Service Reform Research Articles

BAI SAGA: PYRAMID SCHEME, PONZI SCHEME, PONZI-LIKE SCHEME OR POLITICAL VENDETTA AND CONSPIRACY?

This paper sheds light on the collapse of the British American Investment conglomerate in Mauritius also known as the BAI Group. According to the Government of Mauritius, the BAI Group was operating a vast Ponzi Scheme via its banking subsidiary known as the Bramer Banking Corporation Ltd (BBCL). Furthermore, according to the report of nTan Corporate Advisory Pte Ltd which is a consultant of the Bank of Mauritius, the BAI Group’s subsidiaries such as the British American Insurance (BAI Co. (Mtius) Ltd) and Bramer Property Fund (BPF) were operating ‘Ponzi-like Schemes’. A good number of financial analysts, economists, and accountants contrarily stated that the BAI Group was operating a Pyramid Scheme. Whereas many investors of the BAI Group had the firm belief that it was a victim of political vendetta and conspiracy. Which is which? Dyed-in-the-wool prophets of doom such as the former Prime Minister of Mauritius, the current Prime Minister of Mauritius, the former Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, and Foreign Affairs, Regional Integration and International Trade, the former Minister of Financial Services, Good Governance and Institutional Reforms, the leader of the MMM party and the former Governor of the Bank of Mauritius have all without exception subjectively and descriptively painted a black picture of the BAI Group hither and thither. On top of that, they have acted in ‘bad faith’ by misleading the Mauritian nation. This paper analyses the other end of the spectrum from a critical perspective based exclusively upon the Academic Literature and takes up the gauntlet with intrepidity to “Give The Devil His Due”.

Game-Theoretic Approach to Modeling Collective Labor Incentives for Regional Civil Servants in Russia

Currently, a number of external factors (in particular, sanctions pressure from the US and EU countries, the pandemic of a new coronavirus infection) have a strong negative impact on the socio-economic development of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Therefore, the head of almost any Russian region is forced to perform the functions of an anti-crisis manager. The modern system of stimulating the work of civil regional employees can help improve the efficiency of public administration, and as a result, ensure the socio-economic development of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. The author's approach to this issue is based on the simultaneous application of a number of modern scientific methods, namely index, neural network technologies and mathematical game theory. The use of neural network technologies makes it possible to objectively assess the achieved level of socio-economic development of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. Taking into account the positive foreign (Singapore and South Korean) experience in the field of civil service reform, it is proposed to make the amount of collective incentive payments (bonus fund) of regional civil servants directly dependent on the achieved level of socio-economic development of the subject of the Russian Federation. In turn, this implies the development of a hierarchical system of collective-individual stimulation of the work of regional civil servants. During the construction of the game-theoretic model, the correct establishment of the relationship between the level of collective incentive payments to regional civil servants and the socio-economic development of a constituent entity of the Russian Federation is ensured. After experimental refinement of the parameters of the game-theoretic model, there is a possibility of its practical application to stimulate the work of regional civil servants in Russia. The introduction of the author's approach into the practice of regional management, firstly, will allow coordinating the activities of ministries and departments, and secondly, will strengthen control over the targeted spending of budgetary funds on bonus payments to civil civil servants.

A qualitative study of purchaser unit employees’ experiences of patient pathways from specialist healthcare to primary healthcare in Norway

Introduction Understanding the purchaser–provider split model in the patient pathway is important. The purchaser is a key player in managing the flow between specialist and municipal healthcare services. A smoother patient transfer has been a priority in Norway, but also challenging. Accordingly, this study aims to describe and explain how the purchasers operate as liaisons during patient transfers from specialist to primary healthcare services. Methods Eleven interviews were conducted with employees at purchaser units in primary healthcare in Norway. The interviewees’ professional backgrounds were in nursing and physiotherapy, as well as casework, and management. The interviews took place in 2018–2019 and analyzed with Graneheim and Lundman's content analysis strategy. Results The interviewees’ views reflected the changes they experienced in the wake of healthcare reforms in specialist healthcare services and municipal healthcare institutions. Three themes emerged from the analyses: (1) increased efficiency requirements after the Coordination Reform, (2) better reporting systems and the need for role clarifications in contact with hospitals, and (3) the need for good assessments for safe transfer to the municipality. Discussion Purchaser unit employees’ experiences with patient pathways point towards a need for certain changes. There is a need for increased efficiency requirements for purchasing units, even with new electronic tools, as well as a growing need for better reporting systems and a common understanding between the service levels about what patients can expect in the municipalities.

