Operational Agencies Research Articles

Conceptualizing and testing the vicious cycle in child protective services: The critical role played by child maltreatment fatalities

Child Maltreatment Fatalities (CMFs) have been alleged to exert great pressures on the delivery of Child Protective Services. Anecdotal accounts implicate CMFs as a cause of “vicious cycles” defined as sequences of scandal, outrage, and reform that destabilize and re-stabilize agency operations and personnel. In this paper we test the CMF cycle hypothesis using 22 years of data from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS). We employ Fourier time series and panel regression and find some evidence to support a cycle of CMF case accumulations that repeat at an 8 to 10 year interval. We show that previous levels of CMFs are much better predictors of subsequent CMFs than risk assessment factors used in much of the child welfare literature. We discuss the reasons why predictive analytics using traditional risk factors will continue to perform unsatisfactorily, and why dynamic models of CMFs will always perform better. Finally we consider how our research on the relative efficacy of traditional risk-as-hazard modelling vis a vis dynamic modelling can be used by academics and researchers to help practitioners operate more effective child welfare agencies.

The information system for social housing management as a part of the land administration system – A case study of Poland

The management of social housing is an interdisciplinary activity whose efficiency is determined by the availability of complete and up-to-date real estate data. Reliable and valid information is essential for the smooth operation of all public administration agencies. In Poland, social housing is managed as part of the existing municipal housing stock. However, many Polish municipalities lack comprehensive information systems capable of supporting of social housing management by integrating multiple distributed databases and providing complementary information for the efficient execution of core management functions. For this reason, an original concept of a social housing management information system (SHMIS) with universal features that could be applied on the national scale should be proposed based on research findings and effective management practices. The management of social housing could be significantly improved by providing municipalities with access to real estate data from public registers incorporated into a single Land Administration System (LAS). Poland is currently in the process of developing the national LAS, referred to as the Integrated Real Estate Information System (IREIS). The Polish LAS is scheduled for implementation in 2019. A pilot system is currently operated by selected administrative units.The main aim of this study was to develop the SHMIS concept as part of the Polish LAS. The study was preceded by an analysis of the degree of data overlap between both systems. The required data for effective support of social housing management were identified and grouped for the needs of the analysis. The analysis demonstrated considerable data overlap between the SHMIS and the currently implemented IREIS, which indicates that the proposed SHMIS should constitute an integral sub-module of the IREIS environment.

The effects of ASEAN treaties in domestic legal orders: Evidence from Vietnam

Abstract This article examines the effects of ASEAN treaties in the Vietnamese legal system. It demonstrates that, in addition to modifying domestic laws, ASEAN treaties, especially those adopted to promote regional economic integration, could also influence the domestic legal order by changing current administrative procedures, introducing new administrative mechanisms, and improving the overall operation of government agencies. This process may not be immediately discernible from an examination of changes in domestic laws; however, once the inquiry is broadened to include details of treaty implementation via administrative procedures, the impact of treaties comes into sharper focus. This impact of treaties on administrative procedures, while relatively easy to overlook, may represent the most important portion of the impact of ASEAN treaties on Vietnam’s legal order. More broadly, it also illuminates a larger point about the indirect, more subtle, and less visible influence that international law may exert on national law and procedures.

Research on Criteria for Operational Audit of Expenditure from State Budget in Vietnam

In Vietnam, operational audits have been upgraded as an independent form of audit in the operation of the supreme audit agency. However, because it was introduced later than other types of audit, it is still confusing and general in setting criteria of audit. There are no specific guidelines for auditing expenditure from state budget. Therefore, the formation and application of audit criteria in the audit practice of expenditure from state budget has not been effective, spontaneous and influenced by the actual capacity of assigned auditors. Meanwhile, in order to perform the proper audit function, the most important thing is to build up the evaluation criteria. Based on data collected both secondary and primary from interviewing auditors, experts in the field of state budget, we conducted the synthesis, analysis, evaluation, comparison and clarification of research issues. The results show that the formation of audit criteria is not really reasonable; criteria for economic efficiency and effectiveness are sometimes unclear. Therefore, this study is to identify and develop criteria for evaluating the operational audit of expenditure from state budget in Vietnam. Keywords: Criteria, economy, efficiency, effectiveness, operational audit. DOI : 10.7176/RJFA/10-10-18 Publication date :May 31 st 2019

