Suchergebnisse

THE SOCIAL SYSTEM IN WHICH I LIVE CAN, FROM THE ECONOMIC POINT OF VIEW, BE DESCRIBED AS BUREAUCRATIC CENTRALISM AND, FROM THE POLITICAL POINT OF VIEW, A BUREAUCRATIC DICTATORSHIP. THE SYSTEM DEVELOPED AS A REVOLUTIONARY REJECTION OF THE CAPITALIST MODE OF PRODUCTION AND THE BOURGEOIS POLITICAL SYSTEM. THE SOCIAL REVOLUTION WAS INCONSISTENT, HOWEVER, AND FROM THE OUTSET WAS DISTORTED BY STALINISM. BOTH POLITICALLY AND ECONOMICALLY IT LED TO AN EVEN GREATER SUBJUGATION OF WORKERS THAN HAD BEEN THE CASE UNDER CAPITALISM AND BOURGEOIS DEMOCRACY. BOTH CAPITALISM AND STALINISM, IN FACT, DISPLAY COMMON FEATURE: THE REIFICATION OF LABOUR, THE MANIPULATION OF THOSE WHO CARRY OUT THAT LABOUR AND OF THE ENTIRE SOCIETY, THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC EXPROPRIATION OF WORKERS AND THE FEELING OF ALIENATION. EVEN SO, THE ESSENCE OF CAPITALISM AND BUREAUCRATIC CENTRALISM IS DIFFERENT. IN THE LATTER, THE CENTRAL CLASS CONTRADICTION IS THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THE RULING BUREAUCRATIC CENTRE SUPPORTED BY A HIERACHICAL BUREAUCRACY AND THE WORKING PEOPLE OF VARIOUS SOCIAL CLASSES AND STRATA. THE FUNDAMENTAL SOCIAL CONFLICT IS BETWEEN THE NATURE OF WORK, ON THE ONE HAND, AND THE DISPOSITION OF THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION, THE FORCES OF PRODUCTION, COMMODITIES AND NON-PRODUCTIVE PROPERTY ON THE OTHER. A NARROW SEGMENT OF SOCIETY DECIDES CENTRALLY ON THE MEANS AND FORCES OF PRODUCTION, AND ON COMMODITIES AND NON-PRODUCTIVE PROPERTY, WHEREAS THE WORKERS, WHO CREATE THESE VALUES, ARE ENTIRELY EXCLUDED FROM THPY: 1985

Approaches to the interagency coordination of research & development (R & D) policy adopted by the governments of five western European countries & the US are described & analyzed comparatively in terms of four variables: procedures, aims, distribution & sources of influence among participating agencies, & the frame of reference which orders governmental actions in R & D for coordination purposes. Differences stem from general features of policy formation within each system & changes over time in the conception & goals of "science policy." The inherent ambiguities of the coordination concept & the difficulties in defining the "perfect coordinated" system are primary obstacles in evaluating coordination formats both within & across systems. HA.

The current Ukrainian crisis and the "Crimean issue" are both the result of domestic political struggle and regional alienation, and the product of external forces competing for their geopolitical advantages. There are complex historical roots as well as tough practical interests. Internal and external factors interact and cause conflict. The harm of the political crisis in Ukraine and the impact of this crisis on the international community is more than the effect of the "Orange Revolution" that occurred more than ten years ago. This crisis not only worsened the Ukrainian economy, but also undermined the country's international reputation. The dispute about the ownership of the Crimea further aggravated the crisis. In order to stabilize the situation in Ukraine, all parties must remain calm and restrained and seek a political solution through dialogue and negotiations within the framework of the rule of law.
The goal of the study is to determine the vector of relations between Russia, Ukraine and Europe during the crisis and to present a probable explanation of decision making process within Russia's actions, which led to the accession of the Crimea. The principal results that achieved in this paper is that the accession of Crimea to Russian Federation, in fact is the reaction to the European integration processes that out of its sphere of influence. Therefore, it was imposed sanctions on Russia by G7 and other states, so it should be engaged some other steps further to settle this dispute and find solutions to restore relations between European countries and Russia.

