National Regulatory Framework Research Articles

Healthcare waste characteristics and management in Kumasi, Ghana

The healthcare waste management in developing countries has shortfalls compared with international best practices. The main purpose of this study was to assess the generation rate, composition and practices of healthcare waste management (HWM) in Kumasi, Ghana. Healthcare waste samples were collected from four hospitals and three healthcare centres for waste generation, composition and bulk density analyses. The average waste generation rates of the hospitals ranged from 0.76 to 2.92 kg/bed-day and that of the community health centres ranged from 0.012 to 0.08 kg/patient-day. The compositions of the general and hazardous healthcare wastes were 50.35% and 49.65% respectively. The hazardous healthcare waste far exceeded the World Health Organization threshold of within 10 – 25% as a result of inadequate segregation. The facilities had no specific HWM framework and did not comply with best practices. The lack of National regulatory framework for HWM may compromise the prevention of disease transmission.

Management Report as a Component of Nonfinancial Reporting in Ukraine: Theory and Practice of Drafting

The article covers the issue of compiling the Management Report. The need to implement a management report in Ukraine is caused by the processes of implementation of the European Union legislation on accounting in the national regulatory framework. The purpose of this report is to complement the annual financial statements with the necessary information, which should contain a reliable overview of development, activities and condition, as well as a description of the main risks and uncertainties in the work of an enterprise. This paper reviews the legislative framework for the preparation and publication of the Management Report and analyzes the Management Reports of domestic enterprises for compliance with regulatory requirements and the quality of these indicators. It has been defined that the lack of common normatively approved qualitative issues of the report and requirements for it are the significant problems. The format, scope, structure and accuracy of the information are determined at the discretion of an enterprise. The contained performance measures of enterprises significantly differ from each other and are not always given in comparison with the similar measures for the previous periods. Such presentation of data causes poor and uninformative reports. The results of the study prove that the Management Report should be based on the following principles: reliability and completeness, materiality, conciseness, integrity and comprehensibility; comparability of indicators. It is necessary to apply a risk-oriented approach and adhere the logic of presenting information with the elements of its visualization for its preparation. The study is based on the requirements of Directives 2013/34 / EU and 2014/95 / EU, the Law of Ukraine On Accounting and Financial Reporting in Ukraine, Methodological recommendations for the preparation of a management report, as well as empirical data obtained in the analysis of reports on management of Ukrainian enterprises.

Normative framework of informed consent in clinical research in Germany, Poland, and Russia

BackgroundBiomedical research nowadays is increasingly carried out in multinational and multicenter settings. Due to disparate national regulations on various ethical aspects, such as informed consent, there is the risk of ethical compromises when involving human subjects in research. Although the Declaration of Helsinki is the point of reference for ethical conduct of research on humans, national normative requirements may diverge from its provisions. The aim of this research is to examine requirements on informed consent in biomedical research in Germany, Poland, and Russia to determine how each national regulatory framework relates to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki.MethodsFor this analysis, we conducted a search of the legal databases “Gesetze im Internet” for Germany, “Internetowy System Aktow Prawnych” for Poland, and “ГAPAHT – Garant” for Russia. The search was complemented by a review of secondary literature contained in the databases Google Scholar, PubMed, Polish National Library, and eLibrary.ru. We have identified 21 normative regulations containing provisions on informed consent in clinical research in all three countries. The content of these documents was systematically categorized and analyzed.ResultsThe normative framework in all three countries shows a strong commitment towards the core ethical principles of research envisaged in the Declaration of Helsinki. Nevertheless, provisions on informed consent vary between these three countries. The differences range from the method and language in which information should be provided, through the amount of information required to be disclosed, to the form of documenting consent or withdrawal. In the case of research on vulnerable groups, these differences are particularly visible.ConclusionsThe identified differences can negatively impact the ethical conduct of international clinical studies. Attention needs to be paid that flexibilities within national regulations are not misused to undermine the protection of research subjects. Achieving global or regional legislative harmonization might prove impossible. Such lack of legal consensus reinforces the significance of the international ethical agreements.Trial registration: Not applicable.

