Public Sector Institutions Research Articles

Public Sector Engagements and Value for Money Audit in Nigeria

The desire and demand for value for money audit (VFM) in the public sector is significant because the confidence of the populace is gradually fading away due to inability of public servants at all levels to ensure transparency and accountability in public spending. Some prior studies have ascribed this to a lack of patriotism, and sheer display of incompetence and systemic inaptitude, others attributed this to weak control measures and ineffective value for audit, resulting to misappropriation, fraud, and stealing of public funds. Consequently, this study examined public sector engagements, from the perspective of value for money audit. The research approach adopted for the study was content analysis. The study revealed that if properly carried out, value for money audit has the capacity to enhance reduction in costs of governance, misappropriation and theft of public fund, assist government in redirecting scarce public resources to priority areas and restore public confidence in the management of national economies. Public sector engagements and establishments are advised to instill the culture of regular value for money audit in all public sector institutions to ensure protection and proper utilization of public fund.

Critically reflective practice in visual communication design teaching for higher education undergraduate program

The study explores the impact of critical reflection on visual communication design teaching for undergraduate programs in Pakistan. Critical reflection is a self-initiated thinking tool with practical implications to improve teaching and professional practices. The qualitative phenomenological research included teachers and practitioners from the private and public sector, art and design institutions to learn about reflective practices in their lived experiences. Participants shared their teaching processes, experiences, critical incidents, and personal and social influences to analyze the significance of the critically reflective practice. Four significant themes emerged from the data; participants’ perception of critically reflective practice, its methods, significance and challenges. Critically reflective practice is a collective process and the insights gained from this process help teachers and professionals to transform and break routinized practices. It is not limited in its process and methods, for most of the participants, a suitable time for reflection is between semesters. Students’ assessment and design project evaluation is also a good time to reflect on teaching and learning. Though challenges in critically reflective practice are multifaceted external factors play a vital role in the development of critically reflective practice culture in academic institutions. Within the given research settings the study holds ample opportunities to explore critical reflection in visual communication design education.

IFRS and stock exchange development in sub-Saharan Africa: a logistic model

This study examines the impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on the stock exchange development (SED) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The essence is to offer suggestions on how the adoption of IFRS in the SSA region can benefit their SED. The study employed logistic regression analysis of data for 40 SSA countries for the period 2010–2018. Data were extracted from the World Bank’s World Development Index (WDI) database, sampled countries’ stock exchange websites, and the IFRS website. The dependent variable (SED) took two values: 1 – if a stock exchange is established in the observed country’s period, otherwise – 0. The model result was well fitted: p < 0.0001, correctly classified an overall SED accuracy up to 84.84% and excellent area predictive power at a receiver operator characteristic of 0.9347. The study observed that IFRS had high degree of co-movement with SED, and changes in IFRS had a strong positive impact on SED. Besides, changes in market size, ICT infrastructure, and public sector management and institution (PSMI) had a positive and significant impact on SED. The odd ratio of SED compared to non-SED is greatest with IFRS (40.67 times), and for the other variables, the ratios are: market size (4.02), ICT infrastructure (1.26), and PSMI (2.73), respectively. On a greater extent, SSA countries should allow the use of IFRS for financial reporting to expedite SED.

Evaluation of M. Sc Physical Education Program in Public Sector Institutions; Teachers' Perspective

The present study aimed at the evaluation of the M.Sc physical education program in public sector institutions in the context of teacher educators. The objectives of the study were (a) to evaluate the M.Sc Physical Education Program in public sector universities and colleges on the basis of CIPP, (b) to explore the strengths and weaknesses of the M.Sc Physical Education Program in Pakistan and (c) to suggest measures for further improvement of the M.Sc Program in Pakistan. A validated 44 items questionnaire for teacher educators was used for the collection of data. A Chi-square test was applied to the collected data. It was recommended that regular seminars and sports workshops might be organized to improve the research and report writing skills. It was also recommended that proper provision of physical facilities and sports infrastructure might also be provided to improve deficient aspects of the program.