AbstractSince 1979, Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No.1 allows CPAs to perform compilations and reviews, in addition to traditional audits for nonpublic companies. An experiment was conducted to determine if these increasing levels of auditor assurance have an economic effect on decision making by users of financial statements. A hypothetical loan application was evaluated by 67 experienced bank loan officers with the level of auditor assurance manipulated across these three levels of assurance from low (compilations) to medium (reviews) to high (audits). The argument is that increasing levels of assurance reduce information risk about the applicant and should therefore affect economic decision making. Loan officers made two decisions: whether or not to make the loan and the interest rate over prime to be charged on the loan. The results indicate that on average loans were more likely to be made and a lower interest rate charged as the level of assurance increase: specifically, the likelihood of making the loan increased from 26% with compilations, to 48% with reviews, to 62% with audits, while the interest rate premium was 2.24% for compilations, 1.96% for reviews, and 1.71% for audits. These results are consistent with higher levels of assurance reducing information risk and having an economic effect on the loan decision process. In addition, loan approval rates were higher and interest rates were lower for loan security via collateralized assets relative to loan security via debt covenants. However, neither loan approval rates nor interest rates were significantly different between provision of MAS by auditors versus no‐MAS conditions.RésuméLe Statement on Standards for Accounting and Review Services No.1, en vigueur depuis 1979, permet au CPA d'offrir aux sociétés fermées non seulement des missions de vérification, mais aussi des missions d'examen et de compilation. L'auteur propose une étude de comportement afin de déterminer si le type de mission effectuée a un impact sur le processus décisionnel des utilisateurs d'états financiers. Une demande de prět hypothétique fut évaluée par 67 responsables des prěts expérimentés tout en manipulant le degré de certitude. Le degré de certitude est considéré comme étant faible pour les missions de compilation, moyen pour les missions d'examen et élevé pour les missions de vérification. L'hypothèse avancée prédit que l'augmentation du degré de certitude réduit le risque informationnel de l'emprunteur et devrait avoir un effet sur le processus décisionnel. Les responsables des prěts prirent deux décisions: la décision d'accorder un prět et le taux d'intérět à accorder. Les résultats indiquent que la probabilité d'accorder un prět augmente et que le taux d'intérět diminue avec une augmentation du degré de certitude. En effet, la probabilité d'accorder un prět est de 26% lors d'une mission de compilation, de 48% lors d'une mission d'examen et de 62% lors d'une mission de vérification. De plus, la prime d'intérét par rapport au taux préférentiel est de 2,24% avec une mission de compilation, de 1,96% avec une mission d'examen et de 1,71% avec une mission de vérification. également, la probabilité d'accorder un prět est plus élevée et le taux d'intérět moindre pour les prěts garantis en comparaison avec les prěts à clauses restrictives. Enfin, le recours aux conseils de gestion du vérificateur n'a aucun effet sur les résultats.