Getting the Job in Advertising: Hiring Decision Makers’ Perceived Value of Student-Run Communications Agency Experience for Recent Graduates

Student-run communications agencies on university campuses provide the opportunity for communications students to apply classroom learning to real client projects with actual budgets. Students have direct contact with marketing and communication professionals who hold the students accountable for their work and results. This research looks at the level of understanding and perceived value of these student-run agencies among hiring decision makers at professional communications firms. The research shows these decision makers value the experience students gain from this kind of agency work, including understanding agency operations and culture, interacting with clients, producing actual creative work, and being held accountable for results. Further, students experience the challenges associated with driving projects from start to completion while working with people of different backgrounds and skill sets. Overall, student agency experience provides students with valuable professional skills and a meaningful point of difference versus other candidates when competing for jobs.

On Principals and Agency: Reassembling Trust in Indian Ocean Commerce

AbstractThe role of trust in long-distance trade has been a topic of inquiry and debate among economists, sociologists, and historians. Much of this literature hinges on the social, legal, and economic structures that undergird, if not obviate, the concept of trust. This article draws on assemblage theory to suggest that trust in Indian Ocean trade is better understood as a key component of a commercial assemblage. Laws or social mores are not external to but rather enrolled within an assemblage constituted by people, commodities, profits, and “feelings,” as well as judicial systems. This conceptualization of trust is demonstrated through a close analysis of one trading relationship between a Somali merchant and an Indian merchant based in Aden and trading in the Idrisi Emirate of Asir. They established a partnership to exploit elevated prices in Asir during the First World War. After several months of trading, accusations of fraud and embezzling unraveled the partnership and entangled both men in years of legal battles. By tracing the changing socio-material assemblage of this partnership, the article demonstrates how trust should be understood as a dynamic and contingent factor in the operation of commercial agency.

Design (tele-)audiovisual: os gestos de montagem em Black Mirror

Na busca por uma filosofia do atual tele-audiovisual, como a série Black Mirror nos afeta? Montagem comumente é associada a três operacionalidades entre a transparência e a opacidade: 1. as lógicas do cinema clássico – continuidade (raccords) e inserções da paralela (ou alternada) –, 2. as dialéticas vanguardistas da escola soviética e 3. os “subversivos” jump cut e split screen. No entanto, a potência da obra se dá através de outros gestos de montagem. Esse ensaio é uma análise crítica sobre as estéticas da imagem-montagem ali presentes: operacionalidades reflexivo-criativas do design em movimento na remixabilidade profunda das artes e das técnicas.

Low efficiency of large volcanic eruptions in transporting very fine ash into the atmosphere

Volcanic ash clouds are common, often unpredictable, phenomena generated during explosive eruptions. Mainly composed of very fine ash particles, they can be transported in the atmosphere at great distances from the source, having detrimental socio-economic impacts. However, proximal settling processes controlling the proportion (ε) of the very fine ash fraction distally transported in the atmosphere are still poorly understood. Yet, for the past two decades, some operational meteorological agencies have used a default value of ε = 5% as input for forecast models of atmospheric ash cloud concentration. Here we show from combined satellite and field data of sustained eruptions that ε actually varies by two orders of magnitude with respect to the mass eruption rate. Unexpectedly, we demonstrate that the most intense eruptions are in fact the least efficient (with ε = 0.1%) in transporting very fine ash through the atmosphere. This implies that the amount of very fine ash distally transported in the atmosphere is up to 50 times lower than previously anticipated. We explain this finding by the efficiency of collective particle settling in ash-rich clouds which enhance early and en masse fallout of very fine ash. This suggests that proximal sedimentation during powerful eruptions is more controlled by the concentration of ash than by the grain size. This has major consequences for decision-makers in charge of air traffic safety regulation, as well as for the understanding of proximal settling processes. Finally, we propose a new statistical model for predicting the source mass eruption rate with an unprecedentedly low level of uncertainty.

