Type Of Contract Research Articles

Export market orientation, performance and international partner selection: word-of-mouth referral versus direct contact

PurposeExport market orientation can be broadly divided into intelligence (generation and dissemination) and responsiveness activities. Although previous studies assess intelligence and responsiveness activities, little is known about what type of international channel partner acts as an enabling condition for the impact of these activities on export venture performance. This study aims to examine the extent to which the selection of international channel partners through word-of-mouth referrals versus direct contacts affects the benefits of intelligence and responsiveness activities.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 246 exporting manufacturers in Japan. To test the hypotheses, we conducted regression analyses using a subjective performance measure at the venture level. We also performed a post hoc analysis using objective performance measure at the function level.FindingsWe find that the extent to which international channel partners are selected through word-of-mouth referrals has a moderating role in the export market-oriented activities–performance linkages. Specifically, it acts as an enabling condition for intelligence activity and a disenabling condition for responsiveness activity.Originality/valueThis study contributes to a better understanding of export market orientation by classifying it into intelligence and responsiveness activities and providing empirical evidence on their different interaction effects with partner selection. It also contributes to the elaboration of agency theory by offering insights into the fit between task characteristics and contract type. Our study is critical for business managers as it suggests guidelines for manufacturing exporters engaging in export market-oriented behaviors and export channel management.

A Robust Numerical Simulation of a Fractional Black–Scholes Equation for Pricing American Options

After the discovery of fractal structures of financial markets, fractional partial differential equations (fPDEs) became very popular in studying dynamics of financial markets. Available research results involves two key modelling aspects; firstly, derivation of tractable asset pricing models, those that closely reflects the actual dynamics of financial markets. Secondly, the development of robust numerical solution methods. Often times, most the effective models are of a nonlinear nature, and as such, reliable analytical solution methods are seldomly available. On the other hand, the accurate value of American options strongly lies on the unknown free boundaries associated with these types of derivative contracts. The free boundaries emanates from the flexibility of the early exercise features with American options. To the best of our knowledge, the approach of pricing American options under the fractional calculus framework has not been extensively explored in literature, and an obvious wider research gap still exist on the design of robust solution methods for pricing American option problems formulated under the fractional calculus framework. Therefore, this paper serve to propose a robust numerical scheme for solving time-fractional Black–Scholes PDEs for pricing American put option problems. The proposed scheme is based on the front-fixing algorithm, under which the early exercise boundaries are transformed into fixed boundaries, allowing for a simultaneous computation of optimal exercise boundaries and their corresponding fair premiums. Results herein indicate that, the proposed numerical scheme is consistent, stable, convergent with order O(h2,k)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$${\\mathcal {O}}(h^2,k)$$\\end{document}, and also does guarantee positivity of solutions under all possible market conditions.

Humor Styles in Healthcare Professionals: A Correlational Study.

Using humor as a caregiving strategy can help professionals perceive daily and work-related events from a more optimistic and light-hearted perspective. The main objective of this study was to analyze humor styles among health care professionals. A cross-sectional and correlational design was employed. Data were collected using the Humor Styles Questionnaire, which measures four humor styles: affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, and self-defeating humor. Health care professionals scored higher in positive humor than negative humor. Age exhibited a negative correlation with positive humor. Significant differences were observed between marital status and affiliative and self-enhancing humor, professional category and hospital unit with aggressive humor, shift work and self-enhancing humor, and type of contract and experience with affiliative humor. Health care professionals employ various humor styles based on their social and work contexts. It is crucial for health care professionals to receive training in the use of positive humor to consciously avoid humor styles that can hinder well-being.

Techno-Economic Assessment of Battery Systems for PV-Equipped Households with Dynamic Contracts: A Case Study of The Netherlands

Dynamic energy contracts, offering hourly varying day-ahead prices for electricity, create opportunities for a residential Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) to not just optimize the self-consumption of solar energy but also capitalize on price differences. This work examines the financial potential and impact on the self-consumption of a residential BESS that is controlled based on these dynamic energy prices for PV-equipped households in the Netherlands, where this novel type of contract is available. Currently, due to the Dutch Net Metering arrangement (NM) for PV panels, there is no financial incentive to increase self-consumption, but policy shifts are debated, affecting the potential profitability of a BESS. In the current situation, the recently proposed NM phase-out and the general case without NM are studied using linear programming to derive optimal control strategies for these scenarios. These are used to assess BESS profitability in the latter cases combined with 15 min smart meter data of 225 Dutch households to study variations in profitability between households. It follows that these variations are linked to annual electricity demand and feed-in pre-BESS-installation. A residential BESS that is controlled based on day-ahead prices is currently not generally profitable under any of these circumstances: Under NM, the maximum possible annual yield for a 5 kWh/3.68 kW BESS with day-ahead prices as in 2023 is EUR 190, while in the absence of NM, the annual yield per household ranges from EUR 93 to EUR 300. The proposed NM phase-out limits the BESS’s profitability compared to the removal of NM.

