Agency Practices Research Articles

CRIMINAL LEGAL PROBLEMS OF BRINGING TO RESPONSIBILITY FOR CORRUPTION-RELATED CRIMES ON THE EXAMPLE OF COMMERCIAL BRIBERY

The article provides a complete and comprehensive analysis of the norms of legislation regulating the issues of combating corruption crimes on the example of commercial bribery. Using the comparative legal method of scientific knowledge, the main national normative legal acts regulating the fight against corruption are analyzed. The provisions of federal laws and by-laws of state authorities regulating the issues raised are also analyzed. In addition, the analysis of the law enforcement practice of law enforcement agencies and courts responsible for the organization of work on the identification, prevention and suppression of corruption crimes, as well as carrying out criminal prosecution for their commission, is carried out. The article also reveals law enforcement and other problems of bringing to criminal responsibility for commercial bribery, mediation in commercial bribery and small-scale commercial bribery, a criminal-legal analysis of these types of crimes by their elements is carried out. Based on the results of the analysis, proposals are formulated aimed at further improving the regulatory framework concerning the issues of countering corruption crimes.

Clinical Trials Inspections In The European Union

Introduction : The development and authorization of medicinal products are based on an approach, of which an essential part is clinical trials. Clinical trials prove the safety and efficacy of new health technologies and add benefit to real clinical practice. It is crucial in this development to adhere to high ethical and regulatory standards – that clinical trials generate high quality data sufficient to authorize the investigated medicinal product for use. Verification of adherence to these requirements is carried out through audits and inspections, an exclusive right of the regulatory authorities. The aim of this publication is to outline the requirements for clinical trial inspections in the European Union (EU), to study and compare inspection practices of some European regulatory agencies. Materials and methods : This paper is based on the study of specific practices of EU regulatory agencies in conducting inspections to establish compliance with Good Clinical Practice (GCP). The annual reports of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which summarize the inspections of GCP-inspectors over the last three years, have been examined. As well as guidelines for the preparation and conduct of GCP-inspections issued by EMA and the UK regulator. Results : The decrease in the number of critical non-compliances detected during the GCP-inspections for the period 2016-2018, on the background of increased large and small non-compliances, shows an increase in the level of compliance with the requirements while maintaing depth of inspections. A comparison with the inspections carried out remotely in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, would reveal whether there are changes in the way inspections are carried out and how any changes affect the discrepancies found. Conclusion : Performing GCP-inspections is one of the most important tools for monitoring the conduct of clinical trials. Following the good practices is essential to ensure that human dignity, patient well-being and data integrity are preserved.

Shared Spaces, Practices And Mobilities: Pet–Human Life in Modern Finnish Homes

In this interdisciplinary article, we examine multispecies homes in modernizing Finnish society. We focus on two illustrative phases of pet culture: cats and dogs in bourgeois and rural homes from the late 19th century to the early 20th century as well as international dog rescue in the early 21st century. We make visible and analyze the continuities in pet–human relationality and petness by focusing on everyday practices, spaces and mobilities. The article draws from recent discussions on human–animal relationality at the intersections of the fields of animal history, animal geography and animal studies. Our analysis shows that the pets we have studied have not been passive objects or simply obeyed rules set by humans. Instead, pet–human co-living involves shared human–animal agency and situational practices that take into account the individual animal and the human and the creative ways in which they shape the shared space.

Evaluating financial performance of commercial service airports in the United States

Studies on airport performance have focused primarily on productivity and operational efficiency. There are very few studies on airports’ financial viability and strength, especially those in the United States. Most of the U.S. commercial service airports are government-owned entities and operated for the service of the community rather than for profit, but expected to be financially self-sufficient and raise capital funds mainly through the bond markets. However, past studies of the financial performance of U.S. airports have relied on traditional profitability measures and financial efficiency measures that are more appropriate for airports owned and operated by for-profit entities. Based on the literature for non-profit organizations and the practices of credit rating agencies and government oversight bodies, this paper adopts six pertinent financial performance metrics to measure and compare the operational financial performance, leverage, and liquidity of 60 large and medium commercial service airports in the United States during the 2010–2017 period. The paper further examines factors that may affect airport financial performance. The results reveal that large hub airports have better liquidity while medium airports have better leverage during the study period. These results suggest that the effect of airport size on financial performance is inconclusive. Regression analysis shows that airports with high productive efficiency and those without a dominant carrier tend to have more surplus revenues for meeting their operational financial needs and capital spending and have better liquidity. The paper highlights the importance of using appropriate metrics to evaluate the financial performance of public sector entities and provides relevant information to bond investors. The devastating impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on airports accentuate the significance of leverage and liquidity. Therefore, the financial metrics discussed in this paper would help support public policy debates and allocate public funds to the airports.

