WorldWideScience

Sample records for u-factor primarily governs

  1. 77 FR 65457 - Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-10-29

    ... be primarily engaged in illicit drug trafficking in that country's airspace is necessary because of the extraordinary threat posed by illicit drug trafficking to the national security of that country... October 11, 2012 Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil Memorandum for...

  2. 76 FR 53299 - Continuation of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Colombia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-25

    ... suspected to be primarily engaged in illicit drug trafficking in that country's airspace is necessary, because of the extraordinary threat posed by illicit drug trafficking to the national security of that... August 10, 2011 Continuation of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Colombia...

  3. 75 FR 75853 - Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-07

    ... be primarily engaged in illicit drug trafficking in that country's airspace is necessary because of the extraordinary threat posed by illicit drug trafficking to the national security of that country... October 15, 2010 Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil Memorandum for...

  4. Technology Transfer in Poland: An Investment of U.S. Government, U.S. Corporate, and Polish Government Strategies

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Hays, Susan

    1998-01-01

    This case study examines how U.S. Government (USG) policy, U.S. corporate policy, and Polish government policy affect the strategy of technology transfer of military and/or dual-use technologies in Poland...

  5. 78 FR 62951 - Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-22

    ...) interdiction of aircraft reasonably suspected to be primarily engaged in illicit drug trafficking in that country's airspace is necessary because of the extraordinary threat posed by illicit drug trafficking to.... 2014-02 of October 10, 2013--Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil...

  6. Do U.S. Firms Have the Best Corporate Governance? A Cross-Country Examination of the Relation between Corporate Governance and Shareholder Wealth

    OpenAIRE

    Reena Aggarwal; Isil Erel; Rene M. Stulz; Rohan Williamson

    2007-01-01

    We compare the governance of foreign firms to the governance of similar U.S. firms. Using an index of firm governance attributes, we find that, on average, foreign firms have worse governance than matching U.S. firms. Roughly 8% of foreign firms have better governance than comparable U.S. firms. The majority of these firms are either in the U.K. or in Canada. When we define a firm's governance gap as the difference between the quality of its governance and the governance of a comparable U.S. ...

  7. Electronic U.S. Government Information: Policy Issues and Directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hernon, Peter; McClure, Charles R.

    1993-01-01

    Provides an overview of U.S. federal information policy and its treatment of electronic information resources. Highlights include government publications; electronic government information; main providers of government information, including the Government Printing Office; the Freedom of Information Act; public access and use; information…

  8. 41 CFR 101-26.502 - U.S. Government National Credit Card.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Credit Card. 101-26.502 Section 101-26.502 Public Contracts and Property Management Federal Property... SOURCES AND PROGRAM 26.5-GSA Procurement Programs § 101-26.502 U.S. Government National Credit Card. A... Standard Form 149, U.S. Government National Credit Card. [60 FR 19674, Apr. 20, 1995] ...

  9. Discovering Citizens Reaction Toward E-Government: Factors in E-Government Adoption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Kamel Alomari

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available E-government has been considered as one approach for changing the face of government in the eyes of the citizenry. Therefore, citizens’ socialization in relation to their engagement with e-government should be explored. This study argues that citizens played a significant role in determining the success of an e-government project in the Middle Eastern country of Jordan. This paper aims to provide insight and evaluation into the factors that could influence e-government’s effective functioning in the Jordanian social community through its interaction with citizens. The study collected data from 356 Jordanian citizens via a survey, to ascertain their understanding of 10 factors that may influence their intention to use e-government services. To investigate the adoption of e-government services in depth, two departments in Jordan were selected: the Jordanian Government’s Income and Sales Tax Department (ISTD and its Driver and Vehicle Licenses Department (DVDL. The factor analysis technique was used to identify the main factors related to e-government services’ adoption. The results indicated that trust in the internet, website design, religious beliefs, internet and computer skill confidence, word of mouth, resistance to change, perceived usefulness, relative advantage and complexity are the main factors that should be considered when addressing the topic of e-government services’ adoption in Jordan. This study is different from most existing studies on e-government adoption as it empirically investigated the impact of word of mouth (WOM, wasta (favoritism, and resistance to change on e-government adoption. This study highlights the importance of considering the social cohesion of the Jordanian community when exploring factors related to e-government adoption.

  10. A hypothesis: factor VII governs clot formation, tissue repair and apoptosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Lewis S

    2007-01-01

    A hypothesis: thrombin is a "Universal Enzyme of Energy Transduction" that employs ATP energy in flowing blood to activate biochemical reactions and cell effects in both hemostasis and tissue repair. All cells possess PAR-1 (thrombin) receptors and are affected by thrombin elevations, and thrombin effects on individual cell types are determined by their unique complement of PAR-1 receptors. Disruption of the vascular endothelium (VE) activates a tissue repair mechanism (TRM) consisting of the VE, tissue factor (TF), and circulating Factors VII, IX and X that governs localized thrombin elevations to activate clot formation and cellular effects that repair tissue damage. The culmination of the repair process occurs with the restoration of the VE followed by declines in thrombin production that causes Apoptosis ("programmed cell death") in wound-healing fibroblasts, which functions as a mechanism to draw wound edges together. The location and magnitude of TRM activity governs the location and magnitude of Factor VIII activity and clot formation, but the large size of Factor VIII prevents it from penetrating the clot formed by its activity, so that its effects are self-limiting. Factors VII, IX and X function primarily as tissue repair enzymes, while Factor VIII and Factor XIII are the only serine protease enzymes in the "Coagulation Cascade" that are exclusively associated with hemostasis.

  11. The Capabilities of the U.S. Government to Collect and Analyze Economic Intelligence

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-01-01

    Korea’s equivalent of the CIA, the National Security Planning Agenvy, places operatives in Korean companies like Hyundai, Samsung , and the Lucky Group...between government and business that some individuals propose to establish between the U.S. Government and U.S. businesses. Anticipated rewards of...be U.S. citizens or foreign employees of a U.S. corporation. In the second pattern, the foreign organization relies on the elicitation of information

  12. U.S. government taking new view of businesses working abroad

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Davis, R.E.

    1992-01-01

    During the past several years, a fundamental shift in the willingness of the government to assist U.S. business interests in international transactions has occurred. Simultaneously, there has been an increased tendency on the part of the administration to selectively use economic sanctions and incentives as instruments of U.S. foreign policy. While some of this is a reflection of President Bush's personal style of international relations, this new willingness to exercise the economic levers of power is largely a response to a changed international situation and thus will survive into a subsequent administration. Using economic power to advance U.S. interests creates opportunities for domestic companies whose economic interests coincide with U.S. foreign policy objectives. As a corollary, it also calls for greater efforts on the part of business to ensure that the government is aware of the needs of businesses looking to enter foreign markets and of the impact that economic sanctions would have on U.S. companies operating abroad. This is particularly true for U.S. oil companies, which will see an ever increasing amount of their investments going outside the U.S

  13. 41 CFR 109-38.801 - Obtaining SF 149, U.S. Government National Credit Card.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    .... Government National Credit Card. 109-38.801 Section 109-38.801 Public Contracts and Property Management..., U.S. Government National Credit Card § 109-38.801 Obtaining SF 149, U.S. Government National Credit Card. DOE offices electing to use national credit cards shall request the assignment of billing address...

  14. Government for the People; On the Determinants of the Size of U.S. Government

    OpenAIRE

    Tamim Bayoumi; Fernando M. Gonçalves

    2007-01-01

    Trends in the size of U.S. government are examined. In the postwar period, general government primary spending rose by ¼ percent of GDP a year through 1975, stabilizing thereafter. With higher social transfers offset by a lower burden of defense spending, expansion reflected a baby-boom driven rise in education spending. The parallel improvement in tax efficiency helped equate the benefits of higher spending with the costs from higher taxation, in accordance with a marginalist view of the siz...

  15. The construction of environmental governance in the RDS Igapó-Açu (Amazonas, Brazil: organization, complexity and interdependence

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marília Gabriela Rezende

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The main objective of the present text is to analyze environmental governance in the Sustainable Development Reserve Igapó-Açu, located in the municipalities of Manicoré, Borba and Beruri, state of Amazonas, Brazil. The study area was chosen because the RDS is the only Amazonas state protected area crossed by a federal interstate highway. This highway provides a specific territorial arrangement of governance elements in the studied area. Different methodological tools were used in this research, such as close-ended questionnaires and open-ended interviews. Data were systematized using Excel software and they were graphically represented in the form of organizational charts drawn with Websphere Analysis Software. Results indicate that environmental governance of the RDS Igapó-Açu involves multiple factors, while the central node of the local political articulation is held by a Management Council that is in charge of materializing the governability of the RDSt, as well as its ramifications.

  16. Factors Affecting the Productivity of Government Workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jerry P. Haenisch

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available While there have been a variety of studies concerning government worker motivation and productivity, few, if any, studies have focused specifically on state government workers’ perceptions about what factors affect their productivity. With more than 5 million workers employed by state governments in the United States, any improvement in state workplace productivity could have significant financial and service impact for society. In this study, state government workers identified those factors perceived as most affecting their workplace productivity. Data were collected through a survey offered to state government workers in the state of Wyoming. Factor analysis was used to derive key productivity factors from survey responses. The results indicate that state government workers appreciate having freedom and autonomy, like their jobs and the sense of achievement, and welcome teamwork, but feel limited by poor supervision and management, poor communications, and insufficient budgets and staffing. To improve productivity, the workers would eliminate bureaucracy, supervise better, and improve communication.

  17. Afghanistan: Post Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-26

    2011, attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul; a September 10, 2011, truck bombing in Wardak Province (which injured 77 U.S. soldiers); and...The trafficking generates an estimated $70 million-$100 million per year for insurgents—perhaps about 25% of the insurgents’ budgets that is...2013. U.S. officials say the government is increasingly able to execute parts of its budget and deliver basic goods and services. Donor aid already

  18. Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Katzman, Kenneth

    2007-01-01

    Assessments of the U.S. effort to stabilize Afghanistan are mixed. The political transition was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005, but since 2006 insurgent threats to Afghanistan's government have escalated...

  19. Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Katzman, Kenneth

    2004-01-01

    ....-led war that brought the current government to power. Before the U.S. military campaign against the Taliban began on October 7, 2001, Afghanistan had been mired in conflict since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979...

  20. The Effects of Foreign Government Policies on the Location of U.S. Direct Investment Abroad

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kee Min

    2001-06-01

    Full Text Available Many argue about which policy and non-policy variables play an important role in influencing foreign direct investment decisions. This article contributes to this debate by considering the effects of foreign government policies on the location of U.S. direct investment abroad. The analysis used pooled cross-section and time series data for 44 countries over three time periods to examine the effects of different types of non-policy and policy variables, including market size, per capita income, country risks, tax rates, investment incentives, and investment regulations. This study found that a policy variable, investment regulation and two non-policy variables, market size and per capita income impact investment decision. A moderately strong effect is found in investment incentive policy, whereas country risks and tax rates turned out not to be strong factors in influencing U.S. investment locations. However, in the case of FDI in developing countries, country risk and tax rates appeared to be more important factors for the location of U.S. FDI than host countries' market size. Strong interaction effects between policy variable and market size are found, while less strong interaction is found between policy variable and per capita income. This study concludes that policy variables are also important factors along with non-policy factors and the determinants of FDI are not independently exerting an influence but jointly affecting U.S. investment locations.

  1. U.S. Government Supports Low Emission Economic Growth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2015-11-01

    Countries around the world face the challenge of maintaining long-term sustainable economic growth and development under the threat of climate change. By identifying and pursuing a sustainable development pathway now, they are better positioned to reach their economic growth goals while addressing climate change impacts and lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Low emission development strategies - development plans that promote sustainable social and economic development while reducing long-term GHG emissions - provide a pathway to preparing for a global low emission future. Partner country governments are working with the U.S. government through the Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development Strategies (EC-LEDS) program to further their national development objectives.

  2. 78 FR 44954 - Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Strategic...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-07-25

    ... OFFICE OF GOVERNMENT ETHICS Solicitation of Input From Stakeholders Regarding the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Strategic Plan (FY 2014-2017) AGENCY: Office of Government Ethics (OGE). ACTION: Notice of Request for Public Comment. SUMMARY: The U.S. Office of Government Ethics (OGE) is providing notice of...

  3. Interest rate risk and other determinants of post WWII U.S. government debt/GDP dynamics

    OpenAIRE

    George J. Hall; Thomas J. Sargent

    2010-01-01

    This paper uses the sequence of government budget constraints to motivate estimates of interest payments on the U.S. Federal government debt. We explain why our estimates differ conceptually and quantitatively from those reported by the U.S. government. We use our estimates to account for contributions to the evolution of the debt to GDP ratio made by inflation, growth, and nominal returns paid on debts of different maturities.

  4. Aqueous Complexation Reactions Governing the Rate and Extent of Biogeochemical U(VI) Reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scott C. Brooks; Wenming Dong; Sue Carroll; James K. Fredrickson; Kenneth M. Kemner; Shelly D. Kelly

    2006-01-01

    The proposed research will elucidate the principal biogeochemical reactions that govern the concentration, chemical speciation, and reactivity of the redox-sensitive contaminant uranium. The results will provide an improved understanding and predictive capability of the mechanisms that govern the biogeochemical reduction of uranium in subsurface environments. In addition, the work plan is designed to: (1) Generate fundamental scientific understanding on the relationship between U(VI) chemical speciation and its susceptibility to biogeochemical reduction reactions. (2) Elucidate the controls on the rate and extent of contaminant reactivity. (3) Provide new insights into the aqueous and solid speciation of U(VI)/U(IV) under representative groundwater conditions

  5. A Multi-Level Investigation into the Antecedents of Enterprise Architecture (EA) Assimilation in the U.S. Federal Government: A Longitudinal Mixed Methods Research Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makiya, George K.

    2012-01-01

    This dissertation reports on a multi-dimensional longitudinal investigation of the factors that influence Enterprise Architecture (EA) diffusion and assimilation within the U.S. federal government. The study uses publicly available datasets of 123 U.S. federal departments and agencies, as well as interview data among CIOs and EA managers within…

  6. 41 CFR 101-26.4901-149 - Standard Form 149, U.S. Government National Credit Card.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 41 Public Contracts and Property Management 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 true Standard Form 149, U.S. Government National Credit Card. 101-26.4901-149 Section 101-26.4901-149 Public Contracts and Property... 149, U.S. Government National Credit Card. Note: The form illustrated in § 101-26.4901-149 is filed as...

  7. Multilevel governance and deployment of solar PV panels in U.S. cities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Hui; Yi, Hongtao

    2014-01-01

    Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations have been growing rapidly in the United States over the last few years, incentivized by policies from federal, state and local governments. The complex relationships between solar policies at multiple levels of government and solar deployment are questions of importance to policy makers and scholars. Extant literature on solar policies pays less attention to the role of local governments and policies than to their federal and state counterparts. Local governments and policies play indispensable roles in the deployment of solar PVs. This paper studies the multilevel governance of solar development in the U.S. by evaluating the relative effectiveness of state and local policy tools in stimulating solar PV installations, with an emphasis on local solar policies. With a regression analysis on a national sample of 186 U.S. cities, we find that cities with local financial incentives deploy 69% more solar PV capacities than cities without such policies. We also find that cities subject to RPS requirements have 295% more solar PV capacity, compared with cities not regulated by state RPS. - Highlights: • This study evaluates state and local solar PV policies. • State RPS has positive impacts on local solar PV capacity. • Local financial incentives matter for solar PV deployment

  8. U.S. Government Funding of Cooperative Research and Development in North America,

    Science.gov (United States)

    1999-01-01

    Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia (CONACYT) reports that it has signed agreements with U.S. government agencies, such as NSF, NIH, and NIST, to...government agency Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tec- nologia for providing feedback and validation of much of the information collected in this report...David Mussington and Beth Lachman. ABBREVIATIONS CDC Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CONACYT Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologfa

  9. U.S. Government Supports Low Emission Economic Growth (Fact Sheet)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Watson, A.; Sandor, D.; Butheau, M.

    2013-11-01

    Countries around the world face the challenge of maintaining long-term sustainable economic growth and development under the threat of climate change. By identifying and pursuing a sustainable development pathway now, they are better positioned to reach their economic growth goals while addressing climate change impacts and lowering greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Low emission development strategies - development plans that promote sustainable social and economic development while reducing long-term GHG emissions - provide a pathway to preparing for a global low emission future. Partner country governments are working with the U.S. government through the Enhancing Capacity for Low Emission Development Strategies (EC-LEDS) program to further their national development objectives.

  10. 75 FR 16824 - Notice of Modifications to U.S. Commitments Under the World Trade Organization Government...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-02

    ....S. Commitments Under the World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement To Implement... of the United States of America and the Government of Canada on Government Procurement (Canada-U.S..., steel, and manufactured products in procurement above $7,804,000 for construction services through...

  11. Turning point of U.S. government decision in US-Japan nuclear fuel reprocessing negotiation in 1977

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Izumi, Yoshinori

    2010-01-01

    U.S. President Carter's Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy, announced in April 1977, which terminated federal funding for reprocessing, was a shock to the Atomic Energy Authority of the Japanese Government that had promoted the construction of Tokai Reprocessing Plant (TRP). After that, it became necessary to negotiate the 'Joint Determination for the Effective Safeguardability of TRP' subject to the 1968 Agreement for cooperation between the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America concerning civil use of Atomic Energy. Negotiations for the 'Joint Determination for the Effective Safguardability of TRP' were conducted in the U.S.-Japan Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing Negotiation and Joint Field Work meetings from April to September 1977. Both governments agreed to the TRP operation's terms and conditions including 'Joint Determination for the Effective Safeguardability of TRP' in the third negotiation. In spite of the hard position on reprocessing stated in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Policy enacted by President Carter, these negotiations concluded accepting the operation of TRP with condition. In this paper, I will explore the reasons for the abovementioned political decision by the U.S. government based on its disclosure documents. (author)

  12. The withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and its impact on global climate change governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong-Xiang Zhang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The global community has prepared for the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement since Donald Trump was elected as the president of the U.S. However, Trump's formal declaration of withdrawal still caused worldwide reaction. Trump will use the withdrawal to build his political reputation and to renegotiate the Paris Agreement despite its negative effects on the political credibility, international relationships, and potential long-term economic growth of the U.S. In general, the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement will not change the development of low-carbon technologies and the transformation trend of the global climate governance regime. However, the long-term goals and international cooperation on climate change will be affected by budget cuts in American climate change research and the cancelation of donations from the multilateral environmental fund of the U.S. If the Paris Agreement is renegotiated, the common but differentiated principle of responsibility of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be challenged again. Nevertheless, climate change governance remains a main theme of future sustainable development. Instead of national governments, local governments and non-governmental organizations will develop strategies for technical innovation and emphasize pragmatic cooperation, thus expanding their roles in climate change governance. The capacity building on climate change research and public awareness should be enhanced as a long-term objective of global climate change governance.

  13. Analysis of the financial factors governing the profitability of lunar helium-3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kulcinski, G. L.; Thompson, H.; Ott, S.

    1989-01-01

    Financial factors influencing the profitability of the mining and utilization of lunar helium-3 are examined. The analysis addressed the following questions: (1) which financial factors have the greatest leverage on the profitability of He-3; (2) over what range can these factors be varied to keep the He-3 option profitable; and (3) what ultimate effect could this energy source have on the price of electricity for U.S. consumers. Two complementary methods of analysis were used in the assessment: rate of return on incremental investment required and reduction revenue requirements (total cost to customers) achieved. Some of the factors addressed include energy demand, power generation costs with and without fusion, profitability for D-He(3) fusion, annual capital and operating costs, launch mass and costs, He-3 price, and government funding. Specific conclusions are made with respect to each of the companies considered: utilities, lunar mining company, and integrated energy company.

  14. 77 FR 59238 - Call for Expert Reviewers to the U.S. Government Review of the Working Group I Contribution to...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-26

    ... expert review process, which occurs in parallel with the U.S. government review. More information on the... DEPARTMENT OF STATE [Public Notice 8042] Call for Expert Reviewers to the U.S. Government Review... both experts and governments. The Second Order Draft of the Working Group I contribution to the 5th...

  15. 21 CFR 1002.51 - Exemptions for manufacturers of products intended for the U.S. Government.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... for the U.S. Government. 1002.51 Section 1002.51 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION.... Government. Upon application therefor by the manufacturer, the Director, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, may exempt from the provisions of this part a manufacturer of any electronic product intended for...

  16. U.S. Government Electronic Data Sources for Global Marketing Decisions: An Evaluation and Classroom Application.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Judd, Vaughan C.; Tims, Betty J.

    2000-01-01

    The U.S. government publishes considerable information applicable to business people interested in global marketing opportunities, much of which is available via the Internet and CD-ROMs. Evaluates the usefulness of four of the government's electronic sources of global marketing information (e.g., the World Fact Book), describing workshops using…

  17. Critical Factors in Data Governance for Learning Analytics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elouazizi, Noureddine

    2014-01-01

    This paper identifies some of the main challenges of data governance modelling in the context of learning analytics for higher education institutions, and discusses the critical factors for designing data governance models for learning analytics. It identifies three fundamental common challenges that cut across any learning analytics data…

  18. Human trafficking and U.S. government responses post- 9/11

    OpenAIRE

    DeCeoursty, Kevin D.

    2016-01-01

    Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited The thesis examines the effectiveness of U.S. government anti-human trafficking efforts in the post- 9/11 environment. The body of human trafficking literature has revealed four common themes: human agency, labor rights, the sex industry, and crime control. The thesis examines five federal departments that were selected based on their relative experience, expertise, and operational mandates. Open source statistical data and other infor...

  19. Teaching about the U.S. Constitution through Metaphor: Government as a Machine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Randy K.

    1988-01-01

    Briefly reviews theories of brain hemisphere functions and draws implications for social studies instruction. Maintains that the metaphor aids the development of understanding because it connects right and left brain functions. Provides a learning activity based on the metaphor of the U.S. government functioning as a machine. (BSR)

  20. An Analysis of IT Governance Practices in the Federal Government: Protecting U.S. Critical Infrastructure from Cyber Terrorist Attacks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, R. LeWayne

    2012-01-01

    Much of the governing process in the United States (U.S.) today depends on a reliable and well protected public information technology (IT) infrastructure. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is tasked with the responsibility of protecting the country's IT infrastructure. Critics contend that the DHS has failed to address planning and…

  1. Status and Outlook for the U.S. Non-Automotive Fuel Cell Industry: Impacts of Government Policies and Assessment of Future Opportunities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Greene, David L [ORNL; Duleep, K. G. [ICF International; Upreti, Girish [ORNL

    2011-06-01

    Fuel cells (FCs) are considered essential future energy technologies by developed and developing economies alike. Several countries, including the United States, Japan, Germany, and South Korea have established publicly funded R&D and market transformation programs to develop viable domestic FC industries for both automotive and non-automotive applications. Important non-automotive applications include large scale and small scale distributed combined heat and electrical power, backup and uninterruptible power, material handling and auxiliary power units. The U.S. FC industry is in the early stages of development, and is working to establish sustainable markets in all these areas. To be successful, manufacturers must reduce costs, improve performance, and overcome market barriers to new technologies. U.S. policies are assisting via research and development, tax credits and government-only and government-assisted procurements. Over the past three years, the industry has made remarkable progress, bringing both stack and system costs down by more than a factor of two while improving durability and efficiency, thanks in part to government support. Today, FCs are still not yet able to compete in these markets without continued policy support. However, continuation or enhancement of current policies, such as the investment tax credit and government procurements, together with continued progress by the industry, appears likely to establish a viable domestic industry within the next decade.

  2. Governance factors enabling knowledge transfer in interorganisational development projects

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bosch-Sijtsema, Petra M.; Postma, Theo J. B. M.

    2010-01-01

    In this study we examine governance factors affecting knowledge transfer in interorganisational development projects. There is a gap in the literature indicating a need for more insights into processes of knowledge sharing and governance of interorganisational development projects. By using cases

  3. Human-Capital based Governance Structure, Success Factors and Barriers to Effective Governance: Co-operatives in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rohana Othman

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Co-operatives comprise the crucial third engine of growth for the Malaysian economy after the public and private sectors. This study investigates the human capital based governance structure, success factors and barriers to effective governance of co-operatives in Malaysia. Questionnaires were distributed to the top 100 co-operatives listed in the Malaysian Co-operative Societies Commission website. Analysis of the responses to the questionnaires showed that human capital based co-operatives governance comprise members’ participation, independence of the board, depth of expertise and competencies of directors and other characteristics of the board. This study also identified branding as the most important success factor ahead of competitiveness and proximity. Malaysia’s economy is projected to continue relying significantly on the performance of co-operatives. Thus, it is incumbent for greater attention to be given towards an effective governance that results in successful co-operatives.

  4. Governance and institutions of transportation investments in U.S. mega-regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. L. Vega

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available From a planning perspective, a mega-region can be defined as an extended network of metropolitan centers and their surrounding areas, crossing county and state lines, linked by integrated labor markets, land use systems and transportation and communication infrastructure. From a governance perspective, delimiting the jurisdictional borders of a mega-region is rather challenging due to the overlap of hierarchy of governance systems. It has been suggested that the effective management of existing transportation infrastructure and the planning and financing of new investments in these areas will need to operate under a regional framework of governance. What such regional framework might look like is still subject to debate. Despite years in the planning, currently no mega-regional transportation initiative has been implemented in the U.S. This article uses descriptive and interpretative analysis to further the debate in two areas. It first reviews definitional issues in the existing literature as they apply to mega-regions and transportation. Second, it undertakes a comprehensive survey of regional initiatives, such as the Corridors of the Future Program, to highlight the complexity of multi-state transportation projects. Lessons from this survey can be useful when developing future transport policy, as policymakers increase their efforts to adopt regional governance initiatives to finance transportation investments worldwide.

  5. Practice of good governance and corporate governance

    OpenAIRE

    Bălăceanu Cristina; Predonu Andreea – Monica

    2010-01-01

    Corporate governance reforms are occurring in countries around the globe and potentially impacting the population of the entire planet. In developing countries, such reforms occur in a larger context that is primarily defined by previous attempts at promoting “development” and recent processes of economic globalization. In this context, corporate governance reforms (in combination with the liberalising reforms associated with economic globalization), in effect re...

  6. PRACTICE OF GOOD GOVERNANCE AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bălăceanu Cristina

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Corporate governance reforms are occurring in countries around the globe and potentially impacting the population of the entire planet. In developing countries, such reforms occur in a larger context that is primarily defined by previous attempts at promoting “development” and recent processes of economic globalization. In this context, corporate governance reforms (in combination with the liberalising reforms associated with economic globalization, in effect represent a new development strategy for third world countries. The most basic questions that arise with respect to this situation are what the prospects for this new development model are and whether alternatives should be considered. Keywords: governance, corporate governance, economic globalization, development.

  7. 76 FR 6456 - Intent To Grant an Exclusive License for a U.S. Government-Owned Invention

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-04

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Intent To Grant an Exclusive License for a U.S. Government-Owned Invention AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(e), and 37 CFR 404.7(a)(1)(i), announcement is made of the intent to grant an exclusive...

  8. 75 FR 33793 - Intent To Grant an Exclusive License of a U.S. Government-Owned Patent

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Intent To Grant an Exclusive License of a U.S. Government-Owned Patent AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with 35 U.S.C. 209(e) and 37 CFR 404.7 (a)(I)(i), announcement is made of the intent to grant a partially...

  9. 3 CFR - Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... the Government of Brazil Presidential Documents Other Presidential Documents Presidential... Brazil Memorandum for the Secretary of State [and] the Secretary of Defense Pursuant to the authority... (22 U.S.C. 2291-4), I hereby certify, with respect to Brazil, that (1) interdiction of aircraft...

  10. Measuring interoperability maturity in government networks.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huijsman, K.L.L.G.; Plomp, M.G.A.; Batenburg, R.S.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to create a model that describes the development of interorganisational collaboration in government networks that apply eGovernment. Contrary to several models that describe eGovernment from a government-to-citizen perspective, and primarily emphasise on the front office

  11. Measuring interoperability maturity in government networks

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Huijsman, K.L.L.G; Plomp, M.G.A.; Batenburg, R.S.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to create a model that describes the development of interorganisational collaboration in government networks that apply eGovernment. Contrary to several models that describe eGovernment from a government-to-citizen perspective, and primarily emphasise on the front office

  12. Factors that promote renewable energy production in U.S. states: A fixed effect estimation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nwokeji, Ekwuniru Chika

    2011-12-01

    The unsustainability of conventional energy sources and its environmental destructions are well-known; the sustainability of renewable energy and its environmental benefits are also well-documented. The United States in common with many other countries is increasingly focused on developing renewable energy. At first, the pursuit of this strategy in U.S. was seen more as a way to reduce dependence on oil importation. With increased awareness of environmental challenges resulting from the consumption and production of conventional energy, an additional strategy for the continued interest in renewable energy development in the United States was as a result of its potential to ameliorate environmental problems. The U.S. government are utilizing policy measures and dedicating funding to encourage the development of renewable energy technologies. Beside government policies, there are contextual factors that also affect renewable energy production. These include, but not limited to population growth, energy demand, economic growth, and public acceptance. Given the pressing need to develop a sustainable energy, this study embarks on an outcome assessment of the nature of relationship of renewable energy policy incentives, and selected contextual factors on renewable energy production in the United States. The policy incentive evaluated in this study is the Renewable Energy Production Incentive program. The contextual factors evaluated in this study are energy consumption, population growth, employment, and poverty. Understanding the contextual factors within which policies are placed is essential to defining the most appropriate policy features. The methodological approach to the study is quantitative, using panel data from 1976 to 2007. The study tested two hypotheses using fixed effect estimation with robust standard error as a statistical model. Statistical analyses reveal several interesting results which lend support that besides policy incentives, contextual factors

  13. Characteristics and Effectiveness of the U.S. State E-Government-to-Business Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Jensen J.; Truell, Allen; Alexander, Melody W.

    2008-01-01

    This study examined the user-interface characteristics and effectiveness of the e-government-to-business (G2B) sites of the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. A group of 306 online users were trained to assess the sites. The findings indicate that the majority of the state G2B sites included the user-interface characteristics that provided online…

  14. Success Factors for an E-Government Strategy: Austrian Experiences, Indonesian Challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christoph Behrens

    2012-02-01

    Full Text Available Focus of this paper are success factors for the implementation of an E-Government strategy. While concepts for a sophisticated strategy process in Public Sector are delivered on a regular basis, the gap between ambitious planning and its implementation seems to get wider. Authors seek to define what makes a “good strategy” in order to enhance management capacity. Meanwhile some scholars from Political Science see limitation of Governments on announcements which are not followed up by sufficient action rather as systematic problems, challenging concept and rules of liberal western democracy, or owed to growing complexity of Governance under the conditions of globalization. In context of the introduction of New Public Management and its perception of citizens as customers and on the basis of new available technical options in Information Society, a key Governance reform project in European and other Countries over the last fifteen years has been the introduction of E-Government. European market leader in this field is Austria. The author reviews concept and implementation experiences of the Austrian E-Government strategy, analyzes key success factors and opens a discussion, under which conditions a successful implementation of E-Government can take place in Indonesia.

  15. Organizational governance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Foss, Nicolai Juul; Klein, Peter G.

    This chapter reviews and discusses rational-choice approaches to organizational governance. These approaches are found primarily in organizational economics (virtually no rational-choice organizational sociology exists), particularly in transaction cost economics, principal-agent theory...

  16. Traditional leadership factor in modern local government system in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Traditional leadership factor in modern local government system in Ghana: policy Implementation, role conflict and marginalization. ... at promoting education, health and environmental management, are highly commendable in Ghana.

  17. Exploring the challenges of energy and resources network governance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Poocharoen, Ora-orn; Sovacool, Benjamin K.

    2012-01-01

    While a growing amount of literature has recently emerged describing network governance, less attention has been paid to evaluating the actual performance of networks. Our paper looks at the challenges facing network governance for natural resources (primarily logging and forestry) and energy (primarily renewable energy and energy efficiency) in Asia. The paper investigates what network governance is, and what types of challenges networks have to tackle. It then develops a qualitative analytical framework to evaluate the effectiveness of networks consisting of five criteria: (1) clarity of roles and objectives among members, (2) having strong, independent, continual sources of funding, (3) institutional formality (having a permanent secretariat, budget, full time staff, etc.), (4) efficacy (ability to accomplish its mission and goals at the least possible cost); and (5) level of interdependency among members. Finally, we apply this framework to four case studies: the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Centre for Energy, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), ASEAN Regional Knowledge Network on Forests and Climate Change (FCC), and ASEAN Regional Knowledge Network on Forest Law Enforcement and Governance (FLEG). These cases illustrate effective (or ineffective) environmental and energy networks and the factors that are associated with network governance. - Highlights: ► This article evaluates four cases of energy and resources network governance. ► We assess these cases according to five criteria. ► We illustrate the effectiveness (and ineffectiveness) of these networks.

  18. Factors of Local E-Government Development in Poland: The Case of the Poznań Agglomeration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Perdał Robert

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper seeks to analyse factors of e-government development at the local government level in Poland. The analysis proceeded in three stages. In the first, a survey of the literature on the subject was made and a model of factors of e-government development was constructed. In the second, the factors distinguished were operationalised: indicators representing them were constructed. The third stage involved an empirical verification of the model using partial correlation and multiple regression methods; significant factors of e-government development were distinguished at the local government level. The analysis was conducted for a group of 18 communes making up the Poznań agglomeration. It was demonstrated that significant factors of local e-government development in Poland included the level of socio-economic development, inhabitants’ access to ICT, their attitudes and skills, the size of administrative units, attitudes of local authorities and leaders, a vision and a strategy of e-government development, human resources in offices, and the financial situation of a commune.

  19. Success and failure factors for e-government projects: A case from Egypt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hatem Elkadi

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available E-government implementations in developing countries still face difficulties, leading to a large failure ratio. This is too high a cost for developing countries. Analysis of the reasons behind success and failure of e-government projects is still an interesting domain of investigation. Several approaches were advanced and success and failure factors have been stipulated, but factors pertinent to Public Administration have yet to be investigated and analyzed. This work builds on the results of earlier research, analyzing the factors behind the change in performance of the different sites of a specific project, reasons of their original success, and the relapse of one site. It reviews in detail the factors advanced by previous works and integrates for the first time the results obtained by 3 different research methodologies. It clarifies the causality between different factors presumed to individually affect the e-government implementations, thus enabling the disambiguation between the main and secondary less effective causes of failure. The success and failure factors significance and relative importance are identified, revealing the recommended track of action for the set-back remedy.

  20. Significant Factors Determining E-government Adoption in Selangor, Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Hajar Mohd Idris

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Studies have shown that low adoption rate among citizens has been hindering the optimization of e-Government services especially in developing countries. Hence, one of the critical measures that has to be undertaken is to identify and overcome possible barriers to further facilitate a higher rate of adoption. A multistage stratified sampling was used in this study to collect data from 1000 respondents, both user and non-user residing in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. This state was chosen as to provide a better understanding of low adoption when issues of basic facilities have been successfully overcome. An exploratory factor analysis was performed to identify latent constructs and seven key factors were identified. A multiple regression model was subsequently used to analyze significant factors in determining the willingness to use e-Government services. The determinants are language barrier, educational level, secure, format, easy to use, enjoyable, reliable, visual appeal and infrastructure. The result shows significant variables that act as barriers to adoption are reliable, enjoyable, easy to use, secure, and language used. The constraints pointed out in the open ended questions mainly focus on the issue of accessibility, ease of use and awareness. Overcoming these obstacles is therefore crucial in order to enhance the usage of e-Government services which consequently will improve the quality of public administration in Malaysia.

  1. Factors governing the deep ventilation of the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Papadopoulos, Vassilis P.; Zhan, Peng; Sofianos, Sarantis S.; Raitsos, Dionysios E.; Qurban, Mohammed; Abualnaja, Yasser; Bower, Amy; Kontoyiannis, Harilaos; Pavlidou, Alexandra; Asharaf T.T., Mohamed; Zarokanellos, Nikolaos; Hoteit, Ibrahim

    2015-01-01

    A variety of data based on hydrographic measurements, satellite observations, reanalysis databases, and meteorological observations are used to explore the interannual variability and factors governing the deep water formation in the northern Red

  2. Readability of consumer health information on the internet: a comparison of U.S. government-funded and commercially funded websites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Risoldi Cochrane, Zara; Gregory, Philip; Wilson, Amy

    2012-01-01

    The Internet has become an extremely prevalent means of communicating health information to consumers. Guidelines for selecting reliable health information websites give preference to U.S. government sites over commercially funded sites. However, these websites are not useful to consumers unless they are able to read and understand them. The authors' objective was to compare the readability of Internet health information intended for consumers found on U.S. government-funded websites versus that found on commercially funded websites. Consumer health websites were identified through a systematic Internet search. Webpages for 10 common health topics were extracted from each website. Readability of webpages was determined by 3 validated measures: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level, and SMOG Formula. Mean readability of government-funded and commercially funded websites was compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. Commercially funded websites were significantly more difficult to read as measured by Flesch Reading Ease (49.7 vs. 55.6 for government-funded sites, p = .002) and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Level (10.1 vs. 9.3, p = .012). There was no significant difference according to SMOG Formula (12.8 vs. 13.2, p = .150). The overall readability of Internet health information intended for consumers was poor. Efforts should be made to ensure that health information communicated via the Internet is easy for consumers to read and understand.

  3. Measuring interoperability maturity in government networks.

    OpenAIRE

    Huijsman, K.L.L.G.; Plomp, M.G.A.; Batenburg, R.S.

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to create a model that describes the development of interorganisational collaboration in government networks that apply eGovernment. Contrary to several models that describe eGovernment from a government-to-citizen perspective, and primarily emphasise on the front office of eGovernment services, this paper focuses on the collaboration that takes place in the back office to enable successful eGovernment services. A maturity model was developed to describe and asses...

  4. THE CHOSEN INSTRUMENT? RECONSIDERING THE EARLY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PAN AMERICAN AIRWAYS AND THE U.S. GOVERNMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erik Benson

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available During the late I920s and early 1930s, Pan American Airways became known as the U.S. “chosen instrument” for international commercial aviation. Most scholarly work about the U.S. government/Pan Am relationship presents the airline as the government’s instrument. This article challenges this traditional perspective. In certain ways Pan Am was an “instrument,” yet in others it defied such categorization. Thus, any notion that Pan Am was a “chosen instrument” merits qualification. Drawing upon the “corporatist” historical model, this study will present a more sophisticated account of this relationship, one that considers the role of business elites in shaping U.S. policy.

  5. 76 FR 13135 - Intent To Grant an Exclusive License for a U.S. Government-Owned Invention

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-10

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Intent To Grant an Exclusive License for a U.S. Government-Owned Invention AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with... intent to grant an exclusive, revocable license for the invention claimed in the patent application PCT...

  6. Using 238U/235U ratios to understand the formation and oxidation of reduced uranium solids in naturally reduced zones

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jemison, N.; Johnson, T. M.; Druhan, J. L.; Davis, J. A.

    2016-12-01

    Uranium occurs in groundwater primarily as soluble and mobile U(VI), which can be reduced to immobile U(IV), often observed in sediments as uraninite. Numerous U(VI)-contaminated sites, such as the DOE field site in Rifle, CO, contain naturally reduced zones (NRZ's) that have relatively high concentrations of organic matter. Reduction of heavy metals occurs within NRZ's, producing elevated concentrations of iron sulfides and U(IV). Slow, natural oxidation of U(IV) from NRZ's may prolong U(VI) contamination of groundwater. The reduction of U(VI) produces U(IV) with a higher 238U/235U ratio. Samples from two NRZ sediment cores recovered from the Rifle site revealed that the outer fringes of the NRZ contain U(IV) with a high 238U/235U ratio, while lower values are observed in the center . We suggest that as aqueous U(VI) was reduced in the NRZ, it was driven to lower 238U/235U values, such that U(IV) formed in the core of the NRZ reflects a lower 238U/235U. Two oxidation experiments were conducted by injecting groundwater containing between 14.9 and 21.2 mg/L dissolved O2 as an oxidant into the NRZ. The oxidation of U(IV) from this NRZ increased aqueous U(VI) concentrations and caused a shift to higher 238U/235U in groundwater as U(IV) was oxidized primarily on the outer fringes of the NRZ. In total these observations suggest that the stability of solid phase uranium is governed by coupled reaction and transport processes. To better understand various reactive transport scenarios we developed a model for the formation and oxidation of NRZ's utilizing the reactive transport software CrunchTope. These simulations suggest that the development of isotopically heterogeneous U(IV) within NRZ's is largely controlled by permeability of the NRZ and the U(VI) reduction rate. Oxidation of U(IV) from the NRZ's is constrained by the oxidation rate of U(IV) as well as iron sulfides, which can prevent oxidation of U(IV) by scavenging dissolved oxygen.

  7. Content validity of critical success factors for e-Government implementation in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Napitupulu, D.; Syafrullah, M.; Rahim, R.; Amar, A.; Sucahyo, YG

    2018-05-01

    The purpose of this research is to validate the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of e-Government implementation in Indonesia. The e-Government initiative conducted only to obey the regulation but ignoring the quality. Defining CSFs will help government agencies to avoid failure of e-Government projects. A survey with the questionnaire was used to validate the item of CSF based on expert judgment through two round of Delphi. The result showed from 67 subjects in instrument tested; there are 11 invalid items deleted and remain only 56 items that had good content validity and internal reliability. Therefore, all 56 CSFs should be adopted by government agencies in Indonesia to support e-Government implementation.

  8. Eningiomas: outcome, and analysis of prognostic factors of primarily resected tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stafford, S.L.; Perry, A.; Suman, V.; Meyer, B.; Scheithauer, B.W.; Shaw, E.G.; Earle, J.D.

    1996-01-01

    Purpose: 582 consecutive cases of primary intracranial meningioma undergoing resection at the Mayo Clinic, (Rochester, MN) were reviewed to determine overall survival (OS), progression free survival(PFS), prognostic factors predicting recurrence, and to determine the importance of radiation therapy in the management of this tumor. Materials and Methods: Between 1978-1988, 582 cases of primarily resected meningiomas were identified based on the tumor and operative registries where diagnosis was between 1978-1988 inclusive. PFS was identified by radiographic progression. Follow-up was accomplished by chart review, and a detailed questionnaire sent to patients and referring physicians. Estimation of OS and PFS distributions were done by the Kaplan-Meier method. The log rank test was used to assess which factors were associated with PFS. Proportional hazard modeling was performed to obtain a subset of independent predictors of PFS. Results: the median age was 57(5-93). 67% were female. CT identified the tumor in 91% of cases. There was associated edema in 21% and 2% were radiographically en plaque. There were 17 patients with multiple tumors, four of whom had a known diagnosis of neurofibromatosis. Gross total resection (GTR) was accomplished in 80%, radical subtotal or subtotal resection(STR) in 20%, and biopsy in 53) cellularity, and four or more mitoses per 10 HPF. Multivariate analysis indicated young age, male sex, en plaque at surgery, were significant for decreased PFS when only patient characteristics were considered. When treatment and pathologic factors were also considered, then young age, male sex, less than GTR, and tumor sheeting were predictors for decreased PFS. 10 patients had RT after initial resection, two of whom recurred. There were 107 first recurrences. 50 were observed(no intervention within 3 months), 35 treated by surgery alone, 11 had S+RT, and 11 were treated with RT alone. Considering those patients treated at recurrence (n=57), PFS was at

  9. 15 CFR 30.40 - Special exemptions for certain shipments to U.S. government agencies and employees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 15 Commerce and Foreign Trade 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Special exemptions for certain shipments to U.S. government agencies and employees. 30.40 Section 30.40 Commerce and Foreign Trade Regulations Relating to Commerce and Foreign Trade BUREAU OF THE CENSUS, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE FOREIGN TRADE...

  10. Resilience and Water Governance: Adaptive Governance in the Columbia River Basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara A. Cosens

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available The 1964 Columbia River Treaty between the United States and Canada is currently under review. Under the treaty, the river is jointly operated by the two countries for hydropower and is the largest producer of hydropower in the western hemisphere. In considering the next phase of international river governance, the degree of uncertainty surrounding the drivers of change complicates efforts to predict and manage under traditional approaches that rely on historical ecosystem responses. At the same time, changes in social values have focused attention on ecosystem health, the decline of which has led to the listing of seven salmon and four steelhead populations under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Although adaptive management is considered one approach to resource management in the face of uncertainty, an early attempt at its implementation in the U.S. portion of the basin failed. We explore these issues in the context of resilience, taking the position that while adaptive management may foster ecological resilience, it is only one factor in the institutional changes needed to foster social-ecological resilience captured in the concept of adaptive governance.

  11. Lean Government Methods Guide

    Science.gov (United States)

    This Guide focuses primarily on Lean production, which is an organizational improvement philosophy and set of methods that originated in manufacturing but has been expanded to government and service sectors.

  12. Administrative Surveillance and Fear: Implications for U.S.-Mexico Border Relations and Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Fear has struck the people along the U.S.-Mexico border. Government authorities of the two nations have implemented techniques to secure the Rio Grande against drug trafficking, immigration, and terrorism. This article explores the issues and policies that have led to the escalation of violence on the U.S.-Mexico border and the ‘politics of fear’. Firstly, Mexican and U.S. governmental authorities are examined in the context of their actions against the various drug cartels. Secondly, the impact of such actions on the nations’ publics is analysed. The authors combine the theoretical conceptions of the ‘media spectacle’ and the politics of fear that create a ‘spectacle of fear’ to explain events in the region. Finally, the authors provide a theoretical interpretation of the politics and administration of security policies regarding the impact of violence in this border region, employing primarily the works of Michel Foucault and Hannah Arendt, which are central to any discussion of the phenomena of politics and societal violence. Overall, this work seeks to interpret the ‘culture of fear’ forced on citizens and the conflict between power and violence. Resumen: Vigilancia Administrativa y Miedo: Implicaciones para la Gobernanza y las Relaciones Fronterizas México-Estados Unidos El miedo ha tomado por sorpresa a la población que habita en la región fronteriza México-Estados Unidos. Las autoridades han implementado acciones para combatir, en ambos lados del Río Bravo, el tráfico de drogas, la migración y el terrorismo. En este artículo se explican las causas de la violencia fronteriza que derivan en la ‘política del miedo’. Primeramente, se analizan las acciones de las autoridades mexicanas y estadounidenses en contra de los denominados cárteles de la droga. En segundo lugar, se evalúa el impacto de dichas acciones sobre la sociedad en ambas naciones. Los autores combinan las nociones teóricas de

  13. U.S. Government Electronic Information Service Guidelines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessler, Ridley R., Jr.; Barkley, Dan

    1997-01-01

    Discusses the development of electronic government publications and the resulting standards and service needs. Focuses on results of a report on the impact that electronic information has brought to bear on depository library services. Includes 11 draft Depository Library Public Service Guidelines for government information. (AEF)

  14. Exploring the success, failure and factors influencing M-government implementation in developing countries

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Ogunleye, OS

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available and to provide better services to citizens, businesses, and government agencies through using mobile technology. This research reviews the success, failures and factors influencing m-Government development and implementation in developing countries...

  15. Teacher Governance Factors and Social Cohesion: Insights from Pakistan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halai, Anjum; Durrani, Naureen

    2016-01-01

    This paper explores teacher governance factors, particularly recruitment and deployment of teachers, in relation to inequalities and social cohesion. Pakistan introduced major reforms in education in the post 9/11 context of escalating conflict. These include a merit and needs-based policy on teacher recruitment to eliminate corruption in…

  16. 77 FR 6949 - Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) Rates for Non-U.S. Government Customers

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-10

    ... Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS) Rates for Non- U.S. Government Customers AGENCY: National... customer flexibility, allowing more efficient use of the system. This notion was never implemented in the... commercial customers, as well as Arctic and Antarctic science programs. In this direct final rule, NASA is...

  17. U.S. Government Open Internet Access to Sub-meter Satellite Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neigh, Christopher S. R> Masek, Jeffery G.; Nickeson, Jaime E.

    2012-01-01

    The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has contracted United States commercial remote sensing companies GeoEye and Digital Globe to provide very high resolution commercial quality satellite imagery to federal/state government agencies and those projects/people who support government interests. Under NextView contract terms, those engaged in official government programs/projects can gain online access to NGA's vast global archive. Additionally, data from vendor's archives of IKONOS-2 (IK-2), OrbView-3 (OB-3), GeoEye-1 (GE-1), QuickBird-1 (QB-1), WorldView-1 (WV-1), and WorldView-2 (WV-2), sensors can also be requested under these agreements. We report here the current extent of this archive, how to gain access, and the applications of these data by Earth science investigators to improve discoverability and community use of these data. Satellite commercial quality imagery (CQI) at very high resolution (source to U.S. federal, state, and local governments for many different purposes. The rapid growth of free global CQI data has been slow to disseminate to NASA Earth Science community and programs such as the Land-Cover Land-Use Change (LCLUC) program which sees potential benefit from unprecedented access. This article evolved from a workshop held on February 23rd, 2012 between representatives from NGA, NASA, and NASA LCLUC Scientists discussion on how to extend this resource to a broader license approved community. Many investigators are unaware of NGA's archive availability or find it difficult to access CQI data from NGA. Results of studies, both quality and breadth, could be improved with CQI data by combining them with other moderate to coarse resolution passive optical Earth observation remote sensing satellites, or with RADAR or LiDAR instruments to better understand Earth system dynamics at the scale of human activities. We provide the evolution of this effort, a guide for qualified user access, and describe current to potential use of these data in

  18. Visual Culture and Electronic Government: Exploring a New Generation of E-Government

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bekkers, Victor; Moody, Rebecca

    E-government is becoming more picture-oriented. What meaning do stakeholders attach to visual events and visualization? Comparative case study research show the functional meaning primarily refers to registration, integration, transparency and communication. The political meaning refers to new ways of framing in order to secure specific interests and claims. To what the institutional meaning relates is ambiguous: either it improves the position of citizens, or it reinforces the existing bias presented by governments. Hence, we expect that the emergence of a visualized public space, through omnipresent penetration of (mobile) multimedia technologies, will influence government-citizen interactions.