Practice list size, workforce composition and performance in English general practice: a latent profile analysis

BackgroundFollowing government calls for General Practices in England to work at scale, some practices have grown in size from traditionally small, General Practitioner (GP)-led organisations to large multidisciplinary enterprises. We assessed the effect of practice list size and workforce composition on practice performance in clinical outcomes and patient experience.MethodsWe linked five practice-level datasets in England to obtain a single dataset of practice workforce, list size, proportion of registered patients ≥ 65 years of age, female-male sex ratio, deprivation, rurality, GP contract type, patient experience of care, and Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) and non-QOF clinical processes and outcomes. Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) was used to cluster general practices into groups based on practice list size and workforce composition. Bayesian Information Criterion, Akaike Information Criterion and deliberation within the research team were used to determine the most informative number of groups. One-way ANOVA was used to assess how groups differed on indicator variables and other variables of interest. Linear regression was used to assess the association between practice group and practice performance.ResultsA total of 6024 practices were available for class assignment. We determined that a 3-class grouping provided the most meaningful interpretation; 4494 (74.6%) were classified as ‘Small GP-reliant practices’, 1400 (23.2%) were labelled ‘Medium-size GP-led practices with a multidisciplinary team (MDT) input’ and 131 (2.2%) practices were named ‘Large multidisciplinary practices’. Small GP-reliant practices outperformed larger multidisciplinary practices on all patient-reported indicators except on confidence and trust where medium-size GP-led practices with MDT input appeared to do better. There was no difference in performance between small GP-reliant practices and larger multidisciplinary practices on QOF incentivised indicators except on asthma reviews where medium-size GP-led practices with MDT input performed worse than smaller GP-reliant practices and immunisation coverage where the same group performed better than smaller GP-reliant practices. For non-incentivised indicators, larger multidisciplinary practices had higher cancer detection rates than small GP-reliant practices.ConclusionSmall GP-reliant practices were found to provide better patient reported access, continuity of care, experience and satisfaction with care. Larger multidisciplinary practices appeared to have better cancer detection rates but had no effect on other clinical processes and outcomes. As England moves towards larger multidisciplinary practices efforts should be made to preserve good patient experience.

Legal Risks in Future Housing Purchase and Sale Contracts: A Case Research in Vietnam

A future housing purchase contract stipulates a predetermined sale price between a home buyer and seller, with the transaction set for a future date. This type of contract offers sellers the advantage of price security and continued property use until the sale, mitigating risks associated with market fluctuations and buyer scarcity. Nevertheless, these contracts also present several challenges, particularly the need for clear, transparent terms and careful legal risk management to safeguard the interests of all parties involved. This article uses the method pf analyzing the written law, the method of analyzing the situation trough the researching on secondary sources to analyze anticipated legal challenges in future housing purchase contracts and reviews relevant Vietnamese legal frameworks. It proposes essential contract terms and preventive measures aimed at minimizing risks and protecting the rights of the parties, focusing particularly on the buyer. These insights are intended to guide stakeholders in crafting more secure and equitable future housing purchase agreements.

Правовое определение и регулирование технологического посредничества в России и за рубежом

Technological intermediation is one of the ways to ensure technological development, as it allows to unite all its participants. The article justifies the introduction of a special type of contract into civil legislation and even the definition of the legal status of a technological intermediary, which provides an opportunity to act effectively in the civil turnover of a person conducting such activities.