O53 - Equipping midwifery leaders to drive maternity care reform

Despite high level evidence establishing midwifery continuity of care as the gold standard of maternity care, widespread implementation of these models in Australia has been slow, with only a small percentage of women currently able to access these services. Whilst previous studies have explored maternity managers’ views of caseload midwifery, this is the first Australian study to utilise individual interviews to explore in detail what midwifery leaders need, in order for them to effectively drive maternity service reform. This qualitative descriptive study used purposive sampling to recruit 13 midwifery leaders from across Australia, representing every state and territory, and a range of leadership positions with varying levels of influence. Ethics approval was granted by xx University. The leaders were interviewed individually via telephone and transcripts were analysed through line-by-line coding and the development of overarching themes. Five main themes emerged from the data; core leadership skills and education are essential, motivation and commitment to implementing evidence-based maternity care, ability to create and sustain strategic relationships, bringing the vision to life; containing sub-themes of; changing the culture and reaching midwifery’s full potential, and finally, organisational support and commitment are key to maternity reform. By understanding the factors that equip midwifery leaders to lead the charge of reforming maternity services, further steps can be taken to increase women’s access to evidence-based midwifery CoC. This qualitative research study reveals the need for midwifery leaders to have a strong midwifery identity, commitment to midwifery CoC and to be continually promoting the midwifery profession. The support structures these leaders require around them include effective relationships with key stakeholders and commitment from health organisations to implement and expand midwifery continuity models.

The digital era and public sector reforms: Transformation or new tools for competing values?

AbstractThis article considers the tools and management approaches associated with the “digital‐era” public sector reform, which many observers suggest has supplanted or should supplant previous reforms such as those associated with the New Public Management. This article levers and adapts the Competing Values Framework to categorize various public service reform movements—Traditional Public Administration, New Public Management, Public Value Management, and New Public Governance—and associated value systems and cultures. It argues that not only do these prior reform movements persist as values and repertoires in public service systems, but they are also each variously receiving oxygen from “digital” as the latest wave of technological innovation affecting societies, markets, and governments. It calls for more systematic empirical work to gauge how digital tools have been affecting the mix and balance of values and repertoires associated with these reform movements in different parts of public service systems in Canada and beyond.

Linked administrative data can inform policy and practice: An academic - government research partnership in South Australia.

ObjectiveTo describe how the Better Evidence Better Outcomes Linked Data (BEBOLD) platform has been used to partner with government agencies to generate evidence to support service reform that contributes to improving outcomes for children and families in contact with the child protection system. ApproachData was drawn from the BEBOLD platform, a whole-of-population linked de-identified administrative data platform for all children in South Australia born from 1991-2016 (n~500,000), as well as their parents. Data linked included birth registrations, perinatal statistics, child protection services, family health services, education, youth justice, housing and homelessness, emergency department presentations and hospitalisation, as well as adult drug and alcohol services. ResultsWe present case studies illustrating how the BEBOLD platform has been used to 1) investigate the descriptive epidemiology of child protection contact patterns with a focus on priority populations (e.g. young parents); 2) describe service interactions of child protection populations in a way that highlights prevention potential (e.g. the overlap between public housing and child protection); and 3) identify policy defined target populations to inform contracting of support services (e.g. estimate counterfactual reunification rates for a defined population to inform development of a Social Impact Bond). ConclusionUsing linked data to take an intelligent system view of potential priority populations can inform policy and service delivery in a resource restricted setting. Descriptive epidemiology of child protection contact patterns, population sizes, transitions, and characteristics can aid services to explore elements of service or system design including eligibility criteria.