Mineral Resource Governance in the 21st Century and a sustainable European Union

Mineral Resource Governance in the 21st Century and a sustainable European Union

Is quality assurance relevant to overseas qualification recognition in Asian higher education? Examining the regulatory framework and the roles of quality assurance agencies and professional accreditors

ABSTRACT The engagement of quality assurance in the recognition process of overseas qualifications became an emerging issue in Asian nations with the increased interest in student mobility in the region in the 21st Century. This study explores the links between quality assurance and qualification recognition, and approaches adopted within national regulatory frameworks in the Asia Pacific region from the perspective of quality assurance agencies. Three major findings are obtained. First, governments are primarily responsible for academic qualification recognition in Asia. Second, professional qualification recognition is heavily restricted by governments due to nationalism and protectionism within the job market. Third, a divergence model between quality assurance and qualification recognition exists in the Asian context.

Disaster risk governance for district-level landslide risk management in Bangladesh

The Government of Bangladesh has been successful in reducing death rates from tropical cyclones. However, in recent years, landslides have been a significant hazard, especially in the south-eastern part of Bangladesh. For example, the landslides of 2017 killed 110 people in Rangamati district. These deaths have raised an important question: whether district disaster risk governance at the local level is effective enough to mitigate the impact of landslide disasters? Based on literature review, nine good characteristics of disaster risk governance were selected (accountability, participation, collaboration, transparency, information sharing, shared decision making, communication, leadership and shared resources) to assess the effectiveness of district disaster risk governance for landslides underpinned by the disaster risk management cycle. These characteristics were assessed by interviewing 18 members of the Rangamati's District Disaster Management Committee. Policy documents were also reviewed to study the devolution of disaster risk governance urged by the Hyogo Framework and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. The findings suggest that the four principles (viz. accountability, participation, collaboration, and leadership) function satisfactorily during the response, evacuation, rescue and relief phases compared to the other five principles. The findings also suggest that the national Disaster Management Regulatory Framework and the Disaster Management Institutions are conducive to promote local disaster risk governance. However, there are challenges with regard to collaboration within and between state and non-state actors. As such, context specific recommendations are provided to improve collaboration and effectiveness with implications for other disaster-prone districts in Bangladesh.

CONDUCT OF INTERNAL CONTROL AT THE ENTERPRISES OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

In the article, the authors reveal the role of internal control in improving the efficiency of enterprises, and also substantiates the need to create a national regulatory framework for internal control in accordance with international professional standards. It is emphasized that their implementation will create conditions for improving the activities of internal control and countering risks, developing popular recommendations for the modernization of enterprises' activities, which will ultimately lead to the development of the country's economy. This article discusses the role of internal control in improving the efficiency of an enterprise, also gives a definition of internal control, and sets its objectives. In addition, the article explains the need to implement national professional standards of internal control. An important condition for the effectiveness of the internal control system is the competence and professionalism of its employees, when no employee can commit a significant mistake or unauthorized action without timely detection, which requires further training and skills, employees.

TO WHAT EXTENT DOES THE CURRENT EU REGULATORY FRAMEWORK FOR CIVILIAN DRONES ADDRESS PRIVACY ISSUES?

Drone operation for civil purposes is a path-breaking innovation for all sectors of society. Drones, which were initially used for military purposes only, are currently widely applied for different civil purposes, such as recreational and commercial use, disaster relief, agriculture, construction management and other purposes. The drone industry is expected to employ more than 100,000 people and have an economic impact for more than €10 billion annually by 2025.2 To achieve their full potential, it is vitally important to assess the potential risks drones might pose considering their characteristics and how this risk could be eliminated. It is also globally acknowledged that drones need to be integrated into non-segregated airspace, without compromising the achieved standards of civil aviation for manned aircraft in any way. There are very important aspects linked to drone operation that are equally relevant to individuals both on the ground and in the air as well as to states and users of the airspace of interest for both manned and unmanned aircraft operation, among them is privacy. There are no direct instruments addressing privacy concerns related to drone operation. Therefore, existing treaties and regulations should be examined to determine whether these privacy issues are covered by national, regional and global regulatory frameworks of the EU. As stressed in the Riga Declaration: “Public acceptance is key to the growth of drone services”. Therefore, addressing privacy issues sufficiently is a permanent force affecting the growth of the drone industry.