A comparative review and framework development on public participation for decision-making in Chinese public projects

The introduction of public participation (PP) in public projects is envisioned to be able to improve decision quality, accuracy and long-term social benefits. However, implementation of effective PP may not be a less challenging task given its complexity. Overall, PP experience and strategies in Western developed countries have been relatively ample and can be witnessed from their day to day operation of government agencies, non-governmental organisations and public affairs. In comparison, developing countries such as China, have introduced and practiced PP in some form but the overall maturity and degree remain relatively low. This study examined the PP practice from a few Western developed countries through the review of literature and legal documentation, and compared against the China's PP practice, which further revealed the bottlenecks of the nation being lack of driving force, information and participation forms. These findings were then verified and justified using a meticulously-designed research methodology which involved the surveys and interviews of a large number of respondents. To improve the China's PP practice and generalise the lessons learnt, the rest of the study was focused on formulating a seven-step conceptual framework, which incorporates operable models and methodical strategies. It needs to be made clear that despite this framework is of general value at the theoretical level, its practicality needs to be further validated by our future studies.

Analysis and Research on Local Government Debt Problems in China

As China is in the process of urbanization, local governments often assume the responsibility for the construction of most public facilities, and thus have strong investment needs. Under the current trend of large and growing local debts in China, local governments in all regions and at all levels in China have a lot of debt operations and complex debt relationships. The accumulation of local debts leads to the out-of-control of the scale of debts, which seriously affects the normal operation of government agencies and hinders the development of the economy, which is prone to huge financial risks and social conflicts. In order to control the risk of debt, the central government began to adopt a series of policies in 2018 to implement debt limit management for local governments, and the national local government debt limit was 21 trillion yuan. In this context, this paper starts from the status quo and problems of local government debt, accurately analyzes the causes and mechanisms of debt formation, and proposes specific measures and methods to rationally control debt growth and reduce risks, in order to strengthen local government debt management and resolve social conflicts. This article provides guidance advice.

PROBLEM STATEMENT FOR DEVELOPMENT OF SPECIFIC CRIMINALISTIC TECHNIQUE FOR INVESTIGATION ON MURDERS ASSOCIATED WITH HOUSING OCCUPANCY

Prerequisites of separate criminalistic methodology (micromethods) development for investigating murders associated with occupancy of human housing are considered. Attention is drawn to the fact that among the factors that lead to the growth of crime in real estate market are social contradictions (market economy development and institution of private property, expansion of the apartment privatization market, ineffective work of law enforcement agencies, decline in citizens' well-being, etc.).
 The essence and mechanism of this murder type is investigated, and the main signs of their commission are highlighted. It has been determined that the mechanism for committing murders involving the occupancy of housing includes: 1) actions of the directly injured regarding of housing occupancy and provoking murder commission; 2) actions accompanied by violations by officials (housing and operational organizations, notary offices, local governments and law enforcement agencies); 3) offender actions directly related to the murder commission of the person and housing occupancy. Peculiarities of the mechanism of investigated murder committing is that methods of committing in their structure (substantive part) can unclude following actions: 1) of active nature (infliction of bodily harm, using firearms and cold weapon etc.); 2) actions of active-passive nature (leaving in danger, inadequate discharge of responsibilities for health protection, failure to provide assistance to a person in a life-threatening condition, etc.).
 Structural elements of a separate criminalistic methodology (micromethodics) for investigating murders associated with housing occupancy have been proposed, among which the following should be highlighted: 1) criminalistic description; 2) typical investigative situations; 3) circumstances to be clarified; 4) typical investigative versions; 5) interaction of the investigator with the operative search units; 6) tactics of investigative (search) actions.

Operational Tropical Cyclone Forecast Verification Practice in the Western North Pacific Region

ABSTRACT This paper summarizes results of a survey of the operational status of tropical cyclone (TC) forecast verification in the western North Pacific region, covering the Members of the ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee, RSMC Tokyo - Typhoon Center, and JTWC. Results of the survey indicate that significant efforts have been focused on the verification of TC forecast guidance by operational forecast agencies in the region, either individually or through international cooperation. A variety of TC forecast verification products are available to the forecasters in either real time or in post-season through multiple means, with the main focus on the deterministic track and intensity forecasts. Only a few verification products are available for probabilistic forecasts. Verification of TC precipitation and high wind forecasts are also lacking sufficient attention in the region. It would be helpful in the future to focus more attention toward these aspects and incorporate methods that will provide a greater depth of information regarding the TC forecast performance.