  19. 75 FR 55576 - Intent To Grant Field of Use Exclusive License to U.S. Government-Owned Patents

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-13

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Intent To Grant Field of Use Exclusive License to U.S. Government-Owned Patents AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with 35... grant a field of use exclusive, revocable license for the field of prevention and/or therapeutic...

  20. Interoperability in the e-Government Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    TN-014 | 3 ing e- government systems focus primarily on these technical challenges [UNDP 2007a, p. 10; CS Transform 2009, p. 3]. More recently...Thailand’s government hits its own wall. Responding agencies and non- governmental groups are unable to share information vital to the rescue effort...Interoperability and Open Standards for e- Governance .” egov (Sep. 1, 2007): 17–19. [Secretary General, United Nations 2010] Secretary General, United

  1. GOVERNMENT ELECTRONIC PURCHASING: AN ASSESSMENT OF BRAZILIAN STATE GOVERNMENTS' E-PROCUREMENT WEBSITES

    OpenAIRE

    Alves, Tomaz Rodrigo; Universidade de São Paulo; Souza, Cesar Alexandre; Universidade de São Paulo

    2011-01-01

    One of the electronic government applications that has been fast developing in Brazil is e-procurement. It’s a field that allows relatively objective measuring, regarding price cuts and savings generated by the reduction of bureaucracy. This research evaluated the quality of the e-procurement portals of the 26 Brazilian state governments and also the Federal District, considering primarily features that could be useful to suppliers. In order to do so, a scoring method was developed, in which ...

  2. Factors affecting wood energy consumption by U.S. households

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nianfu Song; Francisco X. Aguilar; Stephen R. Shifley; Michael E. Goerndt

    2012-01-01

    About 23% of energy derived from woody sources in the U.S. was consumed by households, of which 70% was used by households in rural areas in 2005. We investigated factors affecting household-level wood energy consumption in the four continental U.S. regions using data from the U.S. Residential Energy Consumption Survey. To account for a large number of zero...

  3. Tax Governance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boll, Karen; Brehm Johansen, Mette

    to wider international trends within tax administration, especially concerning the development of risk assessments and internal control in the corporations and a greater focus on monitoring of these elements by the tax authorities. Overall, the working paper concludes that Tax Governance as a model......This working paper presents an analysis of the experiences of Cooperative Compliance in Denmark. Cooperative Compliance denotes a specific kind of collaborative program for the regulation of large corporate taxpayers by the tax authorities. Cooperative Compliance programs have been implemented...... in several countries worldwide. In Denmark the program is called Tax Governance. Tax Governance has been studied using qualitative method and the analyses of the working paper build on an extensive base of in-depth interviews – primarily with tax directors from corporations participating in the program...

  4. Theorizing Strategic Communication in Parsimony from the U.S. Government Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Young Joon Lim

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Although the term Strategic Communication seems to be a rising topic in communication studies, it is obvious that the term has been hardly visualized and explained from the U.S. government perspective in academic work. This paper theoretically visualizes strategic communication processes. The Department of State and the Department of Defense streamlined the use of strategic communication in different terms but they both focus on using soft power over hard power to gain support from foreign audiences through communication. Both departments especially after the 9/11attacks have developed programs to win hearts and minds of the target audience. This paper shows the salient process of strategic communication programs and conceptualizes principles of strategic communication from their perspectives. This paper after all illustrates the processes for theorizing strategic communication.

  5. Trachoma Prevalence and Risk Factors in Eight Local Government ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    is worst in Anka LGA (7%); whereas knowledge of how to prevent trachoma is generally poor in all the LGAs. Trachoma prevalence and risk factors in eight local government areas of Zamfara state. The burden of active trachoma (TF) in children is low in the surveyed LGAs with the exception of Bungudu and Maradun that ...

  6. Australian Government Balance Sheet Management

    OpenAIRE

    Wilson Au-Yeung; Jason McDonald; Amanda Sayegh

    2006-01-01

    Since almost eliminating net debt, the Australian Government%u2019s attention has turned to the financing of broader balance sheet liabilities, such as public sector superannuation. Australia will be developing a significant financial asset portfolio in the %u2018Future Fund%u2019 to smooth the financing of expenses through time. This raises the significant policy question of how best to manage the government balance sheet to reduce risk. This paper provides a framework for optimal balance sh...

  7. Government Risk-Bearing

    CERN Document Server

    1993-01-01

    The u.s. government bulks large in the nation's financial markets. The huge volume of government-issued and -sponsored debt affects the pricing and volume ofprivate debt and, consequently, resource allocation between competing alternatives. What is often not fully appreciated is the substantial influence the federal government wields overresource allocation through its provisionofcreditandrisk-bearing services to the private economy. Because peopleand firms generally seekto avoid risk, atsomeprice they are willing to pay another party to assume the risk they would otherwise face. Insurance companies are a class of private-sector firms one commonly thinks of as providing these services. As the federal government has expanded its presence in the U.S. economy during this century, it has increasingly developed programs aimed at bearing risks that the private sector either would not take on at any price, or would take on but atapricethoughtto besogreatthatmostpotentialbeneficiarieswouldnotpurchase the coverage. To...

  8. Oil price, government policies fuel industry's shift from U.S

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Silas, C.J.

    1991-01-01

    The world exploration outlook starts with the outlook for the price of oil. This paper reports that oil prices and government policies for fuel industries shift from the U.S. If we've learned anything in the past decade it's that we're not very good at predicting oil prices. We can build economic models of supply and demand but we can't build models for political events in the Middle East or the actions of someone like Saddam Hussein. As we look to 2000 our best estimate is that oil will remain at about $20 for the near term and move upward very gradually during the rest of the decade. Of course, rising demand eventually should cause oil prices to break out and show some strength. But not soon. We don't see oil prices overcoming inflation until the latter part of the decade. And we aren't expecting oil prices much above $25 in inflation adjusted terms until the next century

  9. ADR characteristics and corporate governance in the Greater China region

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee-Hsien Pan

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available We examine the relationship between firm valuation and governance mechanisms, firm characteristics, and institutional factors of the American Depository Receipts (ADRs domiciled in the Greater China region. We find that China ADRs have the highest market-to-book value ratio followed by Hong Kong and Taiwan ADRs. It appears that Chinese firms with the poorest external governance environment stand to benefit the most from cross listing under the ADR programs. Listing in the U.S. that requires more stringent regulations and disclosure rules may strengthen the firms’ governance practices and thereby enhance their firm value. Among the internal governance mechanisms, institutional ownership and insider ownership are important for firm value.

  10. Evolving legal framework of corporate governance in India – issues and challenges

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pankaj Kumar GUPTA

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Investors now started considering corporate governance as very essential factor before investment especially in view of the unstable environment in the securities market. It is considered that good corporate governance inspires, strengthens and maintains investor’s confidence by ensuring company’s commitment to higher growth and profits. Corporate Governance has become a major concern for global economies particularly the transition world. Sound corporate governance is extremely important for transition economies for creation of the key institutions, the private corporations, which drive the successful economic transformation to a market based economy, effective allocation of capital and development of financial markets, attracting foreign investment and making a contribution to the process of national development. The Corporate Governance issue has emerged primarily because of the growing importance of corporations in the national economies and their interaction with the international agencies and institutions. This paper presents the current scenario of corporate governance in India, the evolving legal framework and identified the major issues and challenges that need to be addressed to implement an effective system of corporate governance in India.

  11. Contextualizing online human milk sharing: structural factors and lactation disparity among middle income women in the U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmquist, Aunchalee E L; Doehler, Kirsten

    2014-12-01

    Women in the U.S. face significant structural constraints in attempting to breastfeed as recommended in the first six months of their child's life. Internet-facilitated human milk sharing is an emergent response to breastfeeding challenges. Little is known about the demographic characteristics of milk sharing donors and recipients and the ways structural factors circumscribe the biocultural context of lactation in milk sharing practices. Data regarding demographic characteristics, reproductive history, lactation history, and levels of social support and health care provider support for breastfeeding were collected via an online survey September 2013-March 2014. Statistical tests were executed to ascertain whether significant differences exist between donors and recipients. A total of 867 respondents (661 donors, 206 recipients) met the eligibility criteria for the study. Respondents were U.S. residents and primarily White, middle-class, well educated, and employed women. Both donors and recipients reported higher than the national average for household income, maternal educational attainment, breastfeeding exclusivity 0-6 months, and breastfeeding duration. Differences in lactation sufficiency and breastfeeding outcomes between donors and recipients were associated with both structural and biocultural factors. Donors reported significantly higher income, education, and support for breastfeeding from spouse/partner, other family, employers, and pediatricians. Donors also reported significantly higher rates of full term birth for child of most recent lactation. This study provides a foundation for understanding how milk sharing reflects a broader political economy of breastfeeding in the U.S. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 75 FR 60436 - Intent To Grant an Exclusive Field of Use License of U.S. Government-Owned Patents

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-30

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Intent To Grant an Exclusive Field of Use License of U.S. Government-Owned Patents AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In... of the intent to grant a field of use exclusive, revocable license for the field of vaccination of...

  13. Urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR), tissue factor (TF) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Anders; Kiss, Katalin; Lelkaitis, Giedrius

    2017-01-01

    Background: Tumor-specific biomarkers are a prerequisite for the development of targeted imaging and therapy in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). urokinase-type Plasminogen Activator Receptor (uPAR), Tissue Factor (TF) and Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) are three biomarkers that exhib...... with a reduced survival. uPAR seems to be a prognostic biomarker in oral cancer....

  14. Neo-liberal Governing of 'Radicals'

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindekilde, Lasse

    2012-01-01

    The Danish government’s counter-radicalization Action Plan of 2009 had intended and unintended effects. Primarily targeting Danish Muslims, it employs neoliberal governmentality approaches of governance through individual support and response, information and knowledge, empowerment, surveillance...

  15. Public Management Reform and Organizational Performance: An Empirical Assessment of the U.K. Labour Government's Public Service Improvement Strategy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walker, Richard M.; Boyne, George A.

    2006-01-01

    We present the first empirical assessment of the U.K. Labour government's program of public management reform. This reform program is based on rational planning, devolution and delegation, flexibility and incentives, and enhanced choice. Measures of these variables are tested against external and internal indicators of organizational performance.…

  16. Self-Governance and Sustainable Common Pool Resource Management in Kyrgyzstan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tanja Baerlein

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available How to best govern natural resources in order to enable a sustainable way of handling them is what both research and practice aim to achieve. Empirical findings from several studies indicate that resource users are able to successfully cooperate in the management of common pool resources and solve social dilemmas through self-governance arrangements. The authors explore the potential success of self-governance in irrigation systems, focusing primarily on the factors influencing compliance of irrigation water users under self-crafted and self-enforced rules in two Kyrgyz communities. A field experiment is employed to provide insights and some quantitative empirical data, further complemented by qualitative methods (questionnaires, group discussions and interviews to enhance the analysis of the findings about working rules in irrigation at the community level. The results show that Kyrgyz irrigation users of the selected communities generally respond better in a self-governance setting in terms of rules compliance, distribution efficiency and equity. Compliance and cooperative behavior depend on group as well as individual variables including communication, social norms and the legitimacy of rules.

  17. Assessing the effectiveness of technology transfer from U.S. government R&D laboratories: impact of market orientation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bozeman, Barry; Coker, Karen

    1992-05-01

    This study, based on a national survey of U.S. government laboratories, assesses the degree of success laboratories have had in transferring technology to industry, taking into account the laboratories' differing receptivity to market influences. Three success criteria are considered here, two based on self-evaluations and a third based on the number of technology licenses issued from the laboratory. The two self-evaluations are rooted in different types of effectiveness, `getting technology out the door,' in one case, and, in the other, having a demonstrable commercial impact. A core hypothesis of the study is that the two types of effectiveness will be responsive to different factors and, in particular, the laboratories with a clearer market orientation will have a higher degree of success on the commercial impact and technology license criteria. Overall, the results seem to suggest that multifaceted, multimission laboratories are likely to enjoy the most success in technology transfer, especially if they have relatively low levels of bureaucratization and either ties to industry (particularly direct financial ties) or a commercial orientation in the selection of projects.

  18. Governing new technology: A comparative analysis of government support for nanotechnology in the Netherlands and the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eijmberts, Johannes

    This study examines this variance in national government support for nanotechnology---its shape, size, and policy priorities---by comparing the United States and the Netherlands. Our operating hypothesis is that national government support for nanotechnology development is driven not by the intrinsic nature of the technology but by longstanding structural and institutional arrangements. That is, in the U.S., pluralist political traditions and reliance on classical liberal market economics would suggest a detached national government approach, leaving any initiative to market actors. At the same time, legacies of corporatism in the Dutch political system and a tradition of greater direct government involvement in the national economy would suggest a government-led policy on nanotechnology development. The findings show otherwise. Early on, the U.S. government established the National Nanotechnology Initiative, an overarching federal mechanism to promote and coordinate nanotechnology development. Yet, despite its appearance of central direction and coordination, the NNI reflected pluralist arrangements by leaving ample autonomy for participating federal departments and agencies. The creation of the NNI was driven particularly by concerns of about foreign challenges to American global leadership in science and technology. In the Netherlands, by contrast, the path taken shows the legacy of Dutch corporatist practice---slow, incremental, and embedded in pre-existing institutional arrangements. The Dutch government initially took no directive role, relying instead on established links among universities, public research funding organizations, and industries to advance nanotechnology development in the Netherlands. However, over time, Dutch government involvement in nanotechnology grew to be more supportive, sizeable, comprehensive, and directive---particulary by requiring substantial investments in risk-related research as a condition for public funding and, notably, by

  19. 78 FR 24287 - Call for Expert Reviewers to the U.S. Government Review of the 2013 Revised Supplementary Methods...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-24

    ... the U.S. government review should be submitted using the web-based system at: review.globalchange.gov... for the preparation of national greenhouse gas inventories, which provide guidance to periodic... the following Web sites: http://www.ipcc.ch/organization/organization_review.shtml#.UEY0LqSe7x8 http...

  20. Interferon-gamma and tumor necrosis factor-alpha sensitize primarily resistant human endometrial stromal cells to Fas-mediated apoptosis

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fluhr, Herbert; Krenzer, Stefanie; Stein, Gerburg M

    2007-01-01

    The subtle interaction between the implanting embryo and the maternal endometrium plays a pivotal role during the process of implantation. Human endometrial stromal cells (ESCs) express Fas and the implanting trophoblast cells secrete Fas ligand (FASLG, FasL), suggesting a possible role for Fas......-mediated signaling during early implantation. Here we show that ESCs are primarily resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis independently of their state of hormonal differentiation. Pre-treatment of ESCs with interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha sensitizes them to become apoptotic upon stimulation...... of Fas by an agonistic anti-Fas antibody. Incubation of ESCs with the early embryonic signal human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG, CGB) does not influence their reaction to Fas stimulation. The sensitizing effect of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha was accompanied by a significant upregulation of Fas and FLICE...

  1. Lean government: Critical success factors for XBRL-based business-to-government reporting

    OpenAIRE

    Bharosa, N.; De Winne, C.P.I.; Van Wijk, R.; Janssen, M.F.W.H.A.

    2012-01-01

    Lean government is all about doing better with less through the use of ICT and the realisation of process improvements. The recently introduced eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) has shown some initial success in realising lean government. Once data is stored in XBRL format, businesses can transmit it electronically to government for reporting purposes. For businesses, XBRL will increase both corporate accountability and transparency by reducing the time needed to collect, structur...

  2. Good governance as perceived by Dabawenyos

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adrian M. Tamayo

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The debate on good governance had shaped public policies of many governments. This study was conducted to obtain latent perspectives of good governance. A survey was conducted using two-stage cluster sampling in the first congressional district of Davao City involving 351 respondents. Findings reveal that the notion of good governance of Dabawenyos is primarily a government to implement the rule of law; peace and order is a necessity to facilitate market efficiency. Also, it was found that political leadership creates notions of good governance; public bestowed power to its political leaders as a matter of trust. On the other hand, leaders incorporate soft and hard forms of power in delegating powers without losing control, causing a widespread and significant impact on the formation and development of Davao’s perspectives of good governance. This is the rubber band effect of good governance leadership.

  3. Factors affecting knowledge governance implementation among Malaysian SMEs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khong Sin Tan

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge governance is a relatively new discipline in Malaysia with very little research work performed so far. As Malaysian government is actively involved in the implementation of Economic Transformation Program (ETP, Government Transformation Program (GTP and Urban Trans-formation Program (UTP, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs need to react to the government move by transforming their conventional knowledge management practices to knowledge govern-ance. As of today, there has been very limited study conducted in Malaysia on the extent of the company acceptance of such governance. This research was therefore conducted to measure the SME users' acceptance and identify the pros and cons of knowledge governance. With these findings, recommendations were given to policy makers and industries to increase the company's knowledge governance acceptance. Questionnaire was used for data collection. Systematic random sampling methods was used to select respondents. The questionnaire was developed and adapted based on knowledge management and IT governance frameworks. In this model, the dependent variable was company's intention to adopt knowledge governance. Independent variables included knowledge application needs, knowledge architecture, knowledge infrastructure, knowledge investment and knowledge principles.

  4. Performance, corporate governance and new regulation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heriberto Garcia

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available After the adoption of the Corporate Governance Code (Code in Mexico, many companies increased financial performance and the leveraged during the following five years; we investigated the effect of how those firms improved the corporate governance practices and how was translated into better risk return company. We analyzed how and where better corporate governance practices affects performance and what was the relationship with Transparency, New Regulation and Governance Practices. Also we explored the gaps between transparency and information disclosure of Mexican Firms listed in U.S stock exchange and non U.S listed firms our findings were related to the potential growth of the Mexico Financial Market, Law and Finance.

  5. Status of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Government to Government Program in Russia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Olascoaga, M.T.

    1996-01-01

    The US-Russian Government-to-Government Program of Cooperation on Nuclear Material Protection, Control, and Accounting (MPC ampersand A) evolved from the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. In 1995, the US Department of Energy (DOE) assumed responsibility as the executive agent for implementation of the Government-to-Government MPC ampersand A Program, followed by the programmatic responsibility for funding. The Russian Program initially emphasized limited exchanges, demonstrations, and upgrades at low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel fabrication facility at Elektrostal in 1994. The program has expanded to include upgrades at nuclear facilities across Russia, development of the Russian Methodological Training Center (RMTC) in Obninsk; and cooperation with Gosatomnadzor, the Russian Federal Nuclear Radiation and Safety Authority. This paper describes the overall program including program objectives, approach, and US-Russian participation, with an emphasis on DOE-GAN cooperation

  6. Computerized and Networked Government Information Column

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stratford, Juri

    2004-01-01

    The efforts of the U.S. federal government to develop E-Government services have been the subject of many recent news stories. In February 2002, Arthur Andersen's Office of Government Services released a usability analysis of federal government Web sites. In addition, in February, Vice-President Cheney announced the release of a report detailing…

  7. Optimalisasi Penerapan Prinsip Good Governance Bidang Akademik dalam Upaya Mewujudkan Good University Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hery Harjono Muljo

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available This study wants to know and understand whether good governance principles have been well applied as well as the factors influencing optimization of the implementation of good governance principles on the academic field in an effort to realize good university governance in Bina Nusantara University. The study aims to evaluate the implementation of good governance principles on the academic field, know the factors that affect the implementation of good governance principles on the academic field, and improve and develop the academic areas in accordance with good governance principles in order to maximize the role of Bina Nusantara University as Good University Governance. The approach model used to understand the implementation of good governance principles was a model to educational institution using the 8 principles, namely academic freedom, shared governance, clear rights and responsibilities, selection at merit, financial stability, accountability, regular testing of standards, and the importance of close cooperation. Research used qualitative method with descriptive analysis, by analyzing the factors influencing optimization of the implementation of good governance principles, particularly on academic areas. The results achieved there were 18 factors that affect the optimization of the implementation of good governance principles. Then the factors affected the optimization ofthe implementation of good governance principles the most are operational centralization and academic decentralization which were the novelty of this study.

  8. Carbon dioxide emission factors for U.S. coal by origin and destination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quick, J.C.

    2010-01-01

    This paper describes a method that uses published data to calculate locally robust CO2 emission factors for U.S. coal. The method is demonstrated by calculating CO2 emission factors by coal origin (223 counties, in 1999) and destination (479 power plants, in 2005). Locally robust CO2 emission factors should improve the accuracy and verification of greenhouse gas emission measurements from individual coal-fired power plants. Based largely on the county origin, average emission factors for U.S. lignite, subbituminous, bituminous, and anthracite coal produced during 1999 were 92.97,91.97,88.20, and 98.91 kg CO2/GJgross, respectively. However, greater variation is observed within these rank classes than between them, which limits the reliability of CO2 emission factors specified by coal rank. Emission factors calculated by destination (power plant) showed greater variation than those listed in the Emissions & Generation Resource Integrated Database (eGRID), which exhibit an unlikely uniformity that is inconsistent with the natural variation of CO2 emission factors for U.S. coal. ?? 2010 American Chemical Society.

  9. Historical analysis of U.S. electricity markets: Reassessing carbon lock-in

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carley, Sanya

    2011-01-01

    This paper evaluates whether the U.S. electricity sector is directed away from carbon-intensive technological lock-in, and which factors are contributing, or have potential to contribute, to a possible reorientation of the industry. With the application of a historical analysis of the electricity sector from the late nineteenth century through current day, this analysis finds that, although the industry still relies primarily on carbon-intensive fossil fuel operations, several recent trends indicate that the industry is becoming less carbon intensive, smaller in generation system scale, and more sustainable in operations. Crucial drivers-firm level interactions with technological change, industry leadership and market structure, government intervention and policy momentum, and citizen involvement and behavior patterns-that have traditionally shaped the structure, scale, and environmental footprint of the industry, have also played a prominent role in recent transformations. These results indicate that triggering or extraordinary events may not be necessary to initiate an escape from carbon lock-in in the electricity sector. Complete escape is not yet definitive, however, and it remains to be seen whether the industry is able to transform entirely before any significant climate change disturbances occur. - Research Highlights: → I examine whether the U.S. electricity sector is moving away from carbon-intensive technological lock-in, and which factors are guiding this transition. → Recent trends suggest that the electricity sector is becoming less carbon-intensive, smaller in scale, and more sustainable in operations. → Complete escape from carbon lock-in, however, is not yet definitive.

  10. Three essays in corporate finance: Examining the influence of government ownership and evaluating crude oil arbitrage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holland, Kateryna

    The aim of this dissertation is twofold: first, to evaluate how governments influence firms in which they invest (chapters one and two), and second, to examine arbitrage in the crude oil market by investigating the relationship between crude oil inventories, physical prices, and financial prices (chapter three). In the first chapter (The Wealth Effects of Government Investment in Publicly Traded Firms), I study how government share ownership affects shareholder wealth. I find that government investments with higher likelihood of political interference have a negative influence on shareholder wealth, while the opposite is true for government investments with economic objectives. In the second chapter (Government Ownership and the Cost of Debt: Evidence form Government Investment in Publicly Traded Firms), I investigate how government share ownership affects the cost of debt of publicly traded firms. I find that government ownership generally leads to a higher cost of debt, except for times of economic and firm distress, when the value of the implicit government guarantee is associated with a reduction in the cost of debt. In the third chapter (Financial Trading, Spot Oil Prices, and Inventory: Evidence from the U.S. Crude Oil Market), I confirm the existence of an active cash and carry market in crude oil in Cushing, OK, the main U.S. crude oil futures settlement location. In other words, crude oil inventories in Cushing, but not in any other U.S. crude oil storage locations, are explained by the spread between the financial and the physical price of oil in addition to operational factors.

  11. 75 FR 54330 - Intent To Grant an Exclusive Field of Use License of a U.S. Government-Owned Patent Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-07

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Intent To Grant an Exclusive Field of Use License of a U.S. Government-Owned Patent Application AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice... intent to grant an exclusive, revocable license for the field of use in the research reagent market to...

  12. 75 FR 39668 - Intent To Grant a Field of Use Exclusive License of a U.S. Government-Owned Patent Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Army Intent To Grant a Field of Use Exclusive License of a U.S. Government-Owned Patent Application AGENCY: Department of the Army, DoD. ACTION: Notice... intent to grant a field of use exclusive, revocable license for the field of shigella vaccine development...

  13. Sustainable energy policy. Submission to the Commonwealth Government

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1996-01-01

    This submission is provided by Australian business and industry to the Commonwealth Government in response to the invitation contained in a recent Issues paper. It would appear that the government's concern is primarily related to the link between energy generation and use and greenhouse gas emissions. This submission highlights the roles of demand growth, efficient delivery and effective implementation of policy framework. It is stated that the outset that energy policy should not be driven solely or even primarily by the greenhouse issue - economic sustainability is clearly at least of equal relevance. A viable and appropriate framework is suggested including: no-regrets action domestically; cost effective emission abatement in developing countries and research and development for long term solutions

  14. Governance Regime Factors Conducive to Innovation Uptake in Urban Water Management: Experiences from Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Josselin Rouillard

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Innovative ways to manage the urban water cycle are required to deal with an ageing drinking and waste water infrastructure and new societal imperatives. This paper examines the influence of water governance in enabling transformations and technological innovation uptake in urban water management. A governance assessment framework is developed and applied in three case-studies, examining different scales and types of innovations used to tackle challenges in European urban water management. The methodology combines documentary analysis and interviews to reconstruct historical storylines of the shift in the water governance of urban water management for each site. The research provides detailed empirical observations on the factors conducive to innovation uptake at the local level. Critical governance factors such as commitment to compromise, the necessity to build political support, and the role of “entrepreneurs” and coalitions are highlighted. The paper also explores the role of discursive strategies and partnership design, as well as that of regulative, economic and communicative instruments, in creating barriers and opportunities to initiate and secure change. A number of recommendations targeted at innovators and water managers are presented in the conclusion.

  15. Factors Affecting M-Government Deployment and Adoption

    OpenAIRE

    Saif Obaid Alkaabi; Nabil Ayad

    2016-01-01

    Governments constantly seek to offer faster, more secure, efficient and effective services for their citizens. Recent changes and developments to communication services and technologies, mainly due the Internet, have led to immense improvements in the way governments of advanced countries carry out their interior operations Therefore, advances in e-government services have been broadly adopted and used in various developed countries, as well as being adapted to developing countries. The imple...

  16. Factors Influencing Individual Performance In An Indonesian Government Office

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Azizatul Munawaroh

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available 1024x768 Reformation in Indonesian government offices leads to many substantial changes, and demands improved job performances while arguably loading employees with more work. This research aims to understand factors that potentially influence job performance in Indonesian government offices that carries on such reformation. Using adapted scales from previous studies, this research investigates the role of workload, responsibility for others (level of responsibility to care for other people and need for achievement on employee’s performance.  A survey to all full-time workers in an Indonesian government office is conducted. Contrary to expectation, workload does not influence employee’s performance. Instead, regression analysis demonstrates that, employee’s need for achievement and responsibility for others are significant factors affecting individual performance. These results are important because they highlight the significance of need for achievement for the success of reformation in this office, and by extension for reformation in Indonesia. The results are also interesting because this is the first study that points out to the role of responsibility for others in influencing individual performance in Indonesia which is characterized by collectivistic culture. This paper discusses the contributions of these results for theory and practice.   Keywords: Indonesian public, need for achievement, responsibility for others, workload. Normal 0 false false false IN X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso

  17. Crepuscular flight activity of an invasive insect governed by interacting abiotic factors.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yigen Chen

    Full Text Available Seasonal and diurnal flight patterns of the invasive walnut twig beetle, Pityophthorus juglandis, were assessed between 2011 and 2014 in northern California, USA in the context of the effects of ambient temperature, light intensity, wind speed, and barometric pressure. Pityophthorus juglandis generally initiated flight in late January and continued until late November. This seasonal flight could be divided approximately into three phases (emergence: January-March; primary flight: May-July; and secondary flight: September-October. The seasonal flight response to the male-produced aggregation pheromone was consistently female-biased (mean of 58.9% females. Diurnal flight followed a bimodal pattern with a minor peak in mid-morning and a major peak at dusk (76.4% caught between 1800 and 2200 h. The primarily crepuscular flight activity had a Gaussian relationship with ambient temperature and barometric pressure but a negative exponential relationship with increasing light intensity and wind speed. A model selection procedure indicated that the four abiotic factors collectively and interactively governed P. juglandis diurnal flight. For both sexes, flight peaked under the following second-order interactions among the factors when: 1 temperature between was 25 and 30 °C and light intensity was less than 2000 lux; 2 temperature was between 25 and 35 °C and barometric pressure was between 752 and 762 mba (and declined otherwise; 3 barometric pressure was between 755 and 761 mba and light intensity was less than 2000 lux (and declined otherwise; and 4 temperature was ca. 30 °C and wind speed was ca. 2 km/h. Thus, crepuscular flight activity of this insect can be best explained by the coincidence of moderately high temperature, low light intensity, moderate wind speed, and low to moderate barometric pressure. The new knowledge provides physical and temporal guidelines for the application of semiochemical-based control techniques as part of an IPM

  18. Kuwait: Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-29

    Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman). In March 2011, Kuwait joined a GCC military intervention to...before the start of [2013]”—a statement that furthered Iraq’s argument that the U.N. Security Council should remove any remaining “Chapter 7” (of the...with alternative mechanisms, as discussed below. On December 15, 2010, the U.N. Security Council passed three resolutions—1956, 1957, and 1958—that

  19. Human Trafficking in the United States. Part II. Survey of U.S. Government Web Resources for Publications and Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Panigabutra-Roberts, Anchalee

    2012-01-01

    This second part of a two-part series is a survey of U.S. government web resources on human trafficking in the United States, particularly of the online publications and data included on agencies' websites. Overall, the goal is to provide an introduction, an overview, and a guide on this topic for library staff to use in their research and…

  20. Lean government : Critical success factors for XBRL-based business-to-government reporting

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Bharosa, N.; De Winne, C.P.I.; Van Wijk, R.; Janssen, M.F.W.H.A.

    2012-01-01

    Lean government is all about doing better with less through the use of ICT and the realisation of process improvements. The recently introduced eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) has shown some initial success in realising lean government. Once data is stored in XBRL format, businesses

  1. A Chance in Hell: Evaluating the Efficacy of U.S. Military Health Systems in Foreign Disaster Relief

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-10

    brochures /Somalia/Somalia.htm (downloaded 10 October, 2008), 8-10. 86Ibid., 9-10. 87U.S. Department of the Army, United States Forces After Action Review...Modeling, and Prediction, College Park, MD, April 3-5, 2012). 232U.S. Department of the Air Force, Air Mobility Planning Factors, Air Force Pamphlet 10...U.S. Department of the Air Force. Air Mobility Planning Factors. Air Force Pamphlet 10-1403. Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office (2003

  2. Experimental verification of the air kerma to absorbed dose conversion factor Cw,u.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mijnheer, B J; Wittkämper, F W; Aalbers, A H; van Dijk, E

    1987-01-01

    In a recently published code of practice for the dosimetry of high-energy photon beams, the absorbed dose to water is determined using an ionization chamber having an air kerma calibration factor and applying the air kerma to absorbed dose conversion factor Cw,u. The consistency of these Cw,u values has been determined for four commonly employed types of ionization chambers in photon beams with quality varying between 60Co gamma-rays and 25 MV X-rays. Using a graphite calorimeter, Cw,u has been determined for a graphite-walled ionization chamber (NE 2561) for the same qualities. The values of Cw,u determined with the calorimeter are within the experimental uncertainty equal to Cw,u values determined according to any of the recent dosimetry protocols.

  3. Toxicity potentials from waste cellular phones, and a waste management policy integrating consumer, corporate, and government responsibilities

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Seong-Rin; Schoenung, Julie M.

    2010-01-01

    Cellular phones have high environmental impact potentials because of their heavy metal content and current consumer attitudes toward purchasing new phones with higher functionality and neglecting to return waste phones into proper take-back systems. This study evaluates human health and ecological toxicity potentials from waste cellular phones; highlights consumer, corporate, and government responsibilities for effective waste management; and identifies key elements needed for an effective waste management strategy. The toxicity potentials are evaluated by using heavy metal content, respective characterization factors, and a pathway and impact model for heavy metals that considers end-of-life disposal in landfills or by incineration. Cancer potentials derive primarily from Pb and As; non-cancer potentials primarily from Cu and Pb; and ecotoxicity potentials primarily from Cu and Hg. These results are not completely in agreement with previous work in which leachability thresholds were the metric used to establish priority, thereby indicating the need for multiple or revised metrics. The triple bottom line of consumer, corporate, and government responsibilities is emphasized in terms of consumer attitudes, design for environment (DfE), and establishment and implementation of waste management systems including recycling streams, respectively. The key strategic elements for effective waste management include environmental taxation and a deposit-refund system to motivate consumer responsibility, which is linked and integrated with corporate and government responsibilities. The results of this study can contribute to DfE and waste management policy for cellular phones.

  4. Toxicity potentials from waste cellular phones, and a waste management policy integrating consumer, corporate, and government responsibilities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Seong-Rin; Schoenung, Julie M

    2010-01-01

    Cellular phones have high environmental impact potentials because of their heavy metal content and current consumer attitudes toward purchasing new phones with higher functionality and neglecting to return waste phones into proper take-back systems. This study evaluates human health and ecological toxicity potentials from waste cellular phones; highlights consumer, corporate, and government responsibilities for effective waste management; and identifies key elements needed for an effective waste management strategy. The toxicity potentials are evaluated by using heavy metal content, respective characterization factors, and a pathway and impact model for heavy metals that considers end-of-life disposal in landfills or by incineration. Cancer potentials derive primarily from Pb and As; non-cancer potentials primarily from Cu and Pb; and ecotoxicity potentials primarily from Cu and Hg. These results are not completely in agreement with previous work in which leachability thresholds were the metric used to establish priority, thereby indicating the need for multiple or revised metrics. The triple bottom line of consumer, corporate, and government responsibilities is emphasized in terms of consumer attitudes, design for environment (DfE), and establishment and implementation of waste management systems including recycling streams, respectively. The key strategic elements for effective waste management include environmental taxation and a deposit-refund system to motivate consumer responsibility, which is linked and integrated with corporate and government responsibilities. The results of this study can contribute to DfE and waste management policy for cellular phones. 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. The Arabidopsis splicing factors, AtU2AF65, AtU2AF35, and AtSF1 shuttle between nuclei and cytoplasms

    KAUST Repository

    Park, Hyo-Young

    2017-04-21

    The Arabidopsis splicing factors, AtU2AF65, AtU2AF35, and AtSF1 shuttle between nuclei and cytoplasms. These proteins also move rapidly and continuously in the nuclei, and their movements are affected by ATP depletion. The U2AF65 proteins are splicing factors that interact with SF1 and U2AF35 proteins to promote U2snRNP for the recognition of the pre-mRNA 3\\' splice site during early spliceosome assembly. We have determined the subcellular localization and movement of these proteins\\' Arabidopsis homologs. It was found that Arabidopsis U2AF65 homologs, AtU2AF65a, and AtU2AF65b proteins interact with AtU2AF35a and AtU2AF35b, which are Arabidopsis U2AF35 homologs. We have examined the mobility of these proteins including AtSF1 using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and fluorescence loss in photobleaching analyses. These proteins displayed dynamic movements in nuclei and their movements were affected by ATP depletion. We have also demonstrated that these proteins shuttle between nuclei and cytoplasms, suggesting that they may also function in cytoplasm. These results indicate that such splicing factors show very similar characteristics to their human counterparts, suggesting evolutionary conservation.

  6. The Arabidopsis splicing factors, AtU2AF65, AtU2AF35, and AtSF1 shuttle between nuclei and cytoplasms

    KAUST Repository

    Park, Hyo-Young; Lee, Keh Chien; Jang, Yun Hee; Kim, SoonKap; Thu, May Phyo; Lee, Jeong Hwan; Kim, Jeong-Kook

    2017-01-01

    The Arabidopsis splicing factors, AtU2AF65, AtU2AF35, and AtSF1 shuttle between nuclei and cytoplasms. These proteins also move rapidly and continuously in the nuclei, and their movements are affected by ATP depletion. The U2AF65 proteins are splicing factors that interact with SF1 and U2AF35 proteins to promote U2snRNP for the recognition of the pre-mRNA 3' splice site during early spliceosome assembly. We have determined the subcellular localization and movement of these proteins' Arabidopsis homologs. It was found that Arabidopsis U2AF65 homologs, AtU2AF65a, and AtU2AF65b proteins interact with AtU2AF35a and AtU2AF35b, which are Arabidopsis U2AF35 homologs. We have examined the mobility of these proteins including AtSF1 using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching and fluorescence loss in photobleaching analyses. These proteins displayed dynamic movements in nuclei and their movements were affected by ATP depletion. We have also demonstrated that these proteins shuttle between nuclei and cytoplasms, suggesting that they may also function in cytoplasm. These results indicate that such splicing factors show very similar characteristics to their human counterparts, suggesting evolutionary conservation.

  7. An estimate of the U.S. government's undercount of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses in agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leigh, J Paul; Du, Juan; McCurdy, Stephen A

    2014-04-01

    Debate surrounds the accuracy of U.S. government's estimates of job-related injuries and illnesses in agriculture. Whereas studies have attempted to estimate the undercount for all industries combined, none have specifically addressed agriculture. Data were drawn from the U.S. government's premier sources for workplace injuries and illnesses and employment: the Bureau of Labor Statistics databanks for the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII), the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, and the Current Population Survey. Estimates were constructed using transparent assumptions; for example, that the rate (cases-per-employee) of injuries and illnesses on small farms was the same as on large farms (an assumption we altered in sensitivity analysis). We estimated 74,932 injuries and illnesses for crop farms and 68,504 for animal farms, totaling 143,436 cases in 2011. We estimated that SOII missed 73.7% of crop farm cases and 81.9% of animal farm cases for an average of 77.6% for all agriculture. Sensitivity analyses suggested that the percent missed ranged from 61.5% to 88.3% for all agriculture. We estimate considerable undercounting of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in agriculture and believe the undercounting is larger than any other industry. Reasons include: SOII's explicit exclusion of employees on small farms and of farmers and family members and Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages's undercounts of employment. Undercounting limits our ability to identify and address occupational health problems in agriculture, affecting both workers and society. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Factors affecting bank governance in Malaysia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wan Masliza Wan Mohammad

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Since the financial crisis in year 1997, banks in Malaysia had undergone various issues and transformations, including stricter regulation on merger and acquisitions and greater enforcement of corporate governance. Besides that, the institutions had also gone through the transformation in terms of the risk assessment practice due to the stricter rulings under Basel II regulations. Taking into account of these changes, this study empirically examines the effects of corporate governance, risk and capital on the performance of banks in Malaysia. Based on 132 firm-year samples for the period of 2004-2009, study indicates a significant and negative relationship between bank risks and performance. It further reveals that the risk weighted capital (RRWC improves bank performance. However none of the corporate governance variables have any associations with banks performance. The detail explanations of the findings along with the suggestions for future research are provided in the full text of the reports

  9. Plutonium assessment modeling: government policy, non-proliferation, and the government fence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurstedt, H.A. Jr.; Nachlas, J.A.

    1977-01-01

    Assessment modeling for the evaluation of plutonium as an energy resource is stressed, and generic mathematical model forms are outlined. Representative necessary objective functions are developed. Constraints and assumptions are listed. An example involving present-day light water reactor technology is demonstrated. Technical, environmental, and political implications are drawn. Specific new directions for analysis are suggested. The position of the boundary of government control and responsibility--the government exclusion fence--is shown to be a critical, but overlooked, constraint. Existing governmental uranium stockpiles may be an unmentioned, though important, constraint. Plutonium is the most abundant proven energy equivalent and most controversial energy resource. Plutonium results from an intermediate nuclear reactor processing stage starting with the raw material 238 U. Therefore, the plutonium resource differs from the 238 U resource only through minimal conversion losses and through the political and/or social will to perform the conversion. The relative abundance of 238 U, and therefore of plutonium is high. There is a great need to assess plutonium in relation to the potential available energy for a society in short supply

  10. Significant factors for enabling knowledge sharing between government agencies within South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Avain Mannie

    2013-10-01

    Objectives: This study aimed to validate the significant factors that influence the effectiveness of KM between government agencies in South Africa. The commonly identified pillars of KM in the extant literature served as a primary framework in establishing these factors. Method: Data were gathered using an electronic survey made available to different national government agencies within the security cluster. Responses were analysed using structural equation modelling. Main findings: Existing literature highlighted organisational culture, learning organisation, collaboration, subject matter experts and trust as being determinants for knowledge management. The first two were identified as the most significant factors for knowledge sharing to succeed. Conclusion: Whilst there is universal consent as to the strategic importance of KM, actionable implementation of knowledge sharing initiatives appears to be lacking. This study emphasised the fact that leaders must instil a knowledge sharing culture either through employee performance contracts or methods such as the balanced score card. The study also showed that it is imperative for leaders to acknowledge that KM is a multi-faceted discipline that offers strategic advantages. Leaders of developing countries should note that they are on a developmental journey. This requires their organisations to be learning organisations, which necessitates a change in the organisational culture and knowledge interventions through their academies of learning.

  11. Industry Issue Paper: Cross-Cultural Factors and Corporate Governance Transparency in Global Airline Strategic Alliances

    OpenAIRE

    Giapponi, Catherine C.; Scheraga, Carl A.

    2007-01-01

    This paper argues that a critical dimension in understanding the factors that inhibit the effectiveness and benefits of airline alliances is corporate transparency. Specifically, the issue of transparency in corporate governance is considered. Corporate governance is the set of institutional arrangements affecting corporate decision making, and deals with the relationship among various participants in determining the direction and performance of corporations. However, airline strategic allian...

  12. Corporate governance, cultural factors and voluntary disclosure: Evidence from selected companies in Bangladesh

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Akhtaruddin

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to test empirically the relationship between corporate governance, cultural factors and voluntary disclosure by the listed companies in Bangladesh. The corporate governance factors examined are proportion of independent non-executive directors (INDs, board leadership structure, management ownership, board size and audit committee size. The extent of voluntary disclosure level is measured using 68 items of information. Data are taken from annual reports of the listed companies in Bangladesh. The result shows a positive association between board size, board leadership structure, audit committee size and voluntary disclosure. However, no evidence is found to support the contention that independent directors are associated with increased disclosure, consistent with previous studies. Higher education of the CEO and CFO is positively related to the level of voluntary disclosure. The result also indicates that the extent of voluntary disclosures is negatively associated with a higher management ownership.

  13. Conflict and conflict resolution in Africa: Engaging the colonial factor ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    By engaging the colonial factor in African confl icts, this article seeks to understand the ineffectiveness of efforts at confl ict management in overcoming the disasters that brought the confl icts to the African continent. It claims that confl ict in Africa does not always stem primarily from crises of national governance and the ...

  14. HOW DOES ECONOMIC FREEDOM INFLUENCE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GOVERNMENT SIZE AND CONVERGENCE?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadasi Levente

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we present some empirical results about absolute and conditional convergence of real GDP within 121 countries using cross-country data. We assume that there is an inverted U-shaped curve, which describes the relationship between economic growth and government spending. It is mainly because the institutional conditions of productivity do not exist at lower levels of government spending. At higher levels, the government needs to levy higher taxes to finance its expenditures, which hinders growth. So there can be somewhere an optimal government redistribution level that maximizes growth. This optimal level depends on institutional factors that can be grabbed by certain Economic Freedom and Worldwide Governance Indicators. It was not our aim necessarily to determine exactly the level of optimal government redistribution, it would be difficult because of the heterogeneity of the countries, only to make a comparison between free and less free countries, and draw some conclusions about how this level depends on these institutional variables. Summing up we can say that our aim was to compare free and less free, legally “good” and “bad”, as well as corrupt and less corrupt countries from the aspect of government redistribution level. If we divide countries into free and less free countries and assume that both groups have an inverted U-shaped curve, the optimal level of government spending share is larger in the richer countries because of their better institutional system. These results do not contradict those findings that declare positive or negative relationship between government spending and economic growth. One part of the literature presumes that there is only one optimal level of government spending, we point out that there can be at least two optimal levels, and they depend on the institutional quality.

  15. How School Counselors Could Benefit from E-Government Solutions: The Case of Paperwork.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sabella, Russell A.

    The U.S. government has tackled many problems which have plagued its effectiveness and efficiency to serve its citizens with technology solutions. Electronic government, or e-Government, is the expression used to describe how the U.S. government attempts to increase productivity and reduce costs by using Internet-based technology. More…

  16. Human Factors in Accidents Involving Remotely Piloted Aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merlin, Peter William

    2013-01-01

    This presentation examines human factors that contribute to RPA mishaps and provides analysis of lessons learned. RPA accident data from U.S. military and government agencies were reviewed and analyzed to identify human factors issues. Common contributors to RPA mishaps fell into several major categories: cognitive factors (pilot workload), physiological factors (fatigue and stress), environmental factors (situational awareness), staffing factors (training and crew coordination), and design factors (human machine interface).

  17. 78 FR 75920 - Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-13

    ... GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards AGENCY: U.S... public that the Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards will hold a public meeting by... recommendations to the Comptroller General for revisions to the Government Auditing Standards, to provide for...

  18. The Internet and Community Networks: Case Studies of Five U.S. Cities

    OpenAIRE

    Horrigan, John B.

    2001-01-01

    This paper looks at five U.S. cities (Austin, Cleveland, Nashville, Portland, and Washington, DC) and explores strategies being employed by community activists and local governments to create and sustain community networking projects. In some cities, community networking initiatives are relatively mature, while in others they are in early or intermediate stages. The paper looks at several factors that help explain the evolution of community networks in cities: 1) Local government support; 2) ...

  19. THE EVALUATION AND IMPROVEMENT OF IT GOVERNANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Pérez Lorences

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available The present article aims to propose a general procedure to evaluate and improve the Information Technology (IT Governance in an organization, considering the Business–IT alignment and risk management. The procedure integrates management tools such as business processes management, risk management, strategic alignment and the balanced scorecard. Additionally, to assess the IT Governance level we proposed an indicator based on the process maturity. The concepts and ideas presented here had been applied in four case studies, verifying their implementation feasibility. The results indicate a low level of IT governance and the existence of several problems primarily in the Plan and Organize and Monitor and Evaluate domains.

  20. U.S. phosphate industry as a source of U3O8 to the year 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borg, I.Y.

    1976-01-01

    U 3 O 8 recovered as a by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry may equal 3600-5200 tons by 1985 and represent 7-10 percent of the anticipated annual U.S. demand. If the enormous U.S. phosphate reserves and resources are mined primarily for their uranium content they appear sufficient to fill more than twice the projected cumulative U.S. demand to the year 2000

  1. An examination of the factors governing the development of karst topography in the Cumberland Valley of Pennsylvania

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ackerman, R.V.

    1993-01-01

    The landscape of the Cumberland Valley of South Central Pennsylvania is dominated by karst topography. A study was initiated to determine if the development of karst was controlled primarily by geologic structure or by lithologic differences. Existing data concerning the geographic locations of karst features, the hydrogeologic characteristics of the Cumberland Valley, and the chemistry of the eleven carbonate formations within the 518 km 2 study area were compiled. Data concerning 366 mapped sinkholes and over 9,000 additional karst features and their relations to the structural, lithological and spatial characteristics of the study area were collected and compiled into the database. Other factors contributing to karst development such as groundwater flow, soil and colluvium characteristics, and geographic distribution were considered. The data suggest that structure dominates lithology in the development of karst features within the study area. Structural features such as fractures, joints and folds, which create secondary porosity, are prerequisite for solution of the carbonate bedrock. Joint systems, fold axes, igneous intrusions, caves, springs and groundwater flow have a significant impact on the development of karst features. The presence of faults proved inconclusive. There are a greater number of karst features per unit area in areas of purer limestones (units with a lower percentage of acid insoluble residue). Lithological variations impact karst development only when structural features are present to provide secondary porosity that enhances chemical weathering. The distribution of karst features and the geologic factors governing their development and distribution should be taken into account when land-use decisions in karst terrains are made

  2. Summary and Analysis of the U.S. Government Bat Banding Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ellison, Laura E.