Institutional Role on Personality Grooming of Students at Higher Secondary Level

The institute defines its aims and sets educational objectives adapted to these aims. The institute has a clear and distinct sense of its core values and character, of its distinctive elements, of its place both in colleges and in society, and of its contribution to the public good. The aims of the study were (i). To explore the practices for development of personality in institutions. (ii) To identify the role of administrators of institutes for students ‘personality development. (iii)To determine which sector is more competent in doing better personality development at higher secondary level in private and public sector institutes. With survey design the study was descriptive in its nature. The population of the study was all private and public colleges of Punjab Province. Six hundred and twenty-eight out of seven hundred and twenty students, and also thirty administrators out of thirty-two, participated in the research. Instrument was tested by conducting Pilot testing with (?=.87) reliability. Parametric statistics and summary statistics were menu plated to check the assumption, Normality tests and Boxplot were applied. To compare the private and public institutes, Non-parametric test was applied on the given information. It was concluded from the study that (i) Activities related to personality development, are doing in institutions. (ii) Administrators are doing their job in personality development among boys and girls at higher secondary level. (iii) Private sector is doing better job to the development of student’s personality than public sector.

Administración y poder público: incógnitas y propuestas para la burocracia mexicana / Administration and public power: unknowns and proposals for the Mexican bureaucracy

La intervención del Estado requiere de una administración pública basada en un marco institucional que organice jurídica y políticamente los mecanismos estratégicos de las instituciones del sector público. La eficiencia de la administración pública depende del grado de burocratización y del tipo de liderazgo burocrático, así como de la descentralización del sector público; de la calidad de la información y diagnóstico en sus procesos administrativos, y del consenso político y la participación de los ciudadanos en el mejoramiento de los procesos administrativos de las instituciones. No obstante, entre más centradas estén las decisiones en la autoridad, suele suceder que estas intervenciones crecientemente se vuelven ineficientes económica, social y políticamente. La relación entre la administración pública y la democracia se torna problemática, en la administración participan elementos autoritarios, mientras que en la democracia observamos oposición intrínseca y rasgos que atienden la desigualdad. El problema de la distribución del poder es un tema antiguo, su interés se observa desde las primeras civilizaciones. En décadas recientes la preocupación es la ubicación del poder. El presente documento pretende contribuir a la comprensión de la estructura y la dinámica de la burocracia y el poder público a través de la reflexión de las categorías administración pública, contingencia y democracia. Se concluye que las variaciones económicas y políticas que permean al Estado mexicano están representadas en la estructura y organización de la administración pública. La historia de la función pública y sus actores, traducen la relación de la sociedad mexicana con el poder público y su concepción de la democracia.

Knowledge of “Agrahara” Medical Insurance Scheme among employees of a selected public sector institution in Sri Lanka

Knowledge of “Agrahara” Medical Insurance Scheme among employees of a selected public sector institution in Sri Lanka

Exploring young professionals’ hesitation to joint German public health service – a mixed method study

Abstract Background The “Öffentliche Gesundheitsdienst (ÖGD)” is the central public health institution in Germany. The ÖGD comprises of all public sector institutions responsible for protecting and monitoring the population health on the federal, state, county and municipal level. Its key functions contain identifying and addressing public health threats, and promoting the heath of the general population. Despite the important role, the ÖGD has not been successful in attracting and recruiting young professionals; a situation aggravated by an expected wave of retirements. We aimed to identify barriers and discuss solutions to promote the attractiveness of working in the German public health service among young professionals. Methods Firstly, we conducted a theory-based online-survey of medical and public health students enrolled in Germany. Secondly, we conducted key-informant interviews with a purposive sample of former public health students meanwhile working at the local health authority or a public health department as well as leading persons in the same institutions. Results In the survey of more than 2400 students, among others identified barriers included: students not being aware of the ÖGD and its activities, negative images of the ÖGD, and unattractive job profiles. In the interviews, some participants expressed or experienced a strong preference within the ÖGD to attract medical students to the detriment of public health students. A lack of appreciation and strictly hierarchical work contexts were identified as further obstacles. Conclusions The survey and interviews identified several potential barriers and obstacles for young professionals to join the public health workforce in Germany. Likely, major reforms within the ÖGD as well as in the education of medical and public health students is necessary to overcome this challenge. The results of the qualitative study identify several potential solutions for improvement. Key messages We conducted a mixed-method study of medical and public health students and young professionals to explore the challenges of the German public health service to attract young professionals. Our study shows that major reforms are likely necessary to increase the attractiveness of the German public health service.