Data-driven contract design for supply chain coordination with algorithm sharing and algorithm competition

Supply chain members can intelligently learn their decisions based on historical data by using Machine-Learning (ML) algorithms. To coordinate the supply chain, the data-driven contract design problems for three contracts—buyback, quantity flexibility, and combined quantity flexibility and rebate—were investigated for a supply chain with one manufacturer and multiple retailers under algorithm sharing and algorithm competition. The problems were formulated as bi-level optimization models by introducing nonlinear mapping from historical demand data to ordering decisions and using ML algorithms to learn the mapping parameters. The bi-level optimization models were transformed into semi-infinite programming models and solved using the (nested) cutting plane methods. Empirical studies using data from two databases showed that algorithm sharing or algorithm competition, the type of contract used, and learning algorithms were the three factors influencing the performance of supply chain coordination when using a data-driven contract design. Algorithm sharing was found to be more beneficial to the supply chain members than algorithm competition in promoting supply chain coordination. An effective incentive mechanism, such as an individualized buyback ratio and a rebate from the manufacturer to the retailers with a good forecast performance, can encourage the retailers to participate in algorithm sharing and improvement.

Der Ausgleichsanspruch des Handelsvertreters nach slowenischem Recht im Lichte der EU-Richtlinie 653/86 — The commercial agent’s indemnity under Slovenian law in the light of EU Directive 653/86

Abstract The article outlines the regime for commercial agent’s indemnity in the Slovenian legal system. Although the indemnity regime in all EU member states is based on the Commercial Agents Directive, the Slovenian regime deviates significantly from the German regime, which was supposedly drawn upon by the Slovenian legislature, as well as from other comparable regimes. It is therefore essential for economic operators entering the Slovenian market to have an understanding of the indemnity regime under Slovenian law. In the article, the author explains the prerequisites for a commercial agent’s entitlement to indemnity under the specific Slovenian regime, discusses the compatibility of the Slovenian regime with the Commercial Agents Directive, explains other important differences compared to other regimes, and finally discusses the possibility of analogous application of Slovenian indemnity provisions to other types of contracts.

Chinese State Capital as a Partner for Resource-Based Structural Transformation? The Belt and Road Initiative and Downstream Linkages in Bolivia and Kazakhstan

Lee argues that outbound Chinese state capital (CSC) is distinct from global private capital in terms of a greater willingness to accommodate recipient country priorities. This article uses the cases of Kazakhstan and Bolivia to explore this claim in relation to state-led efforts to foster structural transformation via upgrading in extractive industries (lithium and iron/steel in Bolivia, and petrochemicals in Kazakhstan). We focus particularly on attempts to move into domestic downstream processing. The article explores variation in the degree of accommodation with local demands on the part of CSC and proposes an explanatory framework for these differences, grounded in three axes. These are (i) mix of BRI drivers motivating a particular project from the Chinese side (export of industrial surplus, political relations with partner states and/or concern for resource security); (ii) nature of state-capital investment partnership (the mix of Chinese institutions and firms involved in negotiating and implementing the deal, as well as the time horizon implied by contract type); and (iii) a range of local contextual factors such as availability of alternative sources of capital, host state industrial capacities and local political conditions. Further research will be needed to refine and test this framework across other sectors and developmental goals beyond upgrading in extractives.

Is Land Really Unique?: Revisiting Specific Performance as the Default Remedy for Land Sale Contracts in New Zealand

The argument put forth in this article is that land sale contracts, unless proven to possess unique characteristics, are not inherently different from other types of contracts. The article proposes a shift from treating specific performance as the default remedy for enforcing land sale contracts. Instead, the remedy of specific performance should be considered applicable only in exceptional situations, as is the case for contracts generally. The article also addresses the nature of damages in lieu of specific performance and suggests a reconsideration of how that remedy applies to land sale contracts.

Smart Contracts as a Tool to Support the Challenges of Buying and Selling Coffee Futures Contracts in Colombia

In Colombia, coffee futures contracts represent essential financial agreements that allow producers and buyers to establish prices, quality, and conditions for future transactions in the coffee market. Despite the evident benefits of stability and predictability, this practice faces significant sustainability challenges that threaten its long-term viability. One of the reasons is the significant lack of transparency in the supply chain. Farmers, affected by abrupt price fluctuations and adverse weather conditions such as the El Niño phenomenon, experience an increase in market prices, leading to the non-delivery of the final product, and contract breaches as they find better prices in the local market. In this context, smart contracts emerge as a promising technological solution to address these problems. These contracts enable the verification of each step in the process, from harvest to final sale, within a blockchain. Therefore, this research designs a smart contract managed through a platform called SmartBeanFutures, which records the clauses of futures contracts using the IERC721 framework, allowing the generation of a unique and non-repeatable asset. It aims to sell, promote, and manage coffee sale prices during the agreement’s signing, creating a transparent environment for chain actors. This proposal undergoes evaluation in a test environment, providing farmers access to the designed platform. Following the validation of the proposal, it was identified that over 74% would use this type of contract in their agricultural processes, highlighting that implementing this technology contributes to eliminating intermediaries in the chain and gives farmers more control over their participation in the market.