    2008-01-01

    This report summarizes the U.S. Government Bat Banding Program (BBP) from 1932 to 1972. More than 2 million bands were issued during the program, of which approximately 1.5 million bands were applied to 36 bat species by scientists in many locations in North America including the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Central America. Throughout the BBP, banders noticed numerous and deleterious effects on bats, leading to a moratorium on bat banding by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a resolution to cease banding by the American Society of Mammalogists in 1973. One of the main points of the memorandum written to justify the moratorium was to conduct a 'detailed evaluation of the files of the bat-banding program.' However, a critical and detailed evaluation of the BBP was never completed. In an effort to satisfy this need, I compiled a detailed history of the BBP by examining the files and conducting a literature review on bat banding activities during the program. I also provided a case study in managing data and applying current mark-recapture theory to estimate survival using the information from a series of bat bands issued to Clyde M. Senger during the BBP. The majority of bands applied by Senger were to Townsend's big-eared bat (Corynorhinus townsendii), a species of special concern for many states within its geographic range. I developed a database management system for the bat banding records and then analyzed and modeled survival of hibernating Townsend's big-eared bats at three main locations in Washington State using Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) open models and the modeling capabilities of Program MARK. This analysis of a select dataset in the BBP files provided relatively precise estimates of survival for wintering Townsend's big-eared bats. However, this dataset is unique due to its well-maintained and complete state and because there were high recapture rates over the course of banding; it is doubtful that other unpublished datasets of the same quality exist

  3. Terminal uranium(V/VI) nitride activation of carbon dioxide and carbon disulfide. Factors governing diverse and well-defined cleavage and redox reactions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cleaves, Peter A.; Gardner, Benedict M.; Liddle, Stephen T.; Kefalidis, Christos E.; Maron, Laurent; Tuna, Floriana; McInnes, Eric J.L.; Lewis, William

    2017-01-01

    The reactivity of terminal uranium(V/VI) nitrides with CE 2 (E=O, S) is presented. Well-defined C=E cleavage followed by zero-, one-, and two-electron redox events is observed. The uranium(V) nitride [U(Tren TIPS )(N)][K(B15C5) 2 ] (1, Tren TIPS =N(CH 2 CH 2 NSiiPr 3 ) 3 ; B15C5=benzo-15-crown-5) reacts with CO 2 to give [U(Tren TIPS )(O)(NCO)][K(B15C5) 2 ] (3), whereas the uranium(VI) nitride [U(Tren TIPS )(N)] (2) reacts with CO 2 to give isolable [U(Tren TIPS )(O)(NCO)] (4); complex 4 rapidly decomposes to known [U(Tren TIPS )(O)] (5) with concomitant formation of N 2 and CO proposed, with the latter trapped as a vanadocene adduct. In contrast, 1 reacts with CS 2 to give [U(Tren TIPS )(κ 2 -CS 3 )][K(B15C5) 2 ] (6), 2, and [K(B15C5) 2 ][NCS] (7), whereas 2 reacts with CS 2 to give [U(Tren TIPS )(NCS)] (8) and ''S'', with the latter trapped as Ph 3 PS. Calculated reaction profiles reveal outer-sphere reactivity for uranium(V) but inner-sphere mechanisms for uranium(VI); despite the wide divergence of products the initial activation of CE 2 follows mechanistically related pathways, providing insight into the factors of uranium oxidation state, chalcogen, and NCE groups that govern the subsequent divergent redox reactions that include common one-electron reactions and a less-common two-electron redox event. Caution, we suggest, is warranted when utilising CS 2 as a reactivity surrogate for CO 2 . (copyright 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  4. The Common Factor of Bilateral U.S. Exchange Rates: What is it Related to?

    OpenAIRE

    Ponomareva, Natalia; Sheen, Jeffrey; Wang, Ben

    2015-01-01

    We identify a common factor driving a panel of fifteen monthly bilateral exchange rates against the U.S. dollar. We find this factor is closely related to U.S. nominal and real macroeconomic variables, financial market variables and commodity prices. Our results suggest this common factor is broadly related to the macroeconomic fundamentals in the Taylor rule and uncovered interest parity models. However, the set of fundamentals relevant to these models changes over time.

  5. U.S. Marines' Perceptions of Environmental Factors Associated With Alcohol Binge Drinking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodruff, Susan I; Hurtado, Suzanne L; Simon-Arndt, Cynthia M

    2018-02-07

    Alcohol misuse, in particular binge drinking, is a serious concern among military personnel because it is strongly associated with adverse consequences and has a deleterious effect on readiness. Although most alcohol misuse studies have focused on individual risk factors, studies are increasingly examining environmental influences and strategies for reducing alcohol risks. The purpose of this study is to address gaps in what is known about how service members' perceptions of environmental factors are related to binge drinking in the U.S. Marine Corps. The relationship between Marines' self-reports of environmental factors and alcohol binge drinking was assessed in this correlational study using data from three large Marine Corps installations drawn from the Department of Defense 2011 Health Related Behaviors Survey of Active Duty Military Personnel (N = 2,933). We proposed several directional hypotheses based on existing civilian and military studies of alcohol use and misuse, as well as health behavior theory. Agreement with the statements that alcoholic beverages cost too much, that drinking might negatively affect one's military career, and that one's immediate supervisor and installation discourage alcohol use were independently associated with decreased odds of binge drinking (i.e., protective factors). Perceptions that alcoholic beverages are difficult to get was particularly protective; the odds of having binged were lower for participants who endorsed this belief than for those who did not. Perceptions that drinking is part of being in one's unit was a risk factor for binge drinking (odds ratio = 1.29). Even after accounting for strong sociodemographic correlates, binge drinking was independently associated with a number of environmentally oriented perceptions. Beliefs that alcohol is affordable and easy to access were the strongest environmental correlates of increased risk of binge drinking. Addressing the threat alcohol misuse poses to both Marines and

  6. 75 FR 22165 - Publication of Open Government Directive

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-27

    ... MERIT SYSTEMS PROTECTION BOARD Publication of Open Government Directive AGENCY: U.S. Merit Systems... specific actions are: (1) Publication of three high- value data sets; (2) designation of a senior agency... Open Government Web page; and (4) development and publication of an Open Government Plan. The Directive...

  7. Health systems performance in sub-Saharan Africa: governance, outcome and equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olafsdottir, Anna E; Reidpath, Daniel D; Pokhrel, Subhash; Allotey, Pascale

    2011-04-16

    The literature on health systems focuses largely on the performance of healthcare systems operationalised around indicators such as hospital beds, maternity care and immunisation coverage. A broader definition of health systems however, needs to include the wider determinants of health including, possibly, governance and its relationship to health and health equity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between health systems outcomes and equity, and governance as a part of a process to extend the range of indicators used to assess health systems performance. Using cross sectional data from 46 countries in the African region of the World Health Organization, an ecological analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between governance and health systems performance. The data were analysed using multiple linear regression and a standard progressive modelling procedure. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR) was used as the health outcome measure and the ratio of U5MR in the wealthiest and poorest quintiles was used as the measure of health equity. Governance was measured using two contextually relevant indices developed by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Governance was strongly associated with U5MR and moderately associated with the U5MR quintile ratio. After controlling for possible confounding by healthcare, finance, education, and water and sanitation, governance remained significantly associated with U5MR. Governance was not, however, significantly associated with equity in U5MR outcomes. This study suggests that the quality of governance may be an important structural determinant of health systems performance, and could be an indicator to be monitored. The association suggests there might be a causal relationship. However, the cross-sectional design, the level of missing data, and the small sample size, forces tentative conclusions. Further research will be needed to assess the causal relationship, and its generalizability beyond U5MR as a health

  8. Health systems performance in sub-Saharan Africa: governance, outcome and equity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pokhrel Subhash

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The literature on health systems focuses largely on the performance of healthcare systems operationalised around indicators such as hospital beds, maternity care and immunisation coverage. A broader definition of health systems however, needs to include the wider determinants of health including, possibly, governance and its relationship to health and health equity. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between health systems outcomes and equity, and governance as a part of a process to extend the range of indicators used to assess health systems performance. Methods Using cross sectional data from 46 countries in the African region of the World Health Organization, an ecological analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between governance and health systems performance. The data were analysed using multiple linear regression and a standard progressive modelling procedure. The under-five mortality rate (U5MR was used as the health outcome measure and the ratio of U5MR in the wealthiest and poorest quintiles was used as the measure of health equity. Governance was measured using two contextually relevant indices developed by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Results Governance was strongly associated with U5MR and moderately associated with the U5MR quintile ratio. After controlling for possible confounding by healthcare, finance, education, and water and sanitation, governance remained significantly associated with U5MR. Governance was not, however, significantly associated with equity in U5MR outcomes. Conclusion This study suggests that the quality of governance may be an important structural determinant of health systems performance, and could be an indicator to be monitored. The association suggests there might be a causal relationship. However, the cross-sectional design, the level of missing data, and the small sample size, forces tentative conclusions. Further research will be needed to assess the

  9. Factor Configurations with Governance as Conditions for Low HIV/AIDS Prevalence in HIV/AIDS Recipient Countries: Fuzzy-set Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Hwa-Young; Yang, Bong-Min; Kang, Minah

    2015-11-01

    This paper aims to investigate whether good governance of a recipient country is a necessary condition and what combinations of factors including governance factor are sufficient for low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in HIV/AIDS aid recipient countries during the period of 2002-2010. For this, Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) was used. Nine potential attributes for a causal configuration for low HIV/AIDS prevalence were identified through a review of previous studies. For each factor, full membership, full non-membership, and crossover point were specified using both author's knowledge and statistical information of the variables. Calibration and conversion to a fuzzy-set score were conducted using Fs/QCA 2.0 and probabilistic tests for necessary and sufficiency were performed by STATA 11. The result suggested that governance is the necessary condition for low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in a recipient country. From sufficiency test, two pathways were resulted. The low level of governance can lead to low level of HIV/AIDS prevalence when it is combined with other favorable factors, especially, low economic inequality, high economic development and high health expenditure. However, strengthening governance is a more practical measure to keep low prevalence of HIV/AIDS because it is hard to achieve both economic development and economic quality. This study highlights that a comprehensive policy measure is the key for achieving low prevalence of HIV/AIDS in recipient country.

  10. A HUMAN FACTORS META MODEL FOR U.S. NUCLEAR POWER PLANT CONTROL ROOM MODERNIZATION

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joe, Jeffrey C.

    2017-03-01

    Over the last several years, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) has sponsored human factors research and development (R&D) and human factors engineering (HFE) activities through its Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program to modernize the main control rooms (MCR) of commercial nuclear power plants (NPP). Idaho National Laboratory (INL), in partnership with numerous commercial nuclear utilities, has conducted some of this R&D to enable the life extension of NPPs (i.e., provide the technical basis for the long-term reliability, productivity, safety, and security of U.S. NPPs). From these activities performed to date, a human factors meta model for U.S. NPP control room modernization can now be formulated. This paper discusses this emergent HFE meta model for NPP control room modernization, with the goal of providing an integrated high level roadmap and guidance on how to perform human factors R&D and HFE for those in the U.S. nuclear industry that are engaging in the process of upgrading their MCRs.

  11. Sediment studies of the biological factors controlling the reduction of U(VI)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lovley, Derek R.

    2004-01-01

    Studies were conducted primarily with sediments, both in laboratory incubations and in a field experiment, with supporting studies with pure cultures. To our knowledge the sediment studies were the first on microbial U(VI) reduction in actual uranium-contaminated subsurface sediments, under conditions that mimic those found in situ. Important findings included: (1) U(VI) reduction is a biotic process in subsurface sediments. (2) U(VI) reduction can be stimulated most effectively with the addition of acetate. Although it had been speculated that microbial U(VI) reduction might be capable of this type of environmental remediation ever since the discovery of microbial U(VI) reduction, this had not been previously demonstrated under environmentally relevant conditions. (3) U(VI) is reduced concurrently with Fe(III) and prior to sulfate reduction. U(VI) and Fe(III) reduction proceeded concurrently, accompanied by a dramatic enrichment in organisms in the Geobacteraceae. Sulfate-reducing microorganisms do not appear to be important components of the microbial community reducing U(VI) in these subsurface sediments. (4) Nitrate has important influences on U(VI) reduction. Nitrate inhibits the reduction of metals until nitrate is depleted. Fe(III)-reducing microorganisms such as Geobacter metallireducens and Desulfitobacterium species can oxidize Fe(II) with the reduction of nitrate which is an important consideration because our previous studies have demonstrated that freshly precipitated Fe(III) oxides can reoxidize U(IV) to U(VI). The discovery that G. metallireducens can ''run backwards'' and oxidize U(IV) when nitrate is present reveals another mechanism preventing precipitation of U(IV) in the presence of nitrate as well as potential novel strategy for removing uranium from the subsurface after a site has been remediated. (5) Importance of understanding Fe(III) forms available for microbial reduction. Fe(III) is orders of magnitude more abundant than U(VI) as an

  12. Factors Affecting Project Governance Of Arusha Archdiocesan Food Security And Livelihood Project In Monduli District Tanzania.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kisame Deogratious

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This research project dealt with the factors affecting governance of Food security and livelihood projects a case study of the Food security and livelihood project that was implemented by AAIDRO in Monduli district and included 60 respondents all together. The specific objectives of this study intended to access the Leadership styles that are being used in project governance. The findings of the study indicated that 91.7 of the respondents were in favor of their leaders project governance styles it was portrayed that participative leadership style was being used by the leaders for project governance. Based on a sample of 60 project members this study had confirmed that a project leaders leadership roles like mentor facilitator innovator and coordinator are important in influencing project governance effectiveness which includes team mission goal achievement and empowerment open and honest communication

  13. English Educational Policies of the U.S. Army Military Government in Korea from 1945 to 1948 and Their Effects on the Development of English Language Teaching in Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Eun Gyong

    2011-01-01

    This study examines the English language teaching (ELT) policies and measures taken under the United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) from 1945 to 1948, in an attempt to illuminate their implications on the current ELT in Korea. The study analyzes data derived from documents of the Korean and the U.S. governments, literature on…

  14. Contextual Factors Affecting E-Government Strategy Implementation and Its Impact on Public Sector Performance in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. James Gathungu

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses the contextual factors affecting the implementation of e-government strategy and its impact on the performance of the public sector in Kenya using the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model. Electronic government (E-government is viewed in this study as the utilization of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of exchanges within government, between government and citizens and businesses locally and abroad; and to empower citizens through access and use of information. Although e-government is a rapidly growing concept in both developing and developed countries very few e-government initiatives progress to maturity. Different countries are faced with different contextual circumstances and environments in the realization of e-government initiatives. This study attempts to address the gap between theory and rhetoric about the potential of e-government and the reality of its application on the ground in Kenya. The study attempts to analyze the philosophy, theories and paradigms of e-government. The development of the commercial concept as a new paradigm in public administration replacing the traditional bureaucratic systems of government is highlighted in the study. A detailed conceptual discussion anchors the study on the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model (EGI basing it on the Kenyan perspective. The study also reviews relevant e-government studies from an international, regional and local perspective anchoring the study on the configuration school of management thought. These discussions are used to develop new insights in view of the emerging issues and their relevance to the public sector in Kenya.

  15. Contextual Factors Affecting E-Government Strategy Implementation and Its Impact on Public Sector Performance in Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. James Gathungu

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper assesses the contextual factors affecting the implementation of e-government strategy and its impact on the performance of the public sector in Kenya using the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model. Electronic government (E-government is viewed in this study as the utilization of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs to transform the efficiency, effectiveness, transparency and accountability of exchanges within government, between government and citizens and businesses locally and abroad; and to empower citizens through access and use of information. Although e-government is a rapidly growing concept in both developing and developed countries very few e-government initiatives progress to maturity. Different countries are faced with different contextual circumstances and environments in the realization of e-government initiatives. This study attempts to address the gap between theory and rhetoric about the potential of e-government and the reality of its application on the ground in Kenya. The study attempts to analyze the philosophy, theories and paradigms of e-government. The development of the commercial concept as a new paradigm in public administration replacing the traditional bureaucratic systems of government is highlighted in the study. A detailed conceptual discussion anchors the study on the Wing Lam, (2005 E-government Integration Model (EGI basing it on the Kenyan perspective. The study also reviews relevant e-government studies from an international, regional and local perspective anchoring the study on the configuration school of management thought. These discussions are used to develop new insights in view of the emerging issues and their relevance to the public sector in Kenya.  

  16. Governance matters: an ecological association between governance and child mortality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Ro-Ting; Chien, Lung-Chang; Chen, Ya-Mei; Chan, Chang-Chuan

    2014-09-01

    Governance of a country may have widespread effects on the health of its population, yet little is known about the effect of governance on child mortality in a country that is undergoing urbanization, economic development, and disease control. We obtained indicators of six dimensions of governance (perceptions of voice and accountability, political stability and absence of violence, government effectiveness, regulatory quality, rule of law, and control of corruption) and national under-5 mortality rates for 149 countries between 1996 and 2010. We applied a semi-parametric generalized additive mixed model to examine associations after controlling for the effects of development factors (urbanization level and economy), disease control factors (hygienic conditions and vaccination rates), health expenditures, air quality, and time. Governance, development, and disease control showed clear inverse relations with the under-5 mortality rate (pcountry's need for better governance is as important as improvements in development and disease control. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

  17. Investigating antecedent factors to job performance: Contemporary evidence from government supply management professionals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chengedzai Mafini

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of transformational leadership, organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life on job performance amongst supply management professionals employed by the South African government. Rationale: The depressed job performance of supply management professionals in the South African government presents an impetus to generate new empirical information on the subject in order to find solutions. Methodology: A quantitative survey approach was followed using a sample of 264 supply management professionals employed in the South African government and were based in Gauteng Province. A Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA was conducted to assess psychometric properties of the measurement instrument. Hypotheses were tested using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM. Findings: Transformational leadership had positive and significant relationships with organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life. Quality of work life exerted a greater influence of job performance than organisational citizenship behaviour. Value of research: The study provides current evidence of the influence of transformational leadership on organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life, as well as the influence of organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life on job performance amongst supply management professionals. Conclusion: Transformational leadership has a positive influence on organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life amongst supply management professionals in the government. Both organisational citizenship behaviour and quality of work life exerta positive influence on the job performance of supply management professionals in the government. Future studies should be extended to other professional cohorts in both the private and the government sectors.

  18. Outline of new Japan-U.S. atomic energy cooperation agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Oki, Naotaka

    1988-01-01

    The former agreement was revised into the new Agreement between the Japanese Government and the U.S. Government for Cooperation Relating to Peaceful Utilization of Atomic Energy (simply referred as the new Japan-U.S. Atomic Energy Cooperation Agreement). The Implementation Convention between the Japanese Government and the U.S. Government Based on Article 11 of the Agreement between the Japanese Government and the U.S. Government for Cooperation Relating to Peaceful Utilization of Atomic Energy was also concluded. The new Agreement is intended to serve for long-term stabilization of the cooperative relationship for atomic energy between Japan and the U.S., strengthening of nuclear non-proliferation efforts, and improvement in the parity, regulation rights and bilateralism between the two countries. The Agreement states that the countries should cooperate in exchanging experts and information and supplying radioactive substance, that the specified nuclear substances can be stored, reprocessed, etc. after an agreement is made between the governments, that proper protection activities should be performed for the specified substances, that the cooperation under the Agreement is limited to peaceful purposes, etc. (Nogami, K.)

  19. Factors causing fluctuations in all milk price received by U.S. farmers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cropp, B.; Zijlstra, J.

    2007-01-01

    Milk prices received by U.S. dairy farmers have fluctuated considerably from one year to the next, particularly since the mid-1990s. The main factor for increased price fluctuation is a major change in U.S. dairy price support policy. This document will be part of the research report of the project

  20. Factors affecting the government procurement fraud: The independent auditor’s point of view. Evidence from Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zulaikha

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this study was examining the factors affecting the government procurement fraud. Based on the fraud triangle and the theory of planned behavior, this study proposed seven hypothesis, those are tested by regression analysis. This study used primary data gathered by surveys to members of The Boards of the Republic Indonesia- Financial Auditors, who act as external auditors for the Government. They were asked to assess factors influencing the government procurement of goods and services fraud. There were 297 auditors of the Boards that participated in this survey. The result showed that the procurement frauds were influenced by the lack of procurement committee quality, the weakness of procurement control, and the intentions to engage fraud. The intentions to engage fraud were significantly influenced by the attitude toward fraud, subjective norms, and the perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, other elements of fraud triangle, the financial pressure, did not influence to the procurement fraud.

  1. Regulatory factors governing adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, HuiQi; Lin, Jaymie Siqi; Chen, Leilei

    2015-03-31

    Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing, the most prevalent mode of transcript modification in higher eukaryotes, is catalysed by the adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs). A-to-I editing imposes an additional layer of gene regulation as it dictates various aspects of RNA metabolism, including RNA folding, processing, localization and degradation. Furthermore, editing events in exonic regions contribute to proteome diversity as translational machinery decodes inosine as guanosine. Although it has been demonstrated that dysregulated A-to-I editing contributes to various diseases, the precise regulatory mechanisms governing this critical cellular process have yet to be fully elucidated. However, integration of previous studies revealed that regulation of A-to-I editing is multifaceted, weaving an intricate network of auto- and transregulations, including the involvement of virus-originated factors like adenovirus-associated RNA. Taken together, it is apparent that tipping of any regulatory components will have profound effects on A-to-I editing, which in turn contributes to both normal and aberrant physiological conditions. A complete understanding of this intricate regulatory network may ultimately be translated into new therapeutic strategies against diseases driven by perturbed RNA editing events. Herein, we review the current state of knowledge on the regulatory mechanisms governing A-to-I editing and propose the role of other co-factors that may be involved in this complex regulatory process.

  2. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE SUCCESS OF PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT: EVIDENCE FROM LOCAL GOVERNMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Herlina Primarisanti

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available There were only a few government institutions in Indonesia capable of preparing good accountability reports. Based on the survey conducted in the Special District of Yogyakarta, the study aimed to empirically examine the influencing factors in the development of the measure-ment system of performance, performance accountability and the use of performance informa-tion. Additionally, it also tried to interpret and to explain empirical evidence in the perspective of the institutional theory. The institutional theory was used to find out the extent to which the development of the measurement system of the performance, the performance accountability and the use of the performance information was influenced because of the presence of coercive, mimetic and normative isomorphism phenomena. The study used mixed methods that combined quantitative and qualitative study approaches simultaneously and a sequential explanatory strategy. It used Partial Least Square (PLS analysis to test the hypotheses. It gave evidence that training, incentives and authority in decision making had significant impacts on the development of the measurement of the performance, the performance accountability and the use of the performance information. It contributed to the understanding of the influencing factors of the development of the measurement system of the performance, the performance accountability and the use of the performance information in order to improve the measurement system of the performance of government institutions.

  3. The "Paradox of Interdisciplinarity" in Australian Research Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woelert, Peter; Millar, Victoria

    2013-01-01

    This paper identifies what can be called the "paradox of interdisciplinarity" (Weingart 2000) in Australian higher education research governance and explores some of its constitutive dimensions. In the Australian context, the paradox of interdisciplinarity primarily concerns the proliferation of a programmatic discourse of…

  4. Business, Government and Foreign Policy: Brazilian Construction Firms Abroad

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bernardo Frossard Silva Rego

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This article analyses the interaction between Brazilian companies and government in the context of foreign policy, observing the state's support for the internationalization of large Brazilian civil construction firms. The results show that over the years these companies had privileged access to the Federal Executive, including civil service agencies. One consequence of this system of channelling demands through the Executive was to demote the Legislative branch to a secondary role. This pattern of interaction changed following the restoration of Congress's decision-making capacity, prompting the sector to diversify its areas of influence, focusing in particular on the Congress. To expand internationally, construction firms interact with the government primarily through the Executive, specifically via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty, which provides technical and diplomatic support, and the Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico, which supplies funding. The main argument of this article is that foreign policy should be examined through the relations between state and non-state actors in a multitude of decision-making arenas, taking into consideration both domestic and international factors.

  5. Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mellis, Birgit; Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M; Jayasekare, Rasitha

    2018-01-01

    For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004-2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students.

  6. Factors affecting the number and type of student research products for chemistry and physics students at primarily undergraduate institutions: A case study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soto, Patricia; Bruce, Chrystal D.; Lacueva, Graciela; Wilson, Anne M.; Jayasekare, Rasitha

    2018-01-01

    For undergraduate students, involvement in authentic research represents scholarship that is consistent with disciplinary quality standards and provides an integrative learning experience. In conjunction with performing research, the communication of the results via presentations or publications is a measure of the level of scientific engagement. The empirical study presented here uses generalized linear mixed models with hierarchical bootstrapping to examine the factors that impact the means of dissemination of undergraduate research results. Focusing on the research experiences in physics and chemistry of undergraduates at four Primarily Undergraduate Institutions (PUIs) from 2004–2013, statistical analysis indicates that the gender of the student does not impact the number and type of research products. However, in chemistry, the rank of the faculty advisor and the venue of the presentation do impact the number of research products by undergraduate student, whereas in physics, gender match between student and advisor has an effect on the number of undergraduate research products. This study provides a baseline for future studies of discipline-based bibliometrics and factors that affect the number of research products of undergraduate students. PMID:29698502

  7. IMPACT OF THE U.S. SUPPORT PROGRAM SAFEGUARDS INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    PEPPER, S.; OSIECKI, C.

    2006-01-01

    The U.S. Support Program began funding an internship program in the IAEA Department of Safeguards in 2002. Since that time, 39 U.S. citizens and permanent residents have been placed in one-year, paid internships with the IAEA. The management of the internship program was originally the responsibility of the International Safeguards Project Office but was transferred to the Office of Educational Programs at Brookhaven National Laboratory in 2004. Feedback on the internship program from the U.S. government and the IAEA has been positive. The interns have completed basic yet essential work for the Department of Safeguards and freed IAEA staff members to perform more complex tasks. The cost of an intern is low relative to other forms of human resources support. After the conclusion of their assignments, many of the interns go on to work for the U.S. government, the national laboratories, or companies in international safeguards and nonproliferation. This paper will discuss the work done by the interns for the IAEA, factors influencing the success of the internship program, and the effects the program has had on the careers of interns, in preparing the next generation to work in the nuclear industry, participation in INMM activities, and recruitment for U.S. citizens for safeguards positions

  8. Lifestyle factors in U.S. residential electricity consumption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sanquist, Thomas F.; Orr, Heather; Shui Bin; Bittner, Alvah C.

    2012-01-01

    A multivariate statistical approach to lifestyle analysis of residential electricity consumption is described and illustrated. Factor analysis of selected variables from the 2005 U.S. Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) identified five lifestyle factors reflecting social and behavioral patterns associated with air conditioning, laundry usage, personal computer usage, climate zone of residence, and TV use. These factors were also estimated for 2001 RECS data. Multiple regression analysis using the lifestyle factors yields solutions accounting for approximately 40% of the variance in electricity consumption for both years. By adding the household and market characteristics of income, local electricity price and access to natural gas, variance accounted for is increased to approximately 54%. Income contributed ∼1% unique variance to the models, indicating that lifestyle factors reflecting social and behavioral patterns better account for consumption differences than income. Geographic segmentation of factor scores shows distinct clusters of consumption and lifestyle factors, particularly in suburban locations. The implications for tailored policy and planning interventions are discussed in relation to lifestyle issues. - Highlights: ► Illustrates lifestyle analysis of residential electricity consumption. ► Lifestyle factors based on social and behavioral decisions and equipment use. ► Regression models using lifestyle factors account for 40% of consumption variance. ► Lifestyle factors are stable over time when applied to other data sets. ► Energy reduction opportunities are identified by segmentation analysis.

  9. "Women's empowerment through seed improvement and seed governance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Galiè, Alessandra; Jiggins, J.L.S.; Struik, Paul C.; Grando, Stefania; Ceccarelli, Salvatore

    2017-01-01

    Approaches to food security primarily focus on technological solutions, seeking to produce more food, preferably with fewer resources. It has been argued that access to food involves issues of resource distribution and social marginalization. Governance is seen as one of the keys to redressing the

  10. Factors Influencing Electronic Government Adoption Perspectives Of Less Frequent Internet Users Of Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Farooq Alam Khan

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Much literature on electronic government services research could be found on adoptability issues from government and service providers point of view. Many studies have looked into adoptability factors from user perspectives and majority captured adoptability perspectives of frequent Internet users the ones who use Internet applications for more than 10 hours a week. On the contrary the perspectives of majority of Pakistani users which use Internet applications for less than 10 hours per week are never inquired. This paper tries to fill this gap by looking into electronic government adoptability perspectives and expectations of such Internet users of Pakistan which are much greater in numbers than others. An amended UTAUT model with all its moderators is used in this study and the results demonstrate that performance level ease of effort and social influence strongly effect behavioral intention of users in using electronic government services in Pakistan. The individuals behavioral intention along with presence of appropriate facilitating conditions triggers use behavior of users. The results show that only gender moderates majority of UTAUT relationships and accordingly a modified UTAUT model is presented. The paper provides certain insights for people making policies and academicians for performing further research while it stresses for service proliferation with special attention towards female population.

  11. Deploying the advanced U.S. EPR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hagan, C.

    2007-01-01

    As electricity demand, clean air concerns and energy prices increase in the U.S., interest in new nuclear reactors is also on the rise. These factors - along with decades of outstanding performance of the nation's existing nuclear fleet - have contributed to a favorable market for new nuclear power in the U.S. Although no U.S. company has declared it actually will buy and build new reactors, many have actively expressed their interest through investment and regulatory interaction. The timing is also right for new reactors in terms of public perception, government policy and acceptance of the investment community. Amid this environment, the U.S. commercial power industry recently has begun pursuing new nuclear generation in earnest. AREVA, whose ongoing global market analyses indicated the need for additional baseload nuclear generation in the U.S., chose to license its EPR design to meet that need. This article will discuss the American market landscape for new nuclear and how AREVA is approaching it, present an overview of the company's U.S. EPR technology, and provide an update on the regulatory status of the design and deployment schedule. (orig.)

  12. Beyond job security and money: driving factors of motivation for government doctors in India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purohit, Bhaskar; Bandyopadhyay, Tathagata

    2014-02-21

    Despite many efforts from government to address the shortage of medical officers (MOs) in rural areas, rural health centres continue to suffer from severe shortage of MOs. Lack of motivation to join and continue service in rural areas is a major reason for such shortage. In the present study, we aimed to assess and rank the driving factors of motivation important for in-service MOs in their current job. The study participants included ninety two in-service government MOs from three states in India. The study participants were required to rank 14 factors of motivation important for them in their current job. The factors for the study were selected using Herzberg's two-factor theory of motivation and the data were collected using an instrument that has an established reliability and validity. Test of Kendall's coefficient of concordance (W) was carried out to assess the agreement in ranks assigned by participants to various motivation factors. Next, we studied the distributions of ranks of different motivating factors using standard descriptive statistics and box plots, which gave us interesting insights into the strength of agreement of the MOs in assigning ranks to various factors. And finally to assess whether MOs are more intrinsically motivated or extrinsically motivated, we used Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. The (W) test indicated statistically significant (P factors than to extrinsic factors. The study results indicate that job security was the most important factor related to motivation, closely followed by interesting work and respect and recognition. Among the top five preferred factors, three were intrinsic factors indicating a great importance given by MOs to factors beyond money and job security. To address the issue of motivation, the health departments need to pay close attention to devising management strategies that address not only extrinsic but also intrinsic factors of motivation. The study results may be useful to understand the complicated issue of

  13. U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission human factors program plan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1986-04-01

    The purpose of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) Human Factors Program Plan is to ensure that proper consideration is given to human factors in the design and operation of nuclear facilities. This revised plan addresses human factors issues related to the operation of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The three issues of concern are (1) the activities planned to provide the technical bases to resolve the remaining tasks related to human factors as described in NUREG-0660, The NRC Action Plan Developed as a Result of the TMI-2 Accident, and NUREG-0737, Clarification of TMI Action Plan Requirements; (2) the need to address the additional human factors efforts that were identified during implementation of the Action Plan; and (3) the actual fulfillment of those developmental activities specified in Revision 1 of this plan. The plan represents a systematic approach for addressing high priority human factors concerns important to NPP safety in FY 1986 through 1987

  14. 13 CFR 121.511 - What is the size standard for buying Government-owned petroleum?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... buying Government-owned petroleum? 121.511 Section 121.511 Business Credit and Assistance SMALL BUSINESS... Government-owned petroleum? A concern is small for this purpose if it is primarily engaged in petroleum refining and meets the size standard for a petroleum refining business. ...

  15. Sociotechnical factors influencing unsafe use of hospital information systems: A qualitative study in Malaysian government hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salahuddin, Lizawati; Ismail, Zuraini; Hashim, Ummi Rabaah; Raja Ikram, Raja Rina; Ismail, Nor Haslinda; Naim Mohayat, Mohd Hariz

    2018-03-01

    The objective of this study is to identify factors influencing unsafe use of hospital information systems in Malaysian government hospitals. Semi-structured interviews with 31 medical doctors in three Malaysian government hospitals implementing total hospital information systems were conducted between March and May 2015. A thematic qualitative analysis was performed on the resultant data to deduce the relevant themes. A total of five themes emerged as the factors influencing unsafe use of a hospital information system: (1) knowledge, (2) system quality, (3) task stressor, (4) organization resources, and (5) teamwork. These qualitative findings highlight that factors influencing unsafe use of a hospital information system originate from multidimensional sociotechnical aspects. Unsafe use of a hospital information system could possibly lead to the incidence of errors and thus raises safety risks to the patients. Hence, multiple interventions (e.g. technology systems and teamwork) are required in shaping high-quality hospital information system use.

  16. Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Katzman, Kenneth

    2007-01-01

    Afghanistan's political transition was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005, but in 2006 insurgent threats to Afghanistan's government escalated to the point that some experts...

  17. State Education Finance and Governance Profile: Tennessee

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krause, Mike

    2010-01-01

    This article presents the state education finance and governance profile of Tennessee. The 17th largest state, Tennessee is home to 2.01% of the nation's inhabitants. Funding of K-12 education in Tennessee is accomplished via a formula known as the Basic Educational Program (BEP). This plan primarily utilizes school district enrollment numbers to…

  18. Access to justice within the sustainable self-governance model

    OpenAIRE

    Stephen Tully

    2004-01-01

    Little attention has been given to the development and operation of non-state models of global governance and the extent to which they conform to principles of good governance. Focusing primarily on issues of access to justice and secondarily on the independence of such bodies from the industries which they purport to regulate, this paper argues that adjudicative mechanisms established by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and firms may not produce outcomes which are considered 'just' by t...

  19. Comparative analysis of government debt in the European Union's member states, 2000-2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Talpoş Ioan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents a detailed comparative analysis of the evolution of government debt stocks in the E.U. Member States at the end of the period 31.12.2000-31.12.2013 from the point of view of the share of these debts in the GDP, with a focus on six groups of the E.U. Member States (E.U.-28 countries, E.U.-27 countries, Euro area-18 countries, Euro area-17 countries, Non Euro area-10 countries, Non Euro area-11 countries, on the E.U. Member States with a government debt stock share above or below 60% of the GDP at 31.12.2013, on the Member States which recorded very large deviations of the government debt stocks and of those stocks' shares in PIB in the analyzed period or which recorded a decrease in government debt stock shares in PIB - and, separately, on Romania as well.

  20. Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Katzman, Kenneth

    2006-01-01

    Afghanistan's planned political transition was completed with the convening of a parliament in December 2005, but insurgent threats to Afghanistan s government persist and are even growing in some southern provinces...

  1. Demand, Energy, and Power Factor

    Science.gov (United States)

    1994-08-01

    POWER FACTOR DEFINITION I Basically , power factor (pf) is a measure of how effectively the plant uses the electricity it purchases from the utility. It...not be made available by the plant. U 24 This video is relatively short, less than fifteen-minutes, and covers the basics on demand, block extenders... ratemaking methodology and test period as used in determining the NC-RS rates. Pending final decision by the FERC, the Federal Government would pay a rate as

  2. Terminal uranium(V/VI) nitride activation of carbon dioxide and carbon disulfide. Factors governing diverse and well-defined cleavage and redox reactions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cleaves, Peter A.; Gardner, Benedict M.; Liddle, Stephen T. [School of Chemistry, The University of Manchester (United Kingdom); Kefalidis, Christos E.; Maron, Laurent [LPCNO, CNRS and INSA, Universite Paul Sabatier, Toulouse (France); Tuna, Floriana; McInnes, Eric J.L. [School of Chemistry and Photon Science Institute, The University of Manchester (United Kingdom); Lewis, William [School of Chemistry, The University of Nottingham (United Kingdom)

    2017-02-24

    The reactivity of terminal uranium(V/VI) nitrides with CE{sub 2} (E=O, S) is presented. Well-defined C=E cleavage followed by zero-, one-, and two-electron redox events is observed. The uranium(V) nitride [U(Tren{sup TIPS})(N)][K(B15C5){sub 2}] (1, Tren{sup TIPS}=N(CH{sub 2}CH{sub 2}NSiiPr{sub 3}){sub 3}; B15C5=benzo-15-crown-5) reacts with CO{sub 2} to give [U(Tren{sup TIPS})(O)(NCO)][K(B15C5){sub 2}] (3), whereas the uranium(VI) nitride [U(Tren{sup TIPS})(N)] (2) reacts with CO{sub 2} to give isolable [U(Tren{sup TIPS})(O)(NCO)] (4); complex 4 rapidly decomposes to known [U(Tren{sup TIPS})(O)] (5) with concomitant formation of N{sub 2} and CO proposed, with the latter trapped as a vanadocene adduct. In contrast, 1 reacts with CS{sub 2} to give [U(Tren{sup TIPS})(κ{sup 2}-CS{sub 3})][K(B15C5){sub 2}] (6), 2, and [K(B15C5){sub 2}][NCS] (7), whereas 2 reacts with CS{sub 2} to give [U(Tren{sup TIPS})(NCS)] (8) and ''S'', with the latter trapped as Ph{sub 3}PS. Calculated reaction profiles reveal outer-sphere reactivity for uranium(V) but inner-sphere mechanisms for uranium(VI); despite the wide divergence of products the initial activation of CE{sub 2} follows mechanistically related pathways, providing insight into the factors of uranium oxidation state, chalcogen, and NCE groups that govern the subsequent divergent redox reactions that include common one-electron reactions and a less-common two-electron redox event. Caution, we suggest, is warranted when utilising CS{sub 2} as a reactivity surrogate for CO{sub 2}. (copyright 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

  3. Investigating Uranium Mobility Using Stable Isotope Partitioning of 238U/235U and a Reactive Transport Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bizjack, M.; Johnson, T. M.; Druhan, J. L.; Shiel, A. E.

    2015-12-01

    We report a numerical reactive transport model which explicitly incorporates the effectively stable isotopes of uranium (U) and the factors that influence their partitioning in bioactive systems. The model reproduces trends observed in U isotope ratios and concentration measurements from a field experiment, thereby improving interpretations of U isotope ratios as a tracer for U reactive transport. A major factor contributing to U storage and transport is its redox state, which is commonly influenced by the availability of organic carbon to support metal-reducing microbial communities. Both laboratory and field experiments have demonstrated that biogenic reduction of U(VI) fractionates the stable isotope ratio 238U/235U, producing an isotopically heavy solid U(IV) product. It has also been shown that other common reactive transport processes involving U do not fractionate isotopes to a consistently measurable level, which suggests the capacity to quantify the extent of bioreduction occurring in groundwater containing U using 238U/235U ratios. A recent study of a U bioremediation experiment at the Rifle IFRC site (Colorado, USA) applied Rayleigh distillation models to quantify U stable isotope fractionation observed during acetate amendment. The application of these simplified models were fit to the observations only by invoking a "memory-effect," or a constant source of low-concentration, unfractionated U(VI). In order to more accurately interpret the measured U isotope ratios, we present a multi-component reactive transport model using the CrunchTope software. This approach is capable of quantifying the cycling and partitioning of individual U isotopes through a realistic network of transport and reaction pathways including reduction, oxidation, and microbial growth. The model incorporates physical heterogeneity of the aquifer sediments through zones of decreased permeability, which replicate the observed bromide tracer, major ion chemistry, U concentration, and U

  4. Enhanced understanding of energy ratepayers: Factors influencing perceptions of government energy efficiency subsidies and utility alternative energy use

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Craig, Christopher A.; Allen, Myria W.

    2014-01-01

    This study explores factors related to energy consumers' perceptions of government subsidies for utility provided energy efficiency (EE) programs and for utility providers' use of more clean/alternative energy sources. Demographic factors, attitudes, planned purchases, and perceptions of utility provider motives in relation to governmental and utility provider EE initiatives (i.e. providing discounts and coupons for CFL bulbs), plus the influence of gain- and loss-framed messages are investigated. Over 2000 respondents completed a 16 item phone survey. Hierarchical regression explained 38% of the variance in reactions regarding government subsidies of the cost of utility provided EE programs and 43% of the variance in perceptions involving whether utility companies should use of more clean or alternative forms of energy. Gender and party differences emerged. Loss-framed messages were more important when the issue was government subsidies. Both gain- and loss-framed messages were important when clean/alternative energy was the issue. - Highlights: • Over 2000 ratepayers were surveyed on their attitudes, planned behaviors and perceptions towards energy efficiency programs. • Almost 40% of how ratepayers feel about government subsidies and utility use of clean/alternative energy was explained. • Loss-framed messages were more effective when the dependent variable was ratepayer perception of government subsidies

  5. Innovation in government : workforce practices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-01

    A review of the literature on innovation within government provides detailed case studies on innovative practices adopted by transportation agencies across the U.S. These case studies focus on operational innovations adopted by transportation agencie...

  6. Critical factors supporting the confidence in U.S. nuclear power industries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yoshida, Tomoaki

    2004-01-01

    The risk informed regulation in U.S. is summarized and factors supporting the confidence in U.S. nuclear power industries are thought to be helpful to our country for improving the state of nuclear power industries. In U.S., on the basis of clear Regulatory Guide, an entrepreneur constructs and practices corrective action of nonconformance. A regulatory commission submitted by the nation watches their movements. The movements related to regulatory are opened to the people and they make a thousand preparations for the rule to make correct the insufficient part. These above system get good results in U.S. It is important in Japan that we are not going to get away with anything on the system satisfied above conditions and practice. The risk informed regulation, effectiveness of risk informed regulation supporting conditions, a part of NRC (Nuclear Regulatory Commission) and entrepreneur are described. (S.Y.)

  7. Private Governance, Hegemonic Struggles, and Institutional Outcomes in the Transnational Cotton Commodity Chain

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amy Quark

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Transnational firms have rolled out new forms of private governance at the same time as the rise of new economic powerhouses like China has fomented growing inter-state tensions. This points to critical questions: how does inter-state competition shape private governance of transnational commodity chains and how does private governance shape inter-state rivalries? I explore these questions by tracing the construction and dissolution of sectoral hegemonic coalitions that govern commodity chains. Drawing on the case of cotton quality governance from 2000-2012, I argue that a coalition of the U.S. state and transnational merchants has reconstituted its sectoral hegemony to allow expanded accumulation and accommodate their main rival~China. The U.S. state created standards with Chinese characteristics, while transnational merchants made the authority structure of their institutions more inclusive. However, this reconstituted hegemony remains unstable. Facing continued regulatory competition from China, the U.S. state has constructed new forms of meta-governance that could facilitate a shift to Chinese-led sectoral hegemony but under U.S. oversight. Moreover, these sectoral hegemonic struggles compelled Western transnational merchants to fracture their long-standing relationship with the U.S. state in the hegemonic coalition in order to position their private institutions as geopolitically neutral and thus compatible with the hegemonic leadership of either the U.S. or Chinese states in the sector. By tracing struggles among coalitions of leading firms and states for hegemony over the institutions governing particular commodity chain sectors, we can shed light on possible trajectories within broader world-system level hegemonic struggles that at once constitute and are constituted by these sectoral dynamics.

  8. Looking Back, Moving On: 2008 Best Notable Government Documents

    Science.gov (United States)

    Church, Jim

    2009-01-01

    If nothing else, 2008 was an eventful year for government information. People witnessed one of the most dramatic Presidential elections in U.S. history, the largest global economic meltdown since the Great Depression, and fundamental changes in the role of the federal government. As always, government information reflects the times people live in.…

  9. Does Government Public Capital Expenditure Matter?: Evidence for Canada

    OpenAIRE

    Dadgostar, Bahram; Mirabelli, Frank

    1998-01-01

    Does the provision of Canadian government capital expenditures and government deficits displace private economic activity? In the U.S., Erenburg (1993) found that private sector investment spending is enhanced by expected increases in public spending on infrastructure, while also showing that deficit spending has no significant effect on private investment. There is no empirical study to date that addresses the relationship between government capital investment and government debt on private ...

  10. Governance Factors Affecting Community Participation In Public Development Projects In Meru District In Arusha In Tanzania

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jackson Estomih Muro

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to have a fresh look at the local governance status through exploring governance factors affecting community participation in public development projects. The study also has investigated the actors and factors shaping participation as well as causes for non-participation. For the purpose of the study six wards within two divisions of Poli and Mbuguni and Meru district headquarters were selected. In the wards a total of 80 respondents from among the community members were interviewed through a structured questionnaire. Others were Village chairman Village Executive Officers Ward Executive Officers and Councilors were also interviewed and involved in the FGD. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Simple descriptive statistics and cross tabulation and figures were used in the analysis. The analysis showed that the communities were participated in the public development projects and people were participating through financial material and labor contribution to the public development projects. The analysis also showed that the government supported the ongoing public development projects including through provision of fund and expertise. The study showed the benefit of community participation in the development projects or programs like ownership of the projects and enjoying the benefits accrued from the projects. The study also indicated that there is significant change in terms of governance as influencers of community participation in public development projects. Despite the fortunes study showed some challenges found in wards and villages being the incidence of corruptions and misuse of public resources which were mentioned to slow community participation in public development projects. It was therefore concluded that adhering to the good governance principles contribute positively towards community participation in public development projects.

  11. The Taskforce on Conceptual Foundations of Earth System Governance: Sustainability Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barry Ness

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available We are pleased to introduce the second special issue from Challenges in Sustainability, this time as a part of the Taskforce on Conceptual Foundations of Earth System Governance, an initiative by the Earth System Governance Project (ESG (http://www.earthsystemgovernance.net/conceptual-foundations/. The ESG Project is a global research alliance. It is the largest social science research network in the field of governance and global environmental change. ESG is primarily a scientific effort but is also designed to assist policy responses to pressing problems of earth system transformation.

  12. Cross-country differences in government sector activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Primož Pevcin

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the analysis presented in the article is to identify various economic, social, political, demographic and cultural factors that could shape the differences in the size of government sector across countries and, with the use of econometric analysis empirically verify the effect of those factors. The analysis focuses only on ”budgetary” government, meaning that the size of government is measured with a certain government spending ratio. The results of the analysis revealed that economic factors are more important in explaining the variation in the size of government consumption spending, whereas political, social and cultural factors are more important in explaining the variation in the size of transfer spending. In addition, the results indicate that the relative size of government spending is inversely related to the extent of the regulation of the economy.

  13. Institutional analysis of health system governance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abimbola, Seye; Negin, Joel; Martiniuk, Alexandra L; Jan, Stephen

    2017-11-01

    It is important that researchers who study health system governance have a set of collective understandings of the meanings of governance, which can then inform the methods used in research. We present an institutional framing and definition of health system governance; that is, governance refers to making, changing, monitoring and enforcing the rules that govern the demand and supply of health services. This pervasive, relational view of governance is to be preferred to approaches that focus primarily on structures of governments and health care organizations, because health system governance involves communities and service users, and because governments in many low- and middle-income countries tend to under-govern. Therefore, the study of health system governance requires institutional analysis; an approach that focuses not only on structures, but also on the rules (both formal and informal) governing demand and supply relations. Using this 'structure-relations' lens, and based on our field experience, we discuss how this focus could be applied to the three approaches to framing and studying health system governance that we identified in the literature. In order of decreasing focus on structures ('hardware') and increasing focus on relations ('software'), they are: (1) the government-centred approach, which focuses on the role of governments, above or to the exclusion of non-government health system actors; (2) the building-block approach, which focuses on the internal workings of health care organizations, and treats governance as one of the several building blocks of organizations; and (3) the institutional approach, which focuses on how the rules governing social and economic interactions are made, changed, monitored and enforced. Notably, either or both qualitative and quantitative methods may be used by researchers in efforts to incorporate the analysis of how rules determine relations among health system actors into these three approaches to health system

  14. Factors Influencing Adaptive Marine Governance in a Developing Country Context: a Case Study of Southern Kenya

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louisa S. Evans

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Adaptive governance can be conceptualized as distinct phases of: 1 understanding environmental change; 2 using this understanding to inform decision making; and 3 acting on decisions in a manner that sustains resilience of desirable system states. Using this analytical framework, we explore governance in practice in two case studies in Kenya, that reflect the "messiness" of contemporary coastal governance in many developing country contexts. Findings suggest that adaptive marine governance is unlikely to be a smooth process of learning, knowledge sharing, and responding. There are institutional, sociocultural, and political factors, past and present, that influence each phase of both local and state decision making. New local institutions related to fisher associations and Beach Management Units influence learning and knowledge sharing in ways contrary to those expected of institutions that enable collaborative fisheries management. Similarly, state decision making is relatively uninformed by the diverse knowledge systems available in the coastal zone, despite the rhetoric of participation. Historical relations and modes of working continue to play a significant role in mediating the potential for adaptive governance in the future. The case studies are illustrative and point to a number of institutional and political issues that would need to be addressed in processes of governance reform towards more adaptive management in developing country contexts.