Aphasia in Neurology Practice: A Survey about Perceptions and Practices.

Background:Aphasia is one of those clinical conditions, where the role of affiliated professionals, mainly speech language pathologists (SLPs) is substantial in diagnostic assessments, therapy, and rehabilitation. There is no study to focus on neurologists, with respect to their perceptions and practices about aphasia, the disease, as well as the profession of SLP.Objective:To reach out to the neurologist community in India and learn about their perceptions and practices about the nature of the ailment and role of speech language therapy (SLT). Our premise was that observations and inferences from a questionnaire-based survey will be subsequently helpful in planning educational activities targeted to neurologists with more focus on specific gaps in perceptions and practices.Material and Methods:Three neurologists and two SLPs collaboratively developed the questionnaire. The aim was to probe the issues which were likely to have a bearing upon optimum service delivery to persons with aphasia by a dyad of neurologist and SLP. The survey was set in “Google Forms” and sent by “WhatsApp” and email to approximately 500 practicing neurologists in India. We employed a nonprobability sampling design for ease of administration with a combination of “chunk sampling” and “snowball sampling.” Telephonic reminders were made to almost all.Results and Discussion:We received 100 responses. The mean age of respondents was 50.64 (SD +/− 12.60) with a range of 28–78 years. The mean number of years of experience as a neurophysician was 19.88 (SD. +/− 12.72) with range of 1–47 years. Females were only 8%. Apparently, the proportion of neurologists working in large corporate and large public sector institutions from tier one and tier two cities was higher, who are more likely to have SLP and related rehabilitation facilities in their institutions and hence harbor more conducive attitudes to SLT in aphasia. The ground reality from tier three cities and small private and public sector hospital and solo practitioners may be somewhat worse than this. Many responses were in conformity with facts and in tune with desirable attitudes as per guidelines like aphasia being a detrimental factor in stroke recovery, doing assessment of handedness, paying attention to neuroimaging correlations and associated cognitive functions, not resorting to unnecessary pharmacotherapy, being aware about efficacy of SLT, and fairly good chances of recovery. However, many more answers highlighted a need for emphasis in Continuing Medical Education like not being aware about community burden of aphasia in comparison to a few better known neurological diseases, not paying attention to psychosocial aspects apart from biological ones in assessment and rehabilitation, not using a standardized and validated battery, not confidant about role of SLT in chronic stable aphasia and need for longer and intensive therapy, and being unconcerned for the value of advocacy for aphasia, like the role of Self-Help Groups.Conclusion:The thrust areas, pertaining to gaps in perception and practices identified through this study, can be viewed as “an in-time input.” We hope that changes in some of the perceptions and practices can be attained through an emphasis on education and training at multiple levels right from the undergraduate to the practicing physicians. A few more themes and domains will need advocacy actions targeted to different stakeholders.

Antecedents of Perceived Organizational Support to Improve Organizational Commitment in the Public Sector Institutions

Objective – This study aims to examine the effect of organizational reward, procedural justice, and supervisor support as an antecedent variables of perceived organizational support in increasing organizational commitment as the ultimate dependent variable at the local government units in Serang City Government, Banten Province, Indonesia. Design/methodology – This research is an empirical study using purposive sampling technique. Data was collected through surveys and the respondents are civil servants from local government unit of Serang City Government. Data analysis was performed with the Structural Equation Model (SEM) with the SmartPLS (Partial Least Square) program. Results – The results of this study provide empirical evidence that organizational reward, procedural justice, supervisor support perceived organizational support, and organizational commitment have a significant positive relationship. This results is consistent with similar studies in private sector.

