Government Objectives Research Articles

Accountability Document as a Symbol of The Effectiveness of Local Government Financial Management

Preparing the Accountability Document (AD) is a process carried out by local governments to ensure transparency and accountability in financial management. The AD is used as a means to monitor and account for regional financial management that has been obtained every period. This document is made routinely every period and contains information files about the use of funds in an activity, as well as the results of budget absorption achieved in a period. This study aims to analyze how preparing AD exhibits the effectiveness of local government financial management. This research uses qualitative methodology with interview techniques. Data analysis techniques use qualitative analysis consisting of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion drawing and verification. The results of this study concluded that AD plays an important role in ensuring that financial management is carried out transparently and accountably. This document allows local governments to monitor and supervise the use of funds received by each regional apparatus agency, as well as ensure that these funds are in accordance with government objectives and interests.

Academentia, management and satire: ‘The good, the bad and the ugly’

Orientation: The argument rethinks current managerial practices in higher education.Research purpose: Satire beckons when normal science cannot reproduce itself or shift to account for different ways of doing things. When reality mimics satire, satire becomes an appropriate methodology. Such literary approaches can reveal what normal science cannot.Motivation for the study: To add to critical management studies and the combatting of academentia as an institutional condition.Research design, approach and method: The general methodology derives from both literary and business principles read through critical management studies and cultural studies. Autoethnography is shown here to be useful within accounting and management studies. The Semler and the Kalahari management practices explicitly specify the need to rethink ‘operational models’.Main findings: No findings are offered in the conventional sense. Rather, relations are analysed and conclusions result from my own internal dialogue as a central player in the case study. The ‘transformation’ objectives of governance were disconnected from educational purposes. The resulting dramatic narrative hopefully appeals to readers in terms of their own lived conditions: can readers insert themselves into the narrative in terms of their own experiences?Practical and/or managerial implications: Institutions to be managed as adhocracies. What has been learned after 20 years of transformation and restructuring, if anything?Contribution and/or value-add: An engagement with critical management studies from the perspective of cultural studies identifies some solutions. Like the former, the latter examines issues of power relations, in this case, relations subsisting within administrative systems rather than the more usual framing as being between classes, races, ethnicities and genders.

The Environmental Impacts of Future Global Sales of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

During the last decade, developing more sustainable transportation modes has become a primary objective for car manufacturers and governments around the world to mitigate environmental issues, such as climate change, the continuous increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and energy depletion. The use of hydrogen fuel cell technology as a source of energy in electric vehicles is considered an emerging and promising technology that could contribute significantly to addressing these environmental issues. In this study, the effects of Hydrogen Fuel Cell Battery Electric Vehicles (HFCBEVs) on global GHG emissions compared to other technologies, such as BEVs, were determined based on different relevant factors, such as predicted sales for 2050 (the result of the developed prediction model), estimated daily traveling distance, estimated future average global electricity emission factors, future average Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) emission factors, future global hydrogen production emission factors, and future average HFCBEV emission factors. As a result, the annual GHG emissions produced by passenger cars that are expected to be sold in 2050 were determined by considering BEV sales in the first scenario and HFCBEV replacement in the second scenario. The results indicate that the environmental benefits of HFCBEVs are expected to increase over time compared to those of BEVs, due to the eco-friendly methods that are expected to be used in hydrogen production in the future. For instance, in 2021, HFCBEVs could produce more GHG emissions than BEVs by 54.9% per km of travel, whereas in 2050, BEVs could produce more GHG emissions than HFCBEVs by 225% per km of travel.

Responding to green finance with emission reduction and value-added: The role of enterprise environmental investment

Responding to China’s green finance policy with enterprise environmental investment (EEI) constitutes a crucial link in achieving environmental governance objectives, exerting crucial influence on the nation’s green transformation and high-quality development. Taking the pilot policy of China’s Green Finance Reform and Innovation Experimental Zone (GFRP) in 2017 as a quasi-natural experiment, this study systematically evaluates the effect of GFRP policy on the decisions of EEI and further explore whether the investments are used for passive end-of-pipe treatment (EOP) or positive source prevention (SP) by using firm-level data. The results indicate that GFRP policy can significantly promote EEI, and mainly reflected in SP, rather than EOP. Through potential mechanism analysis, it can be concluded that GFRP policy facilitates EEI by alleviating financial constraint, reducing agency cost, and enhancing environmental information disclosure. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that there exists asymmetry in policy effects, with greater impacts in high green finance development areas, low concentration industries and large-scale enterprises. Furthermore, micro-level performance consequences examination reveals that the enterprises’ decision to increase EEI under GFRP policy not only effectively realizes energy conservation and emission reduction but also contribute to facilitating enterprise value, to achieve green transformation. This study holds significant policy implications, providing empirical evidence to policymakers for the refinement and dissemination of green finance policy, and offering valuable insights for enterprise investment and management decisions.

