WorldWideScience

Sample records for estonian service sector

  1. Logistics in Estonian business companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Kiisler

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The article describes logistics survey in Estonia carried out in 2007 as a part of the LogOnBaltic project. The level of logistics in Estonian manufacturing, trading and logistics companies is explored through logistics costs, performance indicators, outsourcing, ICT use and logistics self-estimation of the companies responded. Responses from 186 Estonian companies were gathered through a web-based survey (38% of manufacturing, 38% of trading and 24% of logistics sector. Logistics costs as the percentage of turnover make in average 13.8% in manufacturing and 13.3% in trading. Transportation and inventory carrying cost form around 70% of overall logistics costs. Considering the logistics indicators surveyed, Estonian companies show up with relatively low perfect order fulfillment rates, short customer order fulfillment cycles and effective management of cash flows. The most widely outsourced logistics function is international transportation followed by domestic transportation, freight forwarding and reverse logistics. By 2010, the outsourcing of IT systems in logistics followed by inventory management, warehousing and product customization is expected to increase more substantially. The awareness of logistics importance is still low among Estonian companies. Only 27–44% of those agree that logistics has a considerable impact on profitability, competitive advantage, top management or customer service level.

  2. Sustainable development outlooks of the Estonian energy sector for convergence with the European Union countries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Laur, Anton; Tenno, Koidu; Soosaar, Sulev

    2002-01-01

    The article presents an overview of a research conducted in the Estonian Inst. of Economics and the Estonian Energy Research Inst. with the objectives to: analyse the dynamics of the main Estonian energy use indicators over the last 8-10 years with the background of general macroeconomics developments; compare these indicators with the respective energy indicators in the European Union Member States and Candidate Countries; evaluate Estonia's potential to catch up by the energy use efficiency (GDP energy intensity) of the average level of EU countries, modelling our possible development scenarios of GDP and TPES. The research results indicates several positive development tendencies (e.g. reduction of TPES and CO 2 emissions with the background of economic growth) in the Estonian energy sector, as well as convergence with the EU countries in terms of GDP energy intensity. Unfortunately, the model analysis results demonstrate that it takes a lot of time for Estonia to reach the current EU level - even under the most favourable GDP and TPES development conditions, 25-30 years. The primary reason is the very low level of our GDP per capita compared to the EU countries. (author)

  3. Power without manpower: Forecasting labour demand for Estonian energy sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meriküll, Jaanika; Eamets, Raul; Humal, Katrin; Espenberg, Kerly

    2012-01-01

    As energy demand and prices continue to grow, oil shale might help mitigate the energy crisis—it can widely be found all over the world but so far has not been widely used. Estonia is unique in the world for producing a large majority of energy out of oil shale and has been set as an example in numerous papers covering oil shale deposits, technology etc. This paper is the first to analyse oil shale energy related workforce and provides scenario forecasts of the labour demand for the Estonian energy sector in 2010–2020. The contribution of the paper is twofold. First, the paper provides a valuable insight into oil shale energy related workforce, enabling to take into consideration the educational needs in countries where oil shale industry might be set up. Second, methodology-wise, the paper relates labour demand and supply to different scenarios of energy production capacities. The results illustrate problems related to aging of the workforce in energy production. If the existing trends continue in educational attainment in Estonia, there will be a serious shortage of high-skilled engineering and manufacturing specialists. Our method provides a simple yet reliable enough way to check for such problems early enough. - Highlights: ► This paper analyses oil shale energy related workforce and provides scenario forecasts. ► This is the first study to investigate the workforce related to oil shale energy production. ► The main workforce-related problem in the sector is ageing of the workforce. ► Workers immigrating to the sector during the Soviet times are at the retirement age. ► There will be a serious shortage of engineers for energy sector in the near future.

  4. Estonian white paper on energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamburg, Arvi

    1997-01-01

    Energy policy, environmental protection and economy form a triangle of tightly linked sectors, and any solution of some energy problem can be solved only in the light of all the above mentioned factors. There are several energy master plans for Estonia, the first of them dating back to the years of the Soviet Union and ending the list with the plan to cover the years up to 2000. By now the basic principles of the Estonian energy policy have been prepared and Estonian Energy Concept is being worked out. The main goal of Estonian energy policy is ensure an effective and environmentally benign energy supply for the country. It means safety in energy supply, effective production and supply together with sufficient environmental protection. Energy Council in the role of an advisory voluntary organization for inspection of the energy system and finding measures to improve its efficiency is established with parliament members included. The Estonian Energy Research Institute and the Oil--Shale Research Institute serve as a scientific advisory board for the government in energy policy. It's important to emphasise that privatisation is no panacea, solving all the problems, and therefore we are facing hard to move in the right direction, satisfying all the consumers of energy

  5. Estonian horticultural peat marketing: sales promotion and price formation. 2. part

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hammer, Hele

    1999-01-01

    When forming prices, Estonian peat companies' decisions should be based on marginal cost analysis. Unfortunately most Estonian companies sell peat to intermediaries and cannot influence its price. Estonian peat producers have to choose between either selling peat directly or selling through a central marketing organization. Both systems have their pros and cons. Direct selling gives more freedom to individual producers but is more risky. Central marketing makes cost saving possible and is more effective and stable, but may alienate producers from clients and markets. Whichever marketing system Estonian peat companies choose, the most important elements in their marketing strategy should be: careful market analysis, personal sales, attending trade shows, catalogues, quality service and offering transportation services. (author)

  6. Estonian literature / Janika Kronberg

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Kronberg, Janika, 1963-

    2003-01-01

    Sisu: Estonian literature - born on the margins of Europe ; Baltic German literature and its impact ; Seeking the contours of a 'truly' Estonian literature ; Literature and an independent Estonia ; Estonian literature in two cultural spheres ; The fifties and sixties ; Literature and congealed time ; A bold new Estonian literature

  7. Managing educational sector via self-evaluation policy. Haridussüsteemi juhtimine läbi sisehindamise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristi Ploom

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Performance evaluation is not a new concept in private sector, while in public sector organisations it has been taken into use since the implementation of performance management. Evaluation is necessary to make the future-oriented management decisions based on the information available today, in order to achieve desired performance. The authors analysed self-evaluation reports prepared in Estonian general schools in 2008. Self-evaluation reports were analysed to see, if the relationships and roles, patterns of governance and accountability, flow of resources, the headmaster’s role, educational and other values in Estonian schools have hanged enough, to provide education service, which responds to the high expectations of contemporary society. Although the analyses of OECD surveys’ results show that the organising of the Estonian educational sector is a good example for many other countries, the actual situation in the schools is not as positive. There are high expectations put on schools by the policymakers’ level, but schools do not have enough ability to reach them. There is a lack of financial resources, knowledge and organisational willingness

  8. On using an efficiency matrix in analysing profit per employee (on the basis of the Estonian SME software sector 

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paavo Siimann

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Service companies earn their profit mainly due to their employees’ intellectual skills, therefore, increasing profit per employee is one opportunity to increase profit and thereby also the company’s market value. In this article the number of employees, the value of owners’ equity and loan capital, operating expenses, net sales and profit before income tax have been used to analyse the change in profit per employee of the Estonian software small and medium-sized enterprise (SME sector in total, and for small and medium-sized companies separately in the years 2009–2013. Furthermore, this article demonstrates that the efficiency matrix methodology and its developments that were refined in Estonia and Russia from the 1960s to the 1990s can be deployed nowadays as well. Of all the components, profit margin and owners’ equity per employee showed the most rapid growth during the analysed period. Profit per employee was higher in the small enterprises segment and lowest among medium-sized enterprises, where owners’ equity per employee, net sales to operating expenses, and profit margin were lower than in small enterprises over the whole period analysed.

  9. Valued Estonian Music CDs

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2004-01-01

    2002. aastal välja antud eesti muusika heliplaatidest Artur Kapp "Symphonische Werke", Eduard Tubin "Symphonies No.9, No.10 and No.11", "Estonian Preludes", "Eesti heliloojad. Hortus Musicus", "Eesti Muusika Päevad", "Tallinn Saxophone Quartet. Estonian Contemporary Music", "Triskele. Kolga-Jaani vaimulikud rahvalaulud", "Helmekaala. Linnupuu Anne", "Modern Fox mängib Raimond Valgret",

  10. On the System of Person-Denoting Signs in Estonian Sign Language: Estonian Name Signs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paales, Liina

    2010-01-01

    This article discusses Estonian personal name signs. According to study there are four personal name sign categories in Estonian Sign Language: (1) arbitrary name signs; (2) descriptive name signs; (3) initialized-descriptive name signs; (4) loan/borrowed name signs. Mostly there are represented descriptive and borrowed personal name signs among…

  11. [Mati Erelt. Estonian Language] / Katrin Hiietamm

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Hiietamm, Katrin

    2004-01-01

    Arvustus: Estonian language / [Estonian Academy of Sciences] ; edited by Mati Erelt.Tallinn : Teaduste Akadeemia Kirjastus, 2003. 412, [1] lk. : ill., kaart. (Linguistica Uralica. Supplementary series, 0868-4731 ; vol. 1)

  12. Organizational culture based on the example of an Estonian hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saame, Iisi; Reino, Anne; Vadi, Maaja

    2011-01-01

    The concept of organisational culture (also referred to later as OC) is one of the approaches in modern organisational analysis exploring the values, attitudes and beliefs behind human behaviour in the workplace. OC as a social phenomenon is considered to be important for the sustainability of every organisation. In the service sector, OC may affect the nature and quality of the services provided. The aim of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, to highlight the patterns of OC in a hospital; and, on the other hand, to outline relationships between OC and patient satisfaction. The study was conducted in Tartu University Hospital, one of the most influential health care organisations in Estonia. This paper has original value by presenting an insight into organisational culture in the Estonian health care sector, and the findings of the study will expand knowledge of OC in the health care sector in general. The OC instrument applied in a quantitative cross-sectional study was earlier developed according to the Competing Values Framework (CVF). Data from 456 medical and non-medical professionals were analysed using non-parametric tests of descriptive statistics. A factor analysis was performed to assess the instrument's compatibility for analysing the OC pattern in the health care sector. The dominant culture type in all the groups investigated was the Internal Processes type, mainly followed by the Rational Goal type, while different cultural patterns were observed in professional groups. The factor analysis yielded a three-subscale solution. Clinics with high patient satisfaction did not score more than clinics with low patient satisfaction in terms of the Human Relations type. In future studies a random sample design and a multidisciplinary approach to OC research should be followed in order to further explore OC patterns in hospitals and their consequences for different aspects of hospital performance.

  13. Development of a breeding objective for Estonian Holstein cattle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. PÄRNA

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Economic weights for milk carrier (water plus lactose, fat and protein yields, calving interval, age at first service, interval between the first service and conception of heifers and length of productive life of Estonian Holsteins were estimated under assumed milk production quota and for non-quota conditions. A bio-economic model of an integrated production system of a closed herd was used. Economic values of milk carrier yield and length of productive life differed between quota and non-quota conditions, but there were only minor differences between those marketing systems in economic values for functional traits. The standardised economic values of the most important traits varied in magnitude between18 to 81% of the economic value for milk yield. Discounting had a substantial impact on the economic value of length of productive life. When defining the breeding objective for Estonian Holstein, the interval between the first service and conception of heifers, and the length of productive life should be included in the breeding goal along with the traits with the highest economic value, milk, fat and protein yield. In the optimum breeding objective, relative weights of production vs. functional traits were 79 and 21%, respectively.;

  14. Digimodernistlik eesti kirjanik / The Digimodernist Estonian Writer

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    Piret Viires

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the cultural situation following postmodernism in the first decade of the 21st century. To characterise this situation, the umbrella term “post-postmodernism” is used, as well as “neomodernism”, “altermodern”, “metamodernism”, “hypermodernity”, “performatism”, “critical realism” etc. All these approaches are, in a wider sense, united by their aim of opposing postmodernist cynicism and irony, and bringing back truth, simplicity and clarity. It has also been found that literature has returned or is returning to realism, and various cultural phenomena are emerging, which have been designated by the concept “new sincerity”.In descriptions of the current cultural situation, this trend seeking truth and simplicity is supported by approaches which emphasise the significance of technological developments during the last decade. A prominent figure here is Alan Kirby, who launched the term “digimodernism”, mainly linked with the adaptation and spread of Web 2.0 at the beginning of the 21st century: the blogosphere, Wikipedia, Twitter and Facebook.The article seeks answers to the question of whether we can talk about digimodernism in Estonian literature in the 2000s. In the 1990s Estonian writers were quite reluctant to undertake computer-technological experiments, and there are only a few examples of Estonian digital literature, whereas a change occurred in the 2000s. Many Estonian writers have had and still have their own blogs and surprisingly many have joined Facebook. The term “twitterature” is also familiar to Estonian writers. The article tackles the dominant topics in the blogs of Estonian writers and analyses their possible collective creative work on Facebook. A question is raised as to whether it is possible that the fragmentary narrative structure of blogs and Facebook has influenced mainstream literature.The article concludes that one essential change in Estonian literature in the

  15. The problems and development potential of revenue autonomy in Estonian municipalities. Kohalike omavalitsuste tuluautonoomia probleemid ja arenguvõimalused Eestis

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    Janno Reiljan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available In a regionally heterogeneous country like Estonia, it is a difficult task to create a local government revenue structure that guarantees even supply of public services across the entire country and, at the same time, revenue autonomy for the municipalities. In the theoretical part of the current article the suitability of different sources of own revenues are analysed in the context of Estonian municipalities. The empirical part of the article compares the financing principles of Estonian municipalities with other EU countries. Finally, the proportions of different own sources of revenues in the budgets of Estonian local governments are examined and suggestions are made for changing the current system

  16. Ethnic Self-Esteem and Intergroup Attitudes Among the Estonian Majority and the non-Estonian Minority

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    Maaris Raudsepp

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The study was focussed on the relationships between ethnic self-esteem and various indicators of intergroup attitudes in a representative sample of adult population of Estonia (N=1142. Attitudinal variables that discriminated most between persons with high and low ethnic self-esteem were identified. Among Estonians ethnic self-esteem was related to positive ingroup bias, readiness for outgroup contact, perceived threat from the outgroup, attitudes to non-Estonian minority, and attitudes toward minority integration. Among non-Estonians ethnic self-esteem was related to readiness for outgroup contact, ethnic sterotypes, and various attitudes towards minority integration. An attempt was made to reconstruct the system of intergroup attidues of prototypical persons with high and low ethnic selfesteem and to describe psychological implications of high and low ethnic self-esteem for members of majority and minority groups. Various theoretical models (social identity theory, integrated threat theory, social dominane theory were used for interpretation of the results.

  17. Strategies for Estonian rural family enterprises. Eesti maapiirkonna pereettevõtete strateegia

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    Maret Kirsipuu

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper seeks to analyse family businesses in rural areas, family business strategies and re-registration of sole proprietors with the Centre of Registers and Information Systems (hereinafter Commercial Register in 2009, and to provide an overview of entrepreneurship policies targeted at Estonian rural businesses. Layoffs have increased the number of unemployed; some of those who have lost employment opt for social assistance benefits, but some others decide to become entrepreneurs. Many enterprising people in Estonia have set up a family enterprise, mainly in the sphere of services, agriculture and tourism. The Estonian entrepreneurship policy supports enterprising people and approves of entrepreneurship as a promoter of national economic development. One of the most positive qualities of family enterprises is their short decision-making chain, which ensures rapid implementation of the strategy.

  18. Joakim Helenius: Estonian Air võtku eeskuju airBalticust / Siim Sultson

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Sultson, Siim

    2010-01-01

    Estonian Airi ühe võimaliku nõukogu esimehe Jaokim Heleniuse hinnangul on väikeste lennufirmade, nagu Estonian Air ja airBaltic jaoks päris palju tegutsemisruumi. Estonian Airil tuleb leida oma nišš ja kindel, kuid omanäoline strateegia

  19. Swedish-Estonian energy forest research cooperation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ross, J.; Kirt, E.; Koppel, A.; Kull, K.; Noormets, A.; Roostalu, H.; Ross, V.; Ross, M.

    1996-01-01

    The Organization of Estonian energetic economy is aimed at cutting the usage of oil, gas and coal and increasing the local resources firewood, oil-shale and peat for fuel. The resources of low-valued firewood-brushwood, fallen deadwood etc. are available during the following 10-15 years, but in the future the cultivation of energy forest (willow) plantations will be actual. During the last 20 years the Swedish scientists have been extensively studying the willow forest selection, cultivation and use in energetics and waste water purification systems. A Swedish-Estonian energy forest research project was started in 1993 between the Swedish Agricultural University on one hand and Toravere Observatory, Institute of Zoology and Botany, Estonian Academy of Sciences and Estonian Potato Processing Association on the other hand. In spring 5 willow plantations were established with the help of Swedish colleagues and obtained from Sweden 36000 willow cuttings. The aim of the project: a) To study experimentally and by means of mathematical modelling the biogeophysical aspects of growth and productivity of willow plantations in Sweden and Estonian climatological conditions. b) To study the possibility of using the willow plantations in waste waters purification. c) To study the economical efficiency of energy forest as an energy resource under the economic and environmental conditions of Estonia. d) To study the economic efficiency of willow plantations as a raw material for the basket industry in Estonia. e) To select the most productive and least vulnerable willow clones for practical application in energy plantations. During 1993 in all five plantations detailed analysis of soil properties has been carried out. In the plantation at Toravere Observatory phytometrical measurements were carried out - the growth of plant biomass leaf and stem area, vertical distribution of dry matter content, biomass and phyto area separately for leaves and stems has been performed. Some

  20. Estonian Air lõpetab Pariisi ja Vilniuse lennud / Hindrek Riikoja

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Riikoja, Hindrek

    2005-01-01

    Talvisele lennuplaanile üleminev Estonian Air lõpetab otselennud Tallinnast Vilniusesse ja Pariisi. Estonian Airi presidendi Borge Thornbechi sõnul kavatseb firma suurendada talvehooajal turismilendude mahtu

  1. Air Baltic: Estonian Air on nurka surutud / Teele Tammeorg

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Tammeorg, Teele

    2010-01-01

    Air Balticu asepresidendi Janis Vanagsi hinnangul on Estonian Air aastaid jätnud tähelepanuta oma peamised turismiturud ning on praegu halvas seisus. Air Baltic on endiselt huvitatud Estonian Airi ostust. Majandus- ja kommunikatsiooniminister Juhan Partsi seisukoht

  2. Overview of the Estonian Biofuels Association activities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hueues, Meelis

    2000-01-01

    Due to global warming and environment pollution because of widespread use of fossil fuels there are already tendencies to stabilize and decrease the consumption of these energy resources and take into use more renewable energy resources. Estonian Biofuels Association (EBA) is a non-profit association, which was founded on 8. of May 1998 in Tallinn. The EBA is an independent and voluntary alliance of its members. Fields of activity of the EBA are by biofuels research, developing and evaluation to engage environmental, biofuels and energy saving. EBA members are: energy consultants, scientists, as well as fuel suppliers, DH-companies, technology suppliers, energy service companies etc. The members of EBA are involved in different projects in Estonia, where biomass are produced and used for heating, where wood, waste, peat, rape oil and biogas resources are examined and put into use, and also projects which deal with energy saving and environment friendly equipment production for using biofuels. During our short experience we have noticed that people in Estonia have become more aware of biomass and their use, so the development of environment friendly and sustainable energetics will continue in Estonia. Available biofuels in Estonia could compete with fossil fuels if burnt rationally with high technology equipment. EBA members are convinced that biomass have perspective and that they could play an important role in improving Estonian economic and environmental situation. Modem biomass combustion devices are taken into use more the faster general wealth increases and EBA can raise people's awareness of bio fuel subject through special, courses and media. We want Estonian energy policy to develop towards widespread use of renewable energy resources, which would save energy and environment improve nation's foreign trade balance and create jobs mainly in rural areas

  3. Estonian Air valmistub odavate piletitega EasyJeti tulekuks / Erkki Erilaid

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Erilaid, Erkki

    2004-01-01

    Estonian Air pidi langetama piletihindu Berliini ja Londoni liinil kolmandiku võrra, kuna oktoobri lõpust hakkab Tallinna lennujaamast reise tegema uus odavlennufirma Easy-Jet. Lisa: Estonian Airi hinnad internetis

  4. Estonian Airi president : uus äristrateegia toob ettevõttele edu / Borge Thornbech ; interv. Andres Reimer

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Thornbech, Borge

    2007-01-01

    Estonian Air asutas regionaalsete lendude korraldamiseks ettevõtte Estonian Air Regional, idee on arendada tegevust lühidistantsidel ja luua ühenduslüli lennukompanii Euroopa-liinide vahel. Kommenteerivad Olev Schults, Oleg Harlamov, Rein Mark. Vt. samas: Kõik aktsionärid vannuvad Estonian Airile truudust; Estonian Air kaalub Tartu lennuliini avamist. Kaart: Reisijate jagunemine sihtkohtade vahel. Graafikud: Estonian Air kukkus kahjumisse

  5. Study the Effect of Value-Added of Services Sector on Forecasting of Electricity Demand in Services Sector due to Price Reform

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sayed Mahdi Mostafavi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Electrical energy is as one of the important effective factors on economic growth and development. In recent decades, numerous studies in different countries to estimate and forecast electricity demand in different parts of the economy have been made. In this paper, using the method ARDL, estimation and forecasting of electricity demand in the services sector of Iran are determined for the time period from 1983 to 2012. Estimated equations show that the added value of the services sector and a significant positive impact on the demand for electricity in this sector. The price elasticity for services sector is smaller than 1 due to low electricity prices and subsidized electricity. Hence, electricity prices have little impact on the demand for electricity. The results of the estimate represents a long-term relationship between the variables in the services sector. In this paper, based on amendments to the law on subsidies and estimated values, anticipated electricity demand until the end of the fifth development plan was carried out. The results indicate an increase in power consumption in the services sector.

  6. Services Sector Development and Improving Production Network in ASEAN

    OpenAIRE

    Yose Rizal Damuri

    2014-01-01

    While the importance of services sector in creating value added and employment has been recognized, the role of services as providers of major inputs to production sector are often forgotten and overlooked. This paper stresses the importance of services sector in supporting economic activities in general; the role that has become increasingly more critical in the wake of global production network. It argues that development of the services sector is crucial to supporting an economy’s partic...

  7. Government services: sector skills assessment 2012

    OpenAIRE

    Parry, Jon; Ojo, Adegbola

    2012-01-01

    The aim of this report is to provide authoritative labour market intelligence (LMI) for the Government Services sector to inform the strategic decision making of national governments in the development of employment and skills policy. It is one of 15 UK Sector Skills Assessment (SSA) reports produced by Sector Skills Councils and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.

  8. SAS tahab Estonian Airi liita lätlaste firmaga airBaltic / Andres Eilart

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Eilart, Andres

    2007-01-01

    SAS plaanib Estonian Airi ja Läti firma airBalticu liitmisega luua uue lennufirma. Autori hinnangul viitavad Estonian Airi laienemisplaanidele kriipsu peale tõmbamine ja SAS-i investeeringud airBalticusse sellele, et ühendamise käigus "neelab" Läti firma Estonian Airi

  9. Stocks of organic carbon in Estonian soils

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kõlli, Raimo

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The soil organic carbon (SOC stocks (Mg ha–1 ofautomorphic mineral (9 soil groups, hydromorphic mineral (7, and lowland organic soils (4 are given for the soil cover or solum layer as a whole and also for its epipedon (topsoil layer. The SOC stocks for forest, arable lands, and grasslands and for the entire Estonian soil cover were calculated on the basis of the mean SOC stock and distribution area of the respective soil type. In the Estonian soil cover (42 400 km2, a total of 593.8 ± 36.9 Tg of SOC is retained, with 64.9% (385.3 ± 27.5 Tg in the epipedon layer (O, H, and A horizons and 35.1% in the subsoil (B and E horizons. The pedo-ecological regularities of SOC retention in soils are analysed against the background of the Estonian soil ordination net.

  10. Transformational Leadership in the Estonian Defence Forces

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    Antek Kasemaa

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – The study is a contribution to the validation of the 15 items and 5 subscales Transformational Leadership Scale (TLS proposed by Rafferty and Griffin (2004. Design/methodology/approach – The sample includes participants from different levels of the Estonian Defence Forces (EDF military hierarchy (N=2570. The structure of the TLS was examined by using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Additionally ANOVA was used to compare the results between different subsamples. Findings – TLS showed satisfactory reliability. Confirmatory factor analyses found TLS as valid five dimensions instrument to measure transformational leadership in the Estonian military context. Different management levels showed different emphases among the dimensions of transformational leadership. Research and practical limitations/implications – TLS will be an important tool to use in transformational leadership research in the Estonian military context and beyond. Additionally, the current research contributes to the development of alternative measurement tools besides the most commonly used MLQ. The limitation of the work will be the rather homogenous sample from the Estonian military, however it will open the door for the subsequent research using different samplings. Originality/value – The current research found TLS to be a reliable and valid instrument, very short and therefore easy to administrate, having the possibility to use it with five dimensional and as one general transformational instrument as well.

  11. Uniting the Divided Continent. The Estonian National Committee of the European Movement

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    Pauli Heikkilä

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the exiled Estonian politicians in the European Movement in the early Cold War period. The ultimate goal of exiled Estonians was to restore their state’s independence. In order to promote this, Estonian leaders sought connections with Western leaders. The European Movement was the only organisation involving actors from both the East and the West, and this corresponded to the Estonian discourse on Europe as a whole. Therefore, the European Movement was appreciated, although its limited opportunities for decisive actions were also recognised. East and West European interest in the European Movement declined as West European integration rapidly intensified through the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC and particularly after the January 1952 Eastern European Conference in London. By 1957, disappointment in the inability of European unification to help regain Estonian independence became evident.

  12. Estonian Airi uued soodsad pakkumised

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    2010-01-01

    Estonian Airi kodulehelt on võimalik osta lennupileteid koostööpartnerite poolt pakutavatele mandritevahelistele lendudele ning broneerida internetis hotellituba Euroopa suurima hotelli broneerimise teenust pakkuva ettevõtte Booking.com kaudu

  13. Cresco sai lahti võlast SASile ja osalusest Estonian Airis / Rivo Sarapik, Alyona Stadnik

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Sarapik, Rivo, 1981-

    2010-01-01

    Majandus- ja kommunikatsiooniminister Juhan Parts ning SAS-i asepresident Benny Zakrisson kirjutasid alla Estonian Airi ostu-müügitehingule. Investeerimispank Cresco, millele kuulus 17% Estonian Airist, jääb välja Estonian Airi omanikeringist ning SAS-i nõue Crescole tühistatakse

  14. On the System of Place Name Signs in Estonian Sign Language

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    Liina Paales

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available A place name sign is a linguistic-cultural marker that includes both memory and landscape. The author regards toponymic signs in Estonian Sign Language as representations of images held by the Estonian Deaf community: they reflect the geographical place, the period, the relationships of the Deaf community with hearing community, and the common and distinguishing features of the two cultures perceived by community's members. Name signs represent an element of signlore, which includes various types of creative linguistic play. There are stories hidden behind the place name signs that reveal the etymological origin of place name signs and reflect the community's memory. The purpose of this article is twofold. Firstly, it aims to introduce Estonian place name signs as Deaf signlore forms, analyse their structure and specify the main formation methods. Secondly, it interprets place-denoting signs in the light of understanding the foundations of Estonian Sign Language, Estonian Deaf education and education history, the traditions of local Deaf communities, and also of the cultural and local traditions of the dominant hearing communities. Both perspectives - linguistic and folkloristic - are represented in the current article.

  15. Awareness of occupational skin disease in the service sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holness, D L; Kudla, I; Brown, J; Miller, S

    2017-06-01

    Occupational skin disease (OSD) is a common occupational disease. Although primary prevention strategies are known, OSDs remain prevalent in a variety of work environments including the service sector (restaurant/food services, retail/wholesale, tourism/hospitality and vehicle sales and service). To obtain information about awareness and prevention of OSD in the service sector. Focus groups and a survey were conducted with two groups. The first consisted of staff of the provincial health and safety association for the service sector and the second group comprised representatives from sector employers. Focus groups highlighted key issues to inform the survey that obtained information about perceptions of awareness and prevention of OSD and barriers to awareness and prevention. Both provincial health and safety association staff and sector employer representatives highlighted low awareness and a low level of knowledge of OSD in the sector. Barriers to awareness and prevention included a low reported incidence of OSD, low priority, lack of training materials, lack of time and cost of training, lack of management support and workplace culture. A starting point for improving prevention of OSD in the service sector is increased awareness. Identification of the barriers to awareness and prevention will help to shape an awareness campaign and prevention strategies. Building on existing experience in Europe will be important. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

  16. Emission from Estonian oil shale power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aunela, L.; Haesaenen, E.; Kinnunen, V.; Larjava, K.; Mehtonen, A.; Salmikangas, T.; Leskelae, J.; Loosaar, J.

    1995-01-01

    Flue gas emissions from pulverized oil shale fired boilers of Estonian and Baltic power plants have been studied. The concentrations of NO x , CO, C x H y , HCI, Hf and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in flue gases have been found to be relatively low and acceptable according to German emission limits, for instance. Desulphurization degree of flue gases by SO 2 absorption with ash has been found to vary defending on boiler type and operation conditions. In spite of significant sulphur capture (average values for different boilers in the range between 68 and 77 % of the initial sulphur content of the fuel), SO 2 concentrations in flue gases remain still very high (up to 2600 mg/m 3 , 10% O 2 ). Very high concentrations of particles, especially at Estonian Power Plant (up o 6250 mg/m 3 , 10 % 0 2 ) have been detected. Heavy metal emissions were too high by the reason of particle control insufficiency as well. Yearly emission estimates of this study support the former Estonian ones within the range of 10-15 %. (author)

  17. Service-sector Competition, Innovation and R&D

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tingvall, Patrick Gustavsson; Karpaty, Patrik

    2011-01-01

    The central prediction of the Aghion, Bloom, Blundell and Howitt model is an inverted U-shaped relationship between innovation and competition. The model is built on the assumption of a product market and has not yet been tested on the service sector. Using detailed firm-level data on Swedish...... service-sector firms, we find evidence of an inverse U-shaped relationship for exporting service-sector firms. A further breakdown of innovation expenditures shows that the inverse U-shaped pattern holds for intramural R&D and training, but not for extramural R&D. Finally, the results indicate...... that as competition increases, small firms tend to seek strategic alliances with competitors, whereas large firms tend to reduce collaboration with competitors. The behavior of large firms can partly be due to their superior capacity to handle innovation projects internally, which will become more important...

  18. Marketing strategy for the BC oil and gas service sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2004-10-29

    The British Columbia (BC) oil and gas service sector is collaborating with the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) to enhance the competitiveness of oil and gas service providers in Northeast BC. The MEM agreed to provide one-time funding to develop this marketing strategy for the oil and gas sector, particularly for small to medium-sized companies with limited resources. This document is also a resource tool for suppliers in the sector that have developed and are implementing their own marketing plans and wish to enhance elements of their own plans. The strategy also outlines the potential role of associations in Northeast BC that represent the service sector. It links their marketing activities with the activities of individual service providers. Local service providers (LSP) include companies in a wide range of businesses such as drilling support, transportation, health and safety services, and construction. Six issues that directly impact the competitiveness of LSPs were also presented along with recommendations for participants in the service sector, associations and individual companies. tabs., figs., 11 appendices.

  19. Marketing strategy for the BC oil and gas service sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-01-01

    The British Columbia (BC) oil and gas service sector is collaborating with the BC Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) to enhance the competitiveness of oil and gas service providers in Northeast BC. The MEM agreed to provide one-time funding to develop this marketing strategy for the oil and gas sector, particularly for small to medium-sized companies with limited resources. This document is also a resource tool for suppliers in the sector that have developed and are implementing their own marketing plans and wish to enhance elements of their own plans. The strategy also outlines the potential role of associations in Northeast BC that represent the service sector. It links their marketing activities with the activities of individual service providers. Local service providers (LSP) include companies in a wide range of businesses such as drilling support, transportation, health and safety services, and construction. Six issues that directly impact the competitiveness of LSPs were also presented along with recommendations for participants in the service sector, associations and individual companies. tabs., figs., 11 appendices

  20. The Representation of the Cold War in Three Estonian History Textbooks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korbits, Keit

    2015-01-01

    The article looks at the discursive strategies different Estonian history textbooks employ to represent the Cold War period, and the "commonsense" ideologies instilled through these representations. The textbooks analysed include two history books dating back to the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic and, for contrast, one written during…

  1. Financial Sector Competition, Service Trade, and Growth

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    J.F. François (Joseph); F.W. Eschenbach

    2002-01-01

    textabstractWe explore dynamic linkages between financial/banking sector openness, financial sector competition, and growth. We first develop an analytical model, highlighting links between long-run economic performance and services trade, through scale economies and market and cost structures in

  2. Intra- and Inter-Channel Competition in Local-Service Sectors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    K. Cleeren; M.G. Dekimpe (Marnik); F. Verboven

    2005-01-01

    textabstractAlthough economically very important, local-service sectors have received little attention in the extensive literature on competitive interactions. Detailed data gathering in these sectors is hard, not only because of the multitude of local players, but also because key service

  3. Estonian Language of Technology as a Factor Supporting the Evolution of Engineering Thinking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mägi, Vahur

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Casual mention of teaching technology subjects in Estonian schools dates back several centuries. Navigation and construction were amongthe earliest professional skills that were taught. As both of them required mathematical thinking skills, teaching the subjects was usually accompanied by explaining the principles of mathematics. The first technology book in Estonian was published about two centuries ago and it dealed with geodesy. The earliest Estonian glossaries of technological terminology were published in the fields of physics and chemistry. The rise of Estonian as a language of higher education and science in the country came about in the 1920s and 1930s. Faculty members of the Tallinn School of Technology then published the first textbooks composed in the Estonian language for students of technology. The Estonian Society for Technology and the Estonian Association of Engineers became seriously involved in linguistic activities. Together with the Vocational Teachers’ Assembly of Tartu they published an illustrated technology glossary for machinery and tools terms. It was followed by a glossary of construction and building terms, compiled under the lead of the University of Technology. In addition, journals of technology introducedinnovations in the lexicon of technology to the general public. The postwar period in the development of the lexicon of technical terms was of little significance at first. A surge in language creativity could be detected in the 1960s, when terminology became a target of constantly growing attention to the development of technology lexicon. Series of technology glossaries were published. This tendency has continued to this day.

  4. Estonian Tax Structure

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Viktor Trasberg

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses Estonian tax structure changes during the last decade and critically assesses the current situation. The country’s tax mix is rather unique among EU countries – it has one of the highest proportions of consumption taxes in total taxes and the lowest level of capital and profit taxes. Such an unbalanced tax structure creates risks for public finances, limits revenue collection and distorts the business environment.

  5. Estonian Golf & Country Club / Urmas Oja

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Oja, Urmas, 1981-2012

    2005-01-01

    Konkursil "Eesti parim puitehitis 2005" pälvis voodrilaua eripreemia Jõelähtme Estonian Golf & Country Club'i katus. Arhitekt Andres Siim. Sisearhitekt Juta Lember. Konstruktor: AS Resand. 11 värv. ill

  6. Costs and utilization of public sector family planning services in Pakistan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abbas, Khadija; Khan, Adnan Ahmad; Khan, Ayesha

    2013-04-01

    The public sector provides a third of family planning (FP) services in Pakistan. However, these services are viewed as being underutilized and expensive. We explored the utilization patterns and costs of FP services in the public sector. We used overall budgets and time allocation by health and population departments to estimate the total costs of FP by these departments, costs per woman served, and costs per couple-year of protection (CYP). The public sector is the predominant provider of FP to the poorest and is the main provider of female sterilization services. The overall costs of FP in the public sector are USD 55 per woman served, annually (USD 17 per CYP). Within the public sector, the population welfare departments provide services at USD 72 per woman served, annually (USD 17 per CYP) and the health departments at USD 39 per woman per year (USD 29 per CYP). While the public sector has a critical niche in serving the poor and providing female sterilization, its services are considerably more expensive compared to international and even some Pakistani non-government organization (NGO) costs. This reflects inefficiencies in services provided, client mistrust in the quality of services provided, and inadequate referrals, and will require specific actions for improving referrals and the quality of services.

  7. Key economic sectors and services

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Arent, Douglas J.; Tol, Richard S.J.; Faust, Eberhard; Hella, Joseph P.; Kumar, Surender; Strzepek, Kenneth M.; Tóth, Ferenc L.; Yan, Denghua; Abdulla, Amjad; Kheshgi, Haroon; Xu, He; Ngeh, Julius

    2015-01-01

    Introduction and Context This chapter discusses the implications of climate change on key economic sectors and services, for example, economic activity. Other chapters discuss impacts from a physical, chemical, biological, or social perspective. Economic impacts cannot be isolated; therefore, there

  8. Estonian Air / Kirsti Vainküla

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Vainküla, Kirsti, 1972-

    2004-01-01

    Estonian Air reklaamib end Taani linna Aalborgi raadiojaama ilmateates. Lennukompanii pressiesindaja Epp Alatalu sõnul on firma Taanis reklaamimise põhjus see, et liinil Tallinn-Kopenhaagen sõitjate hulgas ei ole peaaegu üldse taanlasi

  9. Sector and Occupational Differences in Public Service Motivation: A Qualitative Study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjeldsen, Anne Mette

    2012-01-01

    The relationship between employment sector and public service motivation remains unclear since previous studies fail to control for the occupation of the investigated employees. Based on 32 semi-structured interviews with Danish nurses and nursing assistants working in the public or private health...... sector, this study shows that occupation and employment sector have very different relationships with the separate dimensions of public service motivation. This suggests that future studies of sector differences in public service motivation should pay attention to employees' occupation as an important...... control variable, and the benefits of using a qualitative approach to measure public service motivation....

  10. Noor eesti teater ja Noor-Eesti. Young Estonian Theatre and Young Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katri Aaslav-Tepandi

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available This article begins by examining points of intersection between two professional theatres, ”Estonia” and ”Vanemuine” (both established in 1906, their young directors – Karl Menning, Paul Pinna, Theodor Altermann, and Karl Jungholz, and the literary movement Young Estonia. Subsequently, we will consider Young Estonia’s theatrical ideals and the influence of these ideas on later Estonian theatrical life. Since not much information has survived regarding direct personal contacts between ”movers and shakers” in the theatre world and Young Estonians, the main focus here shall be on indirect creative connections and influences. One such context is education: like the Young Estonians, theatre activists of the younger generation aspired to place themselves on the larger map of European culture. Thus, their artistic beliefs and goals shall be examined in relation to those of Young Estonians’ quest for modern culture. Pinna, Altermann, Menning, Jungholz, and others went on study tours to Germany and France, where they were energized and inspired by innovative German and Russian theatres, by naturalistic staging, and by psychological realism, both in acting and in performance style. Among their models were A. Antoine’s Théâtre- Libre in Paris, K. Stanislavski’s Art Theatre in Moscow, O. Brahm’s Lessing-Theater, and M. Reinhardt’s Deutsches Theater in Berlin. These models were likewise known to the Young Estonians, but if theatre activists oriented themselves more fundamentally to German naturalist and realist dramatic art, Young Estonians were more taken with ”theatrical theatre” with its symbolist and impressionist influences. The Young Estonians attended performances at both theatres, ”Vanemuine” and ”Estonia”, and wrote numerous theatre reviews. Yet in the Young Estonia albums (yearbooks and in the magazine Young Estonia, theatre topics have a relatively modest representation. Young Estonians did not have direct

  11. Cross-sector Service Provision in Health and Social Care: An Umbrella Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winters, Shannon; Magalhaes, Lilian; Anne Kinsella, Elizabeth; Kothari, Anita

    2016-04-08

    Meeting the complex health needs of people often requires interaction among numerous different sectors. No one service can adequately respond to the diverse care needs of consumers. Providers working more effectively together is frequently touted as the solution. Cross-sector service provision is defined as independent, yet interconnected sectors working together to better meet the needs of consumers and improve the quality and effectiveness of service provision. Cross-sector service provision is expected, yet much remains unknown about how it is conceptualised or its impact on health status. This umbrella review aims to clarify the critical attributes that shape cross-sector service provision by presenting the current state of the literature and building on the findings of the 2004 review by Sloper. Literature related to cross-sector service provision is immense, which poses a challenge for decision makers wishing to make evidence-informed decisions. An umbrella review was conducted to articulate the overall state of cross-sector service provision literature and examine the evidence to allow for the discovery of consistencies and discrepancies across the published knowledge base. Sixteen reviews met the inclusion criteria. Seven themes emerged: Focusing on the consumer, developing a shared vision of care, leadership involvement, service provision across the boundaries, adequately resourcing the arrangement, developing novel arrangements or aligning with existing relationships, and strengthening connections between sectors. Future research from a cross-organisational, rather than individual provider, perspective is needed to better understand what shapes cross-sector service provision at the boundaries. Findings aligned closely with the work done by Sloper and raise red flags related to reinventing what is already known. Future researchers should look to explore novel areas rather than looking into areas that have been explored at length. Evaluations of out

  12. Liberalism - Key to Entrepreneurial and Innovation Success: Estonian Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Augustin Ignatov

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Since its independence in 1991 Estonia has successfully overpassed the challenges of the transition period being in the present of one the most technologically developed nations of Europe. The present research is intended to evaluate the relationship between Estonian pro-market regulation, entrepreneurship and innovation. In order to reach relevant conclusions in this regard there have been used both qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. In such a way, it could be comprehensively reviewed the process of Estonian economic development from a relatively underdeveloped USSR republic to an advanced innovation driven economy. The results show that pro-market governmental regulation has favourably influenced Estonian entrepreneurship, while it fostered country’s innovation capacities. It has been concluded that the economic “miracle” of Estonia has been at a great extent determined by proper government regulation oriented towards economic liberalisation.

  13. Opportunities of creating multi-agent systems in the service sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shatsky A.A.

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available the paper seeks to examine opportunities to create multi-agent systems (MAS in the service sector. Using methods of theoretical analysis and synthesis, the author attempts to apply a multi-agent technology to description of the socio-economic system, such as the service sector. As a result, the author identifies three types of MAS in the service sector based on different types of architecture of intelligent information systems. The research shows that the problem posed by the author requires further study and clarification of results

  14. The Evaluation of Innovation in the IT Service Sector: Methodological and Empirical Aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eglė Kazlauskienė

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose — Nowadays services are comprehended as the key factor for economic activity, growth and employment. Developed economies are service-dominated though little is known about the innovation details in the service sector and this study field has been neglected for a while. The innovation in service sector activities needs to be thoroughly evaluated because innovation is an interconnected process and cannot be defined using one or few indicators. IT services are an integral part of contemporary life, particularly for business. It can be introduced and implemented in all fields, especially when the world is becoming more multidimensional. Innovation performance in the IT sector has been under-researched, despite the fact that IT service sector plays the innovation disseminator role in other sectors by appliance of IT products. Design/methodology/approach — Based on scientific literature and methodological aspects analyses, an empirical research methodology was designed and the qualitative research on innovation in information technology service sector was accomplished. Findings — The article presents methodological aspects of innovation evaluation in service sector and empirical aspects on innovation implementation and development in the IT service companies in Lithuania. Research limitations/implications — For more comprehensive understanding of innovation in service sector, especially in IT services, the theory of service innovation is necessary. Deeper understanding and perspectives on how innovation benefits the information technology sector should be revealed in further researches and the multi-country analysis is needed. Practical implications — The finding of the paper can be used to improve the development of innovation in information technology service companies and create a model for more exhaustive multi-country empirical researches. Originality/value — The impact of innovation and its development in information

  15. Service Innovation and Sustainability in the Danish Logistics Sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gammelgaard, Britta; Prockl, Günter; Thordardottir, Kristin

    2012-01-01

    in the logistics sector, but also that a sustainability profile is not used as a driver for marketing new sustainable logistics services. The customers, on the other hand, are focused on price, geographical coverage and reliability of delivery. This study reports a portion of survey results that cover more issues......Sustainability in the logistics sector is much talked about, but at the same time there is little overview of the current activities. This paper provides an input to such an overview of logistics services provided in the Danish logistics sector in 2011. The purpose of the study is also...... to investigate driving forces of development towards sustainable logistics services from the industry. The paper is descriptive and based on an online survey sent to managing directors of 201 companies in the Danish logistics sector. The survey questions were developed on the basis of literature studies...

  16. Efficiency of Estonian grain farms in 2000 2004

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. VASILIEV

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to analyse the efficiency of Estonian grain farms after Estonia’s transition to a market economy and during the accession period to the European Union (EU. The non-parametric method Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA was used to estimate the total technical, pure technical and scale efficiency of Estonian grain farms in 2000–2004. Mean total technical efficiency varied from 0.70 to 0.78. Of the grain farms 62% are operating under increasing returns to scale. Solely based on the DEA model it is not possible to determine optimum farm scale and the range of Estonian farm sizes operating efficiently is extensive. The most pure technically efficient farms were the smallest and the largest but the productivity of small farms is low compared to larger farms because of their small scale. Therefore, they are the least competitive. Since pre-accession period to the EU, large input slacks of capital have replaced the former excessive use of labour and land. This raises the question about the effects on efficiency of the EU’s investment support schemes in new member states.;

  17. Environment-adjusted total-factor energy efficiency of Taiwan's service sectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang, Chin-Yi; Hu, Jin-Li; Lou, Tze-Kai

    2013-01-01

    This study computes the pure technical efficiency (PTE) and energy-saving target of Taiwan's service sectors during 2001–2008 by using the input-oriented data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach with the assumption of a variable returns-to-scale (VRS) situation. This paper further investigates the effects of industry characteristics on the energy-saving target by applying the four-stage DEA proposed by Fried et al. (1999). We also calculate the pre-adjusted and environment-adjusted total-factor energy efficiency (TFEE) scores in these service sectors. There are three inputs (labor, capital stock, and energy consumption) and a single output (real GDP) in the DEA model. The most energy efficient service sector is finance, insurance and real estate, which has an average TFEE of 0.994 and an environment-adjusted TFEE (EATFEE) of 0.807. The study utilizes the panel-data, random-effects Tobit regression model with the energy-saving target (EST) as the dependent variable. Those service industries with a larger GDP output have greater excess use of energy. The capital–labor ratio has a significantly positive effect while the time trend variable has a significantly negative impact on the EST, suggesting that future new capital investment should also be accompanied with energy-saving technology in the service sectors. - Highlights: • The technical efficiency and energy-saving target of service sectors are assessed. • The pre-adjusted and environment-adjusted total-factor energy efficiency scores in services are assessed. • The industrial characteristic differences are examined by the panel-data, random-effects Tobit regression model. • Labor, capital, and energy and an output (GDP) are included in the DEA model. • Future new capital investment should also be accompanied with energy-saving technology in the service sectors

  18. Service and obligations of public service in the electrical sector law; Servicio universal y obligaciones de servicio publico en la Ley del Sector Electrico

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cuetara Martinez, J.M. de la; Gonzalez Sanfiel, A.

    1998-12-01

    Our article starts from the need of reconsidering the traditional public service concept; to this goal, the new categories universal service and public service obligations are useful instruments. After defining its notes, we identify them as different kinds of a common gender and separate then from other next categories, as are general interest services and policy obligations. Finally, we applied the obtained findings to the Electricity Sector, identifying an universal service in the supply of electrical energy to all the claimants and various concrete public service obligations in its principal sub sectors (production, transportation, distribution, trading and supply). (Author)

  19. Cross-sector Service Provision in Health and Social Care: An Umbrella Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shannon Winters

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Meeting the complex health needs of people often requires interaction among numerous different sectors. No one service can adequately respond to the diverse care needs of consumers. Providers working more effectively together is frequently touted as the solution. Cross-sector service provision is defined as independent, yet interconnected sectors working together to better meet the needs of consumers and improve the quality and effectiveness of service provision. Cross-sector service provision is expected, yet much remains unknown about how it is conceptualised or its impact on health status. This umbrella review aims to clarify the critical attributes that shape cross-sector service provision by presenting the current state of the literature and building on the findings of the 2004 review by Sloper. Methods: Literature related to cross-sector service provision is immense, which poses a challenge for decision makers wishing to make evidence-informed decisions. An umbrella review was conducted to articulate the overall state of cross-sector service provision literature and examine the evidence to allow for the discovery of consistencies and discrepancies across the published knowledge base. Findings: Sixteen reviews met the inclusion criteria. Seven themes emerged: Focusing on the consumer, developing a shared vision of care, leadership involvement, service provision across the boundaries, adequately resourcing the arrangement, developing novel arrangements or aligning with existing relationships, and strengthening connections between sectors. Future research from a cross-organisational, rather than individual provider, perspective is needed to better understand what shapes cross-sector service provision at the boundaries. Conclusion: Findings aligned closely with the work done by Sloper and raise red flags related to reinventing what is already known. Future researchers should look to explore novel areas rather than looking into

  20. The Category of Time in Fairy Tales: Searching for Folk Calendar Time in the Estonian Fairy Tale Corpus

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mairi Kaasik

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The article examines how folk calendar holidays are represented in Estonian fairy tales. It introduces some views presented in folklore studies about the concept of time in fairy tales and finds parallels with them in the Estonian context. The analysis relies on the digital corpus of Estonian fairy tales (5400 variants, created from the texts found in the Estonian Folklore Archives by the Fairy Tale Project of the Department of Estonian and Comparative Folklore, University of Tartu. Folk calendar holidays occur in Estonian fairy tales relatively seldom; most often these are holidays that occupy a significant place in the Estonian folk calendar (Christmas, St. John’s Day, Easter, St. George’s Day. Calendar holidays are notably mentioned more often in tale types which remain on the borderline between the fairy tale and the legend or the fairy tale and the religious tale. In Estonian fairy tales, calendar holidays are used on three levels of meaning: (1 the holiday is organically associated with the tale type; it has an essential role in the plot of the tale; (2 to a certain extent, the holiday could be replaced by another holiday having an analogous meaning; (3 the holiday forms an unimportant or occasional addition to the tale.

  1. Elements affecting food waste in the food service sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heikkilä, Lotta; Reinikainen, Anu; Katajajuuri, Juha-Matti; Silvennoinen, Kirsi; Hartikainen, Hanna

    2016-10-01

    Avoidable food waste is produced in the food service sector, with significant ecological and economical impacts. In order to understand and explain better the complex issue of food waste a qualitative study was conducted on the reasons for its generation in restaurants and catering businesses. Research data were collected during three participatory workshops for personnel from three different catering sector companies in Finland. Based on synthesized qualitative content analysis, eight elements influencing production and reduction of food waste were identified. Results revealed the diversity of managing food waste in the food service sector and how a holistic approach is required to prevent and reduce it. It is crucial to understand that food waste is manageable and should be an integral component of the management system. The model of eight factors provides a framework for recognition and management of food waste in the food service sector. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Olev Schults : SAS vajab Estonian Airi rahvusliku lennufirmana / Olev Schults ; interv. Andres Reimer

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Schults, Olev

    2008-01-01

    Estonian Airi nõukogu esimees vastab küsimustele, kas SAS arendas Läti airBalticut Estonian SAS-i arvel, mis mõte on rahvuslikul lennukompaniil, kui riik ei tohi seda finantseerida, kuidas mõjutab investorite meeleolu SAS-i Eestis tabanud poliitikute kriitika tulv

  3. Estonian Air to overhaul strategy / Matt Withers

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Withers, Matt

    2008-01-01

    Estonian Air on majanduslikes raskustes, mida aitaks leevendada riigipoolne toetus. Majandus- ja kommunikatsiooniminister Juhan Parts leiab, et riik peaks omama lennufirma juhatuses esimehe kohta, et mõjutada rohkem vastuvõetavaid otsuseid ja investeeringuid

  4. Resource and utilization of Estonian hydropower

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raesaar, P.

    2005-01-01

    An overview of the Estonian hydropower resources and their utilization at present as well as prospective for the future are presented in this paper. A short overview of advantages of small hydropower stations and related issues is given. Some technological aspects are treated briefly. (authors)

  5. Strengthening linkages of the financial services and real sectors of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Strengthening linkages of the financial services and real sectors of the ... policy, financial sector credit and capital market activities have impacted on the real sector growth. ... sector as a result such financial crimes like misappropriation of funds. ... better results; more investment instruments such as derivatives, convertibles, ...

  6. “Crossing over”: appropriate private sector principles, to operate more reliable public sector water services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kevin Wall

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available Private sector institutions utilise many different business methods, some of which can selectively be adapted for use by organisations outside the private sector, to the benefit of their service delivery responsibilities. But the best of the appropriate practices from the private sector have often “not crossed over”. The Water Research Commission (WRC of South Africa, working in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR, finds that the concept of franchising, so successfully used by the private sector to deliver many goods and services, if applied to water services operation and maintenance, could alleviate and address many challenges in the management of water services. At the same time, franchising could provide an ideal stimulus to support the development of local enterprises, all within the municipal service delivery environment. Franchisee water service providers, dependent for their livelihood on the success of their business, would have a strong incentive to perform, and would also enjoy the benefit of the franchisor’s expert guidance and quality assurance. Some areas for potential franchising include meter management, billing, plumbing, pressure management, sewer maintenance, and wastewater treatment processes. The help from the franchisor would be of particular value to water services authorities at a distance from the major urban centres. Few of these authorities can afford to employ competent qualified staff, and often non-compliance with the laid down performance standards is a direct consequence of this lack. Significant improvements would soon be seen if the generally under-qualified and under-resourced water services staff could have this ongoing support, mentoring and quality control — or if the authority could enter into partnerships with small local enterprises or NGOs which would, through franchising, enjoy the necessary ongoing support, mentoring and quality control, and would have

  7. Revisiting the Estonian Cyber Attacks: Digital Threats and Multinational Responses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephen Herzog

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available In April 2007, the Estonian Government moved a memorial commemorating the Soviet liberation of the country from the Nazis to a less prominent and visible location in Tallinn. This decision triggered rioting among Russian-speaking minorities and cyber terrorism targeting Estonia's critical economic and political infrastructure. Drawing upon the Estonian cyber attacks, this article argues that globalization and the Internet have enabled transnational groups—such as the Russian diaspora—to avenge their grievances by threatening the sovereignty of nation-states in cyberspace. Sophisticated and virtually untraceable political "hacktivists" may now possess the ability to disrupt or destroy government operations, banking transactions, city power grids, and even military weapon systems. Fortunately, western countries banded together to effectively combat the Estonian cyber attacks and minimize their effects. However, this article concludes that in the age of globalization, interdependence, and digital interconnectedness, nation-states must engage in increased cooperative cyber-defense activities to counter and prevent devastating Internet attacks and their implications.

  8. Promoting Innovation in the Services Sector: Toward Productivity ...

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    The services sector is increasingly important to the economies of Latin America and ... innovative strategies implemented by various firms and then determining the ... a comparative analysis of private-public intervention in service innovation for ...