Differences in Post-Cholecystectomy Bile Duct Injury Care: A Comparative Analysis of 2 Different Health-Care Public Institutions in a Low- and Middle-Income Country: Southeast Mexico

Background: Mexican health system structure allows us to study the differences in bile duct injury (BDI) management. The study aimed to assess the differences in patients with complex BDI in 2 different public sector institutions using a new proposed standard terminology. Methods: Retrospective review (2008–2019) in 2 public institutions (IMSS/SESVER). Bismuth-Strasberg E injuries with hepaticojejunostomy were included. Data are presented in a tabular reporting system. The outcomes were percent of patients attaining primary patency, loss of primary patency, and actuarial primary patency rate. Results: Seventy-eight patients (IMSS: n = 37; SESVER: n = 41) without differences in demographic and preoperative assessment were studied. BDI occurred mostly in outside hospitals. Open cholecystectomy was the most common index operation in SESVER (73%, p = 0.02). IMSS had more surgeries (p = 0.007) and repair attempts (p = 0.06) prior to referral. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography was more commonly used in IMSS patients. Biliary stents (45%) and cholangitis (29%) were more common in IMSS (p < 0.05). IMSS patients had longer follow-up than SESVER (p < 0.05). No differences in primary patency rates (IMSS: 89%, SESVER: 97%) and actuarial patency rates were noted. Discussion: Despite differences in referral, preoperative, and operative events, good BDI repair outcomes can be achieved. Longer follow-up is needed to monitor these outcomes.

E-marketing through Social Media Platforms under the Umbrella of Persuasive Language: Explanatory Study for some Private Companies Using Social Media Platforms

E-marketing means simply buying and selling through the internet. It consists of two important components, online shopping and online purchasing. The two components of e-marketing play a vital role to attract customer’s attention as well as interact with them through the product information details and characteristics. Social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others social media platforms can be one of the most obvious advantages of e-marketing due to the fact that they become a dynamic engine not only promote local businesses, but also help international businesses grow. Businesses have utilized social media platforms to distribute their goods quickly and widely. Persuasive language through social media platforms considers a critical advantage with great attention to argument quality, post popularity, and post attractiveness. The problem of the study relies on neglecting some companies the significance of using persuasive language to advertise their goods and services. The importance of the research focuses on the rule of persuasive language in growing, prospering, and attracting more customers. Research sample consisted of 132 small companies in Iraq that use social media platforms effectively in order to attract customers to their goods and services. The results were analyzed by using SPSS and AMOS programs. The results of the research shows that persuasive language can support small business by taking advantage of utilizing social media platforms in order to attain a high niche and compete with other companies in the marketplace. Therefore, public sector institutions and companies must take into consideration the private sector's experience in how to deal with customers or beneficiaries and gain profitable benefits and returns at the same time.

The Concept and Functions of Performance Audit: Theoretical Study

Performance audit is a type of audit that evaluates and inspects an organizations’ activity based on the so-called 3E approach: economy, efficiency, effectiveness, and plays the most important role in institutions of public sector. During the implementation of the public sector reforms in recent decades, the concept of audit has been changing. Therefore, a need to re-evaluate the current definition of the audit and supplement it arose. It is also important to review the functions attributed to performance audit in order to define its ever-changing identity. The aim of the article: to evaluate the concepts of performance audit and the conceptual development of functions from a theoretical point of view. The article presents the analysis of performance audit concepts as well as a performance audit definition. The functions of performance audit have been distinguished, grouped, and evaluated based on how often they are mentioned in the literature. Two problems that make the implementation of the functions more challenging have been distinguished: contradictions among functions arise due to a diverse range of functions; due to versatility of the activity, the functions are difficult to evaluate, and measure and evaluation criteria are hard to establish.

