2.74M) while possessing advanced generalization ability and robustness.

A method of 2D and 3D display of radar terminal base on programmable pipeline

AbstractIn contrast to the ideal 3D display for meteorological radar, there is no 3D mode in the military engineering field. How to realise the 2D and 3D display for general radar terminal efficiently using the local graphics processing unit (GPU), which is impossible to realise with the traditional method of field programmable gate array now, has became an important research direction. In this paper, based on the radar echo equation, elevation was used to describe the three‐dimensional echo. After the three‐dimensional echo data model was built, the shader method with framebuffer objects was employed to display the data, while the data was capped by peripheral component interconnect express using direct memory access. It was designed to display the Plan Position Indicator and the attenuation of radar images with the 2D and 3D shaders. A series of numerical simulations were conducted to avoid image tear or lag. Compared to the methods of graphics device interface and the blend of images, the programmable pipeline of GPU performs well and is suitable for the display of radar terminal.

Cost-effectiveness of brentuximab vedotin compared with conventional chemotherapy for relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma in China

BackgroundRelapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma (RRcHL) associates with poor prognosis and heavy disease burden to patients. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of brentuximab vedotin (BV) in comparison to conventional chemotherapy in patients with RRcHL, from a Chinese healthcare perspective.MethodsThe lifetime cost and quality adjusted life years (QALYs) were estimated through a partitioned survival model with three health states (progression free, post progression, and death). Two cohorts for each BV arm and chemotherapy arm were built, representing patients with and without transplant after BV or chemotherapy, respectively. Clinical parameters were retrieved from BV trials and the literature. Resource utilization data were mainly collected from local expert surveys and cost parameters were reflecting local unit prices. Utility values were sourced from the literature. A discount rate of 5% was employed according to the Chinese guideline. A series of deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted to evaluate the robustness and uncertainty associated with the model.ResultsResults of the base case analysis showed that the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) for BV versus chemotherapy was $2,867 (¥19,774). The main model driver was the superior progression-free and overall survival benefits of BV. The ICERs were relatively robust in a series of sensitivity analyses, all under a conventional decision threshold (1 time of Chinese per capita GDP). With this conventional threshold, the probability of BV being cost-effective was 100%.ConclusionsBrentuximab vedotin can be considered a cost-effective treatment versus conventional chemotherapy in treating relapsed or refractory classic Hodgkin lymphoma in China.

Differential response under X-ray/UV dual-mode excitation in single-component defect state phosphor X-ray imaging and Wavelength-Multiplexing information storage

Multimodal Excitation Response (MMER) phosphors are gaining rapid attention due to their outstanding performance and emerging applications. Herein, a Eu2+, Mn2+ co-doping CaAl2Si2O8 phosphor is reported. Unlike common MMER phosphors, this system exhibits blue photo-/persistent luminescence under 365 nm UV excitation, orange photo-/persistent luminescence under X-ray excitation, and X-ray-induced photochromism. These diverse optical properties enable it to exhibit advanced bright/dark dual-field X-ray imaging and wavelength-multiplexing information storage. Furthermore, the testing results indicate that the varying color response to UV and X-ray excitation benefits from different excitation properties between Eu2+ and Mn2+ as well as precise emitter/trap local units. Thus, this work not only provides an excellent candidate for versatile applications but also offers a design approach for such materials.

Early provision of clinical information with an ‘opt in’ approach improves patient experience in tonsillectomy referrals

Patients referred by their general practitioner (GP) with a definite diagnosis, for example, recurrent sore throat for consideration of tonsillectomy in adults, may wait for months without receiving any further...