  15. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE IN ROMANIA. EVOLUTION AND PERSPECTIVES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    BUȘAN GABRIELA

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Thanks to slow way to political, legal, social and economic reform, the corporate governance appears in Romania, from concept and filing, until the early 2000`s. This paper analyzes the evolution of corporate governance in the period 2000-2015, it is presented the OECD principles of corporate governance of companies listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange and it analyse the situation of the public entities who had the obligation to apply the provisions of O.U.G 109/2011 on corporate governance of public entities and to publish on its Web site the Annual Report

  16. U.S. advanced launch vehicle technology programs : Quarterly Launch Report : special report

    Science.gov (United States)

    1996-01-01

    U.S. firms and U.S. government agencies are jointly investing in advanced launch vehicle technology. This Special Report summarizes U.S. launch vehicle technology programs and highlights the changing : roles of government and industry players in pick...

  17. Financial Literacy: A Review of Government Policy and Initiatives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sharon Taylor

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Over the last two decades there has been robust discussion by many governments and financial communityleaders generally, that financial security can only be achieved when a country’s population is considered to befinancially literate. Hence individuals need to be financially literate if they are to make informed decisionsabout savings, investments, debt and most importantly when considering retirement issues. No longer canthere be a reliance on social security in retirement due to the ever increasing ageing population and adeclining tax base worldwide.In both Australia and New Zealand, governments have put structures in place as a result of external evidencesuggesting both populations have questionable levels of financial literacy. Both governments have formulatedpolicies and embarked upon initiatives to address this issue. The strategies and structures used, whilst similar,encompassed some unique elements which makes a comparative investigation and discussion interesting.The outcomes of this research paper highlight that even with similar desired outcomes there can be multiplepathways.The rationale for this paper was the lack of any published academic literature in both Australia and NewZealand that reported on the stated government policies and there subsequent initiatives that related to theimprovement of financial literacy. Whilst structures to address government concerns have been put in place,the ability to assess the effectiveness of these initiatives has proven difficult, due to the sparse nature ofpublicly available information and the lack of access to the survey design, development and analysis. It shouldbe noted that this is an exploratory paper primarily to raise questions rather that provide a critical assessmentof either countries policies.While this research paper primarily seeks to describe and review both the policies and strategies implementedby the Australian and New Zealand governments in respect of financial literacy

  18. Factors Affecting the Adoption of Cloud Computing in the Government Sector: A Case Study of Saudi Arabia

    OpenAIRE

    Majed alsanea; Jennifer Barth

    2015-01-01

    Cloud computing technology can play an important role in the public sector organisations since it decreases the cost of using information technology (IT) services and also has several other benefits. This paper aims to examine a range of factors affecting the cloud computing adoption by governments. In a case study of Saudi government organasations, a survey was conducted and four Saudi organisations participated in the study. The survey was theoretically designed based on the literature. An ...

  19. 76 FR 30322 - Notice of Availability of Government-Owned Inventions; Available for Licensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Notice of Availability of Government-Owned Inventions... below are assigned to the United States Government as represented by the Secretary of the Navy. U.S...'' issued on February 16, 2010; U.S. Patent Number 6,600,694 entitled ``Digital Signal Processor Based...

  20. Pesticides in stream sediment and aquatic biota: distribution, trends, and governing factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nowell, Lisa H.; Capel, Peter D.

    1999-01-01

    More than 20 years after the ban of DDT and other organochlorine pesticides, pesticides continue to be detected in air, rain, soil, surface water, bed sediment, and aquatic and terrestrial biota throughout the world. Recent research suggests that low levels of some of these pesticides may have the potential to affect the development, reproduction, and behavior of fish and wildlife, and possibly humans. Pesticides in Stream Sediment and Aquatic Biota: Distribution, Trends, and Governing Factors assesses the occurrence and behavior of pesticides in bed sediment and aquatic biota-the two major compartments of the hydrologic system where organochlorine pesticides are most likely to accumulate. This book collects, for the first time, results from several hundred monitoring studies and field experiments, ranging in scope from individual sites to the entire nation. Comprehensive tables provide concise summaries of study locations, pesticides analyzed, and study outcomes. Comprehensive and extensively illustrated, Pesticides in Stream Sediment and Aquatic Biota: Distribution, Trends, and Governing Factors evaluates the sources, environmental fate, geographic distribution, and long-term trends of pesticides in bed sediment and aquatic biota. The book focuses on organochlorine pesticides, but also assesses the potential for currently used pesticides to be found in bed sediment and aquatic biota. Topics covered in depth include the effect of land use on pesticide occurrence, mechanisms of pesticide uptake and accumulation by aquatic biota, and the environmental significance of observed levels of pesticides in stream sediment and aquatic biota.

  1. Corporate Governance and Shareholder Litigation

    OpenAIRE

    Kalchev, Georgi

    2009-01-01

    The probability for shareholder litigation is studied and how corporate governance characteristics and other factors explain it. Shareholder litigation results from failure of corporate governance. Thus a better quality of corporate governance is hypothesized to decrease the litigation probability. Corporate governance index is constructed based on principal components. It is found to be a significant predictor of shareholder litigation.

  2. Exclusion Factors in Latin American Higher Education: A Preliminary Analyze From University Governing Board Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro, Diego; Rodríguez-Gómez, David; Gairín, Joaquín

    2017-01-01

    Access to higher education has increased substantially in Latin America, but inequalities in access to and completion of higher education still remain. In this regard, identifying vulnerable groups and exclusion factors is a priority in Latin America's university systems. The aim of this article is to understand in depth governing board…

  3. U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission: Emerging Factor in Western Pacific Strategic Policy Analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Chapman, Bert

    2017-01-01

    Those studying and analyzing Western Pacific strategic trends and develop- ments have access to multiple unclassified analyses of security trends in this region covering these waters and adjacent countries. These information resources are produced by military and government agencies from multiple countries, multinational public policy research institutions, popular and scholarly journals, and Internet resources featuring text, data, webcasts, and imagery. One of these resources is the U.S.–Ch...

  4. Retention factors of management staff in the maintenance phase of their careers in local government

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mervin Munsamy

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available Organisations require an employer value proposition (EVP to attract and retain people in management. This study was undertaken to understand the key retention factors that influence experienced management employees, in the maintenance phase of their careers, to remain employed at a local government organisation. Retention factors inform the organisation’s EVP. A qualitative, empirical-analytical research paradigm with a modernist approach was adopted. Data were obtained through purposive sampling (n = 10 by way of semi-structured interviews. A theoretical framework was used against which data could be deducted and compared. Sixteen key factors were identified, of which Job Aligned with Personal Meaning or Passion emerged as the strongest retention factor among the study’s participants.

  5. Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2017

    Science.gov (United States)

    Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, 2016

    2016-01-01

    "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2017" contains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President's priorities, and summary tables. President Obama's 2017 Budget makes critical investments while adhering to the bipartisan budget agreement he signed into the previous fall, and it lifts sequestration in…

  6. The City Blueprint Approach: Urban Water Management and Governance in Cities in the U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feingold, Daniel; Koop, Stef; van Leeuwen, Kees

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we assess the challenges of water, waste and climate change in six cities across the U.S.: New York City, Boston, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Portland and Los Angeles. We apply the City Blueprint ® Approach which consists of three indicator assessments: (1) the Trends and Pressures Framework (TPF), (2) the City Blueprint Framework (CBF) and (3) the water Governance Capacity Framework (GCF). The TPF summarizes the main social, environmental and financial pressures that may impede water management. The CBF provides an integrated overview of the management performances within the urban watercycle. Finally, the GCF provides a framework to identify key barriers and opportunities to develop governance capacity. The GCF has only been applied in NYC. Results show that all cities face pressures from heat risk. The management performances regarding resource efficiency and resource recovery from wastewater and solid waste show considerable room for improvement. Moreover, stormwater separation, infrastructure maintenance and green space require improvement in order to achieve a resilient urban watercycle. Finally, in New York City, the GCF results show that learning through smart monitoring, evaluation and cross-stakeholder learning is a limiting condition that needs to be addressed. We conclude that the City Blueprint Approach has large potential to assist cities in their strategic planning and exchange of knowledge, experiences and lessons. Because the methodology is well-structured, easy to understand, and concise, it may bridge the gap between science, policy and practice. It could therefore enable other cities to address their challenges of water, waste and climate change.

  7. The City Blueprint Approach: Urban Water Management and Governance in Cities in the U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feingold, Daniel; Koop, Stef; van Leeuwen, Kees

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, we assess the challenges of water, waste and climate change in six cities across the U.S.: New York City, Boston, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Portland and Los Angeles. We apply the City Blueprint® Approach which consists of three indicator assessments: (1) the Trends and Pressures Framework (TPF), (2) the City Blueprint Framework (CBF) and (3) the water Governance Capacity Framework (GCF). The TPF summarizes the main social, environmental and financial pressures that may impede water management. The CBF provides an integrated overview of the management performances within the urban watercycle. Finally, the GCF provides a framework to identify key barriers and opportunities to develop governance capacity. The GCF has only been applied in NYC. Results show that all cities face pressures from heat risk. The management performances regarding resource efficiency and resource recovery from wastewater and solid waste show considerable room for improvement. Moreover, stormwater separation, infrastructure maintenance and green space require improvement in order to achieve a resilient urban watercycle. Finally, in New York City, the GCF results show that learning through smart monitoring, evaluation and cross-stakeholder learning is a limiting condition that needs to be addressed. We conclude that the City Blueprint Approach has large potential to assist cities in their strategic planning and exchange of knowledge, experiences and lessons. Because the methodology is well-structured, easy to understand, and concise, it may bridge the gap between science, policy and practice. It could therefore enable other cities to address their challenges of water, waste and climate change.

  8. 31 CFR 800.214 - Foreign government-controlled transaction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Foreign government-controlled transaction. 800.214 Section 800.214 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance... control of a U.S. business by a foreign government or a person controlled by or acting on behalf of a...

  9. Quality of governance, public spending on health and health status in Sub Saharan Africa: a panel data regression analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makuta, Innocent; O'Hare, Bernadette

    2015-09-21

    The population in Sub Saharan Africa (SSA) suffers poor health as manifested in high mortality rates and low life expectancy. Economic growth has consistently been shown to be a major determinant of health outcomes. However, even with good economic growth rates, it is not possible to achieve desired improvements in health outcomes. Public spending on health (PSH) has long been viewed as a potential complement to economic growth in improving health. However, the relationship between PSH and health outcomes is inconclusive and this inconclusiveness may, in part, be explained by governance-related factors which mediate the impact of the former on the latter. Little empirical work has been done in this regard on SSA. This paper investigates whether or not the quality of governance (QoG) has a modifying effect on the impact of public health spending on health outcomes, measured by under-five mortality (U5M) and life expectancy at birth (LE), in SSA. Using two staged least squares regression technique on panel data from 43 countries in SSA over the period 1996-2011, we estimated the effect of public spending on health and quality of governance U5M and LE, controlling for GDP per capita and other socio-economic factors. We also interacted PSH and QoG to find out if the latter has a modifying effect on the former's impact on U5M and LE. Public spending on health has a statistically significant impact in improving health outcomes. Its direct elasticity with respect to under-five mortality is between -0.09 and -0.11 while its semi-elasticity with respect to life expectancy is between 0.35 and 0.60. Allowing for indirect effect of PSH spending via interaction with quality of governance, we find that an improvement in QoG enhances the overall impact of PSH. In countries with higher quality of governance, the overall elasticity of PSH with respect to under-five mortality is between -0.17 and -0.19 while in countries with lower quality of governance, it is about -0.09. The

  10. Synthesis of complement factor B by the human monocyte U-937 cell line. Augmentation by immunostimulatory agents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Minta, J.O.

    1988-01-01

    The human pre-monocytic cell line U-937 was shown to synthesize and to secrete increasing amounts of factor B in short term cultures in serum-free medium containing BSA. The kinetics of factor B production were higher on day 2 than on days 1 and 3. The production of factor B was reversibly inhibited by cycloheximide, indicating de novo synthesis. Metabolic labeling with [ 35 S]-methionine and SDS-PAGE analysis revealed that both intracellular and secreted factor B were single-chain proteins with similar m.w. (90,000), which co-migrated with purified plasma factor B. Incubation of U-937 cells with the immunostimulants PMA, LPS, IFN-gamma, and IL-1 resulted in a dose-dependent augmentation of factor B production. A 24-h exposure to IL-1 was shown to be required for maximal stimulation. A combination of suboptimal doses of LPS and IFN-gamma was shown to exert a synergistic effect on factor B production. The U-937 cell line is thus a valuable model for the study of the regulation of the factor B gene expression

  11. Proliferating cells in psoriatic dermis are comprised primarily of T cells, endothelial cells, and factor XIIIa+ perivascular dendritic cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Morganroth, G.S.; Chan, L.S.; Weinstein, G.D.; Voorhees, J.J.; Cooper, K.D.

    1991-01-01

    Determination of the cell types proliferating in the dermis of patients with psoriasis should identify those cells experiencing activation or responding to growth factors in the psoriatic dermal milieu. Toward that end, sections of formalin-fixed biopsies obtained from 3H-deoxyuridine (3H-dU)-injected skin of eight psoriatic patients were immunostained, followed by autoradiography. Proliferating dermal cells exhibit silver grains from tritium emissions. The identity of the proliferating cells could then be determined by simultaneous visualization with antibodies specific for various cell types. UCHL1+ (CD45RO+) T cells (recall antigen-reactive helper T-cell subset) constituted 36.6 +/- 3.1% (mean +/- SEM, n = 6) of the proliferating dermal cells in involved skin, whereas Leu 18+ (CD45RA+) T cells (recall antigen naive T-cell subsets) comprised only 8.7 +/- 1.5% (n = 6). The Factor XIIIa+ dermal perivascular dendritic cell subset (24.9 +/- 1.5% of proliferating dermal cells, n = 6) and Factor VIII+ endothelial cells represented the two other major proliferating populations in lesional psoriatic dermis. Differentiated tissue macrophages, identified by phase microscopy as melanophages or by immunostaining with antibodies to Leu M1 (CD15) or myeloid histiocyte antigen, comprised less than 5% of the proliferating population in either skin type. In addition to calculating the relative proportions of these cells to each other as percent, we also determined the density of cells, in cells/mm2 of tissue. The density of proliferating cells within these populations was increased in involved versus uninvolved skin: UCHL1+, 9.0 +/- 1.7 cells/mm2 versus 1.8 +/- 0.6 cells/mm2, p less than 0.01; Factor XIIIa+, 6.0 +/- 0.7 cells/mm2 versus 1.5 +/- 0.5 cells/mm2, p less than 0.01; Factor VIII+, 5.5 +/- 1.4 cells/mm2 versus 0.0 cells/mm2, p less than 0.05

  12. Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, 2013

    2013-01-01

    "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2014" contains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President's priorities, budget overviews organized by agency, and summary tables. President Obama believes the country must invest in the true engine of America's economic growth--a rising and thriving middle class.…

  13. SOCIAL ANALYSES OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT POTENTIAL OF LOCAL COMMUNITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Александр Анатольевич Ткачев

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article looks over the system of territorial public self-government as one of the most effective figures of existing local communities in the Russian municipalities. Problems of territorial self-government are analyzed from theoretical point of view and on this basis there are four groups of problems distinguished. The authors primarily focus their attention on the social group problems. Verification conducted sociological problems of the social unit, which currently prevent the formation of an effective system of territorial self-government at the municipal level. A sociologic analysis selector management social issue allows us to make conclusion about the current lack of efficient data support system for local public selector. Diagnostics confirmed existence of barriers of a social field of the organization of territorial public self-government.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-9-66

  14. Corporate Governance as a Crucial Factor in Achieving Sustainable Corporate Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julija Bistrova

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available In the developed stock markets the corporate governance aspect is crucial in the stock portfolio selection process for investor seeking to achieve shareholder value sustainability. In the emerging markets the importance of the corporate governance role just starts to be realized by the investors and by the corporate managers. The present research, looking at the stock performance leaders and laggards, analyzes whether the corporate governance system matters to achieve long-term shareholder value within the Central and Eastern European stock markets universe. Corporate governance quality was assessed and compared among the out- and underperformers. The financial results plausibility and the ownership structure were considered as well. Additionally, the authors analyzed whether the quality of corporate governance influences the economic performance of the company. The obtained results provide the proof that the corporate governance does matter as the market outperformers have above average corporate governance quality and provide trustworthy financial results more often than the underperforming companies. Besides, well-governed companies are also able to deliver more attractive financial results.

  15. Change Management as a Critical Success Factor in e-Government Implementation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janja Nograšek

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Change management in e-government implementation is a very complex issue. E-government services are frequently distributed over different IT systems and organizations. There are also events from outside the public administration that cause changes such as government policies and legislation, public-private partnership, etc., and finally a huge resistance to change exists in public administration proverbial. Another problem is that the e-government is predominantly seen only as a technology mission and not as an organizational transformation issue. Those are probably the main reasons that the existing literature about change management in e-government is still missing at large. There are articles dealing with some aspects of changes affected by the new technology implementation, however, there is no comprehensive framework that would identify changes that have to be managed in e-government implementation. Therefore, the main aim of the paper is to identify a comprehensive set of changes that have to be considered in e-government implementation and the role of leadership in such processes. Finally, the paper proposes a conceptual model of change management in e-government implementation.

  16. Preliminary Investigation Of Emirati Women Entrepreneurship In The UAE Motivating Factors Challenges And Government Initiatives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mohammad Rehan Shahnawaz

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Purpose The purpose of this research is to conduct an in depth preliminary investigation of the Emirati Women Entrepreneurship in the UAE in terms of the factors motivating the Emirati women to engage in the entrepreneurial activities challenges and issues faced by them in that process and initiatives taken by the government of UAE in overcoming those challenges and in encouraging promoting and safeguarding their interests. Methodology This research is an exploratory one due to the fact that the topic of the research strongly requires an in depth analysis or investigation of the underlying motivating factors challenges and issues and the government initiatives taken on behalf of Emirati women entrepreneurs. The research has used qualitative content analysis technique in which the existing literature secondary data on women and Emirati women entrepreneurship was gathered and discussed to serve the purpose of the research such as from other published researches internet searches and books. DiscussionsFindings The research explored an array of factors motivating the Emirati women towards entrepreneurship and the challenges and issues they come across in that process. The motivating factors were divided into positive and negative factors with main emphasis on the positive factors. Among the positive motivating factors were the Emiratization change in the organizational culture and beliefs relaxation of social and cultural structures inde-pendence and self-improvement and development. The negative motivating factors were the necessity unacceptable working conditions inflexible work hours wage gap between males and females and job frustrations. The major challenges and issues they usually come across are traditions cultural religious and social restrictions lack of managerial experience and basic business knowledge low self-confidence and determination male prejudice stereotyping and preconception minimal networking gender based promotional

  17. Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, 2012

    2012-01-01

    "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2013" contains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President's priorities, budget overviews organized by agency, and summary tables. The 2013 Budget contains a number of steps to put the country on a fiscally sustainable path. First, this Budget implements the tight…

  18. Budget of the U.S. Government, Fiscal Year 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, 2015

    2015-01-01

    "Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2016" contains the Budget Message of the President, information on the President's priorities, and summary tables. The ideas offered by President Obama in this 2016 Budget are designed to bring middle-class economics into the 21st Century. They are intended to help working families…

  19. Effect of welfare and economic performance on good governance outcomes in Pakistan

    OpenAIRE

    MAMMON, Dawood; RABBANI, Huma

    2017-01-01

    Abstract. The paper undertakes a detailed analysis of economic progress and welfare measures in determining good governance outcomes in Pakistan. There is evidence that inequality stifles the capacity of political, economic and social governance by creating an elite class that protect their economic and political interests and undertake legislation primarily to the benefit of ruling elites. Furthermore our results also suggest that economic development empower the economically and socially ex...

  20. Alignment 2.0: Strategic use of new internet technologies in government

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Meijer, A.J.; Thaens, M.

    2010-01-01

    This paper challenges the view that strategies for using Web 2.0 should primarily be based upon technological characteristics. The value of the organizational strategic alignment approach for developing specific operational Web 2.0 strategies for government organizations is explored both

  1. Survey on university governance system in U.S.A. Case study in Stanford University; Beikoku ni okeru daigaku governance system no chosa. Stanford daigaku no case study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2001-03-01

    In order to provide reference for the university reformation policy of Japan, the features and strength of the U.S. university management and operation systems were put into order and analyzed through a case study in Stamford University in the United States. In the U.S. research universities, it is not only how high the quality is in the faculties and researchers, but also how far the structuring has been advanced in the systems to manage and operate them efficiently, which supports the infrastructures of research activities. The 'research management and operation staff' is knowledgeable in the system to manage the inside of a university and the system to procure research funds from the government and foundations. The staff enhances the productivity of research activities by professionally handling various operations taking place in research laboratories. In association with increase of the size of research projects, those who have been experienced in industries, or those who have acquired the doctor's degree exist in a large number in the projects as the research management staff. In Japanese universities, management staff posts with high specialty to undertake the research management do not exist. This facts results in young researchers consuming a great amount of time for this work. (NEDO)

  2. Governance mechanisms for healthcare apps

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Manikas, Konstantinos; Hansen, Klaus Marius; Kyng, Morten

    2014-01-01

    The introduction of the `app store' concept has challenged the way software is distributed and marketed: developers have easier access to customers, while customers have easy access to innovative applications. Apps today are increasingly focusing on more "mission-critical" areas like healthcare...... with the Apple AppStore counting more than 40,000 apps under the category "health & fitness". This rapid development of healthcare apps increases the necessity of governance as, currently, healthcare apps are not thoroughly governed. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European Commission only have...... policies for apps that are medical devices.In this paper, we approach the problem of how to govern healthcare and medical apps by addressing the risks the use of these apps pose, while at the same time inviting for development of new apps. To do so we (i) analyze four cases of healthcare app governance...

  3. The impact of state energy programs and other contextual factors on U.S. buildings energy consumption

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofori-Boadu, Andrea N. Y. A.

    High energy consumption in the United States has been influenced by populations, climates, income and other contextual factors. In the past decades, U.S. energy policies have pursued energy efficiency as a national strategy for reducing U.S. environmental degradation and dependence on foreign oils. The quest for improved energy efficiency has led to the development of energy efficient technologies and programs. The implementation of energy programs in the complex U.S. socio-technical environment is believed to promote the diffusion of energy efficiency technologies. However, opponents doubt the fact that these programs have the capacity to significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption. In order to contribute to the ongoing discussion, this quantitative study investigated the relationships existing among electricity consumption/ intensity, energy programs and contextual factors in the U.S. buildings sector. Specifically, this study sought to identify the significant predictors of electricity consumption and intensity, as well as estimate the overall impact of selected energy programs on electricity consumption and intensity. Using state-level secondary data for 51 U.S. states from 2006 to 2009, seven random effects panel data regression models confirmed the existence of significant relationships among some energy programs, contextual factors, and electricity consumption/intensity. The most significant predictors of improved electricity efficiency included the price of electricity, public benefits funds program, building energy codes program, financial and informational incentives program and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Consistently, the Southern region of the U.S. was associated with high electricity consumption and intensity; while the U.S. commercial sector was the greater benefactor from energy programs. On the average, energy programs were responsible for approximately 7% of the variation observed in electricity consumption

  4. The Quality of Canadian and U.S. Government Health Documents Remains Unchallenged Until Better Research Can Be Undertaken. A review of: Lambert, Frank. “Assessing the Authoritativeness of Canadian and American Health Documents: A Comparative Analysis Using Informetric Methodologies.” Government Information Quarterly 22.2 (2005: 277‐96.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Corkett

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective ‐ To assess by means of citation analysis whether the public trust afforded health documents published by the Canadian and U.S. governments is appropriate, and to ascertain whether differences in the respective health care systems influence how publications are produced.Design – Comparative study.Setting – The Canadian Depository Service Program (DSP and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS websites.Subjects – One hundred sixty‐six electronic documents sourced from the DSP website, and 284 electronic documents sourced from the DHHS website.Methods – Subjects were randomly selected from repositories offering the most comprehensive collections. Documents with evidence of references to other works used in preparation were separated from thos ewithout such characteristics. Data variables were collected from documents with evidence of references. Statistical analysis of the data was undertaken.Main results – Of the respective samples, 89(53% from the DSP and 109 (38.4% from the DHHS contained references. Personal authors were identified in 46 (51.7% and 63(58% of the respective subsets. Handbooks and guidebooks accounted for the largest portion of the DSP subset (29; 32.6% and government periodicals were the largest constituent of the DHHS subset (41; 37.6%. Scholarly journals were the most common reference type for both the DSP (44% and the DHHS (58.5% subsets. The number of references per document was widely dispersed for both subsets; the DSP mean was approximately 64 (SD=114.68 and the DHHS was 73.71 (SD=168.85. Kruskal‐Wallis subset analysis of median number of references by document type found differences generalizable to the entire DSP (pConclusion – Significant differences in reference use frequencies between DSP and DHHS documents challenges Foskett’s stance that documents of value contain references (Foskett. Use of peer‐reviewed scholarly journals for both DSP and DHHS publications was

  5. International political symbolism of the architecture of government buildings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. V. Kochetkov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The article analyzes international political architecture of government buildings in Russia, the U.S., Western Europe (UK, France, Germany and Asia (China, India, Japan. Conclusions that the architecture of government buildings reflects the values of the dominant society’s political culture. Some government buildings are prototypes constructed previously in other societies and cultural traditions (for instance, the Capitol in Washington, USA, and the Capitoline temple in Rome.

  6. Assessing the effect of demographic factors on conflict situations in Ghana government hospitals

    OpenAIRE

    Dwomoh, Gabriel; Kwarteng, Kofi; Frempong, Evelyn; Frempong, Regina Anima

    2014-01-01

       The   study   seeks   to   examine   the   influence   of   demographic   factors   on   conflict   in  Ghana  government  hospitals.    It  adopted  the  quantitative  approach  which  involves  the  use  of  questionnaires  and  interviews  coupled  with  statistical  analysis  to  assess  the   effect   of   demographic   factors   (age,   educational   level,   gender   and   number   of  years  on  the  job  of  employees)  and  conflict  occurrences  at  the  workplace.    The  use  ...

  7. An examination of a reciprocal relationship between network governance and network structure

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bergenholtz, Carsten; Goduscheit, René Chester

    The present article examines the network structure and governance of inter-organisational innovation networks. Network governance refers to the issue of how to manage and coordinate the relational activities and processes in the network while research on network structure deals with the overall...... structural relations between the actors in the network. These streams of research do contain references to each other but mostly rely on a static conception of the relationship between network structure and the applied network governance. The paper is based on a primarily qualitative case study of a loosely...... coupled Danish inter-organisational innovation network. The proposition is that a reciprocal relation between network governance and network structure can be identified....

  8. Siting studies for an asymptotic U.S. energy supply system based primarily on nuclear energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burwell, C.C.

    1977-01-01

    The nuclear energy center (NEC) concept is an approach to siting wherein nuclear facilities would be clustered in and delimited to a relatively small number of locations throughout the United States. These designated centers would be concurrently developed to their full capability over several decades, at which time, they would be several times larger than the largest nuclear power stations in existence today. The centers would be permanently dedicated to nuclear operations including the future decommissioning of functionally obsolescent facilities as well as the commissioning of their replacements. The criteria for and characteristics of an acceptable nuclear energy system that could supply most of the U.S. energy requirements in the distant future are discussed. The time period is unspecified but occurs when fossil-fuel resources are depleted to such an extent that their use is economic only in special situations, and is not economic, in general, for use as fuel

  9. Government influence on international trade in uranium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1978-01-01

    The subject is dealt with in sections, entitled; introduction (history of uncertainty in the uranium market, opposition to nuclear power); unsatisfactory features of today's trade conditions (including discussion of restrictions in production, exports and imports); desirable principles governing international trade in uranium, apart from the non-proliferation issue (limitation on governmental intervention for economic purposes, reservation of adequate uranium resources in exporting countries, government export price control); desirable principles for achieving balance between security of supply and non-proliferation (need for consensus, reprocessing and fast breeder reactors, principles guiding government controls established for non-proliferation purposes). (U.K.)

  10. Afghanistan: Post-War Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Katzman, Kenneth

    2008-01-01

    .... Both the official U.S. as well as outside assessments increasingly point to Pakistan's failure to prevent Taliban and other militant infiltration into Afghanistan as a cause of the security deterioration...

  11. 25 CFR 226.12 - Government reserves right to purchase oil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 25 Indians 1 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Government reserves right to purchase oil. 226.12 Section... reserves right to purchase oil. Any of the executive departments of the U.S. Government shall have the... price as defined in § 226.11. ...

  12. Watergate and American Government Textbooks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eksterowicz, Anthony J.; Cline, Paul C.

    1993-01-01

    Asserts that the Watergate scandal during the 1972 presidential election altered the U.S. government and the very mood of the United States. Presents a content analysis of 5 middle school, 5 secondary, and 12 college-level textbooks. Finds that the texts exhibit weak historical discussion or analysis of Watergate. (CFR)

  13. Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-11-08

    did occasionally meet foreign officials. The Taliban lost international and domestic support as it imposed strict adherence to Islamic customs in...shows since 2011. Because of the power of Islamist conservatives, alcohol is increasingly difficult to obtain in restaurants and stores, although it...districts) and influenced or operated in another 30%, and tribes and local groups with varying degrees of loyalty to the central government

  14. Governing Board of the Pension Fund

    CERN Multimedia

    2005-01-01

    The Governing Board of the Pension Fund held its one-hundred-and-thirty-second and one-hundred-and-thirty-third meetings on 16 February and 10 March respectively. The first of these meetings was primarily devoted to the further examination of the proposed measures to reduce the Fund's technical deficit. The Governing Board underlined that it was equally determined to find solutions to the structural problems that had an impact on the Fund's technical deficit. A statement to that effect was to be made by the Chairman of the Governing Board, J. Bezemer, at the March session of the CERN Council. Indeed, it would appear that in the light of the new actuarial parameters, in particular the technical interest rate of 4.5%, it is first necessary to stabilise the current funding ratio of 88%, which will fall to 61% in 30 years' time if no action is taken. In an initial stage, corrective measures must therefore be taken in order to prevent a further fall in the funding ratio. Subsequently, the objective will be to re...

  15. Organizational Enablers for Project Governance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Müller, Ralf; Shao, Jingting; Pemsel, Sofia

    and their relationships to organizational success. Based on these results, the authors discovered that organizational enablers (including key factors such as leadership, governance, and influence of project managers) have a critical impact on how organizations operate, adapt to market fluctuations and forces, and make......While corporate culture plays a significant role in the success of any corporation, governance and “governmentality” not only determine how business should be conducted, but also define the policies and procedures organizations follow to achieve business functions and goals. In their book......, Organizational Enablers for Project Governance, Ralf Müller, Jingting Shao, and Sofia Pemsel examine the interaction of governance and governmentality in various types of companies and demonstrate how these factors drive business success and influence project work, efficiency, and profitability. The data...

  16. Examining Auditing as an Essential Element of Financial Management and Good Governance in Local Government

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sindisile Maclean

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to address issues of auditing in the context of financial management as a contribution to good governance. Generally, not all local governments have effective and operational audit units and committees. As a result, auditing is not used as an essential element of good governance and this leads to bad audit outcomes like disclaimers and adverse opinions. The bad audit outcomes in local government have motivated the researcher to conduct the study on auditing. There are internal factors within the municipalities as well as external factors that are of interest and directed the researcher to have desire and commitment to make a contribution in this particular field of research. The key issues, amongst others, are principles of financial management, financial strategy, auditing functions such as forensic auditing, fraud auditing, forensic accounting and detection of fraud, including accounting systems and auditor’s role. This article will also attempt to reinforce existing theories and add value to local government financial discourse and good governance.

  17. Governance factors in the identification of global conservation priorities for mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eklund, Johanna; Arponen, Anni; Visconti, Piero; Cabeza, Mar

    2011-09-27

    Global conservation priorities have often been identified based on the combination of species richness and threat information. With the development of the field of systematic conservation planning, more attention has been given to conservation costs. This leads to prioritizing developing countries, where costs are generally low and biodiversity is high. But many of these countries have poor governance, which may result in ineffective conservation or in larger costs than initially expected. We explore how the consideration of governance affects the selection of global conservation priorities for the world's mammals in a complementarity-based conservation prioritization. We use data on Control of Corruption (Worldwide Governance Indicators project) as an indicator of governance effectiveness, and gross domestic product per capita as an indicator of cost. We show that, while core areas with high levels of endemism are always selected as important regardless of governance and cost values, there are clear regional differences in selected sites when biodiversity, cost or governance are taken into account separately. Overall, the analysis supports the concentration of conservation efforts in most of the regions generally considered of high priority, but stresses the need for different conservation approaches in different continents owing to spatial patterns of governance and economic development.

  18. AWARENESS AS A FACTOR OF INFLUENCE ON THE LEVEL OF PUBLIC SATISFACTION WITH LOCAL SELF-GOVERNMENT ACTIVITIES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kiseleva N. V.

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In the modern period of the development of statehood in Russia the significant increase of attention is attributed to the issue of effectiveness of state power and government not only on the federal and regional levels, but on the local level as well. In 2009 there was developed and implemented the system of indicators of the effectiveness’ estimates of the activity of local self-government. The system of effectiveness’ estimates included sociological indices of satisfaction of population. Implementation of sociological indices in the system of effectiveness’ estimates of the activity of local self-government brought positive responses from academic community, politicians, managers, and the public. In the article the analysis of influence of cognitive factor (being kept informed on the level of social contentment of the activity of local self-government’ bodies is done. We do this, based on the results of sociological studies of the major Russian research organizations and data from the aggregate reports, which deal with the monitoring of effectiveness of local self-government of some subjects in the Central federal district of Russia.

  19. 48 CFR 47.104-5 - Citation of Government rate tenders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 48 Federal Acquisition Regulations System 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Citation of Government rate tenders. 47.104-5 Section 47.104-5 Federal Acquisition Regulations System FEDERAL ACQUISITION REGULATION CONTRACT MANAGEMENT TRANSPORTATION General 47.104-5 Citation of Government rate tenders. When 49 U...

  20. Corporate Governance and Pension Fund Performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oskar Kowalewski

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available This study provides new evidence on the impact of governance on the performance of privately defined contribution pension plans. Using a hand collected data set on governance factors, the study shows that the external and internal governance mechanisms in pension plans are weak. One explanation for this weakness is the potential conflict between the pension beneficiaries and the fund’s owner, which depends on who bears the investment risk in the pension plan. Hence, different governance factors are found to be important for pension fund return on invested assets and also for its economic performance. Consequently, the overall policy conclusion is that more focus should be put on the governance of the pension funds, taking into account the different interests of the beneficiaries and owners as it may determine their performance.

  1. Information Governance: A Model for Security in Medical Practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia A.H. Williams

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Information governance is becoming an important aspect of organisational accountability. In consideration that information is an integral asset of most organisations, the protection of this asset will increasingly rely on organisational capabilities in security.  In the medical arena this information is primarily sensitive patient-based information. Previous research has shown that application of security measures is a low priority for primary care medical practice and that awareness of the risks are seriously underestimated. Consequently, information security governance will be a key issue for medical practice in the future. Information security governance is a relatively new term and there is little existing research into how to meet governance requirements. The limited research that exists describes information security governance frameworks at a strategic level. However, since medical practice is already lagging in the implementation of appropriate security, such definition may not be practical although it is obviously desirable. This paper describes an on-going action research project undertaken in the area of medical information security, and presents a tactical approach model aimed at addressing information security governance and the protection of medical data. 

  2. Comment on ``Communicating Government Science''

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lins, Harry F.

    2006-05-01

    Soroosh Sorooshian's editorial in the 18 April issue of Eos (87(16) 2005) is a timely reminder of the need for unambiguous guidelines governing the interactions between government scientists and the media. His comments implicitly recognize the central role that science plays in a modern democratic society, which includes informing policy at the highest levels of government and educating the general public about the world we inhabit. Federal research scientists, who constitute approximately 15 percent of the AGU's U.S. membership, have a unique public responsibility. They would welcome a consistent policy for the review and approval of publications, oral presentations, and media communications. An example of the value and success that such a policy can have to both science and the nation is evident in the operations of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). For more than a century, the USGS has had clear policies and procedures for ensuring the communication of accurate, high-quality, and impartial scientific information. These policies and procedures are set forth in the USGS Manual under sections entitled ``Approval by the director for outside publication and oral presentation,'' ``Review of USGS publications and abstracts of oral presentations for policy-sensitive issues,'' and ``News release and media relations policy.'' These policies are available online at http:// www.usgs.gov/usgs-manual/500/500-9.html (.../500-8.html and .../500 5.html).

  3. Governance Challenges in an Eastern Indonesian Forest Landscape

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca A. Riggs

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Integrated approaches to natural resource management are often undermined by fundamental governance weaknesses. We studied governance of a forest landscape in East Lombok, Indonesia. Forest Management Units (Kesatuan Pengelolaan Hutan or KPH are an institutional mechanism used in Indonesia for coordinating the management of competing sectors in forest landscapes, balancing the interests of government, business, and civil society. Previous reviews of KPHs indicate they are not delivering their potential benefits due to an uncertain legal mandate and inadequate resources. We utilized participatory methods with a broad range of stakeholders in East Lombok to examine how KPHs might improve institutional arrangements to better meet forest landscape goals. We find that KPHs are primarily limited by insufficient integration with other actors in the landscape. Thus, strengthened engagement with other institutions, as well as civil society, is required. Although new governance arrangements that allow for institutional collaboration and community engagement are needed in the long term, there are steps that the East Lombok KPH can take now. Coordinating institutional commitments and engaging civil society to reconcile power asymmetries and build consensus can help promote sustainable outcomes. Our study concludes that improved multi-level, polycentric governance arrangements between government, NGOs, the private sector, and civil society are required to achieve sustainable landscapes in Lombok. The lessons from Lombok can inform forest landscape governance improvements throughout Indonesia and the tropics.

  4. Business Climate and Good Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Besmira Manaj

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper consists of three factors, namely: Good Governance, Business Climate and Corruption. How they affect the development product of Albania, not only as a concept, and a principle but mostly as a sensitive aspect in the integration process. There are some interpretations of this concept, but I intend to analyze the key factors and actors, their cooperation and concrete production in society. Improving governance is necessary to have an integrated long term strategy based upon a continuous cooperation between institutions and citizens. But in developing countries like Albania there are some important questions such as: How can we measure the improvement of Good Governance through policies? Has Good Governance indicated an effective way for the sustainable development? (Meisel, 2008, 6. These question give us the orientation to reflect about the process of development, social economic political behavior and how this multidimensional is transformed in product of good governance. The business cycle is strongly connected with many aspects of political-, social-, juridical aspects and good governance. Despite attempts to draft law regulations, the level of corruption and informality in Albania continues to be a major obstacle. The credibility level in the implementation of law is an indicator that affects democratization and institutional integration. At present, different reports of international institutions, define Albania as the country with the highest level of Corruption in the Balkans, which is a key factor influencing business. The ways with

  5. 76 FR 43571 - Small Business HUBZone Program; Government Contracting Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-21

    ... SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 13 CFR Part 126 RIN 3245-AG45 Small Business HUBZone Program; Government Contracting Programs AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration. ACTION: Interim final rule with request for comments. SUMMARY: This interim final rule amends the U.S. Small Business Administration's...

  6. Aqueous complexation reactions governing the rate and extent of biogeochemical U(VI) reduction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kemner, K.M.; Kelly, S.D.; Brooks, Scott C.; Dong, Wenming; Carroll, Sue; Fredrickson, James K.

    2006-01-01

    The proposed research will elucidate the principal biogeochemical reactions that govern the concentration, chemical speciation, and reactivity of the redox-sensitive contaminant uranium. The results will provide an improved understanding and predictive capability of the mechanisms that govern the biogeochemical reduction of uranium in subsurface environments

  7. Do governance, equity characteristics, and venture capital nvolvement affect long-term wealth creation in U.S. health care and biotechnology IPOs?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, David R; Duncan, W Jack; Ginter, Peter M; Shewchuk, Richard M

    2006-01-01

    Agency theory remains the dominant means of examining governance issues and ownership characteristics related to large organizations. Research in these areas within large organizations has increased our understanding, yet little is known about the influence that these mechanisms and characteristics have had on IPO firm performance. This study tests an agency perspective that venture capital involvement, governance and equity characteristics affect health care and biotechnology IPO firm performance. Our results indicate that there is no correlation between these factors and health care and biotechnology IPO wealth creation. For these entrepreneurs, our findings suggest a contingent approach for the use of these mechanisms.

  8. The Choices and Uses of Technological Tools in High School Government Classes

    OpenAIRE

    Wigginton, Erin O'Donnell

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine how government teachers make decisions regarding the type of technological tools they incorporate in their instruction. As a case study of two teachers, this work was oriented by the question: How are U.S. Government teachers' beliefs and perspectives about learning and teaching reflected in their pedagogical practice and use of technological tools. There is little work about how teachers prepare students for the 21st century. Teaching U.S. Gove...

  9. Gas and energy efficiency. The ''E'' factor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McGregor, G.

    1992-06-01

    On 1 April 1992 a new gas tariff formula came into effect limiting the prices British Gas can charge to its 18 million -primarily domestic - tariff customers. A feature of the new formula is the ''E'' factor, designed to stimulate investment by British Gas in energy efficiency. This paper is intended to explain the thinking which lay behind the introduction of the ''E''factor, what statutory and other considerations need to be taken into account in considering ''E'' factor proposals and how the arrangements for the gas industry are likely to fit in with the creation of an Energy Savings Trust recently announced by the Government. In doing so, it is intended to give guidance to those who may have proposals for the more efficient use of energy and gas and wish to understand whether these could be eligible to be considered as ''E'' factor projects. (Author)

  10. Reactive transport of uranium in a groundwater bioreduction study: Insights from high-temporal resolution 238U/235U data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiel, A. E.; Johnson, T. M.; Lundstrom, C. C.; Laubach, P. G.; Long, P. E.; Williams, K. H.

    2016-08-01

    We conducted a detailed investigation of U isotopes in conjunction with a broad geochemical investigation during field-scale biostimulation and desorption experiments. This investigation was carried out in the uranium-contaminated alluvial aquifer of the Rifle field research site. In this well-characterized setting, a more comprehensive understanding of U isotope geochemistry is possible. Our results indicate that U isotope fractionation is consistently observed across multiple experiments at the Rifle site. Microbially-mediated reduction is suggested to account for most or all of the observed fractionation as abiotic reduction has been demonstrated to impart much smaller, often near-zero, isotopic fractionation or isotopic fractionation in the opposite direction. Data from some time intervals are consistent with a simple model for transport and U(VI) reduction, where the fractionation factor (ε = +0.65‰ to +0.85‰) is consistent with experimental studies. However, during other time intervals the observed patterns in our data indicate the importance of other processes in governing U concentrations and 238U/235U ratios. For instance, we demonstrate that departures from Rayleigh behavior in groundwater systems arise from the presence of adsorbed species. We also show that isotope data are sensitive to the onset of oxidation after biostimulation ends, even in the case where reduction continues to remove contaminant uranium downstream. Our study and the described conceptual model support the use of 238U/235U ratios as a tool for evaluating the efficacy of biostimulation and potentially other remedial strategies employed at Rifle and other uranium-contaminated sites.

  11. Why Mobile Government isn’t successful (yet)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ohme, Jakob; Seifert, Claudia; Renatus, Rebecca

    Mobile Government as a subset of E-Government is part of the Open Government approach of leading countries, like Germany. Since adoption rates among the citizens are still low this study tries to answer the question, what factors concerning the relationship of the government and its citizens migh...

  12. Key and Essential Elements of a U.S. Government Interagency Plan

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Locke, Jr, Donald C

    2008-01-01

    .... Government Interagency Plan for reconstruction and stabilization. The elements were derived from study of World War II and Operation Iraqi Freedom post conflict reconstruction and stabilization operations...

  13. Governance in Health - The Need for Exchange and Evidence Comment on "Governance, Government, and the Search for New Provider Models".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanturidze, Tata; Obermann, Konrad

    2016-05-17

    Governance in health is cited as one of the key factors in balancing the concerns of the government and public sector with the interests of civil society/private players, but often remains poorly described and operationalized. Richard Saltman and Antonio Duran look at two aspects in the search for new provider models in a context of health markets signalling liberalisation: (i) the role of the government to balance public and private interests and responsibilities in delivering care through modernised governance arrangements, and (ii) the finding that operational complexities may hinder well-designed provider governance models, unless governance reflects country-specific realities. This commentary builds on the discussion by Saltman and Duran, and argues that the concept of governance needs to be clearly defined and operationalized in order to be helpful for policy debate as well as for the development of an applicable framework for performance improvement. It provides a working definition of governance and includes a reflection on the prevailing cultural norms in an organization or society upon which any governance needs to be build. It proposes to explore whether the "evidence-based governance" concept can be introduced to generate knowledge about innovative and effective governance models, and concludes that studies similar to the one by Saltman and Duran can inform this debate. © 2016 by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

  14. RE-ENGINEERING GOVERNANCE; E-GOVERNMENT AS A TOOL FOR DECENTRALIZATION; GHANA AS A CASE STUDY

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gyaase, Patrick Ohemeng Kwadwo

    This research was undertaken to study the diffusion of E-government as a tool for decentralization, using Ghana as a case study. E-governance has been credited with the potency of facilitating good governance in countries with appreciable level of E-government maturity. Much attention is being...... espoused by E-government. This research therefore assesses the diffusion of E-government as a tool for decentralization in Ghana. The research was carried out using mixed-methods and was approached from four theoretical perspectives namely Innovation Diffusion theory the TOE framework for technological....... Qualitative data was used to assess the factors affecting the diffusion of e-government as a tool for decentralization and the results pointed to vendor and donor led diffusion as affecting E-government implementation. There is also the absence of convergence between the E-government, the decentralization...

  15. The U.S. National Security Council in Contemporary American International Studies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir V. Pavlov

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Established in accordance with the provisions of the National Security Act of 1947, the U.S. National Security Council is the main advisory body to the President of the United States tasked with helping the head of state to make the right decisions on matters related to national security. NSC system has been constantly evolving for some 70 years, and the NSC staff became a separate 'ministry' of a kind, allowing presidential administrations to focus ever-increasing control over American foreign policy in the White House. That is why serious attention is devoted to the National Security Council by American researches studying foreign policy decision-making. Here, a 'three-pronged consensus' exists: functioning and efficiency of the decision-making process is primarily a result of presidential actions; the President will make the best decision after becoming aware of the whole range of possible alternatives and assessing the consequences of each policy option; the position of the National Security Advisor, who is often one of the closest officials to the President and serves as a coordinator of the decision-making process, is considered to be one of the most notable in today's U.S. presidential administrations - and the most influential of those not being a subject to approval by the legislative branch of U.S. government. Any fundamental changes in the practice of U.S. foreign policy mechanism, as well as a decline of the White House influence on foreign policy are unlikely in the short term.

  16. Analysis of IFR driver fuel hot channel factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ku, J.Y.; Chang, L.K.; Mohr, D.

    1994-01-01

    Thermal-hydraulic uncertainty factors for Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) driver fuels have been determined based primarily on the database obtained from the predecessor fuels used in the IFR prototype, Experimental Breeder Reactor II. The uncertainty factors were applied to the channel factors (HCFs) analyses to obtain separate overall HCFs for fuel and cladding for steady-state analyses. A ''semistatistical horizontal method'' was used in the HCFs analyses. The uncertainty factor of the fuel thermal conductivity dominates the effects considered in the HCFs analysis; the uncertainty in fuel thermal conductivity will be reduced as more data are obtained to expand the currently limited database for the IFR ternary metal fuel (U-20Pu-10Zr). A set of uncertainty factors to be used for transient analyses has also been derived

  17. Analysis of IFR driver fuel hot channel factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ku, J.Y.; Chang, L.K.; Mohr, D.

    2004-01-01

    Thermal-hydraulic uncertainty factors for Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) driver fuels have been determined based primarily on the database obtained from the predecessor fuels used in the IFR prototype. Experimental Breeder Reactor II. The uncertainty factors were applied to the hot channel factors (HCFs) analyses to obtain separate overall HCFs for fuel and cladding for steady-state analyses. A 'semistatistical horizontal method' was used in the HCFs analyses. The uncertainty factor of the fuel thermal conductivity dominates the effects considered in the HCFs analysis; the uncertainty in fuel thermal conductivity will be reduced as more data are obtained to expand the currently limited database for the IFR ternary metal fuel (U-20Pu-10Zr). A set of uncertainty factors to be used for transient analyses has also been derived. (author)

  18. Envisioning Religiously Diverse Partnership Systems among Government, Faith Communities and FBOs

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jo Anne Schneider

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Recent U.S. policy regarding faith-based organizations (FBO envisions “partnerships with government” that include both financial and non-financial relationships. This paper explores the current nature of a three-way partnership among faith communities, FBOs and government, proposing ways that government could more effectively partner with faith communities and their organizations. I use data from the Faith and Organizations Project and earlier studies of refugee resettlement and social welfare supports. The paper combines research and policy literature with research findings to describe how faith communities organize social services, education, health, senior services and community development through their FBOs, differences among religions and denominations and current forms of partnerships with government. Conclusions provide policy suggestions for U.S. systems.