Analysis of seed chain and its implication in rapeseed-mustard (Brassica spp.) production in India

India is ranked third after Canada and China sharing about 11.0% of the global rapeseed-mustard production (72.41 mt) and 24.7% and 29.4% in terms of area and production, respectively, of oilseeds in India during 2018-19. Of the projected demand of 82-101 m t of oilseeds by 2030, contribution of rapeseed-mustard is projected at 16.4-20.5 m t, considering its share of 20%-25% in production. Near doubling the production of rapeseed-mustardfrom its current production of 9.26 m t within 10 years is a daunting challenge necessitating multi-pronged strategy. First and foremost approach would be to bridge the exploitable yield reservoir (EP II) of 57.2% in rapeseed-mustard. Seed is the technological carrier and facilitates the realization of potential of variety and crop management technologies. The present paper reviews global scenario ofrapeseed-mustard production and Indian scenario ofseed sector, seed systems, seed production chain, seed status and its implication in production ofrapeseed-mustard. India has a very robust seed systemcomprising both public sector institutions and private seed companies; this systemacts as a driver of growth in agriculture. Of the three seed systems prevalent in India, viz., formal, informal and integrated, formal system wherein guiding principles are to maintain varietal identity, purity and to produce seed of optimal physical, physiological and phyto-sanitary qualityis predominant. Seed chain ofrapeseed-mustard during 2019-20 was maintained with 55 varieties comprising 35 of Indian mustard, 11 of toria, 5 of yellow sarson and 2 each of gobhi sarson and taramira. Varietal mismatches in the breeder seed production was only 5.6% during 2019-20. Breeder seed production was higher by two to three folds than the indents during the last 11 years (2009-10 to 2019-20). During the last 10 years there has been a surge in seed requirement from 2.20 lakh q to 2.64 lakh q. Seed availability during this period was always higher by 2.3%-27.8% than the requirement, except during 2016-17 when a marginal deficit (0.8%) was observed. The seed replacement rate (SRR) is above the threshold level (33%for self- and 50% for cross-pollinated crops) and varietal replacement rate (VRR) is also high as contribution of old and obsolete varieties (released up to 1993) has substantially reduced from 49.4% (2014-15) to 1.7% (2019-20) forIndian mustard; 81.1% (2014-15) to 25.1% (2019-20) for toria and 64.0% (2014-15) to 18.9% (2019-20) for yellow sarson. Increased availability of seed, adequate SRR with high VRR are some of the contributing factors for enhanced yield from 1143 kg/ha to 1511 kg/ha during 2008-09 to 2018-19 in rapeseed-mustard. This paper also highlights some of the issues and strategies for quality breeder seed production.

Evaluation of M.Sc Physical Education Program in Public Sector Institutions; Students' Perspective

The present study aimed at evaluation of M.Sc physical education program in public sector institutions in the context of teacher educators. The objectives of the study were (a) to evaluate the M.Sc Physical Education Program in public sector universities and colleges on the basis of CIPP, (b) to explore the strengths and weaknesses of M.Sc Physical Education Program in Pakistan and (c) to suggest measures for further improvement of the M.Sc Program in Pakistan. It was a survey type of descriptive research. A questionnaire for students included 43 items were used for the collection of data. Questionnaire After validating these research instruments, the reliability was ensured on the basis of data obtained from a pilot study. The quantitative data thus collected through questionnaire were tabulated, and Chi-square test was applied. The analyzed data revealed that the curriculum of health and physical education was related to previous knowledge and experiences. It was recommended that regular seminars and sports workshops might be organized to improve the research and report writing skills.

An Empirical Study of Communicative Competence in Tertiary Level Students of Public Sector institutions in Pakistan

The following study aims at evaluating the level of English language speaking fluency in tertiary level students of public sector universities in Southern Punjab region of Pakistan. The study has theoretical underpinnings in Hymes’ (1967) and Canale and Swain’s (1980) idea of communicative competence, which encompasses the linguistic as well as the social aspect of language competence. The data is collected from the learners and their teachers through questionnaire and interviews following mixed method approach allowing the corroboration of findings from one type of research through the other type. The population consisted of 100 tertiary level students majoring in English and their teachers. The findings of the data revealed that the learners lacked the ability to communicate effectively in the target language. Major barriers in successful language learning and communication were found to be poor educational and economic background, and lack of communicative language teaching (CLT) strategies in classroom. Future researchers can conduct studies on higher-level students to evaluate their communicative competence.

