105 research outputs found
The Observer as an Instrument in Qualitative Community Studies
No full textA qualitative study of leadership in local black communities was done by an Asian Indian scholar in Cleveland during the nineteen sixties and seventies. This paper narrates the conditions under which and the methodology with which the study was done. Using participant observation, interviews, and reviews of published and unpublished documents, the author develops ten propositions about organizational and electoral leadership in black communities. Further, three additional propositions about the adequacy of qualitative research are also developed from this research experience. A short comparative review of trends in these communities is appended
Decentralizing the provision of health services : an incomplete contracts approach
No full textThe author studies the allocation-between a central government and a local authority--of responsibility for planning, financing, and operations for the delivery of health services, in the context of an incomplete contracts model. In this model, inputs are required of both the central government and local authorities but they are unable to write down, and commit to, a complete and binding contract describing the actions both should take. The model is meant to capture the tradeoff between central and local authority in decisions about both financing and the provision of services. Each party provides a specific input--for example, the central government establishes a drug procurement system while the local authority designs and implements an incentive scheme to get doctors to carry out their responsibilities appropriately. The responsibility for delivery of services is identified with the ownership of essential infrastructure, such as the clinic or hospital. The author finds that to maximize the joint surplus of the two public bodies: Ownership of the facility should be given to the party that most values the well-being of local residents. (This way, if ex post bargaining breaks down, each still enjoys some benefits from the other's actions.) Financing authority and responsibility for delivering services should be negatively correlated. Generally it is optimal to allocate tax authority to the party that values the residents'well-being less--in other words, separate spending responsibility (ownership) from financing authority. A heavier financing burden (access to a small and inefficient tax base) has the same incentive effect as asset ownership: It increases the return to effort. If transferring ownership of the physical asset is costly (because the party that builds the asset has an inherent advantage in operating it-that is, there is some human capital embodiment), it may be optimal for the party with the higher construction costs to have planning authority. Somewhat paradoxically, the greater the costs of transferring assets from one party to the other, the more likely that ownership of the facilities and their provision should be separated.International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Decentralization,Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,Labor Policies,Economic Theory&Research,National Governance,International Terrorism&Counterterrorism,Banks&Banking Reform,Environmental Economics&Policies
Book Reviews
No full text'Searching for a Better Society: The Peruvian Economy from 1950'; Author: by John Sheahan; Reviewer:Raul Hopkins; 'Democratisation in Africa'; Editors: Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner; Reviewer: Jan Kees van Donge; 'Exchange Rate Misalignment: Concepts and Measurement for Developing Countries'; Editors: Lawrence E. Hinkle and Peter J. Montiel; Reviewer: Christopher Tsoukis; 'Orangi Pilot Project, Reminiscences and Reflections'; Author: Akhtar Hameed Khan; Reviewer: Jo Beall; 'Whey Governments Waste Natural Resources: Policy Failures in Developing Countries'; Author: William Ascher; Reviewer: Julio Pena-Torres; 'Evaluating Development Aid - Issues, Problems and Solutions'; Author: Basil Cracknell; Reviewer: Mike Faber; 'Development Microeconomics'; Authors: Pranab Bardhan and Christopher Udry; Reviewer: Scott McDonald; 'Economic and Social Changes in Czech Society After 1989: An Alternative View'; Authors: Lubomir Mlcoch, Pavel Machonin and Milan Sojka; Reviewer: Alasdair MacBean; 'Resistance to the Shah: Landowners and Ulama in Iran'; Author: Mohammad Gholi Majd; Reviewer: Rodney Wilson; 'Corruption and Democratisation'; Editors: Alan Doig and Robin Theobald; Reviewer: Heather A. Marquette;Review Books,
Barrier layer characteristics of the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean during austral summer and autumn