Real-Time Forecasts of Typhoon Rapid Intensification in The North Western Pacific Basin with the NCEP Operational HWRF Model

ABSTRACT This study presents the real-time performance of the United States (US) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) operational Hurricane Weather Research and Forecast (HWRF) model in predicting rapid intensification (RI) of typhoons in the North Western Pacific (WPAC) basin in 2013. Examination of all RI cases in WPAC during 2013 shows that the HWRF model captures a consistent vortex structure at the onset of all RI as seen in previous idealized studies with HWRF. However, HWRF has issues with predicting RI when the model vortex is initialized with intensity greater than hurricane strength. Further verification of the probability of detection (POD) and the false alarm rate (FAR) of RI forecasts shows that the HWRF model outperforms all other models used by the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center, possessing highest POD and lowest FAR in 2013. Examination of the intensity change forecasts at different forecast lead times also confirms that the HWRF model has superior performance, particularly at the 72-h lead time with the POD index ~ 0.91 and the FAR index ~ 0.33. Such unique performance of the HWRF model demonstrates its role in helping operational agencies improve their official intensity (and RI) forecasts for tropical cyclones in the WPAC basin.

Risks Management in Travel Business: Peculiarities, Types Criteria of Estimation

The article considers important issues on the security of travel business as a component of the state’s social and economic system and methods of its impact on risks. The major purpose of this article is to identify the main principles that substantiate the peculiarities of risk assessment in the travel business as the main element contributing to the achievement of travel security, as well as to study instruments and types of risks on the travel services market. The study subject is the security of the travel business. The study object is the market of travel services.The development of tourism technologies is the leading trend of the world economy stipulated by social restructuring of the modern society. The Russian Federation has defined the economic task of the state policy related to travel services. This is to turn tourism into a competitive, innovative, sustainable and highly-profitable sector of the national business. Travel business involves a comprehensive system of relations between suppliers and consumers of the relevant services, between travel agencies and their competitors, as well as among business partners. The operation of a travel agency on the market includes the following: selection of a market niche; development of a travel product; determination of the volume of services provided; improvement of pricing formation; expansion of advertising activities; scientific research; attraction of investments; interaction with other companies, and relations with government bodies. Currently methods and models are intensively implemented in the formation and development of travel management systems, which is associated with the increased competitiveness of the products offered on the travel market.The identification of risks in the operation of a travel company can become a guarantee of its successful and well-coordinated activity. It is possible to quickly and timely identify risks of a travel agency by using the SWOT analysis as a strategic management instrument.

Turning to Political Violence: The Emergence of Terrorism

Marc Sageman (forensic psychiatrist and PhD in sociology) is a preeminent terrorism scholar and a former Central Intelligence Agency operations officer in Afghanistan (1987–1989), where he worked with mujahideen fighting the Soviets. Subsequently, public agencies employed him for counterterrorism advice, giving him access to court records and prisoner interviews. His first two books treated Islamic groups, especially al Qaeda; the third addressed the inadequacy of academic terrorist studies. His present object is to explain why individuals become terrorists and government’s role in that process. Most explanations incorrectly emphasize mental disorders and ideology and ignore government activity. Sageman addresses the problem in an unusual way. The subject provokes very hostile public emotions, making it is difficult to explain how terrorism emerges without stimulating emotional reactions from others who claim that the narrator has terrorist sympathies. More will be achieved by staying “away from atrocities still fresh” in our minds and analyzing historical examples, as time will probably grant us “distance from the victims suffering and the panic . . . generated” (p. xiii).

‘I Will Not Be Thrown Out of the Country Because I’m an Immigrant’: Eastern European Migrants’ Responses to Hate Crime in a Semi-Rural Context in the Wake of Brexit

This article examines Eastern European migrants’ experiences of and responses to hate crime. Following the UK European Union Membership Referendum (‘Brexit’ vote), there was an increase in reported hate crimes against immigrants. The study focuses on the experiences of migrants in Lincolnshire, a region of England which has a significant migrant population, and which had one of the highest ‘leave’ votes. The focus on white migrants in this semi-rural setting offers an original perspective in the field of hate crime studies. We draw on semi-structured interviews and observations to identify temporal, spatial, and relational factors in responses to hate crime. We uncover the insecure occupation of a ‘third space’ constituted by material, discursive, and emotional practices. This positioning was destabilised post referendum; but there was also evidence of the operation of agency within processes of ‘othering’, suggesting a transition from victim identity to emergent political subject.