Research on the Relationship between the School-Running Characteristics of Private Colleges and Universities and the Development Objectives of the Government

The development objectives of the Chinese government have a guiding effect on the school-running characteristics of private colleges and universities. This paper explores the relationship between the characteristics of private colleges and universities and the development objectives of the provincial government, using Jiangsu Province as a case study. All the schools have the consciousness of fully considering the development objectives of Jiangsu Province when formulating the school-running characteristics. Their characteristics all contain some training methods, training courses, or institutional construction aiming at the development objectives. Most universities can support the government’s objectives on employment and innovation. Only a third of the schools provide government support for science research. Private colleges and universities should make full use of the free and flexible advantages of private education, combine them with the continuous changes of policies and markets, and create clear, scientific, and dynamic school-running characteristics, in order to achieve long-term development.

Brain worlds: information order and interwar intellectual cooperation

Information is ubiquitous in International Relations (IR), but typically gets treated as a self-evident epistemic resource. A burgeoning IR literature on the politics of knowledge resists such reification, but has not thus far examined information as such. Mobilising its constructivist premises in historical perspective, this article argues that information is not just an epistemic resource but also an ordering concept. The article examines its emergence in and around the interwar League of Nations Organisation for Intellectual Cooperation (OIC), a predecessor of UNESCO. It focuses on two notable but neglected proposals – Paul Otlet’s Mundaneum and H.G. Wells’ World Brain – which considered advances in microfilm storage and bibliography as opportunities to rethink global order. Worried about a crisis of ‘intelligence’ and reducing political conflict to information gaps, Otlet and Wells introduced systems that mimicked imperial global order: information could be organised, curated and shared to ‘diffuse the European mind’. To both, information was not just an epistemic resource but a means of global ordering. Crucially, promoting a world united by information was entirely compatible with infrastructurally reproducing an imperial division of the world by degrees of ignorance. League officials rejected the utopianism of these proposals but held on to the pacifying promise of information. Recovering this history shows how historical perspective allows us to contextualise artificially disembedded IR concepts and objects of governance. It also puts hopes for information as inherently pacifying into perspective: without considering the broader political embeddedness of information, such hopes risk leaving underlying hierarchies intact.

In the labyrinth of ideological search: ways to construct a memory of an uncomfortable past (on example of events of the 1917 Revolution and the Civil War)

This article is devoted to the problem of constructing a collective memory of the "inconvenient past" by modern elites of Russia on the example of the events of the 1917 revolution and the subsequent civil war. The conflict aspects of commemoration (installation of monuments and memorial signs) in the process of constructing an official historical narrative are considered. Concidered changes in the official historical narrative regarding the "difficult past" in different periods of time. The preservation of historical memory largely depends on the political objectives of the current government, which not only supports collective memory through various commemorative practices, but also constructs a modern historical narrative. This narrative does not imply the restoration of Soviet historiography; it combines a variety of interpretations of the events of the Revolution and the Civil War in the context of building the historical continuity of Russian statehood. Therefore, the images of some Soviet figures coexist with the figures of their opponents, forming ideas among the mass audience about patriotic service to the Russian state, regardless of ideological and political views. The "lost memory" is not being restored; current generations of Russians have not accepted the political experience of supporters of democratic socialism, who rejected Bolshevism and did not support the "white movement" in the civil war. The attitude towards the losers in the fight against the Bolsheviks today is negative, as towards weak and incapable politicians. Considering historical memory as an integral part of collective memory, it is concluded that only those events of the past that are perceived by society as extremely useful for modern generations are integrated into the structure of collective consciousness. In addition, the inertia of public consciousness affects the "selection of event material". For this reason, during the entire post-Soviet period, it was not possible to completely replace the former Soviet ideological cliches with a new historical narrative.

American presidential campaign and ageism.

Ageism is still acceptable in our society, as age-focused criticism during the last American presidential campaign shows. Media and social media discourse on ageism, sexism, and racism shows the need of raising the awareness of ageism. We present Eugene Braunwald as an example of excellence at an advanced age. Dr. Braunwald, aged 95, has just published his article number 1,618. Preventing and counteracting ageism should be an objective of health-care workers, journalists, governments, companies, and civil society organizations. Some of our current clinical guidelines and medical care protocols might discriminate the elderly. To overcome age bias we must educate politicians, physicians, and the public. We propose some measures to fight against this type of discrimination, as asking politicians about age/aging/ ageism, promoting clinical trials in older patients, and avoiding the use of age alone in the decision-making processes.