No full textBarrier layer in the Enderby Basin (EB) and the Australian Antarctic Basin (AAB) during late summer (December & January) and early autumn (February & March) are studied using temperature-salinity profiles collected between 1975 and 2012. A distinct difference in mixed layer depth is observed over the eastern (i.e. the EB) compared to western (i.e. the AAB) side of the Kerguelen Plateau (KP), with shallower mixed layer depths on the eastern side. Mixed layers show an increase from less than 50 m–∼150 m from south to north in the EB. During autumn, the wind strengthens and the upwelling over the eastern side of the KP (i.e. in the AAB) weakens, resulting in deeper mixed layers (∼80 m–100 m) compared to summer. During summer, deep barrier layer (BL) values (∼50 m or more) with porosity less than 0.3 was seen over the Chun Spur region. The fresher melt water from the EB brought by the Fawn trough current (FTC) across the KP may be responsible for the occurrence of BL over the region. During autumn, BL is spread over a much larger area around the Chun Spur, which could be attributed to the increase in the strength of FTC due to the intensification of wind over the region. A thorough study of BL condition over this region is required to understand the processes behind the discrepancies in sea ice conditions
Continued Learning of Tissue-specific Immunity from the Immuno-Pathological Spectrum of Leprosy
No full textThis eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contac
Historical Myths or Mythological History: A Fresh Approach to Understand the History of Assam
No full textThis paper carries out a critical review of the trends of historical writings in Assam. The historiographical study reveals that the beginning of the historical phase was, in fact, late in the North East region. Moreover, in many of these historical writings, the importance of the local histories of the communities of the region was ignored. The author highlights the fact that a pan-Indian history for the region may not be authentic enough to understand the cultural dynamics of the complex society of the Northeast. The author also focuses on corroborating ‘proper’ historical source material for reconstructing the history of the region rather than deriving inferences from mythology and legends. However, the importance of recent trends in historiography such as selective utilisation of oral traditions, folklores and memory studies has been emphasised. An alternative and more precise periodisation of the historical phase has been provided which does not, however, project any clear marker between periods and eras but emphasises on slow and steady transformations. Importance of archaeological sources and material evidence has been kept in mind while deriving periodical divisions. Relooking at the history of the Koches, Kacharis has been emphasised
Uniqueness of meromorphic functions sharing one value with their derivatives
No full textIn the paper we deal with the uniqueness problem of meromorphic functions sharing a finite value with their derivatives. The results in this paper improve those given by Lahiri-Sarkar, Liu-Yang and others. In addition, a recent result of the first present author is complemented in this paper
Measuring governance, corruption, and State capture - how firms and bureaucrats shape the business environment in transition economies
No full textAs a symptom of fundamental institutional weaknesses, corruption needs to be viewed within a broader governance framework. It thrives where the state is unable to reign over its bureaucracy, to protect property and contractual rights, or to provide institutions that support the rule off law. Furthermore, governance failures at the national level cannot be isolated from the interface between the corporate and state sectors, in particular from the heretofore under-emphasized influence that firms may exert on the state. Under certain conditions, corporate strategies may exacerbate mis-governance at the national level. An in-depth empirical assessment of the links between corporate behavior and national governance can thus provide particular insights. The 1999 Business Environment and Enterprise Performance Survey (BEEPS) - the transition economies component of the ongoing World Business Environment Survey - assesses in detail the various dimensions of governance from the perspective of about 3,000 firms in 20 countries. After introducing the survey framework and measurement approach, the authors present the survey results, focusing on governance, corruption, and state capture. By unbundling governance into its many dimensions, BEEPS permits an in-depth empirical assessment. The authors pay special attention to certain forms of grand corruption, notably state capture by parts of the corporate sector - that is, the propensity of firms to shape the underlying rules of the game by"purchasing"decrees, legislation, and influence at the central bank, which is found to be prevalent in a number of transition economies. The survey also measures other dimensions of grand corruption, including those associated with public procurement, and quantifies the more traditional ("prettier") forms of corruption. Cross-country surveys may suffer from bias if firms tend to systematically over- or underestimate the extent of problems within their country. The authors provide a new test of this potential bias, finding little evidence of country perception bias in BEEPS.Small Scale Enterprise,Decentralization,Corruption&Anitcorruption Law,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Small and Medium Size Enterprises,National Governance,Governance Indicators,Corruption&Anitcorruption Law,Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Economic Policy, Institutions and Governance
A Convenient Method for the Oxidation of Aromatic Amines to Nitro Compounds Using Tetra‐n‐alkylammonium Bromates.
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