A Pragmatic Approach to Regulating Artificial Intelligence: A Technology Regulator's Perspective

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the regulation thereof is a topic that is increasingly being discussed within various fora. Various proposals have been made in literature for defining regulatory bodies and/or related regulation. In this paper, we present a pragmatic approach for providing a technology assurance regulatory framework. To the best knowledge of the authors this work presents the first national AI technology assurance legal and regulatory framework that has been implemented by a national authority empowered through law to do so. In aim of both providing assurances where required and not stifling innovation yet supporting it, herein it is proposed that such regulation should not be mandated for all AI-based systems and that rather it should primarily provide a voluntary framework and only be mandated in sectors and activities where required and as deemed necessary by other authorities for regulated and critical areas.

Comparative analysis of video surveillance regulation in data protection laws in the former Yugoslav states

Video surveillance, the monitoring of a specific area, event, activity or person through an electronic device or a system for visual monitoring is already established as a central tool of public security policy. Video surveillance represents a starting point for implementing advanced technologies such as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) and automatic facial recognition (AFR), which tend to become standards in many urban areas. Based on the increased use of video surveillance technologies, governments and private actors' capabilities in terms of monitoring of the population and potentially violating fundamental human rights are colossally increased. The article will provide a comparative analysis of national regulatory frameworks of video surveillance in public spaces in former Yugoslav states and its compliance with standards provided by new data protection regulatory framework, particularly General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The article will also give an overview of the major violations of the right to privacy by video surveillance and insight into and potential impact of new projects and technologies currently under deployment in the observed countries.

Is remote working here to stay? Lessons and ideas for a post-pandemic future

The article studies the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the labor market for what concerns the diffusion of remote working in Italy. First, it shows how working remotely represents a possibility for a minority of the workforce. Then, it discusses the presence of structural socioeconomic gaps between those who can and cannot work remotely in terms of income, unemployment, and health security at work. Finally, it addresses the issue of poor regulation on remote working by offering an overview of the national regulatory framework and describing recent trends in collective bargaining.

PESTEL-analysis of the system “state – independent quality assessment agencies”: Political and socio-economic aspects

The aim of the study. The article is devoted to determining the influence of political and socio-economic factors on the process of external evaluation of the quality of higher education at the university. The main factors that motivate a thorough analysis of the educational environment are described both from the point of view of the participants in this process and from the point of view of auditors, independent institutions. The analysis of external factors is the first stage of creating an effective strategy for the advanced development of the educational institution and ensuring its financial stability. Methodology. The use of PESTEL-analysis as a tool for assessing the impact of external factors on the quality of education is substantiated. The list of criteria (indicators) of external assessment of the quality of educational programs is presented and the use of these criteria for the creation of effective mechanisms of maintenance of the quality of higher education in HEI is offered. Results. When considering the relationship “state – independent quality assessment agencies” input parameters are factors of external influence, system parameters – financial performance indicators, management parameters – regulatory framework and criteria for assessing the quality of educational programs, output parameters – recommendations for building an internal quality assurance system education in HEI. Among the political factors of influence can be identified both destabilizing and positive factors on the quality assurance system of free economic zones. Destabilizing factors provoke a constructive response from NAQA in the form of development and active implementation of the regulatory framework in the activities to ensure the quality of education. Practical meaning. The criteria for the external evaluation of the educational program and the activities of the NAQA in terms of improving the national regulatory framework respond to the economic challenges facing the quality assurance system of education. In response to social challenges, the system of external evaluation of the quality of education becomes more “flexible” and prone to a variety of methods for solving problems. Prospects for further research. The analysis of all these factors, as well as the tools to influence these factors, developed by the NAQA, should be the basis of the strategy for the development of free economic relations and regulations on the development of quality assurance in education. The creation of a tool of technological influence on the analyzed factors by the management of the HEI determines the prospects for further research.

Control and hygienic regulation of air pollution by fibrous particles

Introduction. The correct assessment of air pollution by fibrous particles allows controlling the risks of their exposure for workers and the general population. The indices for control of air pollution by fibrous particles differs from established for other dusts. The main control methods are optical and electron microscopy. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, which should be reflected in the national regulatory framework. The aim of study - to test the modern methods for the control of air pollution by fibrous particles. Materials and methods. A comparative analysis of modern methods for controlling air pollution by fibres with practical testing of determining their numerical concentrations by the method of membrane filters using optical phase contrast (PCOM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was performed. Results. Based on field studies performed in various industries, the advantages and disadvantages of the methods used in the world to control air pollution by fibrous particles were evaluated. Conclusions. The main methods for determining fibers in the air are PCM and SEM/EDXA. The development of regulatory documents for calculating the numerical concentrations in the work area air and in the ambient air will help to ensure the correct risk assessments for occupational and non-occupational exposure of fibrous particles.