  19. 48 CFR 225.403 - World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... Government Procurement Agreement and Free Trade Agreements. 225.403 Section 225.403 Federal Acquisition... FOREIGN ACQUISITION Trade Agreements 225.403 World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement and... Government Procurement Agreement, acquire only U.S.-made, qualifying country, or designated country end...

  20. The hamas government should recognized

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Reinhart, T.

    2006-01-01

    In a just and well-ordered world, it would be unthinkable for a government that was elected in this way to be disqualified because Israel does not like the choice of the electorate in question. But in a world in which the U.S. rules, might is right, and might can define democracy as it chooses. Thus

  1. Awareness of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in U.S. Young Adults Aged 18–39 Years

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucholz, Emily M.; Gooding, Holly C.; de Ferranti, Sarah D.

    2018-01-01

    Introduction Young adults with hyperlipidemia, hypertension, and diabetes are at increased risk of developing heart disease later in life. Despite emphasis on early screening, little is known about awareness of these risk factors in young adulthood. Methods Data from the nationally representative cross-sectional survey National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2014 were analyzed in 2017 to estimate the prevalence of self-reported awareness of hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and diabetes in U.S. young adults aged 18–39 years (n=11,083). Prevalence estimates were weighted to population estimates using survey procedures, and predictors of awareness were identified using weighted logistic regression. Results Among U.S. young adults, the prevalence of hypercholesterolemia, hypertension, and diabetes was 8.8% (SE=0.4%), 7.3% (SE=0.3%), and 2.6% (SE=0.2%), respectively. The prevalence of borderline high cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose were substantially higher (21.6% [SE= 0.6%], 26.9% [SE=0.7%], and 18.9% [SE=0.6%], respectively). Awareness was low for hypercholesterolemia (56.9% [SE=2.4%]) and moderate for hypertension and diabetes (62.7% [SE=2.4%] and 70.0% [SE=2.7%]); young adults with borderline levels of these risk factors were aware of their risk. Correlates of risk factor awareness included older age, insurance status, family income above the poverty line, U.S. origin, having a usual source of health care, and the presence of comorbid conditions. Conclusions Despite the high prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in U.S. young adults, awareness remains less than ideal. Interventions that target access may increase awareness and facilitate achieving treatment goals in young adults. PMID:29433955

  2. The Bush/Cheney Energy Strategy: Implications for U.S. Foreign and Military Policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Klare, Michael T. [Hampshire College, Amherst, MA (United States). Peace and World Security Studies

    2003-07-01

    The 'National Energy Policy' (NEP) released by the Bush Administration on May 17, 2001 was supposedly intended to meet growing U.S. energy requirements in the first two decades of the 21st Century while also diminishing U.S. dependence on imported oil. This was to be accomplished, the White House suggested, by increasing production at existing oil fields in the United States and by commencing drilling on the Artic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. So great was the furor over drilling on ANWR that most people never bothered to examine the NEP closely. This is unfortunate, as a close reading of the NEP report reveals a very different picture than that suggested by White House pronouncements: far from promoting energy 'independence', the NEP assumes that the United States will become MORE, not less dependent on imported petroleum in the years ahead and therefore calls on the Federal Government to take whatever steps are necessary to promote enhanced U.S. access to foreign oil. In particular, the NEP calls on the U.S. Government to seek additional petroleum from the Persian Gulf area, Russia, the Caspian Sea basin, Mexico, Venezuela, Angola, and Nigeria. As is implied by the report, the United States must acquire more oil from these countries in order to permit increased oil consumption in the United States at a time of declining domestic production. Even leaving aside the question of whether these countries will be able to boost their production sufficiently to satisfy steadily rising demand in the United States, this strategy poses enormous challenges for the United States because most of these areas are highly unstable and house anti-American governments and forces. It is likely, then, that U.S. efforts to acquire more oil from these countries will entail the increased presence of U.S. military forces in the area and periodic U.S. military intervention. Indeed, the requirement for increased military action in support of U.S. foreign

  3. Business Climate and Good Governance

    OpenAIRE

    Besmira Manaj

    2015-01-01

    This paper consists of three factors, namely: Good Governance, Business Climate and Corruption. How they affect the development product of Albania, not only as a concept, and a principle but mostly as a sensitive aspect in the integration process. There are some interpretations of this concept, but I intend to analyze the key factors and actors, their cooperation and concrete production in society. Improving governance is necessary to have an integrated long term strategy based upon a continu...

  4. Armed Conflict in Syria: Overview and U.S. Response

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-28

    forces “would be wise to avoid areas where coalition forces have been operating.” 23 U.S. officials have since faced questions about what some...no concerns. 31 U.S. officials expressed regret for any mistaken coalition airstrike, and stated that “coalition forces would not intentionally...government to resolve individual trouble spots while avoiding a broader political settlement. In late August, the Syrian government and rebel fighters

  5. Production of factor VIII by human liver sinusoidal endothelial cells transplanted in immunodeficient uPA mice.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marina E Fomin

    Full Text Available Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs form a semi-permeable barrier between parenchymal hepatocytes and the blood. LSECs participate in liver metabolism, clearance of pathological agents, immunological responses, architectural maintenance of the liver and synthesis of growth factors and cytokines. LSECs also play an important role in coagulation through the synthesis of Factor VIII (FVIII. Herein, we phenotypically define human LSECs isolated from fetal liver using flow cytometry and immunofluorescence microscopy. Isolated LSECs were cultured and shown to express endothelial markers and markers specific for the LSEC lineage. LSECs were also shown to engraft the liver when human fetal liver cells were transplanted into immunodeficient mice with liver specific expression of the urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA transgene (uPA-NOG mice. Engrafted cells expressed human Factor VIII at levels approaching those found in human plasma. We also demonstrate engraftment of adult LSECs, as well as hepatocytes, transplanted into uPA-NOG mice. We propose that overexpression of uPA provides beneficial conditions for LSEC engraftment due to elevated expression of the angiogenic cytokine, vascular endothelial growth factor. This work provides a detailed characterization of human midgestation LSECs, thereby providing the means for their purification and culture based on their expression of CD14 and CD32 as well as a lack of CD45 expression. The uPA-NOG mouse is shown to be a permissive host for human LSECs and adult hepatocytes, but not fetal hepatoblasts. Thus, these mice provide a useful model system to study these cell types in vivo. Demonstration of human FVIII production by transplanted LSECs encourages further pursuit of LSEC transplantation as a cellular therapy for the treatment of hemophilia A.

  6. A new corporate governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion Bucur

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The issue of corporate governance has become increasingly important as globalisation has begun to accelerate and the economic and financial turmoil have intensified. Post-crisis context has imposed the need to expand the prospects for analysis over governance and companies, as well as the need to identify new ways of administration and resource management. From this perspective, the author aims to highlight the conditions, factors and events that have generated profound changes within the business environment, while the analysis is focusing on contemporary changes in the systems of corporate governance and economic mutations, especially in terms of the companies. The establishment of new governance rules is demanding a theoretical approach based on new methodological requirements which are needed to reform theoretical foundations and to promote creative and effective shapes and governance systems.

  7. Twin Evils: Government Copyright and Copyright-like Controls Over Government Information

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Gellman, Robert

    1995-01-01

    .... Nevertheless, several factors work together to allow agencies to deny public access to or effective use of uncopyrighted government information, restrict use of that information, or charge royalties...

  8. N2O emission hotspots at different spatial scales and governing factors for small scale hotspots

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heuvel, R.N. van den; Hefting, M.M.; Tan, N.C.G.; Jetten, M.S.M.; Verhoeven, J.T.A.

    2009-01-01

    Chronically nitrate-loaded riparian buffer zones show high N 2 O emissions. Often, a large part of the N 2 O is emitted from small surface areas, resulting in high spatial variability in these buffer zones. These small surface areas with high N 2 O emissions (hotspots) need to be investigated to generate knowledge on the factors governing N 2 O emissions. In this study the N 2 O emission variability was investigated at different spatial scales. Therefore N 2 O emissions from three 32 m 2 grids were determined in summer and winter. Spatial variation and total emission were determined on three different scales (0.3 m 2 , 0.018 m 2 and 0.0013 m 2 ) at plots with different levels of N 2 O emissions. Spatial variation was high at all scales determined and highest at the smallest scale. To test possible factors inducing small scale hotspots, soil samples were collected for slurry incubation to determine responses to increased electron donor/acceptor availability. Acetate addition did increase N 2 O production, but nitrate addition failed to increase total denitrification or net N 2 O production. N 2 O production was similar in all soil slurries, independent of their origin from high or low emission soils, indicating that environmental conditions (including physical factors like gas diffusion) rather than microbial community composition governed N 2 O emission rates

  9. The status of vaccine availability and associated factors in Tshwane government clinics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ngcobo, Ntombenhle Judith; Kamupira, Mercy G

    2017-05-24

    Vaccines have greatly contributed to the control of vaccine-preventable diseases and to human development. Efforts by many countries to introduce new vaccines are a significant move towards achieving the sustainable development goal for health. However, effective vaccine supply chains that ensure an uninterrupted supply of vaccines are pivotal to attaining universal access to life-saving vaccines and sustainable development. The introduction of new vaccines puts a strain on supply chains; South Africa (SA) is no exception, as there are indications of vaccine stock-outs in clinics. To establish the status of vaccine availability and associated factors in government health facilities of Tshwane Health District in Gauteng Province, SA. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of randomly selected government clinics in the Tshwane health district of Gauteng Province. Data were collected using a structured measurement instrument in participating clinics. Data were analysed using Excel-based software (Microsoft, USA). A total of 31 clinics participated. In the preceding 12 months, clinics had experienced vaccine stock-outs, especially of the three newer vaccines: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, rotavirus and Pentaxim. These were also out of stock for a long duration; for over 2 weeks in a majority of clinics. The causes of vaccine stock-outs were: poor management of stock, district depot out of stock, unreliable deliveries, lack of pharmacy assistants and limited fridge capacity. Further burdening the situation is the ineffective emergency-ordering system. Significant shortages of vaccines, which are essential drugs, occur in Tshwane government clinics. Vaccine supply chain issues and vaccine shortages should be treated as a priority at all levels of the healthcare system; therefore, a similar study should be conducted at national level. It is recommended that the vaccine supply chain should be restructured and overhauled with the use of advances in technology

  10. A review of governance of maternity services at South Tipperary general hospital

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Flory, David

    2015-09-01

    This review of the governance of maternity services at South Tipperary General Hospital has focussed on the systems and processes for assurance of service quality, risk management and patient safety primarily inside the hospital but also in the Hospital Group structure within which it operates. The effectiveness of the governance arrangements is largely determined by the quality of the leadership and management – both clinical and general – which designs, implements, and oversees those systems and processes and is ultimately responsible and accountable.\\r\

  11. Toward an Ideal Security State for Northeast Asia 2025

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    region is motivated primarily by geopolitical concerns. The U.S. government reacted strongly in the 1990s to former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir’s... bird flu have been warning factors in causing severe damage not only to the health of regional populations but also to economic, social, and political...as bird flu are not a matter of if, but when. The lessons learned through our recent experience should be shared with partners to be better prepared

  12. Former Audit Partners on Audit Committees: Implications for Russian Corporate Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Genevieve Scalan

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available The Moscow Exchange in conjunction with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD continues to address improvements in Russian corporate governance by conducting annual roundtables (OECD, 2017.  My research relates to corporate governance provided by audit committees. I examine relationships between former audit partner (FAP audit committee members and auditors, via a network similar to the interlocking directorate.  Using a dataset of U.S. auditor dismissals, I construct unique network variables measuring the relational ties between FAP audit committees and auditors.  I find some evidence suggesting ties created by former audit partners may increase auditor switching possibly indicating impaired auditor independence. This outcome suggests implications for Russian corporate governance because it is likely Russian Boards of Directors would experience similar circumstances as their U.S. counterparts.  As the Moscow Exchange continues its partnership with the OECD to improve corporate governance, audit quality and auditor independence should be considered in the dialogue.

  13. Government, utilities, industry and universities: partners for nuclear development in Canada and abroad

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hurst, D.G.; Woolston, J.E.

    1971-09-01

    In Canada, eleven power reactors installed or committed at four sites will provide 5 520 MW(e) for an investment of $1 800 million. Uranium production during the decade 1958-1967 totalled 79 700 tonnes U 3 O 8 worth $1 621 million. For nuclear research, development and control, the federal government employs about 6 000 people and spends about $80 million/year which includes the cost of operating three major research reactors (> 30 MW each). Aggregate commercial isotope production has reached 14 megacuries, and Canada has about 3 000 licensed users. Three power and two research reactors of Canadian design are or will be installed in developing countries overseas. Legislation in 1946 made atomic energy a federal responsibility and established an Atomic Energy Control Board. The Board's regulations, which deal primarily with health, safety and security, are administered with the co-operation of appropriate departments of the federal and provincial governments. Large-scale nuclear research began in 1941 and continued under the National Research Council until 1952 when the federal government created a public corporation, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, to take over both research and the exploitation of atomic energy. Another public corporation, Eldorado Nuclear Limited, conducts research and development on the processing of uranium and operates Canada's only uranium refinery, but prospecting and mining is undertaken largely by private companies. The publicly owned electrical utilities of Ontario and Quebec operate nuclear power stations and participate, with governments, in their financing. Private industry undertakes extensive development and manufacturing, mainly under contract to Atomic Energy of Canada Limited and the utilities, and industry has formed its own Canadian Nuclear Association. Canadian universities undertake nuclear research, and receive significant government support; one has operated a research reactor since 1959. Canada's nuclear program is

  14. E-GOVERNMENT: A DRIVING FACTOR FOR STIMULATING INNOVATION PERFORMANCE IN ROMANIA?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Coculescu Cristina

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available The development of public services is one of the priorities on the agendas of all policies, both national and European. One of the most recent concerns of the European Commission, as shown in the 2010 Innobarometer, is to find ways and develop strategies to support the innovation in the public administration sector, in the context of the continuously changing economic background. In this paper, we'll investigate the relationship between e-Government, and the overall innovation performance at national level, for some European Union countries. e-Government is already a known concept, widespread in the world, promoting the implementation of information and communication technologies in the public administration, in order to provide better public services to citizens and businesses. A main component of the e-Government concept is the 'counter reform', aimed to streamlining administrative act quickly in order to respond to the demands of citizens, businesses and government structures. Innovation in e-Government will be measured with two Eurostat indicators e-Government on-line availability and e-Government usage by individuals while for the overall innovation performance we'll use a composite indicator the Summary Innovation Index (SII - from the Innovation Union Scoreboard (IUS. In Romania, even if the values of these indicators are not at the level of other EU countries, we can say that the situation has improved and electronic public services are being used increasingly often. The study also includes a comparison between two modest innovators: Romania and Bulgaria. Regarding the overall innovation performance, according to the 2010 Innovation Union Scoreboard ranking, Romania is the leader of the modest innovators countries, overcoming Latvia, Bulgaria and Lithuania. However, in the field of e-Government our country has major shortcomings. Romania has registered a significant progress in the years after the EU integration, followed by a setback in

  15. Factors Influencing the Selection of the Systems Integration Organizational Model Type for Planning and Implementing Government High-Technology Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Leann; Utley, Dawn

    2006-01-01

    While there has been extensive research in defining project organizational structures for traditional projects, little research exists to support high technology government project s organizational structure definition. High-Technology Government projects differ from traditional projects in that they are non-profit, span across Government-Industry organizations, typically require significant integration effort, and are strongly susceptible to a volatile external environment. Systems Integration implementation has been identified as a major contributor to both project success and failure. The literature research bridges program management organizational planning, systems integration, organizational theory, and independent project reports, in order to assess Systems Integration (SI) organizational structure selection for improving the high-technology government project s probability of success. This paper will describe the methodology used to 1) Identify and assess SI organizational structures and their success rate, and 2) Identify key factors to be used in the selection of these SI organizational structures during the acquisition strategy process.

  16. National Guard State Partnership Program: A Whole-of Government Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-03-01

    be better able to take ownership of and solve crisis situations within their borders, provide necessities to their people through sound governance...lower level concentrated focus on a partner country (State vs . U.S. Government); executing mission spanning military, political, economic and...and hydroelectric development, foreign investment 22 reform and development, franchise opportunities, bio-fuels development, and public and

  17. The Acceptance of Mobile Government from a Citizen‘s Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ohme, Jakob

    Mobile Government (in short: M-Government) is just at the beginning of its rise as a future trend of E-Government. Considering the technical advancements such as mobile Internet, smart phones and tablet-PCs, M-Government tremendously develops a new potential for organizational communication proce......-Government is significantly influenced by both, factors citizens see as a benefit but also by factors of perceived risks...... processes. There are many examples of failures of early E-Government-projects due to a lack of consideration of users’ requirements. Against this background, the paper tries to contribute to organizational communication processes by addressing the driving factors influencing the acceptance of Mobile...... Government among the citizens. Extending the approaches of the Technology Acceptance Model (TRA) (Davis, Bagozzi & Warshaw, 1989) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) to Mobile Government, a new M-Government-Acceptance-Model was developed. It shows that the intention to use M...

  18. A SECURITY EVALUATION FRAMEWORK FOR U.K. E-GOVERNMENT SERVICES AGILE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT

    OpenAIRE

    Steve Harrison; Antonis Tzounis; Leandros Maglaras; Francois Siewe; Richard Smith; Helge Janicke

    2016-01-01

    This is an Open Access article This study examines the traditional approach to software development within the United Kingdom Government and the accreditation process. Initially we look at the Waterfall methodology that has been used for several years. We discuss the pros and cons of Waterfall before moving onto the Agile Scrum methodology. Agile has been adopted by the majority of Government digital departments including the Gover...

  19. The government as a client for security support services. A commercial security contractor's perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Leith, H.M.

    1984-01-01

    This paper presents a look at the challenges confronting security management personnel contracting with the U.S. government to provide security and related support services. From the corporate decision to enter the ''Big Leagues'' via proposal submission, through commitments and required expertise necessary to achieve ''outstanding'' ratings, this paper is an overview of a broad spectrum of security related topics including: the proposal process, the first step; oral review boards and ''Catch-22'' dilemmas; contractual requirements vs. court orders; personnel, the human factor; the carousel approach to fiscal accountability; and avoiding communication barriers

  20. Effective Information Technology Governance Mechanisms: An Australian Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Syaiful Ali

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Growing importance of information technology (IT, as a strategic factor for organizations in achieving their objectives, have raised the concern of organizations in establishing and implementing effective IT governance. This study seeks to empirically examine the individual IT governance mechanisms that influence the overall effectiveness of IT governance. The data were obtained by using web based survey from 176 members of ISACA (Information Systems and Audit Control Association Australia. This study examines the influences of six proposed IT governance mechanisms on the overall effectiveness of IT governance. Using Factor Analysis and Multiple Regression techniques, the current study finds significant positive relationships between the overall level of effective IT governance and the following four IT governance mechanisms: the existence of ethics/ culture of compliance in IT, corporate communication systems, an IT strategy committee, and the involvement of senior management in IT.

  1. 38 CFR 1.506 - Disclosure of records to Federal Government departments, State unemployment compensation agencies...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Federal Government departments, State unemployment compensation agencies, and the Office of Servicemembers....506 Disclosure of records to Federal Government departments, State unemployment compensation agencies... official purposes by any department or other agency of the U.S. Government or any state unemployment...

  2. Educating Foreign Students in the U.S.A.: A Cost Benefit Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mehrabi, Shah M.

    The economic costs and benefits of educating foreign students in U.S. public and private colleges are estimated. U.S. costs of educating foreign students consist primarily of: (1) direct educational costs, (2) cost of the foreign students who receive their maintenance allowance from U.S. sources, (3) travel costs of those foreign students whose…

  3. 75 FR 1001 - U.S. Chief Financial Officer Council; Grants Policy Committee (GPC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-07

    ... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION U.S. Chief Financial Officer Council; Grants Policy Committee (GPC... committee of the U.S. Chief Financial Officers (CFO) Council. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB... Government. The GPC is charged with improving the management of federal financial assistance government-wide...

  4. Collection Development Policy: Federal Government Publications at Eastern Washington University Libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roselle, Ann; Chan, Karen

    This collection development policy serves as a guide for the selection and retention of depository government documents by the Government Publications Unit of the Kennedy Memorial Library of Eastern Washington University (EWU) in Cheney, Washington. The library selects approximately 65 percent of the depository items distributed by the U.S.…

  5. A Conceptual Model Of E-Government Adoption in Indonesia

    OpenAIRE

    Darmawan Napitupulu

    2017-01-01

    This study aims to determine various factors are related with the process of e-Government adoption. Many researchers have traced the success factors of e-Government but are still partial. This research contributes not only in terms of technological factors but also the attitudes and behaviors of its users (personality traits) which is also influential in the process of technology adoption. In this research, will be developed an adoption model of technology in the context of e-Government. This...

  6. Study of factors governing US utility nuclear power decisions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1980-05-01

    Under DOE contract No. DE-AC02-79ET34009, The S.M. Stoller Corporation has conducted a study of US utility attitudes toward nuclear power. In the course of this study SMSC carried out a utility survey the objectives of which were: (1) to identify and rank in importance the governing considerations in actions taken in the past three years to cancel or defer nuclear projects, and (2) to gain insight into the circumstances and attitudes likely to govern new base-load commitments over the next several years. During the survey, contacts were made at the senior management level with utilities representing approximately half of the country's total electric capacity and two-thirds of its present nuclear commitment. Analysis of the responses led to the conclusion that most, if not all, of the decisions reached by the respondent utilities in the past several years to cancel or defer nuclear projects were triggered by one or a combination of the following four considerations: financial constraints; reduction in expected system load growth; schedule delay in licensing and construction and/or unpredictability; and adverse state government policies or attitudes regarding nuclear power

  7. Explaining the democratic anchorage of governance networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skelcher, Chris; Klijn, Erik-Hans; Kübler, Daniel

    2011-01-01

    Advances in understanding the democratic anchorage of governance networks require carefully designed and contextually grounded empirical analysis that take into account contextual factors. The article uses a conjectural framework to study the impact of the national democratic milieu...... on the relationship between network governance and representative institutions in four European countries: the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Denmark. The article shows that the distinction between majoritarian and consensus democracy as well as the varying strength of voluntary associations...... are important contextual factors that help explain cross-national differences in the relationship between governance networks and representative institutions. We conclude that a context of weak associationalism in majoritarian democracies facilitates the instrumentalization of networks by government actors...

  8. Brazil-U.S. Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2007-02-28

    Eduardo Lins, “La Casa Blanca y El Planalto: Respeto y Solidaridad,” Foreign Affairs En Español, January-March 2003. 31 See “President Bush Meets with...U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2005: Brazil, February 2006. 2 Lincoln Gordon, Brazil’s Second Change En Route...stabilizing force and skillful interlocutor in Latin America. U.S. officials tend to describe Brazil, similar to Chile , as a friendly country governed

  9. Environmental control of U concentration and 234U/238U in speleothems at subannual resolution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, C.; Henderson, G. M.

    2003-12-01

    Trace element and isotope variability in speleothems encodes a range of information about the past environment, although its interpretation is often problematic. U concentration and isotopes have frequently been analysed in speleothems in order to provide chronology, but their use as environmental proxies in their own right has not been comprehensively investigated. In this study, we have investigated the environmental controls of U in a stalagmite from the Central Yangtze Valley in China. This stalagmite grew rapidly throughout the Holocone and contains visible annual layers about 300microns thick. Analysis of a portion of the stalagmite corresponding to the 1970s by electron probe, LA-ICP-MS, and by physical subsampling indicate clear annual cycles in Sr/Ca, Mg/Ca, and Ba/Ca. The reasonably open cave structure and the correlation of Sr/Ca with Mg/Ca suggest that temperature exerts considerable control over these trace element variations. U/Ca also varies seasonally by up to 42 % and shows a clear anti-correlation with Mg/Ca (correlation coefficient -0.64). Based on the inverse relationship between U/Ca and temperature exhibited in other carbonates (e.g. corals) the speleothem U/Ca is suggested to be controlled primarily by temperature and may provide a paleo cave thermometer with less rainfall influence than Mg/Ca. Ongoing monitoring of the cave temperature and humidity will assess the robustness of this conclusion and the sensitivity of speleothem U/Ca to temperature. (234U/238U) in this stalagmite range from 1.733 to 1.872 during the Holocene. The U concentration is high enough (typically 0.48 ppm) and growth rate fast enough, that (234U/238U) can also be measured at a subannual resolution. The expected alpha-recoil control of excess 234U supply suggests that these measurements may provide a measure of the transit time of recharge waters to the stalagmite during the seasonal cycle. Such a proxy would enable deconvolution of temperature and recharge-rate control

  10. Nu2U

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Hans Eibe; Williamson, Trevor

    Abstract In September 2014, nine months after launching a major growth opportunity, Jenny Dunne, managing director of Nu2U, called for an extraordinary status meeting with her COO and CMO. A fast-growing online retailer of refurbished household appliances, Nu2U planned to acquire market share...... by improving internal logistics and delivery services, aided by a new, fully integrated software system. The company's gross profit had been increasing steadily, but recent accounts revealed a fall in net profit margins. It became apparent that implementation of the business plan for the project...... was problematic because of loose governance and poor communication across Nu2U's different specialist functions during planning and implementation. The Nu2U case illustrates how executives' cognition and span of control/overview may be hampered in fast-growing firms and how this ...

  11. Russian Initiatives in Internet Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sergey Sergeevich Shirin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the research of Russian initiatives concerning its participation in international system of Internet governance. In the research, conceptual and theoretic basis for participation of state governments in Internet governance is given, academic discourse of this issue is assessed, the review of main Russian initiatives made from 2005 (since the second stage of the World Summit on Information Society till the present day is carried out. The conclusion is made that the most successful Internet governance initiative of Russia is the implementation of cyrillic top level domains. Much less successful are Russian attempts to reconstruct existing organizational structure of Internet governance. Russian policy is assessed as a policy of preferring loud statements and PR rather than real influence on development of Internet technologies. Russia consideres Internet as political resource and tries to increase its influence on decision making process on a political, not operational level of Internet governance. The author states that federal government of the United States of America has fully lost the control on the domain name systems. These functions are going to be given to the private sector, while ICANN, which was established according to the Memorandum of Understanding/Joint Project Agreement with U.S. Department of Commerce, is becoming a truly independent international organization. Considering this, the author comes to the conclusion that political transformations for the sake of Russia are already made. He also forecast that next initiatives of Russia will be directed to the segmentation of the Internet.

  12. 'Good Governance' dan 'Governability'

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    - Pratikno

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available The article endeavors to trace the outset of governance concept, its dominant meanings and discourse, and its implication towards governability. The central role of government in the governing processes has predominantly been adopted. The concept of governance was emerged precisely in the context of the failure of government as key player in regulation, economic redistribution and political participation. Governance is therefore aimed to emphasize pattern of governing which are based both on democratic mechanism and sound development management. However, practices of such good governance concept –which are mainly adopted and promoted by donor states and agencies– tend to degrade state and/or government authority and legitimacy. Traditional function of the state as sole facilitator of equal societal, political and legal membership among citizens has been diminished. The logic of fair competition has been substituted almost completely by the logic of free competition in nearly all sectors of public life. The concept and practices of good governance have resulted in decayed state authority and failed state which in turn created a condition for "ungovernability". By promoting democratic and humane governance, the article accordingly encourages discourse to reinstall and bring the idea of accountable state back in.

  13. Good Governance and Successful Development: Cross Countries Investigation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tabthip Kraipornsak

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Good Governance is one of the essential factors of success in business as well as in a country’s development. This study aimed at examining the role of good governance and the success of the development. The comparable per head GDP measured in PPP (purchasing power parity was used as the proxy of the successful economic development of countries in the study. Four out of total six factors (indicators being the good governance and the other two being social environmental factors were employed in the investigation following concept of the role of external business environmental factors so called “PESTLE or Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legislative or Legal, and Eco-environmental analysis”. These four indicators of good governance are political stability, control of corruption, rule of law, and voice and accountability which are available from the World Bank’s governance project data base. In addition, the other two indicators, country’s openness and size of population, are the major social variables included in the study which can also affect the success. The total six indicators are taken to examine with the GDP per head to see whether these factors can help countries achieve higher levels of income per head. The study indicates connection between the levels of success with these four indicators of the good governance and the two external social variables. For Thailand, the political instability was found to be a problem of the progress of development among those six indicators.

  14. Dotting the I and Crossing (out) the T in IT Governance: New Challenges for Information Governance

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Borgman, H.; Heier, H.; Bahli, B.; Boekamp, T.; Bui, T.X.; Sprague, R.H.

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors influencing information governance, and particularly the role of new challenges such as cloud-based services, boundary-crossing use of data and new system development practices. Governing information within - as well as outside - the organization,

  15. Study of dissolution factors of U, Th and Ta

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Santos, Maristela; Medeiros, Geiza; Zouain, Felipe; Cunha, Kenya Dias da; Pitassi, Gabriel; Lima, Cintia; Leite, Carlos Vieira Barros; Nascimento, Jose Eduardo; Dalia, Kely Cristina

    2009-01-01

    Air pollution can be a problem in industrial processes, but monitoring and controlling the aerosols in the work place is not enough to estimate the occupational risk due to dust particle inhalation. The solubility in lung fluid is considered to estimate this risk. The aim of this study is to determine in vitro specific dissolution parameters for thorium (Th), uranium (U) and tantalum (Ta) associated to crystal lattice of a niobium mineral (pyrochlore). Th, U and Ta dissolution factors in vitro were obtained using the Gamble solution (Simulant Lung Fluid, SLF), PIXE (Particle Induced X ray Emission) and alpha spectrometry as analytical techniques. Ta, Th and U are present in the pyrochlore crystal lattice as oxide; however they have shown different dissolution parameters. The rapid dissolution fraction (fr), rapid dissolution rate (λr); slow dissolution rate (fs) and slow dissolution fraction ((λs) measured for tantalum oxide were equal to 0.1, 0.45 d -1 and 0.00007 d -1 , respectively; for uranium oxide fr was equal to 0.05, (λr equal to 1.1 d -1 ; (λs equal to 0.000068 d -1 ; for thorium oxide fr was 0.025, (λr was 1.5 d -1 and (λs: 0.000065 d -1 . These results show that chemical behavior of these 3 compounds in the SLF could not be represented by the same parameter. The ratio of uranium concentration in urine and feces samples from workers exposed to pyrochlore dust particle was determined. These values agree with the theoretical values of estimated uranium concentration using specific parameters for uranium oxide present in pyrochlore. (author)

  16. The U.S. Constitution in Today's World.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, John J.

    A comparative study of constitutions and governments in world history is a key to deeper understanding of the U.S. Constitution. While many countries have constitutions, the United States is among a minority of nations in today's world that has a constitutional government. Many nations' constitutions truly guarantee few protections of individual…

  17. Effectiveness of groundwater governance structures and institutions in Tanzania

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gudaga, J. L.; Kabote, S. J.; Tarimo, A. K. P. R.; Mosha, D. B.; Kashaigili, J. J.

    2018-05-01

    This paper examines effectiveness of groundwater governance structures and institutions in Mbarali District, Mbeya Region. The paper adopts exploratory sequential research design to collect quantitative and qualitative data. A random sample of 90 groundwater users with 50% women was involved in the survey. Descriptive statistics, Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann-Whitney U test were used to compare the differences in responses between groups, while qualitative data were subjected to content analysis. The results show that the Village Councils and Community Water Supply Organizations (COWSOs) were effective in governing groundwater. The results also show statistical significant difference on the overall extent of effectiveness of the Village Councils in governing groundwater between villages ( P = 0.0001), yet there was no significant difference ( P > 0.05) between male and female responses on the effectiveness of Village Councils, village water committees and COWSOs. The Mann-Whitney U test showed statistical significant difference between male and female responses on effectiveness of formal and informal institutions ( P = 0.0001), such that informal institutions were effective relative to formal institutions. The Kruskal-Wallis H test also showed statistical significant difference ( P ≤ 0.05) on the extent of effectiveness of formal institutions, norms and values between low, medium and high categories. The paper concludes that COWSOs were more effective in governing groundwater than other groundwater governance structures. Similarly, norms and values were more effective than formal institutions. The paper recommends sensitization and awareness creation on formal institutions so that they can influence water users' behaviour to govern groundwater.

  18. Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-Saddam Governance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Katzman, Kenneth

    2004-01-01

    .... Administrations had ruled out major U.S. military action to change Iraq's regime, believing such action would be risky and not necessarily justified by the level of Iraq's lack of compliance on WMD disarmament...

  19. Iraq: U.S. Regime Change Efforts and Post-Saddam Governance

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Katzman, Kenneth

    2003-01-01

    .... Administrations had ruled out major U.S. military action to change Iraq's regime, believing such action would be risky and not necessarily justified by the level of Iraq's lack of compliance on WMD disarmament...

  20. Governance in Health – The Need for Exchange and Evidence; Comment on “Governance, Government, and the Search for New Provider Models”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tata Chanturidze

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Governance in health is cited as one of the key factors in balancing the concerns of the government and public sector with the interests of civil society/private players, but often remains poorly described and operationalized. Richard Saltman and Antonio Duran look at two aspects in the search for new provider models in a context of health markets signalling liberalisation: (i the role of the government to balance public and private interests and responsibilities in delivering care through modernised governance arrangements, and (ii the finding that operational complexities may hinder well–designed provider governance models, unless governance reflects country-specific realities. This commentary builds on the discussion by Saltman and Duran, and argues that the concept of governance needs to be clearly defined and operationalized in order to be helpful for policy debate as well as for the development of an applicable framework for performance improvement. It provides a working definition of governance and includes a reflection on the prevailing cultural norms in an organization or society upon which any governance needs to be build. It proposes to explore whether the “evidence-based governance” concept can be introduced to generate knowledge about innovative and effective governance models, and concludes that studies similar to the one by Saltman and Duran can inform this debate.

  1. State Government Revenue Recovery from the Great Recession

    OpenAIRE

    James Alm; David L. Sjoquist

    2014-01-01

    The "Great Recession" lasted from December 2007 to June 2009, and it wreaked havoc on the revenues of state (and local) governments. While the U.S. economy has improved since the end of the Great Recession, state government revenues have in most cases still not completely recovered. We use various indicators to measure how different states have -- or have not -- recovered in the aftermath of the Great Recession, and we also attempt to explain why these different patterns of recovery have emer...

  2. Pilot project for implementing corporate governance of IT

    OpenAIRE

    Fernández Martínez, Antonio; Gumbau Mezquita, José Pascual; Llorens Largo, Faraón

    2012-01-01

    This article presents the results of the IT Governance Enhancement Project (ITGEP) carried out in three Spanish universities (the University of Murcia, Jaume I University and the Polytechnic University of Cartagena) on the initiative of the IT Commission of the Spanish Association of University Rectors (CRUE). The aim of the project was to apply the reference framework of Governance of IT for Universities (GTI4U) in order to determine the best practices currently carried out in the three univ...

  3. People, Governance and Forests—The Stumbling Blocks in Forest Governance Reform in Latin America

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arnoldo Contreras-Hermosilla

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available This article examines common barriers to achieving adequate levels of forest resource governance in countries of Latin America. It looks at the deficiencies of the policy and regulatory frameworks affecting forests, the common failure to impose the rule of law, the main factors that constrain the effectiveness of government actions in the forest sector and at the political barriers to introducing reforms for change in governance structures. The elimination of these barriers acquires new importance in the implementation of successful REDD+ programs in the countries of the region.

  4. U-series isotopes in arc magma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hawkesworth, C.; Turner, S.; McDermott, F.; Peate, D.; Van Calsteren, P.

    1997-12-31

    Thorium is not readily mobilized in the fluid component along destructive plate margins. Uranium is mobilized, and the resultant fractionation in U/Th can be used to estimate the rates of transfer slab derived components through the mantle wedge. The variations in Th/Yb, and by implication in the fractionation-corrected Th abundances of arc magmas largely depend on the contributions from subducted sediments. It is inferred that the distinctive high Th/Ta ratios of subduction related magmas primarily reflect the Th/Ta ratios of the subducted sediments, and that such high Th/Ta ratios are generated by processes other than those associated with recent subduction-related magmatism. Uranium and thorium isotopes have also been used to evaluate magma residence times within the crust. Thus, separated minerals and groundmass from six rocks erupted in the last 4,000 years from Soufriere on St. Vincent in the Lesser Antilles, scatter about a 50,000 year errorchron on the U-Th equiline diagram (Heath et al., 1977). Models are currently being developed to investigate how such apparent ages may relate to calculated replenishment times in steady state systems. Bulk continental crust has a lower U/Th ratio (0.25) than at least some estimates for the bulk Earth (0.26) and the depleted upper mantle (0.39). However, the island arc rocks with low U/Th ratios appear to have inherited those from subducted sediments, and arc rocks with a low sediment contribution have significantly higher U/Th. Consequently, the U/Th ratios of new crustal material generated along destructive plate margins are significantly higher than those of bulk continental crust. The low average U/Th of bulk crust may be primarily due to different crust generation processes in the Archaean, when U would be less mobile because conditions were less oxidising, and when residual garnet may have had more of a role in crust generation processes. Extended abstract. 4 figs., 23 refs.

  5. Independent Assessment of U.S. Government Efforts against Al-Qaeda

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-10-01

    in 2003, the government managed to eliminate the group’s network inside the kingdom by 2006. Concurrently in 2006, Bin Laden’s personal secretary...2017. 67 Brief Documentary History of the Department of Homeland Security: 2001-2008, United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), undated... managed by al-Zawahiri.237 The GSPC was weak at the time of the merger, lacking weapons, popular support, and morale.238 Droukdel may have hoped

  6. Civil Affairs Framework For Executing Governance

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302, and to the Office of Management ...19 7. Theory of Competitive Control ...................................................21 D. PRINCIPLES OF GOOD GOVERNANCE...84 E. UNITED STATES INSTITUTE OF PEACE (USIP) AND THE U.S. ARMY PEACEKEEPING AND STABILITY OPERATIONS INSTITUTE’S (PKSOI) GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF

  7. E-Government and Citizen Adoption of Innovations: Factors Underlying Citizen Use of the Internet for State Tax Filing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boone, Michael A.

    2012-01-01

    Electronic government has been embraced by many organizations seeking to dramatically improve service delivery, but results to date have often fallen short of expectations. This dissertation is focused on state revenue agencies and their electronic tax filing mechanisms for state individual income taxes. It asks: What factors best explain whether…

  8. Governance principles for wildlife conservation in the 21st century

    Science.gov (United States)

    Decker, Daniel J.; Smith, Christian; Forstchen, Ann; Hare, Darragh; Pomeranz, Emily; Doyle-Capitman, Catherine; Schuler, Krysten; Organ, John F.

    2016-01-01

    Wildlife conservation is losing ground in the U.S. for many reasons. The net effect is declines in species and habitat. To address this trend, the wildlife conservation institution (i.e., all customs, practices, organizations and agencies, policies, and laws with respect to wildlife) must adapt to contemporary social–ecological conditions. Adaptation could be supported by clear guidelines reflecting contemporary expectations for wildlife governance. We combine elements of public trust thinking and good governance to produce a broad set of wildlife governance principles. These principles represent guidance for ecologically and socially responsible wildlife conservation. They address persistent, systemic problems and, if adopted, will bring the institution into line with modern expectations for governance of public natural resources. Implementation will require changes in values, objectives, and processes of the wildlife conservation institution. These changes may be difficult, but promise improved wildlife conservation outcomes and increased support for conservation. We introduce challenges and opportunities associated with the principles, and encourage dialogue about them among scientists, practitioners, and other leaders in U.S. wildlife conservation. The principles alone will not change the course of conservation for the better, but may be necessary for such change to occur.

  9. Nuclear proliferation: the U.S.-Indian conflict

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chellaney, Brahma.

    1993-01-01

    The history of the present conflicting positions of U.S. and India on the issue of nuclear proliferation is narrated and various aspects of this U.S. India controversy are studied. These aspects are: U.S.-India cooperation in the nuclear field in the fifties and sixties; India's peaceful nuclear explosion (PNE) in 1974 and U.S. policy of containment through denial of nuclear fuel and spare parts supply for Tarapur Atomic Power Station; and the political, technical and legal aspects of the nuclear conflict between U.S. and India. Since India's PNE in 1974, U.S. has made India a target of its non-proliferation strategy and is coordinating multinational efforts in erecting barriers in the flow of dual-use sensitive technologies to India. The recent instance is U.S. pressure on Russia to cancel the contract with India to sell cryogenic rocket engine technology required for India's civilian space programme. Even though apparently the conflict is over nuclear proliferation issue, in essence it is a conflict between U.S. determination to restrict high-technology transfer to India on one hand and India's resolve to maintain its nuclear independence on the other hand. The study is based on primary sources in the form of U.S. and Indian government documents. Texts of important government documents are given in appendices and bibliographies of primary and secondary sources used in the study are included. (M.G.B.)

  10. Government Publications as Bibliographic References in the Periodical Literature of International Relations: A Citation Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brill, Margaret S.

    1990-01-01

    Describes a study that used citation analysis to identify the government publications cited in international relations journals for 1964, 1974, and 1984. U.S. government, foreign government, and international organization publications and documents are compared by citation rate; implications for collection development in libraries are discussed;…

  11. Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: An analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kundis Craig, Robin; Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Allen, Craig R.; Arnold, Craig Anthony (Tony); Birge, Hannah E.; DeCaro, Daniel A.; Fremier, Alexander K.; Gosnell, Hannah; Schlager, Edella

    2017-01-01

    Adaptive governance must work “on the ground,” that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological systems (SESs) to adapt to climate change and other impacts. To address the continuing and accelerating alterations that climate change is bringing to SESs, adaptive governance generally will require more flexibility than prior governance institutions have often allowed. However, to function as good governance, adaptive governance must pay real attention to the problem of how to balance this increased need for flexibility with continuing governance stability so that it can foster adaptation to change without being perceived or experienced as perpetually destabilizing, disruptive, and unfair. Flexibility and stability serve different purposes in governance, and a variety of tools exist to strike different balances between them while still preserving the governance institution’s legitimacy among the people governed. After reviewing those purposes and the implications of climate change for environmental governance, we examine psychological insights into the structuring of adaptive governance and the variety of legal tools available to incorporate those insights into adaptive governance regimes. Because the substantive goals of governance systems will differ among specific systems, we do not purport to comment on what the normative or substantive goals of law should be. Instead, we conclude that attention to process and procedure (including participation), as well as increased use of substantive standards (instead of rules), may allow an increased level of substantive flexibility to operate with legitimacy and fairness, providing the requisite levels of psychological, social, and economic stability needed for communities to adapt successfully to the Anthropocene.

  12. Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: an analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin Kundis. Craig

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Adaptive governance must work "on the ground," that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological systems (SESs to adapt to climate change and other impacts. To address the continuing and accelerating alterations that climate change is bringing to SESs, adaptive governance generally will require more flexibility than prior governance institutions have often allowed. However, to function as good governance, adaptive governance must pay real attention to the problem of how to balance this increased need for flexibility with continuing governance stability so that it can foster adaptation to change without being perceived or experienced as perpetually destabilizing, disruptive, and unfair. Flexibility and stability serve different purposes in governance, and a variety of tools exist to strike different balances between them while still preserving the governance institution's legitimacy among the people governed. After reviewing those purposes and the implications of climate change for environmental governance, we examine psychological insights into the structuring of adaptive governance and the variety of legal tools available to incorporate those insights into adaptive governance regimes. Because the substantive goals of governance systems will differ among specific systems, we do not purport to comment on what the normative or substantive goals of law should be. Instead, we conclude that attention to process and procedure (including participation, as well as increased use of substantive standards (instead of rules, may allow an increased level of substantive flexibility to operate with legitimacy and fairness, providing the requisite levels of psychological, social, and economic stability needed for communities to adapt successfully to the Anthropocene.

  13. The Usage of E-Governance Applications by Higher Education Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Öktem, M. Kemal; Demirhan, Kamil; Demirhan, Haydar

    2014-01-01

    This study aims to analyze the factors affecting the Internet usage of university students using e-governance applications. It is important to examine these factors to understand why the online citizen participation is not increasing as expected, while Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) usage is improving in governance. Governance is…

  14. Polycentrism in Global Health Governance Scholarship

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosun, Jale

    2018-01-01

    Drawing on an in-depth analysis of eight global health networks, a recent essay in this journal argued that global health networks face four challenges to their effectiveness: problem definition, positioning, coalition-building, and governance. While sharing the argument of the essay concerned, in this commentary, we argue that these analytical concepts can be used to explicate a concept that has implicitly been used in global health governance scholarship for quite a few years. While already prominent in the discussion of climate change governance, for instance, global health governance scholarship could make progress by looking at global health governance as being polycentric. Concisely, polycentric forms of governance mix scales, mechanisms, and actors. Drawing on the essay, we propose a polycentric approach to the study of global health governance that incorporates coalitionbuilding tactics, internal governance and global political priority as explanatory factors. PMID:29325406

  15. Factors of quality of financial report of local government in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muda, Iskandar; Haris Harahap, Abdul; Erlina; Ginting, Syafruddin; Maksum, Azhar; Abubakar, Erwin

    2018-03-01

    The purpose of this research is to find out whether the Accounting Information System and Internal Control in Local Revenue Office to the affect the Quality of Financial Report of Local Government. The sampling was conducted by using simple random sampling method in which the sample was determined without considering strata. The data research was conducted by distributing the questionnaires. The results showed that the degree of Accounting Information System and Internal Control simultaneously affect the Quality of Financial Report of Local Government. However, partially, Partially, accounting information system influence to the quality of financial report of local government and the internal control does not affect the quality of financial report.

  16. Identification of Site Selection Factors in the U.S. Franchise Restaurant Industry: An Exploratory Study

    OpenAIRE

    Park, Kunsoon

    2002-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to identify and rank the importance of the site selection factors that influence the U.S. franchise restaurant industry as well as rank the confidence level of the experts. To identify the site selection factors, this study sought assistance and support from restaurant professionals. The Delphi technique was used to elicit the opinions of a panel of experts regarding the site selection factors. The panel was composed of restaurant professionals of restaurant c...

  17. The status of vaccine availability and associated factors in Tshwane government clinics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ntombenhle Judith Ngcobo

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Background. Vaccines have greatly contributed to the control of vaccine-preventable diseases and to human development. Efforts by many countries to introduce new vaccines are a significant move towards achieving the sustainable development goal for health. However, effective vaccine supply chains that ensure an uninterrupted supply of vaccines are pivotal to attaining universal access to life-saving vaccines and sustainable development. The introduction of new vaccines puts a strain on supply chains; South Africa (SA is no exception, as there are indications of vaccine stock-outs in clinics. Objective. To establish the status of vaccine availability and associated factors in government health facilities of Tshwane Health District in Gauteng Province, SA. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted in a sample of randomly selected government clinics in the Tshwane health district of Gauteng Province. Data were collected using a structured measurement instrument in participating clinics. Data were analysed using Excel-based software (Microsoft, USA. Results. A total of 31 clinics participated. In the preceding 12 months, clinics had experienced vaccine stock-outs, especially of the three newer vaccines: pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, rotavirus and Pentaxim. These were also out of stock for a long duration; for over 2 weeks in a majority of clinics. The causes of vaccine stock-outs were: poor management of stock, district depot out of stock, unreliable deliveries, lack of pharmacy assistants and limited fridge capacity. Further burdening the situation is the ineffective emergency-ordering system. Conclusion. Significant shortages of vaccines, which are essential drugs, occur in Tshwane government clinics. Vaccine supply chain issues and vaccine shortages should be treated as a priority at all levels of the healthcare system; therefore, a similar study should be conducted at national level. It is recommended that the vaccine supply chain should

  18. Governing how we care: contesting community and defining difference in U.S. public health programs

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Shaw, Susan J., Dr

    2012-01-01

    .... In Governing How We Care, medical anthropologist Susan Shaw examines the relationship between government and citizens using case studies of needle exchange and Welfare-to-Work programs to illustrate...

  19. Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-06-06

    Science Monitor, February 6, 2007. 10 For example, Senator John Kerry voiced specific concerns about alleged Qatari government and private support...Sen. Kerry Speaks on Middle East to Brookings Institute,” April 2, 2009. Qatar: Background and U.S. Relations Congressional Research Service 6...alcohol, which is available in licensed premises such as the bars of major hotels and clubs. 53 U.S

  20. Hydrogen peroxide production is not primarily increased in human myotubes established from type 2 diabetic subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minet, A D; Gaster, M

    2011-09-01

    Increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been implicated in the development of insulin resistance in type 2 diabetes. To date, it is unknown whether increased mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in skeletal muscle from patients with type 2 diabetes is primarily increased or a secondary adaptation to environmental, lifestyle, and hormonal factors. This study investigates whether ROS production is primarily increased in isolated diabetic myotubes. Mitochondrial membrane potential, hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), superoxide, and mitochondrial mass were determined in human myotubes precultured under normophysiological conditions. Furthermore, the corresponding ATP synthesis was measured in isolated mitochondria. Muscle biopsies were taken from 10 lean subjects, 10 obese subjects, and 10 subjects with type 2 diabetes; satellite cells were isolated, cultured, and differentiated to myotubes. Mitochondrial mass, membrane potential/mitochondrial mass, and superoxide-production/mitochondrial mass were not different between groups. In contrast, H(2)O(2) production/mitochondrial mass and ATP production were significantly reduced in diabetic myotubes compared to lean controls (P production is not primarily increased in diabetic myotubes but rather is reduced. Moreover, the comparable ATP/H(2)O(2) ratios indicate that the reduced ROS production in diabetic myotubes parallels the reduced ATP production because ROS production in diabetic myotubes must be considered to be in a proportion comparable to lean. Thus, the increased ROS production seen in skeletal muscle of type 2 diabetic patients is an adaptation to the in vivo conditions.