Don’t blame psychosis, blame the lack of services: a message for early intervention from the Greek standard care model

BackgroundEarly Intervention Services (EIS) aim to reduce relapse rates and achieve better treatment and functional outcomes for first episode psychosis (FEP) patients. Existing models of services in Greece are still treatment as usual (TAU), however a reform of mental health services is underway and initial steps have been taken to shift standard care towards EIS. The purpose of the study is to address therapeutic gaps by exploring service engagement and relapse rates in the current standard care model for psychosis.MethodsWe examined follow-up and relapse rates one year after initial treatment contact in the first longitudinal FEP study conducted in Greece. 225 patients were enrolled between 2015–2020. Sociodemographic, clinical and functional characteristics were assessed in association with follow-up and relapse rates.ResultsWithin a TAU follow-up setting, one year attrition rates were high. Only 87 patients (38,7%) retained contact with services after one year and within this time frame, 19 of them (21,8%) experienced a severe relapse requiring rehospitalization. Demographic, clinical and functional contributors failed to predict service engagement and relapse rates, with the exception of treatment adherence.ConclusionBoth follow-up and one-year rehospitalization rates in our FEP sample, highlight the need for the implementation of early intervention services, that will aim at engagement maximization and relapse prevention. These indexes also provide a benchmark against which future early intervention services for psychosis in Greece will have to demonstrate superior efficacy.

The Menu Served in Canadian Penitentiaries: A Nutritional Analysis.

The food served in Canadian penitentiaries was scrutinized following food service reform where Correctional Service Canada (CSC) created a standardized menu to feed incarcerated male individuals. Food in prison is a complex issue because penitentiaries are responsible for providing adequate nutrition to the prison population, who are vulnerable to poor health outcomes but are often seen as undeserving. This study aimed to analyse the national menu served in Canadian penitentiaries, in order to compare them with Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) for male adults and the internal nutritional assessment reported by CSC. The goal was to verify if the menu served was adequate and to validate CSC’s nutritional assessment. The diet analysis software NutrificR was used to analyse the 4-week cycle menu. Both analyses were within range for DRIs for most nutrients. However, some nutrients were not within target. The sodium content (3404.2 mg) was higher than the Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL) of 2300 mg, the ω-6 (linolenic acid) content (10.8 g) was below the AI of 14 g, and the vitamin D content (16.2 μg) was below the target of 20 μg for individuals older than 70 years. When these outliers were analysed in-depth, the menu offering was consistent with the eating habits of non-incarcerated individuals. Based on this nutritional analysis and interpretation of the results in light of the complex nature of prison food, this study concludes that CSC meets its obligation to provide a nutritionally adequate menu offering to the general population during incarceration.

Opening the ‘black box’: Organisational Adaptation and Resistance to institutional isomorphism in a prime-led employment services programme

The UK’s Work Programme (2012-18) was a major employment services programme, inspired by new public management principles. A relatively small number of directly commissioned ‘prime providers’ were paid by the central Government largely according to the number of job-outcomes their service users achieved but were given a ‘black box’ to design their own services and subcontracting arrangements. Drawing on an empirical study of subcontracted service providers, and focusing on those from the third sector, the paper shows that within this prime-led commissioning model, subcontractors came under sustained pressure to adjust their operational practices. We draw on institutional isomorphism to show that isomorphic pressures were experienced because of both the design and implementation of the Work Programme. Although there were strong pressures pushing towards convergence, however, the different starting positions of subcontractors meant that these changes were not entirely deterministic and some attempts at resistance were observed amongst third sector providers. Their diverse institutional contexts, including positioning and wider interest in the field, shaped how they navigated and responded to isomorphic pressures, ultimately mitigating homogenisation. The paper contributes a more sophisticated understanding of the ways in which provider organisations experience, interpret and respond to structural pressures within an evolving quasi-market. The findings have implications for public service reform programmes featuring quasi-markets that are intended to encourage innovation and a diversity of provision, particularly when promoting mission-led, third sector organisations (TSOs).