Опыт и результативность практико-ориентированной подготовки народных дружинников на базе организаций системы МВД России

The relevance of the subject matter of the article is determined by the increasing spread of volunteering in our country, in particular, the formation of voluntary people’s guards that are intended to assist all state authorities includinglaw enforcement agencies. The legal basis for cooperation between the police and the public is fixed in the corresponding statutory documents. The performanceof voluntary people’s patrol depends considerably on the level oflegal, moral and psychological competenceof its members allowing to interact withlaw enforcement officers. Vigilantesshould understand the specifics of human rights practices and law enforcement activities. 
 The decrees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia define the procedure ofvigilante groupstraining, but their implementation requires the development of policy and methodological documentation. 
 The article presents the analysis of the existing practice of vigilantes training atlaw enforcement agencies, and identifies deficiencies and contradictions in thelevel of their expertise. The article discusses the specific features of such training: its short-term duration, as well as the heterogeneous composition of thevigilante groups as to age and profession. The authorpresents experience in implementing specially developed program forvigilantestraining that is unique both in content and in methods used. The content is presented on the basis of classification of representative tasksthat have to be solved by voluntary people’s patrol in joint activities with police officers. These tasks formed the basis for the three training modules reviewed in the article («Minors», «Foreigners», «Maintenance of order»). 
 Practice-oriented training methods include analysis of real situations that are presented in the classroom in various aspects and forms. Test and situational materials developedon their basis can be used in the process of training as well as for monitoring the effectiveness of the work performed. In conclusionthe author presentsthe analysis of the effectiveness of the suggested training program for vigilante groupas compared to the control group.

Practitioner (In)visibility in the Conservation of Contemporary Art

ABSTRACT This article explores the role and position of the conservator of contemporary art and proposes the concept of invisibility as a way of thinking about ideas and practices of authorship, agency, and knowledge in the field of conservation. The invisibility of the practitioner is a concept drawn from the field of translation, and the work of translation theorist Lawrence Venuti. Venuti describes the translator’s traditional position of invisibility, exploring how it manifests both in relation to the translated text, as well as in wider epistemic, professional, and social senses. Sparked by Venuti’s 1995 book The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation, invisibility has been the subject of significant study and debate in translation and can also be identified as a common concern across several disciplines. This article explores how the concept of invisibility applies to the conservator of contemporary art, and its effect in respect of understandings of the work, the nature of conservation practice, and the recognition of practitioner knowledge.

Child Welfare Services Response to COVID-19: Addressing Face-to-Face Contacts.

During the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, child welfare case managers faced contradictions in their responsibility to make regular in-person contact with children and families to promote safety, permanency, and well-being while following public health directives to avoid social contact in order to curb COVID-19 infections. In response, federal guidance was issued regarding the use of technology to maintain mandated contacts with children in foster care. States had to make decisions about how to handle other contact types. This study reviewed documentation of state child welfare agency practices regarding face-to-face contact between case managers and child-welfare involved families between March 2020 and May 2020. Using a point-in-time search to obtain publicly accessible documents related to caseworker face-to-face contact and COVID-19, data was located for 49 states and the District of Columbia (n = 50). Documents were analyzed in NVIVO 12 using document analysis. Within the context of face-to-face interactions by child welfare case managers, documents were analyzed in six themes based on the types of services provided to children and families: (1) investigations, (2) family preservation, (3) family team meetings, (4) foster care, (5) adoption, and (6) general child welfare. State decisions about how to manage these contacts varied. In several states case managers were directed to document both virtual and in-person contacts during this time as face-to-face; which may impact future evaluations of child welfare systems during COVID-19. Findings highlight a range of strategies used by state child welfare systems. By reviewing previous practice and hearing what other states are doing, child welfare service agencies have the potential to evaluate appropriately, strengthen their plans and address disparate impacts.