A Note on Developing A New Type of Construction Contracts to Promote New Technologies and Sustainability

A Note on Developing A New Type of Construction Contracts to Promote New Technologies and Sustainability

Research on Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Investment under Build - Operate - Transfer (BOT) and Build-Lease-Transfer (BLT) Contract Types in the High-Speed North-South Rail Project (HSR), the Hanoi - Vinh Line

Introduction The North-South high-speed rail development is a completely new field in Vietnam. Calculations show that Vietnam's high-speed rail system will attract a significant amount of investment, which is 4-5 times higher than developing highways, and the annual operation and maintenance costs are three times higher. Methods Public-Private Partnership (PPP) investment is effective and required to ease the strain on the state budget. This research aims to build a database for calculating the financial efficiency of the high-speed rail project (Hanoi -Vinh line), thereby establishing a mechanism for sharing benefits and risks between the state and investors through financial scenarios: applying Build - Operate - Transfer (BOT) contracts with state participation rates of 50% and 80%, respectively. Results The qualitative research method is used to determine the indicators influencing the project's benefits and costs, assume and adjust economic, financial, and fare parameters based on Vietnam's actual conditions, and investigate and survey the affected areas to assess passenger transport demand. Conclusion Furthermore, the financial efficiency of the project is calculated, and various participation options for the parties involved are proposed to attract investors.

To collaborate or not to collaborate: A transaction cost economics approach to construction contracts in public-private partnerships

Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) are often seen as a cost-effective way of providing public infrastructure. However, mega-construction projects involve many hidden costs that arise during the project life cycle. These costs are known as transaction costs. This article investigates how a construction contract under a PPP can reduce transaction costs. Using Transaction Cost Economics (TCE), the article draws on empirical studies from six countries to identify four factors that affect transaction costs in construction contracts namely: (i) Concessionaire predictability, (ii) Contractor predictability, (iii) Project Management Efficiency, and (iv) Project Environment Uncertainty. Different types of construction contracts were comparatively analysed against the aforementioned four factors. The findings indicate that collaborative contracts are more likely to favourably address these four factors by lowering transaction costs compared to non-colloborative contracts. The article concludes that using collaborative contracts can make infrastructure PPPs more affordable than other public procurement methods.

THE ROLE OF ADMINISTRATIVE CONTRACTS IN THE FIELD OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION

Background: This scientific paper aims to delve deeply into the concept of administrative contracts and their importance in the field of public administration. Therefore, our goal is to provide a clear and detailed analysis and interpretation for readers, ensuring that all those interested have the opportunity to gain a foundational understanding of the importance and legal consequences of administrative contracts. By means of this paper, treating administrative contracts broadly regarding their development, meaning and importance in the theoretical aspect will positively influence and facilitate their application in practice by the public administration. These contracts, often similar to classical ones, with their content and purpose, are so differentiated that now it is no longer possible to speak of their belonging to one of the existing groups of contracts but of new, independent types of contracts. Methods: This paper employs analytical, normative, historical and comparative methods. The analytical method will be used to analyse administrative contracts in the Republic of Kosovo and their application by state bodies. The normative method will treat the legal provisions that regulate administrative contracts, starting with those within administrative law and extending to provisions in other legal domains. The historical method will illustrate the history of the development of administrative contracts, detailing their past and how they work today. Lastly, the comparative method will compare the development and operation of administrative contracts in the Republic of Kosovo with those in other democratic states mentioned in the paper. Results and conclusions: The administrative contract holds significant importance in public administration, as its primary objective is always to serve the general state interest. Despite being a bilateral legal act, an administrative contract typically involves a public or state administration body as the contracting party, which inherently holds greater power or authority in relation to the other legal entity involved. This power disparity means there is no equal footing between the contracting parties, contrary to the principle of equality observed in civil law and generally required for concluding private contracts.