From Bureaucrats to Entrepreneurs to Networkers, Advocates, and Empaths: Reappraising Human Resources Management Ideals and Practices in Public Administration

This article assesses how changing paradigms of public administration have been reflected in public sector human resources management over time. It finds that large-scale reform acts, such as the Pendleton Act or the Civil Service Reform Act and the National Performance Review reflected the “ideals” of the rule-following bureaucrat of the Old Public Administration (OPA) and of the result-seeking entrepreneur of New Public Management (NPM). However, the advocate, empath, and networker of New Public Administration (NPA) and New Public Service (NPS) has not been pursued through similarly encompassing reform efforts. While gradual changes such as a more representative bureaucracy and increased collaborative governance have paved the way for a deeper integration of NPA and NPS values into human resource policy and practice, more efforts are needed to promote advocates, empaths, and networkers as the core of the “new” public service. We conclude by making some tentative suggestions in this direction.

Differentiated pricing for airline ancillary services considering passenger choice behavior heterogeneity and willingness to pay

Under the differentiated service reform of Chinese airlines in 2021, it is an inevitable trend to design and develop differentiated ancillary products, which is the optimization scheme of the supply-side for airlines starting from user demands. The trend of domestic air passengers paying for seat selection is becoming increasingly prevalent. By taking the seat selection fee as an example, this study examines the formulation of ancillary service fees based on passengers' willingness to pay. Using a stated preference (SP) experiment method, this study investigates passengers' seat selection behavior and uses the latent class conditional logit model (LCL) to classify passengers based on seat selection preference. Then, considering the passengers' socioeconomic characteristics, travel characteristics, flight characteristics, seat categories, and passenger categories, this study constructs a model of willingness to pay for seat selection through logit regression. Finally, this study further explores the influencing factors that affect passengers' willingness to pay by using the model and conducting a confirmatory analysis between the model results and the investigation data. The research results show that: (1) passengers' cabin seat selection preferences are heterogeneous, and passengers are divided into three categories; (2) the passenger's personal characteristics (gender, age, etc.) have no significant influence on the willingness to pay for the three categories of passengers; however, the flight purpose for business and leisure travel, day flight, flight duration, the number of luggage, person accompanied, person unaccompanied, and preferred seat have a significant impact on it; (3) the model of willingness to pay has strong correctness and practicability, so in practice, with this method, airlines can predict the willingness to pay for seat selection according to passenger categories and then provide differentiated services and charge fees. It provides theory and decision support for airlines to conduct seat management and design differentiated ancillary service products.

Expected service dimensions and service levels for paratransit considering future mobility needs in emerging countries

• Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) promises improved modal efficiency and integration among public transit and flexible paratransit services (FPS). • Key service dimensions and issues of flexible paratransit services are analysed in the context of MaaS. • Expected service level for these service dimensions are determined using the level of service (LOS) approach based on user perception. • Ride matching as per expected waiting time and service hours via MaaS agencies would ensure proper demand-supply match and fleet size determination. In emerging countries, flexible transport systems (FTS) are mostly informal and are provided by individual paratransit operators/drivers. These services are largely unregulated thus resulting in uncoordinated operations with poor service quality. Earnings and working conditions of paratransit drivers/operators are also poor due to loosely regulated fleet size and other operational and regulatory issues which results in further deterioration of service quality. This research identifies key service dimensions and issues of paratransit services and also determines the expected service level for these service dimensions using the level of service approach based on user perception. LOS scales are designed for different service attributes using a five-point satisfaction and importance rating system. For quantitative attributes, five-level LOS scales are determined by applying the Law of Successive Interval Scaling, whereas for qualitative attributes, the same has been developed using the frequency of response for each level of importance for each sub-attribute. Subsequently, we explore various policies and regulatory measures towards reform and redesign of paratransit services and other mobility needs. Operator profitability can be achieved both through the controlled entry of operators through the issue of permits and/or by relaxing the current service level of some service aspects which are at LOS B level of service. The LOS scales can help in future service design of paratransit services in emerging countries which can offer an affordable alternative to ridesourcing and ride-sharing using cars. The study is conducted in two medium-sized cities in India namely Rajkot and Vishakapatnam.