Designing Regulatory Frameworks for Access to Genetic Resources: A Multi-Stakeholder Multi-Criteria Approach.

In this paper we conduct a multi-criteria analysis (MCA) from a multiple stakeholder point of view for the design of access and benefit sharing (ABS) agreements concerning genetic resources, in particular regarding the access component of such agreements. We start by analyzing the objectives defined by international law (viz. the Convention on Biodiversity and the Nagoya Protocol) that every party (i.e., all United Nations member states, except the United States) must strive to attain when developing national legislation on ABS. As countries have a certain degree of freedom concerning the way and the extent to which they need to integrate these objectives into their national frameworks and since stakeholders attach different levels of importance to these objectives, such an MCA will help identify those options that command the highest value added from the community of stakeholders. Consequently, those options are expected to hold the highest potential for successful implementation. The MCA performed in this paper is based on Saaty’s analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and starts from the objectives (i.e., criteria) enshrined in international law, and then proceeds by assessing the relative importance of these criteria from the point of view of four different stakeholder groups (industrial users, academic users, collections and provider countries). The alternatives to be evaluated in the MCA are based upon options discussed qualitatively in our previous study published in Frontiers in Plant Science (2019b). These options are now transformed into “design parameters” and are evaluated in terms of their contribution to stakeholder criteria. This evaluation is now performed in a quantitative way using MCA and is based on previous qualitative discussions with stakeholders that have been reported qualitatively in our previous paper in Frontiers in Plant Science referred to above. The final result of our MCA consists of pointing out which design parameters regarding access obtain the highest priority from the community of stakeholders and hence need to be present in national regulatory frameworks on ABS that will be implemented by member states. It is our intention to undertake similar research for the Benefit Sharing component of ABS agreements in the future.

Evaluation of the Efficiency of Basic Sanitation Integrated Management in Brazilian Municipalities.

This study aims to evaluate the level of technical efficiency of companies that perform the integrated management of basic sanitation in Brazilian municipalities. A Multiple Data Envelopment Analysis (M-DEA) model was applied to estimate the performance of water supply and sewage services in municipalities covering more than of the Brazilian population, identifying the factors that most influence the efficiency of the sector in the years 2008 and 2016. The M-DEA methodology is an extension of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) with multiple DEA executions considering all combinations of inputs and outputs to calculate efficiency scores. The methodology reduces possible biases in the selection of resources and products of the model, ability to support decision-making in favor of improvements in the sector′s efficiency based on national regulatory framework. The analyses show that the companies analyzed can increase their operating results and attendance coverage by more than , given the current levels of infrastructure, human and financial resources in the sector. Based on the simulation of potential efficiency gains in Brazilian basic sanitation companies, the estimates show that the coverage of the population with access to sanitary sewage would go from the current to . The evidence found provides indications to subsidize sanitation management in the country at the micro-analytical level, enabling a better competitive position in the sector for the integrated management of basic sanitation and its universalization in Brazil.

REGULATORY STANDARDS OF HONEY SAFETY AND QUALITY

Modern beekeeping industry globalization leads to an increase in competition between countries for the foreign market. The products that provide the appropriate level of safety and quality following international requirements would be able to gain a competitive advantage. Establishing a competitive advantage for honey on the world market and improving exports/import process with the guaranteed observance of consumers’ rights and interests require a systematic revision of regulatory documentation for beekeeping products. The study aimed to analyze the current international and national regulations governing the safety and quality of honey. Critical analysis of normative documentation, a comparison of international, European, and Ukrainian requirements for physicochemical indicators of honey quality and content of dangerous contaminants, as well as the study of the organic beekeeping regulation was made. It was found that the national regulatory framework for the safety and quality of honey needs to be optimized. Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (Ukraine) of June 19, 2019, № 330 contains requirements that are more adapted to international and European standards for honey quality criteria compared to current national requirements. Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food (Ukraine) of June 19, 2019, № 330 still needs to be improved for items governing the value of moisture content and mineral content as well as diastasis activity of honey components. Concerning the production of organic beekeeping products, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine introduced the current EU regulatory framework for organic beekeeping.