Evaluation of delays in technical approval of UK Highways Act Section 278 projects

This paper attempts to address the causes of delays to the legal and technical approval processes involved in the creation of agreements authorising works to public highways under s.278 Highways Act (1980) specific to Warwickshire County Council, UK, and whether the type of contract (JCT or NEC) or s.278 agreement (minor or major) has any tangible influence. A series of questionnaires and interviews were carried out on a sample group of individuals including designers, developers, construction lawyers and council engineers with extensive industry experience in relation to s.278 legal, technical, construction and adoption processes. The results revealed the key causes of delays, and therefore, the barriers to prompt and efficient approval processes, as the lack of communication between developer and local authority, inexperienced developers’ engineers, poor quality drawings and insufficient information in the local authority's design guide. These key factors are discussed and recommendations are provided to tackle these issues.

A Critical Analysis of Void Agreement Under Indian Contract Act and Navigating Its Implications

This research paper goes into the complexities of contract law, with a primary focus on Void Agreements under the Indian Contract Act of 1872. It covers the idea, legal context, and effects of void agreements, as well as how to navigate legal challenges and current legislative modifications. This study attempts to give a nuanced knowledge of void agreements and their repercussions on contractual relationships by conducting a complete examination of literature, case studies, and comparative studies with international contract law. The introduction of the article provides a summary of the Indian Contracts Act of 1872, as well as the basic definitions and features of Contracts, Void Agreements, and so on. The study design focuses on providing a concise description of the research purpose, objectives, methodology, research questions, scope, and limits. The Review of Literature analyses and describes the various websites, articles, and blogs that were used in this research to delve into the various perspectives and aspects of the main topic. It includes the key contents of each website, as well as the possible conclusion and key findings. Beginning with a review of contract law in India, it dives into the fundamentals of valid contracts, types of contracts, and invalid agreements, illuminating their definition, features, and major legal clauses. This research provides practical insights into contract nullification, restitution, and the impact on concerned parties by thoroughly examining numerous grounds for voidability and conducting individual case analyses. Furthermore, it addresses legal issues related to void agreements and offers a comparison analysis with foreign contract law frameworks. This study intends to contribute to a more sophisticated understanding of void agreements and their implications in contractual partnerships by reviewing recent legislative revisions and making relevant proposals for future legal reforms. The conclusion highlights the research's primary results and ideas, as well as all of the subsections written throughout the study. The report concludes with some recommendations for future legislative revisions regarding void agreements based on the research findings. The last section, which includes the bibliography and references, gives a list of all sources cited throughout the work, using the relevant citation style requirements.

Evaluation of PVD exposure and its influence on visual fatigue in the administrative staff of a public hospital in Riobamba - Ecuador in 2023

Widespread use of data display terminals (DUTs) in a work environment could represent a risk for developing ocular pathologies and dangers. One way to determine the presence and severity of these symptoms is through the CVSS17 questionnaire. In this study, visual symptoms were evaluated in the administrative staff of an Ecuadorian public hospital. The results indicate no association between visual symptoms and gender (contingency coefficient 0.085, p=0.83). A moderate but not statistically significant association was found between symptom intensity and age (contingency coefficient of 0.344, p=0.347). However, there is a statistically significant positive association between symptom intensity and type of contract (contingency coefficient 0.40, p=0.049, Cramer's Test V 0.3, p=0.049). Symptom severity is mild in 38% (95% CI 24.0% - 51.9%), followed by 34% of moderate symptoms (95% CI 20.4% - 47.6%), according to the percentages obtained in the CVSS17 questionnaire. It is suggested that visual hygiene be improved, the work environment optimized, and regular visual stimulation breaks established to prevent visual symptoms. These measures, assessed by the CVSS17 questionnaire, provide a healthier working environment.

Survival analysis of unemployment duration: a case study of Vietnam

ABSTRACT How to make own advantages when submitting applications and increase the probability of getting a job early? The target of this study is to analyse the determinants of unemployment duration and the probability of seeking a job after graduation. It is carried out by using survival analysis along with the Cox model and Kaplan–Meier estimator and based on the dataset integrated from survey data and academic data. The empirical results show that taking part-time jobs related to training majors and setting goals as well as planning to go internship early have a positive influence on the ability of students to get a job early. The results also reveal that the mother’s occupation, the type of internment enterprise, the type of work contract, and the refusal of job opportunities offered previously have a negative impact on students’ chances of escaping unemployment. The findings are the basis for students to properly assess their advantages and disadvantages. Thereby, they can determine the goal of a job that suits their capacity and have a reasonable plan combined with their efforts to achieve it. They also support companies to identify groups of potential students and build their suitable evaluation criteria in recruitment.