  9. The Services Sector and Economic Growth in Mauritius. A Bounds ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper examines the long run and short run impact of the services sector on economic growth in Mauritius. Using an augmented aggregate production function growth model, we apply the bounds testing approach to cointegration to assess the impact of different activities in the services sector on economic performance ...

  10. Accounting Changes in the Public Sector in Estonia

    OpenAIRE

    Tikk, Juta

    2010-01-01

    This paper reviews the implementation of the accrual accounting in the entities of the Estonian public sector. It gives a brief overview of the historical development of governmental accounting theories and examines the introduction of theory-based accounting policy. It explains main problems and risks to face in connection with the accounting system change process and offers solutions. This study attempts to answer the following research question: how to gain full benefit from accounting inf...

  11. Reducing barriers to energy efficiency in the German energy service companies sector. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koewener, D.; Schleich, J.

    2000-12-01

    This report describes the empirical research conducted in the German energy service sector to assess to what extent energy service companies (ESCOs) can help overcome the barriers to energy in the higher education, brewing and mechanical engineering sectors. This report complements the sector for Germany within the BARRIERS project (Sorrell et al., 2000; Schleich/Boede 2000a; Schleich/Boede 2000b; Schleich et al., 2000). The report characterises the German energy service sector, contains a description and analysis of four case studies in the energy service sector, identifies the main barriers and chances for ESCOs in the higher education, brewery and mechanical engineering sectors, and concludes with brief recommendations on how these barriers may be overcome. The results of the study are summarised here under the following headings: Characterising the energy service sector in Germany; - Case studies of energy service companies in Germany; - The role of ESCOs in the case-study sectors; - Policy implications. (orig.)

  12. Historic trends in the service sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1992-01-01

    Across regions, the service sector accounts for a relatively small share of final energy use: about 10% in the OECD countries, 5% in the Former East Bloc, and even less in most LDCs. In all of the above groups, however, it accounts for a larger share of electricity than of energy use: about 25% in the OECD countries, and about 13% in the LDC. In the United States and Japan, and in some of the wealthier LDCs, its electricity use is driving peak demand. Service-sector energy use in nine OECD countries increased by 15% between 1973 and 1988, but the aggregate energy intensity declined by around 25%. The trends were very different for fuel intensity, which fell by approximately 40%, and for electricity intensity, which rose slightly. The drop in fuel intensity was mainly due to considerable retrofitting of buildings and improved energy management practices, though entry of new, more energy-efficient buildings into the stock also played a role. There was also a trend away from fuel-based to electric heating in some countries. Electricity intensity was primarily shaped by two forces working in opposite directions. Addition of more office equipment pushed upward on intensity, while improvements in end-use efficiency, especially for lighting, pushed downward. The service sector accounts for only a small share of total energy use in the Former East Bloc and the LDCs. In the USSR, there is some evidence of a slight decline in fuel intensity and an increase in electricity intensity, although the latter is quite low by Western standards. Services electricity intensity has risen considerably in most LDCs due largely to addition of modern, air-conditioned buildings. 4 refs., 6 figs., 5 tabs

  13. An analysis of present and future trends of the service sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bechmann, G.; Brosi, G.; Japp, K.P.; Paschen, H.

    1976-07-01

    In this report problems of forecasting in the service sector are discussed. Main emphasis is placed on a critical analysis of attempts at measuring the 'productivity' of services and their 'contribution to the gross national product'. Quantitative forecasting methods are then compared with a social-science approach at assesssing structural trends, esp. in the public sector. Starting from an analysis of constraints and their impact on different goals and objectives in the public service sector restrictions on modernisation strategies are described and alternative policies for rationalisation discussed. (orig.) [de

  14. Compiling the Dictionary of Word Associations in Estonian: From scratch to the database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ene Vainik

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The present paper describes the project titled “The Dictionary of Word Associations in Estonian” undertaken by the author at the Institute of the Estonian Language. The general aim of the Dictionary is to provide insights into Estonians’ common-sense mind. It is meant to be a tool of self-reflection for Estonian native speakers and a guide for the foreigners who are eager enough to make themselves familiar with the Estonian cultural patterns of thought. The Dictionary will be published online. The number of keywords was initially limited to approximately 800. Specific emphasis is given to the stage of data collection by implementing the principles of citizen science.

  15. Using a service sector segmented approach to identify community stakeholders who can improve access to suicide prevention services for veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matthieu, Monica M; Gardiner, Giovanina; Ziegemeier, Ellen; Buxton, Miranda

    2014-04-01

    Veterans in need of social services may access many different community agencies within the public and private sectors. Each of these settings has the potential to be a pipeline for attaining needed health, mental health, and benefits services; however, many service providers lack information on how to conceptualize where Veterans go for services within their local community. This article describes a conceptual framework for outreach that uses a service sector segmented approach. This framework was developed to aid recruitment of a provider-based sample of stakeholders (N = 70) for a study on improving access to the Department of Veterans Affairs and community-based suicide prevention services. Results indicate that although there are statistically significant differences in the percent of Veterans served by the different service sectors (F(9, 55) = 2.71, p = 0.04), exposure to suicidal Veterans and providers' referral behavior is consistent across the sectors. Challenges to using this framework include isolating the appropriate sectors for targeted outreach efforts. The service sector segmented approach holds promise for identifying and referring at-risk Veterans in need of services. Reprint & Copyright © 2014 Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S.

  16. Valued Estonian Music CDs / Igor Garshnek

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Garšnek, Igor, 1958-

    2003-01-01

    2002. aastal välja antud eesti muusika heliplaatidest Arvo Pärt "Summa", Lepo Sumera "Chamber Music", "Baltic Voices 1.", "Sequenzen - Europäische Orgelmusik des 20. Jahrhundrets mit...", "El silenco ئ Silence. Kuldar and Marje Sink. Songs of Mother and Son", "Riho Sibul. Estonian Dream Big Band", "Rull's Royce ئ Rull's Choice"

  17. The Development of Service Sector in the Economy of Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Melnyk Tetyana M.

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is concerned with the topical issue of the importance of the service sector in economy of Ukraine with the purpose of identification of directions of promoting the national services in foreign markets. Consideration of this issue is carried out on the basis of studying tendencies of foreign trade in services in Ukraine in comparison with global tendencies. The review of scientific sources in this direction indicates that discussions about the prospects of development of tertiary sector in the context of groups of countries according to the level of economic development are being held among scholars. The article characterizes the current trends in the development of world trade in services, assesses the proportion of individual groups of countries in the foreign trade in services. The geographical structure of exports of services of Ukraine was analyzed. Tendencies of trade in information-communication services were researched. The contribution of certain economic activities to the formation of GVA has been evaluated. The reserves for expansion of potential of service sector in the economy of Ukraine have been defined. The prospective direction of further scientific researches in this direction is identification of instruments of promotion of exports of national services to foreign markets.

  18. “Crossing over”: appropriate private sector principles, to operate more reliable public sector water services

    OpenAIRE

    Kevin Wall

    2008-01-01

    Private sector institutions utilise many different business methods, some of which can selectively be adapted for use by organisations outside the private sector, to the benefit of their service delivery responsibilities. But the best of the appropriate practices from the private sector have often “not crossed over”. The Water Research Commission (WRC) of South Africa, working in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), finds that the concept of franch...

  19. Incorporating Multifaceted Mental Health Prevention Services in Community Sectors-of-Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gewirtz, Abigail H.; August, Gerald J.

    2008-01-01

    This article proposes a framework for embedding prevention services into community sectors-of-care. Community sectors-of-care include both formal and grassroot organizations distributed throughout a community that provide various resources and services to at-risk children and their families. Though the child population served by these…

  20. Estonian Air püüdis viimase hetkeni Top Toursi päästa / Mirko Ojakivi

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Ojakivi, Mirko

    2010-01-01

    Estonian Air kaalus Top Toursile appiminekut, sest reisifirma oli Estonian Airil üks olulisemaid koostööpartnereid. Abi oleks puudutanud ennekõike uutele lendudele allahindluse tegemist, räägiti ka võimalikust krediidist

  1. A portrait of trading firms in the services sectors: Comparable evidence from four EU countries

    OpenAIRE

    Haller, Stefanie A.; Damijan, Jože; Kaitila, Ville; Kostevc, Črt; Maliranta, Mika; Milet, Emmanuel; Mirza, Daniel; Rojec, Matija

    2012-01-01

    We establish a set of stylised facts for trade and trading firms in five market services sectors using comparable firm-level and services data from four EU countries. Our analysis shows that exports account for much lower shares of overall sales in the services sectors than in manufacturing. In line with this there are also fewer firms engaged in trade in the services sectors than in manufacturing; trade intensities, in turn, vary by services sector and country. Trade by services firms is som...

  2. Jäätmetega kimpus Estonian Cell annab muda põldudele kompostiks / Ulvar Käärt

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Käärt, Ulvar, 1982-

    2007-01-01

    Kundas asuv Estonian Celli tehas jagab ümberkaudsetele talunikele jäätmetest lahtisaamiseks kompostimissegu. Seadused ei sätesta, kuidas Estonian Cellis tekkivaid jäätmeid töödelda. Kommenteerib Peeter Eek: Aasta läbi ei saa muda põllule viia

  3. Changed Role of Service Sector And Enhanced Service Tax Revenue An Introspection

    OpenAIRE

    Balachandran, Dr. V; Malini, K Hema

    2013-01-01

    The present paper attempts to evaluate the performance of service tax in India in terms of revenue generation, assessee base and its share in the total tax kitty of India. In addition, the relative position of the share of service sector and service tax in relation to GDP and total tax revenue of the country has also analyzed. The analysis of data reveals that service tax in India is progressing faster in terms of revenue collection, assesse base and even service tax collection per assesse an...

  4. The Services Sector and Economic Growth in Mauritius. A Bounds ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nafiisah

    stability of the relationship between services sector development and economic ... sector on the economic growth of the small island economy of Mauritius. ...... significant structural instability (The figures are presented in the Appendix). 6.

  5. The Woman as Wolf (AT 409: Some Interpretations of a Very Estonian Folk Tale

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merili Metsvahi

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The article analyses tale type The Woman as Wolf, which is one of the most popular folk tales in the Estonian Folklore Archives and is represented there both in the form of a fairy tale and in the form of a legend. The vast majority of the versions of The Woman as Wolf were written down in the first part of the 20th century within Estonia and where recorded from Estonians. The article introduces the content of the tale, the origin of the first records from the early 19th century, and the dissemination area of the tale, which remains outside Western Europe: apart from the Estonian versions there are Sami, Karelian, Vepsian, Livonian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, Ukrainian and Belarusian versions. While in almost all the Estonian versions the main protagonist is transformed into a wolf, in most of the versions written down in other areas and ethnic groups, another animal or bird replaces the wolf. The author is of the opinion that the Finnic area is central to the distribution of the folk tale The Woman as Wolf. The animal the woman is transformed into in the plot would not have been a wolf in earlier times. The article provides an explanation why the wolf is predominant in Estonian written sources. For that purpose the ways in which the wolf and werewolf were perceived in earlier Estonian folk belief are introduced. At the end of the article interpretation of the folk tale is provided. The author states that the plot and some of the motifs found in this folk tale reflect the difficulties women had in submitting to the norms and values of patriarchal order within their society.

  6. Estonian Golf & Country Club / Liina Jänes

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Jänes, Liina, 1977-

    2005-01-01

    Estonian Golf & Country Club'i etnomodernistlik golfikeskus ja klubihoone Jõelähtmel. Projekteerija: Arhitektuuristuudio Siim & Kreis. Autor Andres Siim. Konstruktor: Resand. Sisekujundaja Juta Lember (SAB Lember & Padar). Projekt 2004, valmis 2005. Ill.: I ja II korruse plaan, 3 värv. välis ja 3 sisevaadet

  7. The third sector, user involvement and public service reform: a case study in the co-governance of health service provision.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Graham P

    2011-01-01

    The ‘modernization’ of British public services seeks to broaden public sector governance networks, bringing the views of third sector organizations, the public and service users (among others) to the design, management and delivery of welfare. Building on previous analyses of the contradictions generated by these roles, this paper draws on longitudinal qualitative research to enunciate the challenges faced by one third-sector organization in facilitating service user influence in a UK National Health Service (NHS) pilot programme, alongside other roles in tension with this advocacy function. The analysis highlights limits in the extent to which lateral governance networks pluralize stakeholder involvement. The ‘framing’ of governance may mean that traditional concerns outweigh the views of new stakeholders such as the third sector and service users. Rather than prioritizing wider stakeholders' views in the design and delivery of public services, placing third sector organizations at the centre of governance networks may do more to co-opt these organizations in reproducing predominant priorities.

  8. Jüri Okas’ ‘specific objects’: diverging discourses in Estonian Art in the 1970s.

    OpenAIRE

    Kurg, Andres.

    2003-01-01

    Previously in the University eprints HAIRST pilot service at http://eprints.st-andrews.ac.uk/archive/00000367/ Article 3 of 6 in issue devoted to the visual culture of the Scandinavian and Baltic region. This article will look at the early works of Estonian architect and artist Jüri Okas and will try to work between diverging languages and interpretations, reading works by Okas against the background of Anglo-american conceptualism and minimalism of the same period. The first part of th...

  9. Critical Success Factors and information needs in Estonian industry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aiki Tibar

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available The article reports the results of the study on the critical success factors and related information needs in Estonian industry conducted in 1999. Data were collected by interviews with 27 managers and engineers from 16 manufacturing companies in various industries. Most of the critical success factors taken up were related to marketing, information management, quality management, product development and technological innovations. The information needs of managers and engineers were related to competitors, customers, markets, technology, regulations, etc. Some identified CSFs expressed also priorities for development by Estonian economic authorities: to support the implementation of new technologies and introduction of quality management methods. The finding that information management was perceived as a very critical area supports the result of the recent Finnish study on CSFs.

  10. An Investigation into Customer Service Policies and Practices within the Scottish College Library Sector: A Comparison between the Customer Service Exemplars from the Retail Sector with Current Scottish College Library Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paterson, Neil

    2011-01-01

    The aim of this research project was to investigate the customer care methods within the Scottish college library sector. The researcher sought to compare examples of the customer care and service policies and practices from the sector with exemplars of good customer service from the retail sector. A qualitative, grounded theory approach was…

  11. An analysis of the Dutch service sector. Energy consumption and trends

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramirez, A.; Patel, M.; Blok, K.

    2002-09-01

    Energy efficiency and its implications for a decrease in carbon dioxide emissions have been a main force behind the current debate on energy issues. Until now, the attention of policy-makers and scientists has been mainly focused on the industrial and residential sectors, although the transport sector has gained relevance in the fast few years. The service sector, on the other hand, has remained at the bottom of the priority list. The main goal of this paper is to explore patterns of energy consumption and energy intensity in the Dutch service sector in the last 15 years. This paper is divided into two parts. The first part deals with developments for the whole sector, including a decomposition analysis, and the second part analyses sectoral developments for five sub-sectors: Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants; Financial institutes; Real estate renting and business activities; Education and Hospitals. At the aggregate level we have found a strong increase in energy consumption, especially in electricity. Furthermore, we found no evidence of significant decrease in energy intensity in the last decade. Furthermore, the decomposition analysis showed that (a) the activity effect (value added) has been the main driving force behind the increase of energy consumption of the service sector, (b) an increase in labour intensity has also boosted energy consumption and (c) energy intensity (in terms of energy per employee) did not have a significant role on decreasing energy use. At the subsectoral level the picture is blurred, especially due to the lack of good quality data. With exception of the sector Real estate renting and business activities which showed a decrease in energy intensity of about 20% between 1993 and 1999, the decrease in energy intensity is quite low. Hence, the results point towards a failure of actual energy policies to address the service sector. This is in contrast to the fact that, due to the high share of electricity consumption and

  12. Service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in the Bangladesh healthcare sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Selim; Tarique, Kazi Md; Arif, Ishtiaque

    2017-06-12

    Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in Bangladesh's healthcare sector. It identifies healthcare quality conformance, patient satisfaction and loyalty based on demographics such as gender, age and marital status. It examines the differences between public and private healthcare sectors regarding service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The authors distributed 450 self-administered questionnaires to hospital patients resulting in 204 useful responses (45.3 per cent response rate). Data were analysed based on reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, independent samples t-tests, ANOVA and discriminant analysis using SPSS version 23. Findings Findings indicate that single patients perceive tangibles, reliability, empathy and loyalty higher compared to married patients. Young patients (⩽20 years) have a higher tangibles, empathy and loyalty scores compared to other age groups. The authors observed that private hospital patients perceive healthcare service quality performance higher compared to patients in public hospitals. Research limitations/implications The authors focussed solely on the Bangladesh health sector, so the results might not be applicable to other countries. Originality/value The findings provide guidelines for enhancing service quality, patient satisfaction and loyalty in the Bangladesh healthcare sector and other countries.

  13. Russian-Estonian Economic and Investment Cooperation During the Crisis: Dynamics and Possibilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nevskaya Anastasia

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the development in Russian-Estonian relations during the crises of 2007 and 2014, taking into consideration the balance between political and economic factors in the decision-making by Estonian government. A number of special aspects, trends and problems in trade and investment ties are detected. The aim of the study is to uncover key motivation behind the actions of both Russia and Estonia, to identify the drivers for economic and political development in the region, and to work out recommendations to adjust them. The questions put forward by the authors of this article could not be more topical at the time, when Russian economic situation is obviously getting worse and capital flight (to the neighboring EU Member States is likely to increase. The method of the study is comparative analysis of the impact on economic ties made by Russian-Estonian crisis of 2007 and the current international tension around Ukraine. The regional fossil fuel market and the possibilities of Gazprom involvement in its development are also analyzed. It is concluded that political motives are still important for Estonian decisionmaking, though they are balanced out by measures of business support (despite some of these measures being taken by the EU bodies. The role of political factor for the Russian side is increasing. It is acknowledged that there is a growing number of missed economic opportunities in the Russian Northwest.

  14. Use Of Ict In Smes Management Within The Sector Of Services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Plumb Ion

    2008-04-01

    Full Text Available This study investigates how the use of ICT could contribute to the success of small and medium enterprises (SMEs within the sector of services. Within the knowledge-based economy, SMEs are facing both opportunities and challenges due to the information and communication technologies development. We consider that ICT should be used in small business management within the sector of services because ICT are key tools in management processes and could improve managerial practices. The study is based on evidence provided by articles and research reports. The research question was answered by analysing published sources and interpreting evidence. Another way of approaching this question could be collecting and analysing empirical data from the SMEs within the sector of services and comparing the results with the findings of this study.

  15. Governance and innovation in public sector services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Scupola, Ada; Zanfei, Antonello

    2015-01-01

    Based on a longitudinal case study of ICT adoption and e-services development in a Danish library, we examine how governance modes affect technical and organizational change in the public sector. We contribute to extant literature on the links between governance and innovation by highlighting three...

  16. Model projections and policy reviews for energy saving in China's service sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Lin

    2013-01-01

    Energy efficiency of buildings in the service sector is becoming increasingly important in China due to the structural shift of the economy from industry to services. This paper employs a bottom-up cohort model to simulate current energy saving policies and to make projections for future energy use and CO 2 emissions for the period 2000–2030 in the Chinese service sector. The analysis shows that energy demand in the service sector will approximately triple in 2030, far beyond the target of quadrupling GDP while only doubling energy use. However, it is feasible to achieve the target of emission reduction by 40% in 2020 even under the poor state of compliance rate of building standard. This paper also highlights four crucial aspects of designing optimal energy saving policies for China's service sector based on the model results. - Highlights: • Government energy saving target cannot realize with current policies in services. • Energy savings policies for new buildings are crucial than building retrofitting. • Cooling energy use increases significantly to reach equal weight as heating. • CO 2 tax can contribute to change in fuel mix, and thus emission reductions. • Low compliance rate limits further energy saving, hence green fund is required

  17. Public Service Motivation and Employment Sector: Attraction or Socialization?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kjeldsen, Anne Mette; Jacobsen, Christian Bøtcher

    2013-01-01

    Numerous studies have shown that public service motivation (PSM) is positively associated with public sector employment. However, the question of whether PSM influences or is influenced by employment decisions remains open, since previous studies have mostly relied on cross-sectional samples...... with experienced employees. This article investigates the relationship between PSM and employment sector in pre-entry and post-entry settings using data from a panel of Danish physiotherapy students surveyed before and after their first job in the public or private sector. The analyses show that PSM is neither...

  18. Implementing relationship marketing in the service sector – An ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper provides a comprehensive review on the concept of relationship marketing in the service sector of Mauritius, its foundation as well as its development. The various implications of using market segmentation and customer loyalty in these service companies as relational strategies are also discussed. The research ...

  19. Estonian Perceptions of Security: Not Only About Russia and the Refugees

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veebel Viljar

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The current study focuses on the Estonian perceptions of security and on the defence situation both globally and locally. The dynamic results of the public opinion surveys on security risks conducted in Estonia over the last 10 years (2006-2016 will be presented. In addition, to understand whether some of the security risks could be over- or underestimated in Estonia, these results will be compared with the views expressed recently by the World Economic Forum, particularly the Global Risks Report 2016. Also, the arguments why some topics have played or are currently playing key role in the Estonian security perception will be presented and discussed.

  20. The Rocky Road towards Professional Autonomy: The Estonian Journalists’ Organization in the Political Turmoil of the 20th Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Epp Lauk

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This article attempts to explain the relationships between journalists, politics and the state from the perspective of collective autonomy, that of the professional organization of journalists. The case of Estonian Journalists’ Union demonstrates the complexity and historical contingency of professional autonomy of journalism. The development of the Estonian journalists’ organization occurred as a sequence of transformations from the Estonian Journalists’ Association to the Estonian Journalists’ Union to the Soviet type journalists’ union, and lastly to an independent trade union. This sequence was disrupted by several fatal breakdowns that changed not only the character of the association, but also professional values, the whole occupational ideology and the conditions of the existence of journalism as a profession in Estonia.

  1. Spatial Evolution of Producer Service Sectors and Its Influencing Factors in Cities: A Case Study of Hangzhou, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yizhou Wu

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Producer service industries are an important feature in the current development of a metropolis. Researchers from different countries are increasingly concerned about location changes and the motives of producer service sectors in cities. Given the rapid development of producer service sectors in developing countries, this study examines changes in the distribution of producer service sectors over the past decade and factors influencing them in a case study using the city of Hangzhou in China. Results show that Hangzhou’s producer service sector is still mainly concentrated in the central business district (CBD. However, a distinct trend of diffusion to suburban areas was observed, which formed several secondary clusters on the periphery of the city. Locations of the CBD, sub-centers, and professional clusters of producer service sectors established by the government are the most important factors that affect the spatial distribution of producer service sectors. The main influencing factors for the spatial evolution of producer service sectors are: (1 the high development cost and residential suburbanization of the central areas of the city promote the development of producer service sectors toward the periphery; (2 city planning has guided the clustering of producer service sectors on the city’s CBD and secondary city centers; (3 city renewal has provided personalized and diversified development space for producer service sectors; (4 incentive policies introduced by the government, such as rentals, and taxes have enhanced the orderly aggregation of producer service sectors.

  2. Climate services in the tourism sector - examples and market research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Damm, Andrea; Köberl, Judith; Prettenthaler, Franz; Kortschak, Dominik; Hofer, Marianne; Winkler, Claudia

    2017-04-01

    Tourism is one of the most weather-sensitive sectors. Hence, dealing with weather and climate risks is an important part of operational risk management. WEDDA® (WEather Driven Demand Analysis), developed by Joanneum Research, represents a comprehensive and flexible toolbox for managing weather and climate risks. Modelling the demand for products or services of a particular economic sector or company and its weather and climate sensitivity usually forms the starting and central point of WEDDA®. Coupling the calibrated demand models to either long-term climate scenarios or short-term weather forecasts enables the use of WEDDA® for the following areas of application: (i) implementing short-term forecasting systems for the prediction of the considered indicator; (ii) quantifying the weather risk of a particular economic sector or company using parameters from finance (e.g. Value-at-Risk); (iii) assessing the potential impacts of changing climatic conditions on a particular economic sector or company. WEDDA® for short-term forecasts on the demand for products or services is currently used by various tourism businesses, such as open-air swimming pools, ski areas, and restaurants. It supports tourism and recreation facilities to better cope with (increasing) weather variability by optimizing the disposability of staff, resources and merchandise according to expected demand. Since coping with increasing weather variability forms one of the challenges with respect to climate change, WEDDA® may become an important component within a whole pool of weather and climate services designed to support tourism and recreation facilities to adapt to climate change. Climate change impact assessments at European scale, as conducted in the EU-FP7 project IMPACT2C, provide basic information of climate change impacts on tourism demand not only for individual tourism businesses, but also for regional and national tourism planners and policy makers interested in benchmarks for the

  3. The Estonian study of Chernobyl cleanup workers. I. Introduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rahu, Mati

    1999-01-01

    The most comprehensive epidemiological project ever performed in Estonia - The Estonian Study of Chernobyl Cleanup Workers - was the joint effort of researchers from Estonia, Finland and USA. Until September 1999, the results of this study were published in English only. To familiarize the readership of 'Eesti Arst' with the major study findings, the abridged versions of four original papers from 'Radiation Research' are presented in the current issue of the journal. For the Estonian epidemiologists, the work under this project that consists of eight sub projects was a real challenge. In the course of the study, skills were developed in writing a study protocol, preparing a questionnaire, progress reporting, documenting the structure of databases, record linkage, and problem solving. It was an exciting experience to work with top scientists like William Bigbee, John Boice, Timo Hakulinen, Ronald Jensen and Gayle Littlefield. (author)

  4. Tabud ja reeglid. Sissevaateid eesti laagriromaani / Taboos and Rules. Insights into Prison Camp Novels by Estonian Writers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anneli Kõvamees

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available The article concentrates on Estonian novels depicting Soviet prison camps in the 1940s and 1950s. The goal is to map themes, motifs and characteristics in such novels, concentrating on various taboos and rules in the prison camp environment. For a long time the Soviet prison camp theme was not publicly discussed in Estonia due to political reasons. Texts dealing with prison camps could appear in print only outside the Soviet Union; the way Estonians saw these historical events and hellish experiences were depicted mostly in exile novels. Most notable are the novels by Arved Viirlaid (b. 1922, e.g., Kes tappis Eerik Hormi? (Who Killed Eerik Horm? (1974, Surnud ei loe (The Dead do not Read (1975, Vaim ja ahelad (Mind and Chains (1961. Estonian prison camp novels can be seen as “the literature of testimony”, to use the term by Leona Toker. Dramatic historical events are written down to record the events and to show the inhumane nature of Soviet society. These records of the dramatic past follow certain patterns and create certain self- and hetero-images. A prison camp is a closed territory within a closed territory; prison camps can be seen as small models of Soviet society. Prison camp novels give a detailed view of the environment of the prison camp, its inhabitants and activities. Two central aspects are labour and food; the life of the prisoner whirls around these. The most important thing is to survive, which often leads to moral decline, e.g., stealing, cheating. However, there are lines Estonians do not cross, e.g., cannibalism or homosexual relationships with superiors. Estonians are always depicted as political prisoners (not common criminals and heterosexuals, while Russians are portrayed mainly as criminals and often also as homosexuals. Another important component of the image of the Estonians is their enterprising spirit and ability to manage even under very difficult conditions. Therefore, several oppositions can be identified, e

  5. Estonian Golf & Country Clubi klubihoone / Andres Siim, Alar Just

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Siim, Andres

    2005-01-01

    Harjumaal Jõelähtme vallas rajab Estonian Golf & Country Club uut Jägala-Jõesuu spordi- ja puhkekeskust, mille südameks saab puidust golgiklubi hoone, mida tutvustavad klubihoone arhitekt ja üks inseneridest. Ill.: vaade ehitusele, projekti kaks vaadet, lõige

  6. Public Sector/Private Sector Interaction in Providing Information Services. Report to the NCLIS from the Public Sector/Private Sector Task Force.

    Science.gov (United States)

    National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, Washington, DC.

    The results of a 2-year study on the interactions between government and private sector information activities are presented in terms of principles and guidelines for federal policy to support the development and use of information resources, products, and services, and to implement the principles. Discussions address sources of conflict between…

  7. Value Education in Estonian Preschool Child Care Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ülavere, Pärje; Tammik, Anu

    2017-01-01

    For systematic implementation of value education in educational institutions, the national programme "Values Development in Estonian Society 2009-2013" (Ministry of Education and Research 2009) was prepared in Estonia. However, it was launched only in 2010, and the authors intended to ascertain the values of the heads of preschool child…

  8. Estonian energy forest project

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koppel, A.; Kirt, E.; Kull, K.; Lasn, R.; Noormets, A.; Roostalu, H.; Ross, J.; Ross, V.; Sulev, M.

    1994-04-01

    In February 1993 an agreement of Swedish-Estonian scientific co-operation on energy forest was signed. In may five energy forest plantations (altogether 2 ha) were established in Estonia with Swedish selected clones of Salix viminalis and Salix dasyclados. The research within this project is carried out within three main directions. The studies of basic ecophysiological processes and radiation regime of willow canopy will be carried out in Toravere. The production ecology studies, comparison of the productivity of multiple clones on different soil types is based on the plantations as vegetation filter for wastewater purification is studied on the basis of plantations in Vaeike-Maarja and Valga (author)

  9. Operation without benefit in the services sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brunner, C. U.; Nipkow, J.; Brechbuehl, B.; Glauser, H.; Steinemann, U.

    2009-01-01

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) discusses the unnecessary operation of electrical equipment. This preliminary study examined in a top-down manner the electrical grid loads at night in Switzerland and attempts to identify unnecessary loads. The results of a bottom-up analysis of seven buildings in the service sector was made. One large complex was also used to identify the sources of night-time loads. Together, these two approaches allowed a first appreciation and a rough quantification of the load caused by the unnecessary operation of equipment in the Swiss electricity grid. The services sector has an estimated share of some 2.4 TWh/a caused by unnecessary operation. In a follow-up project the reduction of unnecessary loads is to be studied in more detail. This second analysis will also have to include loads caused by unnecessary operation during the daytime. The goal of the project is eventually to reduce any unnecessary electric loads and, as a result, the entire electricity demands of Switzerland

  10. RELACIÓN ENTRE CALIDAD Y PRODUCTIVIDAD EN LAS PYMEs DEL SECTOR SERVICIO // RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN QUALITY AND PRODUCTIVITY IN SERVICES SECTOR SMEs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roxana Martínez Sánchez

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Service sector has become the most important aspect in advanced economies, in terms of production volume such as employment, with a significant increase since the 70s worldwide. In service organizations, unlike the manufacturing sector, efectively in organization depends on productivity and quality which are seen as inseparable phenomena. In this exploratory paper, we made an analysis on research productivity and quality in services based on various authors, in order to show the relationship between productivity and quality in the services sector SMEs, and how the characteristics of SMEs become more important the relationship between the two. As a result identifies five aspects that relate quality and productivity in Services Sector SMEs expressed in use of external and internal indicators for measuring, effect of variations in inputs controlled by the organization, impact of interactions between customer and service provider and mutual understanding developed in these interactions, the importance of customer involvement as co-producer of service, and relevance of intangibles in evaluating the same.// RESUMEN El sector servicios se ha convertido en el más importante en las economías avanzadas, tanto en términos de producción como en el volumen de empleo, con un incremento notable desde los años 70 a nivel mundial. En las organizaciones de servicios, a diferencia del sector manufacturero, para ser efectivas, la productividad y la calidad son percibidas como fenómenos inseparables. En el presente trabajo de tipo exploratorio, se realizó un análisis de investigaciones sobre productividad y calidad en servicios bas andose en varios autores, con el fin de mostrar la relación entre la productividad y la calidad en las PYMEs del sector servicios, y cómo las características de estas empresas hacen más importante la relación entre ambas. Como resultado se identifican cinco aspectos que relacionan la calidad y la productividad en las PYMEs

  11. The Implementation of Minimum Service Standards (MMS on Public Service for Health Services Sector in Bondowoso, Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Untung Kuzairi

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available One of heatlh policies implemented by the hospital is the minimum service standards (MSS. MSS is a benchmark of hospital service quality in providing services to the public. Talking about health service quality problem, it was found out as the field fact that the achievement of MSS indicator in General Hospital of Dr. H. Koesnadi Bondowoso, Indonesia in 2016 still did not fulfill target of standard hospital service (type B and  minimum service standard (MSS of hospital. This fact shows that the quality of health services in general hospital of  dr. H. Koesnadi Bondowoso is still low. So, this research aims to describe the policy implementation of minimum service standard and to analyze the obstacles in the implementation of MSS policy at general hospital of  dr. H. Koesnadi Bondowoso. So, this research would discuss the policy implementation of minimum service standards by using Edward III concept as a tool to analyze it. This research employed qualitative research with phenomenological approach. The results showed that the implementation of MSS policy of dr. H. Koesnadi Bondowoso general hospital still did not run well. This was due to several factors  such as communication, bureaucratic structure, sources, dispositions (attitude and leadership in sectoral ego control. Sectoral ego can be shaped from educational background of specialist doctors who still adhered seniority and lack of individual role of implementor in building interpersonal communication and conflict management.

  12. Innovation, Management and Sustainability - change processes in the food service sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kristensen, Niels Heine; Dahl, Astrid; Mikkelsen, Bent Egberg

    2005-01-01

    Kristensen NH, Thorsen AV, Dahl A, Engelund EH, Mikkelsen BE (2005): Innovation, Management and Sustainability - change processes in the food service sector. Chapter in "Culinary Arts and Sciences V - Global and National Perspectives". Bournemouth University. ISBN 1-85899-179-X......Kristensen NH, Thorsen AV, Dahl A, Engelund EH, Mikkelsen BE (2005): Innovation, Management and Sustainability - change processes in the food service sector. Chapter in "Culinary Arts and Sciences V - Global and National Perspectives". Bournemouth University. ISBN 1-85899-179-X...

  13. Estonian wind climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kull, Ain

    1999-01-01

    Estonia is situated on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. This is a region with intensive cyclonic activity and therefore with a relatively high mean wind speed. Atmospheric circulation and its seasonal variation determine the general character of the Estonian wind regime over the Atlantic Ocean and Eurasia. However, the Baltic sea itself is a very important factor affecting wind climate, it has an especially strong influence on the wind regime in costal areas. The mean energy density (W/m 2 ) is a wind energy characteristic that is proportional to the third power of wind speed and describes energy available in a flow of air through a unit area. The mean energy density is a characteristic which has practical importance in regional assessment of snowdrift, storm damage and wind energy

  14. Sectoral transitions - modeling the development from agrarian to service economies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lutz, Raphael; Spies, Michael; Reusser, Dominik E.; Kropp, Jürgen P.; Rybski, Diego

    2013-04-01

    We consider the sectoral composition of a country's GDP, i.e the partitioning into agrarian, industrial, and service sectors. Exploring a simple system of differential equations we characterise the transfer of GDP shares between the sectors in the course of economic development. The model fits for the majority of countries providing 4 country-specific parameters. Relating the agrarian with the industrial sector, a data collapse over all countries and all years supports the applicability of our approach. Depending on the parameter ranges, country development exhibits different transfer properties. Most countries follow 3 of 8 characteristic paths. The types are not random but show distinct geographic and development patterns.

  15. Work-related threats and violence in human service sectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lars Peter Sønderbo; Hogh, Annie; Biering, Karin

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Threats and violence at work are major concerns for employees in many human service sectors. The prevention of work-related violence is a major challenge for employees and management. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify prospective associations between psycho-social w......BACKGROUND: Threats and violence at work are major concerns for employees in many human service sectors. The prevention of work-related violence is a major challenge for employees and management. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to identify prospective associations between psycho...... rewards at work, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work-family conflicts and low organizational justice had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related threats. Furthermore, high emotional demands, low predictability, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work......-family conflicts, low supervisor quality and low support from nearest supervisor had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related violence. Finally, across the four sectors both similar and different associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related violence...

  16. Musical Practices and Methods in Music Lessons: A Comparative Study of Estonian and Finnish General Music Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sepp, Anu; Ruokonen, Inkeri; Ruismäki, Heikki

    2015-01-01

    This article reveals the results of a comparative study of Estonian and Finnish general music education. The aim was to find out what music teaching practices and approaches/methods were mostly used, what music education perspectives supported those practices. The data were collected using questionnaires and the results of 107 Estonian and 50…

  17. Energy in the market services sector in 2011: uses differentiated according to activity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, Jean-Philippe

    2015-04-01

    In 2011, average energy consumption in the market services sector (excluding transport) was 266 kWh/ m 2 . This is greater than the consumption for residential buildings, which reached 186 kWh/m2. Indeed, activities in certain service-sector establishments sometimes require specific uses that do not exist in the residential sector or are more intensive, such as cooking, intensive computing, laundering or refrigeration. Businesses employing at least one person could be divided into five groups depending on their energy mix and energy uses. (author)

  18. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND THE COMPANY PERFORMANCE IN THE SECTOR OF SERVICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BOZGA LIVIU

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Presently, the weight of services sector is increasing in all economies and represents the main element of the gross domestic product in the developed countries. Consequently, in the last decennia, this sector captured the interest of researchers, both in academic and business media. Information Technology (IT represents one of the most dynamic factors contributing to the technical progress in the design, process and supply of all categories of services. The theoretical and practical investigations already demonstrated the potential of the Information Systems adoption and implementation, to improve the organization performances (efficiency, productivity, organization competitiveness and development etc.. However, this potential is not always fully valued. The best performances could be achieved when the IT investments are aligned with internal capabilities and organizational processes within company strategy. The aim of this contribution is to review main published studies investigating the direct and indirect potential effects of IT on company performance in the service sector. There are also addressed issues regarding the measurement difficulties of the IT impacts on organization performance and the limitations generated by the service diversity and the fast dynamics of their market.

  19. Top 10 Estonian albums of 2004 / Igor Garshnek

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Garšnek, Igor, 1958-

    2004-01-01

    Heliplaatidest: Arvo Pärt "Pro et contra", Various composers "Baltic Voices 2", Raimo Kangro "Displays", Toivo Tulev "Be Lost in the Call", Indrek Vau and Mati Mikalai "Estonian Trumpet Music", Erdmann/Sooäär "Dessert Time, Peer Gynt & Other Stories", Alo Mattiisen "50 parimat laulu", Riho Sibul "Must", Rein Rannap "Tantsib klaveril", Eesti Keeled "Kella tiksumist..."

  20. Trace metal emissions from the Estonian oil shale fired power

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aunela-Tapola, Leena A.; Frandsen, Flemming; Häsänen, Erkki K.

    1998-01-01

    Emission levels of selected trace metals from the Estonian oil shale fired power plant were studied. The plant is the largest single power plant in Estonia with an electricity production capacity of 1170 MWe (1995). Trace metals were sampled from the flue gases by a manual method incorporating...... in the flue gases of the studied oil shale plant contribute, however, to clearly higher total trace metal emission levels compared to modern coal fired power plants. Although the old electrostatic precipitators in the plant have been partly replaced by state-of-the-art electrostatic precipitators...... a two-fraction particle sampling and subsequent absorption of the gaseous fraction. The analyses were principally performed with ICP-MS techniques. The trace metal contents of Estonian oil shale were found to be in the same order of magnitude as of coal on average. The high total particle concentrations...

  1. [Marge Rennit. Eesti muuseumid / Estonian museums] / Tapio Mäkeläinen

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Mäkeläinen, Tapio

    2009-01-01

    Tutvustus: Eesti muuseumid = Estonian museums / [Eesti Muuseumiühing ; koostaja Marge Rennit ; tõlkija Tiina Mällo ; toimetaja Ivi Tammaru ; eessõna: Piret Õunapuu ; kujundaja Marek Allvee]. Tallinn : Oomen, 2008

  2. Characteristics of occupational musculoskeletal disorders of five sectors in service industry between 2004 and 2013.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Hyun-Woo; Kim, Young-Ki; Kang, Dong-Mug; Kim, Jong-Eun; Jang, Bo-Young

    2017-01-01

    ' Work related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSDs)' have been mostly reported in the manufacturing industry but recently the occurrence of industrial injuries has been constantly increasing in the service industry. This research is going to analyze the data about workers' compensation for WRMSDs in five different service sectors and identify characteristics of occupations with the highest approved occupations. According to the data released from the Korea Worker's Compensation & Welfare Service, the overview of 12,730 cases of workers' compensation for WRMSDs in five service sectors from 2004 to 2013 is going to be analyzed and the source data is going to be classified by the Korean Standard Classification of Occupations to select the top five occupations that have the highest number of approval. After selecting each five occupations from the service sector that have work related musculoskeletal disorders, the result showed that the occupation with the highest number of approval in the health and social care sector were the early childhood educators, cooks in the school canteens in education services sector, garbage collectors in the sanitation and similar services sector, deliverymen in wholesale and retail, consumer goods repair and building cleaners in general management businesses such as those in building maintenance. The major event observed in the top five occupations was the overexertion and reaction as a cause of WRMSDs. The day when the WRMSDs mostly occurred was on Monday and the most likely time was 10 am. The median days away from work and lost working days are 29-90 days and 0-50 days respectively. The difference in each occupation was observed in year of service, age, and gender. 83.21% of the approved cases of workers' compensation for WRMSDs occurred in the top 25 occupations in all of the five service sectors, which meant that the approval of workers' compensation is concentrated in specific occupations. This research is going to suggest

  3. Cancer incidence and thyroid disease among Estonian Chernobyl clean-up workers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Auvinen, A; Salomaa, S [eds.; Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, Helsinki (Finland); Rahu, M; Veidebaum, T; Tekkel, M [eds.; Inst. of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Tallinn (Estonia); Hakulinen, T [ed.; Finnish Cancer Registry, Helsinki (Finland); Boice, Jr, J D [ed.; Int. Epidemiology Inst., MD (United States)

    1998-09-01

    The report describes the development and summarizes the results of the project Cancer incidence and thyroid disease among Estonian Chernobyl clean-up workers. One of the goals of the report is to give research protocols and questionnaires for researchers involved in other studies. Eight previously published articles are also included summarizing the results. The development of the collaboration work of the project is described in the introduction of the report. Epidemiological methods are described in an article complemented by the protocol and English version of the questionnaire administered to all cleanup workers, as well as the data collection form of the thyroid study. The results from biological biodosimetry using both glycophorin A and FISH methods have shown that the radiation doses received by the Chernobyl cleanup workers were relatively low. Thyroid nodularity was not associated with any radiation exposure characteristic in the thyroid screening study. Estonian Chernobyl cleanup workers were followed up for cancer incidence through the Estonian Cancer Registry. No cases of leukemia or thyroid cancer were observed by the end of 1993. It is too early to observe possible effect on other types of cancer. However, mortality from suicides was increased compared with general population. Further follow-up and the extension to other Baltic countries in the future will undoubtedly strengthen the study. There are also plans for future projects covering areas from psychosocial factors to radiation biology

  4. Role of the private sector in the provision of immunization services in low- and middle-income countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, Ann; Kaddar, Miloud

    2011-07-01

    The authors conducted a literature review on the role of the private sector in low- and middle-income countries. The review indicated that relatively few studies have researched the role of the private sector in immunization service delivery in these countries. The studies suggest that the private sector is playing different roles and functions according to economic development levels, the governance structure and the general presence of the private sector in the health sector. In some countries, generally low-income countries, the private for-profit sector is contributing to immunization service delivery and helping to improve access to traditional EPI vaccines. In other countries, particularly middle-income countries, the private for-profit sector often acts to facilitate early adoption of new vaccines and technologies before introduction and generalization by the public sector. The not-for-profit sector plays an important role in extending access to traditional EPI vaccines, particularly in low-income countries. Not-for-profit facilities are situated in rural as well as urban areas and are more likely to be coordinated with public services than the private for-profit sector. Although numerous studies on non-governmental organizations (NGOs) suggest that the extent of NGO provision of immunization services in low- and middle-income countries is substantial, the contribution of this sector is poorly documented, leading to a lack of recognition of its role at national and global levels. Studies on quality of immunization service provision at private health facilities suggest that it is sometimes inadequate and needs to be monitored. Although some articles on public-private collaboration exist, little was found on the extent to which governments are effectively interacting with and regulating the private sector. The review revealed many geographical and thematic gaps in the literature on the role and regulation of the private sector in the delivery of immunization

  5. MINORITY LANGUAGES IN ESTONIAN SEGREGATIVE LANGUAGE ENVIRONMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elvira Küün

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available The goal of this project in Estonia was to determine what languages are spoken by students from the 2nd to the 5th year of basic school at their homes in Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. At the same time, this problem was also studied in other segregated regions of Estonia: Kohtla-Järve and Maardu. According to the database of the population census from the year 2000 (Estonian Statistics Executive Office's census 2000, there are representatives of 142 ethnic groups living in Estonia, speaking a total of 109 native languages. At the same time, the database doesn’t state which languages are spoken at homes. The material presented in this article belongs to the research topic “Home Language of Basic School Students in Tallinn” from years 2007–2008, specifically financed and ordered by the Estonian Ministry of Education and Research (grant No. ETF 7065 in the framework of an international study called “Multilingual Project”. It was determined what language is dominating in everyday use, what are the factors for choosing the language for communication, what are the preferred languages and language skills. This study reflects the actual trends of the language situation in these cities.

  6. Problems of contemporary ecology. Temporal changes in Estonian nature and environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Frey, T.

    1997-01-01

    This conference was held 8-9 May 1997 at Tartu, Estonia. The proceedings of the 7. Estonian Conference in Ecology contain the results of mostly original research in environmental science, conservation and natural philosophy

  7. Determinants of energy demand in the French service sector: A decomposition analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mairet, Nicolas; Decellas, Fabrice

    2009-01-01

    This paper analyzes the changes in the energy consumption of the service sector in France over the period 1995-2006, using the logarithmic mean Divisia index I (LMDI I) decomposition method. The analysis is carried out at various disaggregation levels to highlight the specifics of each sub-sector and end-use according to their respective determinants. The results show that in this period the economic growth of the service sector was the main factor that led to the increase in total energy consumption. Structure, productivity, substitution and intensity effects restricted this growth, but with limited effect. By analyzing each end-use, this paper enables a more precise understanding of the impact of these factors. The activity effect was the main determinant of the increase in energy consumption for all end-uses except for air conditioning, for which the equipment rate effect was the main factor. Structural changes in the service sector primarily impacted energy consumption for space heating and cooking. Improvements in productivity limited the growth of energy consumption for all end-uses except for cooking. Finally, energy efficiency improvements mainly affected space-heating energy use.

  8. Short- and long-run elasticities of electricity demand in the Korean service sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Kyoung-Min; Lim, Seul-Ye; Yoo, Seung-Hoon

    2014-01-01

    This paper attempts to examine the electricity demand function in the Korean service sector using the annual data covering the period 1970–2011. The short- and long-run elasticities of electricity demand with respect to price and income are empirically estimated using a co-integration and error-correction model. The short- and long-run price elasticities are estimated to be −0.421 and −1.002, respectively. The short- and long-run income elasticities are computed to be 0.855 and 1.090, respectively. Electricity demand in the service sector is inelastic to changes in both price and income in the short-run, but elastic in the long-run. Therefore, it appears that a pricing policy is more effective than the direct regulation of reducing electricity demand in the long-run in order to stabilize the electricity demand in the service sector. Moreover, it is necessary to encourage a more efficient use of electricity to cope with increasing demand for electricity following economic growth because the electricity demand in the service sector is income-elastic in the long-run. - Highlights: • We examine the electricity demand function in the Korean service sector. • We use the annual data covering the period 1970–2011. • The demand function is estimated using a co-integration and error-correction model. • The short- and long-run price elasticities are −0.421 and −1.002, respectively. • The short- and long-run income elasticities are 0.855 and 1.090, respectively

  9. Significant components of service brand equity in healthcare sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chahal, Hardeep; Bala, Madhu

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of the study is to examine three significant components of service brand equity--i.e. perceived service quality, brand loyalty, and brand image--and analyze relationships among the components of brand equity and also their relationship with brand equity, which is still to be theorized and developed in the healthcare literature. Effective responses were received from 206 respondents, selected conveniently from the localities of Jammu city. After scale item analysis, the data were analyzed using factor analysis, correlations, t-tests, multiple regression analysis and path modeling using SEM. The findings of the study support that service brand equity in the healthcare sector is greatly influenced by brand loyalty and perceived quality. However, brand image has an indirect effect on service brand equity through brand loyalty (mediating variable). The research can be criticized on the ground that data were selected conveniently from respondents residing in the city of Jammu, India. But at the same time the respondents were appropriate for the study as they have adequate knowledge about the hospitals, and were associated with the selected hospital for more than four years. Furthermore, the validity and reliability of the data are strong enough to take care of the limitations of the convenience sampling selection method. The study has unique value addition to the service marketing vis-à-vis healthcare literature, from both theoretical and managerial perspectives. The study establishes a direct and significant relationship between service brand equity and its two components, i.e. perceived service quality and brand loyalty in the healthcare sector. It also provides directions to healthcare service providers in creating, enhancing, and maintaining service brand equity through service quality and brand loyalty, to sustain competitive advantage.

  10. Utilisation of Estonian energy wood resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muiste, P.; Tullus, H.; Uri, V. [Estonian Agricultural University, Tartu (Estonia)

    1996-12-31

    In the end of the Soviet period in the 1980s, a long-term energy programme for Estonia was worked out. The energy system was planned to be based on nuclear power and the share of domestic alternative sources of energy was low. The situation has greatly changed after the re-establishment of the Estonian independence, and now wood and peat fuels play an important role in the energy system. Energy consumption in Estonia decreased during the period 1970-1993, but this process has less influenced the consumption of domestic renewable fuels - peat and wood. It means that the share of these fuels has grown. The investment on substitution of imported fossil fuels and on conversion of boiler plants from fossil fuels to domestic fuels has reached the level of USD 100 million. The perspectives of the wood energy depend mainly on two factors; the resources and the price of wood energy compared with other fuels. The situation in wood market influences both the possible quantities and the price. It is typical that the quickly growing cost of labour power in Estonia is greatly affecting the price of energy wood. Though the price level of fuel peat and wood chips is lower than the world market price today, the conditions for using biofuels could be more favourable, if higher environmental fees were introduced. In conjunction with increasing utilisation of biofuels it is important to evaluate possible emissions or removal of greenhouse gases from Estonian forests 3 refs.

  11. Utilisation of Estonian energy wood resources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Muiste, P; Tullus, H; Uri, V [Estonian Agricultural University, Tartu (Estonia)

    1997-12-31

    In the end of the Soviet period in the 1980s, a long-term energy programme for Estonia was worked out. The energy system was planned to be based on nuclear power and the share of domestic alternative sources of energy was low. The situation has greatly changed after the re-establishment of the Estonian independence, and now wood and peat fuels play an important role in the energy system. Energy consumption in Estonia decreased during the period 1970-1993, but this process has less influenced the consumption of domestic renewable fuels - peat and wood. It means that the share of these fuels has grown. The investment on substitution of imported fossil fuels and on conversion of boiler plants from fossil fuels to domestic fuels has reached the level of USD 100 million. The perspectives of the wood energy depend mainly on two factors; the resources and the price of wood energy compared with other fuels. The situation in wood market influences both the possible quantities and the price. It is typical that the quickly growing cost of labour power in Estonia is greatly affecting the price of energy wood. Though the price level of fuel peat and wood chips is lower than the world market price today, the conditions for using biofuels could be more favourable, if higher environmental fees were introduced. In conjunction with increasing utilisation of biofuels it is important to evaluate possible emissions or removal of greenhouse gases from Estonian forests 3 refs.

  12. European scale climate information services for water use sectors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Vliet, van M.T.H.; Donnelly, Chantal; Strömbäck, Lena; Capell, René; Ludwig, Fulco

    2015-01-01

    This study demonstrates a climate information service for pan-European water use sectors that are vulnerable to climate change induced hydrological changes, including risk and safety (disaster preparedness), agriculture, energy (hydropower and cooling water use for thermoelectric power) and

  13. Alberta's Estonians 1899 - Present TLÜ Akadeemilises Raamatukogus / Sander Jürisson

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Jürisson, Sander

    2014-01-01

    Tallinna Ülikooli Akadeemilises Raamatukogus on üleval näitus "Alberta's Estonians 1899 - Present", mis annab ülevaate Kanada Alberta provintsi eestlaste loost. Näitus valmis Alberta Eesti Kultuuripärandi Seltsi koostöös Alberta Provintsi Arhiivi Kultuuripärandi Osakonnaga Edmontonis

  14. The quality of family planning services and client satisfaction in the public and private sectors in Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agha, Sohail; Do, Mai

    2009-04-01

    To compare the quality of family planning services delivered at public and private facilities in Kenya. Data from the 2004 Kenya Service Provision Assessment were analysed. The Kenya Service Provision Assessment is a representative sample of health facilities in the public and private sectors, and comprises data obtained from a facility inventory, service provider interviews, observations of client-provider interactions and exit interviews. Quality-of-care indicators are compared between the public and private sectors along three dimensions: structure, process and outcome. Private facilities were superior to public sector facilities in terms of physical infrastructure and the availability of services. Public sector facilities were more likely to have management systems in place. There was no difference between public and private providers in the technical quality of care provided. Private providers were better at managing interpersonal aspects of care. The higher level of client satisfaction at private facilities could not be explained by differences between public and private facilities in structural and process aspects of care. Formal private sector facilities providing family planning services exhibit greater readiness to provide services and greater attention to client needs than public sector facilities in Kenya. Consistent with this, client satisfaction is much higher at private facilities. Technical quality of care provided is similar in public and private facilities.

  15. Estonian Leader's Freedom Call Creates Storm / Anna Smolchenko

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Smolchenko, Anna

    2008-01-01

    President Toomas Hendrik Ilvese esinemisest soome-ugri rahvaste maailmakongressil Hantõ-Mansiiskis, kohtumisest Venemaa presidendi Dmitri Medvedeviga, Eesti delegatsiooni saalist väljamarssimisest Venemaa riigiduuma väliskomisjoni esimehe Konstantin Kossatshovi sõnavõtu ajal. Ilmunud ka: St. Petersburg Times 1. juuli 2008, pealk.: Estonian Leader's Freedom Call Creates Controversy (lüh.). Vabariigi President töövisiidil Venemaal 27.-30.06.2008

  16. Co-production, new public governance and third sector social services in Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor Pestoff

    2011-01-01

    political and economic challenges facing the welfare state in the 21st century. Co-production provides a model for the mix of public service agents and citizens who contribute to the provision of a public service. New Public Governance (NPG puts much greater emphasis on citizen participation and third sector provision of social services than either traditional public administration or New Public Management. Co-production is a core element of NPG that promotes the mix of public service agents and citizens who contribute to the provis ionof a public service. This paper explores the implications of two comparative studies of paren tparticipation in preschool services in Europe. They observe that citizen participation clearly varies between different providers of social services, as too does client and staff influence. This empirical overview concludes that some third sector providers can facilitate greater citizen participation, while a 'glass ceiling' for participation exists in municipal and for-profit preschool services. These findings can contribute to a better understanding of the emerging paradigm of New Public Governance.