The Challenges of Projects Implemented with Financing from European Union Funds

Abstract When a Romanian entrepreneur is looking for European funds to finance his business, it is essential for him to understand the terms of the loan and the details about the financier, just like in any other loan agreement. The aim of this article is to present the challenges of projects implemented with funding from European Union funds. The research methodology involved a literature review followed by an analysis that examines different categories of public structures, including deconcentrated or decentralized units of central public administration, local public administration units, autonomous kings, state commercial companies or local authorities, units of state education and research, hospitals, and intercommunity development associations. The findings of the research highlighted the specific types of organizations that received financial support from EU-funded programs. Thus, the funds allocated to Romania by the European Union, considered from the point of view of the investment strategy and their non-refundable nature, constituted a substantial asset for the development of the Romanian economy and society in the short, medium and long term. In addition, these funds represented an element of budgetary sustainability. The results of the projects that were financed from European funds are numerous. Each of these is an illustration of a successful effort that has the potential to give rise to additional initiatives of equal significance in the context of the new opportunities that the European Union will fund.

Multilevel modelling of sustainable consumption for achieving carbon neutral production – case study of the urban in Thailand

The research aims to determine a living model that is eco-environmental and sustainable. Climate change and scarcity of resources have led world policymakers, along with the United Nations, to set guidelines in the form of 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). Sustainable production consumption is one of the major issues that is considered worldwide, including the SDG mission of the University ranking under SDG12.The paper proposes a new model development for sustainable consumption production using multi-criteria decision-making of the Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) under the 5P principle. The questionnaire was designed and distributed to sample populations in the community, and the analysis was done under the FAHP procedure. The research area focused on green space near Bangkok, Bang Kachao. It is one of six local governmental units (Tambon) in Phra Pradaeng district located in Samut Prakran province, Thailand.It was found out that people concerned the most sustainable production consumption using natural local materials at 25.09%, followed by making community products by green industry at 12.42% and making local green products at 6.18%. From the development of the multi-modelling framework, the paper proposes a new model of the urban community in Thailand for sustainable production consumption to support SDG12 using FAHP for multi-decision making based on the 5P principle. There are people, porosity, planet, peace, and partnership.However, various factors influence production and consumption and impact the carbon footprint.It was obviously found that people mostly use local materials to make green local products under the local policy of 3R waste management. Innovative design uses community wisdom, knowledge and know-how to make value-added products.The strategic planning and control consist of green industry, zero waste management, zero carbon footprint and innovative product design. The expected outputs from the model are green and homemade products with cleaner production, clean energy, and gain carbon credit.

Effects of the Drying Technique Used on the Contents of Total Polyphenols, Flavonoids and Antioxidant Activity of Five Varieties of Mangoes (Mangifera Indica) Dried in Senegal

The Ziguinchor region (Kaguitte village), where the mango samples were collected, is an area that is very affected by post-school losses of seasonal fruit in general. Faced with this problem, the women in the GIE (economic interest group) have been processing mangoes into by-products for several years, particularly drying, which is one of the mwain techniques for preserving agricultural and food products. It is a process that is used in the production of many food products. To carry out this drying, three techniques were used: the one used by the women of the locality (Normal) and two others with osmotic dehydration for two hours and three hours respectively. After peeling, it was found that the improved varieties Knt and Kt had the highest pulp yields (60% of their total mass) and that the Sl variety had the lowest yield. In this work, we followed the variation of polyphenol contents and antioxidant powers according to the technique and the mango variety. For total polyphenols, the Folin-Ciocalteu method was used and antioxidant activity was assessed with 2,2-diphenyl-1-pycrilhydrazyl (DPPH°). The results showed that the antioxidant power, significantly decreases after treatment of the four varieties (example: Knt normal-AAR=0.83%, Treatment-2h-AAR=0.69% and Treatment-3h-AAR=0.59%) with the exception of Dr variety (Normal-AAR=0.68% and Treatment-2h-AAR=0.79% and Treatment-3h-AAR=0.78%). The determination of total polyphenols in these samples showed a much more obvious variation between varieties and less important after the treatment. Thus we have: Knt (Normal-0.07g/100g, treatment-2h-0.03g/100g and treatment-3h-0.19g/100g), Kt (Normal-0.27g/100g, treatment-2h-0.07g/100g and treatment-3h-0.06g/100g) and Sl (Normal-0.11g/100g, treatment-2h-0.07g/100g and treatment-3h-0.21g/100g) Analyses (of Variance and linear models) show that the varieties Knt (treatment-2h-0.0087g/100g and normal-0.0033g/100g), Dr (treatment-2h-0.0023g/100g and normal-0.0019g/100g) and Sl (treatment-2h-0.0023g/100g and normal-0.0017g/100g), respectively, have quite high flavonoid contents. These experimental results show that the technique used (Normal) by the local units preserves the antioxidant compounds well and in some cases it is necessary to treat the different varieties before drying them.