Analyzing how Major Print Media Covered Terrorism in Uganda During the Year 2010

This study sought to find out how the media covered terrorism acts in Uganda during the year 2010. Whether the media coverage affected the image and operations of security agencies and what would be the best strategies for the media to adopt in covering terrorism acts in Uganda. It is also based on four main theories of Violence, Terrorism, Media and Framing in relation to security and terrorism. The study adopted content analysis and interviews as the main methods of collecting data. It started with library research where most of the relevant literature was obtained. It was followed by archival research at New Vision, Monitor and Red Pepper newspapers library at their headquarters in Kampala. All the newspapers of 2010 were perused and vital information compiled for the final report. Interview guides were also administered to key informants from the media and security personnel that provided crucial information. The findings indicate that disconnection between security agencies and the media is caused by the gaps which exist about knowledge of each other’s roles and interests. The journalists have little knowledge about terrorism, their interests, operations and the close relationship between the media and terrorism. The study makes a number of recommendations that may be useful to all stakeholders in Uganda in the war against terrorism. Joint training, respect and following the ethical and code of conduct, timely and accurate sharing of information, enacting ring laws, and having respect to each other’s roles and the existing laws.

Strategy for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from maintenance and rehabilitation of highway pavement

The operation and maintenance management environment of the national highway agency is expected to be further aggravated by increases in maintenance and rehabilitation costs and environmental costs due to aging road facilities. It is imperative to find a way to reduce life-cycle costs (LCC) and environmental costs (EC) associated with carbon dioxide emissions in road construction. A case study was conducted to select the maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) scenario with the lowest cost by taking into account carbon dioxide emissions. This was done using a hybrid of LCC analysis (LCCA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) methods with three representative M&R scenarios: repetitive patching works, single milling and overlay works, and combined works, respectively. The case study analysis indicates that the most economical scenario according to the LCC is scenario 1, but when considering the EC directly linked to carbon dioxide emissions, scenario 2 is the most economical choice for the national highway agency at a carbon trading price of 42.27 USD/ton and above. This case study is the first international research effort linking long-term pavement performance and carbon dioxide emissions to provide a decision-making framework for the most carbon-efficient M&R strategy for roads.

OMB’s Reform Plan and the Tradeoffs of Government Reorganization

Consistent with a long line of previous administrations, the White House’s Office of Management and Budget published in June an organizational reform plan, offering more than 80 recommendations that detail government-wide and agency-specific organization changes to restructure, consolidate, and eliminate programs or agencies. While the plan’s key goal to make government operations more efficient and responsive is a noble one, academic research and historical experience demonstrates that designing agency operations involves sometimes unavoidable tradeoffs. For example, although streamlining operations can produce real benefits, these may come at the expense of impeding an agency’s ability to formulate clear objectives for its personnel and undermining the measures in place to ensure key services are delivered correctly. Considering these tradeoffs does not guarantee the potential unintended consequences will not surface following the reorganization, but careful planning can better prepare policymakers and agency leadership to be able to manage them if they do as well as reduce the potential that the new problems introduced necessitate a return to the previous structure. As a history of reorganizations in the regulatory context clearly demonstrates, all too often agencies with multiple missions are established to enhance coordination and improve efficiency, subsequently separated to mitigate goal ambiguity and neglect, and later on recombined after synchronization issues once again become evident. Given that reorganizations take time, cost money, and impose disruptions on employees, entering into any restructuring with a more complete understanding of its ramifications is critical to realizing its objectives and promoting its durability.

Unsolicited Interiors

Developed from a contemporary theory lecture regarding economic realities and guerilla practice, the studio Unsolicited Interiors proposes political engagement as a critical operation of interior architecture agency via the exploration of contested urban volumes, unsolicited intervention and choreographic occupation. A text and image review of this studio considers student response to political texts, design speculation, and public space disruptions through performance, photography, large-scale model-making and self-initiated actions. Discussion of a series of collaborative interventions with visiting Berlin-based collective raumlabor reinforces a positioning of design activism through acts of provocation and social inquiry as critical to spatial decisions in, and of, the city.