  17. Smoking habits and attitudes towards smoking among Estonian physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pärna, K; Rahu, K; Rahu, M

    2005-05-01

    This study examined the smoking habits and attitudes towards smoking among Estonian physicians. Cross-sectional data for 2668 physicians were gathered by a self-administered postal survey. The current smoking prevalence was 24.9% for male physicians and 10.8% for female physicians. The percentages of ex-smokers were 32.9 and 16.8%, respectively. Smoking prevalence among physicians was below the levels reported for the highest educational bracket of the total population in Estonia. Non-smoking physicians had more unfavourable views towards smoking than those who smoked. The majority of physicians were aware of the association between smoking and various diseases, with significant differences between smokers and non-smokers. Non-smoking physicians were more active in asking patients about smoking habits than those who smoked. Most Estonian physicians, especially those who smoked, failed to perceive themselves as positive role models. This study found a lower prevalence of smoking among physicians compared with the general population, and demonstrated the impact of personal smoking on physicians' attitudes towards smoking. The results provide an important challenge to medical education in Estonia.

  18. Role of the private sector in vaccination service delivery in India: evidence from private-sector vaccine sales data, 2009-12.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Abhishek; Kaplan, Warren A; Chokshi, Maulik; Zodpey, Sanjay P

    2016-09-01

    India's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) provides basic vaccines free-of-cost in the public sector, yet national vaccination coverage is poor. The Government of India has urged an expanded role for the private sector to help achieve universal immunization coverage. We conducted a state-by-state analysis of the role of the private sector in vaccinating Indian children against each of the six primary childhood diseases covered under India's UIP. We analyzed IMS Health data on Indian private-sector vaccine sales, 2011 Indian Census data and national household surveys (DHS/NFHS 2005-06 and UNICEF CES 2009) to estimate the percentage of vaccinated children among the 2009-12 birth cohort who received a given vaccine in the private sector in 16 Indian states. We also analyzed the estimated private-sector vaccine shares as function of state-specific socio-economic status. Overall in 16 states, the private sector contributed 4.7% towards tuberculosis (Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG)), 3.5% towards measles, 2.3% towards diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus (DPT3) and 7.6% towards polio (OPV3) overall (both public and private sectors) vaccination coverage. Certain low income states (Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Assam and Bihar) have low private as well as public sector vaccination coverage. The private sector's role has been limited primarily to the high income states as opposed to these low income states where the majority of Indian children live. Urban areas with good access to the private sector and the ability to pay increases the Indian population's willingness to access private-sector vaccination services. In India, the public sector offers vaccination services to the majority of the population but the private sector should not be neglected as it could potentially improve overall vaccination coverage. The government could train and incentivize a wider range of private-sector health professionals to help deliver the vaccines, especially in the low

  19. Exhibition of photography from the Estonian diaspora / Ellu Maar

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Maar, Ellu, 1982-

    2010-01-01

    Näitus "Photography from the Estonian Diaspora / Väliseesti foto" Kumu Kunstimuuseumis 8.10.-19.11.2010, kuraatorid Eha Komissarov ja Ellu Maar. Näitus tutvustas 1944. a. Eestist lahkunud või juba võõrsil sündinud fotograafide (Eric Soovere, Karl Hintzer, Priit Vesilind, Rein Välme jt.) loomingut ja valikut väliseesti fotoarhiividest

  20. Staff and bed distribution in public sector mental health services in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is a resource-limited province with a fragmented mental health service. Objective. To determine the current context of public sector mental health services in terms of staff and bed distribution, and how this corresponds to the population distribution in the province.

  1. Ecosystem services: foundations, opportunities, and challenges for the forest products sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trista M. Patterson; Dana L. Coelho

    2009-01-01

    The ecosystem service concept has been proposed as a meaningful framework for natural resource management. In theory, it holds concomitant benefit and consequence for the forest product sector. However, numerous barriers impede practitioners from developing concrete and enduring responses to emerging ecosystem service markets, policies, and initiatives. Principal among...

  2. Estonian Airi ümber käib lehmakauplemine / Tõnu Lilleorg

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Lilleorg, Tõnu

    2008-01-01

    Skandinaavia lennukompanii SAS saatis Eesti valitsusele kirja, milles teatab, et on nõus raskustes Estonian Airile lisainvesteeringuid tegema vaid siis, kui riik müüb SAS-ile oma osaluse, 34%. Vt. samas: SAS ei taha lennufirma eest maksta üle 150 miljoni. Diagramm: Majandusnäitajad, omanikud

  3. Spatial patterns of soil organic carbon stocks in Estonian arable soils

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suuster, Elsa; Astover, Alar; Kõlli, Raimo; Roostalu, Hugo; Reintam, Endla; Penu, Priit

    2010-05-01

    Soil organic carbon (SOC) determines ecosystem functions, influencing soil fertility, soil physical, chemical and biological properties and crop productivity. Therefore the spatial pattern of SOC stocks and its appropriate management is important at various scales. Due to climate change and the contribution of carbon store in the soils, the national estimates of soil carbon stocks should be determined. Estonian soils have been well studied and mapped at a scale 1:10,000. Previous studies have estimated SOC stocks based on combinations of large groups of Estonian soils and the mean values of the soil profile database, but were not embedded into the geo-referenced databases. These studies have estimated SOC stocks of Estonian arable soils 122.3 Tg. Despite of available soil maps and databases, this information is still very poorly used for spatial soil modelling. The aim of current study is to assess and model spatial pattern of SOC stocks of arable soils on a pilot area Tartu County (area 3089 sq km). Estonian digital soil map and soil monitoring databases are providing a good opportunity to assess SOC stocks at various scales. The qualitative nature of the initial data from a soil map prohibits any straightforward use in modelling. Thus we have used several databases to construct models and linkages between soil properties that can be integrated into soil map. First step was to reorganize the soil map database (44,046 mapping units) so it can be used as an input to modelling. Arable areas were distinguished by a field layer of Agricultural Registers and Information Board, which provides precise information of current land use as it is the basis of paying CAP subsidies. The estimates of SOC content were found by using the arable land evaluation database of Tartu from the Estonian Land Board (comprising 950 sq km and 31,226 fields), where each soil type was assessed separately and average SOC content grouped by texture was derived. SOC content of epipedon varies in

  4. Comparison of knowledge, attitudes and behaviour regarding smoking among Estonian and Finnish physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pärna, Kersti; Rahu, Kaja; Barengo, Noël C; Rahu, Mati; Sandström, Patrick H; Jormanainen, Vesa J; Myllykangas, Markku T

    2005-01-01

    To compare smoking behaviour, attitudes and opinions towards smoking and smoking cessation among Estonian and Finnish physicians. A cross-sectional postal survey using a self-administered questionnaire was carried out among 2,480 Estonian and 2,075 Finnish physicians. Daily smoking prevalence was higher among Estonian physicians than among their Finnish counterparts in both male (18.6% and 6.7%) and female (6.6% and 3.6%). Compared to Estonia, physicians in Finland more often agreed that smoking is very harmful to their health, that trying to convince people to stop smoking is their responsibility and that smoking prevention should be part of the normal and special training of health professionals. In both countries, non-smoking physicians held more unfavourable attitudes towards smoking than those who were smoking. Physicians' own smoking patterns and quitting behaviour are important because physicians serve as models for their patients and play a key role in the reinforcement of smoke-free health facilities. These results remain a challenge to medical educators, especially in Estonia. Estonia needs to improve medical education in terms of motivating physicians to ask about the smoking patterns of their patients and of training medical students and resident physicians to counsel their patients to stop smoking.

  5. Private sector participation in agricultural extension service in nigeria

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The issue of who is to undertake and sustain an efficient agricultural extension service delivery between the public and private sectors in sub-saharan Africa has continued to feature prominently among the extension stakeholders and professionals. This has become pertinent, especially in recent times where government's ...

  6. Az észt névtervezés az észt nyelvpolitikai modell tükrében [The name management in the mirror of the Estonian LPP-model

    OpenAIRE

    Pomozi, Péter; Földesi, Eszter

    2016-01-01

    The Estonian model of language planning and policy, which has been serving the development and protection of the Estonian language in its current form since 2004, is one of the most successful of such strategies in Europe. It owes it success to the broad social and scientific consensus reached in questions of language policy, regardless of changes in government. The Development Plan of the Estonian Language divides Estonian language planning and policy into three parts: status planning, corpu...

  7. Identity and Othering in Past and Present: Representations of the Soviet Era in Estonian Post-Soviet Textbooks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrin Kello

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyses representations of the ‘core Soviet era’ (1945-1985 in Estonian post-Soviet history textbooks (1989-2016. Attitudes towards the Soviet system have been a rich resource for identity building, and hence a powerful political tool across the whole of the post-Soviet block. Based on an analysis of sections about the Soviet era in Estonia in 21 textbooks, the paper takes a look at how textbooks reflect broader processes of social meaning making, identity building and othering after a profound social and political turn. In 1989 and during the early 1990s, perspectives and narratives in Estonian history textbooks were closely related to social memory and national politics, enacting a specific social representation of the Soviet era that dominated the Estonian-speaking public space during the 1990s. The Soviet era, Russia and local Russians became the main Others for Estonia and Estonians. Over time, public discourse has diversified. The national curriculum and textbooks, however, still maintain the canon that formed in 1990s and thus reflect earlier sentiments. Apart from the increasing salience of Soviet-era daily life in more recent textbooks, the thematic choices and emphases have changed little since the 1990s. Therefore, even if the style of writing has ‘cooled down’, issues of identity preservation, resistance and accommodation, together with a saliently negative representation of wrongdoings by the Soviet system, still prevail. On the one hand, this testifies to the resilience of an established tradition in the textbook genre in general. On the other hand, it reflects the dominance of an ethnocentric tradition in Estonian history textbook writing. The paper discusses the implications of these findings for interethnic relations in Estonia.

  8. Perceived service delivery and productivity in the food and beverage sector in Potchefstroom / Adam Herman Viljoen

    OpenAIRE

    Viljoen, Adam Herman

    2012-01-01

    The importance of management in the food and beverage sector as well as managing food and beverage service employees are crucial aspects that influence quality service delivery. The food and beverage sector is a large service orientated segment of the greater tourism industry, and effective management of employees is therefore necessary since employees are regarded as the primary resource through which establishments deliver services. One might further argue that an employee is...

  9. Information and adaptation in a public service sector: The example of the Dutch Public housing sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koolma, H.M.

    2013-01-01

    A public service sector can be conceived as a multi agent system subordinated to a principal, mostly a department of a national government. The agents are relative autonomous and have decisional discretion, as long as they respect the boundaries setup by law and legislation. The hierarchy is less

  10. Service management for senior citizens by third sector organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Miguel Arantes Normanha Filho

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available This  study  intends  to  investigate  factors  related to  social  gerontology  and  the  new  society  conformation. The objective is to identify the current relation  between  third  sector  and  Brazilian population aging process (considering economical, demographic,  social, cultural and  familiar relation characteristics,  and service management  for the third age. For data collecting internet research was used, trying to identify third sector institutions that work which third age inside São Paulo City. Other kind  of  data  was  collected  through  interviews with  people  using  a  specific  script.  Researches on media, documental and bibliographic analysis complete the work. The results have showed that the third sector actions are incipient and this opens a new area for deeper studies

  11. Danish energy-sector exports. Products and consulting services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wolter, H.C.

    2000-06-01

    Danish Energy Agency has previously carried out studies of Danish energy-sector exports. The latest results were published in the report, Energisektorens eksport. Produkter og raadgivning. Danish Energy Agency, September 1998. The present survey is an update of the earlier studies, and includes 1998 exports. As previously, the study, carried out in cooperation with the Confederation of Danish Industries and the Danish Council of Consulting Architects and Engineers, is based on questionnaires sent to relevant companies. In addition, information has been obtained from companies that do not belong to these organisations. On the basis of the answers received, 58 Danish companies exported products to a value of approximately DKK 16,000 million, and 22 consulting firms exported consulting services to a value of approximately DKK 370 million. These exports of approximately DKK 16.5 billion accounted for 5% of all Danish exports in 1998. In comparison with 1996, energy-sector exports have risen by more than 40% in a period in which Danish exports in general have risen by an average of 8%. Energy sector exports provide employment for more than 18,000 persons in Denmark - approximately 17,500 employees in companies that export products, and approximately 600 persons in consulting firms. To this must be added a presumably significantly larger number of persons employed by sub-suppliers to the above companies computed by value, 80% of the exports come from relatively few companies, i.e. 13 companies with products, and five offering consulting services. Energy-sector exports fall within the following product areas: 1) Wind turbines (25%). 2) District heating and combined heat and power (CHP) (21%). 3) Energy savings and control (20%). 4) Oil and natural gas (13%). 5) Electricity plants and power supply (13%). 6) Other (8%). 67% of the exports go to Western Europe, 18% to Asia, 7% to Eastern and Central Europe, and 8% to other parts of the world. (EHS)

  12. A study of atypical employment in the service sector in Ireland

    OpenAIRE

    McGreevy, Sharon Mann

    1995-01-01

    The primary research has been based on the Irish services sector with specific reference to the hotel, tourism and hospital sectors. Comparisons will be drawn with the UK and where appropriate other European Countries. There are four main aims of the research: firstly, to establish a profile of atypical employees: secondly, to establish the terms and conditions of such employees; thirdly, to consider management perspectives which address issues relevant to peripheral employees; and finally, t...

  13. Trends in smoking behaviour among Estonian physicians in 1982-2014.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pärna, Kersti; Põld, Mariliis; Ringmets, Inge

    2017-07-25

    Smoking surveys among physicians have proved useful in highlighting the importance of physicians as healthy life style exemplars and role models in tobacco control and smoking cessation. The aim of this study was to give an overview of smoking behaviour among Estonian physicians from 1982 to 2014. Three cross-sectional postal surveys using a self-administered questionnaire were carried out among all practising physicians in Estonia. The number of physicians participating in this study was 3786 in 1982, 2735 in 2002, and 2902 in 2014. Data analysis involved calculating the age-standardized prevalences of smoking, prevalences of smoking by age group and mean age of smoking initiation. A non-parametric test for trend was used to assess significant changes in smoking over time. Age-standardized prevalence of current smoking among men was 39.7% in 1982, 20.9% in 2002, and 14.3% in 2014 and among women 12.2%, 8.0%, and 5.2%, respectively (p smoking among men and women was in age groups under 35 (from 55.2% to 16.7% and from 16.7% to 2.8%, respectively) and 35-44 (from 47.1% to 8.3% and from 19.5% to 5.1%, respectively) (p smoking initiation decreased from 20.4 to 19.3 among men and from 24.5 to 20.4 among women over the study period. In 1982-2014, smoking prevalence among Estonian physicians declined substantially. This may influence the willingness of society to recognize the health consequences of smoking which could give a support to the decline of the smoking epidemic in the country. Differences between smoking among male and female physicians persisted over the study period, but mean age of smoking initiation decreased. A further decline in smoking among Estonian physicians should be encouraged by special efforts targeted at physicians.

  14. Field trial on glucose-induced insulin and metabolite responses in Estonian Holstein and Estonian Red dairy cows in two herds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaart Tanel

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Insulin secretion and tissue sensitivity to insulin is considered to be one of the factors controlling lipid metabolism post partum. The objective of this study was to compare glucose-induced blood insulin and metabolite responses in Estonian Holstein (EH, n = 14 and Estonian Red (ER, n = 14 cows. Methods The study was carried out using the glucose tolerance test (GTT performed at 31 ± 1.9 days post partum during negative energy balance. Blood samples were obtained at -15, -5, 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 min relative to infusion of 0.15 g/kg BW glucose and analysed for glucose, insulin, triglycerides (TG, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA, cholesterol and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB. Applying the MIXED Procedure with the SAS System the basal concentration of cholesterol, and basal concentration and concentrations at post-infusion time points for other metabolites, area under the curve (AUC for glucose and insulin, clearance rate (CR for glucose, and maximum increase from basal concentration for glucose and insulin were compared between breeds. Results There was a breed effect on blood NEFA (P P P P P P th min nadir (P th min postinfusion (P Conclusion Our results imply that glucose-induced changes in insulin concentration and metabolite responses to insulin differ between EH and ER dairy cows.

  15. Labor markets and employment insecurity: impacts of globalization on service and healthcare-sector workforces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ostry, Aleck S; Spiegel, Jerry M

    2004-01-01

    Global changes in the economies of most developed nations have impacted the way healthcare is organized, even within largely public systems, and the working conditions of healthcare workers. Since the acceleration of globalization in the 1970s, service-sector workers in developed nations have faced high unemployment, increased skill requirements for most jobs, and a rise in non-traditional work arrangements. These secular shifts in service-sector labor markets have occurred against the background of an erosion of the welfare state and growing income inequality. As well, many healthcare systems, including Canada's, were severely downsized and restructured in the 1990s, exacerbating the underlying negative secular trends in the service sector, and worsening the working conditions for many healthcare workers. Globalization has altered the labor market and shifted working conditions in ways that have been unfavorable to many healthcare workers.

  16. Organizational Commitment in Estonian University Libraries: A Review and Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kont, Kate-Riin; Jantson, Signe

    2014-01-01

    The data used in this article is based on the reviewing of relevant literature to provide an overview of the concepts of organizational commitment, job security, and interpersonal relations, as well as on the results of the original online survey, conducted by the article's authors, held in 2012 in Estonian university libraries governed by public…

  17. Public Service Motivation and Attraction to Public Versus Private Sector Employment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Mogens Jin

    2013-01-01

    of economics, political science, and law, this article tests (1) the relationship between PSM and attraction to public versus private sector employment, and (2) the moderating effect on this relationship of students’ academic field of study (i.e., their profession once graduated). Overall, results underscore...... the multidimensionality of the PSM construct, as the PSM dimension of “public interest” is positively associated with attraction to public sector employment and negatively associated with attraction to private sector employment, while the PSM dimension of “compassion” is unrelated to both. Importantly, however......Despite extensive public service motivation (PSM) research, our knowledge of PSM’s influence on individuals’ sector employment preferences is limited. Few studies examine this relationship by suitable research designs and the empirical findings are mixed. Using a sample of 718 Danish students...

  18. Precarity in the Nonprofit Employment Services Sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fanelli, Carlo; Rudman, Debbie Laliberté; Aldrich, Rebecca M

    2017-08-01

    Drawing on interview and focus group data, this article explores research undertaken as part of a larger research project exploring precarity in the nonprofit employment services sector in a mid-sized Canadian city. We critically survey major legislative changes to Canadian employment and income security policies and programs, including the restructuring of work and labor relations, growth of performance-based contracting-out, erosion of intergovernmental transfers, worker stress, and emotional tolls. Our study's results demonstrate how employment precarity in the nonprofit employment services sector is amplified by top-down and centralized relationships with funding partners and policymaking divorced from the employment experiences of frontline staff. We make the case that it is important to work against rising workplace precarity to strengthen organizational and workplace conditions, as well as build environments more supportive of optimal employment support services. En se fondant sur des entretiens et des données découlant de groupes témoins, cet article présente des explorations entreprises dans une recherche plus large étudiant la précarité dans le secteur des emplois de service dans une ville canadienne de taille moyenne. Nous faisons une revue critique de changements importants intervenus dans la législation portant sur l'emploi au Canada et les politiques et programmes de la sécurité du revenu, incluant la restructuration du travail et des relations de travail, l'augmentation de la privatisation se fondant sur la performance, la diminution des transferts intergouvernementaux, le stress au travail et les conséquences émotionnelles. Les résultats de notre recherche démontrent comment la précarité de l'emploi dans les secteurs des services à but non lucratif est amplifiée par des relations allant du haut vers le bas et centralisée avec des partenaires et des politiques séparés de l'expérience des travailleurs sur le terrain. Nous d

  19. One Country, Two Polarised Audiences: Estonia and the Deficiency of the Audiovisual Media Services Directive

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andres Jõesaar

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This article argues that until recent times, the Estonian media policy has mainly been interpreted as an economic issue and it did not account for the strategic need to build a comprehensive media field to serve all groups in society. This has happened despite the fact the Estonian media policy is in line with the European Union (EU media policy, which should ensure freedom of information, diversity of opinion and media pluralism. Findings of the Estonian case study show that despite these noble aims, Estonia has two radically different information fields: one for Estonian speaking audiences and one for Russian speakers. Events in Ukraine have added to the democratic media policy paradigm a question of national security. Now it is a challenge for the policy makers to unite polarised media fields and how to minimise the impact of Russian propaganda. On the EU level, one supportive measure could be a revision of the Audiovisual Media Service Directive.

  20. INVESTIGATING A QUALITY OF SERVICES IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR: EVIDENCE FROM NORTHERN CYPRUS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ovgu Cidar Iyikal

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The current study aims is to investigate the service quality delivered by public enterprises in Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC and level of customer satisfaction as well as word of mouth (WOM in return. A convenient sampling method has been employed by using the service quality (SERVQUAL instrument which is used to gather customers’ excellent public service and compared those with their perceptions of the service delivered by Public Sectors which are operating in TRNC. Results of the study revealed that dimensions of reliability and assurance exert positively significant effects on Customer Satisfaction in the public sector. Moreover, the level of Customer Satisfaction from public services exerts positively significant effect on positive word of mouth. Finally, with the light of findings, the current study will also attempt to provide some recommendations about possible quality reforms and rearrangements to the policy makers for the public enterprises in TRNC.

  1. Estonian folk traditional experiences on natural anticancer remedies: from past to the future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sak, Katrin; Jürisoo, Kadi; Raal, Ain

    2014-07-01

    Despite diagnostic and therapeutic advancements, the burden of cancer is still increasing worldwide. Toxicity of current chemotherapeutics to normal cells and their resistance to tumor cells highlights the urgent need for new drugs with minimal adverse side effects. The use of natural anticancer agents has entered into the area of cancer research and increased efforts are being made to isolate bioactive products from medicinal plants. To lead the search for plants with potential cytotoxic activity, ethnopharmacological knowledge can give a great contribution. Therefore, the attention of this review is devoted to the natural remedies traditionally used for the cancer treatment by Estonian people over a period of almost 150 years. Two massive databases, the first one stored in the Estonian Folklore Archives and the second one in the electronic database HERBA ( http://herba.folklore.ee/ ), containing altogether more than 30 000 ethnomedicinal texts were systematically reviewed to compile data about the Estonian folk traditional experiences on natural anticancer remedies. As a result, 44 different plants with potential anticancer properties were elicited, 5 of which [Angelica sylvestris L. (Apiaceae), Anthemis tinctoria L. (Asteraceae), Pinus sylvestris L. (Pinaceae), Sorbus aucuparia L. (Rosaceae), and Prunus padus L. (Rosaceae)] have not been previously described with respect to their tumoricidal activities in the scientific literature, suggesting thus the potential herbal materials for further investigations of natural anticancer compounds.

  2. HIV testing and counselling in Estonian prisons, 2012 to 2013: aims, processes and impacts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivimets, K; Uuskula, A

    2014-11-27

    We present data from an observational cohort study on human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and control measures in prisons in Estonia to assess the potential for HIV transmission in this setting. HIV testing and retesting data from the Estonian prison health department were used to estimate HIV prevalence and incidence in prison. Since 2002, voluntary HIV counselling and testing has routinely been offered to all prisoners and has been part of the new prisoners health check. At the end of 2012, there were 3,289 prisoners in Estonia, including 170 women: 28.5% were drug users and 15.6% were infected with HIV. Of the HIV-positive inmates, 8.3% were newly diagnosed on prison entry. In 2012, 4,387 HIV tests (including retests) were performed in Estonian prisons. Among 1,756 initially HIV-negative prisoners who were in prison for more than one year and therefore tested for HIV twice within 12 months (at entry and annual testing), one new HIV infection was detected, an incidence of 0.067 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.025–5.572). This analysis indicates low risk of HIV transmission in Estonian prisons. Implementation of HIV management interventions could impact positively on the health of prisoners and the communities to which they return.

  3. Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES Exploratory Data & Analytic Services Private Sector Pilot Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Schull

    2017-04-01

    ICES was able to work with private sector organizations without compromising the three principles. Based on the evaluation of the private sector pilot, and the findings from the focus groups, ICES will begin offering limited analytic services to private sector researchers beginning June 2016 under ICES’ existing corporate structure, and bring recommendations regarding ongoing operations to the ICES Board in June 2017.

  4. Sectoral linkages of financial services as channels of economic development—An input–output analysis of the Nigerian and Kenyan economies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Freytag

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Sectoral linkages of financial services of the Nigerian and Kenyan economies are evaluated by means of an input–output analysis for 2007, 2009 and 2011. Backward linkages, forward linkages, multiplier effects and variation indices for the financial services sectors are determined. Due to the increasing importance of mobile money, we additionally investigate these linkages for the communication sector. We find high forward and backward linkages for the Nigerian financial services sector only. Here, changes in final demand for or primary input into the financial sector have a wide and evenly spread impact on the rest of the economy classifying the financial sector as a key sector. Regarding Kenya, however, the sectoral linkages of the financial services sector are lower. This may be due to the well-developed mobile financial market in Kenya. But results for the communication sector, however, yield rather low linkage values and multiplier effects for both economies. All results are confirmed by a robustness test. Nonetheless, they could have been influenced by a lack of data coverage especially with regard to mobile money and a high degree of informal financial transactions. Still, our findings confirm the significance of financial services as channels of economic development for both the economies.

  5. Public Service Motivation as a Predictor of Attraction to the Public Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carpenter, Jacqueline; Doverspike, Dennis; Miguel, Rosanna F.

    2012-01-01

    According to public service motivation theory, individuals with a strong public service orientation are attracted to government jobs. This proposition was investigated in three studies by measuring public sector motivation at a pre-entry level as an individual difference variable affecting perceptions of fit and organizational attraction. Results…

  6. Quality management standards for facility services in the Italian health care sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cesarotti, Vittorio; Di Silvio, Bruna

    2006-01-01

    Health care, one of the most dynamic sectors in Italy, is studied with a particular focus on outsourcing non-core activities such as facility management (FM) services. The project's goals are to define national standards to balance and control facility service evolution, and to drive FM services towards organisational excellence. The authors, in cooperation with a pool of facility service providers and hospitals managers, studied cleaning services--one of the most critical areas. This article describes the research steps and findings following definition and publication of the Italian standard and its application to an international benchmarking process. The method chosen for developing the Italian standard was to merge technical, strategic and organisational aspects with the goal of standardising the contracting system, giving service providers the chance to improve efficiency and quality, while helping healthcare organisations gain from a better, more reliable and less expensive service. The Italian standard not only improved services but also provided adequate control systems for outsourcing organisations. In this win-win context, it is hoped to continually drive FM services towards organisational excellence. This study is specific to the Italian national healthcare system. However, the strategic dynamics described are common to many other contexts. A systematic method for improving hospital FM services is presented. The authors believe that lessons learned from their Italian case study can be used to better understand and drive similar services in other countries or in other FM service outsourcing sectors.

  7. Private Sector An Important But Not Dominant Provider Of Key Health Services In Low- And Middle-Income Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grépin, Karen A

    2016-07-01

    There is debate about the role of the private sector in providing services in the health systems of low- and middle-income countries and about how the private sector could help achieve the goal of universal health coverage. Yet the role that the private sector plays in the delivery of health services is poorly understood. Using data for the period 1990-2013 from 205 Demographic and Health Surveys in seventy low- and middle-income countries, I analyzed the use of the private sector for the treatment of diarrhea and of fever or cough in children, for antenatal care, for institutional deliveries, and as a source of modern contraception for women. I found that private providers were the dominant source of treatment for childhood illnesses but not for the other services. I also found no evidence of increased use of the private sector over time. There is tremendous variation in use of the private sector across countries and health services. Urban and wealthier women disproportionately use the private sector, compared to rural and poorer women. The private sector plays an important role in providing coverage, but strategies to further engage the sector, if they are to be effective, will need to take into consideration the variation in its use. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

  8. A decision Enhancement Service for Stakeholder Analysis to Achieve Transformations in the Public Sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Knol, Arjan; Janssen, Marijn; Sol, H G

    2015-01-01

    Sourcing has become a popular practice for public sector managers aiming for transformations to save costs and improve service delivery. Nevertheless, public sector sourcing often fails due to stakeholder resistance and power struggles, stressing the need for stakeholder analysis. This paper

  9. THE TRADE POSITION OF POLAND IN THE ICT SERVICES SECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylwia Talar

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available The paper includes analysis and assessment of trade in the ICT services performance of Poland. This study is looked at the trade position, essentially on the basis of the share in the world ICT services exports, revealed comparative advantage (RCA, and trade coverage ratio. It also identifies trends of the world trade in the ICT services. The statistics are derived from the basis of UNCTAD and Eurostat. International trade in the ICT ser-vices sector has specific characteristics and the interpretation of results of this trade is to take account of the particular nature of the ICT services. Poland is currently not revealed comparative advantage in the ICT services exports, but has had positive balance. Practically all trade indicators for Poland show very strong growth, which indicate a significant improvement in its ICT services trade position.

  10. Food waste volume and origin: Case studies in the Finnish food service sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silvennoinen, Kirsi; Heikkilä, Lotta; Katajajuuri, Juha-Matti; Reinikainen, Anu

    2015-12-01

    We carried out a project to map the volume and composition of food waste in the Finnish food service sector. The amount, type and origin of avoidable food waste were investigated in 51 food service outlets, including schools, day-care centres, workplace canteens, petrol stations, restaurants and diners. Food service outlet personnel kept diaries and weighed the food produced and wasted during a one-week or one-day period. For weighing and sorting, the food waste was divided into two categories: originally edible (OE) food waste was separated from originally inedible (OIE) waste, such as vegetable peelings, bones and coffee grounds. In addition, food waste (OE) was divided into three categories in accordance with its origins: kitchen waste, service waste and customer leftovers. According to the results, about 20% of all food handled and prepared in the sector was wasted. The findings also suggest that the main drivers of wasted food are buffet services and overproduction. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Impact of Knowledge Intensive Business Services on Economic Performance of Sectors and Regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Laurenţiu Tăchiciu

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The role of knowledge intensive services in today's economy are among the topics most frequently addressed in recent years by researchers. The major interest is targeting in particular services provided to enterprises, known internationally as knowledge intensive business services or, by abbreviation, KIBS. As a sector of the economy, KIBS consists of enterprises specializing in providing to other businesses services that require intensive use of advanced knowledge, thus characterized by the fact that intellectual input has a decisive share in the value added. Usually are considered part of this sector undertakings which have as object of activity the provision of services in the fields of research and development, design and technical assistance in implementing of new technologies including information and communication, training, management consulting, marketing and advertising, quality assurance and certification, accounting and auditing, legal consulting and assistance, architecture and construction engineering. According to the statistical classification NACE rev2, much of KIBS can be found in divisions 62, 63, 69, 71-74.

  12. Energy Efficiency Services Sector: Workforce Education and Training Needs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goldman, Charles A.; Peters, Jane S.; Albers, Nathaniel; Stuart, Elizabeth; Fuller, Merrian C.

    2010-03-19

    This report provides a baseline assessment of the current state of energy efficiency-related education and training programs and analyzes training and education needs to support expected growth in the energy efficiency services workforce. In the last year, there has been a significant increase in funding for 'green job' training and workforce development (including energy efficiency), through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Key segments of the energy efficiency services sector (EESS) have experienced significant growth during the past several years, and this growth is projected to continue and accelerate over the next decade. In a companion study (Goldman et al. 2009), our research team estimated that the EESS will increase two- to four-fold by 2020, to 220,000 person-years of employment (PYE) (low-growth scenario) or up to 380,000 PYE (high-growth scenario), which may represent as many as 1.3 million individuals. In assessing energy efficiency workforce education and training needs, we focus on energy-efficiency services-related jobs that are required to improve the efficiency of residential and nonresidential buildings. Figure ES-1 shows the market value chain for the EESS, sub-sectors included in this study, as well as the types of market players and specific occupations. Our assessment does not include the manufacturing, wholesale, and retail distribution subsectors, or energy efficiency-focused operations and maintenance performed by facility managers.

  13. INTERNAL MARKETING IN PUBLIC SERVICE SECTOR AND ITS EFFECT ON JOB SATISFACTION

    OpenAIRE

    DÜLGEROĞLU, İsmail; TAŞKIN, Çağatan

    2015-01-01

    Internal marketing can be interpreted to applicate marketing practices to the organization’s employees. Internal marketing is very important and related to almost any organization. Satisfying employees result in motivation so that the service quality of service provider is going to be higher and service output is going to be increased. The aim of this paper is to analyze internal marketing in public service sector in Bursa and to propose internal marketing strategies for managers based on ...

  14. Accelerating Innovation in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in the ICT Services Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Vicente García Manjón

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This work is aimed at establishing key organizational strategies that push small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs in the information and communication technologies (ICT services sector to be more innovative. Following an input and output approach, a theoretical model is built that helps determine such key factors. Then the model is validated with fieldwork carried out on a representative sample in Castile-Leon region (Spain. According to this model, the decision to innovate (and the trigger for research and development [R&D] activities in SMEs in the ICT services sector is the result of needs that are presented by customers (public or private sector in tailored projects. All the same, the factors leading to innovation are in order of importance, the technological level of the company, the effort made by the company in R&D, and finally, systems of incentives.

  15. Estonian hospital sector in transition / Toomas Palu, Reet Kadakmaa

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Palu, Toomas

    2001-01-01

    Autorid tutvustavad meditsiini vallas Eesti iseseisvuse perioodil läbi viidud reforme: haiglate tulevik sõltub 2001. aastal käivitunud reformide teisest faasist. Tabelid. Skeem: EHIF expenditures on health services, pharmaceutical and sick benefits 1996-2001

  16. [Pärtel Lippus. The acoustic features and perception of the Estonian quantity system] / Stefan Werner

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Werner, Stefan

    2012-01-01

    Arvustus: Pärtel Lippus. The acoustic features and perception of the Estonian quantity system. Tartu : Tartu University Press, 2011. (Dissertationes philologiae estonicae Universitatis Tartuensis ; 29)

  17. Eesti autobiograafilise kirjutuse kujunemisest 18. sajandist Teise maailmasõjani. The Development of Estonian Autobiographical Writing from the 18th Century to the Second World War

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rutt Hinrikus

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available In this article I examine the development of Estonian autobiographical writing from its first manifestations to published memoirs, and the development of life writing and its diversification. The beginnings of life writing can be traced back to Estonian folk song and Estonian incidental poetry. The Moravian Brethren movement in Estonia in the 18th century promoted the spread of canonical autobiography. The Moravian Brethren offered alternative opportunities for self-realisation for Estonians who were serfs, and were therefore popular with the people. The practice of the Moravian Brethren made use of retelling and writing about the life of the congregation members, which sometimes became suitable biographies in print, especially stories of awakening. Several manuscript biographies have survived from the Brethren times, such as the biographies of Mäletu Jaan and Mihkel Sarapuu. In addition to the history of the Moravian Brethren movement, these biographies give information about the educational situation and living conditions of the people of the time. The Estonian life writing tradition emerged within the reigning Baltic German cultural space thanks to the Estophiles among the Baltic Germans (J. H. Rosenplänter and the first Estonian men of letters; from the early 19th century we have the diary by Rosenplänter, an estophile pastor from Pärnu, and the diary by the Estonian poet, the then-student Kristjan Jaak Peterson, both in the Estonian language. Johann Voldemar Jannsen, the founder of Estonian-language journalism, kept a diary in the German language for a longer period of time; it was usual that the first Estonian intellectuals (Lilli Suburg, and others in the late 19th century wrote in German. Admittedly, the first Estonian-language life history was written by a forward-looking 19th century peasant named Märt Mitt (1833-1912, who was conscious of himself as a historical subject and gave his memoirs, begun in the 1880s, a memorable title

  18. Women's experiences seeking informal sector abortion services in Cape Town, South Africa: a descriptive study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerdts, Caitlin; Raifman, Sarah; Daskilewicz, Kristen; Momberg, Mariette; Roberts, Sarah; Harries, Jane

    2017-10-02

    In settings where abortion is legally restricted, or permitted but not widely accessible, women face significant barriers to abortion access, sometimes leading them to seek services outside legal facilities. The advent of medication abortion has further increased the prevalence of informal sector abortion. This study investigates the reasons for attempting self-induction, methods used, complications, and sources of information about informal sector abortion, and tests a specific recruitment method which could lead to improved estimates of informal sector abortion prevalence among an at-risk population. We recruited women who have sought informal sector abortion services in Cape Town, South Africa using respondent driven sampling (RDS). An initial seed recruiter was responsible for initiating recruitment using a structured coupon system. Participants completed face-to-face questionnaires, which included information about demographics, informal sector abortion seeking, and safe abortion access needs. We enrolled 42 women, nearly one-third of whom reported they were sex workers. Thirty-four women (81%) reported having had one informal sector abortion within the past 5 years, 14% reported having had two, and 5% reported having had three. These women consumed home remedies, herbal mixtures from traditional healers, or tablets from an unregistered provider. Twelve sought additional care for potential warning signs of complications. Privacy and fear of mistreatment at public sector facilities were among the main reported reasons for attempting informal sector abortion. Most women (67%) cited other community members as their source of information about informal sector abortion; posted signs and fliers in public spaces also served as an important source of information. Women are attempting informal sector abortion because they seek privacy and fear mistreatment and stigma in health facilities. Some were unaware how or where to seek formal sector services, or believed the

  19. Estonian Cell peab suu kasumist puhtaks pühkima / Kaisa Tahlfeld, Katre Pilvinski

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Tahlfeld, Kaisa

    2008-01-01

    Estonian Cell saatis valitsusele pöördumise, milles palutakse teha parandusi elektrienergiaga seonduvates seadustes, mis aitaksid ettevõtet energia hinnatõusu ajal. Elektri hinnatõusu tõttu on muutunud küsitavaks ka Nitroferti tehase edasine eksisteerimine

  20. Serological evidence of exposure to globally relevant zoonotic parasites in the Estonian population

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lassen, Brian; Janson, Marilin; Viltrop, Arvo

    2016-01-01

    We investigated Estonian population and its selected subgroups for serological evidence of exposure to Ascaris lumbricoides, Echinococcus spp., Taenia solium, Toxocara canis, Toxoplasma gondii, and Trichinella spiralis. Serum samples from 999 adults representing general population, 248 children a...

  1. Developing a long-term condition's information service in collaboration with third sector organisations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McShane, Lesley; Greenwell, Kate; Corbett, Sally; Walker, Richard

    2014-06-01

    People with long-term conditions need to be signposted to high quality information and advice to understand and manage their condition. Information seeking tools combined with third sector information could help address their information needs. To describe the development and implementation of an information service for people living with long-term conditions at one NHS acute trust in the Northeast of England. An information service was trialled using bespoke information models for three long-term conditions in collaboration with third sector organisations. These guided people to relevant, timely and reliable information. Both clinician and service user questionnaires were used to evaluate satisfaction with the service. Appropriately designed information models can be used interchangeably across all services. Between 75% and 91% of users agreed that they were satisfied with various aspects of the service. Generally, users received relevant, understandable and high quality information at the right time. Nearly all health professionals (94-100%) felt the service was accessible, provided high quality information and did not significantly impact on their consultation time. The developed information service was well received by service users and health professionals. Specifically, the use of information prescriptions and menus facilitated access to information for people with long-term conditions. © 2014 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2014 Health Libraries Group.

  2. Microeconomic principles in the health sector: The demand for health services in the Republic of Serbia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stošić Sanja

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Health has become a dominant economic and political issue over the past years, where many nations experience rapid rises in health care spending. The main reason why the health care sector does not operate entirely in accordance with economic market principles is the fact that inequalities in health and access to health care are understood as the lack of humanity and justice. Health care demands might seem as quite inelastic, but because of the health insurance, it shows a certain degree of price, income, cross - price and time elasticity. The subject of this study was the demand for health services in the Republic of Serbia in order to assess the ability of the public sector to meet the demand for providing these services. The underlying assumption was that public health can not adequately meet the needs of citizens due to insufficient investment in the sector and inefficient allocation of resources. To confirm this assumption, basic characteristics of health care market and the factors affecting the supply and demand for health services were discussed. Based on the analysis of investment in the health sector, the existing capacity and organization of health services, our research has shown that the public health system in the Republic of Serbia is not able to adequately meet the demand for health services. In the current economic situation in the Republic of Serbia, which already spends a significant portion of its GDP on health, there is no realistic possibility of increased spending on public health care system, although it can be expected that there will be increasing demand for health services and increase of costs. The health sector is not, and does not have the ability to be a perfectly competitive market, and the questions of its financing, rational and efficient organization is extremely delicate. However, health care economists and experts in health economics should give a significantly higher contribution in organizing health sector

  3. Optimizing Bus Passenger Complaint Service through Big Data Analysis: Systematized Analysis for Improved Public Sector Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weng-Kun Liu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available With the advances in industry and commerce, passengers have become more accepting of environmental sustainability issues; thus, more people now choose to travel by bus. Government administration constitutes an important part of bus transportation services as the government gives the right-of-way to transportation companies allowing them to provide services. When these services are of poor quality, passengers may lodge complaints. The increase in consumer awareness and developments in wireless communication technologies have made it possible for passengers to easily and immediately submit complaints about transportation companies to government institutions, which has brought drastic changes to the supply–demand chain comprised of the public sector, transportation companies, and passengers. This study proposed the use of big data analysis technology including systematized case assignment and data visualization to improve management processes in the public sector and optimize customer complaint services. Taichung City, Taiwan, was selected as the research area. There, the customer complaint management process in public sector was improved, effectively solving such issues as station-skipping, allowing the public sector to fully grasp the service level of transportation companies, improving the sustainability of bus operations, and supporting the sustainable development of the public sector–transportation company–passenger supply chain.

  4. Acquisition of noun derivation in Estonian and Russian L1

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reili Argus

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Acquisition of derivation is not a well-studied area in first language research and a comparative approach to the acquisition of derivation in different languages doesn’t exist. There is no information on how a child acquires derivation in a language with a rich and regular system of derivational patterns, or in a language where derivation is productive, but the system of derivational patterns is opaque. According to general ideas of complexity in a language, the child should start to use simplex stems first and, only after that, complex ones, that is, complexity should increase in the course of acquisition. Our paper is intended to address these issues, based on longitudinal child data from typologically different languages, Estonian and Russian. The results revealed significant differences in the acquisition of noun derivation in the two languages under observation. The system of noun derivation is acquired at a faster pace in Russian, while Estonian children have far fewer noun derivatives in their speech and they use different derivation suffixes with less regularity. Even so, the so-called building block model may be applied for both languages only partially.

  5. Tiger in Focus--A National Survey of ICT in Estonian Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toots, Anu; Laanpere, Mart

    2004-01-01

    Estonia has not participated in international studies of ICT in education, nor have there been any similar studies at the national level up until the year 2000. The first survey of ICT in Estonian schools was conducted after completion of the national school computerization programme called Tiger Leap. This paper focuses on the targeted responses…

  6. Consumer Socialisation and Value Orientations among Estonian and Chinese Young People

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waerdahl, Randi; Kalmus, Veronika; Keller, Margit

    2011-01-01

    This paper asks if Estonian and Chinese tweens' access to pocket money influences their brand valuation, as well as value orientations in the context of perceived peer popularity and personal well-being. Surveys conducted in autumns 2006 (China n = 188) and 2007 (Estonia n = 111) show an inherent cultural resistance among tweens in both countries…

  7. Az észt névtervezés az észt nyelvpolitikai modell tükrében [The name management in the mirror of the Estonian LPP-model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pomozi, Péter

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The Estonian model of language planning and policy, which has been serving the development and protection of the Estonian language in its current form since 2004, is one of the most successful of such strategies in Europe. It owes it success to the broad social and scientific consensus reached in questions of language policy, regardless of changes in government. The Development Plan of the Estonian Language divides Estonian language planning and policy into three parts: status planning, corpus planning and prestige planning. Name management is a part of corpus planning, although certain aspects are also connected to legal and prestige planning. Name management strategies are present in all components of the Estonian model of language planning and policy, as linguistically appropriate name use is not only a socio-cultural, but economic question, as informative and easy to understand names contribute to measurable economic advantages. The paper mainly demonstrates the dilemmas and answers of Estonian name management through examples from personal name giving practices, but questions concerning the problems of name use in a multicultural environment and the difficulties of place name and firm name management are also discussed.

  8. Väärikas Estonian Air jäi kampaaniaga hätta / Alyona Stadnik

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Stadnik, Alyona

    2010-01-01

    Estonian Air müüs veebikaupluse cherry.ee kaudu soodsaid kinkekaarte. Vastuolu tekkis asjaolust, et nõudlus kinkekaartide järele oli suurem kui pakkumine. Lennukompanii katkestas soodsate kinkekaartide müügi

  9. Field of genes: the politics of science and identity in the Estonian Genome Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fletcher, Amy L

    2004-04-01

    This case study of the Estonian Genome Project (EGP) analyses the Estonian policy decision to construct a national human gene bank. Drawing upon qualitative data from newspaper articles and public policy documents, it focuses on how proponents use discourse to link the EGP to the broader political goal of securing Estonia's position within the Western/European scientific and cultural space. This dominant narrative is then situated within the analytical notion of the "brand state", which raises potentially negative political consequences for this type of market-driven genomic research. Considered against the increasing number of countries engaging in gene bank and/or gene database projects, this analysis of Estonia elucidates issues that cross national boundaries, while also illuminating factors specific to this small, post-Soviet state as it enters the global biocybernetic economy.

  10. A Study On Measuring The Service Quality Gap of Banking Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Dr. S. Saravanan; M. Madhunica Priyadharshini

    2018-01-01

    Service quality in banking sector is the most important criteria and asset for evaluating the satisfying customers. This study was carried with the objective of understanding the gap exist between the customer expectation and perception. This paper attempts to make comparative analysis of customer satisfaction between the public and private bank in Thanjavur district. To compare the service quality between customer perception and expectation, SERVQUAL modal is used to analysis the gap by usin...

  11. Estonian Business Schooli magistriharidus nüüd ka koju kätte / Madis Habakuk

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Habakuk, Madis

    2007-01-01

    Sügisest hakkab Estonian Business School koos Mainori Kõrgkooliga pakkuma magistriõpet majandushariduseta inimestele, kus soovijatel on võimalus õppida EBSi Master of Business Administration programmi järgi

  12. Employability of offshore service sector workers in the Philippines: opportunities for upward labour mobility or dead-end jobs?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beerepoot, N.; Hendriks, M.

    2013-01-01

    Critical concerns have been raised about the quality of employment in the offshore service sector in developing countries, suggesting that many activities have an inherent paradox of highly educated workers performing low-skilled jobs. Based on empirical data collected in the offshore service sector

  13. The Role of Language in (Recreating Tatar Diaspora Identity: The Case of the Estonian Tatars

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maarja Klaas

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper focuses on the meanings assigned to Tatar language among the Tatar diaspora in Estonia. According to interviews with Estonian Tatars as well as descriptions of field material from Tatarstan, language is an important aspect of Tatar ethnic identity. This paper will track common discourses about the Tatar language and the way it is connected to Tatar ethnic identity. Issues concerning Tatar language are used to demonstrate various ways of enacting Tatarness in Estonia. It is shown that Estonian Tatars worry about the vitality and purity of Tatar language, but for some, marginalization of dialects is also an issue. People categorized with the same identity labels by self and others can experience and enact their Tatarness in a variety of different ways.

  14. The Relative Importance of the Service Sector in the Mexican Economy: A Time Series Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Alberto Flores

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We conduct a study of the secondary and tertiary sectors with the goal of highlighting the relative im-portance of services in the Mexican economy. We consider a time series analysis approach designed to identify the stochastic nature of the series, as well as to define their long-run and-short run relationships with Gross Domestic Product (GDP. The results of cointegration tests suggest that, for the most part, activities in the secondary and tertiary sectors share a common trend with GDP. Interestingly, the long-run elasticities of GDP with respect to services are on average larger than those with respect to secondary activities. Common cycle tests results identify the existence of common cycles between GDP and the disaggregated sectors, as well as with manufacturing, commerce, real estate and transportation. In this case, the short-run elasticities of secondary activities are on average larger than those corresponding to services.

  15. E-Banking: Risk Management Practices of the Estonian Banks

    OpenAIRE

    Dmitri Sokolov

    2007-01-01

    During the last years the development of e-banking in Estonia has been very significant. According to the report of the World Economic Forum, the Estonian IT-development has been substantial. The success of e-banking in Estonia can be compared to the corresponding success of the Nordic countries. According to the Deutsche Bank Research, around 70-80% of the Internet users in Estonia use Internet banking and in this respect, Estonia could be compared to Finland, Norway and Iceland. Despite of ...

  16. Improving service quality in NHS Trust hospitals: lessons from the hotel sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desombre, T; Eccles, G

    1998-01-01

    This article looks to review recent practice undertaken within the UK hotel sector to improve customer service, and suggests ideals that could be implemented within National Health (NHS) Trust hospitals. At a time of increasing competition, hotel firms are using service enhancement as a means to gain competitive advantage, and therefore developing a range of techniques to measure levels of service quality improvement. With continued change in the health service, where greater focus now lies with patient satisfaction, so there is a requirement for managers to adapt techniques presently being offered in other service industries to improve levels of customer service and ensure patients are targeted to define their levels of satisfaction.

  17. Human Trafficking Identification and Service Provision in the Medical and Social Service Sectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schwarz, Corinne; Unruh, Erik; Cronin, Katie; Evans-Simpson, Sarah; Britton, Hannah; Ramaswamy, Megha

    2016-06-01

    The medical sector presents a unique opportunity for identification and service to victims of human trafficking. In this article, we describe local and site-specific efforts to develop an intervention tool to be used in an urban hospital's emergency department in the midwestern United States. In the development of our tool, we focused on both identification and intervention to assist trafficked persons, through a largely collaborative process in which we engaged local stakeholders for developing site-specific points of intervention. In the process of developing our intervention, we highlight the importance of using existing resources and services in a specific community to address critical gaps in coverage for trafficked persons. For example, we focus on those who are victims of labor trafficking, in addition to those who are victims of sex trafficking. We offer a framework informed by rights-based approaches to anti-trafficking efforts that addresses the practical challenges of human trafficking victim identification while simultaneously working to provide resources and disseminate services to those victims.

  18. The US Public Sector and Its Adoption of Service Oriented Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, David W.

    2012-01-01

    Information Technology (IT) provides public sector organizations the capability to provide real increases in organizational effectiveness by aiding in the efficient exchange of information. Adoption of advanced IT such as service oriented environments, Web 2.0, and bespoke systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) promises to markedly…

  19. Estonian Vocational Teachers' Attitudes towards Inclusive Education for Students with Special Educational Needs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Richard; Kaikkonen, Leena; Koiv, Kristi

    2007-01-01

    This paper presents the findings from research conducted with two samples of teachers from Estonian Vocational Schools. The first sample comprised a group of teachers who had received professional development directly related to the management of students with special educational needs in vocational education settings. Their attitudes and…

  20. Public Service Motivation, User Orientation and Job Satisfaction: A Question of Employment Sector?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Lotte Bøgh; Kjeldsen, Anne Mette

    2013-01-01

    not differ significantly between the private and public sector, while the user orientation/job satisfaction association is strongest for private employees. This suggests that to understand the relationships between pro-social motivation, employment sector and job satisfaction, future studies could fruitfully...... satisfaction. Second, the relationship between job satisfaction and these two types of pro-social motivation, PSM and user orientation, may also be found in the private sector. This study tests whether job satisfaction is associated with PSM and user orientation, and whether these associations differ between......Public service motivation (PSM) has been shown to be positively related to job satisfaction in the public sector, but there are two gaps in the literature. First, not only PSM but also pro-social motivation directed towards helping specific others (called user orientation) may affect job...

  1. Isamaalaulud ja okupatsioonirežiim – nostalgia, utoopia ja reaalsus. Estonian Patriotic Songs and the Occupational Regime – Nostalgia, Utopia and Reality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kanni Labi

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Estonian knowledge of history emanates from the fact that constituting an independent nation has for the most part been nothing but a utopia, and was a reality for a relatively short time. When it comes to selfidentification though, the expression ’a singing people’ is often used by the Estonians to describe themselves. Nostalgia for freedom is reflected in the Estonian culture of almost all periods and is carried on by the singing tradition, where patriotic songs emerge independent of different musical tastes within a particular generation and form an important part of a common Estonian repertoire. Patriotic songs occupy a central place in several fields of Estonian culture: besides music culture also in popular culture,and literary history – the works of poetry which have gained the most popularity are those which when put to music have been the most widely spread among the people. The main part of the most popular Estonian patriotic songs are choral songs from the national awakening at the end of the 19th century. Despite the national programmes aiming to wipe out ‘bourgeois nationalism’, they were sung at the song festivals in the Soviet era and were published in song books, expressing the people’s nostalgia for freedom lost. After the end of the Second World War, there was an attempt at launching a kind of patriotic new creation, where patriotism was merged with Soviet pathos; the aim was to show that the people’s utopia was in fact communism, but not a single one of those songs made it into the people’s common repertoire. Only the patriotic songs composed in the 1980s during the so-called new national awakening reached a popularity comparable to that of the old songs. The discourse on ’Estonianness’ and the shaping of a matching repertoire under imperial Russian rule took place under very different circumstances than its preservation and development in the second half of the 20th century under Soviet occupation, but

  2. Energy consumption of public administration and the services sector in the Netherlands, 1995; Energieverbruik van openbaar bestuur en dienstverlening, 1995

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1999-07-01

    In 1995 the energy consumption of the sectors public administration, defence and mandatory social insurance was investigated. Also attention was paid to the energy consumption in the sectors environmental services, organizations for employees, employers and professions, and other non-profit and political organizations, cultural, sports and recreational sectors, and other services. The investigation concerned the use of natural gas, electricity, district heating, and domestic fuel oil.

  3. Environmental costs os service sector and new economy; Los costes ambientales del sector servicios y la nueva economia: entre la desmaterializacion y efecto rebote

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Carpintero, O.