Обеспечение комплексной безопасности на железнодорожном транспорте в контексте стратегического развития

Objective: Defi nition of the concept and components of integrated safety in railway transport, description of approaches to ensuring integrated safety. Methods: The general methods of empirical (observation and comparison) and theoretical (analysis and synthesis) research were applied. Results: Drawing on the analysis of the national regulatory framework in the fi eld of safety, it is proposed to defi ne the concept of integrated safety in railway transport as the absence of an unacceptable risk of hazardous events associated with damage to human life and health, damage to the environment and material values. The main types of safety that constitute integrated safety in railway transport are identifi ed, which include traffi c safety, transport security, fi re safety, sanitary and epidemiological safety, information security, cybersecurity, labor safety, environmental safety, industrial safety, safety in emergency situations. On the basis of international experience, the necessity of forming an integrated management system for integrated safety in railway transport is shown. The concept of a situational center for managing the integrated safety of the transportation process in railway transport is described. Practical importance: The proposed characteristics of the concept of integrated safety in railway transport and mechanisms for its ensuring can be used to organize practical activities to achieve the strategic goals of increasing the level of safety on domestic railways

Understanding the governance dynamics of a supranational university: The African pioneering model

Since the 1990s, university governance has attracted the attention of scholars. However, most of the extant studies focus on the governance of national-level universities and use national regulatory frameworks. Therefore, there is a dearth of studies that hinge on the governance of supranational higher education institutions, such as the Pan African University (PAU), with the aid of regional regulatory frameworks. Consequently, little is known about the governance architecture of supranational universities, which are a post-2010 phenomenon. In view of the above, the article answers the following question: How is the Pan African University governed within a multi-layer environment? Using an interpretive lens, data was collected from the Revised Statute of the Pan African University, 2016. Content analysis was used to analyse the resultant data. The findings revealed that observance of the values of higher education, adoption of the steering-at-a-distance university governance model by the African Union Commission and of the shared governance arrangement, and merit-based selection of staff are the hallmarks of the PAU governance architecture. The governance model of the PAU resonates with the governance architecture of country-level universities in form rather than in substance. The notable variations in the substance include the partial adoption of the philosophy of ‘letting the managers manage’, the existence of multi-governance layers, lay domination of the University Senate, the presence of ‘universities’ in PAU governance arrangement, the existence of a ‘quasi-governance’ organ with external representation at the level of the Institute, and the continental outlook of the PAU Council. Therefore, it can be concluded that the missions of the universities and their context shape universities’ governance architecture.
 Received: 04 May 2020Accepted: 29 July 2020

ES piliečių, turinčių nuolatinio gyventojo statusą Jungtinėje Karalystėje, teisė gyventi kartu su šeimos nariais po „Brexit“

This paper analyses the impact of the United Kingdom withdrawal procedure on the rights of EU citizens with permanent residence status in the United Kingdom to live with their family members in the country after Brexit and the legal challenges and perspectives arising from this procedure. It provides an overview of the international and national regulatory frameworks for the free movement of persons, and analyses possible models of relations between the United Kingdom and the EU after Brexit in relation to this fundamental freedom. The research focuses on the rights of people working in the United Kingdom to live with their family members and provides prospects for future legal regulation once the United Kingdom is no longer a member of the EU.

Professional regulation for Australasian genetic counselors.

As a result of the ongoing global expansion of genetic counseling, the need to formalize a system of professional regulation for genetic counselors was identified in Australasia. In June 2017, under the auspices of the Human Genetics Society of Australasia (HGSA), a working party was convened. The purpose of the working party was to provide strategic leadership for the profession of Australasian genetic counselors with a goal to formalize a national regulatory framework for genetic counselors across both Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions. This was ultimately achieved in Australia through full membership with the National Alliance of Self-Regulating Health Professions (NASRHP) while the profession of genetic counseling in New Zealand is utilizing this framework to establish their regulation pathway. Regulation has a number of implications for genetic counselors, their employers, and the wider community, with the primary purpose of regulation being protection of the public from harm. This paper details the process of formalizing self-regulation for genetic counselors in Australasia, by defining professional regulation; outlining the purpose of regulation and the status of regulation for genetic counselors in Australasia and internationally, as well as health professionals more broadly; exploring the challenges of establishing regulation in Australasia; and the next steps for regulation in Australasia. Through detailing this process, the intention is to provide a framework to support genetic counseling colleagues internationally as well as other health professions in Australasia to explore and achieve regulation through their respective jurisdiction.