DEMATEL method of analysing the factors influencing the decision to adopt virtual reality technology by real estate firms in Lagos property market

PurposeThe study analysed the factors influencing real estate firms' (REFs) decision to adopt virtual reality (VR) technology using the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) method. This was done to enhance the practice of real estate agency in Nigeria.Design/methodology/approachData were elicited from eight real estate experts. These experts were heads of the agency department of firms that had been in existence for a minimum of five years in the Lagos property market. The data analysed in this study were collected with the aid of a questionnaire.FindingsThe result revealed that use intention was influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value and UB. Also, facilitating conditions, habit and use intention did not influence use behaviour. Overall, six constructs, which include price value (Ri − Cj value = 0.1284), use behaviour (Ri − Cj value = 0.0666), social influence (Ri − Cj value = 0.0583), facilitating conditions (Ri − Cj value = 0.0323), performance expectancy (Ri − Cj value = 0.0196) and effort expectancy (Ri − Cj value = 0.0116), were significant predictors of the factors influencing the decision of REFs to adopt VR. Of these constructs, the Ri − Cj values indicated that price value had the highest causative influence.Practical implicationsThe result of this study will bring REFs to the consciousness of the factors that could affect their adoption of VR technology. This study will also assist the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers in appropriately enlightening REFs on the integration of VR technology into the agency practice especially at this time when all health protocols and guidelines need to be observed to help flatten the curve of the Covid-19 pandemic.Originality/valueThis study is the first to have an insight into the analysis of the factors influencing REFs' decision to adopt VR technology using the DEMATEL method.

Большие данные как ключевые мощности в антимонопольном регулировании цифровых рынков

The article is devoted to the issue of applying the Essential Facilities Doctrine to big data for the purpose of antitrust regulation of digital markets. The concept of big data is revealed, which currently does not have a normative legal fixation in the legislation of the Russian Federation. The article identifies the difference between big data and regular data, between the organizational, managerial, economic and legal content of these phenomena of the digital age. Based on the analysis of scientific publications, law enforcement and judicial practice of antimonopoly agencies of foreign countries and Russia, the author systematizes the directions of using big data in competition in digital markets. The article also reveals the content of the doctrine of essential facilities in competition law. The author describes the key ideas of the scientific discussion on the application of the doctrine of essential facilities to big data. The article contains author’s suggestions and recommendations for the correct division of the complex of big data technology into competitive (AI) and infrastructure (data sets) components. If necessary, the doctrine of essential facilities can be extended to computing power, server data storage, data sets (in an unstructured form) of digital giants. The author believes that applying the doctrine of essential facilities to big data can eliminate the abuse of dominance by tech giants. But the application of the doctrine of essential facilities is not able to systematically change the state of affairs in digital markets. In order to remove the incentives of Internet giants to abuse dominance with the help of big data, it is necessary to separate from the Internet giants business units, that would exclusively provide non-discriminatory access to Big Data management services. And the competencies associated with the development and application of big data analytics (AI) technologies should be assigned to business units, that would compete in derivative digital markets independently.

PENGARUH PENERAPAN AKUNTANSI LINGKUNGAN

Environmental accounting has long been a concern of accountants, the concept of environmental accounting has actually started to develop since 1970 in Europe and increasingly developed in Indonesia in 1990. Environmental Accounting is a term related to the policy of incorporating environmental costs into the environment. the accounting practices of companies or government agencies. Environmental accounting is a term used in different contextsKeywords: Environmental Accounting

Formation of a human-centric approach to the prevention of torture in Ukraine

The paper is concerned with the role of key international human rights standards and soft law instruments of the Council of Europe in the preventing ill-treatment of persons deprived of their liberty in the context of the human centrist approach. The paper determine the purpose of the formation of human-centric legal ideology in Ukraine, which is the creation of a mechanism of effective restriction of public power in the interests of protecting the fundamental rights. The paper is dedicated to the doctrine of human-centric legal ideology in Ukraine and its human dignity key element. Considering the fact that the process of forming a democratic human-centric legal ideology in Ukraine is still not complete, the paper highlights the cases of mass violations of fundamental human rights by law enforcement agencies, where a special problem is the illegal practice of law enforcement agencies against human dignity. One of its case is the ill-treatment and use of torture against persons deprived of their liberty. The paper highlights the ways to protect the right to dignity through the prism of legislative activity of government bodies and advocacy of civil society institutions. The Article 28 of the Constitution of Ukraine, which establishes the right to respect for human dignity as one of the key values of the Ukrainian legal system, is revealed. The category of dignity is revealed through the prism of Articles 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of December 10, 1948, Articles 7 and 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966 and Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights of November 4, 1950. Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, acts of the European Committee against Torture.