    2003-07-01

    The growing size of the service sector in developed countries and the recent emergence of the new economy have contributed to extend a controversial message: the service sector and the Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) are less intensive in energy and materials use than industrial and agricultural activities. then, it is possible to maintain the current pattern of economic growth without taking into account its environmental costs. This paper explores the truthfulness, of those arguments, paying particular attention to some empirical evidences. These facts invite to caution when it comes to evaluating the green influence of ICTs in the reduction of the environmental costs of industrial economies. (Author)

  4. Determination of consumption biogenic solid fuels in the commercial sector, trade, services (tertiary sector). Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viehmann, Cornelia; Westerkamp, Tanja; Schwenker, Andre; Schenker, Marian; Thraen, Daniela; Lenz, Volker; Ebert, Marcel

    2012-01-01

    The policy has both national and European level ambitious program aimed at expansion of renewable energy and related to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In the national action plan for renewable energy of the Federal Republic of Germany these goals are defined by 2020. The share of renewable energy in the provision of heat and cold should therefore rise from 6.6% to 15.5% of gross final energy consumption. According to the increasing importance of solar-thermal, near-surface and geothermal heat, the relative share of biomass is decreasing. However biomass makes with those listed in the national action plan with 79% an essential amount in regenerative heat market [BMU 2010]. For the pursuit of goals and reviews, the support measures and packages of measures which are initiated in this context, a regular and timely reporting on the development of the above objectives is mandatory. The diverse and growing reporting requirements such as in the EU directive on the promotion of renewable energy, require, however well-founded knowledge of the sector-specific energy consumption from renewable sources. While the data available for use of biogenic solid fuels in the sectors household and industry has improved significantly in recent years, for the sector commercial sector, trade, services (tertiary sector) reliable figures are still lacking. Against this background, the objective is to present study, in close cooperation with the Federal Environment Agency (UBA), the determination of the final energy consumption biogenic solid fuels in the tertiary sector in Germany for the year 2008. The basis is, in addition to the development of the current knowledge of the energy and heat consumption, the delimitation and characterization of the sector and the development of an extrapolation tools. The demand for this tool is its expandability and update possibility. From the industry-nonspecific and industry-specific input data can be derived, collecting for the extrapolation

  5. Exploring the value of a design for service approach to develop public services in the Community Voluntary Sector: a comparative analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Warwick, Laura; Young, Robert; Lievesley, Matthew

    2014-01-01

    This paper presents the findings from two action research case studies that explore the value of using a ‘design for service’ approach to develop public services in the community voluntary sector (CVS). Each case study was conducted within a CVS organisation that was developing or offering public services. Both were local charities that are part of UK federations; the first offering mental health and wellbeing services, the second providing community education services. \\ud \\ud The paper will...

  6. The Flexible Care Service: a third-sector service for older people with mental health needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryder, Elaine

    2015-01-01

    Demographic patterns indicate that by 2030, one in five people in England will be over 65. Together with the fact that as people age they are more likely to suffer from comorbidities, it is of paramount importance that local services are designed to meet the needs of individual older people. The Flexible Care Service is a resource for older people with mental health problems. Through the use of client case studies, the Department of Health's 'six Cs' (care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment) are used as a framework to demonstrate how a third-sector service such as Flexible Care can offer a person-centred approach in order to meet the diverse needs of individual clients. The framework is also used to demonstrate the high level of skills needed by flexible carers in order to provide this support.

  7. Energy Efficiency Sector in Russia. Market Survey of Equipment and Services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2006-02-01

    The aim of the present Survey is to give an insight of energy efficiency (EE) in Russia and to assess the demand for EE equipment and services in the energy sector. In the Survey the term 'Energy Efficiency' means the efficient generation, distribution and consumption of heat and power. The main EE measures are classified as recovery of sources of energy, measuring and controlling systems, optimal use of the equipment, modernisation, in-house energy generation and renewable energy sources. Chapter 3 gives an overview of the current situation of the Russian energy sector. The term 'energy sector' is used in the context of generation, distribution and consumption of heat and power. The infrastructure and the ownership of the energy sector are examined. In this chapter special attention is paid to the Power Sector Reform and how the Reform affects the development of EE in the Russian energy sector. Chapter 4 describes the current situation in EE, giving the reasons of inefficiency in energy use and possible solutions for improving. Chapter 5 presents a market research of equipment that could make a great input into EE development. The research has shown that the most promising opportunities for suppliers of EE equipment lie in the heat sector (generation, distribution, consumption). This chapter also describes the development of ESCOs (Energy Service Companies) in Russia. Chapter 6 gives an overview of domestic and foreign capital available to finance EE development. According to conventional market based incentives, end users invest into increasing their profits more intensively than into projects aiming at energy saving. That is mostly because energy is relatively cheap in Russia and the federal governmental policy does not stimulate EE development either. Chapter 7 on the market approach advises on steps that have to be taken and risks that need to be avoided in order to enter the Russian market successfully. It warns of the possible pitfalls on this way. Chapter 8

  8. Mutational analysis of COL1A1 and COL1A2 genes among Estonian osteogenesis imperfecta patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhytnik, Lidiia; Maasalu, Katre; Reimann, Ene; Prans, Ele; Kõks, Sulev; Märtson, Aare

    2017-08-15

    Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a rare bone disorder. In 90% of cases, OI is caused by mutations in the COL1A1/2 genes, which code procollagen α1 and α2 chains. The main aim of the current research was to identify the mutational spectrum of COL1A1/2 genes in Estonian patients. The small population size of Estonia provides a unique chance to explore the collagen I mutational profile of 100% of OI families in the country. We performed mutational analysis of peripheral blood gDNA of 30 unrelated Estonian OI patients using Sanger sequencing of COL1A1 and COL1A2 genes, including all intron-exon junctions and 5'UTR and 3'UTR regions, to identify causative OI mutations. We identified COL1A1/2 mutations in 86.67% of patients (26/30). 76.92% of discovered mutations were located in the COL1A1 (n = 20) and 23.08% in the COL1A2 (n = 6) gene. Half of the COL1A1/2 mutations appeared to be novel. The percentage of quantitative COL1A1/2 mutations was 69.23%. Glycine substitution with serine was the most prevalent among missense mutations. All qualitative mutations were situated in the chain domain of pro-α1/2 chains. Our study shows that among the Estonian OI population, the range of collagen I mutations is quite high, which agrees with other described OI cohorts of Northern Europe. The Estonian OI cohort differs due to the high number of quantitative variants and simple missense variants, which are mostly Gly to Ser substitutions and do not extend the chain domain of COL1A1/2 products.

  9. Applying a Total Market Lens: Increased IUD Service Delivery Through Complementary Public- and Private-Sector Interventions in 4 Countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Julia N; Corker, Jamaica

    2016-08-11

    Increasing access to the intrauterine device (IUD), as part of a comprehensive method mix, is a key strategy for reducing unintended pregnancy and maternal mortality in low-income countries. To expand access to IUDs within the framework of informed choice, Population Services International (PSI) has historically supported increased IUD service delivery through private providers. In applying a total market lens to better understand the family planning market and address major market gaps, PSI identified a lack of high-quality public provision of IUDs. In 2013, PSI started a pilot in 4 countries (Guatemala, Laos, Mali, and Uganda) to grow public-provider IUD service delivery through increased public-sector engagement while maintaining its ongoing focus on private providers. In collaboration with country governments, PSI affiliates carried out family planning market analyses in the 4 pilot countries to identify gaps in IUD service delivery and create sustainable strategies for scaling up IUD services in the public sector. Country-specific interventions to increase service delivery were implemented across all levels of the public health system, including targeted advocacy at the national level to promote government ownership and program sustainability. Mechanisms to ensure government ownership were built into the program design, including a proof-of-concept approach to convince governments of the feasibility and value of taking over and scaling up interventions. In the first 2 years of the pilot (2013-2014), 102,055 IUD services were provided to women at 417 targeted public-sector facilities. These preliminary results suggest that there is untapped demand for IUD service delivery in the public sector that can be met in part through greater participation of the public sector in family planning and IUD provision. © White et al.

  10. Applying a Total Market Lens: Increased IUD Service Delivery Through Complementary Public- and Private-Sector Interventions in 4 Countries

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Julia N; Corker, Jamaica

    2016-01-01

    ABSTRACT Increasing access to the intrauterine device (IUD), as part of a comprehensive method mix, is a key strategy for reducing unintended pregnancy and maternal mortality in low-income countries. To expand access to IUDs within the framework of informed choice, Population Services International (PSI) has historically supported increased IUD service delivery through private providers. In applying a total market lens to better understand the family planning market and address major market gaps, PSI identified a lack of high-quality public provision of IUDs. In 2013, PSI started a pilot in 4 countries (Guatemala, Laos, Mali, and Uganda) to grow public-provider IUD service delivery through increased public-sector engagement while maintaining its ongoing focus on private providers. In collaboration with country governments, PSI affiliates carried out family planning market analyses in the 4 pilot countries to identify gaps in IUD service delivery and create sustainable strategies for scaling up IUD services in the public sector. Country-specific interventions to increase service delivery were implemented across all levels of the public health system, including targeted advocacy at the national level to promote government ownership and program sustainability. Mechanisms to ensure government ownership were built into the program design, including a proof-of-concept approach to convince governments of the feasibility and value of taking over and scaling up interventions. In the first 2 years of the pilot (2013–2014), 102,055 IUD services were provided to women at 417 targeted public-sector facilities. These preliminary results suggest that there is untapped demand for IUD service delivery in the public sector that can be met in part through greater participation of the public sector in family planning and IUD provision. PMID:27540122

  11. Radon in Estonian buildings. Establishment of a measurement system and obtained results

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pahapill, L.; Rulkov, A.; Swedjemark, G.A.

    1996-12-01

    One purpose of this project was the establishment of a radon monitoring programme inside the state environmental monitoring programme. Another purpose was to investigate regions, expected to have high radon levels indoors. A new method for the long-term measurement of indoor radon was established and the staff for these measurements was trained. The results of the measurement can be used by Estonian decision-makers to work out rules and standards. There is no legislative act in the field of radiation in Estonian at this time. To summarize the results of the measurements we can say that indoor radon concentrations vary by region. The radon investigations must be continued to identify the risk areas and types of housing construction. The results of the state radon monitoring are provided to the municipalities, who advice the owners of planned new houses to select the right construction for the house. A new project will follow with an investigation of radon in randomly selected dwellings, training and equipment for radon measurement in soil, and general advice with regard to radon, as well as assistance in preparing information about radon. 7 refs, 5 figs

  12. The Perceived Impact of External Evaluation: The System, Organisation and Individual Levels-Estonian Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seema, Riin; Udam, Maiki; Mattisen, Heli; Lauri, Liia

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of how the employees of higher education institutions perceive the impact of external evaluations. The study was conducted using the concurrent mixed method and involved 361 employees from Estonian universities and professional higher education institutions. The results indicated that…

  13. Assessment of the Estonian Research Development Technology and Innovation Funding System

    OpenAIRE

    Nedeva, Maria; Georghiou, Luke

    2003-01-01

    The objectives of the assessment of the RDTI funding system in Estonia as specified by the Terms of Reference are as follows: 1) to conduct a review of the current R&D funding system in Estonia; 2) to review the objectives of the Estonian R&D Strategy 2002-2006; 3) to review best practice in R&D funding elsewhere; and 4) to propose an efficient, transparent and accountable R&D funding system.

  14. The Problems of Estonian R&D and Innovation Strategy and the Demand-Side Innovation Policies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tõnu Roolaht

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The second larger Estonian R&D and Innovation Strategy ‘Knowledge-based Estonia 2007-2013’ is aimed at continuing the advancement of research and development efforts towards an innovative knowledge-based society and economic system in Estonia. Fostering of knowledge-based high-tech industries is seen as paramount for retaining country’s competitive advantage. However, the mid-term evaluations indicate that several goals of the strategy might not be achievable by 2013. In fact, the policy measures have been much more successful in developing scientific research, as indicated by increased international publication, number of patents, and number of researchers and engineers. The advances in development of high-tech products and services through innovations are noticeable but less prominent. The purpose of this study is to suggest the role for demand-side innovation policies in helping to advance commercial development and innovation

  15. Gender Advantages and Gender Normality in the Views of Estonian Secondary School Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuurme, Tiiu; Kasemaa, Gertrud

    2015-01-01

    The aim of the study on Estonian secondary school students was to obtain an overview of the gender-related views and experiences of the everyday school life by students, and to analyse the school-related factors in the development of gender roles and gender-related expectations. We view gender equality as a central condition for social…

  16. Re-conceptualizing mother tongue tuition of Estonian abroad as a transnational phenomenon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maarja Siiner

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The governmental initiative called the Compatriots Programme, which supports language tuition in Estonian schools and societies abroad, reveals an increased interest in developing intergenerational language transmission in the growing Estonian diaspora. This transnational language political activity signals a new era in language policy, where nation states are increasingly decentralized by migration. The evaluation of the program furthermore reveals that organizing such schools requires a willingness to take language political agency, typically conducted by well-educated and well-integrated resourceful transnational multilingual parents. The present article outlines the results of an ethnographic study of the process of establishing the Estonian School in Copenhagen. This step has demanded a change in the mindset still prevailing in Estonia that language political activities, such as planning language acquisition, are solely the responsibility of the state. Since the prevailing language ideology in Denmark is not favorable towards multilingualism in migrant languages, intergenerational language transmission furthermore presupposes a feeling of ownership of the language and high language self-esteem. "Hargmaise keelepoliitika sünd. Eesti keeleõppe korraldamise võimalikkusest välismaal Taani näitel" Hargmaisus, kasvav väljarändajate arv ja sellega ka eesti keele rääkijate hulk välismaal on jätnud oma jälje eesti keelepoliitikale. Kui varem uuriti peamiselt seda, kuidas eesti keel muukeelses kontekstis muutub, siis viimasel kümnendil on riik asunud aktiivselt toetama eesti keele jätkuvat kasutamist välismaal, rahastades rahvuskaaslaste programmi abil haridusprogramme. Kuid millised faktorid määravad selle, kas uus eestlaste põlvkond oskab ja tahab eesti keelt rääkida? Artikkel hindab etnograafilises ja sotsiolingvistilises võtmes Kopenhaagenis kolm aastat tegutsenud Eesti Kooli ja Lasteklubi näitel, millised on keelekasutust

  17. Promoting successful collaborations between domestic violence and substance abuse treatment service sectors: a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macy, Rebecca J; Goodbourn, Melissa

    2012-10-01

    Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization are more likely to struggle with substance abuse problems than are women who do not experience IPV. Given the connection between IPV victimization and substance abuse, recommended practices urge collaboration between domestic violence service agencies and substance abuse treatment agencies to provide comprehensive services for women with these co-occurring problems. However, domestic violence and substance abuse services have unique histories of development that have led to distinct ways of service delivery. To promote successful collaborations, service providers and researchers are developing strategies to foster relationships across the two service sectors. The authors conducted a review of this emerging body of knowledge with the aim of assembling recommendations for strategies to foster collaboration between domestic violence and substance abuse services. The authors identified 15 documents for review inclusion and our analysis established 5 categories of documents. Findings yield key collaboration strategies and recommended service models. In addition, the review determined the existence of considerable challenges to promoting collaborative relationships between domestic violence and substance abuse treatment service sectors.

  18. Developing an operational capabilities index of the emergency services sector.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collins, M.J.; Eaton, L.K.; Shoemaker, Z.M.; Fisher, R.E.; Veselka, S.N.; Wallace, K.E.; Petit, F.D. (Decision and Information Sciences)

    2012-02-20

    In order to enhance the resilience of the Nation and its ability to protect itself in the face of natural and human-caused hazards, the ability of the critical infrastructure (CI) system to withstand specific threats and return to normal operations after degradation must be determined. To fully analyze the resilience of a region and the CI that resides within it, both the actual resilience of the individual CI and the capability of the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) to protect against and respond to potential hazards need to be considered. Thus, a regional resilience approach requires the comprehensive consideration of all parts of the CI system as well as the characterization of emergency services. This characterization must generate reproducible results that can support decision making with regard to risk management, disaster response, business continuity, and community planning and management. To address these issues, Argonne National Laboratory, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Sector Specific Agency - Executive Management Office, developed a comprehensive methodology to create an Emergency Services Sector Capabilities Index (ESSCI). The ESSCI is a performance metric that ranges from 0 (low level of capabilities) to 100 (high). Because an emergency services program has a high ESSCI, however, does not mean that a specific event would not be able to affect a region or cause severe consequences. And because a program has a low ESSCI does not mean that a disruptive event would automatically lead to serious consequences in a region. Moreover, a score of 100 on the ESSCI is not the level of capability expected of emergency services programs; rather, it represents an optimal program that would rarely be observed. The ESSCI characterizes the state of preparedness of a jurisdiction in terms of emergency and risk management. Perhaps the index's primary benefit is that it can systematically capture, at a given point in time, the

  19. Seltsi muuseumist riigi keskmuuseumiks: ikka ajutiste lahendustega / Changes in the Estonian National Museum from 1909 to the present.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krista Aru

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Changes in the Estonian National Museum from 1909 to the presentThe Estonian National Museum was founded in Tartu in 1909 as part of the national movement. With its activities and connections in society, the ENM helped create Estonian society, the nation’s collective memory and identity.The ENM has always been – despite the changing locations, names, and content – one of the symbols of national identity. But at the same time, ENM has never had its own building designed specially for the museum’s purposes.Since 1909 there have been several attempts to establish a home for the ENM. At first (1909–1923, Estonian society wanted to establish the museum in the center of Tartu. The museum was intended to become a key institution of the growing nation and establishing the nation’s identity.At last in 1923 the ENM secured the Raadi manor, outside the center of the city, in a beautiful park, near the lake with its boats and water attractions. In this manor the first permanent exhibition of mainly 19th century Estonian peasant life was compiled, and the ENM operated in the Raadi manor from 1923–1940 as the “Estonian’s own museum” The years of alternating occupations, World War II, and political terror damaged and destroyed the whole society. The Raadi manor was destroyed in the war too, and the ENM itself was divided into two parts – the State Ethnographic Museum and the State Literary Museum. The collections of the ENM were given to Tallinn and to many different places inside and outside Tartu. Then began “the period of temporary location” that continues today. The museum is located in several places in the city of Tartu.In 1988, the prior name of the State Ethnographic Museum – the Estonian National Museum – was reinstated. Since the 1990s there have been many attempts to secure a special building for the ENM. Now, at last, as a result of serious economic pressure, we are closer to this goal than ever. During the last five

  20. Public sector leadership: Transforming the market for efficient products and services

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harris, Jeffrey [Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, CA (United States); Aebischer, Bernard [Swiss Federal Inst. of Technology, Zurich (Switzerland); Glickman, Joan [Federal Energy Management Program, Washington, DC (United States); Magnin, Gerard [Energie-Cites, Besancon (France); Meier, Alan [International Energy Agency, Paris (France); Viegand, Jan [Jan Viegand Analysis and Information, Copenhagen (Denmark)

    2005-07-01

    The public sector represents a significant share of all economic activity (15-25%) in Europe's industrial and transition economies. Government agencies, often the largest energy users and the biggest buyers of energy-using equipment, have significant potential to reduce energy use in their facilities and operations, while also saving taxpayer dollars and avoiding emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Public sector leadership can be the first step toward market transformation, as government creates entry markets and sets an example for other sectors to adopt efficient technologies and practices. While public sector energy efficiency has not been highlighted in EU or IEA policy compilations, many government agencies from the national to the municipal level have acted to reduce their own energy use, stimulate market demand, and provide an example to others through intergovernmental networking. Several EU projects have addressed the use of government buying power to help commercialize new technologies and to increase the market share of efficient appliances. However, additional steps are needed in order to establish public sector energy efficiency as a core element of energy and climate change policy in Europe. Based on a selected review of public sector energy efficiency activities in the EU we define five program categories: Policies and targets (energy/cost savings; pollution/CO{sub 2} reductions; measurement and verification; tracking and reporting); Public buildings (energy-saving retrofit and operation of existing facilities, as well as sustainability in new construction); Energy-efficient government procurement; Efficiency and renewable energy use in public infrastructure (transit, roads, water, and other public services); Information, training, incentives, and recognition of leadership by agencies and individuals; We discuss examples of program success, lessons learned, and future initiatives to strengthen these activities through increased

  1. Public sector leadership: Transforming the market for efficient products and services

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Harris, Jeffrey; Aebischer, Bernard; Glickman, Joan; Magnin, Gerard; Meier, Alan; Viegand, Jan

    2005-01-01

    The public sector represents a significant share of all economic activity (15-25%) in Europe's industrial and transition economies. Government agencies, often the largest energy users and the biggest buyers of energy-using equipment, have significant potential to reduce energy use in their facilities and operations, while also saving taxpayer dollars and avoiding emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases. Public sector leadership can be the first step toward market transformation, as government creates entry markets and sets an example for other sectors to adopt efficient technologies and practices. While public sector energy efficiency has not been highlighted in EU or IEA policy compilations, many government agencies from the national to the municipal level have acted to reduce their own energy use, stimulate market demand, and provide an example to others through intergovernmental networking. Several EU projects have addressed the use of government buying power to help commercialize new technologies and to increase the market share of efficient appliances. However, additional steps are needed in order to establish public sector energy efficiency as a core element of energy and climate change policy in Europe. Based on a selected review of public sector energy efficiency activities in the EU we define five program categories: Policies and targets (energy/cost savings; pollution/CO 2 reductions; measurement and verification; tracking and reporting); Public buildings (energy-saving retrofit and operation of existing facilities, as well as sustainability in new construction); Energy-efficient government procurement; Efficiency and renewable energy use in public infrastructure (transit, roads, water, and other public services); Information, training, incentives, and recognition of leadership by agencies and individuals; We discuss examples of program success, lessons learned, and future initiatives to strengthen these activities through increased recognition

  2. Corporate governance of public health services: lessons from New Zealand for the state sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, R; Barnett, P; Powell, M

    2000-01-01

    New Zealand public hospitals and related services were grouped into 23 Crown Health Enterprises and registered as companies in 1993. Integral to this change was the introduction of corporate governance. New directors, largely from the business sector, were appointed to govern these organisations as efficient and effective businesses. This article presents the results of a survey of directors of New Zealand publicly-owned health provider organisations. Although directors thought they performed well in business systems development, they acknowledged their shortcomings in meeting government expectations in respect to financial performance and social responsibility. Changes in public health sector provider performance indicators have resulted in a mixed report card for the sector six years after corporate governance was instituted.

  3. Vene kirjandus venestusaja eesti koolides. Russian Literature in the Estonian Schools of the Russification Era

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ülle Pärli

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available This article aims to give an overview of literary instruction in schools of the russification era at the beginning of the 20th century in Estonia; this was likewise the curriculum of literary study offered to the generation of educated youth which included the Young Estonians. Based on official documents, archival materials, and memoirs, and through analyses of anthologies, literary histories, and teaching methods in use at the time, we attempt to reconstruct the outlines of literary reading and requirements for students in various types of schools. When, as a result of school reform, Russian became the language of instruction; lessons in Russian became central in the curriculum, alongside the word of God; selections from Russian literature were read in the original language. In the lower grades, teaching was by the so-called ”natural method”, intended to guarantee swift achievement of fluency in ”living Russian language”; this was later replaced by systematic textual analysis, which distinguished between belles lettres and other types of texts. However, the study of literature was always subordinated to the goals of language instruction. In institutions of secondary education, study of Russian literature was separate from language instruction. Indeed, Russian literature was the only literature systematically studied in high schools (though one must keep in mind that not all schools completely followed the official program. Private schools were especially noticeable for their greater freedom, though all of them had to take general curriculum directives into account. Reading of literary texts connected with other languages thus had to remain almost purely illustrative. In view of the above, in the upper grades of elementary school and high school, students obtained a thorough introduction to the Russian classics. According to the official school curriculum, Russian literary history ended with Nikolai Gogol. Attempts were made to ignore

  4. [Encapsulated voices : Estonian sound recordings from the German prisoner-of-war camps in 1916-1918] / Tõnu Tannberg

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Tannberg, Tõnu, 1961-

    2013-01-01

    Arvustus: Encapsulated voices : Estonian sound recordings from the German prisoner-of-war camps in 1916-1918 (Das Baltikum in Geschichte und Gegenwart, 5). Hrsg. von Jaan Ross. Böhlau Verlag. Köln, Weimar und Wien 2012

  5. Health resources in a 200,000 urban Indian population argues the need for a policy on private sector health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furtado, Kheya Melo; Kar, Anita

    2014-04-01

    There are limited primary data on the number of urban health care providers in private practice in developing countries like India. These data are needed to construct and test models that measure the efficacy of public stewardship of private sector health services. This study reports the number and characteristics of health resources in a 200 000 urban population in Pune. Data on health providers were collected by walking through the 15.46 sq km study area. Enumerated data were compared with existing data sources. Mapping was carried out using a Global Positioning System device. Metrics and characteristics of health resources were analyzed using ArcGIS 10.0 and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Version 16.0 software. Private sector health facilities constituted the majority (424/426, 99.5%) of health care services. Official data sources were only 39% complete. Doctor to population ratios were 2.8 and 0.03 per 1000 persons respectively in the private and public sector, and the nurse to doctor ratio was 0.24 and 0.71, respectively. There was an uneven distribution of private sector health services across the area (2-118 clinics per square kilometre). Bed strength was forty-fold higher in the private sector. Mandatory registration of private sector health services needs to be implemented which will provide an opportunity for public health planners to utilize these health resources to achieve urban health goals.

  6. THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT IN THE SECTOR OF COMMERCIAL SERVICES IN PRICING PROCESS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon O. Iskajyan

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the role of the government in tariff design process. Due to advances in science and technology the sector of services provides more than 80% of GDP in several countries, thus the stable development of this sector is considered to be one of the most essential purposes. The state has three groups of tools through which it influences market processes: monetary, fiscal and administrative. Each group differently influences the tariff design process, but all of them are considered to be external factors of pricing and they are not always stable the market processes as it’s needed.

  7. Estonian Perceptions of Security: Not Only About Russia and the Refugees

    OpenAIRE

    Veebel Viljar; Ploom Illimar

    2016-01-01

    The current study focuses on the Estonian perceptions of security and on the defence situation both globally and locally. The dynamic results of the public opinion surveys on security risks conducted in Estonia over the last 10 years (2006-2016) will be presented. In addition, to understand whether some of the security risks could be over- or underestimated in Estonia, these results will be compared with the views expressed recently by the World Economic Forum, particularly the Global Risks R...

  8. Community/hospital indicators in South African public sector mental health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lund, Crick; Flisher, Alan J

    2003-12-01

    The need to balance resources between community and hospital-based mental health services in the post-deinstitutionalisation era has been well-documented. However, few indicators have been developed to monitor the relationship between community and hospital services, in either developed or developing countries. There is a particular need for such indicators in the South African context, with its history of inequitable services based in custodial institutions under apartheid, and a new policy that proposes the development of more equitable community-based care. Indicators are needed to measure the distribution of resources and the relative utilisation of community and hospital-based services during the reform process. These indicators are potentially useful for assessing the implementation of policy objectives over time. To develop and document community/hospital indicators in public sector mental health services in South Africa. A questionnaire was distributed to provincial mental health coordinators requesting numbers of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff who provide mental health care at all service levels, annual patient admissions to hospitals and annual patient attendances at ambulatory care facilities. The information was supplemented by consultations with mental health coordinators in each of the 9 provinces. Population data were obtained from preliminary findings of the 1996 census. The community/hospital indicator measuring staff distribution was defined as the ratio of staff employed in community settings to all staff, expressed as a percentage. The community/hospital indicator measuring patient service utilisation was defined as the ratio of the annual ambulatory care attendance rate per 100,000 population to the sum of this rate and the annual hospital admission rate per 100,000 population, expressed as a percentage. Of psychiatric public sector staff, 25% are located in community settings in South Africa (provincial range: 11-70%). If hospital outpatient

  9. How to Improve the Supportive Role of Estonian Innovation System toward Launching New Products by High Technology Companies?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liisi Sepp

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study is to evaluate how supportive is Estonian national innovation system toward the launching of new innovative products by high technology firms. The article intends to combine two broad areas of research – national innovation system approach and the different models of the new product launching. Based on the literature review and in-depth analysis of three case studies of Estonian high-tech company’s major barriers as well success factors of highly innovative product launches were identified. The barriers of the new product launching were linked with the systemic failures of the national innovation system. The most relevant failures of Estonian national innovation system inhibiting the new product development are capability and networking failures. The sources of innovation of high-technology firms are too narrow, linkages with domestic firms and higher education institutions as well with foreign firms are poorly developed. High-tech firms have also serious capacity problems due to the extremely weak support mechanism by national innovation system on the seed funding stage of product development and prototype building stage as well. Paper argues that resources needed for the innovation should not be looked too narrowly following linear innovation model approach. Instead interactive approach is needed, which combines capability building, network development, interactive learning with direct investments into fundamental research.

  10. Tõlkepärl eesti ilukirjanduse algusaegadest – esimene eestikeelne robinsonaad / A Translation Gem from the Beginnings of Estonian Literature - the First Robinsonade

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ave Mattheus

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Teesid: Artiklis uuritakse Eesti Kirjandusmuuseumis asuvat mahukat, ligi 800 lk tõlkekäsikirja „Norem Robinson“, mida võib pidada esimeseks eesti kirjanduse täiemahuliseks robinsonaadiks. Selle valmistas Pärnu koolmeister Heinrich Gottlieb Lorenzsonn saksa pedagoogi ja koolikirjaniku Joachim Heinrich Campe menukast noorsooromaanist „Robinson der Jüngere“ (1779–1780. Tõlge valmis 1822.–1823. aastal, kuid jõudis trükki alles 1842. aastal tugevasti kärbitud ja mugandatud kujul. Toetudes deskriptiivse tõlkeuurimuse analüüsikategooriatele, vaadeldakse artiklis, millised tegurid tõlkeprotsessi suunasid ja milline oli kultuuriruum, kuhu tõlge omal ajal paigutus. SU M M A R Y This article discusses a voluminous manuscript translation of almost 800 pages entitled Norem Robinson (Engl. Robinson the Younger, from the collections of the Estonian Literary Museum. This manuscript can be considered as the first complete Robinsonade in Estonian literature. Its author is a schoolteacher from Pärnu, Heinrich Gottlieb Lorenzsonn (1803–1847, who translated it from the youth novel Robinson der Jüngere(1779–1780, Engl. Robinson the Younger, a bestseller by the educator, writer and a major representative of German Enlightenment, Heinrich Joachim Campe. Lorenzsonn’s translation was completed in 1822–1823, but not printed until 1842 in a strongly adapted version titled Norema Robinsoni ello ja juhtumised ühhe tühja sare peäl (Engl. The Life and Adventures of Robinson the Younger on a deserted island. The print version of the Robinsonade lacks a pedagogical frame story, where the father tells children about the adventures of Robinson and takes the opportunity to discuss and imitate with children all the actions taken by Robinson the Younger. Due to this and other extirpated parts, the possible target audience was enlarged – besides children and youth, the text was now addressed to adults as well. In accordance with the

  11. Short outlines of books by Estonian authors : [annotations] / Rutt Hinrikus, Janika Kronberg

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Hinrikus, Rutt, 1946-

    1998-01-01

    Laretei, Käbi. Eksiil; Toona, Elin. Lotukata; Park, Eeva. Naeru õpilane; Luik, Viivi. Inimese kapike; Laaman, Ilona. Vesi ahjus; Viiding, Juhan (Üdi, Jüri). Kogutud luuletused; Paju, Juhan. Katkenud romaan; Paju, Juhan. Hõõguv rist; Estonian short stories / toim. Kajar Pruul ja Darlene Reddaway; Traat, Mats. Kartaago kiirrong; Kauksi Ülle. Säng; Kross, Jaan. Paigallend; Puhvel, Madli. Symbol of dawn; Kaplinski, Jaan. Võimaluste võimalikkus; Kaplinski, Jaan. Usk on uskmatus

  12. Opportunities for business and partnership : services sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mendoza Fernandez, J.

    1999-01-01

    Mexico is one of the countries with the highest industrial growth in Latin America. This is due to its geographical location, its vast oil and gas reserves, its membership in NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), and mainly because of its modern economic policies. Mexico is a country in which many opportunities for private investment in the energy sector exist. This paper discussed Bufete Industrial Construcciones' involvement and experiences in the fields of petroleum, electricity and natural gas. The goals to be achieved in the various areas of the energy sector for the 2000-2006 period were summarized for the electric sector, the natural gas sector and the oil and gas extraction sector. The 4 mega projects currently underway include the Cantarell, the Burgos, the Ku-Maloob Zaap and the Delta del Grijalva projects

  13. The price effects of enhancing services sector competition in a large open economy

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    P.A.D. Cavelaars

    2003-01-01

    textabstractThis paper studies the price e?ects of shocks to the degree of competition. It is motivated by initiatives to enhance competition in services in the European Union. The paper shows that a higher degree of competition in the nontradable goods sector may have adverse implications for

  14. The art of the possible. On the necessary conditions for cross-sector cooperation in a New Public Management oriented health service

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Høgsgaard, Ditte Merete

    2017-01-01

    Despite the current mantra that cross-sector teamwork and communication are the decisive factors in any attempt at creating an integrated and holistically oriented health service, the current institutional structures and conditions seem to actively stymie such cooperation. A high powered debate...... on the necessity of properly functioning cross-sector cooperation in the health service proceeds in its own isolated context and is also challenged at its very roots by the New Public Management (NPM) creed that has informed health service management in recent decades. The aim here is to investigate how tension...... and paradoxes in that cross-sector teamwork impact upon the ability of healthcare professionals across the relevant sectors to work together effectively towards the discharge of a patient. All this with a view to creating an integrated and holistic process for that patient....

  15. Psychosocial safety climate: a multilevel theory of work stress in the health and community service sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dollard, M F; McTernan, W

    2011-12-01

    Work stress is widely thought to be a significant problem in the health and community services sector. We reviewed evidence from a range of different data sources that confirms this belief. High levels of psychosocial risk factors, psychological health problems and workers compensation claims for stress are found in the sector. We propose a multilevel theoretical model of work stress to account for the results. Psychosocial safety climate (PSC) refers to a climate for psychological health and safety. It reflects the balance of concern by management about psychological health v. productivity. By extending the health erosion and motivational paths of the Job Demands-Resources model we propose that PSC within work organisations predicts work conditions and in turn psychological health and engagement. Over and above this, however, we expect that the external environment of the sector particularly government policies, driven by economic rationalist ideology, is increasing work pressure and exhaustion. These conditions are likely to lead to a reduced quality of service, errors and mistakes.

  16. Service Recovery, Satisfaction and Customers’ Post Service Behavior in the Malaysian Banking Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaheen MANSORI

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Financial services sector has become so competitive after Malaysia government’s liberalization policy. In order to address this intense competition, banks have shifted their strategy from product-centered to a customer-centered strategy. This study is to test a model related to the relationship between the service recovery, customer satisfaction and the after purchase behavior by the customers. To test the proposed model, 370 self-administered questionnaires were distributed. The analyses based on Structural Equation Modeling (SEM reveal that there are direct relationships between perceived distributive justice, perceived procedural justice, perceived interactional justice and customer satisfaction in regard to service recovery. The results also show that customer satisfaction increases the level of trust among customers. There is also a high possibility that satisfied customers will spread positive word of mouth that can reinforce the good reputation of the service provider. Bootstrap is used to examine the mediation effects of satisfaction and the results show that customer satisfaction fully mediates the relationship between perceived interactional justice and word of mouth. The results also indicate that customer satisfaction partially mediate the following relationships; perceived distributive justice with word of mouth, perceived procedural justice with word of mouth and perceived interactional justice with perceive trust. However, the fact that this study is conducted by using cross sectional method, focuses on banking industry and covers a small area of the country should be taken into consideration for any generalization of results.

  17. Public service motivation and job performance of public sector employees in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leisink, P.L.M.; Steijn, B.

    2009-01-01

    This article contributes in three ways to our understanding of public service motivation (PSM) and its effects. In the first place, it applies an abridged version of Perry's measurement scale in the Dutch public sector. Although the results of the analysis show that PSM is a valid concept in this

  18. The dominance of indirect taxes in Estonian state budget. Summary:Kaudsete maksude dominant Eesti riigieelarve tuludes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olev Raju

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Recession has sharply erected the question of tax burden and the optimal proportion of different kinds of taxes among the incomes of the budget. Indirect taxes and consumption taxes, which proportion is different according to different methodologies, dominate in Estonian state budget. The buoyancy of a tax system based on taxes of that kind is especially weak during the recession. The purpose of Estonian government’s economic policy during the highest peak of crisis was to keep the budget in balance. Instead of recovering economy the taxes were arisen and costs were reduced. The results of such a policy aren’t still clear. Difficulties concerning the incomes of budget have arisen the necessity for lifting taxes, which is possible as the tax burden is low now. But a sharp question of the optimal level of taxes is going to be raised. A formula for indirect tax optimum according to Ramsey taxes and Slutski decomposition has been proposed in the article

  19. The Estonian diaspora in South-West Russia in the 1920—30s: migration results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stupin Yuri

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the spatial features of the settling of Russian Estonians in the Northwest region at the “zenith” of diaspora on the basis of 1920, 1926, and 1939 censuses. The author identifies the principal settling areas and points out the geographical preconditions for the rapid decline of the diaspora.

  20. The slow search for solutions: Lessons from historical energy transitions by sector and service

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fouquet, Roger

    2010-01-01

    This paper reviews past energy transitions by sector and service to identify features that may be useful for future transitions. Although often considered a single event, the transition from traditional energy sources to fossil fuels involved numerous services and sectors at different times between 1500 and 1920. The main economic drivers identified for energy transitions were the opportunities to produce cheaper or better energy services. The existence of a niche market willing to pay more for these characteristics enabled new energy sources and technologies to be refined gradually until they could compete with the incumbent energy source. Nevertheless, this implied that, on average, the whole innovation chain took more than 100 years and the diffusion phase nearly 50 years. In the same way, low-carbon energy sources and technologies offer an additional characteristic (i.e. low carbon impact), which might be able to develop gradually in a niche market until they can compete with fossil fuels. However, because of consumers' tendency to free-ride, a successful transition will need governments to provide protection of this niche market-possibly for decades. Based on past experiences, a complete transition to a low carbon economy is likely to be very slow.

  1. ASSESSING CUSTOMERS’ PERCEIVED SERVICE QUALITY IN PRIVATE SECTOR BANKS IN INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rajeev Kumar Panda

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims at constructing a measure of service quality for Indian private sector banks. The SERVQUAL model was used. In total 28 variables were considered to find their relative importance from customers’ point of view. Factor analysis was used to reduce redundant variables and finally four dimensions were identified that are the dependability with facility, guarantee, security with value added services and compassion with cordialness. Then RIDIT test was done to identify the prioritization pattern that customers assign to different variables. The result shows that customers believe that bank’s effort in instill confidence in customers, the bank’s concern for customers’ best interest and safety standards in transactions are vital factors for improving customer satisfaction.

  2. Expansion in the private sector provision of institutional delivery services and horizontal equity: evidence from Nepal and Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hotchkiss, David R; Godha, Deepali; Do, Mai

    2014-07-01

    Wealth-related inequity in the use of maternal healthcare services continues to be a substantial problem in most low- and middle-income countries. One strategic approach to increase the use of appropriate maternal healthcare services is to encourage the expansion of the role of the private sector. However, critics of such an approach argue that increasing the role of the private sector will lead to increased inequity in the use of maternal healthcare services. This article explores this issue in two South Asian countries that have traditionally had high rates of maternal mortality-Nepal and Bangladesh. The study is based on multiple rounds of nationally representative household survey data collected in Nepal and Bangladesh from 1996 to 2011. The methodology involves estimating a concentration index for each survey to assess changes in wealth-related inequity in the use of institutional delivery assistance over time. The results of the study suggest that the expansion of private sector supply of institutional-based delivery services in Nepal and Bangladesh has not led to increased horizontal inequity. In fact, in both countries, inequity was shown to have decreased over the study period. The study findings also suggest that the provision of government delivery services to the poor protects against increased wealth-related inequity in service use. Published by Oxford University Press in association with The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

  3. E-commerce application study and complementary services in the sector of laboratory diagnostics based on consumers' opinion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kontis, Alexios-Patapios; Siassiakos, Konstantinos; Kaimakamis, Georgios; Lazakidou, Athina

    2010-01-01

    The field of the Laboratory Diagnostics (in vitro), a sector of the field of health services, constitutes an industrial market that includes activities of research, development, production and products distribution that are designated for laboratory use. These products are defined as techno-medical products including various categories of products such as simple medicines, advanced technological systems, etc. Despite the high performance, the enlargement and the increasing trends of the field, it is not recorded the expected progress in the methods and the ways of promotion, trading and supporting of these products in the market. The present paper aims at the investigation of the consumers' opinion and the specification of those services that are possible to be implemented in electronic services and commerce for a strongly competitive advantage for the enterprises of the sector. The analysis of the findings from the Consumer Purchase Decision Centres (CPDC) shows how important it is to implement web-based applications in the proposed services.

  4. Exploring Constructivist Social Learning Practices in Aiding Russian-Speaking Teachers to Learn Estonian: An Action Research Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kiilo, Tatjana; Kutsar, Dagmar

    2012-01-01

    Based on appreciative inquiry and threshold concepts from an intercultural learning perspective, the article makes insights into the constructivist social learning practice of Estonian language learning amongst Russian-speaking teachers in Estonia. The application of educational action research methodology, more specifically that of Bridget…

  5. Staff and bed distribution in public sector mental health services in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiran Sukeri

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Background. The Eastern Cape Province of South Africa is a resource-limited province with a fragmented mental health service.  Objective. To determine the current context of public sector mental health services in terms of staff and bed distribution, and how this corresponds to the population distribution in the province. Method. In this descriptive cross-sectional study, an audit questionnaire was submitted to all public sector mental health facilities. Norms and indicators were calculated at provincial and district level. This article investigates staff and bed distribution only. Results. Results demonstrated that within the province, only three of its seven districts have acute beds above the national baseline norm requirement of 13/100 000. The private mental health sector provides approximately double the number of medium- to long-stay beds available in the public sector. Only two regions have staff/population ratios above the baseline norm of 20/100 000. However, there are significant differences in this ratio among specific staff categories. There is an inequitable distribution of resources between the eastern and western regions of the province. When compared with the western regions, the eastern regions have poorer access to mental health facilities, human resources and non-governmental organisations.  Conclusion. Owing to the inequitable distribution of resources, the provincial authorities urgently need to develop an equitable model of service delivery. The province has to address the absence of a reliable mental health information system.

  6. Impact of Affirmative Action on Quality of Service Delivery in the Public Service Sector of Kenya: A Comparative Case Study of the Ministry of State in the Office of the President and Ministry of Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kilonzo, Evans Mbuthi; Ikamari, Lawrence

    2015-01-01

    This study was carried out to determine the impact of affirmative action policy on the quality service delivery in the public service sector of Kenya. The study was carried out on the premise that there is a relationship between affirmative Action implementation and the quality of service delivery in the public service sector of Kenya. A lot of…

  7. Guide to resource conservation and cost savings opportunities in the food service sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1998-03-01

    Opportunities for conserving energy and water, as well as reducing waste, within the 24,000 establishment-strong food service sector in Ontario are identified. Operators are encouraged to take advantage of these opportunities to lower their costs while conserving valuable resources at the same time. In preparing this guide, site visits were carried out at six food service facilities in Ontario. Information about how much money is generally spent on energy, water and waste management by food service operators is provided. The amount and type of waste generated by these facilities is also described. The volatility of the commercial food service market place was identified as one of the major impediments to energy conservation. It was found that most owners of the food service facilities make business decisions based on the lowest first costs, irrespective of longer-term energy efficiency and operating costs. 31 refs., 13 tabs., 9 figs., 4 appendices.

  8. The Impact of Institutions on the Destandardization of Female Employment Patterns in the Services Sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leschke, Janine

    Increasing female labour market participation is arguably one of the decisive factors in explaining a destandardisation of the European employment model. Due to a lack in institutions that allow combining wage and care work and in light of unequal gender distribution of care work women...... of women in specific occupations with the services sector. This paper makes use of the cross-country variation in terms of destandardisation of female employment as compared to male employment and tries to explain the country differences by way of institutions (particularly child- and elderly care but also...... at the country level the OECD family data base is used. Besides presenting descriptive statistics on the gender gaps in the services sector with regard to flexible forms of work, including their overlaps, the paper also makes use of multilevel analysis to explain the country differences in the gender gaps...

  9. Determinants of Shift Work impacting Job Satisfaction: A study on Service Sector Organizations in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wasim Abbas Awan

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to investigate the impact of determinants of shift work on job satisfaction in service sector organizations of Pakistan. History reveals that the invention of Thomas Edison brought the change in working environment and industrial revolution results in the birth of shift works. A great number of theories in Management are there to define Job satisfaction. All of them show the relationship between ability to perform and the productivity. In order to investigate their impact descriptive study is taken in to account in which survey research method is used to collect data. On the basis of quantitative analysis this study reveals that determinants of shift work has positive impact on job satisfaction. Finally recommendations are made to increase shift work in service sector organizations of Pakistan so that people may upraise their standards of living.

  10. Electricity consumption and ICT in the French service sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Collard, Fabrice [Toulouse Univ., (GREMAQ-CNRS, IDEI), Toulouse (France); Feve, Patrick [GREMAQ-Univ. de Toulouse 1, Toulouse, 31 (France); Portier, Franck [Toulouse Univ., (GREMAQ, LEERNA, IDEI, IUF, CEPR), Toulouse (France)

    2005-05-01

    The paper documents the evolution of electricity use and the development of information and communication (IC) technologies in the French service sector. To that purpose, we put together two data sets documenting electricity consumption and the diffusion of IC capital goods. Using a simple factor demand model, we estimate the structural parameters of the model using both the time series and the cross-sectional dimension of the data, and allow for a specific effect of IC capital goods on the efficiency of electricity in production. We obtain robust results showing that, once controlled for technical progress, prices, and heated areas, electricity intensity of production increases with computers and software, while it decreases with the diffusion of communication device. (Author)

  11. Optimisation oriented lean six sigma development for maintenance management in service sector

    OpenAIRE

    Alsubaie, Barrak Hamdan

    2016-01-01

    This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University London This research deals with the optimization of preventive maintenance (PM) and process improvement for maintenance management in service sector. To stay competitive and sustain long-term profitability, process improvement methodologies have become strategically important for maintenance management in recent years. These include well-known approaches such as Total Quality Management (TQ...

  12. Economic Multipliers and Sectoral Linkages: Ghana and the New Oil Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dennis Nchor

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The study seeks to assess the structure of the economy of Ghana in terms of changes in the economic structure before and after the production of oil in commercial quantities. This is viewed with regards to economic multipliers, sectoral interdependence and trade concentration. The results show that changes occurred with regards to multipliers and sectoral interdependence. The output multipliers of most sectors have declined. The results also show that the agricultural sector experienced an initial decline in its growth while industry experienced an increase. The performance of the services sector was relatively stable for the period covered by the study. There is a decline in the level of trade concentration though on a whole the concentration index is still high. The study employed input-output modeling techniques and the data was obtained from the Ghana statistical service and the World Development Indicators.

  13. Non-market value of Estonian seminatural grasslands: a contingent valuation study. Eesti poolloodusliku rohumaa turuväline väärtus: tingliku hindamise uuring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helli Lepasaar

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Seminatural grasslands i.e. the floodplain meadows, seashore meadows, wooded meadows, dry meadows, wooded pastures are the very traditional part of Estonian landscapes, which play an important role in the appearance of the landscape in general and also serve as an important habitat for many plant and animal species. In order to preserve the seminatural grasslands continuous annual mowing and/or pasturing is needed. This activity is not economically profitable and needs subsidizing. The authors of the work raise a hypothesis that the Estonian seminatural grasslands could be viewed as a valuable non-market environmental good for which a significant public demand exists. In order to find out the non-market value of the seminatural grasslands a contingent valuation study was carried out among the Estonian working-age population (size of the sample 1061 individuals. The average individual willingness to pay was 11.3 euros. During the study, the authors constructed the total demand function and discovered that the total annual demand for seminatural grasslands was 17.9 million euros.

  14. The Impact of Robotics on Employment and Motivation of Employees in the Service Sector, with Special Reference to Health Care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammed Owais Qureshi

    2014-12-01

    Conclusion: Replacing employees with robots is an inevitable choice for organizations in the service sector, more so in the health care sector because of the challenging and sometimes unhealthy working environments, but, at the same time, the researchers propose that it should be done in a manner that helps in improving the employment and motivation of employees in this sector.

  15. An evaluation of the public sector optometric service provided within the health districts in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moraka E. Maake

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: In South Africa, optometry has been traditionally positioned within the private sector. The situation has gradually changed over the past two decades, with optometry being introduced into the public sector in many parts of the country. Despite the growing numbers, optometrists are still new within the public health sector, motivating this study to evaluate the eye care services they provide. Methods: A cross-sectional, retrospective, descriptive study was undertaken. Stratified random selection was applied to select the study sites, and systematic sampling was used to select patients’ files. A saturated sample of public sector optometrists employed in the selected districts completed study questionnaires. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, Version 21. Results: A total of 2968 records were reviewed, and gender distribution was 67.6% female and 32.4% male. Refraction (86.73% was the most frequently conducted test, followed by ophthalmoscopy (74.73%, colour vision (0.07% and gonioscopy (0.03%. The response rate for the questionnaires was 64.7%. Optometric outreach services were conducted by 54.5% of optometrists, and the majority (83.3% reported that the farthest outreach facility was more than 50 km from their base hospital. The availability of equipment at outreach facilities was less as compared to base hospitals, while some reported not having the necessary equipment even at base hospitals. None of the optometrists did contact lens fitting at outreach facilities. A lack of equipment was cited as one of the reasons for not providing this service by 100% of optometrists. Most optometrists (63.6% believed that more than 30% of their referrals might have been avoided if they had prescribed therapeutic agents to manage ocular conditions. Conclusion: Introducing optometrists within the public sector improves access to services for rural communities. However, the minimum standard of optometric care

  16. Enabling the maximum number of people to access essential services will not be possible without private sector involvement and appropriate pricing of the services concerned

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luc Rigouzzo

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Private sector provision of basic services (water, energy, financial services and housing for people in developing countries is a necessity if we really want to try to curb poverty. However, ‘traditional’ private funding is not spontaneously directed towards these sectors, largely as a result of rejecting the idea that poor population groups should ‘pay’ for essential services; an issue that has often been the subject of opposition campaigns mounted by social stakeholders. Nevertheless, there are many, many examples to show that given the impact of these services on their quality of life, consumers in these countries - and especially those at the ‘bottom of the pyramid’ - are prepared to pay for them as long as they have access to a high-quality service. In these sectors, the nominal cost of the service concerned matters much less than its opportunity cost and the impact it will have on the lives of those who benefit from it. Very often, this service may even be paid for in advance as a way of enabling families to gain greater control over the expenditure they can devote to obtaining it.It is, however, important to distinguish between the supply of essential services and those of consumer goods, and - of course - to avoid abuses. In any event, the possibility of building financially-balanced models is what governs the process of securing sufficient funding from local and international financial institutions. In this area, as in others, the way forward is probably the happy medium: avoiding the excesses of overpricing, but accepting the need to maintain profitable economic models. These should enable investors to receive a level of profit that encourages them to continue and increase their investment, thereby increasing the number of recipients as quickly as possible. Aspiring to build social models that reject the ambition to achieve a reasonable profit and rule out any distribution of dividends to shareholders is to condemn the

  17. The 2011 Estonian High School Language Reform in the Context of Critical Language Policy and Planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skerrett, Delaney Michael

    2014-01-01

    This paper seeks to situate Estonian language use and policy within the emerging field of critical language policy and planning (CLPP) by investigating the discourses that frame linguistic behaviour. This done by way of an analysis of a series of interviews carried out with key actors in language policy in Estonia. The discourses framing language…

  18. Use of family planning and child health services in the private sector: an equity analysis of 12 DHS surveys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Nirali M; Sprockett, Andrea

    2018-04-24

    A key component of universal health coverage is the ability to access quality healthcare without financial hardship. Poorer individuals are less likely to receive care than wealthier individuals, leading to important differences in health outcomes, and a needed focus on equity. To improve access to healthcare while minimizing financial hardships or inequitable service delivery we need to understand where individuals of different wealth seek care. To ensure progress toward SDG 3, we need to specifically understand where individuals seek reproductive, maternal, and child health services. We analyzed Demographic and Health Survey data from Bangladesh, Cambodia, DRC, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Haiti, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Zambia. We conducted weighted descriptive analyses on current users of modern FP and the youngest household child under age 5 to understand and compare country-specific care seeking patterns in use of public or private facilities based on urban/rural residence and wealth quintile. Modern contraceptive prevalence rate ranged from 8.1% to 52.6% across countries, generally rising with increasing wealth within countries. For relatively wealthy women in all countries except Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Senegal and Zambia, the private sector was the dominant source. Source of FP and type of method sought across facilities types differed widely across countries. Across all countries women were more likely to use the public sector for permanent and long-acting reversible contraceptive methods. Wealthier women demonstrated greater use of the private sector for FP services than poorer women. Overall prevalence rates for diarrhea and fever/ARI were similar, and generally not associated with wealth. The majority of sick children in Haiti did not seek treatment for either diarrhea or fever/ARI, while over 40% of children with cough or fever did not seek treatment in DRC, Haiti, Mali, and Senegal. Of all children who sought care for diarrhea, more

  19. The Information Sector: Definition and Measurement.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porat, Marc U.

    In the last 20 years the U.S. economy had changed as a result of the increase in production, processing, and distribution of information goods and services. Three information sectors--the primary sector producing information goods and services, the private bureaucracy, and the public bureaucracy--are part of a six-sector economy. Today,…

  20. The Challenges Organic Food Processors Meet at Small Emerging Market – Estonian Case

    OpenAIRE

    Sarapuu, Kerttu; Pehme, Sirli; Peetsmann, Elen; Matt, Darja

    2014-01-01

    Organic farming and demand for organic products is continually a growing trend all over the world (Willer et al., 2013). In Estonia the share of organic land is 15% of all agricultural land and the number of organic farmers is also growing (Vetemaa, Mikk 2013). Estonian organic food market is still in forming stage being affected by local organic farming development, marketing situation, economic situation and consumer attitudes. Organic processing has clearly not kept up with organic farming...