The where and the who of HRM decision-making: HRM decentralization and devolution

PurposeHRM decentralization and devolution have been highlighted as key HRM processes in organizations’ quest for increased flexibility. Although they have been extensively studied in the MNC and International HRM literature, they have mainly been examined on a separate basis, and their definition and operationalization have often been confused. Thus, we first clarify the difference between the two concepts by refining the definitions by Hoogendoorn and Brewster (1992), and then empirically examine how they are related.Design/methodology/approachThe relationship between HRM decentralization and devolution is examined by means of a survey in a large multi-country sample of multi-unit organizations.FindingsRegarding our clarification objective, we contend that devolution has to do with who takes responsibilities for HRM (i.e. line managers or HRM professionals) while decentralization refers to where HRM responsibilities are allocated (i.e. headquarters or increasingly local units). Regarding the relationship between the two concepts, the results show that higher levels of HRM decentralization are related to higher levels of devolution, but this association is attenuated in organizations with more powerful HRM departments.Originality/valueThe study contributes to theory and practice by disentangling, at the conceptual, operational, empirical and practical levels, two different but related HRM decisions (how much to devolve and how much to decentralize HRM) that organizations must make to efficiently cope with the characteristics of their own structure and competitive environment. It highlights the role of the relative power of HRM departments in how HRM responsibilities are ultimately distributed across the organization.

Serosurvey for Japanese encephalitis virus antibodies following an outbreak in an immunologically naïve population, Victoria, 2022: a cross-sectional study.

To investigate the distribution and prevalence of Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) antibody (as evidence of past infection) in northern Victoria following the 2022 Japanese encephalitis outbreak, seeking to identify groups of people at particular risk of infection; to investigate the distribution and prevalence of antibodies to two related flaviviruses, Murray Valley encephalitis virus (MVEV) and West Nile virus Kunjin subtype (KUNV). Cross-sectional serosurvey (part of a national JEV serosurveillance program). Three northern Victorian local public health units (Ovens Murray, Goulburn Valley, Loddon Mallee), 8 August - 1 December 2022. People opportunistically recruited at pathology collection centres and by targeted recruitment through community outreach and advertisements. People vaccinated against or who had been diagnosed with Japanese encephalitis were ineligible for participation, as were those born in countries where JEV is endemic. Seroprevalence of JEV IgG antibody, overall and by selected factors of interest (occupations, water body exposure, recreational activities and locations, exposure to animals, protective measures). 813 participants were recruited (median age, 59 years [interquartile range, 42-69 years]; 496 female [61%]); 27 were JEV IgG-seropositive (3.3%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.2-4.8%) (median age, 73 years [interquartile range, 63-78 years]; 13 female [48%]); none were IgM-seropositive. JEV IgG-seropositive participants were identified at all recruitment locations, including those without identified cases of Japanese encephalitis. The only risk factors associated with JEV IgG-seropositivity were age (per year: prevalence odds ratio [POR], 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03-1.10) and exposure to feral pigs (POR, 21; 95% CI, 1.7-190). The seroprevalence of antibody to MVEV was 3.0% (95% CI, 1.9-4.5%; 23 of 760 participants), and of KUNV antibody 3.3% (95% CI, 2.1-4.8%; 25 of 761). People living in northern Victoria are vulnerable to future JEV infection, but few risk factors are consistently associated with infection. Additional prevention strategies, including expanding vaccine eligibility, may be required to protect people in this region from Japanese encephalitis.