The political economy of gender mainstreaming in energy access in Senegal

Abstract In June 2017, the Economic Community of West African States adopted the Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access to integrate gender equity in West Africa’s energy and climate policy making. The policy represents the first regional gender and energy policy in the world, establishing a framework to enhance understanding at the nexus of gender and energy, improve the inclusivity of policies, programs, and initiatives, and increase women’s participation in the field of energy in the public and private sectors. Each member state developed a National Action Plan (NAP) to operationalize these goals and align implementation with national contexts and policy priorities. This study examines the experience of Senegal’s NAP development, from 13 semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders and document review. We use the Actors, Objectives, Context political economy framework to understand how Senegal’s economic and political structures, historical and social context, and influence of key stakeholders shaped their efforts to mainstream gender in the country’s energy sector. We then describe four main objectives of actors in government, civil society, and the development space involved in policy development, summarizing these as: electricity access, economic development, access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, and gender equity. We find that the objectives of government and development actors are reflected in the emphasis on energy access in the NAP and the government’s long-term development agenda, though a critical lack of engagement with the private sector has limited the policy’s efforts to mainstream women across energy sub-sectors beyond clean cooking. Women’s civil society organizations, historically less engaged with energy issues, have nonetheless achieved considerable success in advocating for increased women’s political participation. This advocacy has set a precedent for policies promoting ‘positive discrimination’ for women and marginalized groups, evident in policy activities aimed at electrifying women’s economic sectors.

Promotion Effects of High-Speed Rail on Urban Development: Evidence from Three Lines in China

Amid the vigorous development of the high-speed rail (HSR) network, local governments in China generally consider the construction of HSR as a crucial task in their regional development strategies. Currently, most provincial capitals and prefecture-level cities in the eastern and central regions of China already have operational HSR services. This study aims to examine a key question: has the objective of local governments to promote urban development through the construction of HSR been effective? The research selects cities along the Beijing–Shanghai, Beijing–Guangzhou, and Harbin–Dalian HSR lines as the study subjects. Based on the principles of proximity and similarity, cities with operational HSR and those without are chosen as the experimental group and the control group, respectively. Following the double difference (difference-in-differences) approach, an advantage index is proposed to systematically evaluate the impact of HSR operation on urban development from three dimensions: population aggregation, economic development, and expansion of construction land. Furthermore, the evaluation results are systematically clustered to identify city types that exhibit different promotional effects in various dimensions. The research findings indicate the following: (1) The promotion effect of HSR on the development of small to medium-sized cities is more reflected in economic growth and construction land growth. (2) The promotion effect of HSR on the development of large cities is more reflected in the growth of the employment population. (3) For smaller or economically less-developed cities, HSR may be detrimental to the aggregation of resident and employment populations. (4) Cities with moderate size and good economic development have the opportunity to use HSR to promote population aggregation. On this basis, combined with the findings above, strategies to promote the coordinated development of high-speed rail construction and urban systems are discussed.

Carbon Emission Effects of Spatially Connected Networks in the Digital Economy： Dynamic Evolution and Mechanism of Action

In the context of the "double carbon" goal and the construction of the "East Counts, West Counts" project, this study investigated the characteristics of the spatial and temporal evolution of the digital economy spatial correlation network, and the effects and mechanisms of carbon emission reduction and carbon rebound effects by selecting data at the level of 254 prefectural-level cities from 2011 to 2021 and using the UCINET software and empirical econometric modeling. The results indicated that： The spatial network of the digital economy represented the development pattern of multiple synergies and had the characteristics of non-equilibrium spatial evolution in geographic regions. Secondly, the spatial network of the digital economy in the sample selection period had a positive contribution to carbon emission reduction, and it led to the carbon rebound effect, which was still valid after the robustness test. Furthermore, the spatial correlation network of the digital economy could reduce carbon emissions by promoting the energy efficiency effect under technological progress and led to the carbon rebound effect. Finally, the empirical results were heterogeneous under the four dimensions of geographic region, administrative level, urban environmental governance objectives, and resource endowment.