The Effectiveness of Kenya Police Reforms on Service Delivery in Nairobi City County, Kenya

Performance in the Police Service in Kenya has been deteriorating over the years. For this reason, the National Police Service has recently developed an ambitious plan for police reforms, aimed at transforming the Police Service into an institution that will be modern, efficient and effective and responsive to the needs and expectations of the public. However, there seems to be a problem in the police reform program. Accordingly, the present study sought to ascertain the effectiveness of police service reforms on service delivery in the Kenya Police Service in Nairobi County, Kenya. Its objectives are to establish the effectiveness of personnel reforms on service delivery in the Kenya Police Service in Nairobi County; to establish the effectiveness of financial reforms on service delivery in Kenya Police Service in Nairobi County; to establish the effectiveness of legal reforms on service delivery in Kenya Police Service in Nairobi County; and to establish the effectiveness of cultural reforms on service delivery in Kenya Police Service in Nairobi County; The study adopted a descriptive, survey design and was cross-sectional in nature. The study was delimited to Nairobi County, Kenya and the respondents comprised of junior cadre police officers who are the main operatives on patrols and front office desks. A sample of 351 respondents was selected from a target population of 2883 officers using stratified random sampling. Primary data was collected using a questionnaire while secondary data was collected through a review of relevant content. Out of the 351 questionnaires that were distributed to the targeted respondents, one hundred and two were correctly filled and returned. Data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics and presented using a pie chart, tables and narration. The results reveal that police service reforms are broadly categorized as personnel reforms, financial reforms, legal reforms and cultural reforms. Additionally, it established that while some aspects of these reforms are seen to be effective or even extremely effective in enhancing service delivery, others are not. The implication here is that those in charge of police reforms should be more careful when deciding which types of reforms to enact as some are likely to be unsuccessful, or even unpopular, resulting in poor service delivery.

The conflict potential of Petrine bureaucracy reform in the mirror of post-Petrine “epoch of palace coups”

The article considers the reform of the civil service in Russia 1716–1722, and it’s influence on the social processes of post-Peter Russia. The author pays particular attention to the conflict potential of the transformations carried out by Peter I in public service, thereby the most acute conflicts caused by the reforms are distinguished, and their classification and analysis of factors that directly influenced their development are given. The author interprets the events of the first fifth anniversary of the «era of palace coups» in terms of conflict science, analyses the conflicting parties social composition, the logic of their actions, the socio- political results of the confrontation. The initial value gap between the “old” and “new” bureaucracy and a number of problems, have not been solved in the reign of Peter I, are highlighted as key conflict triggers.

Development of China's health care system in the time of COVID‐19: Challenges, opportunities, and call for actions

Development of China's health care system in the time of COVID‐19: Challenges, opportunities, and call for actions

Reform of Forensic Mental Health Services in Italy: Stigma and Blaming the Messenger: Hermenoia.

About 40 years after the reforms leading to the closure of psychiatric hospitals (Ospedale Psichiatrico [OP]) in Italy in favor of a widespread model with a strong rehabilitation emphasis, Italy has chosen to close High Security Hospitals as well (Ospedale Psichiatrico Giudiziario [OPG]). The new forensic treatment model is expected to be more respectful of the person, including the perpetrators of violent crimes, and aims to be less stigmatizing and more rehabilitative. Despite the favorable premises of the reform (Law n. 81/2014), Italian psychiatrists are now obliged to answer calls to give evidence on strictly legal issues such as the social dangerousness of the mentally ill offender drawing on evidence or paradigms that many believe do not belong to medical knowledge. Psychiatrists must now learn to communicate about the relationship between psychiatry and society as required by law. This public expression engages with the cultural climate of society. Otherwise, the risk is of increasing the level of complexity leading to real misunderstandings that paradoxically may feed the stigma. The Italian reform provides an opportunity for reflection on some issues concerning psychiatric action, on how the public perceives the mentally ill and their psychiatrists, on the relationship between psychiatry and the world of law, on clinical methodologies for structured professional judgment, on public communication regarding severe mental illness, and the risk that psychiatrists may inadvertently be blamed for conveying an unwelcome message about mental illness and social dangerousness-we have called this social sensitivity against psychiatrists "hermanoia," blaming the messenger. The authors do not provide certain solutions but propose good practices.