Educational Policies During the Pandemic and Pedagogical Practice in Secondary Educational Institutions

The pandemic altered global education with the closure of institutions and the adaptation of teaching methods, prompting the implementation of policies to ensure continuity of learning to meet challenges. The purpose was to identify the relationship between educational policies during Covid-19 and pedagogical practice in the Secondary Educational Institutions (IES) of the Local Educational Management Unit (UGEL) San Roman, Puno. The methodology was the quantitative approach, non-experimental cross-sectional correlational design. The population and sample consisted of 33 directors of the UGEL - San Román. The technique was the survey, whose instruments were the questionnaire of educational policies and pedagogical practice. The results were that the existence of correlation between the study variables was determined, with r=0.355 revealing a low positive correlation between the study variables. Concluding that the effects of educational policies are significant with pedagogical practice.

Estilos de aprendizaje y desarrollo de pensamiento formal en estudiantes peruanos de Educación Básica

The aim of this study was to establish the relationship between Learning Styles (LS) and the level of Formal Thought Development (FTD) in fourth-year students of Regular Basic Education in the Tacna Region, 2022. From a methodological standpoint, this research adopts a descriptive correlational design. The sample consisted of 738 fourth-year secondary education students, randomly and repre-sentatively selected from the four Local Educational Management Units in the Tacna Region. Two instruments were administered: the CHAEA questionnaire by Honey and Alonso, comprising 80 items to identify LS, and the TOLT Test by To-bin and Capie, consisting of 10 items, to determine the FTD level in participants. The findings revealed a significant relationship between LS and FTD level in Regu-lar Basic Education students in the Tacna Region, 2022. Reflective, theoretical, and pragmatic learning styles showed significant relationships (bilateral signifi-cance of 0.003<0.05, 0.040<0.05, and 0.010<0.05, respectively) with FTD. Thus, effect sizes are around the medium level with high statistical power. Only the ac-tive learning style did not show a significant relationship (bilateral significance of 0.133 > 0.05). It is concluded that the active learning style is not related to the FTD level, whereas the reflective, theoretical, and pragmatic styles are.

Morita equivalence and globalization for partial Hopf actions on nonunital algebras

In this work, we investigate partial actions of a Hopf algebra [Formula: see text] on nonunital algebras and the associated partial smash products, with the objective of providing a framework where one may obtain results for both [Formula: see text]-algebras with local units and [Formula: see text]-categories. We show that our partial actions correspond to nonunital algebras in the category of partial representations of [Formula: see text]. The central problem of existence of a globalization for a partial action is studied in detail, and we provide sufficient conditions for the existence (and uniqueness) of a minimal globalization for associative algebras in general. Extending previous results by Abadie, Dokuchaev, Exel and Simon, we define Morita equivalence for partial Hopf actions, and we show that if two symmetrical partial actions are Morita equivalent then their standard globalizations are also Morita equivalent. Particularizing to the case of a partial action on an algebra with local units, we obtain several strong results on equivalences of categories of modules of partial smash products of algebras and partial smash products of [Formula: see text]-categories.

Symbiosis between Private Sector and Politics amidst COVID-19 Pandemic

In this study, symbiosis is denoted as the cooperation that manifested between parties in an event or setting. Thus, through collective private and government actions that transcends borders, the next phase of combating Covid-19 requires a change of mind on the supposed role of the local government and the private sector. Hence, the study assessed the symbiosis between the local barangay unit and the private sectors that occurred in the respondent-towns in the City of Meycauayan, Bulacan during ECQ. Given the combined efforts from the local barangay units and the different individuals and private enterprises to help the residents, it was determined that there was indeed a positive effect on the community. Residents were aware of the contributions of the private individuals and enterprises which help them to go through the hardships of unemployment, being able to eat and survive the ordeal of the ECQ and Covid-19. In essence, the residents of the respondent-towns benefited form the symbiosis between the private and public sector amidst COVID-19 pandemic.