  1. Afghanistan: Post Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-12

    by desertions. The mujahedin benefited from U.S. weapons, provided through the CIA in cooperation with Pakistan’s Inter-Service Intelligence...detaining a political rival in his northern redoubt, and Ghani reportedly is weighing the costs and benefits of ordering Dostam to undergo trial. Some... hiking south of Kabul in 2012; and a journalist (Paul Overby) seized in 2014 after crossing into Afghanistan to try to interview the Haqqani

  2. Study on the radioactivity and soil-to-plant transfer factor of 226Ra, 234U and 238U radionuclides in irrigated farms from the northwestern Saudi Arabia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Hamarneh, Ibrahim F.; Alkhomashi, N.; Almasoud, Fahad I.

    2016-01-01

    The present study addresses the soil-to-plant transfer factors (TFs) of 226 Ra, 234 U and 238 U for 13 types of vegetables and agricultural crops planted under semi-arid environment in the northwestern part of Saudi Arabia. Crop plants along with plant-growing soils were collected from selected farms, which are irrigated from the non-renewable Saq aquifer, and investigated for their radioactivity content by means of alpha spectrometry after applying a radiochemical separation procedure. Hence, TF data for plant roots, green parts (stem and leaves) and fruits were calculated and contrasted to those reported in the literature. Substantial differences were observed in the TFs of Ra and U radioisotopes among plant species. In crop fruits, eggplant exhibited the highest uptake of 226 Ra (TF value of 0.11), while beans (0.16) have the highest TF for 234 U and 238 U. The geometric mean TF values indicated that the crop roots tend to accumulate Ra and U about four to six-folds higher than fruits. The relation between TF values and soil concentrations showed a weak correlation. Activity ratios between radionuclides in crop plants indicated the preferential translocation of U in fruits than Ra even though Ra is more available for root uptake. The fruit/root (F/R) ratios obtained for the investigated plants shown that pepper had the smallest F/R ratios (0.07 ± 0.01, 0.12 ± 0.02 and 0.11 ± 0.02 for 226 Ra, 234 U and 238 U, respectively), while the highest F/R ratios were observed in potatoes (0.71 ± 0.15, 0.44 ± 0.10 and 0.40 ± 0.08 for 226 Ra, 234 U and 238 U, respectively). The TF and F/R ratios data of natural radionuclides in the study region can hopefully improve the scientific knowledge for future studies. - Highlights: • Ra and U isotopes were measured in soils and plant crops in farms in Saudi Arabia. • Ra and U activities in plant roots (R) slightly exceeded that in their fruits (F). • Ra/U activity ratios showed preferential translocation of U

  3. Urban governance and spatial inequality in service delivery: a case study of solid waste management in Abuja, Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adama, Onyanta

    2012-09-01

    Spatial inequality in service delivery is a common feature in African cities. Several factors account for the phenomenon but there is growing attention towards urban governance and the role of the state. Urban governance policies such as privatization serve as key strategies through which the state regulates and (re)produces spatial inequality in service delivery. This study examined how governance practices related to privatization and the regulatory role of the state reinforce spatial inequalities in the delivery of solid waste services in Abuja, Nigeria. It focused primarily on the issue of cost recovery. Privatization became a major focus in Abuja in 2003 when the government launched a pilot scheme. Although it has brought improvements in service delivery, privatization has also increased the gap in the quality of services delivered in different parts of the city. Drawing on empirical data, the study revealed that little sensitivity to income and affordability, and to income differentials between neighbourhoods in the fixing of user charges and in the choice of the billing method is contributing to spatial inequalities in service delivery. Furthermore, the study suggests that these practices are linked to a broader issue, a failure of the government to see the people as partners. It therefore calls for more inclusive governance especially in decision-making processes. The study also emphasizes the need for a policy document on solid waste management, as this would encourage a critical assessment of vital issues including how privatization is to be funded, especially in low-income areas.

  4. Factors Contributing To The Sustainability Of 5S Programmes In Government Hospitals In Regional Director Of Health Services Area Kurunegala

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dr. K.W.C.U.K Kendangamuwa

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction 5S is the stepping stone for many quality improvement concepts and its roots date back to 16th century. When successfully implemented 5S gives many benefits to the organization as well as its stakeholders. Though 5S itself has a tool to sustain most of the organizations find it difficult to sustain the 5S practice over the time. Therefore the objective of this study was to find out the factors contributing to sustainability of 5S programmes in Government Hospitals in RDHS area Kurunegala. Methodology This study was a descriptive cross sectional study with two components. First component was to identify the 5S sustaining hospitals from not sustaining hospitals by validated evaluation sheet. Second component was to determine the factors contributing to sustainability of 5S programmes in selected study setting. Self-administrated questionnaire was used for this purpose. Total study population was 543 employees of all the categories of hospital staff. Calculated sample size was 422 and 375 were responded to the questionnaire giving response rate of 88.9. Results The study revealed that the implemented 5S programmes were sustaining in eight hospitals out of ten i.e. sustaining rate was 80. When it considered the degree of sustainability 50 of the selected hospitals reported more than 70 sustainability. This was considered as favourable trend in government health sector in healthcare quality point of view. Ten factors were studied as contributing factors for the 5S sustainability. Socio- demographic factors were also considered. Those ten factors were top management commitment leadership of the organization commitment of middle amp frontline managers commitment amp satisfaction of employees training amp changing attitude of employees motivation of employees organizational culture group cohesiveness community participation and customer satisfaction. Study revealed that organizational leadership customer satisfaction community

  5. Development of Corporate Governance Performance Indicators for Czech Manufacturing Companies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pavláková Docekalová Marie

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Effective corporate governance is a key element in achieving long-term success for any company. The codes of conduct that corporate governance adopts directly determine the sustainability of business activities. With this in mind, this paper aims to demonstrate the results of research that identifies a set of key indicators of corporate governance performance. The presented research is quantitative. In order to identify key performance indicators, factor analysis was employed. It was found that corporate governance performance is influenced by two factors. For the first factor, the relationship between corporate governance and stakeholders is measured by key indicators: percentage of women within CG, contributions to political parties, politicians and related institutions and number of complaints received from stakeholders. The second factor, strategy & compliance, is generated from the following: percentage of strategic objectives met and total number of sanctions for breaching the law. This research aims to assist both academic and corporate practitioners who want to improve corporate governance performance and, through the use of key performance indicators, support the transparency and sustainability of their business.

  6. Flood risk governance arrangements in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matczak, P.; Lewandowski, J.; Choryński, A.; Szwed, M.; Kundzewicz, Z. W.

    2015-06-01

    The STAR-FLOOD (Strengthening and Redesigning European Flood Risk Practices Towards Appropriate and Resilient Flood Risk Governance Arrangements) project, funded by the European Commission, investigates strategies for dealing with flood risk in six European countries: Belgium, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden and in 18 vulnerable urban regions in these countries. The project aims to describe, analyse, explain, and evaluate the main similarities and differences between the selected EU Member States in terms of development and performance of flood risk governance arrangements. It also discusses the scientific and societal importance of these similarities and differences. Attention is paid to identification and characterization of shifts in flood risk governance arrangements and in flood risk management strategies and to determination of triggering factors and restraining factors. An assessment of a change of resilience and appropriateness (legitimacy, effectiveness, efficiency) of flood risk governance arrangements in Poland is presented and comparison with other European countries is offered.

  7. Flood risk governance arrangements in Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Matczak

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The STAR-FLOOD (Strengthening and Redesigning European Flood Risk Practices Towards Appropriate and Resilient Flood Risk Governance Arrangements project, funded by the European Commission, investigates strategies for dealing with flood risk in six European countries: Belgium, the UK, France, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden and in 18 vulnerable urban regions in these countries. The project aims to describe, analyse, explain, and evaluate the main similarities and differences between the selected EU Member States in terms of development and performance of flood risk governance arrangements. It also discusses the scientific and societal importance of these similarities and differences. Attention is paid to identification and characterization of shifts in flood risk governance arrangements and in flood risk management strategies and to determination of triggering factors and restraining factors. An assessment of a change of resilience and appropriateness (legitimacy, effectiveness, efficiency of flood risk governance arrangements in Poland is presented and comparison with other European countries is offered.

  8. 29 CFR 780.607 - “Primarily employed” in agriculture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false âPrimarily employedâ in agriculture. 780.607 Section 780... AGRICULTURE, PROCESSING OF AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES, AND RELATED SUBJECTS UNDER THE FAIR LABOR STANDARDS ACT Employment in Agriculture and Livestock Auction Operations Under the Section 13(b)(13) Exemption Requirements...

  9. Determinants of the Government Bond Yield in Spain: A Loanable Funds Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu Hsing

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper applies demand and supply analysis to examine the government bond yield in Spain. The sample ranges from 1999.Q1 to 2014.Q2. The EGARCH model is employed in empirical work. The Spanish government bond yield is positively associated with the government debt/GDP ratio, the short-term Treasury bill rate, the expected inflation rate, the U.S. 10 year government bond yield and a dummy variable representing the debt crisis and negatively affected by the GDP growth rate and the expected nominal effective exchange rate.

  10. Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-15

    banks existed during Taliban era. Some limited credit card use. Some Afghan police now paid by cell phone (E-Paisa). Access to Electricity 15%-20...another policy review, taking into account the McChrystal recommendations and the marred August 20, 2009, presidential election. Some senior U.S...seen as a prelude to a broader and more complex bilateral free trade agreement, but negotiations on an FTA have not yet begun. On December 13, 2004

  11. Serum dioxin and psychological functioning in U.S. Air Force veterans of the Vietnam War.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michalek, Joel E; Barrett, Drue H; Morris, Robert D; Jackson, William G

    2003-02-01

    Using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory, we assessed the psychological functioning of U.S. Air Force veterans exposed to Agent Orange and its contaminant, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlodibenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin), during the Vietnam War. Index subjects were veterans of Operation Ranch Hand (N = 1,109). Comparisons (N = 1,493) were U.S. Air Force veterans not involved with spraying herbicides. We found few consistent psychological abnormalities associated with serum dioxin levels. Ranch Hand veterans with higher dioxin levels showed some difficulties in anxiety, somatization, depression, and a denial of psychological factors. However, those with background levels also showed indications of emotional distress, primarily in emotional numbing and lability; a guarded, suspicious, and withdrawn style of relating to others; and unusual thoughts or behaviors.

  12. Conversion factors: SI metric and U.S. customary units

    Science.gov (United States)

    ,

    1977-01-01

    The policy of the U.S. Geological Survey is to foster use of the International System of Units (SI) which was defined by the 11th General Conference of Weights and Measures in 1960. This modernized metric system constitutes an international "language" by means of which communications throughout the world's scientific and economic communities may be improved. This publication is designed to familiarize the reader with the SI units of measurement that correspond to the common units frequently used in programs of the Geological Survey. In the near future, SI units will be used exclusively in most publications of the Survey; the conversion factors provided herein will help readers to obtain a "feel" for each unit and to "think metric."

  13. Urban forests' potential to supply marketable carbon emission offsets: a survey of municipal governments in the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neelam C. Poudyal; Jacek P. Siry; J. M. Bowker

    2010-01-01

    This study assesses the motivation, willingness, and technical as well as managerial capacities of U.S. cities to store carbon and sell carbon offsets. Based on a national survey of urban foresters, arborists, and other officials responsible for urban forest management within U.S. municipal governments, results indicate that local governments are interested in selling...

  14. Factors governing sustainable groundwater pumping near a river.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yingqi; Hubbard, Susan; Finsterle, Stefan

    2011-01-01

    The objective of this paper was to provide new insights into processes affecting riverbank filtration (RBF). We consider a system with an inflatable dam installed for enhancing water production from downstream collector wells. Using a numerical model, we investigate the impact of groundwater pumping and dam operation on the hydrodynamics in the aquifer and water production. We focus our study on two processes that potentially limit water production of an RBF system: the development of an unsaturated zone and riverbed clogging. We quantify river clogging by calibrating a time-dependent riverbed permeability function based on knowledge of pumping rate, river stage, and temperature. The dynamics of the estimated riverbed permeability reflects clogging and scouring mechanisms. Our results indicate that (1) riverbed permeability is the dominant factor affecting infiltration needed for sustainable RBF production; (2) dam operation can influence pumping efficiency and prevent the development of an unsaturated zone beneath the riverbed only under conditions of sufficient riverbed permeability; (3) slow river velocity, caused by dam raising during summer months, may lead to sedimentation and deposition of fine-grained material within the riverbed, which may clog the riverbed, limiting recharge to the collector wells and contributing to the development of an unsaturated zone beneath the riverbed; and (4) higher river flow velocities, caused by dam lowering during winter storms, scour the riverbed and thus increase its permeability. These insights can be used as the basis for developing sustainable water management of a RBF system. Journal compilation © 2010 National Ground Water Association. No claim to original US government works.

  15. 1 CFR 11.4 - The United States Government Manual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... Documents under the general direction of the Administrative Committee. The online edition of the Manual... Government Printing Office (44 U.S.C. 4101). [54 FR 9677, Mar. 7, 1989, as amended at 58 FR 64872, Dec. 10...

  16. Comparison of risk management regulation from a corporate governance perspective within the German and united states legal areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Remmer Sassen

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Risk management is one of the main corporate governance components or management tasks. This paper details a comparison of risk management regulation from a corporate governance perspective of listed stock corporations in Germany and the United States (U.S.. Obviously, there are differences and commonalities between the national legal norms and the regulatory levels of risk management in both countries. The comparison helps to understand different traditions and practices in terms of how significant corporate governance rules are for risk management. Therefore, this article intends to inspire future research on the regulation of risk management across different regions and explore the relevance of national interests in the regulation of risk management. A principal finding of the comparison is that the U.S. corporate governance system seems to be more strongly regulated than the German system. This results from the powerful and coordinating role of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC. Thus, the seemingly more liberal system of non-binding standards in the U.S. has a higher impact on the regulation of risk management than in Germany.

  17. Science.gov: gateway to government science information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fitzpatrick, Roberta Bronson

    2010-01-01

    Science.gov is a portal to more than 40 scientific databases and 200 million pages of science information via a single query. It connects users to science information and research results from the U.S. government. This column will provide readers with an overview of the resource, as well as basic search hints.

  18. Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) in breast cancer - correlation with traditional prognostic factors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lampelj, Maja; Arko, Darja; Cas-Sikosek, Nina; Kavalar, Rajko; Ravnik, Maja; Jezersek-Novakovic, Barbara; Dobnik, Sarah; Dovnik, Nina Fokter; Takac, Iztok

    2015-01-01

    Urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor type-1 (PAI-1) play a key role in tumour invasion and metastasis. High levels of both proteolytic enzymes are associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the correlation between traditional prognostic factors and uPA and PAI-1 expression in primary tumour of breast cancer patients. 606 primary breast cancer patients were enrolled in the prospective study in the Department of gynaecological oncology and breast oncology at the University Medical Centre Maribor between the years 2004 and 2010. We evaluated the traditional prognostic factors (age, menopausal status, tumour size, pathohistological type, histologic grade, lymph node status, lymphovascular invasion and hormone receptor status), together with uPA and PAI-1. We used Spearman’s rank correlation, Mann Whitney U test and χ 2 test for statistical analysis. Our findings indicate a positive correlation between uPA and tumour size (p < 0.001), grade (p < 0.001), histological type (p < 0.001), lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.01) and a negative correlation between uPA and hormone receptor status (p < 0.001). They also indicate a positive correlation between PAI-1 and tumour size (p = 0.004), grade (p < 0.001), pathohistological type (p < 0.001) and negative correlation between PAI-1 and hormone receptor status (p = 0.002). Our study showed a relationship between uPA and PAI-1 and traditional prognostic factors. Their role as prognostic and predictive factors remains to be further evaluated

  19. 76 FR 26948 - Small Business Jobs Act Tour: Selected Provisions Having an Effect on Government Contracting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-10

    ...] Small Business Jobs Act Tour: Selected Provisions Having an Effect on Government Contracting AGENCY: U.S... INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard L. Miller, Small Business Job's Act Tour-Office of Government Contracting and..., concerning the Small Business Act Tour: Selected Provisions Having an Effect on Government that announced a...

  20. Laser Ablation in situ (U-Th-Sm)/He and U-Pb Double-Dating of Apatite and Zircon: Techniques and Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    McInnes, B.; Danišík, M.; Evans, N.; McDonald, B.; Becker, T.; Vermeesch, P.

    2015-12-01

    We present a new laser-based technique for rapid, quantitative and automated in situ microanalysis of U, Th, Sm, Pb and He for applications in geochronology, thermochronometry and geochemistry (Evans et al., 2015). This novel capability permits a detailed interrogation of the time-temperature history of rocks containing apatite, zircon and other accessory phases by providing both (U-Th-Sm)/He and U-Pb ages (+trace element analysis) on single crystals. In situ laser microanalysis offers several advantages over conventional bulk crystal methods in terms of safety, cost, productivity and spatial resolution. We developed and integrated a suite of analytical instruments including a 193 nm ArF excimer laser system (RESOlution M-50A-LR), a quadrupole ICP-MS (Agilent 7700s), an Alphachron helium mass spectrometry system and swappable flow-through and ultra-high vacuum analytical chambers. The analytical protocols include the following steps: mounting/polishing in PFA Teflon using methods similar to those adopted for fission track etching; laser He extraction and analysis using a 2 s ablation at 5 Hz and 2-3 J/cm2fluence; He pit volume measurement using atomic force microscopy, and U-Th-Sm-Pb (plus optional trace element) analysis using traditional laser ablation methods. The major analytical challenges for apatite include the low U, Th and He contents relative to zircon and the elevated common Pb content. On the other hand, apatite typically has less extreme and less complex zoning of parent isotopes (primarily U and Th). A freeware application has been developed for determining (U-Th-Sm)/He ages from the raw analytical data and Iolite software was used for U-Pb age and trace element determination. In situ double-dating has successfully replicated conventional U-Pb and (U-Th)/He age variations in xenocrystic zircon from the diamondiferous Ellendale lamproite pipe, Western Australia and increased zircon analytical throughput by a factor of 50 over conventional methods

  1. Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-12-02

    years, including one on October 24, 2012, that the Taliban does not seek to regain a monopoly of power. He also was reportedly pivotal in reaching...killed 72 persons at a market in eastern Afghanistan. The other was a grenade attack on the well-guarded Kabul International Airport.22 If these...U.S. officials also attributed to the group the June 28, 2011, attack on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul; a September 10, 2011, truck bombing

  2. Factors associated with support for smoke-free policies among government workers in Six Chinese cities: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kegler, Michelle C; Hua, Xinwei; Solomon, Madeleine; Wu, Yiqun; Zheng, Pin Pin; Eriksen, Michael

    2014-11-04

    A certain level of public support for smoke-free environments is a prerequisite for adoption and enforcement of policies and can be used as an indicator of readiness for legislative action. This study assessed support for comprehensive smoke-free policies in a range of settings such as hotels and colleges among government workers in China and identified factors associated with support for smoke-free policies. Understanding the extent to which government workers, a large segment of the working population in China, report a smoke-free workplace and support for smoke-free policies may be important indicators of readiness for strengthened policies given their role in formulating, implementing and enforcing regulations. Data were from an evaluation of the Tobacco Free Cities initiative of Emory University's Global Health Institute-China Tobacco Control Partnership. Self-administered surveys were completed by 6,646 workers in 160 government agencies in six Chinese cities. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with support for smoke-free worksites, bars, hotels, and colleges. Over half (54.6%) of participants were male. A large percentage of the male workers smoked (45.9%,) whereas very few women did (1.9%). Fewer than 50% of government workers reported smoke-free policies at work, with 19.0% reporting that smoking is allowed anywhere. Support for smoke-free policies was generally very high, with the lowest levels of support for smoke-free bars (79.0%) and hotels (82.3%), higher levels of support for restaurants (90.0%) and worksites (93.0%), and above 95% support for hospitals, schools, colleges, public transportation and religious settings. Knowledge of the harmfulness of secondhand smoke was positively associated with support for smoke-free policies. Stricter worksite smoking policies were associated with support for smoke-free workplaces and bars, but not hotels and colleges. Women and nonsmokers were more supportive of smoke

  3. Understanding and applying principles of social cognition and decision making in adaptive environmental governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel A. DeCaro

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Environmental governance systems are under greater pressure to adapt and to cope with increased social and ecological uncertainty from stressors like climate change. We review principles of social cognition and decision making that shape and constrain how environmental governance systems adapt. We focus primarily on the interplay between key decision makers in society and legal systems. We argue that adaptive governance must overcome three cooperative dilemmas to facilitate adaptation: (1 encouraging collaborative problem solving, (2 garnering social acceptance and commitment, and (3 cultivating a culture of trust and tolerance for change and uncertainty. However, to do so governance systems must cope with biases in people's decision making that cloud their judgment and create conflict. These systems must also satisfy people's fundamental needs for self-determination, fairness, and security, ensuring that changes to environmental governance are perceived as legitimate, trustworthy, and acceptable. We discuss the implications of these principles for common governance solutions (e.g., public participation, enforcement and conclude with methodological recommendations. We outline how scholars can investigate the social cognitive principles involved in cases of adaptive governance.

  4. The social problems and strategies of the government GIS in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Nan; Fu, Zhongliang

    2007-06-01

    GIS has wider and wider applications. The application in the field of administrative management and assistant decision-making have formed a specific research area--the government GIS. As an information industry with great sociality, GIS and its development are influenced by many technical factors and social factors. As for the government GIS in China, the social factors often play a more important role in it. A description of the current development status of the government GIS, both in China and abroad, was made in this paper. After the description, researchers pointed out the deficiency of Chinese government GIS. On the basis of this, the rational suggestion of government GIS in China were put forward at last.

  5. Reputation-Seeking by a Government Agency in Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bækkeskov, Erik

    2017-01-01

    Reputation-seeking can explain some decisions of U.S. federal agencies. However, it has remained unclear whether it could be used in the European context where agencies have proliferated in national and regional governance in the past few decades. This article shows that reputation-seeking can oc...

  6. From Soft Power to Economic Diplomacy? A Comparison of the Changing Rationales and Roles of the U. S. and Canadian Federal Governments in International Education. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.2.15

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trilokekar, Roopa Desai

    2015-01-01

    Through a historical and comparative analysis of international education policy development in Canada and the U.S., this paper will map the similarities and differences in the two countries. It will highlight the contributions and challenges of the government's involvement in international education (IE) in the two federal states and in…

  7. Island development: Local governance under globalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huei-Min Tsai

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Issues surrounding island development have generated a growing volume of research. What does it mean to develop? How can island communities maintain control over development processes to the benefit of the local economy, rather than seeing economic flows enter and exit the island with little or a primarily negative impact? And how important is local knowledge for edifying local governance and enhancing potentials for innovation in island development? Island histories have repeatedly been forwarded as exemplars and ‘lessons’ for global learning on (unsustainability. To consider these issues, we have selected a number of papers from among the presentations given at the International Geographical Union’s Commission on Islands Conference, Island Development: Local Economy, Culture, Innovation and Sustainability, which took place in the Penghu Archipelago, Taiwan, 1–5 October 2013. These papers serve as examples of how the processes of globalization have penetrated the borders and changed the political and economic structures of islands. They also explore how island-based innovations in science, technology, culture, and formal or informal governance might contribute to sustainable island development.

  8. Theoretical interpretation of e-government implementation challenges in South Africa: A case study of a selected provincial government

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Twum-Darko

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses factors influencing e-Government initiatives by African Governments to improve services to their citizens, businesses and their constituent. It further discusses, as a socially constructed phenomenon, the degree of readiness of governments to implement e-Government initiatives to improve services. The discussion uses Actor Network Theory (ANT and in particular the concepts of moments of translation and irreversibility as a lens through which to understand and interpret the social phenomenon. Although a number of e-Government researchers have argued that strong leadership and clear vision is required to implement e-Government initiatives, the view is that Governments have continuously failed to achieve the intended results. E-Government potentials and benefits which are well documented in Information Systems and e-Government research literature have not been realised by governments due to limited capabilities in the administration of the public service. The study applied a deductive approach where semi-structured interviews were used for data collection in a selected Provincial Government in South Africa. The outcome is a general framework to determine the readiness of South Africa government and generally, African governments for e-Government initiatives to achieve the intended results.

  9. Frameworks to assess health systems governance: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pyone, Thidar; Smith, Helen; van den Broek, Nynke

    2017-06-01

    Governance of the health system is a relatively new concept and there are gaps in understanding what health system governance is and how it could be assessed. We conducted a systematic review of the literature to describe the concept of governance and the theories underpinning as applied to health systems; and to identify which frameworks are available and have been applied to assess health systems governance. Frameworks were reviewed to understand how the principles of governance might be operationalized at different levels of a health system. Electronic databases and web portals of international institutions concerned with governance were searched for publications in English for the period January 1994 to February 2016. Sixteen frameworks developed to assess governance in the health system were identified and are described. Of these, six frameworks were developed based on theories from new institutional economics; three are primarily informed by political science and public management disciplines; three arise from the development literature and four use multidisciplinary approaches. Only five of the identified frameworks have been applied. These used the principal-agent theory, theory of common pool resources, North's institutional analysis and the cybernetics theory. Governance is a practice, dependent on arrangements set at political or national level, but which needs to be operationalized by individuals at lower levels in the health system; multi-level frameworks acknowledge this. Three frameworks were used to assess governance at all levels of the health system. Health system governance is complex and difficult to assess; the concept of governance originates from different disciplines and is multidimensional. There is a need to validate and apply existing frameworks and share lessons learnt regarding which frameworks work well in which settings. A comprehensive assessment of governance could enable policy makers to prioritize solutions for problems identified

  10. 76 FR 70635 - Provision of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-15

    ...) interdiction of aircraft reasonably suspected to be primarily engaged in illicit drug trafficking in that country's airspace is necessary because of the extraordinary threat posed by illicit drug trafficking to...

  11. 75 FR 67011 - Continuation of U.S. Drug Interdiction Assistance to the Government of Colombia

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-01

    ...) interdiction of aircraft reasonably suspected to be primarily engaged in illicit drug trafficking in that country's airspace is necessary, because of the extraordinary threat posed by illicit drug trafficking to...

  12. 75 FR 54414 - On Behalf of the Accessibility Committee of the U.S. Council of CIOs; 29 U.S.C. 794d; Listening...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-07

    ... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION [Docket No. SSA-2010-0057] On Behalf of the Accessibility Committee... understand the needs of diverse communities and provide better solutions, the U.S. Council of CIOs, in... federal government use that would enhance your interactions with the federal government? What are state...

  13. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND FIRM VALUE IN EMERGING MARKETS AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ADR ISSUING EMERGING MARKET FIRMS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aysun Ficici

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This study explores the value implications of good corporate governance for a sample of 54 ADR issuing emerging market firms (EMFs from 9 countries primarily located in the regions of Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America and the and employs recently constructed company composite corporate governance metric along with some alternative corporate governance measures associated with the origin of the issuing firm. Although the ADR literature primarily focuses on the impact of subscription to US disclosure requirements we contend that company and country specific corporate governance standards play a significant role in the risk reduction and ensuing value capture.  The fundamental inquiry in this study has the following foci: The primary focus is on the impact of corporate governance structures on firm performance as to whether adherence to standards creates market value for ADR issuing EMFs.  Do good corporate governance practices affect the value of EMFs? The secondary focus is concerned with whether the impact of corruption level and legal system in a firm’s home country affect the corporate structures of EMFs thus affecting the market value of firms.  In this study, we utilize Tobin’s q as the measure of firm performance/market value.  Our findings suggest that there is a significant correlation between corporate governance structures of ADR issuing EMFs and their market values and/or performances.  The results also indicate that the level of corruption and legal structures in home countries of EMFs strongly impact the corporate governance structures of these firms and sequentially affect their market values. Therefore, this research further contributes to the scholarly findings and suppositions that corporate structures of firms do create consequences on firm value.

  14. Space Launch Vehicles: Government Activities, Commercial Competition, and Satellite Exports

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Behrens, Carl E

    2006-01-01

    Launching satellites into orbit, once the exclusive domain of the U.S. and Soviet governments, today is an industry in which companies in the United States, Europe, China, Russia, Ukraine, Japan, and India compete...

  15. "Can Global Imbalances Continue?: Policies for the U.S. Economy"

    OpenAIRE

    Dimitri B. Papadimitriou; Gennaro Zezza; Greg Hannsgen

    2006-01-01

    In this new Strategic Analysis, we review what we believe is the most important economic policy issue facing policymakers in the United States and abroad: the prospect of a growth recession in the United States, linked to the imbalances in the U.S. current account, government, and private sector deficits. The current account balance, which is a negative addition to U.S. aggregate demand, is now likely to be above 6.5 percent of GDP and has been rising steadily for some time. The government ba...

  16. Contaminants in Buildings and Occupied Spaces as Risk Factors forOccupant Symptoms in U.S. Office Buildings: Findings from the U.S. EPABASE Study

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendell, M.J.; Mirer, A.; Lei-Gomez, Q.

    2007-08-01

    Nonspecific building-related symptoms among occupants of modern office buildings worldwide are common and may be associated with important reductions in work performance, but their etiology remains uncertain. Most reported research into environmental risk factors for these symptoms has focused on ventilation system-related factors, dampness, and particle removal through filtration and cleaning, with relatively few studies of other potential sources of indoor contaminants. We analyzed data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from a representative sample of 100 large U.S. office buildings--the Building Assessment and Survey Evaluation (BASE) study--using multivariate-adjusted logistic regression models with generalized estimating equations. We estimated odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for associations between seven building-related symptom outcomes and a diverse set of potential indoor and outdoor sources for indoor pollutants. Although most of the investigated risk factors showed no apparent association with building-related symptoms, some interesting associations resulted. Increased prevalence of symptoms was associated with carpets older than one year (lower respiratory symptoms), non-carpeted floors (upper and lower respiratory symptoms), older furniture (eye and skin symptoms), infrequent vacuuming (upper respiratory, eye, and skin symptoms and headache), and masonry exterior walls (cough, eye symptoms, and fatigue/concentration difficulty). For the many potential risk factors assessed, almost none had been investigated previously, and many associations found here may have been by chance. Additional confirmatory research focused on risk factors initially identified here is needed, using more objective measures of health outcomes and risk factors or exposures.

  17. Peculiarities of designing Holistic Electronic Government Services Integration Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tadas Limba

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpos– the aim ok this paper is to develop a Holistic Electronic Government Services Integration Model which could ensure the efficient integration of electronic government services in the local self-government level.Methodolog– the following analyses have been carried out in thirkpaper: theoretical-systematic; normative and conceptual comparative analysis of the researcha A method of modeling has also been applied.Finding– the scientific work analyzes the improvement opportunities of the models of electronic government services and their application alternatives in Lithuanian municipalities. The newly developed model of electronic government services that has been designed basng on the principle of integrating online expert consultation is primarily targeted at improvement of inside processes’ changes of an organization. Practicing the application of that model in the local self-government level starting with improvement of inside processes of an organization should help adapt more accurately and efficiently to the changing needs of the society while providing electronic government services, thus establishing a higher public value.Practical implication– the practical novelty of work is reflected not only through the integration opportunities’ assessment of the principle of online expert consultation services into the theoretical models of electronic government services that have already been developed by the scientists, but also on the basis of this principle there has been created a “Holistic Electronic Government Services Integration Model” in accordance with “E-Diamond” model basis and its practical application realization with the design of “The project of implementing the principle of online expert consultation on the model of electronic government services” for the future investigations.Originalit– the systematic, comparative analysis of the models of electronic government services carried out in the scientific

  18. The Islamic State and U.S. Policy

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-02-02

    comprised of radicalized indigenous Bedouin Arabs, foreign fighters, and Palestinian militants. On social media , the group has displayed various...this statement, the group has since referred to itself simply as “the Islamic State,” although U.S. government officials, some international media ...interest, including Nigeria, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Turkey, Yemen , Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Russia, and Indonesia. U.S

  19. Factors Influencing the Success of Women in the Geosciences: An Example from the U.S. Geological Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gundersen, Linda C. S.

    2010-05-01

    A review of my education and 30 year career at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), starting as a field assistant in 1979 to becoming Chief Scientist for Geology in 2001, reveals some of the critical success factors for women in the geosciences as well as factors that inhibit success. Women comprised 5% of the geosciences workforce when I started as an undergraduate in 1975, so why did I pursue the geosciences? A high school course covering earth and biological field science was taught by an excellent teacher who encouraged me to pursue geology. In college, several factors influenced my continuation in geology: two supportive mentors, an earth science department providing a broad diversity of courses; opportunities to take graduate courses, interaction with graduate students, and doing an undergraduate thesis. Most important was the individual attention given to undergraduates by both faculty and graduates regardless of gender. The summer intern program sponsored by the National Association of Geology Teachers and the USGS was a deciding factor to my becoming a geoscientist in the public service. Family and job concerns made it difficult to complete a doctorate however, and there existed gender bias against women conducting field work. Critical factors for success at USGS included: dealing ethically, openly, and immediately with gender-biased behavior, taking on responsibilities and science projects out of my "comfort zone", having the support of mentors and colleagues, and always performing at the highest level. In the past 15 years, there have been many "first" women in various leadership roles within the USGS, and now, after 131 years, we have the first woman Director. It is important to note that as gender barriers are broken at the upper levels in an organization, it paves the way for others. Statistics regarding women are improving in terms of percentage of enrollment in degrees and jobs in the private, public, and academic sectors. Women, however, still bear

  20. The National Biological Information Infrastructure as an E-Government tool

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sepic, R.; Kase, K.

    2002-01-01

    Coordinated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) is a Web-based system that provides access to data and information on the nation's biological resources. Although it was begun in 1993, predating any formal E-Government initiative, the NBII typifies the E-Government concepts outlined in the President's Management Agenda, as well as in the proposed E-Government Act of 2002. This article-an individual case study and not a broad survey with extensive references to the literature-explores the structure and operation of the NBII in relation to several emerging trends in E-Government: end-user focus, defined and scalable milestones, public-private partnerships, alliances with stakeholders, and interagency cooperation. ?? 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Latin American Leftist Governments and Their Effects on U.S. Interests

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Cox, John A

    2007-01-01

    .... We have already seen a cooling of relations with several nations, most notably, Venezuela. This has potential effects for military cooperation, commerce, and common strategic interests. The perceived U.S...

  2. Do Policy Networks lead to Network Governing?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Damgaard, Bodil

    This paper challenges the notion that creation of local policy networks necessarily leads to network governing. Through actor-centred case studies in the area of municipally implemented employment policy in Denmark it was found that the local governing mode is determined mainly by the municipality......’s approach to local co-governing as well as by the capacity and interest of key private actors. It is argued that national legislation requesting the creation of local policy networks was not enough to assure network governing and the case studies show that local policy networks may subsist also under...... hierarchical governing modes. Reasons why hierarchical governing modes prevail over network governing in some settings are identified pointing to both actor borne and structural factors. Output indicators of the four cases do not show that a particular governing mode is more efficient in its employment policy...

  3. A baseline understanding of state laws governing e-cigarettes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gourdet, C K; Chriqui, J F; Chaloupka, F J

    2014-07-01

    Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) have been available for purchase in the USA since 2007, and have grown rapidly in popularity. Currently, there are no federal restrictions on e-cigarettes; therefore, any regulations are under the purview of state and/or local governments. This study examines state laws governing e-cigarettes through youth access restrictions, smoke-free air requirements and/or excise taxation. Codified statutory and administrative laws, attorney general opinions, executive orders, and revenue notices and rulings effective as of 15 November 2013 for all 50 states and the District of Columbia, were compiled using Boolean searches in Lexis-Nexis and Westlaw. All laws were analysed by two study authors to determine the presence and components of relevant provisions. Two categories of laws were identified; (1) explicit e-cigarette laws and (2) laws focused on tobacco-derived and/or nicotine-containing products. Thirty-four states' laws address e-cigarettes either explicitly or as part of language applying to tobacco-derived or nicotine-containing products. Laws explicitly addressing e-cigarettes primarily focus on youth access (22 states) or smoke-free air (12 states); only Minnesota imposes an excise tax on e-cigarettes. Similarly, tobacco-derived or nicotine-containing products are primarily regulated through youth access restrictions (6 states), smoke-free air laws (5 states), or excise taxation (2 states). In the current absence of federal law governing e-cigarettes, more than one-half of the states have taken the initiative to regulate these products. The opportunity exists for the remaining states to incorporate e-cigarette-related restrictions into their pre-existing tobacco control laws. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  4. McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program. Fact Sheet

    Science.gov (United States)

    US Department of Agriculture, 2009

    2009-01-01

    The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (McGovern-Dole program) helps support education, child development, and food security for some of the world's poorest children. It provides for donations of U.S. agricultural products, as well as financial and technical assistance, for school feeding and maternal and…

  5. Factoring stream turbulence into global assessments of nitrogen pollution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grant, Stanley B; Azizian, Morvarid; Cook, Perran; Boano, Fulvio; Rippy, Megan A

    2018-03-16

    The discharge of excess nitrogen to streams and rivers poses an existential threat to both humans and ecosystems. A seminal study of headwater streams across the United States concluded that in-stream removal of nitrate is controlled primarily by stream chemistry and biology. Reanalysis of these data reveals that stream turbulence (in particular, turbulent mass transfer across the concentration boundary layer) imposes a previously unrecognized upper limit on the rate at which nitrate is removed from streams. The upper limit closely approximates measured nitrate removal rates in streams with low concentrations of this pollutant, a discovery that should inform stream restoration designs and efforts to assess the effects of nitrogen pollution on receiving water quality and the global nitrogen cycle. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  6. Civic Political Culture, Participatory Governance and Political ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Prof

    This study x-rayed the significance of civic political culture on participatory governance and its .... The literature on participatory governance theory assumes that deliberation is key to effective .... factors and capture all considerations involved in making certain that citizen interests .... vital element in any organization.

  7. Equity in Assistance? Usability of a U.S. Government Food Assistance Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saal, Leah Katherine

    2016-01-01

    This article focuses on the quantitative phase of a multiphase mixed methods study investigating adults' and families' access to government food assistance. The research evaluates participants' comprehension of, and ability to, adequately complete authentic complex texts--national food assistance application documents. Summative usability testing…

  8. Soil transmitted helminths and associated factors among schoolchildren in government and private primary school in Jimma Town, Southwest Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Debalke, Serkadis; Worku, Amare; Jahur, Nejat; Mekonnen, Zeleke

    2013-11-01

    Soil transmitted helminth infections are among the most common human infections. They are distributed throughout the world with high prevalence rates in tropical and sub-tropical countries mainly because of lack of adequate sanitary facilities, inappropriate waste disposal systems, lack of safe water supply, and low socio-economic status. A comparative cross sectional study was conducted from December 2011 to June 2012 to determine and assess the prevalence of soil transmitted helminths and their associated factors among government and private primary school children. Stool samples were collected from 369 randomly selected children and examined microscopically for eggs of soil transmitted helminth following McMaster techniques. Soil samples were collected from different parts of the school compound and microscopic examination was performed for eggs of the helminths using sodium nitrate flotation technique. The overall prevalence rate of soil transmitted helminth infections in private and government schools was 20.9% and 53.5% respectively. T. trichiura was the most common soil transmitted helminth in both schools while hookworm infections were identified in government school students only. Type of school and sex were significantly associated with soil transmitted helminth. Soil contamination rate of the school compounds was 11.25% with predominant parasites of A. lumbricoides. Higher prevalence of soil transmitted helminth infection was found among government school students. Thus, more focus, on personal hygiene and sanitary facilities, should be given to children going to government schools.

  9. Connected vehicle environment : Governance Roundtable Proceedings from June 20, 2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-08-01

    This report documents a governance roundtable discussion hosted by the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Joint Program Office (JPO) on June 20, 2011 at the U.S. DOTs John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge, Massach...

  10. Accelerating the transition towards sustainability dynamics into supply chain relationship management and governance structures

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Govindan, Kannan; Seuring, Stefan; Zhu, Qinghua

    2016-01-01

    successful futures by maintaining a healthy balance among economic, environmental, and social resources/dimensions. Consequently, some organizations have begun to integrate these dimensions in recent years. Researchers and practitioners are also working to accelerate the transition for more equitable......, sustainable, post-fossil carbon societies by working with all relevant stakeholders. This Special Volume of Journal of Cleaner Production is focused upon on diverse types of supply chain relationships, governance mechanisms, and innovations, which can foster effective and efficient sustainable supply chain...... management. This volume is comprised of twenty-seven articles and a book review. Fifteen of the articles address the supply chain relationships domain, while five focus primarily upon governance, five upon innovation, and two on relationships and governance. However, there is a huge potential to further...

  11. The Economy Governing During Globalization Era

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion Bucur

    2006-09-01

    Full Text Available World and national economie governing is an essential premise of the political stability and democratic evolution. In this study are approached theoretical and practical aspects of the economie governing. Theoretical acquisitions in this field highlit multiple perspectives of approaching and difficulties to characterize this complex and multisized fenomenon. A possible theory of governing the economy needs to use some concepts and mechanisms particular to more scientific fields (political science, economy, cibernetics, the theory of systems and others. The dinamic character and the instability of the present system of governing imposed the analysis of the factors and conditions which have generated the crises of the national and world economic governing. In this context, there are indentified the forms of manifesting the instability (lack of legitimacy, transpa¬rence and democratic responsability, and also the direction of necessary action to implement an efficient and responsable economic governing.

  12. The Economy Governing During Globalization Era

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ion Bucur

    2006-07-01

    Full Text Available World and national economie governing is an essential premise of the political stability and democratic evolution. In this study are approached theoretical and practical aspects of the economie governing. Theoretical acquisitions in this field highlit multiple perspectives of approaching and difficulties to characterize this complex and multisized fenomenon. A possible theory of governing the economy needs to use some concepts and mechanisms particular to more scientific fields (political science, economy, cibernetics, the theory of systems and others. The dinamic character and the instability of the present system of governing imposed the analysis of the factors and conditions which have generated the crises of the national and world economic governing. In this context, there are indentified the forms of manifesting the instability (lack of legitimacy, transpa¬rence and democratic responsability, and also the direction of necessary action to implement an efficient and responsable economic governing.

  13. Are Entrepreneur-Led Companies Better? Evidence from Publicly Traded U.S. Companies: 1998-2010

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joel M. Shulman

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Do U.S. publicly-traded companies led by entrepreneurs perform better than nonentrepreneur-led U.S. public companies? Our data suggests they do. We analyze monthly stock returns of U.S. publicly traded companies over the time period 1998-2010 and find compelling evidence demonstrating that irrespective of market capitalization and time period, companies led by U.S. entrepreneurs provide better stock performance than several stock market indices primarily comprised of non-entrepreneur-led U.S. companies.

  14. Influence of Psychosocial Factors on Aging among the Aged in Ihitte-Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojukwu, M. O.

    2016-01-01

    The major aim of this study was to examine influence of psychosocial factors on aging among the aged in Ihitte Uboma Local Government Area of Imo State, Nigeria. Ex-post facto or casual comparative research design was adopted for the study. Two hundred and twenty-five (225) old people were selected through random sampling for the study.…

  15. 31 CFR 10.25 - Practice by former government employees, their partners and their associates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ..., their partners and their associates. (a) Definitions. For purposes of this section— (1) Assist means to... issued by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. (5) Rule includes Treasury regulations, whether issued or... period of one year prior to the termination of Government employment had official responsibility for a...

  16. Japanese Nuclear Accident and U.S. Response

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Douet, Randy

    2011-01-01

    U.S. Government response to the Fukushima accident: • Multi-agency task force (Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Department of Energy, Department of Defense) supporting Japan recovery efforts; • President Obama directed the NRC to perform a comprehensive review of U.S. reactors; • NRC established agency task force to develop lessons learned from Fukushima Daiichi accident to provide short-term and long-term analysis of the events

  17. 31 CFR 537.319 - U.S. depository institution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false U.S. depository institution. 537.319 Section 537.319 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance (Continued) OFFICE..., that is engaged primarily in the business of banking (for example, banks, savings banks, savings...

  18. 31 CFR 538.317 - U.S. depository institution.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 31 Money and Finance: Treasury 3 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false U.S. depository institution. 538.317 Section 538.317 Money and Finance: Treasury Regulations Relating to Money and Finance (Continued) OFFICE..., that is engaged primarily in the business of banking (for example, banks, savings banks, savings...

  19. Semantic-Based Knowledge Management in E-Government: Modeling Attention for Proactive Information Delivery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samiotis, Konstantinos; Stojanovic, Nenad

    E-government has become almost synonymous with a consumer-led revolution of government services inspired and made possible by the Internet. With technology being the least of the worries for government organizations nowadays, attention is shifting towards managing complexity as one of the basic antecedents of operational and decision-making inefficiency. Complexity has been traditionally preoccupying public administrations and owes its origins to several sources. Among them we encounter primarily the cross-functional nature and the degree of legal structuring of administrative work. Both of them have strong reliance to the underlying process and information infrastructure of public organizations. Managing public administration work thus implies managing its processes and information. Knowledge management (KM) and business process reengineering (BPR) have been deployed already by private organizations with success for the same purposes and certainly comprise improvement practices that are worthwhile investigating. Our contribution through this paper is on the utilization of KM for the e-government.

  20. NADA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Report number 19: The US government technical report and the transfer of federally funded aerospace R/D: An analysis of five studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.

    1994-01-01

    The U.S. government technical report is a primary means by which the results of federally funded research and development are transferred to the U.S. aerospace industry. However, little is known about this information product in terms of its actual use, importance, and value in the transfer of federally funded R&D. To help establish a body of knowledge, the U.S. government technical report is being investigated as part of the 'NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project'. In this report, we summarize the literature on technical reprts and provide a model that depicts the transfer of federally funded aerospace R&D via the U.S. government technical report. We present results from five studies of our investigation of aerospace knowledge diffusion vis-a-vis the U.S. government technical report and close with a brief overview of on-going research into the use of the U.S. government technical report as a rhetorical device for transferring federally funded aerospace R&D.

  1. 76 FR 2955 - Office of the Chief of Protocol; Gifts to Federal Employees from Foreign Government Sources...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-18

    ... embarrassment to culture of Morocco. Kingdom of Morocco. donor and U.S. Rec'd--8/04/2009. Est. Government. Value.... Government. Tales of Wit and Wisdom''; book entitled ``The Puffin Treasury of Modern Indian Stories''; book..., Government. $500.00. Disposition-- Malaysia. Archives Foreign. First Lady Michelle Obama 18 karat yellow gold...

  2. The Proposed U.S.-Panama Free Trade Agreement

    Science.gov (United States)

    2004-08-23

    unique among Latin American countries. CRS-6 7 American Chamber of Commerce in Panama. [http://panamcham.com] and EIU. Panama: Country Profile 2003, p...Transportation Institute to USTR Robert Zoellick, June 10, 2004. Interestingly, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Panama, which represents a wide spectrum of U.S...facilities. Transparency in the bidding process for government contracts was listed as one of the most important issues by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in

  3. Occupational stress and cardiovascular risk factors in high-ranking government officials and office workers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mirmohammadi, Seyyed Jalil; Taheri, Mahmoud; Mehrparvar, Amir Houshang; Heydari, Mohammad; Saadati Kanafi, Ali; Mostaghaci, Mehrdad

    2014-08-01

    Cardiovascular diseases are among the most important sources of mortality and morbidity, and have a high disease burden. There are some major well-known risk factors, which contribute to the development of these diseases. Occupational stress is caused due to imbalance between job demands and individual's ability, and it has been implicated as an etiology for cardiovascular diseases. This study was conducted to evaluate the cardiovascular risk factors and different dimensions of occupational stress in high-ranking government officials, comparing an age and sex-matched group of office workers with them. We invited 90 high-ranking officials who managed the main governmental offices in a city, and 90 age and sex-matched office workers. The subjects were required to fill the occupational role questionnaire (Osipow) which evaluated their personal and medical history as well as occupational stress. Then, we performed physical examination and laboratory tests to check for cardiovascular risk factors. Finally, the frequency of cardiovascular risk factors and occupational stress of two groups were compared. High-ranking officials in our study had less work experience in their current jobs and smoked fewer pack-years of cigarette, but they had higher waist and hip circumference, higher triglyceride level, more stress from role overload and responsibility, and higher total stress score. Our group of office workers had more occupational stress because of role ambiguity and insufficiency, but their overall job stress was less than officials. The officials have higher scores in some dimensions of occupational stress and higher overall stress score. Some cardiovascular risk factors were also more frequent in managers.