The Representational Consequences of Municipal Civil Service Reform

A prominent argument holds that the chief purpose of municipal civil service reform in the United States was to dislodge the overrepresentation of recent immigrants in city government. Using new data on all municipal employees from 1850 to 1940 and employing three research designs, we detect no evidence that the share of local government jobs held by foreign-born whites decreased following the introduction of reforms. Instead, we show that foreign-born whites—Irish immigrants in particular—experienced substantial gains in local government employment, concentrated in blue-collar occupations in small- and medium-sized municipalities. Our results call for a revisionist interpretation of Progressive Era reforms by questioning generalizations drawn from the experience of the largest cities in the United States. For most municipalities, instead, civil service reform in fact opened avenues to representation for members of foreign-born constituencies who had previously been locked out of government jobs.

Innovating Public Service: The System Thinking Approach

Public services are the product of the state to safeguard citizens’ entitlements, delivered either directly by the public sector or provisioned through other entities. The challenges for maintaining quality in public services are multifaceted, demanding a holistic approach for innovation. Nepal, an emerging economy, is struggling to institutionalize the political transformation enshrined through the Constitution of Nepal 2015. The Constitution has recognized the quality of public services as the fundamental rights of the people and the state is obliged to deliver it. The changing landscape with the advancement in science and technology, people’s knowledge, diversity and expansion of the public services, it is apparent to adopt innovative approaches to improve overall quality of the services that public sector delivers. Without an open thinking and applying ideas like system thinking and design thinking in the public service reform, it will be a daunting challenge for the government to meet the public expectations of quality services. This article presents the idea of innovating public services through the system and design thinking citing examples from Nepal’s public sector. Drawing a base from Bason’s Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-creating for a Better Society, this article offers framework for innovation in Nepal’s public sector.

Good Governance: Reforming Civil Service of Pakistan

An effective and proficient civil service is cornerstone for good governance in the country.. Civil Service Reforms not only include recruitment and training but also involves deliberate changes to the structures and processes of public sector organizations with the purpose of good governance in political realm, economic, legislative, judicial and humans’ governance. It is a continuous process with no general starting point, and equally no end. The reform package begins with redefining the role of the state including an objective assessment of current political needs, capability and effectiveness of the state from where must flow institutional and civil service reforms rather than isolated arbitrary decisions. Moreover, their recommendations usually covered short-term priorities without addressing key issues faced by the civil services. A gradual holistic restructuring of the existing bureaucratic institutions is recommended which is well integrated and time bound in all tiers of government. Specific reforms pertaining to realignment of Public Service Commission, human resource management, civil services hiring procedure, civil officers’ training and performance appraisal system, promotion mechanism, civil servants’ compensation and accountability have been stipulated.

Analysis on the Reform and Development of Physical Education Services in the Context of 5G Connected Communication.

With the continuous growth of science and technology, mankind has entered the fifth-generation (5G) era. In this background, the development of many fields will face great opportunities and challenges, including the field of physical education (PE). The traditional teaching mode, method, and contents of PE are difficult to adapt to the development needs of the 5G era. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the PE teaching reform in the era of “5G education.” Moreover, integrating 5G technology and PE may benefit students, educators, and the entire PE system. This study offers an in-depth investigation of the reforms and development of PE services under the background 5G interconnected communications. The reforms of PE and services are examined using the most up-to-date 5G technologies. Four 5G methodologies which include model-based practice (MBP), virtual reality (VR), the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence (AI) are analyzed, and for the comparative study, performance indicators such as cost reduction, energy efficiency, and security level are measured. When compared to other strategies, IoT-based physical education is found to be more efficient in terms of these parameters. The 5G-driven PE will provide students with objective, fair, and diversified education, and adaptive learning services to promote the overall development of students.