From Environmental Justice Activist to Agency Staff: Implications for Agencies, Movement Organizations, and These Insider Allies

Background: The environmental justice (EJ) movement has struggled for several decades to transform public agencies to be more responsive to the needs and voices of disadvantaged communities. Recently, some environmental agencies have begun to hire EJ activists as staff to help change agency practices from within. There is need for research on this shift from outside activist to insider ally. Methods: This article draws from 15 semi-structured interviews conducted with former EJ activists now working in environmental agencies conducted over a 6-year period. Interviews focused on the benefits, tradeoffs, and dilemmas experienced through their transition process from the outside in. Results: Benefits of this shift from the outside in include the potential to influence agency culture and practices, to apply skills and networks gained as activists, and to support outside activists' access to agency resources and shape decision making. The challenges included being disparaged as biased by agency colleagues, becoming frustrated by the slow pace of bureaucratic change, and the potential for outside EJ activists to reduce the radical edge of their advocacy. Discussion: The tradeoffs experienced by the interviewees suggest that the entrance of former EJ activists into government service is having substantive impacts on the agencies but that these changes come at a personal and professional cost and with uneven results. Conclusion: This research on the phenomenon of the shift of EJ activists into environmental agencies has filled an important gap in critical EJ studies. Future research should focus on the impacts on EJ movements and the long-term impacts in the government agencies.

Brokering reflective spaces: Experiential learning in a summer opera program

Formal music performance studies within university settings strive to prepare the next generation of performers and pedagogues for musical engagement beyond university. Yet literature suggests that these spaces of study do not always lead to a sense of readiness for potential professional worlds, due in part to a lack of opportunities for guided, in-depth, critical reflection that helps students connect theory and practice. This article articulates findings from a study that sought to consider the impact of deliberate opportunities for reflection in The Accademia Europea dell’Opera (AEDO), a university-affiliated summer opera intensive experiential learning program. Utilizing a communities of musical practice framework, researchers worked collaboratively to help participants engage in guided critical reflection as they developed high-level musical skills through rehearsals and performances. This article specifically considers the ways in which a ‘broker’ helped participants develop practices of reflection and personal agency both within and beyond this context.

Recommendations for Examining Police Deescalation and use of Force Training, Policies, and Outcomes

Demands for police reforms to address racial injustice and excessive force have increased since the release of a video showing George Floyd dying as a result of police brutality. A promising recommendation to reduce conflict and violent encounters between the police and the public that has the support of academics, expert panels on policing, and community leaders is police deescalation training. Currently, some law enforcement agencies require deescalation training for their offices and some do not. The training that is provided in deescalation varies in content, by style of instruction, and dosage. The lack of standardization is due, in part, to a lack published research on police deescalation. For this article, agency practices supportive of deescalation are reviewed. Communication techniques that officers use to defuse hostility, avoid physical aggression, and calm people in crisis to increase the likelihood of voluntary compliance are reviewed. Methods involving (a) agency surveys, (b) patrol officer surveys, (c) use of force and incident reports, (d) citizen complaints, (e) interviews, (f) focus groups, and (g) police ride alongs are examined for how they may be applied to the study of deescalation and use of force.

‘All social work takes place in a macro context’: The gap between international social work training and practice

This explanatory sequential mixed-methods study combined data from an online survey with international social workers ( N = 44), and key informant qualitative interviews ( N = 6), to identify gaps and synergies between what is taught in graduate social work programmes and expected by employers. Findings suggested that although social work values align well with international social work, gaps exist between the macro knowledge and skills required for international work and that which graduate training offers. Findings further suggested that if unaddressed, these incompatibilities may contribute to the invisibility of social work as a viable training ground for practice in international aid agencies.

The Impact of Cybercrimes on the Banking System of Russia

The article provides analysis of cybercrimes and their impact on banking system of Russia. From an economic point of view, cybercrime is a special type of human activity aimed at finding blank spots in the rules and traditions of economic behavior, in the methods of economic activity, in the methods of controlling economic activity, as well as in criminal law, in the practice of law enforcement agencies and organs of justice. The research stated that electronic financial fraud has characteristics that differentiate it from other types of crime. One of the most relevant issues is the fact that this type of crime is committed in the credit and financial sphere, which causes significant damage to the economy. The article concluded that the use of computer technology with modern versions of software is inherent in committing fraud in the financial sector and requires appropriate solutions.