  1. Innovation and the English National Health Service: a qualitative study of the independent sector treatment centre programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Turner, Simon; Allen, Pauline; Bartlett, Will; Pérotin, Virginie

    2011-08-01

    Over the past two decades, an international trend of exposing public health services to different forms of economic organisation has emerged. In the English National Health Service (NHS), care is currently provided through a quasi-market including 'diverse' providers from the private and third sector. The predominant scheme through which private sector companies have been awarded NHS contracts is the Independent Sector Treatment Centre (ISTC) programme. ISTCs were designed to produce innovative models of service delivery for elective care and stimulate innovation among incumbent NHS providers. This paper investigates these claims using qualitative data on the impact of an ISTC upon a local health economy (LHE) composed of NHS organisations in England. Using the case of elective orthopaedic surgery, we conducted semi-structured interviews with senior managers from incumbent NHS providers and an ISTC in 2009. We show that ISTCs exhibit a different relationship with frontline clinicians because they counteract the power of professional communities associated with the NHS. This has positive and negative consequences for innovation. ISTCs have introduced new routines unencumbered by the extant norms of professional communities, but they appear to represent weaker learning environments and do not reproduce cooperation across organisational boundaries to the same extent as incumbent NHS providers. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. A Blockchain Ecosystem for Digital Identity: Improving Service Delivery in Canada’s Public and Private Sectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Greg Wolfond

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Blockchain-based solutions have the potential to make government operations more efficient and improve the delivery of services in the public and private sectors. Identity verification and authentication technologies, as one of the applications of blockchain-based solutions – and the focus of our own efforts at SecureKey Technologies – have been critical components in service delivery in both sectors due to their power to increase trust between citizens and the services they access. To convert trust into solid value added, identities must be validated through highly-reliable technologies, such as blockchain, that have the capacity to reduce cost and fraud and to simplify the experience for customers while also keeping out the bad actors. With identities migrating to digital platforms, organizations and citizens need to be able to transact with reduced friction even as more counter-bound services move to online delivery. In this article, drawing on our own experiences with an ecosystem approach to digital identity, we describe the potential value of using blockchain technology to address the present and future challenges of identity verification and authentication within a Canadian context.

  3. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE INDUSTRIAL AND SERVICE SECTORS: A LITERATURE REVIEW OF THE IMPROVEMENTS OBTAINED THROUGH THE APPLICATION OF LEAN SIX SIGMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Carolina Martins Rosa

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available The present work is a review of literature, to identify the improvements acquired from the application of the Lean Six Sigma methodology in the industrial and service sectors in different countries. The PRISMA methodology was used to select relevant articles to the topic of work, and the bibliographic databases used for the research were the Google Scholar, SciELO, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis and Web of Science. The study counted on 27 articles to better exemplify these points, being 11 focused on the industrial sector and 16 on the services sector. It was evident that in both sectors the variability of the process and its waste were reduced, by eliminating non-value-added activities, improving process quality, productivity, efficiency, the service provided, increasing customer satisfaction, reducing costs and generating savings. It has been found that Lean Six Sigma is a versatile tool that can be adapted and applied in any segment, allowing potential opportunities for new research and applications.

  4. The Dominance of Indirect Taxes in Estonian State Budget

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olev Raju

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Recession has sharply erected the question of tax burden and the optimal proportion of different kinds of taxes among the incomes of the budget. Indirect taxes and consumption taxes, which proportion is different according to different methodologies, dominate in Estonian state budget. The buoyancy of a tax system based on taxes of that kind is especially weak during the recession. Difficulties concerning the incomes of budget have arisen the necessity for lifting taxes, which is possible as the tax burden is low now. But a sharp question of the optimal level of taxes is going to be raised. A formula for indirect tax optimum according to Ramsey taxes and Slutski decomposition has been proposed in the article.

  5. Procurement of construction services: a case study on bidding competition in Singapore public sector contracts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oo, B. L.; Yan, Y.

    2018-04-01

    There are many variables that public clients need to consider in their bidding procedure to enhance efficiency in their procurement for construction services. This paper focusses on the competitive bidding process for public sector procurement of construction services in Singapore. A distinctive feature of the Singapore government competitive bidding process is that full bidding feedback information is released to all competing bidders (and public). The specific objectives are: (i) to examine the degree of competition in the construction markets; and (ii) to examine the bidding performance of competing bidders. Based on a collection of bidding data for a 15-month period, the results show the market environment of the Singapore public sector construction contracting is highly competitive with long bidder lists. In selection of contractors, only 50% of the contracts were awarded to lowest bidders. The results also show that the competing contractors can be broadly classified into three groups based on their bidding performance in terms of number of bidding attempts, bidding success rate and bidding competitiveness. These results provide a useful insight into the bidding competition in the Singapore public sector construction contracting, especially to new market entrants and foreign contractors who want to bid for jobs in Singapore.

  6. Exploring the impact of customer relational benefit on relationship commitment in health service sectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weng, Rhay-Hung; Huang, Jin-An; Huang, Ching-Yuan; Huang, Shih-Chang

    2010-01-01

    An increasing number of health service sectors have begun to implement relationship marketing to try to establish long-term relationship with customers. Customer relational benefit has been an important subject for relationship marketing researchers. This study was conducted to investigate how customer relational benefit might influence relationship commitment in health service sectors. The research used a questionnaire survey that retrieved a total number of 403 valid questionnaires. The data were collected by way of personal visits and investigations of outpatients in three regional hospitals in Taiwan. After the reliability and the validity of the questionnaire sample were examined, the data were verified by using hierarchical regression analysis. Results showed that confidence benefit constituted the most pronounced factor for hospital customers. Confidence benefit, social benefit, and special treatment benefit were perceived by customers as the key factors that have a positive influence on relationship commitment. In particular, customers placing greater emphasis on confidence benefit tended to be less willing to establish relationship commitment. When health service managers develop marketing strategies using customer relational benefit, they will still need to enhance customer confidence benefit as one of the main ways of achieving future improvements. In the event where health service managers seek to install resources for establishing and maintaining a good relationship commitment with customers, the crucial factors of social and special treatment benefits should not be ignored when seeking to enhance the customers' perception of confidence benefit.

  7. Mental health and alcohol problems among Estonian cleanup workers 24 years after the Chernobyl accident.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laidra, Kaia; Rahu, Kaja; Tekkel, Mare; Aluoja, Anu; Leinsalu, Mall

    2015-11-01

    To study the long-term mental health consequences of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear accident among cleanup workers from Estonia. In 2010, 614 Estonian Chernobyl cleanup workers and 706 geographically and age-matched population-based controls completed a mail survey that included self-rated health, the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), alcohol symptoms (AUDIT), and scales measuring depressive, anxiety, agoraphobia, fatigue, insomnia, and somatization symptoms. Respondents were dichotomized into high (top quartile) and low symptom groups on each measure. Logistic regression analysis detected significant differences between cleanup workers and controls on all measures even after adjustment for ethnicity, education, marital status, and employment status. The strongest difference was found for somatization, with cleanup workers being three times more likely than controls to score in the top quartile (OR = 3.28, 95% CI 2.39-4.52), whereas for alcohol problems the difference was half as large (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.16-1.99). Among cleanup workers, arrival at Chernobyl in 1986 (vs. later) was associated with sleep problems, somatization, and symptoms of agoraphobia. The toll of cleanup work was evident 24 years after the Chernobyl accident among Estonian cleanup workers indicating the need for focused mental health interventions.

  8. Proficiency Assessment of Male Volleyball Teams of the 13-15-Year Age Group at Estonian Championships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stamm, Meelis; Stamm, Raini; Koskel, Sade

    2008-01-01

    Study aim: Assessment of feasibility of using own computer software "Game" at competitions. Material and methods: The data were collected during Estonian championships in 2006 for male volleyball teams of the 13-15-years age group (n = 8). In all games, the performance of both teams was recorded in parallel with two computers. A total of…

  9. Linking private, for-profit providers to public sector services for HIV and tuberculosis co-infected patients: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Mollie; Rutherford, George W; Weiser, Sheri; Fair, Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of infectious disease deaths worldwide and is the leading cause of death among people with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for collaboration between public and private healthcare providers to maximize integration of TB/HIV services and minimize costs. We systematically reviewed published models of public-private sector diagnostic and referral services for TB/HIV co-infected patients. We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, Science Direct, CINAHL and Web of Science. We included studies that discussed programs that linked private and public providers for TB/HIV concurrent diagnostic and referral services and used Review Manager (Version 5.3, 2015) for meta-analysis. We found 1,218 unduplicated potentially relevant articles and abstracts; three met our eligibility criteria. All three described public-private TB/HIV diagnostic/referral services with varying degrees of integration. In Kenya private practitioners were able to test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized TB medication, but they could not provide state-subsidized antiretroviral therapy (ART) to co-infected patients. In India private practitioners not contractually engaged with the public sector offered TB/HIV services inconsistently and on a subjective basis. Those partnered with the state, however, could test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized medications. In Nigeria some private providers had access to both state-subsidized medications and diagnostic tests; others required patients to pay out-of-pocket for testing and/or treatment. In a meta-analysis of the two quantitative reports, TB patients who sought care in the public sector were almost twice as likely to have been tested for HIV than TB patients who sought care in the private sector (risk ratio [RR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88-2.08). However, HIV-infected TB patients who sought care in the public sector were

  10. Linking private, for-profit providers to public sector services for HIV and tuberculosis co-infected patients: A systematic review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hudson, Mollie; Rutherford, George W.; Weiser, Sheri; Fair, Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    Background Tuberculosis (TB) is the leading cause of infectious disease deaths worldwide and is the leading cause of death among people with HIV. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for collaboration between public and private healthcare providers to maximize integration of TB/HIV services and minimize costs. We systematically reviewed published models of public-private sector diagnostic and referral services for TB/HIV co-infected patients. Methods We searched PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Google Scholar, Science Direct, CINAHL and Web of Science. We included studies that discussed programs that linked private and public providers for TB/HIV concurrent diagnostic and referral services and used Review Manager (Version 5.3, 2015) for meta-analysis. Results We found 1,218 unduplicated potentially relevant articles and abstracts; three met our eligibility criteria. All three described public-private TB/HIV diagnostic/referral services with varying degrees of integration. In Kenya private practitioners were able to test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized TB medication, but they could not provide state-subsidized antiretroviral therapy (ART) to co-infected patients. In India private practitioners not contractually engaged with the public sector offered TB/HIV services inconsistently and on a subjective basis. Those partnered with the state, however, could test for both TB and HIV and offer state-subsidized medications. In Nigeria some private providers had access to both state-subsidized medications and diagnostic tests; others required patients to pay out-of-pocket for testing and/or treatment. In a meta-analysis of the two quantitative reports, TB patients who sought care in the public sector were almost twice as likely to have been tested for HIV than TB patients who sought care in the private sector (risk ratio [RR] 1.98, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.88–2.08). However, HIV-infected TB patients who sought care

  11. SECTORAL SHARES AND ECONOMIC GROWTH

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahmad, Nisar; Naveed, Amjad; Naz, Amber

    2013-01-01

    believe that structural change is an unimportant side effect of the economic development. On the contrary, economists associated with the World Bank and some others posit that growth is brought about by the changes in sectoral composition. The objective of this study is to empirically test...... the relationship between sectoral shares and economic growth by using the panel data for 20 developed countries. The results of the granger causality suggest that both services and agriculture sectors do granger cause economic growth, whereas industrial sector does not granger cause growth. Reverse causality does...... not hold for any of the three sectors. The results of Barro and Non-Barro regressions along with the set of control variables have suggested that services sector is negatively affecting growth, whereas both industrial and agriculture shares are positively affect economic growth....

  12. Private Sector and Enterprise Development

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training ..... and ..structures that offer services to private sector enterprises and represent .... investment climate reform and the adoption of good governance practices. ..... Over two-thirds of the labour force in Jordan, the West Bank & Gaza, Iraq and Syria is in the service sector.

  13. Where Do Dead Books Go? The Problem of the Soviet Canon Today, on the Example of Johannes Becher's Work in Estonian

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katre Talviste

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the conception and editing process of an anthology of Johannes Becher’s poems (Unistades täiusest, 1962 in Estonian, and discusses its status in the Soviet and contemporary literary canon. The work on the Becher anthology was led by an already outstanding literary scholar Nigol Andresen and a young poet and translator Ain Kaalep, who later became one of the most prolific and wellknown poetry translators in Estonia. An important part was also played by another poet-translator, August Sang, who already had achieved such a standing in the Estonian literary field. Several other translators contributed to the anthology, making it a common project for intellectuals otherwise very differently positioned vis-à-vis the Soviet political authorities and cultural agendas. Becher’s work was strongly promoted by these instances, but his poetry was also read with genuine enthusiasm by the main contributors to the anthology (whose own poetry has certain parallels to some aspects of Becher’s, as well as the general public, at that time. After the fall of the Soviet regime it has been forgotten, mostly for the same contextual reasons that once granted its success. The case of his poetry in Estonian explores the question of this new invisibility of now politically irrelevant, but still voluminous and aesthetically intriguing literary works in the post-Soviet canon.

  14. Small distributed generation versus centralised supply: a social cost-benefit analysis in the residential and service sectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gulli, Francesco

    2006-01-01

    This paper aims at measuring the social benefits of small CHP distributed generation (DG) in the residential and service sectors. We do this by comparing the social costs of decentralised and centralised supplies, simulating 'ideal' situations in which any source of allocative inefficiencies is eliminated. This comparison focuses on assessing internal and external costs. The internal costs are calculated by simulating the optimal prices of the electricity and gas inputs. The external costs are estimated by using and elaborating the results of the dissemination process of the ExternE project, one of the most recent and accurate methodologies in this field. The analysis takes into account the main sources of uncertainty about the parameter values, including uncertainty about external cost estimations. Despite these sources of uncertainty, the paper concludes that centralised supply is still preferable to small DG. In fact, the overall range of DG social competitiveness is restricted, even considering further remarkable improvements in DG electrical efficiency and investment costs. The results are particularly unfavourable for the residential sector, whereas, in the service sector, the performance of DG technologies is slightly better

  15. With or without articles? A comparison of article-like determiners in Estonian and Finnish

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helen Hint

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we compare the use and functions of definite and indefinite article-like determiners in Estonian and Finnish. Our main aim is to explore whether the factors that explain the choice of particular determiner forms are similar in Estonian and Finnish. We use a picture-sequence based elicitation experiment to collect spoken narratives from adult native speakers of Estonian and Finnish, and apply non-parametric tree and forest models to analyze the data. Our findings indicate that number of mention and animacy are important predictor variables in both languages, but their exact effect is divergent. We also find that in Finnish, case of the determiner NP proves to be an important factor, while in Estonian, syntactic role of the NP explains some aspects of determiner form choice. Nevertheless, the overall usage frequency of determiners is modest in the Estonian and Finnish data, and the process of grammaticalizing articles is only in initial stages in both languages. *** Artikliga, artiklita? Eesti ja soome keele artiklilaadsete määratlejate võrdlus Siinses uurimuses analüüsime võrdlevalt artiklilaadseid definiitseid ja indefiniitseid määratlejaid eesti ja soome keeles. Eelkõige kõrvutame eesti keele definiitset määratlejat see ja soome keele definiitseid määratlejaid se ja tämä ning eesti ja soome indefiniitset määratlejat üks/yks(i. Samuti vaatleme eesti keele possessiivpronoomeni oma ning soome 3sg possessiivsufiksi (-nsa/-nsä, -Vn referentsiaalseid omadusi. Uurimuse põhieesmärgiks on selgitada, millised on peamised määratlejate kasutust mõjutavad keelelised faktorid eesti ja soome keeles ning kas need faktorid on keeliti sarnased või erinevad. Ühtlasi otsime vastust küsimusele, kas eesti ja soome keeles on põhjust rääkida määratlejate grammatisatsioonist artikliteks. Uuritav keelematerjal pärineb pildiseeria põhjal kogutud suulistest narratiividest. Uurimuses osales 20 eesti ja 20 soome keele

  16. Qualitative study investigating the commissioning process for older people's services provided by third sector organisations: SOPRANO study protocol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sands, Gina; Chadborn, Neil; Craig, Chris; Gladman, John

    2016-05-18

    The commissioning of third sector services for older people may influence the quality, availability and coordination of services for older people. The SOPRANO study aims to understand the relationships between and processes of commissioning bodies and third sector organisations providing health and social care services for older people. This qualitative study will be based in the East Midlands region of England. An initial scoping survey of commissioners will give an overview of services to maintain the health and well-being of older people in the community that are commissioned. Following this, semistructured interviews will be conducted with 4 sample groups: health and social care commissioners, service provider managers, service provider case workers and older service users. A sample size of 10-15 participants in each of the 4 groups is expected to be sufficient to reach data saturation, resulting in a final expected sample size of 40-60 participants. Informed consent will be gained from all participants, and those unable to provide informed consent will be excluded. The interview data will be analysed by 2 researchers using framework content analysis. Approval for the study has been gained from the University of Nottingham School of Medicine ethical review board, and the relevant approvals have been gained from the National Health Service (NHS) research and development departments for interviewing NHS staff. Early engagement with a wide range of stakeholders will ensure that the research findings are extensively disseminated to relevant stakeholders (including commissioners and third sector providers) in an accessible format using the extensive communication networks available to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care CLAHRCs (applied health research organisations covering all of England). The study will also be disseminated through academic routes such as conference presentations and

  17. Third sector primary care for vulnerable populations.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crampton, P; Dowell, A; Woodward, A

    2001-12-01

    This paper aims to describe and explain the development of third sector primary care organisations in New Zealand. The third sector is the non-government, non-profit sector. International literature suggests that this sector fulfils an important role in democratic societies with market-based economies, providing services otherwise neglected by the government and private for-profit sectors. Third sector organisations provided a range of social services throughout New Zealand's colonial history. However, it was not until the 1980s that third sector organisations providing comprehensive primary medical and related services started having a significant presence in New Zealand. In 1994 a range of union health centres, tribally based Mäori health providers, and community-based primary care providers established a formal network -- Health Care Aotearoa. While not representing all third sector primary care providers in New Zealand, Health Care Aotearoa was the best-developed example of a grouping of third sector primary care organisations. Member organisations served populations that were largely non-European and lived in deprived areas, and tended to adopt population approaches to funding and provision of services. The development of Health Care Aotearoa has been consistent with international experience of third sector involvement -- there were perceived "failures" in government policies for funding primary care and private sector responses to these policies, resulting in lack of universal funding and provision of primary care and continuing patient co-payments. The principal policy implication concerns the role of the third sector in providing primary care services for vulnerable populations as a partial alternative to universal funding and provision of primary care. Such an alternative may be convenient for proponents of reduced state involvement in funding and provision of health care, but may not be desirable from the point of view of equity and social cohesion

  18. From Public to Private Sector: Motives and Explanations for Sector Switching

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Jesper Rosenberg

    2014-01-01

    Sector switching is interesting in relation to understanding how to get and keep people working in the public sector as well as to understand public and private differences. This paper focuses on why public employees leave public organizations to work in the private sector. We use a design studying...... higher educated Danish employees who recently worked in the state, comparing those who shift job to another public organization with those who switch to the private sector. We focus on different motives for job shifts which may influence sector switching such as salary, job security, organizational...... characteristics and public service motivation....

  19. Medicaid Waivers and Public Sector Mental Health Service Penetration Rates for Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graaf, Genevieve; Snowden, Lonnie

    2018-01-22

    To assist families of youth with serious emotional disturbance in financing youth's comprehensive care, some states have sought and received Medicaid waivers. Medicaid waivers waive or relax the Medicaid means test for eligibility to provide insurance coverage to nonpoor families for expensive, otherwise out-of-reach treatment for youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance (SED). Waivers promote treatment access for the most troubled youth, and the present study investigated whether any of several Medicaid waiver options-and those that completely omit the means test in particular-are associated with higher state-wide public sector treatment penetration rates. The investigators obtained data from the U.S. Census, SAMHSA's Uniform Reporting System, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Analysis employed random intercept and random slope linear regression models, controlling for a variety of state demographic and fiscal variables, to determine whether a relationship between Medicaid waiver policies and state-level public sector penetration rates could be observed. Findings indicate that, whether relaxing or completely waiving Medicaid's qualifying income limits, waivers increase public sector penetration rates, particularly for youth under age 17. However, completely waiving Medicaid income limits did not uniquely contribute to penetration rate increases. States offering Medicaid waivers that either relax or completely waive Medicaid's means test to qualify for health coverage present higher public sector treatment rates for youth with behavioral health care needs. There is no evidence that restricting the program to waiving the means test for accessing Medicaid would increase treatment access. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Noor-Eesti enesekoloniseerimisprojekt. Teine osa Olulised kirjandusmõtteviisid . The Self-Colonization Project of Young Estonia. Part II. Modes of Literary Thinking and Relations with Colonialism in Estonian Literature of the beginning of the 20th century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiit Hennoste

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The topic of this article is the literary discourse of Young Estonia; its relations with other important Estonian literary discourses from the beginning of the 20th century, and its relations with colonial cultural discourse. First, I give an overview of the basic positions of the Young Estonians’ literary discourse, the main shapers of which were Friedebert Tuglas, Gustav Suits, later on Johannes Semper as well. Next, I present the basic principles of three Estonian literary discourses from the beginning of the 20th century, which were also important to the Young Estonians: nationalist-naturalistic (close-to-life; socialist/ class-based, and 20th century modernist. The Young Estonians began as nationalists and/or socialists. During the formation of Young Estonia’s discourse at the end of the first and beginning of the second decade of the 20th century, 20th century modernism began, which the Young Estonians regarded first and foremost with irony. The Young Estonians’ literary discourse is a mixture of aestheticism, decadence, symbolism, romanticism, and classicism. The point of departure for the Young Estonian approach to literature was eurocentrism. They took a superior and negative view of existing Estonian literature, which they regarded as having fallen drastically behind Europe. Since it was unable to build on its own foundation, it had to borrow from Europe. The discourse’s understandings of cultural values – theory, reading, knowledge, ready-made culture, derive from the centrality of the dynamic of borrowing. New culture could be created freely, without the support of previous local tradition; it was to be an elite culture, while the writer remained an individualist. Literature was to follow the principle of art for art’s sake; aesthetics and the form of the work of art were basic criteria. The formal ideals of the work of art were classicist: unity, integrity (wholeness, harmony, order, logic, etc. Thirdly, I outline the

  1. Key Factors of Quality in the Sector of Tourism Services Providers: Case Study: Czech Republic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ida Vajčnerová

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper summarizes main results of partial research aimed at detection of the key factors affecting quality in the sector of tourism services providers, namely tour operators and travel agencies. A primary questionnaire survey was conducted; the researched factors were distributed in the context of service quality dimensions (Grönroos model; the dimensions were tested in relation to sex, age and education of the respondents (ANOVA; Brown-Forsythe test. Assurance was identified as the most important dimension. The output of the study is determining the significance of individual quality factors from the perspective of a potential customer when selecting a service provider.

  2. Forming Social Partnership Policy in Vocational Training of Service Sector Specialists in Germany and Austria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kredenets, Nadiya

    2016-01-01

    The article deals with the problem of forming social partnership policy in vocational training of service sector specialists in Germany and Austria. The foreign and domestic pedagogical experience in establishing an effective system of social partnership in vocational education has been analyzed. The author has considered main factors of social…

  3. A Look at Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions in Two Service Sectors from Romania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carmen Andreea Vrânceanu

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The economic literature on culture has mainly focused on the influence of national culture and its role in determining the organizational culture. Hofstede has demonstrated in his research the importance of culture in determining human relations in the workplace. People can comply with both organizational rules and cultural norms, but truly give priority to the latter. Differences between organizational rules may appear depending on the organizations’ activity or depending on the employees’ professions. These differences between industries and professions remain little explored in literature. As a result, the article presents Hofstede’s model of the first five dimensions of national culture in th e Romanian service industry (individualism/collectivism, power distance, long/short term orientation, masculinity/femininity and uncertainty avoidance, by comparing the results obtained in two different domains: the hotel industry and the consultancy serv ices industry. The findings are interesting, as they reflect employees’ work values in two sectors of the service industry. Furthermore, the article discusses whether the national culture has a direct impact on the culture developed in a specific activity sector. Also, the article debates if the organizational culture is more powerful than the national culture by comparing the values obtained at national level and the values obtained at organizational level through Hofstede’s model. Another objective of the research is to point out the differences in cultural dimensions between the workers from the hotel industry and workers from the consultancy services industry. The implications of the conclusions are discussed, considering the limitations of the empirical study presented and the future research directions.

  4. Radon in Estonian dwellings - Results from a National Radon Survey

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pahapill, Lia; Rulkov, Anne; Rajamaee, Raivo [Estonian Radiation Protection Centre (Kiirguskeskus), Tallinn (Spain); Aakerblom, Gustav [Swedish Radiation Protection Authority, Stockholm (Sweden)

    2003-10-01

    A countrywide survey of radon concentrations in Estonian dwellings was carried out during the period 1998-2001. The survey formed a part of the cooperation program on radiation protection between the Estonian Radiation Protection (Kiirguskeskus) Centre and the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI). The survey included measurements in a number of dwellings representative for Estonia in detached houses and multifamily buildings (only dwellings on the bottom floor were included in the survey). Altogether, radon concentrations were measured in 515 dwellings, a number large enough to be statistically significant. All measurements were made with alphatrack film detectors of the same type that SSI uses in Sweden. The measurements were made during a 2-3 month period during the winter half-year. Two detectors were used in each dwelling. In Estonia there are 0.17 million dwellings in detached houses and 0.45 million in multi apartment buildings. Of the 1.26 million inhabitants in Estonia. 0.36 million live in detached houses and 0.90 million in multi apartment buildings. Most of the latter were built during the Soviet occupation. Of the dwellings in multifamily buildings 30 % are assumed to be situated on the first floor. The mean radon concentration in dwellings in detached hoses, according to the survey results, is 103 Bq/m{sup 3}, in dwellings on the bottom floor in multi apartment buildings it is 78 Bq/m{sup 3}. In 1% of the dwellings the radon concentration exceeded 400 Bq/m{sup 3}. The highest radon concentration found in the study was 1040 Bq/m{sup 3}. Based on the assumption that the average radon concentration in the dwellings in multi-apartment buildings that are not situated on the bottom floor is 30 Bq/m{sup 3}, and that these dwellings constitute 70% of all dwellings in multi apartment buildings, the mean radon concentration in dwellings in multi apartment buildings is calculated to be 44 Bq/m{sup 3}. The mean value for all Estonia dwellings is calculated

  5. Radon in Estonian dwellings - Results from a National Radon Survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pahapill, Lia; Rulkov, Anne; Rajamaee, Raivo; Aakerblom, Gustav

    2003-10-01

    A countrywide survey of radon concentrations in Estonian dwellings was carried out during the period 1998-2001. The survey formed a part of the cooperation program on radiation protection between the Estonian Radiation Protection (Kiirguskeskus) Centre and the Swedish Radiation Protection Authority (SSI). The survey included measurements in a number of dwellings representative for Estonia in detached houses and multifamily buildings (only dwellings on the bottom floor were included in the survey). Altogether, radon concentrations were measured in 515 dwellings, a number large enough to be statistically significant. All measurements were made with alphatrack film detectors of the same type that SSI uses in Sweden. The measurements were made during a 2-3 month period during the winter half-year. Two detectors were used in each dwelling. In Estonia there are 0.17 million dwellings in detached houses and 0.45 million in multi apartment buildings. Of the 1.26 million inhabitants in Estonia. 0.36 million live in detached houses and 0.90 million in multi apartment buildings. Most of the latter were built during the Soviet occupation. Of the dwellings in multifamily buildings 30 % are assumed to be situated on the first floor. The mean radon concentration in dwellings in detached hoses, according to the survey results, is 103 Bq/m 3 , in dwellings on the bottom floor in multi apartment buildings it is 78 Bq/m 3 . In 1% of the dwellings the radon concentration exceeded 400 Bq/m 3 . The highest radon concentration found in the study was 1040 Bq/m 3 . Based on the assumption that the average radon concentration in the dwellings in multi-apartment buildings that are not situated on the bottom floor is 30 Bq/m 3 , and that these dwellings constitute 70% of all dwellings in multi apartment buildings, the mean radon concentration in dwellings in multi apartment buildings is calculated to be 44 Bq/m 3 . The mean value for all Estonia dwellings is calculated to be 60 Bq/m 3 . Using

  6. Client-centeredness of Finnish and Estonian nursing students and the support from nursing education to develop it. Students' self-evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kalam-Salminen, Ly; Valkonen, Marjo-Riitta; Aro, Ilme; Routasalo, Pirkko

    2013-10-01

    The purpose of this comparative study is to describe the differences between Finnish and Estonian students evaluations about their client-centeredness and educational support they received to develop it. Client-centeredness has many positive effects on the quality and effectiveness of care. However, some deficiencies have been identified in the client-centeredness of nursing staff. Research on the subject has been limited, and we lack knowledge of graduating students' competence in client-centeredness and the support of their education to develop it. The sample consisted of 390 undergraduate nursing students, 195 from Finland and 195 from Estonia. The data were collected in 2009 using the structured five-point scale questionnaire. The questionnaire was designed to measure students' client-centeredness and the educational support they received from nursing education. The data were analyzed by the PASW Statistics 18-programme using descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and Mann-Whitney U-test. Predominantly, students in both countries evaluated their level of client-centeredness high. The Estonian students generally evaluated their client-centeredness higher compared to the Finnish students. The same applied to support provided by nursing education. The greatest differences were related to education and particularly theoretical teaching. In Estonia, students' client-centeredness manifested itself more in politeness and willingness to serve clients, whereas respecting the clients' values was emphasized in Finland. Students' requisites, referred here as knowledge, skills and abilities to implement client-centered nursing, for client-centeredness had deficiencies, and the support from education was also the weakest regarding these aspects. In future, education on development of nursing activities, acquisition of knowledge and services provided by health care as well as legislation should be enhanced, since these areas proved the most difficult for the students

  7. Ärkamisaeg, Noor-Eesti ja miski nende vahel. Eesti kirjandusloo küsimusi Juhan Kunderi näitel / National Awakening , Young Estonia and Something In Between. Problems of Estonian Literary History in the Example of Juhan Kunder

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pille-Riin Larm

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available According to the long-standing periodisation of Estonian literary history, the Estonian National Awakening that started in the mid-19th century was followed by a period of lesser creativity and originality, which ended only with the breakthrough of the modernist Young Estonia group in 1905. In the canon of Estonian literature, Juhan Kunder (1852–1888, today known primarily for his fairy tales, one play and lyrics of one song, is placed in this intermediate period. This article first introduces the significance of Kunder in his time. He was a popular writer and a wellknown pedagogue, and a younger contemporary of the great figures of the National Awakening. As a critic, magazine editor and literary historian, his most important contribution to literary history was in the development of literary thought. It seems that several precedents that have been attributed to the Young Estonia group, e.g., valuing originality, writing well-argued criticism, etc., actually originated from an earlier period. Based on these observations, the author of this article believes that the current structure of Estonian literary history is not adequately justified, and she points out a semantic shift in the terms in use. It is true that Kunder was largely an epigone of his predecessors, but in the positive sense of the term, meaning that he continued their mission. Similarly, Kunder’s predecessor, the ‘first Young Estonian’ Kreutzwald, and a representative of his 20th-century successors, Friedebert Tuglas, were also epigones. During the period of Russification that started during his era, Kunder’s attitudes could be considered progressive. Kunder was also a 19th-century contemporary of the Young Estonia group and a true Young Estonian in the original sense of the term which emerged in this period: a Young Estonian introduced new initiatives and was a leader of the national movement. Epigonism and membership in Young Estonia can be seen as the keys to cultural

  8. Product-Service System Design Approach for the Base of the Pyramid Markets: Practical Evidence from the Energy Sector in the Brazilian Context

    OpenAIRE

    Da Costa Junior, J.; Diehl, J.C.

    2013-01-01

    In Emerging Markets, the product-service system (PSS) design approach may represent a promising solution as a socially and environmentally sound path to economic development. In addition, the energy sector has a major role for the social-economic development and is central to poverty alleviation. Therefore, this study aims to analyse the challenges of increasing the well-being of the lowincome population by means of proposing functional systems of products and services for the energy sector w...

  9. IMPACT OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FIRM-LEVEL CONTROL VARIABLES ON DIVIDEND POLICY OF SERVICE TRADE SECTOR OF MALAYSIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Agha Jahanzeb

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper empirically investigates the impact of corporate governance factors (i.e. board size, board independence and CEO ownership and firm-level control variables (i.e. firm size, firm growth and firm profitability on the dividend payout policy among the service sector companies of Malaysia that are listed on Bursa Malaysia. Ordinary least square model was used to estimate the results. Sample consisted of 113 service sector firms from the period of 2009 to 2013. The results show that the profitable companies with large boards and less growth tend to pay higher dividends. Findings can be interpreted as that the profitable companies are sharing their profits with their shareholders in terms of dividends to give positive message to the market.

  10. Bullying at work: do industries differ in the Estonian case? Kas psühholoogilise töövägivalla levik on majandus-sektorites erinev: olukord Eestis?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Merle Tambur

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The bullying at work has not so far analyzed in Estonia – its dispersal, causes and impact have not studied, while in the countries with long democratic traditions it has been the actual problem of work context for two decades. The current study examines the prevalence of workplace bullying in Estonian organizations and the extent of the problem by industries because bullying may put impact on the employees´ efficiency. The sample consists of 1941 respondents which covers 59 organizations across Estonia and represents in all over 30 000 employee and the unemployed. The results reveal that bullying poses a serious problem in Estonia. According to Leymann´s criteria (1996 at least one negative act per week with a duration of at least 6 months, has been reported by 23,44% of respondents. Although, it came out that bullying is not sector-specific problem in Estonia, several and different industries are vulnerable from bullying.

  11. The Evolving Contingency Contracting Market: Private Sector Self regulation and United States Government Monitoring of Procurement of Stability Operations Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-01-01

    statements of work would be useful in ensuring ethical govern- ment procurement practices. Conclusions The United States conducts diplomatic, defense...THE EVOLVING CONTINGENCY CONTRACTING MARKET: PRIVATE SECTOR SELF-REGULATION AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT OF STABILITY...MARKET: PRIVATE SECTOR SELF-REGULATION AND UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT MONITORING OF PROCUREMENT OF STABILITY OPERATIONS SERVICES Whitney Grespin January

  12. Operation without benefit in the services sector; Betrieb ohne Nutzen. BoN im Dienstleistungssektor - Schlussbericht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brunner, C. U.; Nipkow, J. [S.A.F.E., Zuerich (Switzerland); Brechbuehl, B. [Universitaet Zuerich, Zuerich (Switzerland); Glauser, H. [ea si, Windisch (Switzerland); Steinemann, U. [Ingenieurbuero US, Wollerau (Switzerland)

    2009-01-15

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) discusses the unnecessary operation of electrical equipment. This preliminary study examined in a top-down manner the electrical grid loads at night in Switzerland and attempts to identify unnecessary loads. The results of a bottom-up analysis of seven buildings in the service sector was made. One large complex was also used to identify the sources of night-time loads. Together, these two approaches allowed a first appreciation and a rough quantification of the load caused by the unnecessary operation of equipment in the Swiss electricity grid. The services sector has an estimated share of some 2.4 TWh/a caused by unnecessary operation. In a follow-up project the reduction of unnecessary loads is to be studied in more detail. This second analysis will also have to include loads caused by unnecessary operation during the daytime. The goal of the project is eventually to reduce any unnecessary electric loads and, as a result, the entire electricity demands of Switzerland

  13. Opportunities and challenges for private sector entrepreneurship and investment in biodiversity, ecosystem services and nature conservation

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lambooy, T.E.; Levashova, Y.

    2011-01-01

    Private companies and investors can profit from the enhancement of nature in general and from specific investments allocated to improve biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES). The question is: What is the incentive, from a private sector point of view, to invest in nature, and what are the

  14. The Yukos Crisis Brings Thunderclouds to the Railway Carriage Business / Toivo Tänavsuu

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Tänavsuu, Toivo

    2004-01-01

    Russian Estonian Rail Services AS - kõige konkurentsivõimelisem transpordi-, side- ja logistikaettevõtete hulgas, Hansapanga kõrgepalgalise eksportööri eriauhinna laureaat. Lisa: Russian Estonian Rail Services 2003. Kommenteerib Indrek Neivelt. Tabel: Transpordi-, side- ja logistikaettevõtted

  15. Jukose kriis toob äikesepilved vaguniäri kohale / Toivo Tänavsuu

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Tänavsuu, Toivo

    2004-01-01

    Russian Estonian Rail Services AS - kõige konkurentsivõimelisem transpordi-, side- ja logistikaettevõtete hulgas, Hansapanga kõrgepalgalise eksportööri eriauhinna laureaat. Lisa: Russian Estonian Rail Services 2003. Kommenteerib Indrek Neivelt. Tabel: Transpordi-, side- ja logistikaettevõtted

  16. Energy Efficiency Services Sector: Workforce Size and Expectations for Growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goldman, Charles; Fuller, Merrian C.; Stuart, Elizabeth; Peters, Jane S.; McRae, Marjorie; Albers, Nathaniel; Lutzenhiser, Susan; Spahic, Mersiha

    2010-03-22

    The energy efficiency services sector (EESS) is poised to become an increasingly important part of the U.S. economy. Climate change and energy supply concerns, volatile and increasing energy prices, and a desire for greater energy independence have led many state and national leaders to support an increasingly prominent role for energy efficiency in U.S. energy policy. The national economic recession has also helped to boost the visibility of energy efficiency, as part of a strategy to support economic recovery. We expect investment in energy efficiency to increase dramatically both in the near-term and through 2020 and beyond. This increase will come both from public support, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and significant increases in utility ratepayer funds directed toward efficiency, and also from increased private spending due to codes and standards, increasing energy prices, and voluntary standards for industry. Given the growing attention on energy efficiency, there is a concern among policy makers, program administrators, and others that there is an insufficiently trained workforce in place to meet the energy efficiency goals being put in place by local, state, and federal policy. To understand the likelihood of a potential workforce gap and appropriate response strategies, one needs to understand the size, composition, and potential for growth of the EESS. We use a bottom-up approach based upon almost 300 interviews with program administrators, education and training providers, and a variety of EESS employers and trade associations; communications with over 50 sector experts; as well as an extensive literature review. We attempt to provide insight into key aspects of the EESS by describing the current job composition, the current workforce size, our projections for sector growth through 2020, and key issues that may limit this growth.

  17. Willingness to pay for private primary care services in Hong Kong: are elderly ready to move from the public sector?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Su; Yam, Carrie H K; Huang, Olivia H Y; Griffiths, Sian M

    2013-10-01

    How to provide better primary care and achieve the right level of public-private balance in doing so is at the centre of many healthcare reforms around the world. In a healthcare system like Hong Kong, where inpatient services are largely funded through general taxation and ambulatory services out of pocket, the family doctor model of primary care is underdeveloped. Since 2008, the Government has taken forward various initiatives to promote primary care and encourage more use of private services. However, little is known in Hong Kong or elsewhere about consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for private services when care is available in the public sector. This study assessed willingness of the Hong Kong elderly to pay for specific primary care and preventive services in the private sector, through a cross-sectional in-person questionnaire survey and focus group discussions among respondents. The survey revealed that the WTP for private services in general was low among the elderly; particularly, reported WTP for chronic conditions and preventive care both fell below the current market prices. Sub-group analysis showed higher WTP among healthier and more affluent elderly. Among other things, concerns over affordability and uncertainty (of price and quality) in the private sector were associated with this low level of WTP. These results suggest that most elderly, who are heavy users of public health services but with limited income, may not use more private services without seeing significant reduction in price. Financial incentives for consumers alone may not be enough to promote primary care or public-private partnership. Public education on the value of prevention and primary care, as well as supply-side interventions should both be considered. Hong Kong's policy-making process of the initiative studied here may also provide lessons for other countries with ongoing healthcare reforms.

  18. Private sector delivery of health services in developing countries: a mixed-methods study on quality assurance in social franchises

    OpenAIRE

    Schlein, Karen; De La Cruz, Anna York; Gopalakrishnan, Tisha; Montagu, Dominic

    2013-01-01

    Abstract Background Across the developing world health care services are most often delivered in the private sector and social franchising has emerged, over the past decade, as an increasingly popular method of private sector health care delivery. Social franchising aims to strengthen business practices through economies of scale: branding clinics and purchasing drugs in bulk at wholesale prices. While quality is one of the established goals of social...

  19. Summary of Climate Services for the Water Sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Ludwig, F.

    2014-01-01

    Climate change has a significant impact on the water sector. Global warming can potentially change the amount, distribution and intensity of precipitation. These changes can have large impacts on water availability and flood risks. The water sector is increasingly concerned about climate change and

  20. Ingerop - Nuclear sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2016-01-01

    As regards the nuclear sector, Ingerop has acquired along the decades extensive experience in designing and calculating complex structures for nuclear facilities. Since 2002, Ingerop focused on more system- and process-oriented projects in this field. Nowadays, Ingerop offers integrated services based on its sound know-how, top-notch expertise and insight into the management of nuclear projects, for both revamping and new build activities. Ingerop has made the development of the energy sector one of its top priorities in particular for the nuclear sector along with NucAdvisor, the first French engineering practice specialising in civil nuclear power. NucAdvisor's main mission is to assist governments or their representatives in developing their nuclear programs offering expertise and consulting services on specific topics like siting, licensing and operation of nuclear power plants, as well as decommissioning and dismantling and radioactive waste management. In January 2016, a new subsidiary has been created - INGEROP Contracting - which provides a global EPC/turnkey offer covering all fields of energy and industry. Its goal is to deliver projects from the design up to the commissioning, while taking a clear commitment on the overall cost and schedule. This brochure presents the Ingerop Company, its offer of services and main fields of intervention, its IT tools for 3D modeling and design, its activities and main references in the nuclear sector

  1. Provision of prehospital emergency medical services in Punjab, Pakistan: Case study of a public sector provider.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sriram, Veena M; Naseer, Rizwan; Hyder, Adnan A

    2017-12-01

    The availability and quality of emergency medical services in low- and middle-income countries, including Pakistan, are extremely limited. New models for prehospital emergency medical services provision have recently emerged across multiple sectors, and research on these models is urgently needed to inform current and future emergency medical services systems in low-resource settings. The objective of this case study was to provide a comprehensive description of the organizational structure and service delivery model of a public sector provider in the Punjab Province of Pakistan, Rescue 1122, with a focus on operations in Lahore. We used case study methodology to systematically describe the organizational model of Rescue 1122. Qualitative data were collected during an in-person site visit to Lahore in June 2013. Three sources were utilized-semi-structured in-depth interviews, document review, and nonparticipant observation. Data were analyzed according to the health system "building blocks" proposed by the World Health Organization. Rescue 1122 is based on a legal framework that provides public financing for EMS, resulting in financial stability for the service. The organization has also reportedly taken positive steps in engaging with communities, and in coordinating across EMS, fire and rescue. We noted benefits and challenges in scaling up the service to all districts in Punjab. Finally, some areas of improvement include supply chain management and expanded data utilization. Our case study highlights key components of the model, areas for strengthening, and opportunities for further research. Rescue 1122 provides an example of a government-financed and operated emergency medical system in a low-resource setting. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  2. The Only Game in Town: Public Private Partnerships in the Irish Water Services Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Eoin Reeves

    2011-01-01

    peer-reviewed This paper was obtained through PEER (Publishing and the Ecology of European Research) http://www.peerproject.eu Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) transfer significant responsibility for infrastructure and public service delivery to the private sector. This raises questions in relation to accountability in the context of PPP. An important accountability mechanism is the Value for Money (VFM) assessment which procuring authorities in Ireland must conduct prior to adopti...

  3. Estonian experience in establishing the national radiation protection infrastructure in the newly independent State

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kalam, J.

    2001-01-01

    The Estonian Radiation Protection Centre (ERPC) was established on 4 January 1996 as the regulatory authority for radiation protection and safety of radiation sources. The report explains the ERPC's structure and its main functions and activities, and provides information on the regulations that have been approved or are planned to be adopted. Reference is made to radiological emergency preparedness and, in particular, to the status of development of the system of regulatory control by authorization and inspection of radiation practices in the country. (author)

  4. Private sector joins family planning effort.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1989-12-01

    Projects supported by the Directorate for Population (S&T/POP) of the U.S. Agency for International Development and aimed at increasing for-profit private sector involvement in providing family planning services and products are described. Making products commercially available through social-marketing partnerships with the commercial sector, USAID has saved $1.1 million in commodity costs from Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Peru. Active private sector involvement benefits companies, consumers, and donors through increased corporate profits, healthier employees, improved consumer access at lower cost, and the possibility of sustained family planning programs. Moreover, private, for-profit companies will be able to meet service demands over the next 20 years where traditional government and donor agency sources would fail. Using employee surveys and cost-benefit analyses to demonstrate expected financial and health benefits for businesses and work forces, S&T/POP's Technical Information on Population for the Private Sector (TIPPS) project encourages private companies in developing countries to invest in family planning and maternal/child health care for their employees. 36 companies in 9 countries have responded thus far, which examples provided from Peru and Zimbabwe. The Enterprise program's objectives are also to increase the involvement of for-profit companies in delivering family planning services, and to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of private volunteer organizations in providing services. Projects have been started with mines, factories, banks, insurance companies, and parastatals in 27 countries, with examples cited from Ghana and Indonesia. Finally, the Social Marketing for Change project (SOMARC) builds demand and distributes low-cost contraceptives through commercial channels especially to low-income audiences. Partnerships have been initiated with the private sector in 17 developing countries, with examples provided from

  5. ASSESSMENT OF E-COMMERCE USAGE FOR EFFECTIVE SERVICE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA BANKING SECTOR

    OpenAIRE

    Soneye Gbolade Michael

    2017-01-01

    This study assessed the extent of e-commerce usage for effective service delivery in Nigeria banking sector. Four research questions and four null hypotheses guided the study. Descriptive survey research design was adopted for the study. The study covered 64 microfinance banks in Oyo State, South-West, Nigeria. The population was made up of 1275 staffs from the 64 microfinance banks. The sample size consisted of 28 microfinance banks of which 280 staffs were purposively selected. A 28-item st...

  6. [The Unified National Health System and the third sector: Characterization of non-hospital facilities providing basic health care services in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Canabrava, Claudia Marques; Andrade, Eli Iôla Gurgel; Janones, Fúlvio Alves; Alves, Thiago Andrade; Cherchiglia, Mariangela Leal

    2007-01-01

    In Brazil, nonprofit or charitable organizations are the oldest and most traditional and institutionalized form of relationship between the third sector and the state. Despite the historical importance of charitable hospital care, little research has been done on the participation of the nonprofit sector in basic health care in the country. This article identifies and describes non-hospital nonprofit facilities providing systematically organized basic health care in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, in 2004. The research focused on the facilities registered with the National Council on Social Work, using computer-assisted telephone and semi-structured interviews. Identification and description of these organizations showed that the charitable segment of the third sector conducts organized and systematic basic health care services but is not recognized by the Unified National Health System as a potential partner, even though it receives referrals from basic government services. The study showed spatial and temporal overlapping of government and third-sector services in the same target population.

  7. Work Motivation and Incentives in the Public Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Zoutenbier, Robin

    2015-01-01

    markdownabstractThe public sector makes up for an important part of our economy. According to estimates by the OECD (2008) a large share of the labor force in OECD countries is employed by the public sector. These public sector workers provide a wide range of goods and services to the public. Examples of services that are publicly provided range from education, health care, transport, garbage collection, to public safety. This large variety in public services suggests that all people, at some...

  8. Workplace violence in service sectors with implications for the education sector : issues, solutions and resources

    OpenAIRE

    Verdugo, Richard; Vere, Anamaria

    2003-01-01

    Examines the causes of workplace violence and stress and investigates the scope of violence and stress in the education sector and its impact on the sector and its workforce. Explores strategies to remedy the problem.

  9. Determination of the Regional Economy Leading Sectors in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fitri Amalia

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Economic growth and its process are the main condition for the sustainability of the regional economic development. Because of the continuing population growth means economic needs also increase so that additional revenue required each year. This can be obtained by the increase in aggregate output (goods and services or the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP each year. To carry out development with limited resources as a consequence should be focused to develop the sectors that provide great multiplier effect on other sectors or the whole economy. This research is focused to determine the regional leading sector of Bone Bolango as the information and considerations in planning economic development. Location Quotient (LQ and Shift Share are tools of analysis. Location Quotient analysis indicates agriculture, manufacture, finance, leasing and corporate services are base sectors in the Bone Bolango district. Shift Share analysis indicates that the competitive sectors are finance, leasing and corporate services. The results of the analysis based on three analysis tools indicate that the leading sector with the criteria developed, base, and competitive is finance and services sector.

  10. After Abitur, First an Apprenticeship and then University? Why German Abitur Holders Are Taking Vocational Training in the Financial Services Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilz, Matthias

    2009-01-01

    In the financial services sector in Germany the proportion of trainees qualified to go on to university is particularly high. But what induces school leavers not to go (straight) to university? A written survey of over 500 trainees in the banking and insurance sectors examined the motivations for the choice of educational pathway. Only some of the…

  11. The Italian energy sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1997-01-01

    The energy sector in Italy, as in Europe and in many other areas of the world, is undergoing rapid and profound changes. The 1986 ratification of the European Single Act was intended to create a European internal market, where circulation of people, capital, goods, and services would reach the highest possible liberalization. In 1988, in the document The Energy Internal Market, the European Union (EU) commission stressed the need for creation of an internal energy market--free of obstacles--to increase security of supply, to reduce costs, and to strengthen the competitiveness of the European economic system. In 1990, the Community Council adopted directives to implement the EU energy sector. This article describes Italy's role as part of the EU energy sector. It covers the following topics: the Italian energy sector; electricity vs gas transportation; project finance; recent developments advance Italian power industry; specifying powerplant components -- Italian stype; buyers' guide to Italian equipment, services

  12. Riik võib lüüa SAS-i esmaspäevaks Estonian Airi omanikeringist välja / Erik Müürsepp, Mikk Salu

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Müürsepp, Erik

    2008-01-01

    SAS osaleb Estonian Airþile lisakapitali eraldamises ainult juhul, kui Eesti riik müüb oma osaluses lennukompaniis SAS-ile. Peaminister Andrus Ansipi ning majandus- ja kommunikatsiooniminister Juhan Partsi seisukoht

  13. Strategic Factors in the Capital Structure of the Services and Communication Sectors in Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan Gaytán Cortés

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to identify the strategic factors of the country and the companies, to incorporate long term debt in the capital structure of the companies of services and the communication sector that they quoted on the Mexican Stock Exchange in the periods 2000-2012. The mathematical model and the factors used in this empirical study were used in the investigations that were analyzed in the theoretical framework.

  14. Network-Based Coordination of Civil-Service Training: Lessons from the Case of Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Metsma Merilin

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The focus of this article is on the coordination of civil-service training in a decentralized civil-service system. The Estonian case is studied. The article investigates network-based coordination, analyzes the power sources of the central coordinator and discusses the opportunities and limitations of creating coherence through network-type cooperation. The article concludes that the key power sources for the central coordinator are financial, human and technical resources paired with knowledge, leadership and commitment. The case study shows that, in a decentralized civil service system, a common understanding on training and development can be fostered by intense collaboration through networks.

  15. Bernhard Linde. Noor-Eesti vooriülem. Bernhard Linde. Leader of the Young Estonian Pack

    OpenAIRE

    Jaanus Kulli

    2012-01-01

    Bernhard Linde (1886–1954) was a recognized and prolific Estonian theatre critic of the first quarter of the 20th century, who mediated and propagated western as well as eastern European theatrical innovations. In addition, he was active as a literary and art critic, publisher, and proponent of libraries, to a modest extent he was a prose writer and poet. Unquestionably, however, Bernhard Linde’s most prominent role was as one of the founding members of the literary movement Young Estonia. He...

  16. How to Enhance the Impact of Training on Service Quality? Evidence from Malaysian Public Sector Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zumrah, Abdul Rahim

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance role of transfer of training as a mediator in the relationship between training and service quality. Design/methodology/approach: The data of this study were collected from three sources: the employees of public sector organizations in Malaysia who participated in a Basic Financial…

  17. Economic modelling of the capture-transport-sink scenario of industrial CO2 emissions: The Estonian-Latvian cross-border case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shogenova, A.; Shogenov, K.; Pomeranceva, R.; Nulle, I.; Neele, F.; Hendriks, C.

    2011-01-01

    Industrial CO2 emissions and opportunities for CO2 geological storage in the Baltic Region were studied within the EU GeoCapacity project supported by the European Union Framework Programme 6. Estonia produces the largest amounts of CO2 emissions in the region, due to the combustion of Estonian oil

  18. [The productive sector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santolaria, Encarna; Fernández, Alberto; Daponte, Antonio; Aguilera, I

    2004-05-01

    In the last 25 years, the production sector in Spain has undergone important changes. Among these changes, the important growth of the services sector at the expense of the primary sector, the increasing flexibility of the labour market, and the rise in the female workforce could be considered as the most relevant ones. Spanish women have higher rates of unemployment, temporary jobs and part time contracts than Spanish men. Moreover, job access and work conditions are highly related to gender and social class. Because women are forced to compensate for the scarcity of social services for caring for young children and for dependent elderly, they become informal and socially unrecognised caregivers, preventing them from getting or holding a job, and significantly limiting their opportunities for professional development. These social conditions are closely related with the fact that work conditions for women involve higher temporality rates and shorter contracts than those of men, given the sectors and jobs in which they tend to work (due to segregation). Similarly, workers of the less privileged social classes have poorer work conditions. Thus, women of the lower income class are mainly suffering the worst job contracts and the poorest work conditions. More social services are needed to make it possible to attend to family needs and still be able to access and maintain a job contract. Policies tending to conciliate labour and family life are indispensable and should incorporate measures to equally distribute the house keeping activities between women and men.

  19. Going private: clinicians' experience of working in UK independent sector treatment centres.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waring, Justin; Bishop, Simon

    2012-02-01

    With increased possibility that public healthcare services in the UK will be outsourced to the private sector, this study investigates how clinicians working in Independent Sector Treatment Centres perceive the differences between public and private sectors. Qualitative interviews with 35 clinicians recruited from two ISTCs. All participants were transferred to the independent sector from the public National Health Service. Interview data were analysed to identify shared experience about the variable organisation and delivery of services. Clinicians perceived differences between public and independent sectors in the areas of 'environment and facilities', 'management', 'work organisation and care delivery', and 'patient experience'. The independent sector was described as offering a positive alternative to public services in regard to service environment and patient experience, but there were concerns about management priorities and the reconfiguration of work. Clinicians' experience of moving between sectors reveals mixed experiences. Although some improvements might legitimise the growing role of the independent sector, there remain doubts about the commercialisation of services, the motives of managers and the impact of clinical roles and capabilities. With policies looking to expand the mixed economy of public healthcare services, the study suggests clinicians will not automatically embrace a move between sectors. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. The Public-Private Sector Pay Gap in Ireland: What Lies Beneath?

    OpenAIRE

    Kelly, Elish; McGuinness, Seamus; O'Connell, Philip J.

    2009-01-01

    This paper provides a sub-sectoral analysis of changes in the public-private sector pay gap in Ireland between 2003 and 2006. We find that between March 2003 and October 2006 the public sector pay premium increased from 14 to 26 per cent and that there was substantial variation between subsectors of the public service. Within the public service the premium in 2006 was highest in Education and Security Services and lowest in the Civil Service and Local Authorities. In the private sector the pa...