Sustainable finance, water governance, and water policy objectives in Ontario municipalities

ABSTRACT Sustainable finance is an important part of the water governance landscape that has not received sufficient attention in the water governance and policy literature. In this paper, we approach sustainable finance as a ‘non-water’ factor that influences water governance situations. Two key water policy objectives in Ontario municipalities provide the focus: water system financial sustainability, and industrial water use reduction. We find that sustainable finance as a sector has significant potential to drive future decision-making around water in municipalities in the context of chronic underfunding and the transition to low-carbon economies.

“THE HERCULES PROJECT”: THE HISTORY OF THE BRAZILIAN GOVERNMENT'S RECOGNITION OF UFOLOGIST AS AN OCCUPATION

On the night of May 30, 2024, in an emotional virtual meeting organized by the Latin American Academy of Scientific Ufology (LAASU), several ufologists from Brazil and other continents met with the aim of celebrating the recognition by the Brazilian government of the profession of ufologist as an occupation after a long process of technical evaluation. The intensification of activities and research by scientific entities such as LAASU, local and federal government entities in Brazil, the U.S. government through the Pentagon, Congress, NASA, and some media, all contributed to create an environment conducive to this heroic feat. The "Hercules Project" is described herein, which was conceived inside the LAASU with the objective of the Brazilian government's recognition of the profession of ufologist as an occupation with social, economic and scientific value and ended in a total success. Although this process was an initiative of LAASU, the merit belongs to scientific Ufology worldwide and especially in Brazil, which has contributed with studies, researches and publications over several years. This article aims to discuss the rational basis supporting that Ufology can be considered a profession. Additionally, this article aims to describe the history of the recognition by the Brazilian government through the Ministry of Labor and Employment of the profession of ufologist as a legitimate occupation. The struggle for the recognition of the ufologist as an occupation is an epic story of faith, struggle, and overcoming obstacles, that ended in May 2024

Health promotion

In 1986, the Ottawa Charter established health promotion as a central objective of governments in order to reduce health inequalities. It is a key concept that forms an integral part of nurses' training and missions.

When resilience isn’t enough: natural disaster as an under-researched barrier

Natural disasters significantly impact the study plans of higher education students. This study explores the impact of catastrophic floods in the Australian city of Townsville in January 2019 on three enabling students enrolled in Skills for Tertiary Education Preparatory Studies (STEPS) at CQUniversity Australia (CQU). STEPS is a foundation course aimed at widening participation in line with the Australian government objectives to have more Australians complete a tertiary qualification. Students who successfully complete STEPS can gain direct entry to most higher education undergraduate courses. The aim of the study was to develop an understanding of the impacts of the Townsville floods on each participant along with an evaluation of the support offered by the University during the disaster. While the participants in this study showed extraordinary resilience and capacity for recovery throughout the disaster, all three participants withdrew from the STEPS course. While some educators may believe that students withdraw due to low resilience, this research suggests that resilience theory may not be a good fit in the context of natural disasters. Instead, a theory that considers the student and their community context is needed, such as the ecological theory by Bronfenbrenner (as cited in Paquette & Ryan, 2001). When extraordinary events occur, specific forms of institutional support are needed, such as Withdrawal Without Academic Penalty (WWAPs) and Leave of Absence with an acknowledgment of assessments passed to maintain enrolment. Such measures are likely to increase retention of students in widening participation initiatives.

The Evolution of Behavioral Strategies in the Game Theory Context of National Park Management: A Comparison of Central and Local Government Objectives

The Evolution of Behavioral Strategies in the Game Theory Context of National Park Management: A Comparison of Central and Local Government Objectives

Corporate governance codes: A controversial efficiency?

The pursuit of good governance by companies confronts a fundamental challenge: defining what constitutes “good governance”. Existing corporate governance codes and their implementation documents fall short of offering a clear answer to this crucial question. Despite the establishment of a reference framework years ago, the focus has shifted from defining the objectives of good governance to a consensus on the means of achieving these objectives. Unfortunately, this consensus often absolves stakeholders from providing detailed explanations. Achieving effective good governance necessitates a shift in focus towards the underlying goals of governance structures. Two potential approaches emerge in this context. While many companies rely on codes without explicitly outlining their objectives, there is a compelling case for urging or mandating them to articulate the purposes of the governance methods they employ in their reports. This level of specificity has the potential to enhance the reflective qualities of the transparency process, fostering a more comprehensive understanding of the governance landscape. Beyond merely discussing the objectives of corporate governance, the pursuit of good governance necessitates the implementation of instruments whose efficacy transcends reliance solely on market discipline. The aim is not to undermine the imperatives of transparency and justification. Instead, the intention is to recognize that these elements, while essential, do not independently ensure the effectiveness of soft law instruments, such as governance codes. Nowadays, it is crucial to assess the extent to which traditional corporate governance codes respond to the needs of companies in the era of digitalization and sustainability. Therefore, conducting a critical analysis of the existing corporate governance codes will contribute in shedding light on the gaps of these instruments to come up with recommendations for improvements. Aims and objectives: This article will focus on the following areas: Defining the role and purpose of corporate governance codes in enhancing corporate performance and accountability and discussing the challenges and limitations of corporate governance codes, including compliance issues and enforcement challenges. Presenting empirical evidence on the impact of corporate governance codes on corporate behavior and analyzing, through the principle of comply or explain, whether code adherence leads to improved corporate governance practices and financial performance. Discussing emerging trends in corporate governance and offering recommendations for improving the effectiveness of corporate governance codes.