The use of civil administration budgets by the Japanese military government of the Micronesia territory from 1914 to 1922

ABSTRACT Building on the concept of framing, this study analyzes the use of budgets by the Extraordinary Defense Corps, a unit of the Japanese Imperial Navy deployed to govern Micronesia during and immediately after World War I. A comparison of the use of budgets by the Defense Corps and the South Seas Agency, the civil authority that succeeded the Defense Corps as the territory’s governing body in 1922 pursuant to the granting of the South Pacific Mandate to Japan, reveals that the idiosyncratic budgetary practices of the Defense Corps were profoundly influenced by the institutional context in which the organization operated. In contrast to the practice of the South Seas Agency, budgeting under the Defense Corps was highly flexible, with little concern for spending limits. The primacy of promoting infrastructure formation and industrial development within the territory, as represented by sugar production, is apparent. As this study confirms, the flexible budgeting practiced by the Defense Corps provided an essential socio-economic institutional foundation for the subsequent governance of the South Seas Agency.

Corporate networking management based on the cost approach

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant drop in the tourism sector. Precarious existence of the tourism agencies can be based on the development of the corporate business network managed by the formation of the key network resource – social capital. This research is aimed at the development and testing of the original toolset for the assessment of social capital and creation of the universal model of corporate networking management based on it. The subject of this article is the social capital of a company. The object is the operating tourism agency of Sverdlovsk Region “Mellow Season” LLC. The information framework is comprised of the corporate financial data for the period from 2014 to 2020. The expediency of implementation of cost approach on the level of individual companies is determined. The algorithm of corporate networking management based on the analysis of sustainable business ties portfolio is offered and tested. The author establishes that the company practices one-time and repeated transactions mainly with non-specific assets; specific assets are used only in transactions with the customers. Typical precontractual costs are the costs for searching information, negotiating, and concluding the contract. Typical postcontractual costs are the costs for monitoring and enforcing the counteragents to discharge their obligations. The author analyzes the information on the components of the social capital. Sustainable business tie was identified with 12 suppliers, 28 tourism agencies, and 158 customers. The analysis of behavioral practices of tourism agencies and expert assessments establishes the efficiency standards of transaction costs. It is also determined that the cost savings from the use of social capital for the company under reviews amount to 46.8% of their volume without its use. The recommendation is made to maintain the existing network of sustainable business ties; use the accumulated trust in sustainable business ties with the customers to expand the client base; shift priorities from the transactions made due to the established mechanism of business procedures towards seeking for new opportunities on the market. The author develops the universal model of corporate networking management.

Supportive management practice and intrinsic motivation go together in the public service

Drawing on over 4,000,000 individual and 2,000 agency observations across five countries, this paper examines the relationship between features of an employee's work environment and intrinsic motivation in public agencies. It finds that practices which foster employees' sense of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are associated with substantially higher levels of intrinsic motivation across a broad range of settings. This is true both at the individual and agency level and when examining changes within agency over time. These patterns appear to be at least partially a result of differential selection in and out of the agency, with lower levels of supportive practices associated with greater desire to exit for employees with higher levels of intrinsic motivation. Nonfinancial elements of job design are strongly associated with intrinsic motivation, as are potentially more difficult to alter features of an agency, such as satisfaction with compensation and managerial quality. There is also suggestive evidence that the relationship between agency practices and employee intrinsic motivation is stronger when tasks are more difficult to monitor.

Problematic Issues of Calculating the Size of Damage from the Use of Land Plots for Other Purposes within the Practice of Law Enforcement Agencies

The authors have studied the land legislation and the practice of its application in regard to the calculation of the amount of damage from the use of land plots for other purposes. The method of calculating the amount of damage from the specified use of land plots has been improved.
 The foundations of the research methodology constitute: comparative and legal method, which assisted to study the requirements of EU and Ukrainian legislative acts; the method of systematic analysis, which allowed to reveal the legal mechanisms for calculating the amount of damage caused to the state and territorial communities from the use of land plots for other purposes; method of mathematical modeling, which allowed to form propositions for improving the formula of calculating the damage caused by the misuse of land plots.
 The result of the study was the justification for making changes to the Methodology of determining the amount of damage caused by unauthorized occupation of land plots, misuse of land plots, removal of soil cover (fertile soil layer) without special permission. It has been offered to include a coefficient that takes into account the term of land use for other purposes in the direction of increasing the multiple of the number of years of land use into the formulas № 3 and № 4 of the Methodology. The authors have proved the necessity of introducing a separate formula for calculating the amount of damage caused by the use of land plot for other purposes, in case of impossibility to return the land plot to a condition suitable for further use for its intended purpose, or failure to accomplish such a return for other reasons.
 The results of the research can be used in law-enforcement practice to determine the amount of damage caused by unauthorized occupation of land plots, the use of land plots for other purposes, as well as in law-making activity to improve legal mechanisms to prevent misuse of land plots.