  1. Manual for the energy consultant: Sector profiles: Part 3: Non Food and other services; Handboek voor de energieconsulent: Brancheprofielen: Deel 3: Non Food en overige dienstverlening

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-06-01

    At the Information Center for the Built Environment of the Netherlands Agency for Energy and Environment (NOVEM) in Apeldoorn, Netherlands, manuals are available in the following categories: (1) Basic Information (f.e. indicators, climate data, calculation factors and examples); (2) Information on Energy Management (`seven-steps plan`, tasks for the energy consultant and the client, aftercare); (3) Information of the Target Groups (overall characteristics, energy conservation options, methods and approaches); and (4) sector profiles. The aim of this manual is to support the energy consultant in developing an energy strategy for the non-food and service sector. Special attention is paid to the home furnishing sector, the textile retail trade, service stations, repair services, beauty parlors, do-it-yourself stores, and dry-cleaners

  2. Bureaucratic reform, informal sector and welfare

    OpenAIRE

    Chaudhuri, Sarbajit; Mandal, Biswajit

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we formulate a three-sector general equilibrium model where one sector produces a service or good used as an intermediate input in two other sectors. Intermediate input here resembles bureaucratic (in)efficiency/control, red-tapism etc. in light of these concerns we introduce informal sector where wage is determined through competitive mechanism. We show that informal wage must go up if bureaucratic efficiency increases in general or if informal sector becomes less prone to bure...

  3. Estonia in the system of global climate change. Publication 4/1996

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Punning, J.M.

    1996-01-01

    Estonia is among the countries who signed the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) at the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992. The FCCC calls on its parties to inventory national sources, to reduction in greenhouse gases and to development of projects responding to climate change. In 1994, an Estonian Country Study Project was initiated within the U.S. Country Studies Program. The Estonian Country Study Project is comprehensive, covering all sectors and directions of activity in Estonia that might impact climate change or be influenced by Global Climate Change. This book contains a collection of papers, covering the aims of the Estonian Country Study Project

  4. INNOVATIONS IN SMES IN THE SERVICE SECTOR IN ROMANIA BETWEEN 2000 AND 2008 AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP AS APPLICATION WITH SOME OUTPUTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicolov Mirela

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available In the present paper we study how we can measure innovation in SMEs per total and in the sector of services .We present here a study done on the values of the share of turnover of innovative productbusiness with innovations from the total turnover of innovative enterprises by size, class and economic activity expressed in percentage . The values used in the present study are for Romania in the period 2000 and 2008, when were the first registration for these types of data. We study the following cases: products unchanged or partiallychanged, new or significantly improved products, new business and new or significantly improved products, newmarket. Studies are made for total, small and medium SMEs and for the service sector.

  5. Medical and health care sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ainul Hayati Daud; Hazmimi Kasim

    2010-01-01

    The medical and health care sector in general supplies products and provides services that can be categorized as diagnostic radiology, therapeutic application and nuclear medicine (both, diagnostic and/ or therapeutic). The institutions offer different categories of services. Some provide only one category of service, for example, diagnostic radiology. Others may provide more than one categories, for example, diagnostic nuclear medicine and therapeutic nuclear medicine services. A total of 90 entities comprising 65 public agencies and 34 private companies were selected in this study for this sector. The majority of the entities, 75.6 %, operate in Peninsular Malaysia. The remainders operate in Sabah and Sarawak. The findings of the study on both public agencies and private companies are presented in subsequent sections of this chapter. (author)

  6. Logit Model of Computer-Based Data-Driven Creative Idea Generation in the Industry and Service Sectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. N. Hojjati

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Organizational creativity and employee idea generation have become important and essential elements of an organization’s success, as creativity results to increased performance. The need of increased creativity is evident in industrial and service companies. The main idea behind this paper is to analyze and demonstrate if accessing various types of data in certain ways and/or situations affects creative idea generation by the people involved in different industrial/service sectors, considering that now most of the employees use digital data. The current paper discusses how seven different factors are related to digital data affect creativity.

  7. 48 CFR 37.112 - Government use of private sector temporaries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... use of private sector temporaries. Contracting officers may enter into contracts with temporary help service firms for the brief or intermittent use of the skills of private sector temporaries. Services... part 300, subpart E, Use of Private Sector Temporaries, and agency procedures. [56 FR 55380, Oct. 25...

  8. The elderly care and domestic services sector during the recent economic crisis. The case of Italy, Spain and France.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sara Picchi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Over the past ten years in Italy, Spain and France, the demographic pressure and the increasing women’s participation in labour market have fuelled the expansion of the private provision of domestic and care services. In order to ensure the difficult balance between affordability, quality and job creation, each countries’ response has been different. France has developed policies to sustain the demand side introducing instruments such as vouchers and fiscal schemes, since the mid of the 2000s. Massive public funding has contributed to foster a regular market of domestic and care services and France is often presented as a “best practices” of those policies aimed at encouraging a regular private sector. Conversely in Italy and Spain, the development of a private domestic and care market has been mostly uncontrolled and without a coherent institutional design: the osmosis between a large informal market and the regular private care sector has been ensured on the supply side by migrant workers’ regularizations or the introduction of new employment regulations . The analysis presented in this paper aims to describe the response of these different policies to the challenges imposed by the current economic crisis. In dealing with the retrenchment of public expenditure and the reduced households’ purchasing power, Italy, Spain and France are experiencing greater difficulties in ensuring a regular private sector of domestic and care services. In light of that, the paper analyses the recent economic conjuncture presenting some assumptions about the future risk of deeper inequalities rising along with the increase of the process of marketization of domestic and care services in all the countries under analysis.    

  9. Feasibility study for private-sector treatment services for alpha-contaminated low-level mixed wastes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bloom, R.R.; Rodriguez, R.R.

    1995-01-01

    Rust Federal Services, under contract to the United States Department of Energy (DOE), Idaho Operations Office, performed a study to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a suggested private sector solution for the treatment of alpha-contaminated low-level mixed waste (ALLMW) stored or produced at the Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL). The feasibility study is an initial step in the potential procurement of privatized treatment services for these wastes. Rust's derived objective of the feasibility study was to define an optimal treatment system and analyze the feasibility of that system for accomplishing the processing objectives specified by DOE. All aspects of the selected treatment system were addressed in the feasibility study, including technical, regulatory, public involvement, and financial considerations. Two central elements of the study were a technology screening task to select the optimal treatment system and an analysis of the institutional, business, financial, and contractual issues that are likely to accompany the privatization of treatment services for DOE

  10. Estland im Sog der Russischen Volkswirtschaft? Estonia Being Caught Up in Russian Turmoil?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claus-Friedrich Laaser

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Against the backdrop of the Ukraine crisis and Russia’s economic problems, the authors pose the question to what extent the Estonian economy still relies on foreign trade with Russia and which costs Estonia might bear in the course of an aggravation of the lingering East-West conflict. Estonian trade relations with Russia as well as Estonia’s integration in the European and global division of labor are analyzed by a gravity model which also incorporates the trade foreign trade of the Baltic neighbors Latvia and Lithuania as benchmark countries. The authors find that even before the crisis Estonia’s trade with Russia lost weight and the dependency on Russian export and import markets diminished. By an in-depth analysis of Estonia’ sectoral trade patterns these findings were confirmed for the majority of industries. Only in the case of the Estonian milk industry the authors observe significant effects of Russian sanctions. In contrast to this particular case, Estonia becomes increasingly independent from imports of Russian natural gas which in the past made the country vulnerable to political blackmail. The authors conclude that regional and sectoral diversification of Estonian trade patterns induced by the current crisis will help the country to improve its international competitiveness and its economic integration into world markets.

  11. El sector productivo The productive sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Encarna Santolaria

    2004-05-01

    Full Text Available El crecimiento del sector servicios en detrimento del sector primario, la flexibilidad del mercado laboral y la progresiva incorporación de la mujer a dicho mercado son los cambios más destacados del sector productivo español en los últimos 25 años. Las mujeres en España presentan tasas de desempleo, trabajo temporal y a tiempo parcial mucho mayores que los hombres. Además, las condiciones de acceso al mercado de trabajo y las condiciones en las que éste se desempeña están también muy relacionadas con la clase social. Las mujeres cubren la escasez de servicios públicos destinados al cuidado de las criaturas pequeñas y de las personas mayores o dependientes, y realizan una labor de cuidadoras informales sin reconocimiento social, lo cual les impide el acceso a un puesto de trabajo o su mantenimiento y limita de forma decisiva las posibilidades de desarrollo y progreso profesional. Todo ello indica una clara diferencia con respecto a los hombres en cuanto a la frecuencia de contratos temporales y de tiempo parcial, así como en la segregación laboral, tanto horizontal como vertical. Estos aspectos de segregación son más evidentes en las mujeres de clases sociales menos privilegiadas, en las que se concentran las peores condiciones de acceso al mercado laboral y de trabajo. En España es imprescindible llevar a cabo políticas que ofrezcan servicios que permitan compatibilizar la vida laboral y familiar en condiciones de mayor equidad, tanto en razón de género como de clase social.In the last 25 years, the production sector in Spain has undergone important changes. Among these changes, the important growth of the services sector at the expense of the primary sector, the increasing flexibility of the labour market, and the rise in the female workforce could be considered as the most relevant ones. Spanish women have higher rates of unemployment, temporary jobs and part time contracts than Spanish men. Moreover, job access and work

  12. Rahvusliku ajaloo tõlgendusi eesti draamas ja teatris 1970.–1980. aastatel. Interpretations of National History in Estonian Drama and Theatre in the 1970s–1980s

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Piret Kruuspere

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available According to theatre scholar Freddie Rokem, theatre portraying or performing historical events is seeking to overcome both the separation and the exclusion from the past, as well as ’striving to create a community where the events from this past will matter again’. This article covers the topic of interpretations of national history in Estonian theatre and in original dramaturgy during the Soviet era, with the focus on aspects like national self-reflection and the relationship to the common past. The main focus is on the 1970s, with examples from Rein Saluri’s, Mati Unt’s and Jaan Kaplinski’s drama productions. During the period in question, re-tellings of national history on Estonian theatre stages were clothed in metaphors, allusions and secret codes – Aesopian language. Within the Soviet cultural context, I analyse if and to what extent theatre of the time displayed resistance, political theatre or social allegory. Theatre was also connected with the principle of playing or playfulness, which on one hand indicates national resistance, national endurance, and a certain survival strategy, but on the other hand indicates the Estonian as being an involuntary homo ludens – the Playing Man, who through various enforced roles is trying to adjust to the whirlwinds of history. Saluri’s first play, the intellectual drama Külalised (The Guests, opens with an allusion to a drama classic the world over, William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, adding a powerful national-symbolic background to the play. The role-play which permeates and structures the play (The Host–The Guest however, displays allegorical references to changes in the status and self-image of Estonians. In Unt’s play Peaproov (Dress Rehearsal, the principle of playing/acting sheds ironic light on the makers of an historical film and their readiness to create superficially flashy interpretations at any cost: this take acts as an estranging and generalising reflection in a context

  13. Cost of delivering secondary-level health care services through public sector district hospitals in India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinja, Shankar; Balasubramanian, Deepak; Jeet, Gursimer; Verma, Ramesh; Kumar, Dinesh; Bahuguna, Pankaj; Kaur, Manmeet; Kumar, Rajesh

    2017-01-01

    Background & objectives: Despite an impetus for strengthening public sector district hospitals for provision of secondary health care in India, there is lack of robust evidence on cost of services provided through these district hospitals. In this study, an attempt was made to determine the unit cost of an outpatient visit consultation, inpatient bed-day of hospitalization, surgical procedure and overall per-capita cost of providing secondary care through district hospitals. Methods: Economic costing of five randomly selected district hospitals in two north Indian States - Haryana and Punjab, was undertaken. Cost analysis was done using a health system perspective and employing bottom-up costing methodology. Quantity of all resources - capital or recurrent, used for delivering services was measured and valued. Median unit costs were estimated along with their 95 per cent confidence intervals. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken to assess the effect of uncertainties in prices and other assumptions; and to generalize the findings for Indian set-up. Results: The overall annual cost of delivering secondary-level health care services through a public sector district hospital in north India was 11,44,13,282 [US Dollars (USD) 2,103,185]. Human resources accounted for 53 per cent of the overall cost. The unit cost of an inpatient bed-day, surgical procedure and outpatient consultation was 844 (USD 15.5), i; 3481 (USD 64) and 170 (USD 3.1), respectively. With the current set of resource allocation, per-capita cost of providing health care through district hospitals in north India was 139 (USD 2.5). Interpretation & conclusions: The estimates obtained in our study can be used for Fiscal planning of scaling up secondary-level health services. Further, these may be particularly useful for future research such as benefit-incidence analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis and national health accounts including disease-specific accounts in India. PMID:29355142

  14. Cost of delivering secondary-level health care services through public sector district hospitals in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prinja, Shankar; Balasubramanian, Deepak; Jeet, Gursimer; Verma, Ramesh; Kumar, Dinesh; Bahuguna, Pankaj; Kaur, Manmeet; Kumar, Rajesh

    2017-09-01

    Despite an impetus for strengthening public sector district hospitals for provision of secondary health care in India, there is lack of robust evidence on cost of services provided through these district hospitals. In this study, an attempt was made to determine the unit cost of an outpatient visit consultation, inpatient bed-day of hospitalization, surgical procedure and overall per-capita cost of providing secondary care through district hospitals. Economic costing of five randomly selected district hospitals in two north Indian States - Haryana and Punjab, was undertaken. Cost analysis was done using a health system perspective and employing bottom-up costing methodology. Quantity of all resources - capital or recurrent, used for delivering services was measured and valued. Median unit costs were estimated along with their 95 per cent confidence intervals. Sensitivity analysis was undertaken to assess the effect of uncertainties in prices and other assumptions; and to generalize the findings for Indian set-up. The overall annual cost of delivering secondary-level health care services through a public sector district hospital in north India was ' 11,44,13,282 [US Dollars (USD) 2,103,185]. Human resources accounted for 53 per cent of the overall cost. The unit cost of an inpatient bed-day, surgical procedure and outpatient consultation was ' 844 (USD 15.5), ' 3481 (USD 64) and ' 170 (USD 3.1), respectively. With the current set of resource allocation, per-capita cost of providing health care through district hospitals in north India was ' 139 (USD 2.5). The estimates obtained in our study can be used for Fiscal planning of scaling up secondary-level health services. Further, these may be particularly useful for future research such as benefit-incidence analysis, cost-effectiveness analysis and national health accounts including disease-specific accounts in India.

  15. The Dialogue with Hamlet: Paul-Eerik Rummo’s “Hamlet’s Songs” as an Example of the Existential Paradigm in Estonian Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anneli Mihkelev

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The article demonstrates different meanings of the motif of Hamlet in the Estonian culture. Hamlet as a literary figure has been very important and influential, a symbol of will and a fighter in a hopeless situation. Paul-Eerik Rummo’s poem “Hamlet’s Songs” (1964 forms the centre around which revolve not only written texts but also many such cultural texts as theatre performances and music, all connected by allusions to Hamlet. Rummo’s poem is one of the most innovative poems from the 1960s in Estonian literature. The generation of the 1960s was influenced by several important contemporary theories, including existentialism. Many young writers systematically undermined the Soviet regime in their works. The use of the motif of Hamlet reveals a similarity between the existential and romantic rebellions. Rummo’s dialogue with Hamlet in his poem expresses optimism in a hopeless situation in a way different from Shakespeare’s.

  16. Using caregivers’ perceptions of rehabilitation services for children with Cerebral Palsy at public sector hospitals to identify the components of an appropriate service

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G.M. Saloojee

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite  a  growing  body  of  evidence  favouring  a  family-centred approach to rehabilitation services for children with cerebral palsy (cp, the essential components for a quality service for children with disabilities and their families living in poorly-resourced South African (SA settings  remains unknown.  The  study  aimed  to  identify  key  components of  an appropriate  rehabilitation  service  which  would  meet  the  needs of children  with  CP  and  their  caregivers  at  SA  public  sector  hospitals. This cross-sectional descriptive study used the modified Measure of processes of care (Mpoc-20 questionnaire together with two open-endedquestions with  a  convenience  sample  of  caregivers attending therapy  at  CP  Clinics in gauteng and limpopo hospitals. A total of 263 caregivers attending cerebral palsy clinics at 31 public sector hospitals in gauteng and limpopo were interviewed. Kind and caring attitudes, exercises or “training” for the child,  and  practical  assistance  (handling  ideas  and suggestions,  assistive devices, food supplements, nappies, advice were components of care most valued. The most frustration was caused by long queues waiting for files or at the pharmacy and being treated disrespectfully whilst providing caregivers with information and explanations regarding treatment choice were services that could be improved.  Key components for  an  appropriate  therapy  service  include  caring  and respectful  attitudes,  hands-on  therapy,  handling  suggestions and practical assistance. Logistical and administrative procedures together with disrespectul and unhelpful attitudes negatively impact rehabilitation service delivery.

  17. Collaboration across private and public sector primary health care services: benefits, costs and policy implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McDonald, Julie; Powell Davies, Gawaine; Jayasuriya, Rohan; Fort Harris, Mark

    2011-07-01

    Ongoing care for chronic conditions is best provided by interprofessional teams. There are challenges in achieving this where teams cross organisational boundaries. This article explores the influence of organisational factors on collaboration between private and public sector primary and community health services involved in diabetes care. It involved a case study using qualitative methods. Forty-five participants from 20 organisations were purposively recruited. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and from content analysis of documents. Thematic analysis was used employing a two-level coding system and cross case comparisons. The patterns of collaborative patient care were influenced by a combination of factors relating to the benefits and costs of collaboration and the influence of support mechanisms. Benefits lay in achieving common or complementary health or organisational goals. Costs were incurred in bridging differences in organisational size, structure, complexity and culture. Collaboration was easier between private sector organisations than between private and public sectors. Financial incentives were not sufficient to overcome organisational barriers. To achieve more coordinated primary and community health care structural changes are also needed to better align funding mechanisms, priorities and accountabilities of the different organisations.

  18. Study the Customers’ Perception towards Banking Services: A Research Report on Indian Public Sector Banks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shailesh Limbad

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study is to measure the customer satisfaction and to identify the shortfall areas for improving the services of public banking sector. For this research paper past research survey were studied. The main concept is measuring customer satisfaction by customer satisfaction index method. All the factors related to banks were taken by personal interview with the banks’ manager which influences customer satisfaction. To collect the information non-probability sampling method is used. 100 services users of two different banks in bardoli region were contacted with face-to-face personal interview method through questionnaire. “Customer Satisfaction Index” method was used to measure the customer satisfaction. The study represents the result of a survey among the customers in the bardoli region of two public sector banks. Study proved that the STATE BANKS OF INDIA’S customers are more satisfied (82.55> 81.79 than BANK OF INDIA’S customers. There were parameters are found out which are more important to increasing the satisfaction rate. The results of this study provide very important information in formulating competitive marketing strategies. It shows the critical points where the limited resources of the banks should be allocated to improve satisfaction and loyalty and provides information about the weaknesses and strengths of the banks from the eyes of its customers. With getting the valuable information and found out the reason of dissatisfaction these banks can put more efforts to improving the standards of services and make the customers more satisfied.

  19. Norwegian supply of goods and services to the British offshore sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heide, M.; Noedland, S.I.

    1991-02-01

    Representatives from ten Norwegian companies in the offshore supplies industry were interviewed to explore the opportunities and barriers they had experienced in their effort to enter the British offshore sector. The interviews revealed that there are mainly four reasons why British sector is regarded as a favorable market: British sector is a natural homemarket, buyers operate both on the British and the Norwegian sector, the British sector can be a ''door-opener'' to the rest of the English speaking world, and finally the British sector is a market of considerable size. The companies had mainly encountered three types of barriers: British culture/communication problems, heavy competition from British suppliers, and protectionism. The report is concluded by summarizing what we believe are the critical success factors for entering the British sector. Directions for further research are also given

  20. Brazilian healthcare in the context of austerity: private sector dominant, government sector failing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costa, Nilson do Rosário

    2017-04-01

    This paper presents the arguments in favor of government intervention in financing and regulation of health in Brazil. It describes the organizational arrangement of the Brazilian health system, for the purpose of reflection on the austerity agenda proposed for the country. Based on the literature in health economics, it discusses the hypothesis that the health sector in Brazil functions under the dominance of the private sector. The categories employed for analysis are those of the national health spending figures. An international comparison of indicators of health expenses shows that Brazilian public spending is a low proportion of total spending on Brazilian health. Expenditure on individuals' health by out-of-pocket payments is high, and this works against equitability. The private health services sector plays a crucial role in provision, and financing. Contrary to the belief put forward by the austerity agenda, public expenditure cannot be constrained because the government has failed in adequate provision of services to the poor. This paper argues that, since the Constitution did not veto activity by the private sector segment of the market, those interests that have the greatest capacity to vocalize have been successful in imposing their preferences in the configuration of the sector.

  1. “... if there’s a party, then there’s definitely alcohol”. Construction of partying practices and abstinence in Estonian youth forums

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Parder Mari-Liisa

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available AIMS – Adolescents’ abstinence from alcohol has not been much researched in terms of providing suggestions for prevention strategies. This study aims to fill that gap by offering a practice theory-inspired analysis of how the unwritten rules of partying practices are communicated between posters of Estonian youth forums.

  2. Impact of private sector credit on the real sector of Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aliyu Mamman, Ph.D

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available The real sector is a strategic component of an economy because it produces and distributes tangible goods and services required to satisfy aggregate demand in the economy. For this reason, there is the need for adequate credit flow from the banking industry to the real sector, which in the Nigerian case, the credit flow has been grossly inadequate. This study is carried out to examine the impact of credit to private sector (CPS on the real sector of Nigeria with a view to assess the significant contribution of CPS to real sector growth in Nigeria. The study used aggregate time series data from 1986 to 2010, which was drawn from central bank of Nigeria (CBN statistical bulletin and CBN annual report and statement of accounts. The data was analysed using multiple regression and based on the coefficient of determination (R square, the study reveals a 96.1% variation between the CPS and real sector growth in Nigeria. The study cocludes that there is a statistically significant impact of credit to private sector on the real sector of Nigeria. This, suggest that the performance of the real sector is greatly influence by credit to private sector. The study recommends that the federal government of Nigeria through the central bank of Nigeria (CBN should enhance the financing of the real sector as well as improve credit flow to the sector because of its strategic importance in creating and generating growth of the economy.

  3. Experiences of a long-term randomized controlled prevention trial in a maiden environment: Estonian Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy trial

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahu Mati

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Preventive drugs require long-term trials to show their effectiveness or harms and often a lot of changes occur during post-marketing studies. The purpose of this article is to describe the research process in a long-term randomized controlled trial and discuss the impact and consequences of changes in the research environment. Methods The Estonian Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy trial (EPHT, originally planned to continue for five years, was planned in co-operation with the Women's International Study of Long-Duration Oestrogen after Menopause (WISDOM in the UK. In addition to health outcomes, EPHT was specifically designed to study the impact of postmenopausal hormone therapy (HT on health services utilization. Results After EPHT recruited in 1999–2001 the Women's Health Initiative (WHI in the USA decided to stop the estrogen-progestin trial after a mean of 5.2 years in July 2002 because of increased risk of breast cancer and later in 2004 the estrogen-only trial because HT increased the risk of stroke, decreased the risk of hip fracture, and did not affect coronary heart disease incidence. WISDOM was halted in autumn 2002. These decisions had a major influence on EPHT. Conclusion Changes in Estonian society challenged EPHT to find a balance between the needs of achieving responses to the trial aims with a limited budget and simultaneously maintaining the safety of trial participants. Flexibility was the main key for success. Rapid changes are not limited only to transiting societies but are true also in developed countries and the risk must be included in planning all long-term trials. The role of ethical and data monitoring committees in situations with emerging new data from other studies needs specification. Longer funding for preventive trials and more flexibility in budgeting are mandatory. Who should prove the effectiveness of an (old drug for a new preventive indication? In preventive drug trials companies may

  4. Comparing private sector family planning services to government and NGO services in Ethiopia and Pakistan: how do social franchises compare across quality, equity and cost?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Nirali M; Wang, Wenjuan; Bishai, David M

    2011-01-01

    Policy makers in developing countries need to assess how public health programmes function across both public and private sectors. We propose an evaluation framework to assist in simultaneously tracking performance on efficiency, quality and access by the poor in family planning services. We apply this framework to field data from family planning programmes in Ethiopia and Pakistan, comparing (1) independent private sector providers; (2) social franchises of private providers; (3) non-government organization (NGO) providers; and (4) government providers on these three factors. Franchised private clinics have higher quality than non-franchised private clinics in both countries. In Pakistan, the costs per client and the proportion of poorest clients showed no differences between franchised and non-franchised private clinics, whereas in Ethiopia, franchised clinics had higher costs and fewer clients from the poorest quintile. Our results highlight that there are trade-offs between access, cost and quality of care that must be balanced as competing priorities. The relative programme performance of various service arrangements on each metric will be context specific. PMID:21729919

  5. Comparing private sector family planning services to government and NGO services in Ethiopia and Pakistan: how do social franchises compare across quality, equity and cost?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Nirali M; Wang, Wenjuan; Bishai, David M

    2011-07-01

    Policy makers in developing countries need to assess how public health programmes function across both public and private sectors. We propose an evaluation framework to assist in simultaneously tracking performance on efficiency, quality and access by the poor in family planning services. We apply this framework to field data from family planning programmes in Ethiopia and Pakistan, comparing (1) independent private sector providers; (2) social franchises of private providers; (3) non-government organization (NGO) providers; and (4) government providers on these three factors. Franchised private clinics have higher quality than non-franchised private clinics in both countries. In Pakistan, the costs per client and the proportion of poorest clients showed no differences between franchised and non-franchised private clinics, whereas in Ethiopia, franchised clinics had higher costs and fewer clients from the poorest quintile. Our results highlight that there are trade-offs between access, cost and quality of care that must be balanced as competing priorities. The relative programme performance of various service arrangements on each metric will be context specific.

  6. Taxes, Estonian state budget and economic crises. Maksud, riigi eelarve ja majanduskriis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olev Raju

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Recession has sharply erected the question of tax burden and the optimal proportion of different kinds of taxes among the incomes of the budget. Indirect taxes and consumption taxes, which proportion is different according to different methodologies, dominate in Estonian state budget. The buoyancy of a tax system based on taxes of that kind is especially weak during the recession. Difficulties concerning the incomes of budget have arisen the necessity for lifting taxes, which is possible as the tax burden is low now. But a sharp question of the optimal level of taxes is going to be raised. A formula for indirect tax optimum according to Ramsey taxes and Slutski decomposition has been proposed in the article.

  7. Design decisions in the front office - back office issue: A Study of Trade-offs in the Financial Services Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Zomerdijk, L.G.

    2005-01-01

    This dissertation presents the results of a research study that involved the development of a framework that provides insight in and so supports design decisions regarding front office and back office activities in service delivery processes. Building on the evidence from five case studies in the financial services sector, three design decisions have been elaborated. They are the definition of front office and back office activities, the decoupling decisions and organizational arrangements. T...

  8. Attitudes of Academic Staff towards Their Own Work and towards External Evaluation, from the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory: Estonian Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seema, Riin; Udam, Maiki; Mattisen, Heli

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to ascertain the attitudes of academic staff towards their own work as well as towards external evaluations. The study was based on (1) an analysis of assessment reports of institutional accreditations conducted by the Estonian Quality Agency for Higher and Vocational Education and (2) self-determination theory on…

  9. Progress in customer relationship management adoption: a cross-sector study

    OpenAIRE

    Meadows, Maureen; Dibb, Sally

    2012-01-01

    Although customer relationship management (CRM) is widely used by organizations to capture and manage customer data, the process of implementation can be problematic. This article takes a multi-sector view of CRM implementation in three areas of the UK services sector: banking and finance; professional services; and the government/public sector. The study captures variations in CRM practice and implementation across these sectors, applying an existing framework of CRM implementation to tease ...

  10. Utilization of skilled birth attendants in public and private sectors in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Do, Mai

    2009-05-01

    The private sector in health care in Vietnam has been increasingly competing with the government in primary health care services. However, little is known about the use of skilled birth attendance or about choice of public and private sectors among those who opt for skilled attendants. Using data from the Vietnam 2002 Demographic and Health Survey, this study examines factors related to women's decision-making of whether to have a skilled birth attendant at a recent childbirth, and if they did, whether it was a public or private sector provider. The study indicates that the use of the private sector for delivery services was significant. Women's household wealth, education, antenatal care and community's wealth were positively related to skilled birth attendance, while ethnicity and order of childbirth were negatively related. Order of childbirth was positively associated with skilled birth attendance in the private sector. Among service environment factors, increased access to public sector health centres was associated with an increased likelihood of skilled birth attendance in general, but a lowered chance of that in the private sector. Further studies are needed to assess the current situation in the private sector, the demand for delivery services in the private sector, and its readiness to provide quality services.

  11. A case for increased private sector involvement in Ireland's national animal health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    More, Simon J

    2008-02-01

    Non-regulatory animal health issues, such as Johne's disease, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR) and mastitis will become increasing important, with ongoing globalisation of markets in animals and animal products. In response, Ireland may need to broaden the scope of its national animal health services. However, there have been concerns about the respective roles and responsibilities (both financial and otherwise) of government and industry in any such moves. This paper argues the case for increased private sector involvement in Ireland's national animal health services, based both on theoretical considerations and country case studies (the Netherlands and Australia). The Dutch and Australian case studies present examples of successful partnerships between government and industry, including systems and processes to address non-regulatory animal health issues. In each case, the roles and responsibilities of government are clear, as are the principles underpinning government involvement. Furthermore, the roles and responsibilities (financial and otherwise) of the Dutch and Australian industry are determined through enabling legislation, providing both legitimacy and accountability. There are constraints on the use of EU and national government funds to support non-regulatory animal health services in EU member states (such as Ireland and the Netherlands).

  12. A case for increased private sector involvement in ireland's national animal health services

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    More Simon J

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Non-regulatory animal health issues, such as Johne's disease, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR and mastitis will become increasing important, with ongoing globalisation of markets in animals and animal products. In response, Ireland may need to broaden the scope of its national animal health services. However, there have been concerns about the respective roles and responsibilities (both financial and otherwise of government and industry in any such moves. This paper argues the case for increased private sector involvement in Ireland's national animal health services, based both on theoretical considerations and country case studies (the Netherlands and Australia. The Dutch and Australian case studies present examples of successful partnerships between government and industry, including systems and processes to address non-regulatory animal health issues. In each case, the roles and responsibilities of government are clear, as are the principles underpinning government involvement. Furthermore, the roles and responsibilities (financial and otherwise of the Dutch and Australian industry are determined through enabling legislation, providing both legitimacy and accountability. There are constraints on the use of EU and national government funds to support non-regulatory animal health services in EU member states (such as Ireland and the Netherlands.

  13. [Organization and technology in the catering sector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tinarelli, Arnaldo

    2014-01-01

    The catering industry is a service characterized by a contract between customer and supplier. In institutional catering industry, the customer is represented by public administration; in private catering industry, the customer is represented by privates. The annual catering trades size is about 6.74 billions of euros, equally distributed between health sector (hospitals, nursing homes), school sector and business sector (ivorkplace food service), with the participation of nearly 1.200 firms and 70.000 workers. Major services include off-premises catering (food prepared away from the location where it's served) and on-premises catering (meals prepared and served at the same place). Several tools and machineries are used during both warehousing and food refrigerating operations, and during preparation, cooking, packaging and transport of meals. In this sector, injuries, rarely resulting serious or deadly, show a downward trend in the last years. On the contrary, the number of occupational diseases shows an upward trend. About the near future, the firms should become global outsourcer, able to provide other services as cleaning, transport and maintenance. In addition, they should invest in innovation: from tools and machineries technology to work organization; from factory lay-out to safely and health in the workplaces.

  14. Embodied energy use in China's industrial sectors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Zhu; Geng Yong; Lindner, Soeren; Zhao Hongyan; Fujita, Tsuyoshi; Guan Dabo

    2012-01-01

    As the world’s top energy consumer, China is facing a great challenge to solve its energy supply issue. In this paper energy use from all industrial sectors in China’s economy of 2007 was explored by conducting an extended environmental input–output analysis. We compare the energy consumption embodied in the final demand for goods and services from 29 sectors with the energy demand required for the actual production process in each sector. Two different viewpoints for sectoral energy use have been presented: energy use is directly allocated to the producer entity, and energy use is reallocated to sector’s supply chain from consumption perspective. Our results show that considerable amount of energy use is embodied in the supply chain, especially for “Construction” and “Other Service Activities” sectors, which is not detected if energy use is allocated on a production basis. When further dividing embodied energy consumption into direct energy consumption and indirect energy consumption, total indirect energy consumption is much higher than that of total direct energy consumption, accounting for 80.6% of total embodied energy consumption in 2007. Our results provide a more holistic picture on sectoral energy consumption and therefore can help decision-makers make more appropriate policies. - Highlights: ► A hybrid IO-LCA model was employed to analyze China’s energy use at sectoral level. ► A case study on China’s sectoral energy consumption is done. ► Construction and service sectors are actually energy intensive from the supply chain perspectives. ► Upstream and downstream ectoral collaboration along the whole supply chain is necessary. ► Energy conservation policies should be based upon a comprehensive analysis on sectoral energy use.

  15. [Harassment in the public sector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puech, Paloma; Pitcho, Benjamin

    2013-01-01

    The French Labour Code, which provides full protection against moral and sexual harassment, is not applicable to public sector workers. The public hospital is however not exempt from such behaviour, which could go unpunished. Public sector workers are therefore protected by the French General Civil Service Regulations and the penal code.

  16. Public-Private Partnerships in China’s Urban Water Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mol, Arthur P. J.; Fu, Tao

    2008-01-01

    During the past decades, the traditional state monopoly in urban water management has been debated heavily, resulting in different forms and degrees of private sector involvement across the globe. Since the 1990s, China has also started experiments with new modes of urban water service management and governance in which the private sector is involved. It is premature to conclude whether the various forms of private sector involvement will successfully overcome the major problems (capital shortage, inefficient operation, and service quality) in China’s water sector. But at the same time, private sector involvement in water provisioning and waste water treatments seems to have become mainstream in transitional China. PMID:18256780

  17. Examining the Relationship between Perceived Organizational Support, Transfer of Training and Service Quality in the Malaysian Public Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zumrah, Abdul Rahim

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: This study aims to investigate the relationships among perceived organizational support (POS), transfer of training outcomes to the workplace and service quality in the context of public sector organizations in Malaysia. Design/methodology/approach: The data for this study have been collected from three sources, the employees of public…

  18. The implementation of computerized cognitive behavioural therapies in a service user-led, third sector self help clinic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cavanagh, Kate; Seccombe, Nick; Lidbetter, Nicky

    2011-07-01

    The efficacy and effectiveness of a computerized cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT) package, Beating the Blues, has been demonstrated in a large randomized controlled trial and several pragmatic studies in the National Health Service (NHS). The current study tests the generalizability of this finding to the implementation of CCBT in a service user-led, third sector Self Help Clinic. 510 referrals for the Beating the Blues program were received over a 16 month period in routine care. The Patient Health Questionnaire Depression (PHQ-9) and Anxiety (GAD-7) Scales were administered pre-treatment and during each treatment session. The 10-item Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure (CORE-OM), Work and Social Adjustment Scale and Patient Experience Questionnaire were also administered pre-treatment and immediately on completing treatment. More than two-thirds of referrals were suitable for treatment and completed a baseline assessment; 84% of these started the Beating the Blues program. Two-hundred and twenty-six people meeting caseness criteria at baseline completed at least two sessions of CCBT. Of these, 50% met recovery criteria at their final point of measurement. Completer and intention-to-treat analysis also demonstrated statistically and clinically significant improvements on key outcome measures. CCBT can be effectively implemented in a service user-led, third sector Self Help Clinic, increasing access to psychological therapies to meet local needs for tier two interventions for depression and anxiety.

  19. Investigation on the Relationship owth of Agricultural Sector’s Growth with Growth of Industrial and Service Sectors (Commerce, Transportation, Telecommunication in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    yaghoob zeraatkish

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Agriculture has always been considerd as one of the important sectors in domestic and international economy .Based on the Central Bank Statistics; agriculture’s share in the Iranian GDP at the constant price of the year 1998 was 13 percent of the GDP in the year 2007. Therefore, studies on the role of agriculture in an economy and its interactions with other economic sectors should be considered with a special attention. This paper aimed at surveying the effects of growth of value-added in agriculture on the value-added of different sectors of industry, services as well as subordinate sectors of transportation, communication and commerce. In this regard, the status of the period between 1967 to 2009 is used. To determine the relationship among the study variables, some econometric techniques such as VAR were used. The results of VAR technique proves that there is a positive relation among the growth of value-added in the agricultural sector with the growth of industrial sector and the growth of sub-sectors of communication, transportation and commerce. Among the mentioned sectors and sub-sectors, the growth of commerce has maximum effect on the agricultural growth. Furthermore, in the short term, the growth variant of trading sector presented the largest share in explaining the variants of the agriculture sector . The growth variant of communication sector is trivial

  20. Funding for universal service obligations in electricity sector: the case of green power development

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favard, P.; Mirabel, F.; Poudou, J.Ch.

    2002-07-01

    The process of deregulation in network industries, in particular in the electric sector, raises the problem of financing the Universal Service Obligations (USO) corresponding to the production, transport and distribution operations. In this paper, we study three ways of funding for an USO of production, especially the 'green' electricity development; the financing with cross-subsidies, the implementation of a fund (financing by a tax) and finally a voluntary funding system by direct subscriptions of consumers. We notably show that this last one Pareto dominates mostly, from a welfare point of view, the other scenarios. (authors)

  1. Divided care and the Third Way: user involvement in statutory and voluntary sector cancer services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tritter, J Q; Barley, V; Daykin, N; Evans, Simon; McNeill, Judith; Rimmer, James; Sanidas, M; Turton, Pat

    2003-07-01

    In health care, as in much of the public sphere, the voluntary sector is playing an increasingly large role in the funding, provision and delivery of services and nowhere is this more apparent than in cancer care. Simultaneously the growth of privatisation, marketisation and consumerism has engendered a rise in the promotion of 'user involvement' in health care. These changes in the organisation and delivery of health care, in part inspired by the 'Third Way' and the promotion of public and citizen participation, are particularly apparent in the British National Health Service. This paper presents initial findings from a three-year study of user involvement in cancer services. Using both case study and survey data, we explore the variation in the definition, aims, usefulness and mechanisms for involving users in the evaluation and development of cancer services across three Health Authorities in South West England. The findings have important implications for understanding shifts in power, autonomy and responsibility between patients, carers, clinicians and health service managers. The absence of any common definition of user involvement or its purpose underlines the limited trust between the different actors in the system and highlights the potentially negative impact of a Third Way health service.

  2. Managing customization in health care: a framework derived from the services sector literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minvielle, Etienne; Waelli, Mathias; Sicotte, Claude; Kimberly, John R

    2014-08-01

    Organizations that provide health services are increasingly in need of systems and approaches that will enable them to be more responsive to the needs and wishes of their clients. Two recent trends, namely, patient-centered care (PCC) and personalized medicine, are first steps in the customization of care. PCC shifts the focus away from the disease to the patient. Personalized medicine, which relies heavily on genetics, promises significant improvements in the quality of healthcare through the development of tailored and targeted drugs. We need to understand how these two trends can be related to customization in healthcare delivery and, because customization often entails extra costs, to define new business models. This article analyze how customization of the care process can be developed and managed in healthcare. Drawing on relevant literature from various services sectors, we have developed a framework for the implementation of customization by the hospital managers and caregivers involved in care pathways. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  3. The Relationship Between Organizational Culture and Organizational Commitment: An Empirical Research on Employees of Service Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Altin Gulova, Asena; Demirsoy, Ozge

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the relationship between organizational culture and organizational commitment. Two different scales (Organizational Culture Scales and Organizational Commitment Scales) were used as data gathering instrument. The research was conducted on employees of service sector working in call center in the city of Kayseri and working in insurance company in İzmir (n=181). In this research correlation analysis was made to describe the link between subscales of organizational cultu...

  4. Industrial sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ainul Hayati Daud; Hazmimi Kasim

    2010-01-01

    The industrial sector is categorized as related to among others, the provision of technical and engineering services, supply of products, testing and troubleshooting of parts, systems and industrial plants, quality control and assurance as well as manufacturing and processing. A total of 161 entities comprising 47 public agencies and 114 private companies were selected for the study in this sector. The majority of the public agencies, 87 %, operate in Peninsular Malaysia. The remainders were located in Sabah and Sarawak. The findings of the study on both public agencies and private companies are presented in subsequent sections of this chapter. (author)

  5. The figure of the teacher in Estonian school discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ott Puumeister

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The article concerns itself with the figure of the teacher in Estonian society. We do not concentrate on the educational system as a whole, but on one specific and crucial element in this apparatus - the teacher. We begin by offering a brief historical overview of the conditions of pedagogues in the 20th century before moving on to describe the adoption of neo-liberal free market policies since the 1990s and the effects these policies had and still have on education. Our main concern is to understand the teacher as an actor in power relations; to achieve this understanding we have selected as our examples 1 surveillance techniques in school environment that have direct relations to the state and the market; and 2 the 2012 educational workers' strike that made it quite clear that the teachers have been fixed to a position of wage workers. The overall and more abstract aim of the paper is to think about the social role of the teacher in Estonia.

  6. [University-external sector linkage: a managerial strategy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campos, Gilberto

    2004-06-01

    The University-External Sector vinculation is an increasing phenomenon in Latin America as in the rest of the world. The universities through its investigation processes actively participate in the creation and incorporation of science and technology to produce technological processes, to bring foreign technology into national reality, and also to create and transmit innovation for the productive sector. In those ways these institutions achieve bonds with the external sector which provide them with additional income and allows them to have certain relief for their tight teaching and investigation budgets. Several studies in university organizations have been made to identify the motivations and barriers for de adequate development of the interaction between the university and the external sector. The lack of vinculation between these institutions could be due in part to the lack of knowledge that the external sector has of the possibility to obtain services from the university, and also the lack of knowledge that the university has about the needs of potential users of their services. The goals achieved by public Venezuelan universities, in the last years, in their search of a vinculation with the external sector could grow and consolidate through an adequate strategic management plan that allows a mayor diffusion and promotion of the results of their investigations and services, to reach in a wider and more direct way, and to a greater number of potential clients.

  7. Achieving growth within the UK's Domestic Energy Efficiency Retrofitting Services sector, practitioner experiences and strategies moving forward

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gooding, Luke; Gul, Mehreen S.

    2017-01-01

    The adoption of the UK Green Deal policy provided an unprecedented change within the policy arena of domestic retrofit. Government financial support present within previous policy regimes was reduced and private industry was enlisted to provide finance, delivery mechanisms and management schemes for national domestic low carbon retrofit. Consequently, the Energy Efficiency Retrofit Services (EERS) sector needed to grow capacity and deliver retrofit at a larger scale. This research focuses on assessing the present EERS sector industry and its strategy to increase retrofit activity. This paper provides findings from on the ground interviews with UK EERS sector practitioners with relation to their experience of working with the Green Deal, and also their suggested strategies progressing forward now the Green Deal is no longer operational. Key findings suggest that UK EERS sector practitioners were unprepared to professionally deal with the expectation of the Green Deal, in terms of business administration and also dealing with the policy itself. Moving forward an emphasis is suggested which focused on training, to enable an increase in EERS sector capabilities, and to also enable an improvement of the quality and variety of work completed. Additionally, findings detail the requirement for enhanced communication between clients and policy administrators, to increase clarity in policy implementation and stakeholder expectation. - Highlights: • Assessment of Green Deal from supply chain perspective. • Highlighting of strategies utilised by retrofit practitioners to implement policy. • Indication of possible routes forward for domestic retrofit policy.

  8. Determinants of Shift Work impacting Job Satisfaction: A study on Service Sector Organizations in Pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    Wasim Abbas Awan

    2013-01-01

    This study aims to investigate the impact of determinants of shift work on job satisfaction in service sector organizations of Pakistan. History reveals that the invention of Thomas Edison brought the change in working environment and industrial revolution results in the birth of shift works. A great number of theories in Management are there to define Job satisfaction. All of them show the relationship between ability to perform and the productivity. In order to investigate their impact d...

  9. Improving the effectiveness of service delivery in the public healthcare sector: the case of ophthalmology services in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foo, Chee Yoong; Lim, Ka Keat; Sivasampu, Sheamini; Dahian, Kamilah Binti; Goh, Pik Pin

    2015-08-28

    Rising demand of ophthalmology care is increasingly straining Malaysia's public healthcare sector due to its limited human and financial resources. Improving the effectiveness of ophthalmology service delivery can promote national policy goals of population health improvement and system sustainability. This study examined the performance variation of public ophthalmology service in Malaysia, estimated the potential output gain and investigated several factors that might explain the differential performance. Data for 2011 and 2012 on 36 ophthalmology centres operating in the Ministry of Health hospitals were used in this analysis. We first consulted a panel of ophthalmology service managers to understand the production of ophthalmology services and to verify the production model. We then assessed the relative performance of these centres using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Efficiency scores (ES) were decomposed into technical, scale, and congestion component. Potential increase in service output was estimated. Sensitivity analysis of model changes was performed and stability of the result was assessed using bootstrap approach. Second stage Tobit regression was conducted to determine if hospital type, availability of day services and population characteristics were related to the DEA scores. In 2011, 33% of the ophthalmology centres were found to have ES > 1 (mean ES = 1.10). Potential output gains were 10% (SE ± 2.92), 7.4% (SE ± 2.06), 6.9% (SE ± 1.97) if the centres could overcome their technical, scale and congestion inefficiencies. More centres moved to the performance frontier in 2012 (mean ES = 1.07), with lower potential output gain. The model used has good stability. Robustness checks show that the DEA correctly identified low performing centres. Being in state hospital was significantly associated with better performance. Using DEA to benchmarking service performance of ophthalmology care could provide insights for policy

  10. Differences in public and private sector adoption of telemedicine: Indian case study for sectoral adoption.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sood, Sanjay P; Negash, Solomon; Mbarika, Victor W A; Kifle, Mengistu; Prakash, Nupur

    2007-01-01

    Telemedicine is the use of communication networks to exchange medical information for providing healthcare services and medical education from one site to another. The application of telemedicine is more promising in economically developing countries with agrarian societies. The American Telemedicine Association (ATA) identifies three healthcare services: clinical medical services, health and medical education, and consumer health information. However, it is not clear how these services can be adopted by different sectors: public and private. This paper looks at four Indian case studies, two each in public and private sectors to understand two research questions: Are there differences in telemedicine adoption between public and private hospitals. If there are differences: What are the differences in telemedicine adoption between public and private sectors? Authors have used the extant literature in telemedicine and healthcare to frame theoretical background, describe the research setting, present the case studies, and provide discussion and conclusions about their findings. Authors believe that as India continues to develop its telemedicine infrastructures, especially with continued government support through subsidies to private telemedicine initiatives, its upward trend in healthcare will continue. This is expected to put India on the path to increase its life expectancy rates, especially for it rural community which constitute over 70% of its populace.

  11. Improving Outcomes in the Nigeria Healthcare Sector through Public ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    PPP) model in the Country's healthcare sector. Public - Private Interaction offers opportunity of leveraging private sector investment in the sector and further enhances improvements in service delivery as well as increases access to quality ...

  12. Smoking prevalence and attitudes towards smoking among Estonian physicians: results from cross-sectional studies in 2002 and 2014

    OpenAIRE

    Põld, Mariliis; Pärna, Kersti

    2017-01-01

    Objectives To explore smoking prevalence and attitudes towards smoking among Estonian physicians in 2002 and 2014. Design Two self-administered cross-sectional postal surveys were conducted among practising physicians in Estonia. Participants Initial sample consisted of all practising physicians in Estonia. The corrected response rate was 67.8% in 2002 and 53.1% in 2014. Present study sample was restricted to physicians younger than 65 years (n=2549 in 2002, n=2339 in 2014). Methods Age-stand...

  13. The impact of robotics on employment and motivation of employees in the service sector, with special reference to health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qureshi, Mohammed Owais; Syed, Rumaiya Sajjad

    2014-12-01

    The economy is being lifted by the new concept of robotics, but we cannot be sure of all the possible benefits. At this early stage, it therefore becomes important to find out the possible benefits/limitations associated with robotics, so that the positives can be capitalized, established, and developed further for the employment and motivation of employees in the health care sector, for overall economic development. The negatives should also be further studied and mitigated. This study is an exploratory research, based on secondary data, such as books on topics related to robotics, websites, public websites of concerned departments for data and statistics, journals, newspapers and magazines, websites of health care providers, and different printed materials (brochures, etc). The impact of robotics has both positive and negative impacts on the employment and motivation of employees in the retail sector. So far, there has been no substantial research done into robotics, especially in the health care sector. Replacing employees with robots is an inevitable choice for organizations in the service sector, more so in the health care sector because of the challenging and sometimes unhealthy working environments, but, at the same time, the researchers propose that it should be done in a manner that helps in improving the employment and motivation of employees in this sector.

  14. TOURISM, TRADE, EXTERNALITIES, AND PUBLIC GOODS IN A THREE-SECTOR GROWTH MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Bin Zhang

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to introduce tourism, externalities, and public goods to a small-open growth with endogenous wealth and public goods supply. We develop the model on the basis of the Solow-Uzawa growth model, the neoclassical neoclassical growth theory with externalities, and ideas from tourism economics. The economy consists of three – service, industrial, and public - sectors. The production side is based on the traditional growth theories, while the household behavior is described by an alternative utility function proposed by Zhang. We introduce endogenous land distribution between housing and supply of services. The industrial and service sectors are perfectly competitive subject to the government’s taxation. The public sector is financially supported by the government. We introduce taxes not only on producers, but also on consumers’ incomes from wage, land, and interest of wealth, consumption of goods and services, and housing. We simulate the motion of the national economy and show the existence of a unique stable equilibrium. We carry out comparative dynamic analysis with regard to the rate of interest in the global market, the total productivity of the service sector, tax rate on the service sector, tax rate on consumption of services, human capital, the propensity to consume services, and the impact of public services on the productivity of the industrial sector. The comparative dynamic analysis provides some important insights into the complexity of open economies with endogenous wealth, public goods, and externalities.

  15. The Role of Parents and Parental Mediation on 0-3-Year Olds' Digital Play with Smart Devices: Estonian Parents' Attitudes and Practices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nevski, Elyna; Siibak, Andra

    2016-01-01

    In this manuscript, we analyse the attitudes and practices of Estonian parents (N = 198) who allowed their 0-3-year olds to use smart devices. We aimed to discover if there was an interaction between parental use of smart technologies, parents' attitudes and the child's age that would predict young children's usage of smart devices. We also wanted…

  16. Funding for universal service obligations in electricity sector: the case of green power development

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Favard, P.; Mirabel, F.; Poudou, J.Ch

    2002-07-01

    The process of deregulation in network industries, in particular in the electric sector, raises the problem of financing the Universal Service Obligations (USO) corresponding to the production, transport and distribution operations. In this paper, we study three ways of funding for an USO of production, especially the 'green' electricity development; the financing with cross-subsidies, the implementation of a fund (financing by a tax) and finally a voluntary funding system by direct subscriptions of consumers. We notably show that this last one Pareto dominates mostly, from a welfare point of view, the other scenarios. (authors)

  17. Impacts of Regional Integration in Mercosur on the co-operative sector

    International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

    Historically, the cooperative sector in Latin America has contributed to job creation, and been a relevant provider of housing, consumer goods, marketing services, financial services, and other goods and services. Despite its significance, however, the sector has not been actively involved in the process of regional economic ...

  18. Perspectives on User-Driven Innovation in Public Sector Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Langergaard, Luise Li

    2015-01-01

    of citizenship. Thus, we need to be aware of what different perspectives of user involvement imply for citizenship and collaborative innovation in the public sector. The chapter is based on a literature study and uses an empirical case as an example to illustrate and discuss differences in democratic......The chapter presents and discusses how we can conceptualize user involvement in the public sector, as well as users, in very different ways: As consumers, co-producers, lead users or citizens. One important question which is subsequently discussed, is what such different conceptualizations imply...... for citizenship understood in more traditional terms, i.e. defined by political deliberation and rights. This question is important because conceptualizations of users imply certain ideas about the public sector, state and society, which have political implications as well as implications for our understanding...

  19. Climate change studies in Estonia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kallaste, Tiit; Kuldna, Piret

    1998-01-01

    The present collection of papers was compiled on the basis of research papers written by Estonian scientists during the United Nations Environment Programme and Global Environment Facility initiated climate change programme Country Case Study on Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations Assessments. The Estonian country case study was finally approved by UNEP/GEF in February 1996, practical work started in September. The priorities for Estonia in the study of global climate change impacts and adaptation have been in the following areas of interest: agriculture, water resources, forestry, the Baltic Sea and Estonian coast, also historical climate and socioeconomic background together with the biggest producer of greenhouse gases, the energy sector. Those areas have been studied more carefully during the one and half year period of the project

  20. Work Motivation and Incentives in the Public Sector

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    R. Zoutenbier (Robin)

    2015-01-01

    markdownabstractThe public sector makes up for an important part of our economy. According to estimates by the OECD (2008) a large share of the labor force in OECD countries is employed by the public sector. These public sector workers provide a wide range of goods and services to the public.

  1. New Technologies to Assist Training in Hospitality Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balta, Sabah

    2007-01-01

    Hospitality sector needs new technological training tools, which can assist to improve sector employees' skills and services quality. The sector might be more interactive when these technological training tools used on the job-training program. This study addresses to issue of illumination of new technologic tools that enforce training in which…

  2. Work-related threats and violence in human service sectors: The importance of the psycho-social work environment examined in a multilevel prospective study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Lars Peter; Hogh, Annie; Biering, Karin; Gadegaard, Charlotte Ann

    2018-01-01

    Threats and violence at work are major concerns for employees in many human service sectors. The prevention of work-related violence is a major challenge for employees and management. The purpose of this study was to identify prospective associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related threats and violence in four high risk human service sectors. Questionnaire data was collected from 3011 employees working at psychiatric wards, in the elder sector, in the Prison and Probation Service and at Special Schools. Associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related violence and threats were then studied using a one-year follow-up design and multilevel logistic regression analyses. The analyses showed that quantitative demands, high emotional demands, low level of influence over own work-situation, low predictability, low rewards at work, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work-family conflicts and low organizational justice had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related threats. Furthermore, high emotional demands, low predictability, low role clarity, many role conflicts, many work-family conflicts, low supervisor quality and low support from nearest supervisor had statistically significant associations with high levels of work-related violence. Finally, across the four sectors both similar and different associations between psycho-social work environment and work-related violence and threats were found. The results of the study underline the importance of including the psycho-social work environment as a supplement to existing violence prevention methods and interventions aimed at reducing work-related violence and threats.