  4. A Review on Critical Success Factors of Governance towards Sustainable Campus Operations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Halid Abdullah, Abd; Razman, Ruzaimah; Muslim, Rahmat

    2017-08-01

    Campus Sustainability is an effort that integrates environmentally sustainable practices into institutional practices. A successful transition to a sustainable campus requires the involvement of the university community; the administration, academics departments (faculty and students), researchers and he local community. Our research seeks to identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of university governance that contribute to the success in implementing Sustainable Campus Operation (SCO) initiatives. The common CSFs have been identified from 22 published and unpublished articles, conference proceedings, university reports, books, and website documents. The CSFs are mapped and ranked based on the frequency of the identified CSFs. 23 CSFs of SCO have been identified through this research. This research revealed that the CSF that contributes the highest frequency as indicated by most researchers is “developing network with external parties for gaining consensus and commitment”. By identifying these CSFs, this research will help assist universities in successfully plan and implement their SCO initiatives.

  5. 76 FR 37795 - Notice of Availability of Government-Owned Inventions; Available for Licensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-28

    ... DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Department of the Navy Notice of Availability of Government-Owned Inventions....S. Patent No. 7,316,194: Rudders for High-Speed Ships//U.S. Patent No. 7,322,786: Mobile Loader for Transfer of Containers Between Delivery Vehicles and Marine Terminal Cranes//U.S. Patent No. 7,324,016...

  6. Poor Government Oversight of Anham and Its Subcontracting Procedures Allowed Questionable Costs To Go Undetected

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-30

    contractor purchasing system review of Anham. Management Comments and Audit Response The Defense Contract Mangement Agency and the U.S. Central... Introduction 1  Background 1  Government Agency Roles and Oversight Responsibilities 4  Objectives 7  Weak Government Oversight Resulted in Significant...Subcontracting Procedures Allowed Questionable Costs To Go Undetected SIGIR 11-022 July 30, 2011 Introduction Since 2003, the United States Government

  7. Sustainability Appraisal of Water Governance Regimes: The Case of Guanacaste, Costa Rica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuzdas, Christopher; Wiek, Arnim; Warner, Benjamin; Vignola, Raffaele; Morataya, Ricardo

    2014-08-01

    Sustainability appraisals produce evidence for how well water governance regimes operate and where problems exist. This evidence is particularly relevant for regions that face water scarcity and conflicts. In this study, we present a criteria-based and participatory sustainability appraisal of water governance in a region with such characteristics—the dry tropics of NW Costa Rica. Data collection included 47 interviews and three stakeholder workshops. The appraisal was conducted through a collaborative and iterative process between researchers and stakeholders. Out of the 25 sustainability criteria used, seven posed a significant challenge for the governance regime. We found challenges faced by the governance regime primarily clustered around and were re-enforced by failing coordination related to the use, management, and protection of groundwater resources; and inadequate leadership to identify collective goals and to constructively deliberate alternative ways of governing water with diverse groups. The appraisal yielded some positive impact in the study area, yet we found its application provided only limited strategic information to support broader problem-solving efforts. Insights from this study suggest key starting points for sustainable water governance in the Central American dry tropics, including investing in increasingly influential collective organizations that are already active in water governance; and leveraging policy windows that can be used to build confidence and disperse more governing authority to regional and local governing actors that are in-tune with the challenges faced in the dry tropics. We conclude the article with reflections on how to produce research results that are actionable for sustainable water governance.

  8. Iraq: Politics, Governance, and Human Rights

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-09-15

    devoting significant resources to that plan. On April 30, 2012, the COR enacted a law to facilitate elimination of trafficking in persons, both sexual ...human rights reports have noted continuing instances of harassment and intimidation of journalists who write about corruption and the lack of government...extradite him to the United States, but Iraq released him in November 2012 and he returned to Lebanon , despite U.S. efforts to persuade Iraq to keep

  9. Air tightness of new houses in the U.S.: A preliminary report; TOPICAL

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sherman, Max H.; Matson, Nance E.

    2002-01-01

    Most dwellings in the United States are ventilated primarily through leaks in the building shell (i.e., infiltration) rather than by whole-house mechanical ventilation systems. Consequently, quantification of envelope air-tightness is critical to determining how much energy is being lost through infiltration and how much infiltration is contributing toward ventilation requirements. Envelope air tightness and air leakage can be determined from fan pressurization measurements with a blower door. Tens of thousands of unique fan pressurization measurements have been made of U.S. dwellings over the past decades. LBNL has collected the available data on residential infiltration into its Residential Diagnostics Database, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy. This report documents the envelope air leakage section of the LBNL database, with particular emphasis on new construction. The work reported here is an update of similar efforts carried out a decade ago, which used available data largely focused on the housing stock, rather than on new construction. The current effort emphasizes shell tightness measurements made on houses soon after they are built. These newer data come from over two dozen datasets, including over 73,000 measurements spread throughout a majority of the U.S. Roughly one-third of the measurements are for houses identified as energy-efficient through participation in a government or utility program. As a result, the characteristics reported here provide a quantitative estimate of the impact that energy-efficiency programs have on envelope tightness in the US, as well as on trends in construction

  10. Detailed explanation of organizations and systems of the U.S. Federal Government supporting R and D systems in the U.S. Supplement: New trends of strategies of technology development/acquisition/commercialization of private companies in the U.S.; Beikoku no R and D system wo sasaeru renpo seifu soshiki oyobi seido no shosai kaisetsu. Furoku (Beikoku minkan kigyo no kaihatsu shutoku shogyoka senryaku no shinchoryu)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2000-07-01

    Explanation was made in detail of systems of the U.S. Federal Government which are useful when NEDO and the Japanese government improve/reform R and D supporting systems in future. Grant is in use for supporting researches conducted by universities, nonprofit organizations, etc. mostly in the field of the basic research. This is a research fund very high in freedom and easy for Grant recipients to handle. Contract, recipients of which are mostly private companies, is used for the system development rather than the basic research. In either system, if there is a possibility of producing any merits as a result of the implementation of the R and D project, the government may sometimes ask the recipient such as university to pay part of the cost. As an intermediate form between both mechanisms, a lot of mechanisms are used in which the government/universities/private companies share the cost, responsibility, results, etc. as partners. These are joint agreements, joint research contracts and alternative contracts. (NEDO)

  11. The U.S. uranium market

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    White, G. Jr.

    1978-01-01

    A brief analysis is presented of factors influencing buyers and sellers in the U.S. uranium market. Factors suggesting a reduction in uranium demand, increased supply and reduced uncertainty are set against factors suggesting the reverse of these trends. Prices and economic factors are considered, as well as political and business aspects. (U.K.)

  12. Organizational Enablers for Governance and Governmentality of Projects

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Müller, Ralf; Pemsel, Sofia; Shao, Jingting

    2014-01-01

    This study identifies the organizational enablers for governance in the realm of projects. We first conceptualize organizational enablers as comprising of process facilitators and discursive abilities, each with its own factors and mechanisms. Then we apply this concept to the literature on proje......, and through development of self-responsible, self-organizing people for governmentality in project settings. Questions for future research are indicated....... governance, governance of projects and governmentality. Outcomes indicate that governance is enabled through different forms of flexibility at different levels of governance, institutional setup and authority at the project level, flexible structures and mindsets of people at the organizational level...

  13. U.S. Democracy Promotion Policy in the Middle East: The Islamist Dilemma

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Sharp, Jeremy M

    2006-01-01

    .... The report analyzes U.S. government attitudes toward Islamist movements and investigates how U.S. democracy promotion policy is applied in three Arab countries with a significant Islamist presence in the political sphere...

  14. Evaluating e-Government and Good Governance Correlation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suhardi Suhardi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Assessing the achievement of Indonesian government institutions in implementing e-government has been conducted since around a decade ago. Several national assessments are available with almost the same ranking results. There is an agreement that the ultimate goal of e-government implementation is to achieve good government governance (GGG, while success stories of e-government require good governance practices. This study explored the correlation between e-government achievement and GGG achievement in Indonesia. Spearman’s rank correlation was used to characterize the relationship strength between e-government assessment results and good governance assessment results. The data were collected from institutions that participated in e-government and good governance assessments. The results showed that the correlation between these two entities is not very strong. Most cases showed that e-government implementation and the achievement of good governance have only a moderate positive correlation and none of the studied cases indicated a significant connection. This result can be attributed to the lack of emphasis on goals achievement in the assessments. Thus, it is recommended that future Indonesian e-government assessments should involve impact indicators.

  15. Corporate Governance in Banks and its Impact on Risk and Performance: Review of Literature on the Selected Governance Mechanisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Himaj Shkendije

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Corporate governance is viewed as an important, essential, and most significant factor for well-functioning of firms. Recent academic work and policy analyses have given insight into the governance problems in banks exposed to the financial crisis and suggest possible solutions. This paper begins by explaining the importance of corporate governance and its impact on risk taking and bank performance based on the theoretical background relevant to the corporate governance of banks. I combine the literature that looks at three areas of governance: ownership structure; board structure; and risk management, with the literature on risk-taking and performance effects in order to better assess the weight of the impact that these governance mechanisms have on both performance and risk. The paper concludes by highlighting the areas where further research is needed.

  16. Comorbidities and risk factors among patients with schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harrison, Christopher; Charles, Janice; Britt, Helena

    2015-01-01

    General practitioners (GPs) are charged with maintaining a holistic approach to their patients' health. While most patients with schizophrenia attend public mental health services and/or non-government organisations supporting people with mental illness, 88.2% of people with a psychotic illness (the majority being schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder) had visited a GP in the previous year. For at least 30-40% of people living with schizophrenia in Australia, ongoing management is provided by their GP alone. Moreover, there is evidence that patients with schizophrenia value the help provided by GPs. Patients with schizophrenia have reduced life expectancy. Overseas research (primarily from the UK and US) has found that the poor physical health of patients with schizophrenia can be attributed to a number of factors such as modifiable lifestyle risk factors and side effects of medication, compounded by causes intrinsic to the illness such as mental stress and loss of initiative.

  17. Initial ORNL site assessment report on the storage of 233U

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bereolos, P.J.; Yong, L.K.; Sadlowe, A.R.; Ramey, D.W.; Krichinsky, A.M.

    1998-03-01

    The 233 U storage facility at ORNL is Building 3019. The inventory stored in Building 3019 consists of 426.5 kg of 233 U contained in 1,387.1 kg of total uranium. The inventory is primarily in the form of uranium oxides; however, uranium metal and other compounds are also stored. Over 99% of the inventory is contained in 1,007 packages stored in tube vaults within the facility. A tank of thorium nitrate solution, the P-24 Tank, contains 0.13 kg of 233 U in ∼ 4,000 gal. of solution. The facility is receiving additional 233 U for storage from the remediation of the Molten Salt Reactor Experiment (MSRE) at ORNL. Consolidation of material from sites with small holdings is also adding to the 233 U inventory. Additionally, small quantities ( 233 U are in other research facilities at ORNL. A risk assessment process was chosen to evaluate the stored material and packages based on available package records. The risk scenario was considered the failure of a package (or a group of similar packages) in the Building 3019 inventory. The probability of such a failure depends on packaging factors such as the age and material of construction of the containers. The consequence of such a failure depends on the amount and form of the material within the packages. One thousand seven packages were categorized with this methodology resulting in 859 low-risk packages, 147 medium-risk packages, and 1 high-risk package. This initial assessment also documents the status of the evaluation of the Building 3019 and its systems for safe storage of 233 U. The final assessment report for ORNL storage of 233 U is scheduled for June 1999. The report will document the facility assessments, the specific package inspection plan, and the results of initial package inspections

  18. Comparison of USDA Forest Service and Stakeholder Motivations and Experiences in Collaborative Federal Forest Governance in the Western United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Emily Jane; White, Eric M.; Cerveny, Lee K.; Seesholtz, David; Nuss, Meagan L.; Ulrich, Donald R.

    2017-11-01

    In the United States, over 191 million acres of land is managed by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, a federal government agency. In several western U.S. states, organized collaborative groups have become a de facto governance approach to providing sustained input on management decisions on much public land. This is most extensive in Oregon, where at least 25 "forest collaboratives" currently exist. This affords excellent opportunities for studies of many common themes in collaborative governance, including trust, shared values, and perceptions of success. We undertook a statewide survey of participants in Oregon forest collaboratives to examine differences in motivations, perceptions of success, and satisfaction among Forest Service participants ("agency participants"), who made up 31% of the sample, and other respondents ("non-agency") who represent nonfederal agencies, interest groups, citizens, and non-governmental groups. We found that agency participants differed from non-agency participants. They typically had higher annual incomes, and were primarily motivated to participate to build trust. However, a majority of all respondents were similar in not indicating any other social or economic motivations as their primary reason for collaborating. A majority also reported satisfaction with their collaborative—despite not ranking collaborative performance on a number of specific potential outcomes highly. Together, this suggests that collaboration in Oregon is currently perceived as successful despite not achieving many specific outcomes. Yet there were significant differences in socioeconomic status and motivation that could affect the ability of agency and nonagency participants to develop and achieve mutually-desired goals.

  19. Comparison of USDA Forest Service and Stakeholder Motivations and Experiences in Collaborative Federal Forest Governance in the Western United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Emily Jane; White, Eric M; Cerveny, Lee K; Seesholtz, David; Nuss, Meagan L; Ulrich, Donald R

    2017-11-01

    In the United States, over 191 million acres of land is managed by the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, a federal government agency. In several western U.S. states, organized collaborative groups have become a de facto governance approach to providing sustained input on management decisions on much public land. This is most extensive in Oregon, where at least 25 "forest collaboratives" currently exist. This affords excellent opportunities for studies of many common themes in collaborative governance, including trust, shared values, and perceptions of success. We undertook a statewide survey of participants in Oregon forest collaboratives to examine differences in motivations, perceptions of success, and satisfaction among Forest Service participants ("agency participants"), who made up 31% of the sample, and other respondents ("non-agency") who represent nonfederal agencies, interest groups, citizens, and non-governmental groups. We found that agency participants differed from non-agency participants. They typically had higher annual incomes, and were primarily motivated to participate to build trust. However, a majority of all respondents were similar in not indicating any other social or economic motivations as their primary reason for collaborating. A majority also reported satisfaction with their collaborative-despite not ranking collaborative performance on a number of specific potential outcomes highly. Together, this suggests that collaboration in Oregon is currently perceived as successful despite not achieving many specific outcomes. Yet there were significant differences in socioeconomic status and motivation that could affect the ability of agency and nonagency participants to develop and achieve mutually-desired goals.

  20. U.S. Arctic Voyage Planning Guide (AVPG)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Arctic Voyage Planning Guide is a compilation of official U.S. Government information and references to sources of information that may be consulted by mariners...

  1. U.S.-Africa Business Conference Summary

    Science.gov (United States)

    The State Department, in collaboration with several co-sponsors and other US government agencies, hosted the U.S.-Africa Business Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio, June 21-22, at the Westin Cincinnati Hotel. The conference followed the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGO...

  2. Assessing Protective Factors for Violence Risk in U.K. General Mental Health Services Using the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haines, Alina; Brown, Andrew; Javaid, Syed Fahad; Khan, Fayyaz; Noblett, Steve; Omodunbi, Oladipupo; Sadiq, Khurram; Zaman, Wahid; Whittington, Richard

    2017-12-01

    Violence risk assessment and management are key tasks in mental health services and should be guided by validated instruments covering both risk and protective factors. This article is part of an international effort to validate the Structured Assessment of Protective Factors (SAPROF) for violence. The SAPROF, Historical, Clinical, Risk Management-20 (HCR-20) and the Psychopathy Checklist-Screening Version (PCL-SV) were administered in a sample of 261 patients in U.K. forensic, general inpatient, and community mental health settings. There was significant variation between these groups on SAPROF scores with fewer protective factors in the forensic group. The prospective validity of the SAPROF for nonviolence in the general inpatient and community samples was moderate (area under the curve [AUC] = .60). Adoption of the SAPROF or similar instruments as a supplement to risk-focused assessments has the potential to improve awareness of protective factors and enhance therapeutic engagement in a range of mental health services.

  3. Reported Pain During Labour - A Qualitative Study of Influencing Factors among Parturient During Confinement in Private or Government Hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parthasarathy, S; Ravishankar, M; Hemanthkumar, V R

    2016-03-01

    Labour pain is distressing and it produces undue side effects both to the mother and the baby. The incidence is high in developing countries like India where the awareness about labour analgesia is still lacking. It is to find out the incidence of labour pain and the influence of various described factors on pain with a comparison between patients admitted in a government set up with a private set up in a south Indian semi-urban area. Two hundred continuous uneventful normal deliveries each in a Government (group G) and a private hospital (group P) were enrolled for the study. The reported pain during labour was noted 6-7 hours after delivery by interacting with the patient. The factors like age of the mother, sex and weight of the baby, literacy, socioeconomic status, the use of oxytocics and analgesia were evaluated. The incidence of severe pain was more in group G (43.5%) than group P (12%). There was no analgesic intervention in 68.5% in group G while it was 13.5% (27/200) in group P. Even among these 27 patients who did not receive analgesics, only three parturients reported severe pain. Even administration of analgesics in a Government set up did not decrease pain to a significant extent. There were richer and more literate patients in group P. Booked cases were less in group G. Logistic regression analyses to find out factors which influenced pain in either group was used. Gravida, analgesic intervention and admission in a Govt. hospital influenced the pain experience of the parturient. There was minimal antenatal preparation in both the groups. There were no post partum complications. Mothers suffered from labour pain to a significant extent and there is an urgent need for awareness about labour analgesia. Primigravida, admission in a Govt. set up and analgesic interventions were the factors which influenced pain than others. Patients admitted in Govt. hospitals suffered more pain with less analgesic intervention possibly due to illiteracy. The increased

  4. Plutonium and U-233 mines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Milgram, M.S.

    1983-08-01

    A comparison is made among second generation reactor systems fuelled primarily with fissile plutonium and/or U-233 in uranium or thorium. This material is obtained from irradiated fuel from first generation CANDU reactors fuelled by natural or enriched uranium and thorium. Except for plutonium-thorium reactors, second generation reactors demand similar amounts of reprocessing throughput, but the most efficient plutonium burning systems require a large prior allocation of uranium. Second generation reactors fuelled by U-233 make more efficient use of resources and lead to more flexible fuelling strategies, but require development of first generation once-through thorium cycles and early demonstration of the commercial viability of thorium fuel reprocessing. No early implementation of reprocessing technology is required for these cycles

  5. Application of system dynamics on nuclear policy model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    An, N. S.; Kim, J. C.; Kim, D. W.; Kang, S. C.

    2000-01-01

    A system dynamics model for a nuclear energy policy in Korea (SIMNEP) was developed to analyze the Korea nuclear system and to predict the influence of the nuclear energy policy in the future. Two cases were analyzed using SIMNEP. The first case is to see the effect of the occurrence of severe nuclear accident in foreign country on the Korean government support. In the beginning, the Korean government support drops but jump up to the higher value than normal support due to the intelligentsia support influenced by the delay time of perception. Then, the national government support converges to the normal support. This turns out that the intelligentsia support plays a major role in increasing the government support. The second case is to see the effect of prior efforts on the foreign factors and/or on domestic factors on the U.S. government support. In the short term, effort on the U.S. government is more effective to increase U.S. government support but in the long term (about after 5 years), efforts on the domestic factors influence on the U.S. government support more than efforts on the foreign factors. The Korean government counter reaction among the influencing factors on the U.S. government support plays a major role to explain this result

  6. Fiscal Year 2015 U.S. Government Financial Statements: Need to Address the Governments Remaining Financial Management Challenges and Long Term Fiscal Path

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-06

    consolidated financial statements (governmentwide financial statements ). Unless these...the U.S. government’s fiscal year 2015 consolidated financial statements (governmentwide financial statements ), which is included in the Financial ...Processes Used to Prepare the U.S. Consolidated Financial Statements , GAO-15-630 (Washington, D.C.: July 30, 2015). A detailed discussion of

  7. Governing the quality and safety of healthcare: A conceptual framework.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brown, Alison; Dickinson, Helen; Kelaher, Margaret

    2018-04-01

    Recent research has advanced understanding of corporate governance of healthcare quality, highlighting the need for future empirical work to develop beyond a focus on board composition to a more detailed exploration of the internal workings of governance that influence board engagement and activities. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to guide empirical research examining the work of board and senior management in governing healthcare quality. To generate this framework, existing conceptual approaches and key constructs influencing effectiveness are identified in the governance literature. Commonalities between governance and team effectiveness literature are mapped and suggest a number of key constructs in the team effectiveness literature are applicable to, but not yet fully explored, within the governance literature. From these we develop a healthcare governance conceptual framework encompassing both literatures, that outlines input and mediating factors influencing governance. The mapping process highlights gaps in research related to board dynamics and external influences that require further investigation. Organizing the multiple complex factors that influence governance of healthcare quality in a conceptual framework brings a new perspective to structuring theory-led research and informing future policy initiatives. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Routine health information system utilization and factors associated thereof among health workers at government health institutions in East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiferaw, Atsede Mazengia; Zegeye, Dessalegn Tegabu; Assefa, Solomon; Yenit, Melaku Kindie

    2017-08-07

    Using reliable information from routine health information systems over time is an important aid to improving health outcomes, tackling disparities, enhancing efficiency, and encouraging innovation. In Ethiopia, routine health information utilization for enhancing performance is poor among health workers, especially at the peripheral levels of health facilities. Therefore, this study aimed to assess routine health information system utilization and associated factors among health workers at government health institutions in East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia. An institution based cross-sectional study was conducted at government health institutions of East Gojjam Zone, Northwest Ethiopia from April to May, 2013. A total of 668 health workers were selected from government health institutions, using the cluster sampling technique. Data collected using a standard structured and self-administered questionnaire and an observational checklist were cleaned, coded, and entered into Epi-info version 3.5.3, and transferred into SPSS version 20 for further statistical analysis. Variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 at multiple logistic regression analysis were considered statistically significant factors for the utilization of routine health information systems. The study revealed that 45.8% of the health workers had a good level of routine health information utilization. HMIS training [AOR = 2.72, 95% CI: 1.60, 4.62], good data analysis skills [AOR = 6.40, 95%CI: 3.93, 10.37], supervision [AOR = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.42, 4.75], regular feedback [AOR = 2.20, 95% CI: 1.38, 3.51], and favorable attitude towards health information utilization [AOR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.78, 4.54] were found significantly associated with a good level of routine health information utilization. More than half of the health workers working at government health institutions of East Gojjam were poor health information users compared with the findings of others studies. HMIS training, data

  9. Factors governing the deep ventilation of the Red Sea

    KAUST Repository

    Papadopoulos, Vassilis P.

    2015-11-19

    A variety of data based on hydrographic measurements, satellite observations, reanalysis databases, and meteorological observations are used to explore the interannual variability and factors governing the deep water formation in the northern Red Sea. Historical and recent hydrographic data consistently indicate that the ventilation of the near-bottom layer in the Red Sea is a robust feature of the thermohaline circulation. Dense water capable to reach the bottom layers of the Red Sea can be regularly produced mostly inside the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. Occasionally, during colder than usual winters, deep water formation may also take place over coastal areas in the northernmost end of the open Red Sea just outside the Gulfs of Aqaba and Suez. However, the origin as well as the amount of deep waters exhibit considerable interannual variability depending not only on atmospheric forcing but also on the water circulation over the northern Red Sea. Analysis of several recent winters shows that the strength of the cyclonic gyre prevailing in the northernmost part of the basin can effectively influence the sea surface temperature (SST) and intensify or moderate the winter surface cooling. Upwelling associated with periods of persistent gyre circulation lowers the SST over the northernmost part of the Red Sea and can produce colder than normal winter SST even without extreme heat loss by the sea surface. In addition, the occasional persistence of the cyclonic gyre feeds the surface layers of the northern Red Sea with nutrients, considerably increasing the phytoplankton biomass.

  10. 75 FR 68325 - Government Programs to Assist Businesses Protect Their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-05

    ... of U.S. businesses, including Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs), in foreign markets. As... rights in foreign markets in particular. 2. Identify specific challenges businesses, including SMEs, face..., patents, trade secrets) present the most challenges to SMEs? Should U.S. government programs focus on...

  11. Aceh Conflict Resolution By The Government Of Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ady Muzwardi

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Aceh peace is a new dynamic on the resolution of conflicts in the region. Eight years have passed and the agreement was signed by the Free Aceh Movement (GAM and the Indonesian Government, while the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding agreed in 2005. The signing of the MoU symbolically ends Aceh conflict which is prolonged for three decades. Moreover the notable occurance that leads to the weakening of GAM strength is that by December 26, 2004 earthquake and tsunami has devastated the communities in terms of infrastructure and superstructure. While spirit to rebuild Aceh after the disaster emerged, amount of aid coming in the country from as well as foreign institutions such as NGO. The government of Indonesia took this chance to develop Aceh once again and approach GAM to release the tense, to take the path of peace. The government efforts succeed by personalized approach to one of the central figures of GAM. The conflict in Aceh reflects that lobbying skill from the government of Indonesia against GAM is quite excellent. To notice the reconstruction of Aceh peace agreement before, the Cessation of Hostility Agreement (COHA initiated by the Henry Dunant Center (HDC stalled. The struggle embodied in the MoU agreement which is initiated by the Crisis Management Initiative (CMI actually formed by former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari. While it is done further implementation is left to the Aceh Monitoring Mission (AMM led by Pieter Feith. In this mission AMM successfully carry out their duties in accordance with the agreement so that it runs alltogether. AMM ended its duties on December 15, 2006 and successfully reconcile the peace process (AMM: 2006. Furthermore, Indonesian Government gives freedom of democracy actively for Aceh and GAM combatants. Troop’s withdrawal process also the destruction of non-organic military and police weapons of the GAM runs smoothly. Then the GAM combatants reintegrate into society, this task successfully executed

  12. Spatiotemporal Distribution of U5MR and Their Relationship with Geographic and Socioeconomic Factors in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zeng; Fu, Jingying; Jiang, Dong; Lin, Gang; Dong, Donglin; Yan, Xiaoxi

    2017-11-21

    Epidemiological studies conducted around the world have reported that the under-five mortality rate (U5MR) is closely associated with income and educational attainment. However, geographic elements should also remain a major concern in further improving child health issues, since they often play an important role in the survival environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the U5MR, geographic, and socioeconomic factors, and to explore the associated spatial variance of the relationship in China using the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model. The results indicate that the space pattern of a high U5MR had been narrowed notably during the period from 2001 to 2010. Nighttime lights (NL) and the digital elevation model (DEM) both have obvious influences on the U5MR, with the NL having a negative impact and DEM having a positive impact. Additionally, the relationship between the NL and DEM varied over space in China. Moreover, the relevance between U5MR and DEM was narrowed in 2010 compared to 2001, which indicates that the development of economic and medical standards can overcome geographical limits.

  13. Spatiotemporal Distribution of U5MR and Their Relationship with Geographic and Socioeconomic Factors in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeng Li

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Epidemiological studies conducted around the world have reported that the under-five mortality rate (U5MR is closely associated with income and educational attainment. However, geographic elements should also remain a major concern in further improving child health issues, since they often play an important role in the survival environment. This study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the U5MR, geographic, and socioeconomic factors, and to explore the associated spatial variance of the relationship in China using the geographically weighted regression (GWR model. The results indicate that the space pattern of a high U5MR had been narrowed notably during the period from 2001 to 2010. Nighttime lights (NL and the digital elevation model (DEM both have obvious influences on the U5MR, with the NL having a negative impact and DEM having a positive impact. Additionally, the relationship between the NL and DEM varied over space in China. Moreover, the relevance between U5MR and DEM was narrowed in 2010 compared to 2001, which indicates that the development of economic and medical standards can overcome geographical limits.

  14. Mechanism governing heme synthesis reveals a GATA factor/heme circuit that controls differentiation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanimura, Nobuyuki; Miller, Eli; Igarashi, Kazuhiko; Yang, David; Burstyn, Judith N; Dewey, Colin N; Bresnick, Emery H

    2016-02-01

    Metal ion-containing macromolecules have fundamental roles in essentially all biological processes throughout the evolutionary tree. For example, iron-containing heme is a cofactor in enzyme catalysis and electron transfer and an essential hemoglobin constituent. To meet the intense demand for hemoglobin assembly in red blood cells, the cell type-specific factor GATA-1 activates transcription of Alas2, encoding the rate-limiting enzyme in heme biosynthesis, 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase-2 (ALAS-2). Using genetic editing to unravel mechanisms governing heme biosynthesis, we discovered a GATA factor- and heme-dependent circuit that establishes the erythroid cell transcriptome. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated ablation of two Alas2 intronic cis elements strongly reduces GATA-1-induced Alas2 transcription, heme biosynthesis, and surprisingly, GATA-1 regulation of other vital constituents of the erythroid cell transcriptome. Bypassing ALAS-2 function in Alas2 cis element-mutant cells by providing its catalytic product 5-aminolevulinic acid rescues heme biosynthesis and the GATA-1-dependent genetic network. Heme amplifies GATA-1 function by downregulating the heme-sensing transcriptional repressor Bach1 and via a Bach1-insensitive mechanism. Through this dual mechanism, heme and a master regulator collaborate to orchestrate a cell type-specific transcriptional program that promotes cellular differentiation. © 2015 The Authors.

  15. 76 FR 55070 - Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-06

    .... SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for..., 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville, Maryland 20852-3804; telephone: 301-496-7057; fax: 301... samples for anti- cancer immunotherapy by making use of gas permeable (GP) flasks. This advancement in...

  16. Determinants of efficiency in reducing child mortality in developing countries. The role of inequality and government effectiveness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortega, Bienvenido; Sanjuán, Jesús; Casquero, Antonio

    2017-12-01

    The main aim of this article was to analyze the relationship of income inequality and government effectiveness with differences in efficiency in the use of health inputs to improve the under-five survival rate (U5SR) in developing countries. Robust Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and regression analysis were conducted using data for 47 developing countries for the periods 2000-2004, 2005-2009, and 2010-2012. The estimations show that countries with a more equal income distribution and better government effectiveness (i.e. a more competent bureaucracy and good quality public service delivery) may need fewer health inputs to achieve a specific level of the U5SR than other countries with higher inequality and worse government effectiveness.

  17. Corporate governance determinants: the firm-level evidence from transitional country, Ukraine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitaliy Zheka

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper attempts to empirically investigate the determinants of choices of corporate governance practices by corporations in a transition market. The study offers firm-level evidence benefiting from unique financial and governance data on Ukraine. In particular, we analyze the factors that affect overall level as well as individual elements of corporate governance. We consider such governance elements as shareholder rights, transparency, board independence, chairman independence and ownership. Overall we found that regulatory, industry and firm level factors are important, which is consistent with previous literature for other countries. Combining our results with the results of Zheka (20063 we conclude that it is possible for the government to implement and enforce better corporate governance practices in the economy that would make Ukrainian enterprises more attractive for foreign investment.

  18. Response by the government to the second report from the Agriculture Committee, session 1987-88, 'Chernobyl: the government's reaction' (HC 456)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1988-01-01

    The government welcomes the Committee's endorsement of its view that no restrictions were necessary on milk and fresh vegetables and of the action level of 1000Bq/kg for sheep meat. The government agrees with the Committee's findings that there was no danger to public health in the UK as a result of the action taken by the government. The recommendations and conclusions of the Committee are mostly accepted with a small number which are not. The points of agreement include the need for better methods of informing the public on radiation levels found, the need to review and revise the derived emergency reference levels, the need for additional monitoring, the marking of sheep, the need for more research into radioactive pathways and the need to improve its capability for the rapid surveillance of large areas of environmental deposition. The points not accepted include the lack of sufficient co-ordination between government departments, food chain safety, the sale of unmarked sheep in Scotland, compensation, monitoring of water and information given to local authorities. (U.K.)

  19. Building-related symptoms among U.S. office workers and risks factors for moisture and contamination: Preliminary analyses of U.S. EPA BASE Data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendell, Mark J.; Cozen, Myrna

    2002-09-01

    The authors assessed relationships between health symptoms in office workers and risk factors related to moisture and contamination, using data collected from a representative sample of U.S. office buildings in the U.S. EPA BASE study. Methods: Analyses assessed associations between three types of weekly, workrelated symptoms-lower respiratory, mucous membrane, and neurologic-and risk factors for moisture or contamination in these office buildings. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to estimate the strength of associations for these risk factors as odds ratios (ORs) adjusted for personal-level potential confounding variables related to demographics, health, job, and workspace. A number of risk factors were associated (e.g., 95% confidence limits excluded 1.0) significantly with small to moderate increases in one or more symptom outcomes. Significantly elevated ORs for mucous membrane symptoms were associated with the following risk factors: presence of humidification system in good condition versus none (OR = 1.4); air handler inspection annually versus daily (OR = 1.6); current water damage in the building (OR = 1.2); and less than daily vacuuming in study space (OR = 1.2). Significantly elevated ORs for lower respiratory symptoms were associated with: air handler inspection annually versus daily (OR = 2.0); air handler inspection less than daily but at least semi-annually (OR=1.6); less than daily cleaning of offices (1.7); and less than daily vacuuming of the study space (OR = 1.4). Only two statistically significant risk factors for neurologic symptoms were identified: presence of any humidification system versus none (OR = 1.3); and less than daily vacuuming of the study space (OR = 1.3). Dirty cooling coils, dirty or poorly draining drain pans, and standing water near outdoor air intakes, evaluated by inspection, were not identified as risk factors in these analyses, despite predictions based on previous findings elsewhere, except that very

  20. Identifying and Ranking the Effective Factors on Successful Implementation of Social Commerce in Iran, Using AHP Fuzzy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Rahimi

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Social commerce has been introduced as a new approach to increase sales, number of customers and reduce marketing expenditures. This approach is a combination of business, communication between people, as well as communicative and informative technologies based on web 2.0 Its achievement originated from different factors relied on business, individuals, culture, and technology. These factors have been primarily identified on the basis of library researches and classified into six infrastructural groups including:  technical, economical and human resources, cultural, rules governing the countries, style of management, and business. Then, it identified priority of the factors by using the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (AHP. Innovation of this research was to extract a comprehensive list of factors and to prioritize them based on specific conditions in Iran.

  1. Economics of license renewal in the U.S. - entergy's perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Young, Garry G.

    2003-01-01

    capacity factor for U.S. nuclear plants was about 70%. By the end of 2001, the average capacity factor had increased to about 90%. Entergy has done even better in capacity factor improvement. In 2001, Entergy's nuclear plant fleet had an average capacity factor of 96%. This performance record translates into improved economic status for Entergy's nuclear plants, which provides further support for making a decision to seek license renewal. The ultimate decision to pursue license renewal will continue to be primarily an economic decision. If the current positive economic trend for Entergy's nuclear fleet continues, license renewal for the entire fleet of operating plants is a distinct possibility. (author)

  2. Factors Associated with Salmonella Prevalence in U.S. Swine Grower-Finisher Operations, 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjork, Kathe E; Fields, Victoria; Garber, Lindsey P; Kopral, Christine A

    2018-05-15

    Nontyphoidal Salmonella is an important foodborne pathogen with diverse serotypes occurring in animal and human populations. The prevalence of the organism on swine farms has been associated with numerous risk factors, and although there are strong veterinary public health controls for preventing Salmonella from entering food, there remains interest in eradicating or controlling the organism in the preharvest environment. In this study, using data collected via the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Animal Health Monitoring System Swine 2012 study, we describe nontyphoidal Salmonella and specific serotype prevalence on U.S. grower-finisher swine operations and investigate associations between Salmonella detection and numerous factors via multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) and regression analysis. MCA plots, complementary to univariate analyses, display relationships between covariates and Salmonella detection at the farm level. In the univariate analysis, Salmonella detection varied with feed characteristics and farm management practices, reports of diseases on farms and vaccinations administered, and administration of certain antimicrobials. Results from the univariate analysis reinforce the importance of biosecurity in managing diseases and pathogens such as Salmonella on farms. All multivariable regression models for the likelihood of Salmonella detection were strongly affected by multicollinearity among variables, and only one variable, pelleted feed preparation, remained in the final model. The study was limited by its cross-sectional nature, timelines of data collection, and reliance on operator-reported data via a convenience sample.

  3. E-Government and Geographical Information Based Collaboration Patterns

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schrøder, Lise; Hvingel, Line Træholt; Hansen, Henning Sten

    2010-01-01

    In order to achieve an efficient e-Government many factors must be considered. In the UN e-Government Survey from 2008 a holistic approach is recommended incorporating human capacity, infrastructure development and access to information and knowledge. In the same survey Denmark is ranked second i...

  4. 76 FR 63309 - Government-Owned Inventions; Availability for Licensing

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-10-12

    ... applications, such as the characterization and study of glucocorticoid signaling in cancer, inflammation, and... is a need to track the spread of these viruses both in the animal and human populations to avert or.... SUMMARY: The inventions listed below are owned by an agency of the U.S. Government and are available for...

  5. U.S. Military Presence in a Post-Unified Korea: Is It Required

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Printz, Scott A

    2006-01-01

    In a future geo-political environment where North and South Korea are unified under a single government with single economic and military systems how will this shift in the strategic environment impact U.S. diplomacy the U.S...

  6. Cognitive governance, cognitive mapping and cognitive conflicts: Structural analysis with the MICMAC method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Garoui Nassreddine

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available This research aims to achieve a better understanding of the modes of conceptualization and thinking on issues of governance. It is part of a cognitive approach, to our knowledge unprecedented. This research has shown that the mapping concepts of governance can provide the original performance and meaningful. The purpose was to plot the thought of governance actors in the form of a cognitive map and analyze it. The results highlighted the relative importance of the concepts they used, the dimensions from which they structured more or less consciously, here own thoughts, and the nature and characteristics of the concepts they considered primarily as an explanation or consequences. They allowed characterizing very special or very precise structure and content of the thought of these actors. The construction of collective cognitive maps is to help structure the relationship between governance actors in the sense that it will detect the conflict relations of cognitive order. The cognitive map is by definition a representation of mental models of actors on any topic. Actors of governance do not have the same definitions of the concepts of governance that represents for us a sort of cognitive conflict and hence through cognitive mapping can map the concentration of these conflicts and we are still looking for more to show the effectiveness governance mechanisms to resolve these conflicts.

  7. Variations in U.S. Consumers' Acceptability of Korean Rice Cake, Seolgitteok, with respect to Sensory Attributes and Nonsensory Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cho, Sungeun; Yoon, Suk Hoo; Min, Jieun; Lee, Suji; Tokar, Tonya; Lee, Sun-Ok; Seo, Han-Seok

    2016-01-01

    Because the Korean rice cake, Seolgitteok, is mainly prepared with rice flour containing no gluten-protein associated with celiac disease, it can be considered for inclusion in a gluten-free diet. However, Western consumers may be unlikely to enjoy the plain flavor and chewy texture of Seolgitteok. This study aimed to determine both sensory and nonsensory factors that might affect U.S. consumers' acceptability of Seolgitteok. A total of 119 U.S. consumers rated 5 Seolgitteok samples, differentiated by descriptive sensory analysis, with respect to hedonic impression and just-about-right aspects of sensory attributes. Nonsensory factors such as demographic profile, innovativeness, social representation, sensation-seeking, and personality traits were also assessed. Addition levels of brown rice flour (0% to 100%) and sugar (5% to 20%) not only enriched flavor, but also lessened chewiness of Seolgitteok, thereby increasing an overall hedonic impression. Moreover, consumer acceptability of Seolgitteok varied with respect to nonsensory factors. Seolgitteok was more appreciated by males, sensation seekers, and individuals constrained by social desirability than by other groups. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that U.S. consumers' acceptability of Seolgitteok varies not only by sensory attributes such as rice flavor, sweetness, and chewiness, but also by nonsensory factors such as gender, sensation-seeking characteristics, and personality traits. © 2015 Institute of Food Technologists®

  8. Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-27

    right to govern; the more the Brotherhood charges ahead, the more it confirms the others’ belief of its monopolistic designs over power. Even if...appropriate market -reform and economic growth activities.” Egypt: Background and U.S. Relations Congressional Research Service 18 according to the State

  9. Structural Basis for Polypyrimidine Tract Recognition by the Essential Pre-mRNA Splicing Factor U2AF65

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sickmier, E.; Frato, K.; Shen, H.; Paranawithana, S.; Green, M.; Kielkopf, C.

    2006-01-01

    The essential pre-mRNA splicing factor, U2AF 65 , guides the early stages of splice site choice by recognizing a polypyrimidine (Py)-tract consensus sequence near the 3'-splice site. Since Py-tracts are relatively poorly conserved in higher eukaryotes, U2AF 65 is faced with the problem of specifying uridine-rich sequences, yet tolerating a variety of nucleotide substitutions found in natural Py-tracts. To better understand these apparently contradictory RNA binding characteristics, the X-ray structure of the U2AF 65 RNA binding domain bound to a Py-tract composed of seven uridines has been determined at 2.5Angstroms resolution. Specific hydrogen bonds between U2AF 65 and the uracil bases provide an explanation for polyuridine recognition. Flexible sidechains and bound water molecules form the majority of the base contacts, and potentially could rearrange when the U2AF 65 structure adapts to different Py-tract sequences. The energetic importance of conserved residues for Py-tract binding is established by analysis of site-directed mutant U2AF 65 proteins using surface plasmon resonance

  10. Examining quality and efficiency of the U.S. healthcare system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sameer; Ghildayal, Neha S; Shah, Ronak N

    2011-01-01

    The fundamental concern of this research study is to learn the quality and efficiency of U.S. healthcare services. It seeks to examine the impact of quality and efficiency on various stakeholders to achieve the best value for each dollar spent for healthcare. The study aims to offer insights on quality reformation efforts, contemporary healthcare policy and a forthcoming change shaped by the Federal healthcare fiscal policy and to recommend the improvement objective by comparing the U.S. healthcare system with those of other developed nations. The US healthcare system is examined utilizing various data on recent trends in: spending, budgetary implications, economic indicators, i.e., GDP, inflation, wage and population growth. Process maps, cause and effect diagrams and descriptive data statistics are utilized to understand the various drivers that influence the rising healthcare cost. A proposed cause and effect diagram is presented to offer potential solutions, for significant improvement in U.S. healthcare. At present, the US healthcare system is of vital interest to the nation's economy and government policy (spending). The U.S. healthcare system is characterized as the world's most expensive yet least effective compared with other nations. Growing healthcare costs have made millions of citizens vulnerable. Major drivers of the healthcare costs are institutionalized medical practices and reimbursement policies, technology-induced costs and consumer behavior. Reviewing many articles, congressional reports, internet websites and related material, a simplified process map of the US healthcare system is presented. The financial process map is also created to further understand the overall process that connects the stakeholders in the healthcare system. Factors impacting healthcare are presented by a cause and effect diagram to further simplify the complexities of healthcare. This tool can also be used as a guide to improve efficiency by removing the "waste" from the

  11. Wave heating and the U.S. magnetic fusion energy program

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Staten, H.S.

    1985-01-01

    The U.S. Government's support of the fusion program is predicated upon the long-term need for the fusion option in our energy future, as well as the near-term benefits associated with developments on the frontier of science and high technology. As a long-term energy option, magnetic fusion energy has the potential to provide an inexpensive, vast, and secure fuel reserve, to be environmentally clean and safe. It has many potential uses, which include production of central station electricity, fuel for fission reactors, synthetic fuels, and process heat for such applications as desalination of sea water. This paper presents an overview of the U.S. Government program for magnetic fusion energy. The goal and objectives of the U.S. program are reviewed followed by a summary of plasma experiments presently under way and the application of wave heating to these experiments

  12. Pension Fund governing board

    CERN Multimedia

    HR Department

    2008-01-01

    On 16 March and 7 May, the Pension Fund Governing Board (PFGB) held its fourth and fifth meetings The first of these meetings was primarily dedicated to the examination of the strategic asset allocation. The PFGB reaffirmed the main goal of the new strategic asset allocation: to improve the Pension Fund’s position with regard to risk by lowering overall portfolio volatility through suitable investments in less volatile asset classes such as real estate and absolute return strategies, where the return does not depend on market trends and negative growth is extremely unlikely. The finalised document will be presented to the Finance Committee and the Council at their June meetings for approval, in accordance with the provisions of the Levaux report. The PFGB also took note of the Internal Audit’s report on Pension Fund operations and decided to refer it to Working Group I as a working document for establishing a control and internal monitoring system for Pension Fund oper...

  13. An international comparison of four polycentric approaches to climate and energy governance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sovacool, Benjamin K., E-mail: bsovacool@nus.edu.sg [Energy Governance Program, Centre on Asia and Globalisation, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, 469C Bukit Timah Road, Singapore 259772 (Singapore)

    2011-06-15

    Drawing from work on governance, this article explores four programs and policies that respond in some way to the challenges induced by climate change and modern energy use. Relying primarily on original data collected from research interviews and field research in seven countries along with four case studies, the article notes that polycentric approaches - those that mix scales (such as local/national or national/global), mechanisms (such as subsidies, tax credits, and mandates), and actors (such as government regulators, business stakeholders, and members of civil society) - can foster equity, inclusivity, information, accountability, organizational multiplicity, and adaptability that result in the resolution of climate and energy related problems. After explaining its case selection and research methods, defining climate and energy governance, and conceptualizing polycentrism, the study explores cases related to electricity supply in Denmark, ethanol production in Brazil, small-scale renewable energy in Bangladesh, and off-grid energy use in China. It concludes by highlighting how polycentrism may enhance effective climate and energy governance, but that further research is needed to fully substantiate that claim. - Highlights: > Polycentric governance systems mix scales, mechanisms, and actors. > Polycentric systems can foster equity, inclusivity, and information. > They can also promote accountability, organizational multiplicity, and adaptability. > Polycentrism thus has much promise in climate and energy related problems.

  14. An international comparison of four polycentric approaches to climate and energy governance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sovacool, Benjamin K.

    2011-01-01

    Drawing from work on governance, this article explores four programs and policies that respond in some way to the challenges induced by climate change and modern energy use. Relying primarily on original data collected from research interviews and field research in seven countries along with four case studies, the article notes that polycentric approaches - those that mix scales (such as local/national or national/global), mechanisms (such as subsidies, tax credits, and mandates), and actors (such as government regulators, business stakeholders, and members of civil society) - can foster equity, inclusivity, information, accountability, organizational multiplicity, and adaptability that result in the resolution of climate and energy related problems. After explaining its case selection and research methods, defining climate and energy governance, and conceptualizing polycentrism, the study explores cases related to electricity supply in Denmark, ethanol production in Brazil, small-scale renewable energy in Bangladesh, and off-grid energy use in China. It concludes by highlighting how polycentrism may enhance effective climate and energy governance, but that further research is needed to fully substantiate that claim. - Highlights: → Polycentric governance systems mix scales, mechanisms, and actors. → Polycentric systems can foster equity, inclusivity, and information. → They can also promote accountability, organizational multiplicity, and adaptability. → Polycentrism thus has much promise in climate and energy related problems.

  15. The Misunderstood Problem of Consumer Protection in Japan: The Roles of Lawyers and the Government.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waxman, Michael Peter

    1995-01-01

    Introduces the role of law and government in consumer protection in Japan. Suggests that recognition of cultural differences between U.S. and Japanese societies can provide insights that will stimulate the U.S. consumer movement to confront the anticonsumer structures in Japan while respecting their internal values. (Author/JOW)

  16. U.S. Arms Sales: Agreements with and Deliveries to Major Clients, 2000-2007

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Grimmett, Richard F

    2008-01-01

    .... In a series of data tables, it lists the total dollar values of U.S. government-to-government arms sales agreements with its top five purchasers in five specific regions of the world for three specific periods...

  17. Factors Effecting E-Learning Preference: An Analysis On Turkish University Students From Government and Private Institutions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emine Sevinç Çağlar

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Informationand communications technology has become an important tool in education. The use of online e-learning by members of educational communities isincreasing, and this seems to bean accelerating tendency that will go on for the coming years. So it isimportant to identify and address students’ preferences or their anxieties ine-learning, to offer beneficial programs. Although Turkish educational system,especially in universities, is also taking action parallel to this globaltrend, there is only limited research on the subject. Present study aims tofill this gap, andto identify effective factors while highlighting theircontributions on e-learning preferences of university students. The sample ofthe study consist 606 university students from both government and privateinstitutions which enables group comparisons. Results indicate ‘reduction intraining costs’ and ‘time flexibility of the programs’ are the most valuedfactors to prefer e-learning. On the other hand,having courses and the exams on the internet was not found to be muchfavorable. With respect to demographic variables such as age, gender,private/government university, department, and grade (the year at theuniversity group differences were identified. Based on the findings,suggestions were presented.

  18. The Size and Structure of Government

    OpenAIRE

    Michael, Bryane; Popov, Maja

    2015-01-01

    Does government size and structure adapt to changes in government’s organisational environment (particularly to uncertainty and complexity) as predicted by organisational theory? We find – using a range of statistical analyses – support for each of the major theories of organisation adaptation (the contingency-based view, resource-based view, and rational choice view). We find that both government size and structure change – holding other factors constant – for changes in the uncertaint...