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Corporate Governance

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) marks a pivotal shift in the landscape of corporate governance, catalyzing a reevaluation of traditional frameworks and necessitating a forward-looking approach to decision-making, risk management, and ethical considerations. This study explores the multifaceted impact of AI on corporate governance, offering a nuanced analysis of how AI technologies are transforming the operational, strategic, and ethical dimensions of organizations. The research underscores the potential of AI to enhance decision-making processes, optimize operational efficiencies, and foster innovation by providing advanced analytical capabilities and predictive insights. However, it concurrently highlights the emergence of unprecedented challenges, including data privacy concerns, algorithmic bias, and the need for robust regulatory frameworks to mitigate risks associated with AI deployment. The article advocates for a proactive stance in redefining corporate governance models to accommodate the disruptive nature of AI, emphasizing the integration of ethical considerations and transparency in AI applications. It calls for a collaborative effort among corporate leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders to develop governance structures that not only leverage AI’s potential but also safeguard against its inherent risks. The study’s recommendations include the establishment of ethical AI guidelines, the adoption of transparent AI practices, and the continuous monitoring of AI systems to ensure their alignment with corporate governance objectives and societal values. However, it is important to note that the approach and methods used in this study are based on a qualitativeliterature review and, therefore, the generalization of the findings across different sectors and corporate governance frameworks may be limited. Additionally, the rapidly evolving nature of AI technologies poses inherent challenges to keeping up with emerging trends and potential risks.

Analisis Program Badan Layanan Umum Daerah (BLUD) Sekolah Menegah Kejuruan (SMK) Dalam Mewujudkan Layanan Pemerintah Daerah Yang Good Corporate Governance (GCG)

The Regional Government, in supporting education reform for better quality and optimality within its units of authority, established the Regional Public Service Agency Program (BLUD) which can be understood as a system implemented by a technical implementation unit of regional agencies/agencies in providing services to the community, and has flexibility in financial management as an exception to regional financial management provisions in general. In line with the Directorate of Vocational High School Development (SMK) in seeking SMK as a school with BLUD status, this can support the management of goods and services whose superior products can manage the production process in the Teaching Factory Program (TEFA) more flexibly without violating regulations (Fazli, 2022). Implementing the Teaching Factory (TEFA) in the form of goods and services for vocational school students is expected to align with the objectives of Good Corporate Governance (GCG) Regional Government Services, namely good management to support the BLUD Vocational School Program in schools. In conducting this research the author used a descriptive qualitative research method approach.

Making the Climate Malleable? “Weak” and “Strong” Governance Objects and the Transformation of International Climate Politics

Abstract Object-oriented theories have been used to understand how the climate and other entities like “the economy” have been produced as discrete, malleable and politically salient “governance objects.” These have structuring effects not only on policy debates but also on entire polities and the international system. However, a failure to distinguish between different kinds of governance objects has obscured their fundamentally different political implications. This article revises earlier definitions and develops a novel distinction between “weakly” and “strongly” malleable governance objects. The former are governable only in terms of not being perturbed in relation to a baseline condition, while “strongly governable” objects are construed as malleable along multiple dimensions, the telos of governing them no longer a given. The weak/strong distinction is applied to elicit implications of four climate strategies: mitigation, adaptation, and prospective “geoengineering” techniques of carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation modification that would deliberately alter the climate. Increasingly billed as risky but necessary, given the fraught politics of mitigation, geoengineering is shown to potentially transform the climate from weak to more strongly governable object. This could “untether” climate governance from the aim of remaining close to a pre-industrial climate, with a "design approach" to geoengineering adding layers of politicization, potentially increasing the fractiousness of global climate politics. However the analysis also highlights possible new routes to depoliticization of the climate, were it to be retethered—potentially to security imperatives or economic indicators. Analysis of governance objects requires much greater attention to types of malleability and politicization.