  3. The treatment of lexical collocations in EFL coursebooks in the Estonian secondary school context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liina Vassiljev

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates lexical collocations encountered in English as a Foreign Language (EFL instruction in Estonian upper secondary schools. This is achieved through a statistical analysis of collocations featuring in three coursebooks where the collocations found are analysed in terms of their type, frequency and usefulness index by studying them through an online language corpus (Collins Wordbanks Online. The coursebooks are systematically compared and contrasted relying upon the data gathered. The results of the study reveal that the frequency and range of lexical collocations in a language corpus have not been regarded as an essential criterion for their selection and practice by any of the coursebook authors under discussion.

  4. ICT and Web Technology Based Innovations in Education Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sangeeta Namdev, Dhamdhere

    2012-01-01

    ICT made real magic and drastic changes in all service sectors along with higher education and library practices and services. The academic environment is changing from formal education to distance and online learning mode because of ICT. Web technology and mobile technology has made great impact on education sector. The role of Open Access,…

  5. Regional transport sector mitigation options

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhou, Peter [EECG Consultants, Gaborone (Botswana)

    1998-10-01

    The rationale for conducting climate change mitigation studies in the transport sector is on the premise that: The transport sector is the second largest consumer of fossil fuels in the region; The regional transport sector is an area with high opportunity for infrastructural development under UNFCCC financial mechanism; The regional transport sector is crucial in the SADC region for trade and coupled with the Trade Protocol will play a major role in development hence the need to make it efficient in terms of energy demand and provision of services; The sector offers many mitigation options but with a challenge to evaluate their energy saving and GHG saving potential and yet there is need to quantify possible emission reduction for possible future emission trading. This is also a sector with potential to qualify for financing through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) recently stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. (au)

  6. Regional transport sector mitigation options

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Peter

    1998-01-01

    The rationale for conducting climate change mitigation studies in the transport sector is on the premise that: The transport sector is the second largest consumer of fossil fuels in the region; The regional transport sector is an area with high opportunity for infrastructural development under UNFCCC financial mechanism; The regional transport sector is crucial in the SADC region for trade and coupled with the Trade Protocol will play a major role in development hence the need to make it efficient in terms of energy demand and provision of services; The sector offers many mitigation options but with a challenge to evaluate their energy saving and GHG saving potential and yet there is need to quantify possible emission reduction for possible future emission trading. This is also a sector with potential to qualify for financing through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) recently stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. (au)

  7. Charging for Local Social Services: the Case of Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katrin Pihor

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Increasing fiscal pressure has forced local governments to seek new sources of autonomous revenues for financing public services. Charging users of social services has been modest, but with an aging society and growing social costs, this option needs to be reconsidered. This paper combines the results of the survey on the application of user charges on local social services in Estonian local governments (LGs with the official financial and population statistics in order to discover trends and explore factors determining the application of user charges in a small, unitary, highly centralised, post-soviet country. We conclude that user charges are mainly considered as a source of information and additional income to partially cover service costs – the possibilities of increased efficiency and demand control have remained undervalued. The probability of charging users of social services tends to be greater if the income level of inhabitants is higher, reflecting the ‘ability to pay’ principle. Charging users is more probable in the municipalities where the social costs are higher in volume or in proportion to the budget’s expenditures.

  8. in the health service sector – results of literature study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irena Sobańska

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to provide a review of the existing literature related to the directions of change from thepoint of view of the influence that lean approach has for management and accounting in health care institutions.The article is an account of the content of the selected 19 papers (from more than 200 analyzed published in thefield within the period 1995–2013. The investigation of the literature was conducted in two basic perspectives:theoretical considerations and results of empirical research (case study, questionnaire survey.The method of literature analysis was applied for the realization of the aim formulated in the paper. Twogroups of articles were the object of the analysis: theoretical and presenting explanatory results of empiricalinvestigations.The lean approach, which originated in the motor industry (production factories, is fully suitable for use inhealthcare organizations operating in various cultural contexts, and for reforming national healthcare systems toincrease their efficiency. The spreading and adoption of the lean concept in the medical services sector has anevolutionary character, similarly to the earlier spread of lean in manufacturing industries.

  9. The role of grandparents within the family and in child rearing among the Russians living in Estonia [Rola dziadków w rodzinie i wychowaniu dzieci wśród Rosjan mieszkających w Estonii

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Inna JÄRVA

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available In the post-Soviet counties, the end of the 20th century was a critical period of transition when the structure of the social institutions, and the norms of people living through the transition, were radically changed within a very short time. The process of change in Estonia had impacted more on the Russian community, whose social mobility has considerably increased within one generation, when compared with the Estonian population, since even before the restoration of Estonian independence, industrial workers made up half of the adult population (Tammaru 1999. Thirty years earlier Herbert Marcuse (1966 had noted that in western cultures deproletarisation was a new feature of culture, with the industrial working class being replaced by workers in the services sector. The result for most people had been a more unstable and mobile style of life. The Russians living in Estonia had learned to expand their cultural horizons, to take risks on their own initiative, and to teach these new worldviews to their children and grandchildren

  10. Issues affecting therapist workforce and service delivery in the disability sector in rural and remote New South Wales, Australia: perspectives of policy-makers, managers and senior therapists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Veitch, Craig; Dew, Angela; Bulkeley, Kim; Lincoln, Michelle; Bundy, Anita; Gallego, Gisselle; Griffiths, Scott

    2012-01-01

    The disability sector encompasses a broad range of conditions and needs, including children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, people with acquired disabilities, and irreversible physical injuries. Allied health professionals (therapists), in the disability sector, work within government and funded or charitable non-government agencies, schools, communities, and private practice. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study of therapist workforce and service delivery in the disability sector in rural and remote New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The aim was to investigate issues of importance to policy-makers, managers and therapists providing services to people with disabilities in rural and remote areas. The project gathered information via semi-structured interviews with individuals and small groups. Head office and regional office policy-makers, along with managers and senior therapists in western NSW were invited to participate. Participants included 12 policy-makers, 28 managers and 10 senior therapists from NSW government agencies and non-government organisations (NGOs) involved in providing services and support to people with disabilities in the region. Information was synthesised prior to using constant comparative analysis within and across data sets to identify issues. Five broad themes resonated across participants' roles, locations and service settings: (1) challenges to implementing policy in rural and remote NSW; (2) the impact of geographic distribution of workforce and clients; (3) workforce issues - recruitment, support, workloads, retention; (4) equity and access issues for rural clients; and (5) the important role of the NGO sector in rural service delivery and support. Although commitment to providing best practice services was universal, policy-related information transfer between organisations and employees was inconsistent. Participants raised some workforce and service delivery issues that are similar to

  11. Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hanson Kara G

    2007-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. Methods The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. Results A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions

  12. Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patouillard, Edith; Goodman, Catherine A; Hanson, Kara G; Mills, Anne J

    2007-11-07

    There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions. Few studies provided evidence on the impact of private sector

  13. Can working with the private for-profit sector improve utilization of quality health services by the poor? A systematic review of the literature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patouillard, Edith; Goodman, Catherine A; Hanson, Kara G; Mills, Anne J

    2007-01-01

    Background There has been a growing interest in the role of the private for-profit sector in health service provision in low- and middle-income countries. The private sector represents an important source of care for all socioeconomic groups, including the poorest and substantial concerns have been raised about the quality of care it provides. Interventions have been developed to address these technical failures and simultaneously take advantage of the potential for involving private providers to achieve public health goals. Limited information is available on the extent to which these interventions have successfully expanded access to quality health services for poor and disadvantaged populations. This paper addresses this knowledge gap by presenting the results of a systematic literature review on the effectiveness of working with private for-profit providers to reach the poor. Methods The search topic of the systematic literature review was the effectiveness of interventions working with the private for-profit sector to improve utilization of quality health services by the poor. Interventions included social marketing, use of vouchers, pre-packaging of drugs, franchising, training, regulation, accreditation and contracting-out. The search for published literature used a series of electronic databases including PubMed, Popline, HMIC and CabHealth Global Health. The search for grey and unpublished literature used documents available on the World Wide Web. We focused on studies which evaluated the impact of interventions on utilization and/or quality of services and which provided information on the socioeconomic status of the beneficiary populations. Results A total of 2483 references were retrieved, of which 52 qualified as impact evaluations. Data were available on the average socioeconomic status of recipient communities for 5 interventions, and on the distribution of benefits across socioeconomic groups for 5 interventions. Conclusion Few studies provided

  14. Chiropractic practice in the Danish public health care sector

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Myburgh, Corrie

    2009-01-01

    This commentary offers preliminary considerations around a phenomenological investigation of chiropractic services in a Danish public sector setting. In this narrative description, the main venue for chiropractic public (secondary) sector practice in the Danish context is briefly described...... and defined. Furthermore, a contextually relevant definition of an integral health care service is presented; and the professional importance for chiropractic in providing such services is also discussed. Finally, salient questions requiring empirical investigation in this context are posed; and selected...

  15. Structure changes, the contribution of sectors, income per capita Indonesia in 1990 – 2014

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paulina Harun

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Economic development is seen as a process of transition from one phase to another, from simple economic structure (agriculture to the modern economy structure. Economic development is characterized by changes in the structure of the agricultural sector into the modern sector. The changes affect all the matters related thereto. Therefore, a change or transformation of economic activity is referred to as a structural change. This study aims to analyze the structural changes in the national product, and the factors that cause changes in the structure and level of sectoral imbalances as a result of the structural changes. The study was conducted by using the economic sector, divided into four major groups, namely the primary, secondary, utilities and services from 1990 to 2014. Secondary data were collected by the method of sectoral trends, models Chanery Syrquin-Barua, Theil index. The results showed that the sectoral trend has a positive result such as utilities and services sectors, while the primary and secondary sectors tend to be negative. From the model Chenery, Syrquin-Barua shows the per capita income has a positive effect on the primary sector and the utilities, residents have positive effect on the secondary sector, utilities and services. Meanwhile dummy variable has a positive effect on the primary sector, secondary and services. Sectoral inequality occurs in the secondary sector.

  16. Identification the intangibles arising from investments in prevention of occupational risks and their perception in SMEs. Implications in the service sector and the servitization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Máximo Cortés

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Based on the concept of Intellectual Capital and the analysis of component elements, the study aims to identify potential intangibles arising from investments in prevention of occupational risks, analyzing if adequate preventive management helps to increase the value of the company, and establishing a comparative analysis of the industrial and service companies in order to observe specifications for each case. Besides the impact and implications arising thereon due to increased outsourcing and servitization processes in business are determined. Design/methodology: Analysis of the concept and components of Intellectual Capital, intangible generated on preventive action and indicators. Study of the relevant factors servitización and outsourcing, and implications with prevention. Empirical study: Initial study and further study. A comparative analysis considers their impact on the industrial sector relative to the service sector. Analysis of results and conclusions. Findings: This article determines if adequate preventive management helps to improve the image and increase the value of the company. The possible application of the components of Intellectual Capital with respect to intangibles generated in the prevention of occupational hazards is established, outlining the indicators to measure the generation of intangibles in preventive activities.Using both the initial and then further studies, the opinions and evaluation of entrepreneurs in Madrid can be assessed. A comparative analysis considers their impact on the industrial sector relative to the service sector, their particular characteristics, and the observed trend in the awareness of the benefits of prevention, in addition to establishing implications for the progressive increase servitization and outsourcing activities. Originality / Value: The paper provides information and interpretations which confirmed the importance of risk prevention as an intangible asset and a profitable

  17. Vitality of the Estonian forests (results of the inventory and research)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Karoles, K.

    1991-01-01

    Factors affecting Estonian forests are: The environmental, specially atmospheric pollution, - the foundation of new forests as monoculture on unsuitable locations, - mechanical damages by unsuitable forest machinery, - unfavourable water conditions, - Heterobasidion or Armillaria rot roots. Local damages in consequence of air pollutants are distributed in environments of Tallinn, Kivioli, Kohtla-Jaerve and the thermal power stations (Narva), where the SO 2 -content in the air is on the average higher than 50 (80) μg/m 3 . Pine forests on dry sand soils (600 ha damaged in 1989) and the older spruce forests show the new type of forest decline. High Al-ion concentration, disturbances of the Ca-Mg-metabolism, an extreme nutrient deficit, (specially N-deficit) and periodical water deficit as well as pathogenic fungi are damaging the trees. Spruces show nonspecific defoliation, needle necrosis, needlefall, occurence of fungal diseases. More damaged are the spruce forests in regions with basic precipitations and high sulphur-deposition. (orig./UWA) [de

  18. Gender differences in factors associated with sexual intercourse among Estonian adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Part, Kai; Rahu, Kaja; Rahu, Mati; Karro, Helle

    2011-06-01

    To examine factors associated with early sexual intercourse among 15 to 16-year-old adolescents by gender. The data were collected from a random sample of Estonian basic schools' ninth grade pupils in 1999 using self-completed questionnaires. A multivariate logistic regression analysis for boys and girls was used to test for associations between sexual intercourse, and personal gender role-related attitudes, attitudes towards sexual intercourse, pubertal timing, smoking status and experience of drunkenness. Of the respondents, 14.6% of boys and 13.1% of girls had experienced sexual intercourse. Traditional gender role-related attitudes were associated with sexual intercourse among girls, but not among boys. Smoking and experience of drunkenness was strongly associated with sexual intercourse for both genders. Gender differences in the association between gender role-related attitudes and early sexual intercourse were observed among 15 to 16-year-olds in Estonia. Smoking and experience of drunkenness were strongly related to sexual intercourse for both genders.

  19. Private Sector Contracting and Democratic Accountability

    Science.gov (United States)

    DiMartino, Catherine; Scott, Janelle

    2013-01-01

    Public officials are increasingly contracting with the private sector for a range of educational services. With much of the focus on private sector accountability on cost-effectiveness and student performance, less attention has been given to shifts in democratic accountability. Drawing on data from the state of New York, one of the most active…

  20. Public Sector and Europeanization Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucica Matei

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available The paper emphasises the role of the market-type mechanisms within the activity of the organisations from the public sector. The end of the 20th century was defined by the effects of the public sector reform. The public sector is placed within the cultural and political environment of each country and the reforms have aimed to redefine the structures of the state organisations in the economy and the relationships such as market-government, government-bureaucracy, government- citizens, bureaucracy-citizens, civil servants-politicians-citizens. The public sector reform, achieved at the managerial systems, organisational structures and regulations levels is accompanied by specific and structural reforms. Accepting the market-type mechanisms instead of bureaucratic mechanisms, meaning not the simple provision of public services but the creation of some governmental “actors”, functioning completely on commercial bases, supporting the development of the partnerships between the public and private sector, introducing privatisation is achieved in view of creating “the facilitating state”. We discuss about “facilities” such as citizens and society involvement in public businesses, making public administration more citizen-friendly and the state closer to the public need. The citizens’ involvement, as customers in the flow of the public service contributes to creating an organic ensemble characterised by two fundamental dimensions: level and type of influence of the customers and the private-public dichotomy. Synthesising, the relationships and market mechanisms enable to the public sector to get closer to the public needs and to create a modern administration based on efficiency, effectiveness and openness towards change.

  1. MODELLING DICLOFENAC AND IBUPROFEN RESIDUES IN MAJOR ESTONIAN SEASIDE CITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erki Lember

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available A theoretical model was developed to model the fate of two common pharmaceutical residues: diclofenac and ibuprofen in eight Estonian seaside cities that discharge their wastewaters directly into the Baltic Sea. The consumption rates of the active ingredients of diclofenac and ibuprofen from 2006-2014 were analysed. A decrease of 19.9% for diclofenac consumption and an increase of 14.1% for ibuprofen were found. The fate of diclofenac and ibuprofen were modelled by considering the human metabolism removal rate for pharmaceuticals, the removal rate of diclofenac and ibuprofen in activated sludge wastewater treatment plants (WWTP and annual flow rates. An average decrease from 1 to 0.8 µg/l (decrease of 20% for diclofenac and an increase from 11.4 to 13.4 µg/l (increase of 14.9% for ibuprofen for the concentration in the effluents of the WWTP were modelled. The model gives us a good overview about the theoretical concentrations of pharmaceutical residues in the environment and is helpful for evaluating environmental impacts.

  2. Determination of Heating Value of Estonian Oil Shale by Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Aints

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS combined with multivariate regression analysis of measured data were utilised for determination of the heating value and the chemical composition of pellets made from Estonian oil shale samples with different heating values. The study is the first where the oil shale heating value is determined on the basis of LIBS spectra. The method for selecting the optimal number of spectral lines for ordinary multivariate least squares regression model is presented. The correlation coefficient between the heating value predicted by the regression model, and that measured by calorimetric bomb, was R2=0.98. The standard deviation of prediction was 0.24 MJ/kg. Concentrations of oil shale components predicted by the regression model were compared with those measured by ordinary methods.

  3. IoT Applications with 5G Connectivity in Medical Tourism Sector Management: Third-Party Service Scenarios.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Psiha, Maria M; Vlamos, Panayiotis

    2017-01-01

    5G is the next generation of mobile communication technology. Current generation of wireless technologies is being evolved toward 5G for better serving end users and transforming our society. Supported by 5G cloud technology, personal devices will extend their capabilities to various applications, supporting smart life. They will have significant role in health, medical tourism, security, safety, and social life applications. The next wave of mobile communication is to mobilize and automate industries and industry processes via Machine-Type Communication (MTC) and Internet of Things (IoT). The current key performance indicators for the 5G infrastructure for the fully connected society are sufficient to satisfy most of the technical requirements in the healthcare sector. Thus, 5G can be considered as a door opener for new possibilities and use cases, many of which are as yet unknown. In this paper we present heterogeneous use cases in medical tourism sector, based on 5G infrastructure technologies and third-party cloud services.

  4. Corporate Governance from the Perspective of Stakeholder Theory and in Light of Perceptions among Estonian Owners and Managers of Relations with Stakeholders / Mari Kooskora

    Index Scriptorium Estoniae

    Kooskora, Mari, 1969-

    2006-01-01

    Äriühingute valitsemise kontseptsioon ja teoreetiline taust; Eesti omanike ja tippjuhtide ootused suhetes erinevate huvigruppidega ning äriühingute valitsemine huvigruppide teooriast lähtudes. Skeem: The stakeholder model. Tabelid: Contractual and community stakeholders; Overview of how perceptions of the main stakeholder groups among Estonian business leaders between 1995-2004 have changed

  5. Sectoral Innovation Foresight. Wholesale and Retail Trade Sector. Final Report. Task 2

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Giesecke, S.; Schaper-Rinkel

    2010-01-01

    The internationalization, concentration and differentiation of retailing is challenging the traditional retail and wholesale sector organisation and its distribution structures that firms have employed to get goods and services to market. With the intensification of competition and speed of change

  6. Convergence of carbon dioxide emissions in different sectors in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Juan; Zhang, Kezhong

    2014-01-01

    In this paper, we analyze differences in per capita carbon dioxide emissions from 1996 to 2010 in six sectors across 28 provinces in China and examine the σ-convergence, stochastic convergence and β-convergence of these emissions. We also investigate the factors that impact the convergence of per capita carbon dioxide emissions in each sector. The results show that per capita carbon dioxide emissions in all sectors converged across provinces from 1996 to 2010. Factors that impact the convergence of per capita carbon dioxide emissions in each sector vary: GDP (gross domestic product) per capita, industrialization process and population density impact convergence in the Industry sector, while GDP per capita and population density impact convergence in the Transportation, Storage, Postal, and Telecommunications Services sector. Aside from GDP per capita and population density, trade openness also impacts convergence in the Wholesale, Retail, Trade, and Catering Service sector. Population density is the only factor that impacts convergence in the Residential Consumption sector. - Highlights: • Analyze differences in CO 2 emissions in six sectors among 28 provinces in China. • Examine the convergence of CO 2 emissions in six sectors. • Investigate factors impact on convergence of CO 2 emissions in each sector. • Factors impact on convergence of per capita CO 2 emissions in each sector vary

  7. Terms of orientation on customer needs in the housing sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rozhentsova Irina

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Currently, the housing and utilities sector is one of the main sectors of the national economy of the Russian Federation, covering diversified industrial and technical complex, the need for products and services which are practically unlimited. Radical transformation carried out in the sector of housing and communal services (HCS, primarily associated with the formation of the new management model, which reflects the market relationship between the subjects and objects of management. The necessity of transition to new management models in housing and communal services is caused by the deregulation of the sector, separation of functions of owner, customer and producers, suppliers of housing and communal services, formation of private ownership of objects of housing and communal services. The relevance of the research topic is dictated by the low quality of management at all levels of the system of housing and communal services of Russia, insufficient knowledge of the specifics of management of the industry, as well as the need to develop ways to improve management efficiency, to ensure its exit from the crisis and further development. Development of system of housing and communal services becomes impossible without the use of new forms, methods of management of organizations. Consequently, the efficiency of management is relevant and very important problem, both for the theory and practice of management in this area of work.

  8. Innovative health service delivery models in low and middle income countries - what can we learn from the private sector?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bhattacharyya, Onil; Khor, Sara; McGahan, Anita; Dunne, David; Daar, Abdallah S; Singer, Peter A

    2010-07-15

    The poor in low and middle income countries have limited access to health services due to limited purchasing power, residence in underserved areas, and inadequate health literacy. This produces significant gaps in health care delivery among a population that has a disproportionately large burden of disease. They frequently use the private health sector, due to perceived or actual gaps in public services. A subset of private health organizations, some called social enterprises, have developed novel approaches to increase the availability, affordability and quality of health care services to the poor through innovative health service delivery models. This study aims to characterize these models and identify areas of innovation that have led to effective provision of care for the poor. An environmental scan of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted to select exemplars of innovation. A case series of organizations was then purposively sampled to maximize variation. These cases were examined using content analysis and constant comparison to characterize their strategies, focusing on business processes. After an initial sample of 46 studies, 10 case studies of exemplars were developed spanning different geography, disease areas and health service delivery models. These ten organizations had innovations in their marketing, financing, and operating strategies. These included approaches such a social marketing, cross-subsidy, high-volume, low cost models, and process reengineering. They tended to have a narrow clinical focus, which facilitates standardizing processes of care, and experimentation with novel delivery models. Despite being well-known, information on the social impact of these organizations was variable, with more data on availability and affordability and less on quality of care. These private sector organizations demonstrate a range of innovations in health service delivery that have the potential to better serve the poor's health needs and be

  9. Innovative health service delivery models in low and middle income countries - what can we learn from the private sector?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daar Abdallah S

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The poor in low and middle income countries have limited access to health services due to limited purchasing power, residence in underserved areas, and inadequate health literacy. This produces significant gaps in health care delivery among a population that has a disproportionately large burden of disease. They frequently use the private health sector, due to perceived or actual gaps in public services. A subset of private health organizations, some called social enterprises, have developed novel approaches to increase the availability, affordability and quality of health care services to the poor through innovative health service delivery models. This study aims to characterize these models and identify areas of innovation that have led to effective provision of care for the poor. Methods An environmental scan of peer-reviewed and grey literature was conducted to select exemplars of innovation. A case series of organizations was then purposively sampled to maximize variation. These cases were examined using content analysis and constant comparison to characterize their strategies, focusing on business processes. Results After an initial sample of 46 studies, 10 case studies of exemplars were developed spanning different geography, disease areas and health service delivery models. These ten organizations had innovations in their marketing, financing, and operating strategies. These included approaches such a social marketing, cross-subsidy, high-volume, low cost models, and process reengineering. They tended to have a narrow clinical focus, which facilitates standardizing processes of care, and experimentation with novel delivery models. Despite being well-known, information on the social impact of these organizations was variable, with more data on availability and affordability and less on quality of care. Conclusions These private sector organizations demonstrate a range of innovations in health service delivery that have

  10. Change in medical plant use in Estonian ethnomedicine: a historical comparison between 1888 and 1994.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sõukand, Renata; Kalle, Raivo

    2011-05-17

    The aim of this paper is to compare the changes in the utilization of species from various hemeroby categories (indicating the degree of sensitivity of the plant to human impact) using historical data concerning the years 1888-1994. The authors digitised 8808 handwritten reports, reflecting local ethnopharmacological knowledge from 8 selected collections from the Estonian Folklore Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum. They were semi-quantitatively analyzed according to the sensitivity to human impact of 540 taxa that could possibly be related to the plant vernacular names given in the reports. Although in different periods of time the number of ethnopharmacologically used plants has changed, the proportion of plants utilized from each group has remained relatively same, consisting on average of: 23% anthropophytes, 42% apophytes, 32% hemeradiaphores and 3% hemerophobes. Comparison of the application of the most used plants revealed considerable changes of plant utilization, in which the varied use of the most popular anthropophytes increased and the applied scope of the most popular hemeradiaphores and hemerophobes decreased almost by twofold in one century. Case studies on seven taxa are presented, of them, use of Allium sativum L., Aesculus hippocastanum L. and Mentha xpiperita L. increased, whereas the use of Hordeum L., Orchidaceae, Paris quadrifolia L. and Briza media L. decreased greatly. This research contributes to the better understanding of the cognitive and human ecological concepts underlying the use of medicinal plants in Estonia. Strong increase in the ethnomedical utilization of plants depending on human influence, and a decrease in the use of taxa that do not prefer human activities indicates that, despite some of the population still have access to natural resources and diverse knowledge of the medical use of plants, the majority relies on a very narrow selection and a rather restricted herbal landscape. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd

  11. Stakeholder perspectives of wood-pasture ecosystem services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Garrido, Pablo; Elbakidze, Marine; Angelstam, Per

    2017-01-01

    respondents showed more appreciation for regulating and supporting services, which included biodiversity conservation and climate regulation. Private and public sector respondents appreciated provisioning services more, whereas the civil sector mentioned supporting and regulating services more. For instance......, water regulation was only mentioned by civil and public sector respondents, while genetic resource preservation was only expressed by the private sector. All sectors noted cultural services as key ES. We discuss most mentioned ES by respondents, the co-production nature of ES in wood-pastures, as well...... to describe stakeholders' appreciation of ES from dehesa landscapes in northern Extremadura, Spain. A total of 45 ES were mentioned, and compared among different sectors and levels of governance. At the local level, people appreciated especially provisioning and cultural services. In contrast, regional level...

  12. Technological change and salary variation in Mexican regions: Analyzing panel data for the service sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Camberos C.

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper Hypothesis Biased Technological Change is applied for Mexican workers services sector, belonging several Mexican regions. Economics Census microdata, 1998, 2003 and 2008 are used. Hypothesis is proved with technological gaps, under consideration of different index and result statistics consistency by taking account panel analysis. Mayor wages differences at 2008 year were find out between Capital region and South one, about five hundred percent on 1998 year; but it was lower on 2008, two hundred percent. This result is in correspondence with diminishing technological gap, perhaps caused by economic crisis impact.

  13. Implementation of quality assurance and quality control in the Nuclear Analytical Laboratory of the Estonian Radiation Protection Centre

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koeoep, T.; Jakobson, E.

    2002-01-01

    The Analytical Laboratory of the Estonian Radiation Protection Centre is in the process of implementing the system of Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC) in the framework of the IAEA TC Project RER/2/004/ 'QA/QC of Nuclear Analytical Techniques'. The draft Quality Manual with annexes has been prepared accordingly to the ISO 17025 Guide, documents and other printed material delivered on the seminars of the project. The laboratory supply has been supplemented with necessary equipment for guaranteeing of quality. Proficiency testing included in the project has been performed successfully. (author)

  14. The politics of public sector change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, Peter

    2003-05-01

    As the changes underpinning the Coordinated Care Trials in South Australia have become more apparent, similarities have emerged between the rationalisation of public schooling in the mid 1980s and the transformation of public health in the 1990s. This article aims to discuss the evolution of health services in South Australia and help us answer the question of how best to manage our public and private health infrastructure in a changing economic and social context. Both strategies in education and health share common elements of cost cutting, attempts at improving efficiencies, a flirting with the private sector and the attendant risk of reduced quality of services to the public. This situation in both sectors is indicative of a shift in public policy and a growth in the belief that private management of public sector infrastructure can help resolve the funding crises around our education and health systems.

  15. Critical success factors for business intelligence in the South African financial services sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lionel Dawson

    2013-06-01

    Objectives: This research aimed to determine which CSFs are the most important in the financial services sector of South Africa. Method: The authors used a Delphi-technique approach with key project stakeholders in three BI projects in different business units of a leading South African financial services group. Results: Authors regarded CSF categories of ‘committed management support and champion’,‘business vision’, ‘user involvement’ and ‘data quality’ as the most critical for BI success. Conclusions: Researchers in the BI field should note that the ranking of CSFs in this study only correlate partially with those a European study uncovered. However, the five factors the authors postulated in their theoretical framework ranked in the seven highest CSFs. Therefore, they provide a very strong validation of the framework. Research in other industries and other emerging economies may discover similar differences and partial similarities. Of special interest would be the degree of correlation between this study and future, and similar emerging market studies. Practitioners, especially BI project managers, would do well to check that they address the CSFs the authors uncovered before undertaking BI projects.

  16. Spaces of care in the third sector: understanding the effects of professionalization.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carey, Gemma; Braunack-Mayer, Annette; Barraket, Jo

    2009-11-01

    Increasingly the health and welfare needs of individuals and communities are being met by third sector, or not-for-profit, organizations. Since the 1980s third sector organizations have been subject to significant, sector-wide changes, such as the development of contractual funding and an increasing need to collaborate with governments and other sectors. In particular, the processes of 'professionalization' and 'bureaucratization' have received significant attention and are now well documented in third sector literature. These processes are often understood to create barriers between organizations and their community groups and neutralize alternative forms of service provision. In this article we provide a case study of an Australian third sector organization undergoing professionalization. The case study draws on ethnographic and qualitative interviews with staff and volunteers at a health-based third sector organization involved in service provision to marginalized community groups. We examine how professionalization alters organizational spaces and dynamics and conclude that professionalized third sector spaces may still be 'community' spaces where individuals may give and receive care and services. Moreover, we suggest that these community spaces hold potential for resisting the neutralizing effects of contracting.

  17. Sectoral analysis of the causal relationship between electricity consumption and real output in Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Chor Foon; Shahbaz, Muhammad

    2013-01-01

    This study uses the annual data from 1972 to 2010 to assess the causal relationship between electricity consumption and real output at the aggregate and sectoral levels in Pakistan. This study covers three main economic sectors in Pakistan namely agricultural, manufacturing and services sectors. Our cointegration results reveal that the variables are cointegrated at the aggregate and sectoral levels. At the aggregate level, we find that there is uni-directional Granger causality running from electricity consumption to real output in Pakistan. At the sectoral level, we find that electricity consumption Granger-causes real output in the manufacturing and services sectors. However, there is no causal relationship between electricity consumption and real output in the agricultural sector. The policy implication of these results is that electricity conservation policies in general would deteriorate the process of economic growth as well as the real output in the manufacturing and services sectors in Pakistan. Nevertheless, we suggest the Pakistani government to implement the electricity conservation policies merely to the agricultural sector because such policies may have less or no adverse impact on its real output. - Highlights: • We assess the electricity-growth nexus in Pakistan at the aggregate and sectoral levels. • The variables are cointegrated at both levels. • We find causality from electricity to output at the aggregate level and services. • We find neutral causality in the agricultural sector. • We find bi-directional causality in the manufacturing sector

  18. Facilitators and barriers to participation of private sector health facilities in government-led schemes for maternity services in India: a qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadav, Vikas; Kumar, Somesh; Balasubramaniam, Sudharsanam; Pallipamula, Suranjeen; Memon, Parvez; Singh, Dinesh; Bhargava, Saurabh; Sunil, Greeshma Ann; Sood, Bulbul

    2017-01-01

    Objective Despite provision of accreditation of private sector health providers in government-led schemes for maternity services in India, their participation has been low. This has led to an underutilisation of their presence, resources and expertise for providing quality maternal and newborn health services. This study explores the perception of various stakeholders on expectations, benefits, barriers and facilitators to private sector participation in government-led schemes—specifically Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)—for maternity service delivery. Design Narrative-based qualitative study. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with study participants. The interviews were transcribed, translated and analysed using a reflexive and inductive approach to allow codes, categories and themes to emerge from within the data. Setting Private obstetricians, government health officials and FOGSI (Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India) members, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, India. Participants Eighteen purposefully selected private obstetricians from 9 cities across states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, 11 government health officials and 2 FOGSI members. Results The major factors serving as barriers to participation of private practitioners in JSY—which emerged on thematic analysis—were low reimbursement amounts, delayed reimbursements, process of interaction with the government and administrative issues, previous experiences and trust deficit, lack of clarity on the accreditation process and patient-level barriers. On the other hand, factors which were facilitators to participation of private practitioners were ease of process, better communication, branding, motivation of increasing clientele as well as satisfaction of doing social service. Conclusion Factors such as financial processes and administrative delays, mistrust between the stakeholders, ambiguity in processes, lack of transparency and lack of ease in the process of

  19. E-service quality: An investigation of its key dimensions and the discriminatory power in the residential property sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Justin Beneke

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Research Statement: With an increase in competition within the South African property sector, real estate agencies need to ensure that their channels are as effective as possible. Using the Internet and mobile technologies represents a new means to reach customers and achieve lower operating costs. This study seeks to ascertain which factors potential buyers consider important when perusing residential property in an online environment. Hence, the dimensions of e-service quality, which constitute their online experience, will be explored. In addition, this research explores buyer typologies and probes whether other forms of technology, such as a mobile interface, may be of commercial value to the realtor. Methodology: The empirical analysis was conducted by means of a quantitative survey. A questionnaire was designed to test the application of the e-service quality construct in the South African real-estate sector. Data was obtained from 300 respondents, across the age spectrum, who filled the criteria of being prospective buyers. Convenience sampling was primarily used to collect responses as the researchers were unable to obtain access to a specific database of listed property buyers. Results & Conclusion: As mirrored in other studies of this nature, it was found that trust is paramount when initiating property sales online. All other variables in the construct (site features, information, accessibility, communication, reliability, responsiveness and personalisation also proved significant. A cluster analysis revealed that older respondents preferred a higher level of support - across all attributes of e-service quality - when interacting with online property services. Lastly, the mobile interface appears to appeal to 'students' as well as 'mature workers'. It is surmised that these individuals have access to smart phones capable of being used for accessing property portals. However, the 'young workers' appear less enthusiastic about the

  20. BUSINESS ACCEPTANCE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES: AN STUDY OF THE SERVICE SECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria José Martín De Hoyos

    2007-05-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to analyse the level of development reached by some Information and Communication Technologies (ICT such as web pages, e-mail, EDI, and business management software in the business world. To this end, we have concentrated on the business behaviour of the service sector. Nevertheless, the technological development demanded changes depending on the activity of the firm, so the mediator effect of the industry has been tested in the process of acceptance of innovations. Our results show the technology acceptance process is influenced by the perception of both the usefulness and the ease of use of such innovation. Moreover, the industry effect mediates the technological behaviour of the firm; meanwhile, if the firms performs a “traditional activity”, there are less incentives to implement the innovation.

  1. Improving Outcomes in the Nigeria Healthcare Sector through Public ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Nigeria's healthcare sector over the years has continued to degenerate with health indicators ... in service delivery as well as increases access to quality healthcare. ... Key words: Nigeria, Healthcare Sector, Health Outcomes, Health Indicators, ...

  2. Mergers & Acquisitions in India: A sectoral analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Priya Bhalla

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Globalization, deregulation and technological improvements have resulted in increase in M&A across the globe. There is enormous literature existing in the advanced economies. However, very little information is available regarding M&A in India. Various sectors have witnessed differential involvement in M&A activity indicating higher participation by some. Particularly, certain sectors such as financial services and pharmaceuticals demonstrate higher M&A activity. To emphasise differential importance of sectors in M&A activity, it is necessary to conduct a sector-wise analysis. Accordingly, this study attempts to investigate the differential representation of various sectors in M&A. Further, it explores the role played by India in the rising global M&A activity. In light of this, it specifies the factors driving consolidation in the financial sector globally.

  3. Chernobyl is still haunting us. Radionuclides in Estonian mushrooms

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, J.; Vilde, R.; Martin, L.; Aaspollu, J.; Tekko, S.

    1993-01-01

    The disaster that happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power station in 1986 caused a sharp rise in radioactive pollution over an extensive area in the region of the Baltic Sea. To estimate the distribution and the concentration of Cs-137 and Sr-90 in Estonian ecosystems, samples of mushrooms, mosses, lichens and the upper horizons of soil were gathered from 63 test sites during 1991. We were particularly interested in the amounts of radionuclides in mushrooms because these are used as food by people. Dangerously high radionuclide concentrations were found in mushrooms gathered in North-East Estonia. Heightened concentrations were registered here and there all over the territory of Estonia, especially in mushrooms gathered in Central and South-Western Estonia. The Cs-137 content in mushrooms depends on its content in other components of the ecosystems, first and foremost on the concentrations of radiocaesium in mosses and litter, which, therefore, can be used as indicators in prognostication the radioactive pollution of mushrooms in a certain region. As Cs-137 migrates between various ecosystem components, it is necessary to check the radioactivity of the forest products used for food for still a number of years to come. The Sr-90 level was low in all the ecosystem components examined. (author). 3 figs., 10 refs

  4. Product-Service System Design Approach for the Base of the Pyramid Markets : Practical Evidence from the Energy Sector in the Brazilian Context

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Da Costa Junior, J.; Diehl, J.C.

    2013-01-01

    In Emerging Markets, the product-service system (PSS) design approach may represent a promising solution as a socially and environmentally sound path to economic development. In addition, the energy sector has a major role for the social-economic development and is central to poverty alleviation.

  5. Kolm Eesti Robinsoni: Daniel Defoe romaan eesti tõlkes / Three Estonian Robinsons: Daniel Defoe’s Novel in Estonian Translation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ene-Reet Soovik

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The article discusses three Estonian translations of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe into Estonian with the focus on the completeness of the translated texts and the characterisation given to these in paratextual information. While there are several translations and versions of the tex t available in E stonian that have either used a mediating language or do not proceed directly from Defoe’s novel, three editions explicitly list Defoe’s English-language Robinson Crusoe as their source text. These are Rudolf Sirge’s translation from 1950 and two editions translated by Valter Rummel that appeared in 1984 (reprinted in 2001 and 2007, respectively. The article sets out to discover the main differences between the three editions and the possible reasons that may have triggered their publication in Estonia at those particular times. In order to approach the issues, a general framework derived from descriptive translation studies is employed with an emphasis on Gideon Toury’s chrestomatic treatment of translation norms. Thus an attempt is made to detect the preliminary translational norms regarding translation policy, particularly the choice of texts to be translated, as well as the matricial norms that concern the fullness of the translated text and are part of operational norms manifested in the translator’s decisions which, in two of the cases at hand, may also have been decisions made by the editor or the censor. Rudolf Sirge’s translation appeared at a time when Estonia had fairly recently been incorporated into the Soviet Union and there was a lack of children’s literature ideologically appreciated by the regime. This may account for the packaging of the book as a work with a strong didactic bent, while its primary audience was taken to be children and young adults for whom the protagonist served as an example of a hard-working and tenacious hero to be emulated by young Soviets. The target text has been considerably shortened as

  6. MEASURING CONSUMER-BASED BRAND EQUITY - EVIDENCE FROM ALBANIAN BANKING SECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shpëtim ÇERRI

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Today brands and branding have gained a lot of attention among academics and practitioners as well, since they are considered crucial for the success of a company. The branding literature, however, has been more focused on goods branding, relatively neglecting the services branding. Branding equity in services, as an important concept of services branding, also has not received the deserved attention from academics and services companies’ managers.The study aims to measure the brand equity in services sector, since brand equity is very important for monitoring of the health of services brands. It has been focused in the banking sector, a well-developed and consolidated sector which employs hundreds of individuals and has a very important role in Albanian economy. Nine banks, which make up more than 98 per cent of the domestic market in banking services (according to the official data of the Bank of Albania, were chosen to be included in the study. 250 bank customers were interviewed, using direct interviews. After an extensive literature review about the branding and services branding, seven measures were chosen and used to measure the services brand equity. The findings of the study gave interesting insights about services branding equity and services branding in general. It has important and useful implications for banks’ managers as well as for academics.

  7. DIAGNOSIS OF TICS IN THE SMALLS OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS POTOSÍ IN THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE SECTOR FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF ITS SERVICES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dubelza B. Oliva-Garza

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In recent years information and communication technologies are present in all sectors of our lives and the food and drink sector is no exception, so a diagnosis was made in this area in small and medium enterprises in the city of San Luis Potosí in the areas for the management and dissemination of their services, as they are currently at a disadvantage in front of large restaurant chains that have mobile applications, web pages and other applications. The research design applied is descriptive. Thirty-two MSMEs from the food and beverage sector in the city of San Luis Potosí were affiliated with the National Chamber of the restaurant and food industry (Canirac. The variables that were taken into consideration are: Use of computer equipment, ICT specialists, Internet access and use, Social Media, Electronic Commerce. The study found that most SMEs in the restaurant sector, use the social network Facebook as a means of disseminating services and promotions, However, they do not use all the potential that the social tool provides them, due to the lack of knowledge and lack of preparation to interact better with their customers and suppliers. In addition, most of the sample has the need to advertise through electronic means, through mobile phone applications.

  8. QUANTIFYING BARRIERS TO TRADE IN SERVICES THROUGHCOMMERCIAL PRESENCE: SELECTED SERVICES IN MALAYSIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nirwan Noh

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The services sector in Malaysia is slowlyliberalising in terms of equityownership. However, trade and investment barriers in the services sector aredifficult to measure since it is not easily quantifiable. Previous studies weremainly macro-level, multi-country cross-sectional assessments while there are nocountry level studies over time. This paper has two objectives. The first is tomeasure barriers to trade in services carried out through commercial presence(Mode 3 in Malaysia in several industries over time. The second objective is toassess the policy implications of the measurement obtained.Based on availabledata, the industries covered in this study include communications, construction,distribution, higher education, financial, healthcare, tourism and transportationand logistics services from 2001-2010.This assessment is important asMalaysiahopes to attract more foreign direct investment (FDI intoitsservices sector.Information is gathered throughsurveys, focus group discussions andcontentanalysis ofsecondary sources.Restrictive policies on FDI aretransformed intoanindex to measure the extent of liberalisation for each subsector.Based on theindex, it can be seen that theliberalisationprocessis still slow. To facilitatefurther progress inliberalising the services sector, it is important toliberalisebarriersbeyond mere equityownership.

  9. 5 CFR 300.503 - Conditions for using private sector temporaries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Conditions for using private sector... REGULATIONS EMPLOYMENT (GENERAL) Use of Private Sector Temporaries § 300.503 Conditions for using private... help service firm for the brief or intermittent use of the skills of private sector temporaries, when...

  10. What are the barriers and facilitators for third sector organisations (non-profits) to evaluate their services? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bach-Mortensen, Anders Malthe; Montgomery, Paul

    2018-01-22

    The third sector is becoming a more common provider of social and health services, but little is known about how third sector organisations (TSOs) evaluate their activities. Past research has reported that the third sector is under increasing pressure to evaluate its impact and performance by government and other commissioning bodies. However, in responding to this increased pressure to undertake evaluation, research suggests that many TSOs struggle to evaluate their activities following the principles of evidence-based practice (EBP). Yet, there has been no systematic effort to investigate why the third sector is struggling to provide good quality evidence of its effects. This systematic review is reported following the PRISMA guidelines. Ten interdisciplinary databases were searched using a search string developed following best practice and in consultation with an information systems expert. Included studies were primary research of any research design investigating barriers to and facilitators of the evaluation process of TSOs as identified by practitioners. All studies were quality appraised, and the results were synthesised as a thematic summary. Twenty-four studies were included, which mainly investigated TSOs working within health and social services. The thematic summary identified the main barriers for TSOs to undertake evaluation to be related to the (1) lack of financial resources, (2) lack of technical capability and evaluation literacy and (3) challenges around identifying relevant evaluation systems and outcome indicators. Key facilitating factors involved (1) getting the appropriate support, (2) having an organisational culture that supports evaluation and (3) the motivation to be accountable to stakeholders. These findings were robust to study quality. This review constitutes the first systematic effort to synthesise existing literature on factors supporting and preventing evaluation by TSOs. The prevalence of factors revolving around the lack of

  11. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL EFFICIENCY. CUSTOMIZE ON HEALTHCARE SECTOR

    OpenAIRE

    CLAUDIU CICEA

    2011-01-01

    Efficiency in health service sector is very important because the health sector is a major consumer of resources (especially financial). In this paper the author aims to analyze the efficiency in a social sector (healthcare system) based on cost-benefit analysis.

  12. Supplier relationship management – anathema for the South African public procurement sector

    OpenAIRE

    Micheline J. Naude; Intaher M. Ambe; René Kling

    2013-01-01

    The public sector is recognised as being one of the most important customer groups for many suppliers and service providers because of the volume of public expenditure. Supplier relationship management (SRM) is a necessary tool on which businesses in the public and private sectors rely. However, in the South African public sector, despite the intention to boost service delivery through efficient and effective supplier-management processes, the development of sound supplier relationships is a ...

  13. Coverage of private sector community midwife services in rural Punjab, Pakistan: development and demand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mumtaz, Zubia; Levay, Adrienne V; Jhangri, Gian S; Bhatti, Afshan

    2015-11-25

    In 2007, the Government of Pakistan introduced a new cadre of community midwives (CMWs) to address low skilled birth attendance rates in rural areas; this workforce is located in the private-sector. There are concerns about the effectiveness of the programme for increasing skilled birth attendance as previous experience from private-sector programmes has been sub-optimal. Indonesia first promoted private sector midwifery care, but the initiative failed to provide universal coverage and reduce maternal mortality rates. A clustered, stratified survey was conducted in the districts of Jhelum and Layyah, Punjab. A total of 1,457 women who gave birth in the 2 years prior to the survey were interviewed. χ(2) analyses were performed to assess variation in coverage of maternal health services between the two districts. Logistic regression models were developed to explore whether differentials in coverage between the two districts could be explained by differential levels of development and demand for skilled birth attendance. Mean cost of childbirth care by type of provider was also calculated. Overall, 7.9% of women surveyed reported a CMW-attended birth. Women in Jhelum were six times more likely to report a CMW-attended birth than women in Layyah. The mean cost of a CMW-attended birth compared favourably with a dai-attended birth. The CMWs were, however, having difficulty garnering community trust. The majority of women, when asked why they had not sought care from their neighbourhood CMW, cited a lack of trust in CMWs' competency and that they wanted a different provider. The CMWs have yet to emerge as a significant maternity care provider in rural Punjab. Levels of overall community development determined uptake and hence coverage of CMW care. The CMWs were able to insert themselves into the maternal health marketplace in Jhelum because of an existing demand. A lower demand in Layyah meant there was less 'space' for the CMWs to enter the market. To ensure universal

  14. Individual and work-related risk factors for musculoskeletal pain: a cross-sectional study among Estonian computer users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oha, Kristel; Animägi, Liina; Pääsuke, Mati; Coggon, David; Merisalu, Eda

    2014-05-28

    Occupational use of computers has increased rapidly over recent decades, and has been linked with various musculoskeletal disorders, which are now the most commonly diagnosed occupational diseases in Estonia. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of musculoskeletal pain (MSP) by anatomical region during the past 12 months and to investigate its association with personal characteristics and work-related risk factors among Estonian office workers using computers. In a cross-sectional survey, the questionnaires were sent to the 415 computer users. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaire from 202 computer users at two universities in Estonia. The questionnaire asked about MSP at different anatomical sites, and potential individual and work related risk factors. Associations with risk factors were assessed by logistic regression. Most respondents (77%) reported MSP in at least one anatomical region during the past 12 months. Most prevalent was pain in the neck (51%), followed by low back pain (42%), wrist/hand pain (35%) and shoulder pain (30%). Older age, right-handedness, not currently smoking, emotional exhaustion, belief that musculoskeletal problems are commonly caused by work, and low job security were the statistically significant risk factors for MSP in different anatomical sites. A high prevalence of MSP in the neck, low back, wrist/arm and shoulder was observed among Estonian computer users. Psychosocial risk factors were broadly consistent with those reported from elsewhere. While computer users should be aware of ergonomic techniques that can make their work easier and more comfortable, presenting computer use as a serious health hazard may modify health beliefs in a way that is unhelpful.

  15. [Central purchasing bodies and spending review in health sector].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spampinato, Luigi

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to analyze the new model of centralization of purchases in Italy after the approval of the 2016 Stability Law, with particular reference to the health sector. In fact, the spending review process in Italy in the health sector has had a strong evolution with the 2016 Stability Law, which has introduced the obligation for the institutions of the National Health Service to obtain supplies, exclusively, from aggregators subjects, for certain product categories of the health sector. The legislature, over the years, was mainly characterized by measures to reduce the spending limits for purchases of goods and services or by resetting the fees, including the provision of an obligation for the renegotiation of health goods and services contracts, in order to ensure the effective implementation of the expenditure rationalization by aggregation of goods and services. From 2016, the legislature has provided an innovative model of centralization of purchases based on a new network governance model on several levels, national and regional, which should ensure an efficiency of procurement processes. The proper functioning of the governance model adopted can be an important driver of economic policy in order to understand that it is important not only to spend less, but to spend better. This can be realized in the public administration with a strong innovation process in this administration and also with a strong investment in skills, in order to ensure the same service quality throughout the national territory to the health sector.

  16. Internal Affairs Sector: Towards a new Law on Police

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radivojević Nenad P.

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available By establishing the Inspector General's Service within the Department of Public Safety in 2001, Serbia became one of the countries that have institutionalized internal control of the police. By the adoption of the Law on Police in 2005, the name of the Service was renamed in the Internal Affairs Sector. Ten years of work of the Internal Affairs Sector revealed the existence of certain problems because of a inadequate and not complete legal framework. That was, among other, the reason for initiating the adoption of the new Law on Police. This paper presents solutions of the Draft Law on Police, in part related to the work of the Sector. The Draft contains some new solutions that could improve the efficiency of the Sector, but some doubts and uncertainties still remain, that will also be explained in this paper.

  17. Organizational Aspects of Innovative Paper Digitization and E-Invoicing Services in the Public Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nunzio Casalino

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The article tries to describe a model of analysis to evaluate and measure real benefits and organizational effects arising from the process of paper digitization and e-invoicing for the Italian Public Administrations. The analysis is focused also on the interaction between citizens, professionals, companies and the Italian public administrations. The approach at the basis of the investigation highlights several critical traits of the digitization activity and delivers an analysis that displays how those difficulties brought forward by motivational and involvement factors. The digital transformation in the Public sector can give several opportunities from the organizational point of view, but at the same time can propose some complex difficulties for the delivering of effective services and for the innovation development.

  18. Multi-sectoral action for child safety-a European study exploring implicated sectors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scholtes, Beatrice; Schröder-Bäck, Peter; Förster, Katharina; MacKay, Morag; Vincenten, Joanne; Brand, Helmut

    2017-06-01

    Injury to children in Europe, resulting in both death and disability, constitutes a significant burden on individuals, families and society. Inequalities between high and low-income countries are growing. The World Health Organisation Health 2020 strategy calls for inter-sectoral collaboration to address injury in Europe and advocates the whole of government and whole of society approaches to wicked problems. In this study we explore which sectors (e.g. health, transport, education) are relevant for four domains of child safety (intentional injury, water, road and home safety). We used the organigraph methodology, originally developed to demonstrate how organizations work, to describe the governance of child safety interventions. Members of the European Child Safety Alliance, working in the field of child safety in 24 European countries, drew organigraphs of evidence-based interventions. They included the different actors involved and the processes between them. We analyzed the organigraphs by counting the actors presented and categorizing them into sectors using a pre-defined analysis framework. We received 44 organigraphs from participants in 24 countries. Twenty-seven sectors were identified across the four domains. Nine of the 27 identified sectors were classified as 'core sectors' (education, health, home affairs, justice, media, recreation, research, social/welfare services and consumers). This study reveals the multi-sectoral nature of child safety in practice. It provides information for stakeholders working in child safety to help them implement inter-sectoral child safety interventions taking a whole-of-government and whole-of-society approach to health governance. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

  19. Technical assistance for EBRD-PMU, Estonia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1996-12-01

    The EBRD Energy Sector Emergency Loan to Estonia has resulted in numerous benefits for the Estonian Energy Sector and the Estonian Society and the locals as well as the end users have developed themselves tremendously during the project. The substantial economic, environmental and energy saving effects of the loan project have been: Energy savings and improved energy efficiency in the electricity grid, the district heating networks, the district heating consumer installations, the energy production plants in terms of rehabilitated or converted boilers and burners, industrial consumer installations. The energy efficiency improvements have resulted in energy savings between 5% and 30%; Conversion of boilers from expensive imported heavy fuel oil to indigenous fuels such as peat and wood. The results are higher supply security, improved boiler efficiency, reduced emissions and reduced operation and maintenance costs; Rehabilitated district heating networks resulted in reduced heat and water losses, improved operation of installations and reduced maintenance costs; Rehabilitated electricity grids with fewer break-downs, reduced maintenance costs and improved energy efficiency as results; Improved operation of the larger energy utilities resulting in lower operational costs, improved dispatch of the energy systems and speedier actions in case of break-downs. The economic indicators, pay-back time and Internal Rate of Return show that a large number of the projects have had a substantial impact on the Estonian economy and that the projects have been sound investments. The recommendations for the local completion of the work in Estonia are: The Juri boiler plant should be carefully attended to by the PMU and the Estonian authorities. (Abstract Truncated)

  20. International Outsourcing and Productivity in Italian Manufacturing Sectors

    OpenAIRE

    Lo Turco Alessia

    2007-01-01

    This paper estimates the effect of international outsourcing of materials and services on productivity in Italian manufacturing sectors during the period 1985-1997. Three different measures of outsourcing are used. Firstly, a "narrow" measure of outsourcing is calculated as the intensity of intermediate inputs that each sector imports from the same sector abroad. Secondly, a "broad" measure of outsourcing of materials is calculated as the intensity of materials imported from non-energy manufa...

  1. Third sector primary health care in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crampton, P; Dowell, A C; Bowers, S

    2000-03-24

    To describe key organisational characteristics of selected third sector (non-profit and non-government) primary health care organisations. Data were collected, in 1997 and 1998, from 15 third sector primary care organisations that were members of a network of third sector primary care providers, Health Care Aotearoa (HCA). Data were collected by face-to-face interviews of managers and key informants using a semi-structured interview schedule, and from practice computer information systems. Overall the populations served were young: only 4% of patients were aged 65 years or older, and the ethnicity profile was highly atypical, with 21.8% European, 36% Maori, 22.7% Pacific Island, 12% other, and 7.5% not stated. Community services card holding rates were higher than recorded in other studies, and registered patients tended to live in highly deprived areas. HCA organisations had high patient to doctor ratios, in general over 2000:1, and there were significant differences in management structures between HCA practices and more traditional general practice. Third sector organisations provide services for populations that are disadvantaged in many respects. It is likely that New Zealand will continue to develop a diverse range of primary care organisational arrangements. Effort is now required to measure quality and effectiveness of services provided by different primary care organisations serving comparable populations.