E-Government, Information and Communications Technology Support and Paperless Environment in Nigerian Public Universities: Issues and Challenges

The move toward a paperless environment has become the driving force behind sustainable development and e-government usage in many public sector institutions. It is equally at the heart of the government campaign to make service delivery in public institutions cost effective, seamless, and efficient. The universities are supposed to be at the front-line of this campaign due to their operations which involves the heavy usage of papers at huge costs. Thus, making it important for university management to provide ICT support in order to promote paperless exchange of information and presentations. It is however, understood recently, that there are issues which surround the low usage of ICT among university managements and ultimately, paperless environment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the main issues and challenges that hinder the implementation of paperless environment in Nigerian universities. The paper highlights the cyclical order of document generation, document management and document sharing as the process in which a paperless environment can take place within both the academic and the administrative settings in the university. The paper highlights and discussed the challenges hindering the attainment of paperless environment among which are infrastructural gap, inadequate ICT support and attitudinal challenge. It is recommended that for smooth operation of paperless environment, government must show strong political will, bridge the infrastructure gap especially electricity as well as train staff on the path to ICT usage.

Populism and the Deep State: The Attack on Public Service Under Trump

This paper addresses the ways in which the Trump administration has exemplified and sped up a long-term trend toward democratic backsliding in the United States by undermining public sector institutions, with particular focus on the federal career public service. While previous administrations have looked for ways to exert closer control over parts of government they are ideologically at odds with, the Trump administration has gone further. It has sidelined administrative expertise and scientists in many areas, selecting senior leaders whose lack of qualification is frequently matched only by their disdain for their organizational mission. To achieve its goals, the Trump administration has shown a willingness to push the boundaries of the law beyond its breaking point. While avoiding a direct attack on the civil service via a governmentwide reform, the Trump administration has sought to weaken the ability of public sector unions to negotiate for benefits, punished individuals and units deemed not to be politically loyal, and weakened oversight bodies such as Inspectors General. All of this has been accompanied by a rhetoric of delegitimization, where the President and his supporters frequently invoke conspiratorial theories of “deep state” plots that have been embedded in the Republican Party. The broader picture suggests that Trump is an outlier, but not an anomaly, in terms of US democratic backsliding.

Implementation of Performance Measurement Systems at PT. Pos Indonesian

This paper aims to carry out performance measurement at PT. Pos Indonesia, which consists of measurements of financial and non-financial performance. The preparation of this paper uses the study method of various literature from various international article sources. Public sector organizations or institutions in implementing their financial and non-financial performance measurements use a variety of steps. Therefore, the managers of PT. Pos Indonesia must adjust the appropriate performance measurement system, such as what will be used by PT. Pos Indonesia, according to the conditions of each PT. Pos Indonesian.

Privatizing Canadian government land and real estate: Railroads, reconciliation, and rip-offs

This paper explores three questions on public land and real estate privatization in Canada: which state institutions are involved, what logics guide these privatizations, and what are the implications of how privatization manifests? Answers are interwoven through three sections. The first section summarizes the historical context and institutional reconfiguration of public land and real estate management systems in capitalist-colonial Canada, examining the public sector institutions and ideas involved: the logics and procedures of surplus disposal (Canada Lands) and sale and leaseback (Public Works). The second section explores the implications of surplus land sales through snapshots highlighting some of its consequences: urban development in Toronto through the privatization of once-public railway land, and what the privatization of military land means for Indigenous reconciliation (and capitalist commercialization) in Vancouver. The third section delves deeper into how privatization manifests by exposing several scandals in the sale and leaseback of government buildings managed by Public Works, with implications revealed through the activities of its central private sector agent, the shadowy family-run private trust Larco Investments Ltd.