  19. Corporate governance and corporate social responsibility: A typology of OECD countries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patricia Crifo

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article investigates the relationships between corporate governance and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR. The underlying intuition is that governance factors are major determinants of CSR policies and extra-financial performance. More precisely, we identify three main factors that determine the strength of CSR engagement at the firm level: the structure of equity ownership (identity of shareholders, the composition and structure of board of directors, and the regulatory framework on corporate governance and CSR. We show how evolutions regarding corporate governance over the three previous decades have paved the way and shaped the rise of CSR. In addition, we elaborate a typology of CSR and governance structures that characterize OECD countries depending on whether the CSR reporting regime is stringent versus non-stringent, and on whether the corporate governance model is based on the shareholder, stakeholder or hybrid regime.

  20. Survey on actual status of R and D fund assistance in the U.S.A.; Beikoku ni okeru kenkyu kaihatsu shikin enjo no jittai nado ni kansuru chosa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1991-03-01

    As a basic survey to serve for establishment of science and technology policies, a survey was carried out on the actual status of R and D fund assistance in the U.S.A., roles of the government and civil sectors, and how they are interrelated. The survey was performed in detail on the following items: the assistance and cooperation measures taken by the U.S. government, and technological policies of the U.S. government; fund subsidies and policies toward technological research and development provided by the U.S. government; research and development plans and projects being the object of the subsidies given by the U.S. government; assistance and cooperation of private organizations for financing research and development activities in the U.S.A.; cooperation and joint works among industries, the government and universities (research consortiums) in the research and development activities; legal assistance policies for research and development in the U.S.A., the favorable tax system for research and development, the 1984 National Joint Research Act, and the actual status and analysis of the legal assistance policies in the U.S.A. for aiding research and development tests. (NEDO)

  1. NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 17: The relationship between seven variables and the use of US government technical reports by US aerospace engineers and scientists

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pinelli, Thomas E.; Barclay, Rebecca O.; Kennedy, John M.; Glassman, Nanci; Demerath, Loren

    1991-01-01

    A study was undertaken to investigate the relationship between the use of U.S. government technical reports by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists and seven selected sociometric variables. Data were collected by means of a self-administered mail survey which was distributed to a randomly drawn sample of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) members. Two research questions concerning the use of conference meeting papers, journal articles, in-house technical reports, and U.S. government technical reports were investigated. Relevance, technical quality, and accessibility were found to be more important determinants of the overall extent to which U.S. government technical reports and three other information products were used by U.S. aerospace engineers and scientists.

  2. U.S. government-to-government cooperation on nuclear materials protection, control, and accounting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mladineo, S.; Bricker, K.; Alberque, W.

    1996-01-01

    The US Department of Energy (DOE) is cooperating with Russia, the Newly Independent States (NIS), and the Baltics to help prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons through the improvement of national systems of nuclear material protection, control, and accounting (MPC and A). US cooperation with Russia is carried out under the DOE MPC and A Program and the Nunn-Lugar funded Cooperative Threat Reduction program for Russia. Presidential Decision Directive (PDD)-41 designated DOE as the government agency with primary responsibility for MPC and A efforts in Russia, the NIS, and Baltics. Cooperation is conducted in coordination with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for the development of a strong, independent national regulatory agency in Russia. DOE also coordinates these efforts with the European Community and other countries. DOE''s cooperation under the MPC and A program with Russia includes aggressive near-term activities to better secure nuclear materials through MPC and A system upgrades at facilities. Simultaneously, DOE is supporting Russia in its long-term goal of implementing upgraded MPC and A systems that can be maintained and supported from indigenous resources. Projects include the development of national regulations and laws, training of trainers, the development of a computerized federal information system, and other related tasks. NRC''s role in these efforts includes regulatory development activities, such as licensing and inspection program development, and related training. This paper provides an overview of the activities undertaken through DOE-Russian cooperation on MPC and A and how they complement each other

  3. 76 FR 24082 - Notice With Respect to List of Countries Denying Fair Market Opportunities for Government-Funded...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-29

    ..., suppliers, or bidders in foreign government-funded airport construction projects. DATES: Effective Date... to U.S. products, suppliers, or bidders in connection with airport construction projects of $500,000... Fair Market Opportunities for Government-Funded Airport Construction Projects AGENCY: Office of the...

  4. 77 FR 23791 - Notice With Respect to List of Countries Denying Fair Market Opportunities for Government-Funded...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-04-20

    ..., suppliers, or bidders in foreign government-funded airport construction projects. DATES: Effective Date... to U.S. products, suppliers, or bidders in connection with airport construction projects of $500,000... Fair Market Opportunities for Government-Funded Airport Construction Projects AGENCY: Office of the...

  5. Socioeconomic determinants of e-government adoption in selected ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study explored the impact of socioeconomic factors on e-government adoption, specifically addressing the digital divide in Tanzania. A survey was administered on 450 citizens, in order to examine the effect of demographic characteristics on e-government usage. The findings of this study revealed that income, age, ...

  6. Lead exposures in U.S. Children, 2008: implications for prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levin, Ronnie; Brown, Mary Jean; Kashtock, Michael E; Jacobs, David E; Whelan, Elizabeth A; Rodman, Joanne; Schock, Michael R; Padilla, Alma; Sinks, Thomas

    2008-10-01

    We reviewed the sources of lead in the environments of U.S. children, contributions to children's blood lead levels, source elimination and control efforts, and existing federal authorities. Our context is the U.S. public health goal to eliminate pediatric elevated blood lead levels (EBLs) by 2010. National, state, and local exposure assessments over the past half century have identified risk factors for EBLs among U.S. children, including age, race, income, age and location of housing, parental occupation, and season. Recent national policies have greatly reduced lead exposure among U.S. children, but even very low exposure levels compromise children's later intellectual development and lifetime achievement. No threshold for these effects has been demonstrated. Although lead paint and dust may still account for up to 70% of EBLs in U.S. children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that >or=30% of current EBLs do not have an immediate lead paint source, and numerous studies indicate that lead exposures result from multiple sources. EBLs and even deaths have been associated with inadequately controlled sources including ethnic remedies and goods, consumer products, and food-related items such as ceramics. Lead in public drinking water and in older urban centers remain exposure sources in many areas. Achieving the 2010 goal requires maintaining current efforts, especially programs addressing lead paint, while developing interventions that prevent exposure before children are poisoned. It also requires active collaboration across all levels of government to identify and control all potential sources of lead exposure, as well as primary prevention.

  7. Nitric oxide circulates in mammalian plasma primarily as an S-nitroso adduct of serum albumin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stamler, J S; Jaraki, O; Osborne, J; Simon, D I; Keaney, J; Vita, J; Singel, D; Valeri, C R; Loscalzo, J

    1992-01-01

    We have recently shown that nitric oxide or authentic endothelium-derived relaxing factor generated in a biologic system reacts in the presence of specific protein thiols to form S-nitrosoprotein derivatives that have endothelium-derived relaxing factor-like properties. The single free cysteine of serum albumin, Cys-34, is particularly reactive toward nitrogen oxides (most likely nitrosonium ion) under physiologic conditions, primarily because of its anomalously low pK; given its abundance in plasma, where it accounts for approximately 0.5 mM thiol, we hypothesized that this plasma protein serves as a reservoir for nitric oxide produced by the endothelial cell. To test this hypothesis, we developed a methodology, which involves UV photolytic cleavage of the S--NO bond before reaction with ozone for chemiluminescence detection, with which to measure free nitric oxide, S-nitrosothiols, and S-nitrosoproteins in biologic systems. We found that human plasma contains approximately 7 microM S-nitrosothiols, of which 96% are S-nitrosoproteins, 82% of which is accounted for by S-nitroso-serum albumin. By contrast, plasma levels of free nitric oxide are only in the 3-nM range. In rabbits, plasma S-nitrosothiols are present at approximately 1 microM; 60 min after administration of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine at 50 mg/ml, a selective and potent inhibitor of nitric oxide synthetases, S-nitrosothiols decreased by approximately 40% (greater than 95% of which were accounted for by S-nitrosoproteins, and approximately 80% of which was S-nitroso-serum albumin); this decrease was accompanied by a concomitant increase in mean arterial blood pressure of 22%. These data suggest that naturally produced nitric oxide circulates in plasma primarily complexed in S-nitrosothiol species, principal among which is S-nitroso-serum albumin. This abundant, relatively long-lived adduct likely serves as a reservoir with which plasma levels of highly reactive, short-lived free nitric oxide can be

  8. Which is the Best Government? Colligating Tax Compliance and Citizens’ Insights RegardIng Authorities’ Actions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Larissa BĂTRÂNCEA

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The current paper focuses primarily on taxpayers’ perceptions regarding government performance (viz., transparency, taxation level, goods and services provided, political stability and explores how these perceptions impact on tax compliance when trust in government counts as a mediating variable. To this end we conduct-ed four mediation analyses on a sample pool of 182 countries and territories with data commissioned by international organizations, i.e., World Bank and World Economic Forum. By means of the bootstrapping technique with 95% bias-cor-rected and accelerated (BCa confdence interval and 5000 bootstrap resamples, we substantiate the idea that citizens’ tax compliance behavior is steered by their level of trust in government which is triggered by the manner they perceive government performance in levying taxes and re-distributing wealth. A prescription stemming from this upshot is that governments should extensive-ly enhance visibility of their policy achievements in order to secure citizens’ trust, collect proper levels of tax revenues, whence consolidate and maintain economic prosperity as well as social and political balance on the long run.

  9. Environmental governance and role of judiciary in India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahu, G.

    2005-01-01

    This paper attempts to examine the role of judiciary in environmental governance of India in terms of judiciary intervention in the environmental policy making process as well as its role in the implementation of existing environmental laws and shaping its implementation process. In consonance with this exercise, the paper has highlighted the contributing factors influencing judiciary role in environmental governance and thereby examines the impact of judicial intervention in environmental governance of India. The discussion in the paper is drawn from the case studies of a few environmental cases where the role of judiciary in environmental governance can be observed. (author)

  10. E-Government Partnerships Across Levels of Government

    OpenAIRE

    Charbit, Claire; Michalun, Varinia

    2009-01-01

    E-government Partnerships across Levels of Government, is an overview of the challenges and approaches to creating a collaborative and cooperative partnership across levels of government for e-government development and implementation.

  11. Avoiding Implementation Failure in Catchment Landscapes: A Case Study in Governance of the Great Barrier Reef.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dale, Allan P; Vella, Karen; Gooch, Margaret; Potts, Ruth; Pressey, Robert L; Brodie, Jon; Eberhard, Rachel

    2017-10-04

    Water quality outcomes affecting Australia's Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are governed by multi-level and multi-party decision-making that influences forested and agricultural landscapes. With international concern about the GBR's declining ecological health, this paper identifies and focuses on implementation failure (primarily at catchment scale) as a systemic risk within the overall GBR governance system. There has been limited integrated analysis of the full suite of governance subdomains that often envelop defined policies, programs and delivery activities that influence water quality in the GBR. We consider how the implementation of separate purpose-specific policies and programs at catchment scale operate against well-known, robust design concepts for integrated catchment governance. We find design concerns within ten important governance subdomains that operate within GBR catchments. At a whole-of-GBR scale, we find a weak policy focus on strengthening these delivery-oriented subdomains and on effort integration across these subdomains within catchments. These governance problems when combined may contribute to failure in the implementation of major national, state and local government policies focused on improving water quality in the GBR, a lesson relevant to landscapes globally.

  12. FMA Roundtable on New Developments in European Corporate Governance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Elson, Charles; Berglund, Tom; Rapp, Marc Steffen

    2017-01-01

    In this discussion that took place in Helsinki last June, three European financial economists and a leading authority on U.S. corporate governance consider the relative strengths and weaknesses of the world's two main corporate financing and governance systems: the Anglo-American market...... to address the question: can we expect one of these two systems to prevail over time, or will both systems continue to coexist, while seeking to adopt some of the most valuable aspects of the other? The consensus was that, in Germany as well as continental Europe, corporate financing and governance practices......-based system, with its dispersed share ownership, lots of takeovers, and an otherwise vigorous market for corporate control; and the relationship-based, or “main bank,” system associated with Japan, Germany, and continental Europe generally. The distinguishing features of the relationship-based system...

  13. Stress concentration factors for an internally pressurized circular vessel containing a radial U-notch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carvalho, E.A. de

    2005-01-01

    This paper evaluates the stress concentration factors for an internally pressurized cylinder containing a radial U-notch along its length. This work studies the cases where the external to internal radius ratio (Ψ) is equal to 1.26, 1.52, 2.00, and 3.00 and the notch radius to internal radius ratio (Φ) is fixed and equal to 0.026. The U-notch depth varies from 0.1 to 0.6 of the wall thickness. Results are also presented for a fixed size semi-circular notch. Hoop stresses at the external wall are presented, showing regions where the stress matches the nominal one and the favourable places to install strain sensors. The finite element method is used to determine the stress concentration factors (K t ) for the above described situations and for a special case where a varying semi-circular notch is present with Ψ=3.00. This notch depth varies from 0.013 to 0.3 of the wall thickness. It is pointed out that even relatively small notches introduce large stress concentrations and disrupt the hoop stress distribution all over the cross section. Results are also compared to an example found in the literature for semi-circular notches and K t curves for both cases present the same shape

  14. Institutions and government growth: a comparison of the 1890s and the 1930s

    OpenAIRE

    Thomas A. Garrett; Russell M. Rhine

    2008-01-01

    Statistics on the size and growth of the U.S. federal government, along with the rhetoric of President Franklin Roosevelt, seem to indicate that the Great Depression was the event that started the dramatic growth in government spending and intervention in the private sector that has continued to the present day. Through a comparison of the economic conditions of the 1890s and the 1930s, we argue that post-1930 government growth in the United States is not the direct result of the Great Depres...

  15. Towards a Citizen-Centered E-Government: Exploring Citizens' Satisfaction with E-Government in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jianchuan

    2013-01-01

    E-government research has been practical and utilitarian, lacking theoretical concerns. Based on the literature of customer satisfaction with private-sector services, citizen/user satisfaction with public services, and information systems management, this study systematically investigates the following factors and their effects on citizen…

  16. THE ROMANIAN ASPECT OF THE E.U. GOVERNANCE CASE STUDIES: EDUCATUION POLICY AND ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    OANA-ANDREEA ION

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper belongs to the domestic studies which try to connect the Romanian research to the current debates within the EU studies. The authors' aim is to analyze the aspects and the implications of the EU governance at the Member States' domestic policies level, as most of these policies are currently facing the challenges brought by the Europeanization process. Therefore, the theoretical framework selected is the theory of governance, focusing on the explanatory and analytical opportunities of two components – multi-level governance and governance networks; in this way, it is underlined the separation from the classic model of relation between the (multiplied levels of political authority (supranational, national, subnational and the exponential increase in the number and types of actors participating at the decisional process and implementation of European public policy. Within the selected case studies (environmental policy and education policy, the authors advance a research structure with the aims (a to identify the relevant actors involved in the policy-making process of these policies, at all stages of its cycle; (b to offer an explanation of the types of interactions between these actors, and (c to identify the influence these interactions exert on the communitarization pronounced tendency of some EU policy sectors. The analysis is performed in terms of the Treaty of Lisbon (the selected policies being part of distinct categories of the Union competences and it is oriented towards the national level of the making process of these policies.

  17. Ethical and legal challenges in bioenergy governance

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gamborg, Christian; Anker, Helle Tegner; Sandøe, Peter

    2014-01-01

    of regulatory measures and options). We present ethical and legal analyses of the current stalemate on bioenergy governance in the EU using two illustrative cases: liquid biofuels for transport and solid biomass-based bioenergy. The two cases disclose some similarities between these two factors......, but the remaining differences may partly explain, or justify, contrasting forms of governance. While there seems to be no easy way in which the EU and national governments can deal with the multiple sustainability issues raised by bioenergy, it is argued that failure to deal explicitly with the underlying value...... disagreements, or to make apparent the regulatory complexity, clouds the issue of how to move forward with governance of bioenergy. We suggest that governance should be shaped with greater focus on the role of value disagreements and regulatory complexity. There is a need for more openness and transparency...

  18. 我国证券公司治理绩效的因子分析%Factor Analysis of the Governance Performance of Securities Companies in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    陈毅

    2014-01-01

    证券公司是资本市场最重要的行为主体之一,我国证券公司虽已建立了董事会、监事会、独立董事等现代公司治理框架,但在实际运作中其职能行使上存在许多不规范的地方。2008年金融危机告诫我们,不仅需要提高证券公司的风险防范机制,更需要建立完善的公司治理结构,促使证券公司风险防范机制作用顺利发挥。通过因子分析法将证券公司内部治理变量综合成为四个因子,即规模激励因子、结构因子、监管因子和独立性因子,进而分析内部治理因子对证券公司经营绩效的影响。%The Securities firms is one of the most important actor in the capital market. Though securities firms in China have established a modern Corporate governance framework with the board of directors,the board of supervisors,independent directors,but there are many irregularities in the exercise of their functions.The financial crisis in 2008 warned us that securi-ties firms should not only improve the risk prevention mechanisms,but also need to establish sound corporate governance structure to ensure the risk prevention mechanism plays its supposed role.With a factor analysis of internal corporate governance,variables are categorized into four factors,namely the motivation and scale factor,the structure factor,the regulatory factor and the independent factors,and the effect of the internal governance factors on the performance of securities companies are analyzed.

  19. Disgust sensitivity is primarily associated with purity-based moral judgments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wagemans, Fieke M A; Brandt, Mark J; Zeelenberg, Marcel

    2018-03-01

    Individual differences in disgust sensitivity are associated with a range of judgments and attitudes related to the moral domain. Some perspectives suggest that the association between disgust sensitivity and moral judgments will be equally strong across all moral domains (i.e., purity, authority, loyalty, care, fairness, and liberty). Other perspectives predict that disgust sensitivity is primarily associated with judgments of specific moral domains (e.g., primarily purity). However, no study has systematically tested if disgust sensitivity is associated with moral judgments of the purity domain specifically, more generally to moral judgments of the binding moral domains, or to moral judgments of all of the moral domains equally. Across 5 studies (total N = 1,104), we find consistent evidence for the notion that disgust sensitivity relates more strongly to moral condemnation of purity-based transgressions (meta-analytic r = .40) than to moral condemnation of transgressions of any of the other domains (range meta-analytic rs: .07-.27). Our findings are in line with predictions from Moral Foundations Theory, which predicts that personality characteristics like disgust sensitivity make people more sensitive to a certain set of moral issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  20. Comparison of ship dismantling processes in India and the U.S.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahluwalia, Rashpal S.; Sibal, Pooja; Govindarajulu, Sriram

    2004-03-01

    This paper compares ship-dismantling processes in India and the U.S. The information for India was collected during an informal visit to the ship dismantling sites in Alang, India. The information for the U.S. was obtained from the MARAD report. For a 10,000-ton passenger ship, the Indian contractor makes a profit of about 24% compared to a loss of about 15% in the U.S. The loss in the US is primarily due to high labor costs, compliance to safety and health regulations and lack of market for used components and scrap metal.

  1. Assessing the Adoption of e-Government Services by Teachers in Greece

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vasiliki Vrana

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Technological developments and governments’ understanding of what citizens need usually determine the design of public online services. For successful implementation of e-Government services, governments have to place the user in the center of future developments, understand what citizens need and measure what increases citizens’ willingness to adopt e-government services. The paper uses the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM, the extended TAM, the Diffusion of Innovations (DOI theory and the important determinants of user acceptance perceived risk and trust, in order to describe teachers’ behavioral intensions to adopt e-Government services. A model containing trust and risk, along with cognitive, social and intrinsic factors is used to study the intentions of e-Government use by Greek primary and secondary education teachers. Two hundred and thirty teachers responded to an online survey. Findings reveal that cognitive and intrinsic factors have significant effects on intentions to use e-Government websites.

  2. Economic analysis of U.S. ethanol expansion issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhuri, Malika

    The dependency of the U.S. economy on crude oil imported from politically unstable countries, escalating energy demand world wide, growing nationwide environmental consciousness, and the Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS) government mandates are some of the primary factors that have provided a favorable environment for the growth and development of the U.S. ethanol industry. The first essay derives decision rules for a discrete-time dynamic hedging model in a multiple commodity framework under expected utility maximization and basis risk. It compares hedging performance of three types of hedging models, namely constant hedging, time-varying static hedging model and the new dynamic hedging rule derived in this study. Findings show that natural gas futures contracts were effective instruments for hedging ethanol spot price risk before March, 2005, when ethanol futures trading was initiated on the CBOT. However, post-March, 2005, corn and ethanol futures contracts proved to be efficient hedging instruments. Results also indicate that ethanol producers may effectively decrease variance of cumulative cash flows by hedging using ethanol, natural gas and corn futures prices using the traditional techniques. The study concludes that using the new dynamic hedge model in a three period and two commodity set up, producers can effectively reduce variance of cumulative cash flow by 13.2% as compared to the 'no hedge' scenario. In my second essay, I use choice based, conjoint analysis methods to estimate consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for alternative transportation fuels in the U.S. In this study, I consider unleaded gasoline and ethanol, which may be derived from corn or three different sources of cellulosic biomass as alternative transportation fuels. Results suggest that age and household income are some of the socioeconomic variables that significantly influence consumer's choice behavior. Results indicate considerable consumer preference heterogeneity. Welfare effects are

  3. 48 CFR 915.404-4-71-3 - Factors for determining fees.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... whose loyalties are primarily to the contractor; and (8) Other special considerations, including support of Government programs such as those relating to small, small disadvantaged, and women-owned small...

  4. The Proposed U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS FTA): Provisions and Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    2008-10-17

    imports, see Appendix A.) About 20% of the export increase would benefit U.S. producers and exporters of pork, poultry and other meat products.20 In...more than $1.5 billion (45%) higher under the KORUS FTA than would be the case otherwise. Sales of beef, poultry , and pork would account for $644...U.S. beef primarily to regional markets and neighborhood butcher shops. However, U.S. exporters are watching for changes in consumer sentiment that

  5. Production Factors, Productivity Dynamics and Quality Gains as Determinants of Healthcare Spending Growth in U.S. Hospitals

    OpenAIRE

    Juan Contreras; Elena Patel; Ignez Tristao

    2013-01-01

    We analyze the contribution of production factors to revenue growth in almost the complete universe of U.S. hospitals, accounting for quality and productivity. Production factors (capital, labor, energy, materials and drugs) contributed 70% (drugs alone contributed 52 %), better health outcomes (higher quality) contributed 5 %, and better use of resources (productivity) contributed 25 %. We find increasing returns to scale, a markup of between 15% and 36% and a much larger productivity disper...

  6. Airlift Capabilities for Future U.S. Counterinsurgency Operations

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Owen, Robert C; Mueller, Karl P

    2007-01-01

    .... Department of Defense (DoD), and elsewhere in the U.S. Government. Although ongoing operations in Afghanistan and Iraq give particular immediacy to the problem, the challenge of combating insurgencies extends well beyond these specific conflicts...

  7. New U. S. domestic nuclear policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    von Welck, S

    1981-12-01

    On October 8, 1981, almost exactly four and a half years after President Carter's consequential Nuclear Power Policy Statement, the U.S. Secretary of Energy announced the statement on U.S. domestic nuclear policy of President Reagan, which had been expected for some time already. That statement supplements the July 16, 1981 statement on U.S. nuclear nonproliferation and export policies and the National Energy Policy Plan of the Department of Energy of July 1981. President Reagan's October 8, 1981 statement is aimed at reviving U.S. nuclear industry and achieving increasing contributions of nuclear power towards ensuring the continuity of energy supply in the USA. This includes improvements in the financial situation of the utilities, deregulation to curb unnecessary government interference, resumption of the breeder program and commercial reprocessing, and the demand to find solutions for the disposial of radioactive waste.

  8. Effective Governance and Hospital Boards Revisited: Reflections on 25 Years of Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erwin, Cathleen O; Landry, Amy Yarbrough; Livingston, Avery C; Dias, Ashley

    2018-01-01

    This study reviews and synthesizes empirical research literature focusing on the relationship between boards of directors and organizational effectiveness of U.S. hospitals. The study examines literature published in scholarly journals during the period of 1991-2017. Fifty-one empirical articles were identified that met the study's inclusion criteria. A framework from the corporate governance and nonprofit governance literature is used to classify the articles according to level of analysis (individual actors, governing bodies, organizations, and networks, alliances and multiorganizational initiatives) and focus of research (formal structure and behavioral dynamics-including informal structures and processes). Results are discussed, emerging trends are identified, and recommendations are made for future research.

  9. Does Good Corporate Governance Lead to Stronger Productivity Growth?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Koeke, J.; Renneboog, L.D.R.

    2002-01-01

    This study investigates the impact of corporate governance and product market competition on total factor productivity growth in Germany and the UK.For Germany, the prototype of a bank-based governance system, productivity grows faster in firms controlled by financial institutions (in particular,

  10. Understanding determinants of government and consumer behavior relative to product safety : an application of the theory of planned behavior to China and the United States

    OpenAIRE

    Domke, Laura

    2008-01-01

    The following thesis applies Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior to explain consumer and government response to safety of Chinese-made products sold in China and the United States. The thesis relies on secondary data as it considers the responses and actions relative to product safety by four different groups: Chinese government, U.S. government, Chinese consumers and U.S. consumers. Increased globalization has heightened the need for a better understanding and agreement...

  11. Water Security and Climate Change: The Need for Adaptive Governance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuula Honkonen

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Climate change will bring about unprecedented economic, social and environmental effects, which require both the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to its adverse effects. Water is the main element through which the impacts of climate change will be felt. Climate change results in increased uncertainties, complexities, stress and potential for conflicts within water management, both among and within states. New forms of governance are needed if the world is to respond to the need to adapt to changes in freshwater supply and to manage water security risks. This paper suggests that adaptive governance should to be main-streamed into all water regulation to ensure the availability of and access to safe water resources and to prevent water-related conflicts. The paper discusses the concept of water security in the context of climate change, the threats that climate change poses to water security, and the concept and implications of adaptive governance as a possible solution. The application of adaptive governance requires a certain degree of institutional and normative flexibility, instruments and institutions that can respond and adapt to changes and manage the level of uncertainty associated with the impacts of climate change. The governance institutions, methods and instruments should be responsive to new information and different kinds of uncertainties, while reflecting the vulnerabilities, capacities, needs and priorities of both societies and ecosystems in the face of climate change. Water security risks could be reduced by increased hydrosolidarity among states, which would present the challenges posed by climate change on water governance and security as primarily an opportunity for new forms of cooperation.

  12. Health consequences and health systems response to the Pacific U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palafox, Neal A; Riklon, Sheldon; Alik, Wilfred; Hixon, Allen L

    2007-03-01

    Between 1946 and 1958, the United States detonated 67 thermonuclear devices in the Pacific as part of their U.S. Nuclear Weapons Testing Program (USNWTP). The aggregate explosive power was equal to 7,200 Hiroshima atomic bombs. Recent documents released by the U.S. government suggest that the deleterious effects of the nuclear testing were greater and extended farther than previously known. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) government and affected communities have sought refress through diplomatic routes with the U.S. government, however, existing medical programs and financial reparations have not adequately addressed many of the health consequences of the USNWTP. Since radiation-induced cancers may have a long latency, a healthcare infrastructure is needed to address both cancer and related health issues. This article reviews the health consequences of the Pacific USNWTP and the current health systems ability to respond.

  13. uPA/uPAR system activation drives a glycolytic phenotype in melanoma cells.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laurenzana, Anna; Chillà, Anastasia; Luciani, Cristina; Peppicelli, Silvia; Biagioni, Alessio; Bianchini, Francesca; Tenedini, Elena; Torre, Eugenio; Mocali, Alessandra; Calorini, Lido; Margheri, Francesca; Fibbi, Gabriella; Del Rosso, Mario

    2017-09-15

    In this manuscript, we show the involvement of the uPA/uPAR system in the regulation of aerobic glycolysis of melanoma cells. uPAR over-expression in human melanoma cells controls an invasive and glycolytic phenotype in normoxic conditions. uPAR down-regulation by siRNA or its uncoupling from integrins, and hence from integrin-linked tyrosine kinase receptors (IL-TKRs), by an antagonist peptide induced a striking inhibition of the PI3K/AKT/mTOR/HIF1α pathway, resulting into impairment of glucose uptake, decrease of several glycolytic enzymes and of PKM2, a checkpoint that controls metabolism of cancer cells. Further, binding of uPA to uPAR regulates expression of molecules that govern cell invasion, including extracellular matrix metallo-proteinases inducer (EMPPRIN) and enolase, a glycolytyc enzyme that also serves as a plasminogen receptor, thus providing a common denominator between tumor metabolism and phenotypic invasive features. Such effects depend on the α5β1-integrin-mediated uPAR connection with EGFR in melanoma cells with engagement of the PI3K-mTOR-HIFα pathway. HIF-1α trans-activates genes whose products mediate tumor invasion and glycolysis, thus providing the common denominator between melanoma metabolism and its invasive features. These findings unveil a unrecognized interaction between the invasion-related uPAR and IL-TKRs in the control of glycolysis and disclose a new pharmacological target (i.e., uPAR/IL-TKRs axis) for the therapy of melanoma. © 2017 UICC.

  14. Community of solution for the U.S. health care system: lessons from the U.S. educational system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devoe, Jennifer E; Gold, Rachel

    2013-01-01

    The Folsom Group asserts that radical changes are needed to fix the health care system in the United States. The U.S. education system is one potential model to emulate. Could a future health care system-level community of solution be modeled after the U.S. education system? Could community health care services be planned, organized, and delivered at the neighborhood level by district, similar to the structure for delivering public education? Could community health centers, governed by community boards, serve every neighborhood? This essay imagines how U.S. health care system reforms could be designed using our public school system as a roadmap. Our intention is to challenge readers to recognize the urgent need for radical reform in the U.S. health care system, to introduce one potential model for reform, and to encourage creative thinking about other system-level communities of solution that could lead to profound change and improvements in the U.S. health care system.

  15. The Danish government's climate plan. Towards a society without greenhouse gases; Regeringens klimaplan. Pae vej mod et samfund uden drivhusgasser

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    2013-08-15

    The Danish government's goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with 40% by the year 2020, compared to 1990 levels. A major step towards reaching that goal was accomplished in March 2012, with the political agreement on energy policy. The remaining reductions to achieve the goal will come primarily from the transportation, agriculture and construction sectors, and from waste management. In order to reach the government's goal, we must eliminate the equivalent of approximately four million tonnes of CO{sub 2} emissions by 2020. Reaching the goal in 2020 also depends on factors such as the economy as we progress toward 2020, as well as on EU climate policy. The government will continue to work proactively to ensure that ambitious climate and energy policies are pursued by the EU. The EU policies will contribute significantly in order to achieve the national objectives. The government will engage in a dialogue with parliament, business society and civil society to discuss what kind of national policy initiatives to be decided on to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The government will introduce a climate change bill during the upcoming session of parliament. The purpose of this upcoming bill is to ensure progress and transparency in the climate policy development. The bill will include requirements for an annual climate policy progress report to show whether Denmark is on track to meet the goal of a 40% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020. As part of its work on the climate policy plan, an inter-ministerial working group has developed a catalogue of about 80 possible climate policy initiatives to address climate change. These policy proposals, along with the proposed legislation, will be the government's main instruments in the coming years in order to continuously monitor and adjust its climate policy. (Author)

  16. Balancing stability and flexibility in adaptive governance: an analysis of tools available in U.S. environmental law

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adaptive governance must work “on the ground,” that is, it must operate through structures and procedures that the people it governs perceive to be legitimate and fair, as well as incorporating processes and substantive goals that are effective in allowing social-ecological syste...

  17. Modern trends in international researches in the sphere of electronic governance (in the case of publications of the international journal Electronic Government)

    OpenAIRE

    V. M. Dreshpak

    2017-01-01

    Current trends of studying the problems of electronic government by world scientific community have been revealed in the article using the analysis of publications in the international journal Electronic Government. It has been noted that the peculiarity of modern research in the sphere of electronic government is that this sphere is changing constantly and dynamically under the influence of many factors and is being modernized together with the development of information and communication te...

  18. Earnings management, corporate governance and expense sticki

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shuang Xue

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Cost and expense stickiness is an important issue in accounting and economics research, and the literature has shown that cost stickiness cannot be separated from managers’ motivations. In this paper, we examine the effects that earnings management has on expense stickiness. Defining small positive profits or small earnings increases as earnings management, we observe significant expense stickiness in the non-earnings-management sub-sample, compared with the earnings-management sub-sample. When we divide expenses into R&D, advertising and other general expenses, we find that managers control expenses mainly by decreasing general expenses. We further examine corporate governance’s effect on expense stickiness. Using factor analysis, we extract eight main factors and find that good corporate governance reduces expense stickiness. Finally, we investigate the interaction effects of earnings management and corporate governance on expense stickiness. The empirical results show that good corporate governance can further reduce cost stickiness, although its effect is not as strong as that of earnings management.

  19. U.S.--Canada international mobility and trade corridor

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-05-01

    Public and private stakeholders in Washington State and British Columbia established the international mobility and trade corridor (IMTC) partnership. The IMTC is a coalition of over 60 U.S. and Canadian business and government entities whose mission...

  20. Identifying Motivation of the Local Governments to Improve the Sustainability Transparency

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrés NAVARRO GALERA

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the sustainability tran-sparency of governments, i.e., the disclosure of information on the sustainability of their ac-tions. To do so, we identify contributory factors to the online disclosure of environmental, social, economic and general information by local gov-ernments in Nordic countries. Linear regression analysis was used to identify factors inf uencing the online dissemination of government infor-mation on sustainability; a factor analysis, as a precursor to linear regression, led us to reduce 14 explanatory variables to four factors: f nancial risk, demography, professional qualif cations and local government resources. The results obtained show that local f -nancial priorities have a greater impact on the sustainability-related content of governmental websites than does concern for the needs of the population. Furthermore, an organization’s dis-closure of its f nancial risks, together with greater awareness of stakeholders’ demands, could pro-mote transparency in the f eld of environmental, social and economic sustainability, while local demographic characteristics could foster the publication of information on environmental sus-tainability.

  1. Plagiarism governance in nurse education; dispositions, dimensions and tensions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Welsh, Marion

    2017-11-01

    The reality of managing plagiarism in nurse education is indicative of multilayered and cumulative governance processes, which exist to fit with the needs of both the higher education institution and that of the Professional Statutory and Regulatory Body. However, the relationship between these entities is diffuse, particularly when this involves major plagiarism by post-qualified learners. This study sought to explore the strategic governance of plagiarism in Scottish higher education institutions offering nurse education and its articulation with the professional requirements of nurse education. The design involved a retrospective quantitative documentary analysis of plagiarism policies within 11 Scottish higher education institutions and a national on-line survey involving nurse educators with an active teaching role (n = 187). The documentary analysis demonstrated deficits and variations in how Scottish higher education institutions communicated the dimensions of plagiarism, and its subsequent management. Statistically significant findings from the on-line survey provided a clear mandate for educational providers to make visible the connectivity between organisational and professional governance processes to support responsive and proportional approaches to managing plagiarism by nurse learners. Significant findings also confirmed role implications and responsibilities, which nurse educators in this study, viewed as primarily pedagogical but crucially remain professionally centric. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Internal governance systems and R&D investment: An international comparison.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zouari-Hadiji Rim

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available In the theoretical framework of corporate governance, this article studies the efficiency of the control exerted by the ownership structure and the board of directors on managers for the purpose of privileging investment in R&D. This efficiency is sensitive to national systems of governance. Tests realized on a sample of 531 U.S., Japanese and French firms with the canonical method corroborate the existence of positive relationships between concentration of ownership, the internal administrator dominance and the non-dual structure on the one hand, and the investment in R&D, on the other.

  3. The Government Finance Database: A Common Resource for Quantitative Research in Public Financial Analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pierson, Kawika; Hand, Michael L; Thompson, Fred

    2015-01-01

    Quantitative public financial management research focused on local governments is limited by the absence of a common database for empirical analysis. While the U.S. Census Bureau distributes government finance data that some scholars have utilized, the arduous process of collecting, interpreting, and organizing the data has led its adoption to be prohibitive and inconsistent. In this article we offer a single, coherent resource that contains all of the government financial data from 1967-2012, uses easy to understand natural-language variable names, and will be extended when new data is available.

  4. What do government agencies consider in the debate over added sugars

    Science.gov (United States)

    The place of sugars in the U.S. diet is vigorously debated with much attention on added sugars, those added during processing or preparation of foodstuffs, particularly as they relate to obesity. Federal government agencies have different responsibilities related to the food supply including researc...

  5. The "New Science of Politics" and the Old Art of Government.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moynihan, Daniel Patrick

    1987-01-01

    This article traces the progress of U.S. political thought and economic development over the last two centuries. Although the psychological realism of the Founders predicted much, and has served the nation well, modern needs surpass those of a small and distant national government. (PS)

  6. Solar-electric power: The U.S. photovoltaic industry roadmap

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None, None

    2003-01-01

    To meet this challenge, we — the U.S.-based PV industry — have developed this roadmap as a guide for building our domestic industry, ensuring U.S. technology ownership, and implementing a sound commercialization strategy that will yield significant benefits at minimal cost. Putting the roadmap into action will call for reasonable and consistent co-investment by our industry and government in research and technology development.

  7. What governs governance, and how does it evolve? The sociology of governance-in-action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Nick J; Ward, Katie J

    2008-09-01

    Governance addresses a wide range of issues including social, economic and political continuity, security and integrity, individual and collective safety and the liberty and rights to self-actualization of citizens. Questions to be answered include how governance can be achieved and sustained within a social context imbued with cultural values and in which power is distributed unevenly and dynamically, and how governance impacts on individuals and institutions. Drawing on Gramscian notions of hegemony and consent, and recent political science literatures on regulation and meta-regulation, this paper develops a sociological model of governance that emphasizes a dynamic and responsive governance in action. Empirical data from a study of pharmaceutical governance is used to show how multiple institutions and actors are involved in sustaining effective governance. The model addresses issues of how governance is sustained in the face of change, why governance of practices varies from setting to setting, and how governance is achieved without legislation.

  8. The new U.S.-ROK civil nuclear cooperation agreement

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tazaki, Makiko; Shimizu, Ryo; Suda, Kazunori

    2016-10-01

    From March 2010, the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (ROK) started a negotiation for revising “Agreement for Cooperation between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea Concerning Civil Uses of Atomic Energy” which had entered into force in March 1973. A top priority of their negotiation was whether or not the U.S. grants its advanced consent to the ROK’s engagement in uranium enrichment (less than 20%) and reprocessing (pyroprocessing) of U.S.-origin nuclear material and spent fuel, despite the U.S.’s nonproliferation policy of preventing emergence of new non-nuclear-weapon states with such sensitive capabilities. Under the “Agreement for Cooperation Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Republic of Korea Concerning Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy” (“the new agreement”) which entered into force in November 2015, the ROK has been granted to engage in domestic uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities at certain facilities prescribed in Annexes III and II to the Agreed Minute of the new agreement. As of the date of validation of the agreement, however, no facility names have been appeared in both Annexes. Therefore, as a matter of practice, the ROK has not yet been able to engage in those activities, although the new agreement creates options for the future. Such result has not necessarily and directly reflected both states’ intention of the advanced consent, but considering various facts including that 1) ROK’s domestic uranium enrichment and reprocessing capabilities are neither only nor urgent requisites for ROK’s civil nuclear activities, 2) ROK’s acquisition of such sensitive capabilities could further encourage DPRK’s provocative nuclear activities, and 3) the U.S. and the ROK have been in the process of conducting “Joint Fuel Cycle Study”, in order to pursue technical and economic feasibilities as well as nonproliferation

  9. Citizen Perceptions of E-Government in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khosro Mohammad Ahmed

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Despite increasing investment by governments globally, citizens in some countries are less willing to engage with e-government innovations. While previous studies have examined what might encourage citizens to adopt e-government services more broadly, further research is required to understand those factors that impede or enable e government adoption in countries that have, or are in the process of, transitioning to democratic self-rule. This study is the first to investigate citizen attitudes to e-government adoption in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and thus provides insight into the factors affecting the adoption of e-government within an emerging democratic state. This study also distinguishes between two types of e-government services; informational and transactional. Thus a research model with two elements is developed and tested; one for intention to use informational e government and one for intention to use transactional e-government. Data were collected through a survey administered to university students and non-academic employees in Arbil the capital city of Kurdistan, and analysed using structural equation modelling. Perceived usefulness, social influence, trust in government and perceived risk were found to be significantly and directly associated with the intention to use both kinds of e-government services. However perceptions of ease of use, information quality and trust in the Internet were not significant.

  10. Who's making the money on natural gas prices ? What should government do? a CCPA-BC policy brief

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilson, F.

    2001-01-01

    The issue of rising oil and gas prices was discussed with reference to British Columbia's three gas distribution companies, BC Gas, Centra Gas, and Pacific Northern. Rising oil and gas prices have significant social and environmental implications and the public wants to know who is profiting and what the government should do about the problem. It was argued that the current prices mean huge profits for natural gas producers. This report listed the top 10 gas producers in British Columbia, along with their raw gas production and estimated profits. Another factor to be considered in this debate is that in the past decade, limited pipeline capacity meant that there was usually a surplus of gas to serve the Canadian market. This all changed with the addition of new pipelines and pipeline expansions, leading to price determination by local market conditions and direct competition with U.S. purchasers. It was suggested that the federal government should tax windfall oil and gas profits and direct the resulting revenues to rebates for low-income households and for energy conservation initiatives. It was also suggested that the trade rules regarding energy should be changed, with particular reference to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) which tied Canada into a North American energy market in which U.S. demand sets prices in Canada. 2 tabs., 1 fig

  11. Environmental factors and the risk of urinary schistosomiasis in Ile Oluji/Oke Igbo local government area of Ondo State

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oluwaremilekun G. Ajakaye

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Geographic information systems are being increasingly used to show the distributions of disease where data for specific environmental risk factors are available. For successful transmission of schistosomiasis, suitable climatic conditions and biological events must coincide; hence its distribution and prevalence are greatly influenced by environmental factors affecting the population of snail intermediate hosts and human hosts. Prevalence and demographic data was obtained by parasitological examination of urine samples and questionnaire administration. The mean values of environmental factors corresponding to the local government area were obtained from remotely sensed images and data from climate research unit. The effects of the environmental factors were determined by using regression analysis to analyse the correlation of environmental factors to prevalence of schistosomiasis. There was a negative correlation between infection and elevation. There was a positive correlation between vegetation, rainfall, slope, temperature and prevalence of infection. There was also a weak negative correlation between proximity to water body and prevalence. The result shows the study area to be at low to high risk of infection.

  12. Risk Factors for Heat-related Illness in U.S. Workers: An OSHA Case Series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tustin, Aaron W; Cannon, Dawn L; Arbury, Sheila B; Thomas, Richard J; Hodgson, Michael J

    2018-05-30

    The aim of this study was to describe risk factors for heat-related illness (HRI) in U.S. workers. We reviewed a subset of HRI enforcement investigations conducted by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) from 2011 through 2016. We assessed characteristics of the workers, employers, and events. We stratified cases by severity to assess whether risk factors were more prevalent in fatal HRIs. We analyzed 38 investigations involving 66 HRIs. Many workers had predisposing medical conditions or used predisposing medications. Comorbidities were more prevalent in workers who died. Most (73%) fatal HRIs occurred during the first week on the job. Common clinical findings in heat stroke cases included multiorgan failure, muscle breakdown, and systemic inflammation. Severe HRI is more likely when personal susceptibilities coexist with work-related and environmental risk factors. Almost all HRIs occur when employers do not adhere to preventive guidelines.

  13. Physical Inactivity in U.S. Adolescents: Family, Neighborhood, and Individual Factors. Research Brief. Publication #2009-28

    Science.gov (United States)

    Terzian, Mary; Moore, Kristin Anderson

    2009-01-01

    Concern about physical inactivity among U.S. youth has been mounting in recent years, in light of studies suggesting that few adolescents (about one out of three) engage in recommended levels of physical activity. Although much attention has been paid to individual factors that may contribute to this problem, such as television viewing and…

  14. U.S. Refugee Policy In The Era Of Homeland Security: A Comparative Government Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-12-01

    comparative analysis with Canada and Germany, both of which are democratic Western societies facing similar issues. It answers the question of what...with Canada and Germany, both of which are democratic Western societies facing similar issues. It answers the question of what U.S. policy makers can...Refugee Crisis and the Need for U.S. Leadership (New York: Human Rights First, 2016), https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/sites/default/files

  15. Primarily Experimental Results for a W Wire Array Z Pinch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuai Bin; Aici, Qiu; Wang Liangping; Zeng Zhengzhong; Wang Wensheng; Cong Peitian; Gai Tongyang; Wei Fuli; Guo Ning; Zhang Zhong

    2006-01-01

    Primarily experimental results are given for a W wire array Z pinch imploded with up to 2 MA in 100 ns on a Qiangguang-I pulsed power generator. The configuration and parameters of the generator, the W wire array load assembly and the diagnostic system for the experiment are described. The total X-ray energy has been obtained with a averaged power of X-ray radiation of 1.28 TW

  16. The long, slow birth of a U.S. emissions trading regime. Recent developments in U.S. climate policy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Freestone, D.; Frenkil, D.J. [George Washington University Law School, Washington D.C. (United States)

    2010-11-15

    On Friday, 23 April 2010, the leadership of the 11th Congress and the Obama Administration were poised to capitalise on recent, unparalleled progress in furtherance of U.S. climate policy. Over the past year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the first climate bill in United States history, and the Obama Administration quickly initiated the regulation of greenhouse gas ('GHG') emissions, primarily through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ('EPA') after years of neglect by the Bush Administration. Just two days were left to go until Monday, 26 April 2010, when CEOs from leading energy, financial and manufacturing corporations were scheduled to join senators from both sides of the aisle to introduce the missing link in a federal 'cap-and-trade' scheme: a climate bill that was 'filibusterproof' in the Senate - i.e. capable of gaining the necessary 60 votes out of the 100 members of the U.S. Senate to pass a procedural motion on the bill that effectively cuts off debate and brings the bill to a vote. The bill was the product of nearly a year of deal-making and compromise between leaders from both parties, which seldom occurs these days on Capital Hill. One of the pivotal aspects of that compromise was that Senate democrats were willing to accept the demand of Republicans to include a provision in the bill that would expand offshore oil drilling. However, in the midst of a turbulent political environment (a controversial immigration bill and the Deepwater Horizon drilling disaster), coupled with an economic downturn, climate policy had to take a backseat on the national agenda to issues like unemployment and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in the final months leading up to the November 2, 2010 'mid-term' elections. However slow the momentum of a GHG emission-reducing regime in the United States prior to the 2010 elections, the process came to a crashing halt when American voters handed the U.S. House of

  17. Gradient elution behavior of proteins in hydrophobic interaction chromatography with U-shaped retention factor curves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Creasy, Arch; Lomino, Joseph; Barker, Gregory; Khetan, Anurag; Carta, Giorgio

    2018-04-27

    Protein retention in hydrophobic interaction chromatography is described by the solvophobic theory as a function of the kosmostropic salt concentration. In general, an increase in salt concentration drives protein partitioning to the hydrophobic surface while a decrease reduces it. In some cases, however, protein retention also increases at low salt concentrations resulting in a U-shaped retention factor curve. During gradient elution the salt concentration is gradually decreased from a high value thereby reducing the retention factor and increasing the protein chromatographic velocity. For these conditions, a steep gradient can overtake the protein in the column, causing it to rebind. Two dynamic models, one based on the local equilibrium theory and the other based on the linear driving force approximation, are presented. We show that the normalized gradient slope determines whether the protein elutes in the gradient, partially elutes, or is trapped in the column. Experimental results are presented for two different monoclonal antibodies and for lysozyme on Capto Phenyl (High Sub) resin. One of the mAbs and lysozyme exhibit U-shaped retention factor curves and for each, we determine the critical gradient slope beyond which 100% recovery is no longer possible. Elution with a reverse gradient is also demonstrated at low salt concentrations for these proteins. Understanding this behavior has implications in the design of gradient elution since the gradient slope impacts protein recovery. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Can market stability be improved. Government and export contract approvals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Livingston, R.S.

    1983-01-01

    The following aspects are discussed: long-term contracts vs spot or short-term uranium transactions; impact of widely fluctuating prices on primary producing/exporting countries and their producers; forecast of growing and largely predictable demand for uranium over next decade or two; effects of government actions; Australian development and export policies. (U.K.)

  19. Factor structure and invariance test of the alcohol use disorder identification test (AUDIT): Comparison and further validation in a U.S. and Philippines college student sample.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tuliao, Antover P; Landoy, Bernice Vania N; McChargue, Dennis E

    2016-01-01

    The Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test's factor structure varies depending on population and culture. Because of this inconsistency, this article examined the factor structure of the test and conducted a factorial invariance test between a U.S. and a Philippines college sample. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a three-factor solution outperforms the one- and two-factor solution in both samples. Factorial invariance analyses further supports the confirmatory findings by showing that factor loadings were generally invariant across groups; however, item intercepts show non-invariance. Country differences between factors show that Filipino consumption factor mean scores were significantly lower than their U.S. counterparts.

  20. 75 FR 75188 - Listening Session Regarding Improving the Accessibility of Government Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-02

    ... SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION Listening Session Regarding Improving the Accessibility of... of diverse communities and provide better solutions, the U.S. Council of CIOs, in collaboration with... out of? What technologies should the Federal government use that would enhance your interactions with...