  2. ICT AND WEB TECHNOLOGY BASED INNOVATIONS IN EDUCATION SECTOR

    OpenAIRE

    Dhamdhere SANGEETA NAMDEV,

    2012-01-01

    ICT made real magic and drastic changes in all service sectors along with higher education and library practices and services. The academic environment is changing from formal education to distance and online learning mode because of ICT. Web technology and mobile technology has made great impact on education sector. The role of Open Access, institutional repositories, opens archives and e-publishing trends indicates the shift towards new way of communication on an increasing scale in the stu...

  3. Whole-word frequency and inflectional paradigm size facilitate Estonian case-inflected noun processing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lõo, Kaidi; Järvikivi, Juhani; Baayen, R Harald

    2018-06-01

    Estonian is a morphologically rich Finno-Ugric language with nominal paradigms that have at least 28 different inflected forms but sometimes more than 40. For languages with rich inflection, it has been argued that whole-word frequency, as a diagnostic of whole-word representations, should not be predictive for lexical processing. We report a lexical decision experiment, showing that response latencies decrease both with frequency of the inflected form and its inflectional paradigm size. Inflectional paradigm size was also predictive of semantic categorization, indicating it is a semantic effect, similar to the morphological family size effect. These findings fit well with the evidence for frequency effects of word n-grams in languages with little inflectional morphology, such as English. Apparently, the amount of information on word use in the mental lexicon is substantially larger than was previously thought. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Conceptual co-presence of motion and emotion in the Estonian terms of personality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heili Orav

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the study was to find out whether the conceptual connection of emotion and motion is holding in the domain of personality traits. In a quantitative study 40 Estonian terms of personality traits were investigated and a conclusion was driven that, indeed, the qualities of emotionality and motion are perceived as co-present characteristics. In further data analysis some visualized measures were applied in order to get further insights into the hidden structure of the data. The self-organizing map (SOM analysis revealed an additional dimension of axiological evaluations present in the semantics and the SOM meta-analysis technique revealed groups of near synonymous words as well as gave overview of the more general structure common in the two data sets. The latter was tentatively explained by the person’s habitual level of activation.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5128/ERYa6.21

  5. GLOBALIZATION IN TOURISM SECTOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mariana LUPAN

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available The paper points to recent developments in the tourism sector and highlights the leading factors of the internationalization of tourists travel and of tourism services, including information technologies, as well as the internationalization of hotel and tourism enterprises. Without neglecting the huge subsector of small and medium-sized enterprises, it describes typical features related to the composition of the labour force and to working conditions. It raises questions concerning the difficulties faced by the sector in attracting and retaining skilled workers in enhancing the skills of newcomers to the labour market in order to stabilize the sector’s labour force, while increasing the productivity of enterprises and the quality of services. Particular emphasis is put on new forms of management entailing new skills requirements, with a general tendency towards increased worker responsibility in an environment of flat hierarchies, multiskilling and teamwork.

  6. History of experimental psychology from an Estonian perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allik, Jüri

    2007-11-01

    A short review of the development of experimental psychology from an Estonian perspective is presented. The first rector after the reopening of the University of Dorpat (Tartu) in 1802, Georg Friedrich Parrot (1767-1852) was interested in optical phenomena which he attempted to explain by introducing the concept of unconscious inferences, anticipating a similar theory proposed by Herman von Helmholtz 20 years later. One of the next rectors, Alfred Wilhelm Volkmann (1800-1878) was regarded by Edwin Boring as one of the founding fathers of the experimental psychology. Georg Wilhelm Struve (1793-1864) played an essential part in solving the problem of personal equations. Arthur Joachim von Oettingen (1836-1920) developed a theory of music harmony, which stimulated his student Wilhelm Friedrich Ostwald (1853-1932) to study colour harmony. Emil Kraepelin (1856-1926), the founder of modern psychiatry, is by far the most important experimental psychologist who has worked in Estonia. His successor Wladimir von Tchisch (1855-1922), another student of Wilhelm Wundt, continued Kraepelin's work in experimental psychology. The lives of Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967), who was born in Reval (Tallinn), and Oswald Külpe (1862-1915), who graduated from the University of Dorpat, extended the link between the history of experimental psychology and Estonia. Karl Gustav Girgensohn (1875-1925), the founder of the Dorpat School of the psychology of religion, stretched the use of experimental methods to the study of religious experience.

  7. Services under siege--the restructuring imperative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roach, S S

    1991-01-01

    Recent job losses in the U.S. service sector do not reflect a temporary recession. Those jobs are gone, the result of a massive restructuring of the sector that is just getting under way. The explanation for the restructuring is quite simple. Until recently, services have been shielded by regulation and confronted by few foreign competitors. They have allowed their white-collar payrolls to become bloated, their investment in information technology to outstrip the paybacks, and their productivity to stagnate. Now competition is heating up and exposing these inefficiencies. Just as intense competition forced the restructuring of Smokestack America in the 1980s, deregulation and foreign direct investment are shaking out service companies that cannot confront their shortcomings. The need for sweeping change in the service sector may come as a great shock to Americans who saw services as the means to continued economic prosperity. But there is a painful irony at work: job creation, the very thing proponents use to demonstrate the U.S. service sector's strength, is in fact a symptom of the sector's chronic neglect of economic efficiency. It is precisely that neglect that makes the service sector vulnerable as the race for market share intensifies and new players shift the terms of competition. Services must respond to the new competitive environment, but not by indiscriminate cost cutting. Instead, they should balance financial discipline with a comprehensive and immediate reexamination of strategy.

  8. Iseseisvusdeklaratsioonid 1776–1918. The Estonian Declaration of Sovereignty: An Example of the Civilizing Force of Hypocrisy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hent Kalmo

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Sovereignty has been characterised as a form of “organized hypocrisy”, a system governed by a set of rules that are generally recognised as binding and yet are continually infringed upon by the most powerful actors. This idea can be extended to analyse the role of sovereignty within the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union was nominally governed by a Constitution which endowed the Union Republics with the right of secession, but there was no realistic possibility of exercising this right. One should not rush to conclude, however, that the actual wording of the Soviet Constitution of 1977 was entirely without relevance. As Jon Elster has argued, hypocrisy can have a “civilizing force” when the need to appear impartial and to retain public credibility forces actors to choose a strategy they would not choose otherwise. A good example of this kind of argumentative constraint is offered by the dilemma faced by the Soviet leadership after the mid-1980s, as it became reluctant to use military force to suppress independence movements within the Baltic States while, at the same time, promising to give more weight to the Soviet Constitution and respect the “sovereignty” of the Union Republics. In this setting, the ambiguity of the word “sovereignty” could be played upon by a whole gamut of political movements in order to further their agenda, from local communists eager to expand their autonomy within the Soviet system to those making an explicit bid for the restoration of independence. Significant legal and political changes could be justified as mere conclusions from the constitutionally recognised status of the Union Republics – a strategy which was all the more effective as Moscow struggled to formulate an alternative line of constitutional interpretation that could be used to counter the Baltic claims. This exchange of opinions escalated into a constitutional conflict in November 1988, when the Estonian Supreme Soviet responded to

  9. Understanding the Public Service Obligation in the Electricity Sector. Lessons for the Contracting Parties of the Energy Community Treaty

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karova, R. [Energy Community Secretariat, Vienna (Austria)

    2012-01-15

    The paper underlines that the EU energy acquis does not simply require the Contracting Parties to the Energy Community Treaty to liberalize their electricity markets, but it also provides for a 'safety net' to ensure the available of public services through the imposition of Public Service Obligations (PSO). Nevertheless, the paper points out that the present understanding of the PSOs in the Contracting Parties is not in compliance with the conditions provided byArtide 3 of the Electricity Directive. Therefore, it includes some policy recommendations and a proposal for introducing a duty of notification, which should be instructive for the Contracting Parties to improve their understanding of PSO in line with EU law, by thus effectively safeguarding the availability of public services in the electricity sector to their citizens without jeopardizing the effective electricity market liberalization.

  10. MEASURING THE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF ISLAMIC BANKING SECTOR IN BANGLADESH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossain Shahid SHOHROWARDHY

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available The banking sector has been playing a significant role in achieving the economic growth of Bangladesh, where contribution of Islamic Banking Sector is remarkable. Islamic Banking Sector shows a substantial growth position in Bangladesh. Customer satisfaction is the most significant affecting phenomenon in determining the banking growth. Thus, this study attempts to measure the existing level of customer satisfaction of Islamic Banks in Bangladesh, using the Structural Equation Model (SEM. This study uses the 22 dimensions of customer satisfaction which used in the earlier studies in different countries for measuring the customer satisfaction of Islamic Banking Sector. A total of 385 samples have been taken from six full pledged Islamic Banks in Bangladesh. It reveals form the study that Human Resources and Systemization Service Delivery is the strongest indicator of customer satisfaction of Islamic Banking Sector in Bangladesh followed by Core Product, Service Capability and Social Responsibility. The findings therefore, may be helpful for policy-makers of banking authorities who have been making serious endeavor to sustain the growth of Islamic Banking Sector in Bangladesh.

  11. Ex Post Regulation as the Method of Sectoral Regulation in Electricity Sector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rafał Nagaj

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Aim/purpose - The aim of the article is to present the essence of ex post approach to sectoral regulation, to show the advantages and disadvantages of ex post regulation and to answer the question whether it is worth using in the electricity sector. Design/methodology/approach - For this purpose, a critical analysis of expert literature was made and an empirical analysis of countries that have applied ex post regulation in the electricity sector in the European Union. Two research methods were used: a case study and a comparison of changes in price and quality of services. The research period covered the period 2000-2016. Findings - It was found that ex post regulation reduces regulatory costs, does not adversely affect the quality of service and long-term rates, gives businesses the freedom of decision-making and the ability to react quickly to changes in the economy. The main disadvantages of ex post regulation are the tendency for companies to over-estimate bills for consumers, the difficulty of pursuing claims by consumers and the need to shift regulatory risk to consumers. Research implications/limitations - In the paper there was identified a research gap, i.e. the effects of ex post regulation in the electricity sector in European Union countries where such regulation was applied. Identifying the research gap will help us understand what are the advantages and disadvantages of ex post regulation and will create a model for when it is good moment to implement this in the economy. Besides identifying the research gap, further studies will be required over ex post regulation. Originality/value/contribution - The additional value of the paper is the study of ex post regulation, its essence and types. The article analyzed the effects of ex post regulation in the electricity sector and provided valuable insights into the potential risks associated with this approach to economic regulation.

  12. [Mexican] Private-sector petroleum companies and agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1993-07-01

    An overview is presented of the Mexican petroleum sector. The sector is largely controlled by the state company PEMEX and is not completely open to foreign participation and supply, however the trend towards privatization and open competition, combined with the drive for competitiveness of PEMEX operations in particular, is creating market opportunities for foreign suppliers of petroleum equipment and services. Detailed profiles are provided of 50 Mexican companies and their primary products and services, specific areas of expertise, client base, international experience, interest in Canada, other relevant information, and a contact person. A less detailed list is also provided of additional Mexican contacts, petroleum industry associations and chambers of commerce

  13. Relationships between Budgetary Participation and Organizational Commitment: Mediated by Reinforcement Contingency Evidence from the Service Sector Industries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mia Selvina

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship, mediated through reinforcement contingency, between (a participation in budgeting, and (b organizational commitment, of those organizations in  the service industry, listed in the Indonesian Stock Exchange and also having their branch offices in Bandar Lampung.  We develop a new construct of  reinforcement contingency, through focus group discussion and several pilot studies, and use it in the main survey. We analyse data from 42 respondents, using SmartPLS. We find that reinforcement contingency as the mediation variable affects the relation between participation in budgeting andn organizational commitment. This study suggests the “no reward and no punishment” system as the appropriate  reinforcement contingency for employees, in order  to enhance their commitment to their organization.Keywords: Participation in Budgeting, Reinforcement Contingency, Organizational Commitment, Service Sector

  14. The first LHC sector is fully interconnected

    CERN Multimedia

    2006-01-01

    Sector 7-8 is the first sector of the LHC to become fully operational. All the magnets, cryogenic line, vacuum chambers and services are interconnected. The cool down of this sector can soon commence. LHC project leader Lyn Evans, the teams from CERN's AT/MCS, AT/VAC and AT/MEL groups, and the members of the IEG consortium celebrate the completion of the first LHC sector. The 10th of November was a red letter day for the LHC accelerator teams, marking the completion of the first sector of the machine. The magnets of sector 7-8, together with the cryogenic line, the vacuum chambers and the distribution feedboxes (DFBs) are now all completely interconnected. Sector 7-8 has thus been closed and is the first LHC sector to become operational. The interconnection work required several thousand electrical, cryogenic and insulating connections to be made on the 210 interfaces between the magnets in the arc, the 30 interfaces between the special magnets and the interfaces with the cryogenic line. 'This represent...

  15. Cost system design and cost management in the Spanish public sector

    OpenAIRE

    Boned, Josep Lluís; Bagur, Llorenç; Tayles, Mike

    2006-01-01

    Cost systems have been shown to have developed considerably in recent years and activity-based costing (ABC) has been shown to be a contribution to cost management, particularly in service businesses. The public sector is composed to a very great extent of service functions, yet considerably less has been reported of the use of ABC to support cost management in this sector. In Spain, cost systems are essential for city councils as they are obliged to calculate the cost of the services subject...

  16. Long-run sectoral development time series evidence for the German economy

    OpenAIRE

    Dietrich, Andreas; Krüger, Jens J.

    2008-01-01

    In economic development, long-run structural change among the three main sectors of an economy follows a typical pattern with the primary sector (agriculture, mining) first dominating, followed by the secondary sector (manufacturing) and finally by the tertiary sector (services) in terms of employment and value added. We reconsider the verbal theoretical work of Fourastié and build a simple model encompassing its main features, most notably the macroeconomic influences on the sectoral develop...

  17. Comparative analysis of idiom selection and sequencing 5 in Estonian basic school EFL coursebooks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rita Anita Forssten

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the selection and sequencing of the idioms encountered in two locally-produced and international coursebook series currently employed in Estonian basic schools. It is hypothesized that there exists a positive correlation between idioms’ difficulty and coursebooks’ language proficiency level. The hypothesis is tested through a statistical analysis of the idioms found which are categorized in terms of their analysability into three categories where category 1 includes analysable semi-literal idioms, category 2 comprises analysable semi-transparent idioms, and category 3 encompasses non-analysable opaque idioms, and then analysed through an online language corpus (British National Corpus. The results of the study reveal that the coursebook authors under discussion have disregarded idioms’ frequency as a criterion for selection or sequencing, whereas the factor utilized to some extent is the degree of analysability.

  18. Energy-economy interactions revisited within a comprehensive sectoral model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hanson, D. A.; Laitner, J. A.

    2000-07-24

    This paper describes a computable general equilibrium (CGE) model with considerable sector and technology detail, the ``All Modular Industry Growth Assessment'' Model (AMIGA). It is argued that a detailed model is important to capture and understand the several rolls that energy plays within the economy. Fundamental consumer and industrial demands are for the services from energy; hence, energy demand is a derived demand based on the need for heating, cooling mechanical, electrical, and transportation services. Technologies that provide energy-services more efficiently (on a life cycle basis), when adopted, result in increased future output of the economy and higher paths of household consumption. The AMIGA model can examine the effects on energy use and economic output of increases in energy prices (e.g., a carbon charge) and other incentive-based policies or energy-efficiency programs. Energy sectors and sub-sector activities included in the model involve energy extraction conversion and transportation. There are business opportunities to produce energy-efficient goods (i.e., appliances, control systems, buildings, automobiles, clean electricity). These activities are represented in the model by characterizing their likely production processes (e.g., lighter weight motor vehicles). Also, multiple industrial processes can produce the same output but with different technologies and inputs. Secondary recovery, i.e., recycling processes, are examples of these multiple processes. Combined heat and power (CHP) is also represented for energy-intensive industries. Other modules represent residential and commercial building technologies to supply energy services. All sectors of the economy command real resources (capital services and labor).

  19. Facilitators and barriers to participation of private sector health facilities in government-led schemes for maternity services in India: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yadav, Vikas; Kumar, Somesh; Balasubramaniam, Sudharsanam; Srivastava, Ashish; Pallipamula, Suranjeen; Memon, Parvez; Singh, Dinesh; Bhargava, Saurabh; Sunil, Greeshma Ann; Sood, Bulbul

    2017-06-22

    Despite provision of accreditation of private sector health providers in government-led schemes for maternity services in India, their participation has been low. This has led to an underutilisation of their presence, resources and expertise for providing quality maternal and newborn health services. This study explores the perception of various stakeholders on expectations, benefits, barriers and facilitators to private sector participation in government-led schemes-specifically Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY)-for maternity service delivery. Narrative-based qualitative study. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with study participants. The interviews were transcribed, translated and analysed using a reflexive and inductive approach to allow codes, categories and themes to emerge from within the data. Private obstetricians, government health officials and FOGSI (Federation of Obstetrics and Gynaecological Societies of India) members, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh, India. Eighteen purposefully selected private obstetricians from 9 cities across states of Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand, 11 government health officials and 2 FOGSI members. The major factors serving as barriers to participation of private practitioners in JSY-which emerged on thematic analysis-were low reimbursement amounts, delayed reimbursements, process of interaction with the government and administrative issues, previous experiences and trust deficit, lack of clarity on the accreditation process and patient-level barriers. On the other hand, factors which were facilitators to participation of private practitioners were ease of process, better communication, branding, motivation of increasing clientele as well as satisfaction of doing social service. Factors such as financial processes and administrative delays, mistrust between the stakeholders, ambiguity in processes, lack of transparency and lack of ease in the process of empanelment of private sector are hindering effective public

  20. Service oriented product innovation for improved environmental performance. An an exploratory case study of the air conditioning and cooling sector

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cook, M.; Maggs, H.; Neame, C.; Lemon, M. [The School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, Cranfield, Bedfordshire (United Kingdom)

    2006-09-15

    The need to improve the environmental performance of production and consumption practices within advanced industrialised nations is widely accepted. Finding ways to satisfy demand using far fewer resources is central to research in this field. For many, the trajectories of service orientated products are thought to provide an opportunity to address this need and anticipate futures in which economic growth is de-coupled from resource use. This paper presents the findings of exploratory research in the air-conditioning and cooling sector, which sought to understand how these benefits might be realised. It suggests that these benefits will not arise as a result of economic restructuring but rather that a deeper understanding of the process of service innovation, which underpins trajectories of service orientated products, is required to develop effective policy.

  1. Age of diagnosis of congenital hearing loss: Private v. public healthcare sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Butler, I R T; Ceronio, D; Swart, T; Joubert, G

    2015-11-01

    The age of diagnosis of congenital hearing loss is one of the most important determinants of communication outcome. A previous study by the lead author had evaluated the performance of the public health services in Bloemfontein, South Africa (SA), in this regard. This study aimed to examine whether the private health services in the same city were any better. To determine whether the age of diagnosis of congenital hearing loss (CHL) in children seen in the private healthcare sector in Bloemfontein, Free State Province, SA, was lower than that in the public healthcare system in the same city. A comparative study design was utilised and a retrospective database review conducted. Data obtained from this study in the private healthcare sector were compared with data from a previous study in the public healthcare sector using the same study design. Forty-eight children aged private healthcare sector during the study period; 33/47 (70.2%) did not undergo hearing screening at birth. The median age of diagnosis of DHI in the private healthcare sector was 2.24 years, and this was statistically significantly lower than the median age of diagnosis of 3.71 years in the public healthcare sector (pprivate healthcare sector was 3.01 years in children who were not screened at birth, and 1.25 years in those who were screened at birth. This difference was statistically significant (pprivate healthcare sector who were not screened at birth (median 3.01 years) with that in children in the public healthcare sector (median 3.71 years). This difference was statistically significant (pprivate healthcare sector than in the public healthcare sector. With the social and economic benefits of early intervention in cases of DHI well established internationally, SA healthcare providers in both the public and private sectors need to develop screening, diagnostic and (re)habilitation services for children with hearing impairment.

  2. Eesti patsient. Haiguse ja haige inimese kujutamise mudel 19. sajandi eesti kultuuris ja kirjasõnas. The Estonian Patient: A Model for the Representation of Illness and the Ill in 19th Century Estonian Culture and Letters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janek Kraavi

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The portrait of the 18th and 19th century „Estonian patient” sketched in this article is a theoretical model of the ill person, based mainly on literary texts, but with reference to a variety of scientific and popular-scientific material. The point of departure is the classic postcolonial theorist, Frantz Fanon, in whose writings medicine, healing, and discourse on such topics are seen as the functioning of a specific colonial practice. The most notable characteristic of the figure of the Estonian patient is non-communicativeness. Communication is avoided and feared primarily because it has to be directed toward those in higher positions of power, or to institutions that embody power (the apothecary, the hospital. While these traits also characterize the separation between peasants and their rulers more generally, in a situation of illness the exclusion is felt with a double intensity. Sickness casts the peasant in a double bind: when in need of help or healing, contact across the divide between social rank, and – more broadly, between two cultures and ways of understanding the world, becomes unavoidable. In such situations, illness signifies an intensification of the gap in social standing. The ill person, who already stands on a lower rung of the social hierarchy, becomes all the more marginalized. In keeping with these observations, the real reason behind indecisiveness and refusal of medical treatment may well be an effort to avoid or postpone humiliation on the basis of lower social standing. Other contributing factors might include unconscious resistance – or even a conscious model of resistance – in the psyche, which manifests as an avoidance of communication. The content and motivating force for the model is not heroism, but rather a sense of shame. Indeed, behind the context of medical culture lurks ethnic and material isolation. The individual’s economic situation, living conditions, education and – most important – his

  3. Why do Third Sector Employees Intend to Remain or Leave their Workplace?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsikka Selander

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Third sector employees have claimed to enjoy high job satisfaction and low turnover intentions because their work is considered intrinsically rewarding. Employees have strong motivation for public service and they consider the organization’s goals as their own. This makes work meaningful and thus reduces turnover intentions. Changes in the third sector institutional environment, however, have intensified the working environment. This probably undermines job quality and thus increases turnover intentions. The analysis conducted among Finnish third sector employees showed that third sector employees report more turnover intentions than their counterparts in the public or private sector. This is mostly because of low job quality. Motivation for public service was not enough to retain employees in the organization if their values were not congruent with those of the employer organization. Thus, connection between public service motivation and turnover intentions is dependent on the organizational context. More important than employees’ desire to help others is their sharing of the employer organization’s values and that the organization provides high job quality.

  4. A Study on the Information and Telecommunication Services of Ukraine as an Export-Oriented Sector of the Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rahman Mahbubur S.

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available The aim of the article is to study the current status, main problems and prospects for the development of the information and telecommunication services of Ukraine at the domestic and foreign markets as an export-oriented branch of the economy. The statistical indicators of the industry structure in the dynamics at the domestic and foreign markets, the contribution to GDP and employment were analyzed; the matrix and correlation analyses were performed and, on the base of the results, forecast models for the development of indicators for sales, exports and staff costs were constructed. Recommendations on prospective directions of development of IT services and software, use of the key advantages of the industry for the development of the export-oriented sector of the national economy are offered.

  5. economies of private sector participation in solid waste management

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prince Acheampong

    adopts that definition in the conduct of its censuses and by that, recorded eight .... Since the 1990s, private sector participation in public utilities and service .... The government of Ghana through the Urban Environmental and Sanitation ..... Framework Document: A Survey of Theoretical Issues on Private Sector Participation.

  6. Pilk ingliskeelse kirjanduse tõlgetele 18. sajandi lõpust 20. sajandi algusveerandini / A Look at Estonian Translations of English Literature from the late 18th Century to the Early 20th Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krista Mits

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this article is to provide an overview of translations of English literature into Estonian between 1779 and 1917. There is an attempt to analyse the texts by describing them on the basis of, or in their departure from, a text or texts that chronologically and logically precede them. The discussion includes the nature of the transfer and the changes that have been made to the text, either because they existed in the source or mediating text or because of the expectations or requirements in the receptor, i.e. Estonian culture. The translated texts are seen in their historical-cultural context. For the analysis, a corpus of translated texts – religious, fiction, drama and non-fiction (published in a book form was compiled. The general orientation of Estonia until the 1880s was to the German cultural sphere. So the first translations of English literature were made via a mediating language, which was German. English Puritan writers were introduced by the Pietist missionaries with the aim of spreading their teachings in the second half of the 18th century. At about the same time the narrative element was introduced into stories with religious content. Some internationally popular stories, e.g. the Inkle and Yarico story, later robinsonades, stories of slavery and plant at ion life, as well as Amer ican Indian st or ies wer e also t r anslat ed fr om Ger man. However, until  1875  ver  y  few  translations  of  English  literature  into  E stonian were  published.  The  last quarter of the 19th century saw an explosion in literary production: there was a substantial increase  both  in  the  number  of  translations  of  English  literature  into  E stonian  as  well  as diversification of genres. This continued into the first decade of the 20th  centur y,  when  the sociopolitical situation in Estonia changed. In addition, books came to be translated directly from  English,  although  many  translations

  7. Who's got the balance? A study of satisfaction with the work-family balance among part-time service sector employees in five western European countries

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beham, Barbara; Prag, Patrick; Drobnic, Sonja

    2012-01-01

    Working part-time is frequently considered a viable strategy for employees to better combine work and non-work responsibilities. The present study examines differences in satisfaction with work-family balance (SWFB) among professional and non-professional part-time service sector employees in five

  8. Productivity in Public Services

    OpenAIRE

    Helen Simpson

    2007-01-01

    This paper discusses issues arising in the measurement of productivity in public services. Compared to measuring productivity in the private sector difficulties arise because the output of public services is often un-priced and because some public services are consumed collectively. A key problem is measuring the full range of outputs and quality improvements delivered by public sector organisations that are valued by society. Without comprehensive measures of output productivity statistics m...

  9. INDICATOR OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL SECTORS UNDER THE ENVIRONMENTAL MODELING

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pruethsan Sutthichaimethee

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this research is to propose an indicator to deal with environmental problems for agricultural sectors caused by goods and services production. The aspects to calculate the real benefit of agricultural sectors and environmental cost for analyzing are natural resources materials, energy and transportation, fertilizer and pesticides, and sanitary and similar service. From the research it was found that the highest environmental cost of natural resources materials was 026: charcoal and fire-wood, while the lowest was 010 coconut. The highest environmental cost for energy and transportation was 024: agricultural services, while the highest environmental cost for fertilizer and pesticides was 011: palm oil. lastly, 017: other agricultural products was found as the highest environmental cost for sanitary and similar service. As a result, 010: coconut gained the highest real benefit, while 024: agricultural services presented as the lowest read benefit for the company. If Thailand using environmental problem indicator, especially with the agricultural sector, it can help to formulate efficient policies and strategies for the country in 3 development areas, which are social, economic, and environmental development.

  10. Public Sector and Europeanization Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lucica Matei

    2006-02-01

    Accepting the market-type mechanisms instead of bureaucratic mechanisms, meaning not the simple provision of public services but the creation of some governmental “actors”, functioning completely on commercial bases, supporting the development of the partnerships between the public and private sector, introducing privatisation is achieved in view of creating “the facilitating state”. We discuss about “facilities” such as citizens and society involvement in public businesses, making public administration more citizen-friendly and the state closer to the public need. The citizens’ involvement, as customers in the flow of the public service contributes to creating an organic ensemble characterised by two fundamental dimensions: level and type of influence of the customers and the private-public dichotomy. Synthesising, the relationships and market mechanisms enable to the public sector to get closer to the public needs and to create a modern administration based on efficiency, effectiveness and openness towards change.

  11. Value co-creation in high involvement services: the animal healthcare sector

    OpenAIRE

    Pyatt, A.Z.; Wright, G.; Walley, K.; Bleach, E.C.L.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose \\ud This paper investigates the significance of value c\\ud o-creation to the UK animal healthcare sector from \\ud the perspective of the key industry stakeholders: clients, veterinarians and paraprofessionals. \\ud Design \\ud Value co-creation constructs in the sector were identified and measured using a mixed methods approach comprised of qualitative NVivo thematic analysis of depth interviews (n=13) and quantitative Exploratory Factor Analysis n=271). \\ud Findings \\ud Qualitative res...

  12. Analysis of leading sector of Jambi City

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hardiani Hardiani

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to analyze the leading sectors in the city of Jambi. The main data used is GDP data of Jambi City series 2010 for the period of 2012-2014. Analysis tool that is used are Location Quotient, Shift Share, Klassen Typology and Overlay Analysis. The results of the analysis found that of the 14 basic sectors in Jambi City (based on LQ analysis, there are four priority sectors namely electricity and gas procurement, building, large and retail trade, car and motorcycle repairs, health service, and social activities. Keywords: Location Quotient, Shift Share, Klassen Tipology, Overlay Analysis

  13. Transport Sector Energy 2010; Transportsektorns energianvaendning 2010

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2011-04-15

    Today, transport accounts for a quarter of Sweden's energy consumption which consists almost exclusively of fossil fuels. But with the increasing demands for reduced emissions of greenhouse gases, the sector's conversion to other fuels or energy sources will have a major impact the next years. This situation is expected to expand the requirements for statistics of energy consumption of the transport sector. The publication is divided into two parts. Chapter 2 describes the official energy statistics for the transport sector and Chapter 3 presents a breakdown of energy use in passenger and freight services for the respective modes.

  14. Sectoral use of climate information in Europe: A synoptic overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marta Bruno Soares

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Society can benefit from usable climate information to better prepare and adapt to the risks and opportunities posed by climate variability and change. An adequate and effective provision of climate information – from historical observations through to seasonal forecasts, and multi-decadal climate change projections – is critical to inform planning and decision-making in climate-sensitive sectors. Central to this are the end-users of climate information and a growing emphasis on tailored climate information and services shaped by user needs. However, knowledge about the use of climate information across European economic sectors is limited. This paper identifies the spectrum of sectoral information requirements across a number of sectors including agriculture, forestry, energy, water, tourism, insurance, health, emergency services and transport sectors, drawing from an online survey (n = 462 and interviews with (potential users of climate information (n = 80. This analysis reveals shared opportunities across sectors including the potential application of decadal climate predictions. In addition, common barriers and enablers to the uptake of climate information were also noted including the format of the information provided, the need for compatibility with existing in-house systems, and the perceived credibility and trust of information providers. This analysis also points towards a perceived increasing fragmentation of available information and the desire amongst end-users for a European body able to centralise and coordinate climate data. We highlight some of the current factors that still need to be adequately addressed in order to enhance the uptake and application of climate information in decision-making across European economic sectors. Keywords: User needs, Climate information, Decision-making, Climate services, Europe

  15. SERVICE QUALITY IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

    OpenAIRE

    Prabha Ramseook-Munhurrun; Soolakshna D. Lukea-Bhiwajee; Perunjodi Naidoo

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to obtain a better understanding of the extent to which service quality is delivered within the Mauritian public service by drawing on front-line employees (FLE) and customer perceptions of service quality. The paper investigates how closely customer expectations of service and FLE perceptions of customer expectations match. SERVQUAL is used to measure service quality amongst FLE and customers in a major public sector department in Mauritius. The survey captures c...

  16. Evaluating effectiveness and constraints of private sector agricultural extension services of the Green River Project in Imo and Rivers States, Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Onyinyechi I. Ogbonna

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Oil exploration operations decreased the cultivable lands of rural people in the study area, leading to the establishment of the Green River Project (GRP. This study assessed the effectiveness and constraints of private sector extension services of GRP in Imo and Rivers States, Nigeria. Objectives: To analyse the roles and effectiveness of, as well as constraints to, the GRP in the area. Method: A multistage sampling technique was used to select 120 respondents. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, chi square and t-test were used to analyse the data. Results: Roles of GRP in farming technologies dissemination included training of farmers on fish pond construction technique and maintenance of good pH levels. There was significant improvement in standard of living (X2 = 15.7; p ≤ 0.05 and size of production (t = 6.398; p ≤ 0.05 of the respondents after participation. In terms of the effectiveness of private sector deliveries on public policies, the programme had effect on beneficiaries’ access to credit, education of wards and poverty reduction. But it is worthy to note that the observed changes may not have been solely caused by the GRP, given that there could be many other factors affecting fish farming, either positively or negatively. Serious implementation constraints to effective performance of GRP included organisational, input and sustainability constraints. Conclusion: It was recommended that there should be timely provision of sufficient inputs to farmers and measures to improve organisation of private sector extension services in the area in order to enhance development.

  17. Energy consultancy services for end-user in the housing sector in Poland. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lange, M; Prebensen, K

    1996-08-01

    The idea of establishing consulting service schemes is based on the Polish needs to introduce energy saving measures at different levels. In connection with the financing of energy saving measures whether this is carried out through private banks or Energy Saving Companies (ESCOs) there is a need for an institutional component responsible for standardized procedures for appraisal and supervision of energy saving projects. The objective of the project is to reduce the energy consumption in the municipal and housing sector in Warsaw, Gdansk and Katowice, and subsequently implement the results and experience to a large number of other towns in Poland. Education and training of more than thousand energy consultants within a period of 2 years is planned. The fundamental idea of the project is education and training of Polish professionals, who will perform the subsequent training of Polish consultants within the framework of a Polish National Energy Consultant Scheme. A comprehensive compendium (approximately 500 pages) was worked out in English language. The scope of work for the consultant covers all energy aspects in the housing sector: Individual heat generation; Control systems; Heat distribution in the building and local district heating network; Domestic Hot Water; Electricity; Thermal renovation of the Building Envelope; Energy management; Financial aspects and applications for finance of the energy saving measures. The first training course with 41 participants in Poland took place from 4 to 9 December 1995. (EG)

  18. Comparison of utility sectors in the Netherlands. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuit, M.; Kort, M.B.; Stout, H.D.; Boersma, F.C.; Ten Heuvelhof, E.F.; Kuenneke, R.W.; Van Twist, M.J.W.; Weijnen, M.P.C.

    2000-03-01

    There is a growing need of evaluating experiences with the liberalization of different sectors in the Netherlands. To what extent do the technical, economical and organizational characteristics of a sector determine the options to deal with competition? And to what extent does the type of competition determine whether the aimed for improvement of the efficiency and effectiveness of the service will be realized or not? Thereto, a systematic comparative analysis of infrastructure-related sectors has been carried out. In this report the experiences of the liberalization process in the electric and gas utilities sectors and the public transportation (buses and railway) sector are translated to preliminary conclusions and new research questions with respect to the possibilities to introduce competition in the water supply sector. refs

  19. Information Technology Sector Baseline Risk Assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-08-01

    alternative root be economically advantageous , an actor’s ability to exploit market forces and create an alternative root would be significantly improved...conduct their operations. Therefore, a loss or disruption to Internet services would not be advantageous for the desired outcomes of these syndicates.26... eCommerce Service loss or disruption [C] Traffic Redirection [C] = Undesired consequence Information Technology Sector Baseline Risk Assessment

  20. Biological dosimetric studies in the Chernobyl radiation accident, on populations living in the contaminated areas (Gomel regions) and in Estonian clean-up workers, using FISH technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Darroudi, F.; Natarajan, A.T.

    1996-01-01

    In order to perform retrospective estimations of radiation doses seven years after the nuclear accident in Chernobyl, the frequencies of chromosomal aberrations in the peripheral blood lymphocytes of individuals living in contaminated areas around Chernobyl and the Estonian clean-up workers were determined. The first study group composed of 45 individuals living in four areas (i.e. Rechitsa, Komsomolski, Choiniki and Zaspa) in the vicinity (80-125 km) of Chernobyl and 20 individuals living in Minsk (control group - 340 km from Chernobyl). The second study group (Estonian clean-up workers) composed of 26 individuals involved in cleaning up the Chernobyl for a different period of time (up to 7 months) and a matched control group consisting of 9 probands. Unstable aberrations (dicentrics and rings) were scored in Giemsa stained preparations and stable aberrations (translocations) were analyzed using chromosome specific DNA libraries and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique. For both study groups the estimated average dose is between 0,1-0,4 Gy. Among the people living in the contaminated areas in the vicinity of Chernobyl, a higher frequency of numerical aberrations (i.e. trisomy, hyper diploidy) was evident

  1. Development of Eco-Industry Sector

    OpenAIRE

    Mariana Ioviţu

    2012-01-01

    Measures to encourage development of Eco-industries represent an important part of the programs of many countries; analyses of different international organisms reveal a series of advantages of this sector for economy. According to OCDE “The environmental goods and services industry consists of activities which produce goods and services to measure, prevent, limit, minimize or correct environmental damage to water, air and soil, as well as problems related to waste, noise and Eco-systems”. Th...

  2. Sectoral effects of a world oil-price shock: economy-wide linkages to the agricultural sector. Staff report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hanson, K.; Robinson, S.; Schluter, G.

    1991-10-01

    The effects of a world oil price shock on U.S. agriculture are analyzed in an economywide environment. The authors use an input-output model to analyze the direct and indirect cost linkages between energy and other sectors of the economy. Then, to allow sectoral output adjustment and the effects on the U.S. current account, they use the U.S. Department of Agriculture/Economic Research Service Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to analyze the sectoral effects under three different macro adjustment scenarios. The effects on agriculture are not limited to the direct and indirect energy costs. Exchange rate or foreign borrowing adjustments to higher oil import costs and government support programs for agriculture also matter

  3. Innovations in Rural Financial Services Provision

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ndyetabula, Daniel; Temu, Andrew E.

    2013-01-01

    The aim of at investigating innovations related to financial services for the agri-bussiness sector, suing examples from Tanzania......The aim of at investigating innovations related to financial services for the agri-bussiness sector, suing examples from Tanzania...

  4. The Best and Worst-Paid Sectors in the Czech Republic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bílková Diana

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The present paper deals with the issue of diff erent behaviour of wage distribution of two highest and two lowest-paid sectors of the Czech economy in the period since the beginning of the global economic crisis; the former ones are the sectors of “Financial and Insurance Activities” and “Information and Communication”, the latter ones being those of “Accommodation and Food Service Activities” and “Administrative and Support Service Activities”. The aim is to capture the differences between these two groups of sectors, not only in terms of wage levels, but also as far as the variability and concentration of wage distribution is concerned. The gross (nominal monthly wage in CZK represents a research variable. The paper focuses on diff erent developments of wage distribution of the above sector groups in time, wage level forecasts for 2015 and 2016 being included.

  5. Russian Сonsumer Sector: Methodology of Evaluation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gavriil Aleksandrovich Agarkov

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article describes the methodology for estimating the Russia’s consumer sector and the effect of its application. The monitoring procedure of the Russian consumer sector groups indicators into two units: the unit of the estimation of consumer goods and the services market estimation unit. The estimation unit of consumer goods is composed of two modules: food products and non-food products. This module offers two components that provide an estimation of the consumer sector: marketing (estimates the accessibility of retail trade and services for end users and production (estimates the domestic manufacture. The results of the estimation show general improvements in the consumer sector in the period of 2000–2014, but overall development is evaluated as low. The analysis revealed that the financing is growing faster than the quality indices of development. As an example, the financing of agriculture has increased by 1.5 times over 15 years (against comparable prices from 2000, while agricultural production has not changed. Another most pressing challenge is the weak differentiation of the Russian economy, as evidenced by the low rates of non-food production (availability of non-foods of own production remains at a low level and averages 20 %. The results of the estimation suggest the need to reform the regulation of the sector primarily concerning priorities for its development and improvement of financial and economic mechanisms to achieve them.

  6. Social Security Reform and Population Ageing in a Two-Sector Growth Model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Groezen, B.J.A.M.; Meijdam, A.C.; Verbon, H.A.A.

    2002-01-01

    This paper analyses the effects of reducing unfunded social security and population ageing on economic growth and welfare, both for a small open economy and for a closed economy.The economy consists of a service sector and a commodity sector.Productivity growth only occurs in the latter sector and

  7. Contribution of services to economic growth: Kaldor’s fifth law?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adilson Giovanini

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This study questions whether there is a Kaldor’s fifth law and tests whether the size of the intermediate services sector contributes to the growth of the industrial sector. Originality/Value: The laws proposed by Kaldor consider that the industrial sector contributes to economic growth and affirm that the growth of this sector depends on the existing demand for industrial products. If this new law is corroborated we have the initial evidences that the growth of the service sector contributes to the growth of the industry. Design/methodological/approach: The existence of this new law is tested through the estimation of panel VAR models for eight developed countries in the period 1980-2009. Findings: The growth of the service sector causes Granger to increase industrial productivity, industrial density and economic complexity. The causality test shows that there is a bidirectional causal relationship between the growth of the service sector and the industrial density and between the growth of the service sector and the Economic Complexity Index.

  8. PUBLIC SERVICES AND THE EURO-REGIONAL COOPERATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Badulescu Alina

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available Besides the goods and private services, covering the specific needs of individual or groups based on specific mechanisms of demand and supply, human needs can be addressed also through public services. They are designed to meet the general interests of members of a community or society at large and established by public authorities, subject to certain fundamental principles of organization and operation, such as: the principle of efficiency, the principle of equity, the principle of continuity, the principle of movability and the principle of decentralization. In the same time, public services involve in many areas of economic and social life is not just a national issue, but also have characteristics and provision ways at international, regional and euro-regional level. This paper underlines the main areas of euro-regional co-operation interest in the public services sectors, such as: the sectors of environment, agriculture and territorial planning, the sectors of transportation, security and telecommunication, the sector of the economy and labour force, the sector of cross-border populations: social protection and public health, the sectors of education, research and culture.

  9. Gender Equality in Labor Markets: A Survey About the Industry and Service Sectors in Gaziantep

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Berna Balcı İzgi

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the findings of a survey on women labor issues in two different sectors –industry and service sectors- in Gaziantep. The main aim is to modify the structure of women labor in Gaziantep. The main characteristics of women labour market for Gaziantep is that women labor participation is sharply decreased after marriage which is a traditional issue. Inaddition entrepreneurship is very high. Besides working years with insurance is quite low in all levels of education. The promotions system do not change with education. Education is a crucial variable in the analysis. For instance, the positions are not assigned according to the education in most of the times. This creates inefficiency in labor markets. Another important finding that the rate of entrepreneurship is very high related with other cities of Turkey. The topics of wages, working hours, the comparison of the appropriateness of the work according to education, cultural activities, satisfaction, pleasure from working have been considered from the aspect of the relationship between the working life and family life and besides, finance deficiency in entrepreneurship, and sex discrimination not clear are the main problems in different ratios. The work and the education were not found as related. The level of social coverage, trade union membership and salaried work does change with education positively

  10. Design, Implementation and Analysis of Learner-Centered Guided In-Service Programme for Technical Teacher Education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiia Rüütmann

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The design of learner-centered guided in-service program for technical teacher education has been launched at Estonian Centre for Engineering Pedagogy at Tallinn University of Technology. The aim of the program has been facilitating the initial in-service teaching experience, involving mentoring, peer support and cognitive apprenticeship. The emphasis has been on teaching for knowledge application, including the choice of content and processes, motivation, reflection, problem-solving, choice of educational technology, effective teaching methods, teaching models and strategies ཿ concepts, tools and procedures of the field of engineering, organized in ways enabling teachers to formulate real world problems, apply and solve them. The program has been implemented since 2012 and covers IGIP curriculum requirements. In the present article the designed program is described and analyzed.

  11. Nooreestlased arvustuses ja arvustajatena: lugejakontseptsioonist 20. sajandi alguse kriitikas. The Young Estonians as Critics and in the Eyes of Critics: On the Concept of the Reader in Early 20th Century Estonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marju Mikkel

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Until recently, the treatment of Estonian literature from the beginning of the 20th century has been influenced by the literary and cultural activities and programmatic articles of the Young Estonia movement. Current research on Young Estonia has addressed their more everyday realm of activity, which has heretofore received less attention: the Young Estonians as readers of the new works of their literary contemporaries and their practical criticism in reviews, particularly in daily newspapers. This article uses a receptionhistorical approach to analyze a large body of source material: the Young Estonians voluminous critical oeuvre in the period 1905–1915. The Young Estonians to be examined are all members of the core group of the movement: Gustav Suits, Bernhard Linde, Aino Kallas, Johannes Aavik, Villem Grünthal-Ridala, Jaan Oks, August Alle, and Johannes Semper. Within the larger framework of collective horizons of expectation, the focus of the study is the critics` concept of the reader. In addition, I will briefly discuss the dynamics of how such conceptions change. Research results indicate that in critical reviews from the time of Young Estonia, the topic of the reader was addressed from different standpoints depending on the addressee. Texts directed rhetorically toward a broad readership are characterized by the pursuit of objectivity and generalizations. When the concept of the reader is critic-centered, the text emphasizes subjective judgments, experience, and emotion. When focusing on the author and the text, the reviewer describes the influence on the reader, the cause of which is either the literary work directly or the author’s genius. In the case of polemic on the subject of reading, found mainly in responses written to reviews, the writer interprets another reader (or other readers` reading, opposing it to his or her own. When we follow the way the readers of Young Estonia and the Young Estonians themselves handle the

  12. 'Where is the public health sector?' Public and private sector healthcare provision in Madhya Pradesh, India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Costa, Ayesha; Diwan, Vinod

    2007-12-01

    This paper aims to empirically demonstrate the size and composition of the private health care sector in one of India's largest provinces, Madhya Pradesh. It is based on a field survey of all health care providers in Madhya Pradesh (60.4 million in 52,117 villages and 394 towns). Seventy-five percent of the population is rural and 37% live below poverty line. This survey was done as part of the development of a health management information system. The distribution of health care providers in the province with regard to sector of work (public/private), rural-urban location, qualification, commercial orientation and institutional set-up are described. Of the 24,807 qualified doctors mapped in the survey, 18,757 (75.6%) work in the private sector. Fifteen thousand one hundred forty-two (80%) of these private physicians work in urban areas. The 72.1% (67793) of all qualified paramedical staff work in the private sector, mostly in rural areas. The paper empirically demonstrates the dominant heterogeneous private health sector and the overall the disparity in healthcare provision in rural and urban areas. It argues for a new role for the public health sector, one of constructive oversight over the entire health sector (public and private) balanced with direct provision of services where necessary. It emphasizes the need to build strong public private partnerships to ensure equitable access to healthcare for all.

  13. Effectively engaging the private sector through vouchers and contracting - A case for analysing health governance and context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nachtnebel, Matthias; O'Mahony, Ashleigh; Pillai, Nandini; Hort, Kris

    2015-11-01

    Health systems of low and middle income countries in the Asia Pacific have been described as mixed, where public and private sector operate in parallel. Gaps in the provision of primary health care (PHC) services have been picked up by the private sector and led to its growth; as can an enabling regulatory environment. The question whether governments should purchase services from the private sector to address gaps in service provision has been fiercely debated. This purposive review draws evidence from systematic reviews, and additional published and grey literature, for input into a policy brief on purchasing PHC-services from the private sector for underserved areas in the Asia Pacific region. Additional published and grey literature on vouchers and contracting as mechanisms to engage the private sector was used to supplement the conclusions from systematic reviews. We analysed the literature through a policy lens, or alternatively, a 'bottom-up' approach which incorporates components of a realist review. Evidence indicates that both vouchers and contracting can improve health service outcomes in underserved areas. These outcomes however are strongly influenced by (1) contextual factors, such as roles and functions attributable to a shared set of key actors (2) the type of delivered services and community demand (3) design of the intervention, notably provider autonomy and trust (4) governance capacity and provision of stewardship. Examining the experience of vouchers and contracting to expand health services through engagement with private sector providers in the Asia Pacific found positive effects with regards to access and utilisation of health services, but more importantly, highlighted the significance of contextual factors, appropriate selection of mechanism for services provided, and governance arrangements and stewardship capacity. In fact, for governments seeking to engage the private sector, analysis of context and capacities are potentially a more

  14. Big data analysis framework for healthcare and social sectors in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Tae-Min; Ryu, Seewon

    2015-01-01

    We reviewed applications of big data analysis of healthcare and social services in developed countries, and subsequently devised a framework for such an analysis in Korea. We reviewed the status of implementing big data analysis of health care and social services in developed countries, and strategies used by the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Korea (Government 3.0). We formulated a conceptual framework of big data in the healthcare and social service sectors at the national level. As a specific case, we designed a process and method of social big data analysis on suicide buzz. Developed countries (e.g., the United States, the UK, Singapore, Australia, and even OECD and EU) are emphasizing the potential of big data, and using it as a tool to solve their long-standing problems. Big data strategies for the healthcare and social service sectors were formulated based on an ICT-based policy of current government and the strategic goals of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. We suggest a framework of big data analysis in the healthcare and welfare service sectors separately and assigned them tentative names: 'health risk analysis center' and 'integrated social welfare service network'. A framework of social big data analysis is presented by applying it to the prevention and proactive detection of suicide in Korea. There are some concerns with the utilization of big data in the healthcare and social welfare sectors. Thus, research on these issues must be conducted so that sophisticated and practical solutions can be reached.

  15. Public Sector IS Maturity Models

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zinner Henriksen, Helle; Andersen, Kim Normann; Medaglia, Rony

    2011-01-01

    Online applications and processing of tax forms, driver licenses, and construction permits are examples of where policy attention and research have been united in efforts aiming to categorize the maturity level of e-services. Less attention has been attributed to policy areas with continuous online...... citizenpublic interaction, such as in public education. In this paper we use a revised version of the Public Sector Process Rebuilding (PPR) maturity model for mapping 200 websites of public primary schools in Denmark. Findings reveal a much less favorable picture of the digitization of the Danish public sector...... compared to the high ranking it has received in the international benchmark studies. This paper aims at closing the gap between the predominant scope of maturity models and the frequency of citizen-public sector interaction, and calls for increased attention to the activities of government where the scale...

  16. Social security reform and population ageing in a two-sector growth model

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Groezen, Bas van; Meijdam, L.; Verbon, H.

    2002-01-01

    This paper analyses the e¤ects of reducing unfunded social security and population ageing on economic growth and welfare, both for a small open economy and for a closed economy. The economy consists of a service sector and a commodity sector. Productivity growth only occurs in the latter sector

  17. Marketization trajectories in the Danish road and park sectors

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindholst, Andrej Christian; Hansen, Morten Balle; Petersen, Ole Helby

    2016-01-01

    (as providers of maintenance services) in the municipal road and park sectors in Denmark over the past 30 years. The study draws theoretically on historical institutionalism as an interpretive framework and empirically on findings from earlier research, register data from municipal accounts as well...... as new survey data. Findings – Marketization within the road and park sectors has historically taken place through gradual changes, in particular by processes of layering and displacement, which has added up to substantial transformations in both sectors. Transformations relate to the levels of private...... sector involvement, the purpose of using private contractors, the extent of competition and the design of contractual arrangements. The road sector has been a frontrunner in this marketization process, while the park sector increasingly has been “catching up.” Originality/value – The paper contributes...

  18. A comparison between antenatal care quality in public and private sector in rural Hebei, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Li; Dai, Yaohua; Zhang, Yanfeng; Wu, Qiong; Rudan, Diana; Saftić, Vanja; van Velthoven, Michelle H M M T; Su, Jianqiang; Tan, Zangwen; Scherpbier, Robert W

    2013-04-01

    To evaluate the quality of antenatal care (ANC) in Hebei Province and compare it between the public and private sector and within the public sector. We conducted a Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Household Survey in 2010 using a two-stage sampling procedure and included 1079 mothers. The quality of ANC was assessed on the basis of the number of ANC visits, the time of the first ANC visit, 16 different ANC procedures, owning a maternal health care booklet, and the type of service provider. Almost all women (98%) received ANC services at least once, 80% at least four times, and 54% at least five times. About half of the women (46%) visited ANC facility within their first trimester. Neither public nor private sector provided all 16 standardized services, but significantly more women in public sector received ANC procedures. Most women received ANC in county or higher-level hospitals (75%) and very few in township hospitals (8%). Significantly fewer women were weighed and tested for HIV/AIDS in township than in county or higher-level hospitals. The quality of ANC in Hebei was poorer than required by China's national and World Health Organization norms. Although the public sector performed better than the private sector, the utilization and quality of care of ANC services in this sector varied and women generally visited county or higher-level health facilities.

  19. Techno-economic evaluation of commercial cogeneration plants for small and medium size companies in the Italian industrial and service sector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Armanasco, Fabio; Colombo, Luigi Pietro Maria; Lucchini, Andrea; Rossetti, Andrea

    2012-01-01

    The liberalization of the electricity market and the concern for energy efficiency have resulted in a surge of interest in cogeneration and distributed power generation. In this regard, companies are encouraged to evaluate the opportunity to build their own cogeneration plant. In Italy, the majority of such companies belong to the industrial or service sector; it is small or medium in size and the electric power ranges between 1 ÷ 10 MW. Commercially available gas turbines are the less expensive option for cogeneration. Particular attention has been given to the possibility of combining an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with gas turbine, to improve the conversion efficiency. Companies have to account for both technical and economical aspects to assess viability of cogeneration. A techno-economic analysis was performed to identify, in the Italian energy market, which users can take advantage of a cogeneration plant aimed to cover at least part of their energy demand. Since electricity and thermal needs change considerably in the same sector, single product categories have been considered in the analysis. Our work shows that in the industrial sector, independent of the product category, cogeneration is a viable option form a techno-economic perspective. - Highlights: ► The best technologies for 1 ÷ 10 MW distributed generation plant are gas turbine and ORC. ► A variety of commercial cogeneration plants is available to meet user needs. ► Cogeneration is a technical and economical advantage for industrial sector companies.

  20. Balancing work and family in the low-wage service sector: the role of legislated and collectively-bargained norms in Quebec.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, Stéphanie

    2011-01-01

    This paper looks at the role of legislated norms of general application in shaping "family-friendly" workplaces and their interaction with collectively-bargained standards in the retail service sector and more specifically, in a single unionized retail sector in Quebec, Canada. The methodology used is traditional legal research methodology: analysis of laws, collective agreements and case law. The principal norms examined concern parental and family leave, working time and disparities between different employment statuses. A series of legislative provisions have been adopted in Quebec over the last 30 years whose objectives are the improvement of family-related leave and the reduction of working time. Unions have also negotiated provisions in collective agreements with these same goals. In the low-wage retail sector studied, the working time standards negotiated between the unions and the employers reflect the characteristics of the sector, most notably extended opening hours, seven days a week. Predictability of hours also varies according to employment status. Such issues as family-unfriendly working time arrangements (last-minute scheduling, asocial hours, etc.) and the need for flexibility in family-related leave are insufficiently taken into account by the legislated and bargained provisions. A fine analysis and comprehension of existing formal regulation, be it legislated or collectively-bargained, is required to fully understand workers' experiences with work-family balance and to identify the gaps between formal norms and the needs expressed by workers with respect to work-family balance.