AbstractIntroductionPoor client−provider communication is a critical barrier to long‐term retention in care among people living with HIV. However, standardized assessments of this key metric are limited in Africa. We used the Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) to quantitatively characterize patterns of person‐centred communication (PCC) behaviours in Zambia.MethodsWe enrolled pairs of people living with HIV making routine HIV follow‐up visit and their providers at 24 Ministry of Health‐facilities supported by the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia in Lusaka province between August 2019 and November 2021. Client−provider encounters were audio‐recorded and coded using RIAS by trained research staff. We performed latent class analysis to identify interactions with distinctive patterns of provider PCC behaviours (i.e. rapport building, person‐centred counselling, PCC micropractices [e.g. brief empathy statements], assessing barriers to care, shared decision‐making and leveraging discretionary power) and compared their distribution across client, provider, interaction and facility characteristics.ResultsWe enrolled 478 people living with HIV and 139 providers (14% nurses, 73.6% clinical officers, 12.3% were medical officers). We identified four distinct profiles: (1) "Medically Oriented Interaction, Minimal PCC Behaviours" (47.6% of interactions) was characterized by medical discussion, minimal psychosocial/non‐medical talk and low use of PCC behaviours; (2) "Balanced Medical/Non‐medical Interaction, Low PCC Behaviours" (21.0%) was characterized by medical and non‐medical discussion but limited use of other PCC behaviours; (3) "Medically Oriented Interaction, Good PCC Behaviours" (23.9%) was characterized by medically oriented discussion, more information‐giving and increased use of PCC behaviours; and (4) "Highly person‐centred Interaction" (7.5%) was characterized by both balanced medical/non‐medical focus and the highest use of PCC behaviours. Nurse interactions were more likely to be characterized by more PCC behaviours (i.e. Class 3 or 4) (44.8%), followed by medical officers (33.9%) and clinical officers (27.3%) (p = 0.031). Longer interactions were also more likely to integrate more PCC behaviours (p < 0.001).ConclusionsPCC behaviours are relatively uncommon in HIV care in Zambia, and often limited to brief rapport‐building statements and PCC micropractices. Strengthening PCC, such as shared decision‐making and leveraging discretionary power to better accommodate client needs and preferences, may be an important strategy for improving the quality in HIV treatment programmes.

The topicality of this issue is related to the fact that the EU is founded on a set of values, including equality. Nowadays the attitude towards women in the society is significantly different from that of men. Unfortunately, inequality does not decline over time. The basic idea of gender equality is to provide both women and men with the same rights, opportunities and conditions for full-fledged development. The article is devoted to the dimensions of the principle of gender equality in the European Union, which is important for Ukraine due to the conditions of European integration. The dimensions of gender equality cover the political, economic, civil, social and cultural spheres of our live activity, including achieving gender equality in employment, equal pay for equal work, gender balance in decision making, harmonization of professional and family life, education and «gender mainstreaming».

That is why research and analysis of gender equality's dimensions in the EU and defining the legal aspects of their regulation are relevant to the legal system of Ukraine. Over the past few decades, the EU has notably worked for equal treatment legislation, gender mainstreaming and specific measures for the advancement of women. Moreover, the EU has defined the following dimensions of gender equality: equal economic independence for women and men; equal pay for work of equal value; equality in decision-making; dignity, integrity and ending gender-based violence; and promoting gender equality beyond the EU.

The dimension of gender equality is a strategy for making women's as well as men's concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and social spheres, so that women and men benefit equally and the inequality is not perpetuated. Although the EU has achieved positive results in protecting human rights, the work is still continuing in this direction. The idea of gender equality is an integral part of equality as a general principle, development and peace in the world. Without this principle, it is impossible to establish

the basis for democracy, freedom, justice and tolerance. Recently, the principle of gender equality is getting paramount importance for Ukraine, as one of the conditions for successful European integration.

AbstractWe present an economics framework appropriate to the exceptionally broad scope of the climate change problem. This considers that economic and social processes, particularly those involved in purposive transitions of energy technologies and systems, involve the interplay between three distinct domains of decision-making and associated actors. The first concerns small-scale and often short-term decision-making, much of which reflects extensive 'satisficing' and habituation as identified in behavioural economics. Calculated economic optimization decisions, especially of companies in the energy and energy-intensive industries, then best reflect the core assumptions of neoclassical and welfare economics, including discrete market failures. Third, at the largest scale are strategic judgements made by big actors (e.g. governments, large multinational companies) relevant to transformation of complex systems over long periods—particularly concerning innovation and structural changes, for which lessons from theories of evolutionary and institutional economics are most relevant.Economically, these can be logically mapped in relation to the technology (or more accurately, 'best practice') frontier. Each has corresponding policy implications: most directly, respectively in terms of (i) standards and engagement to establish norms; (ii) competitive markets with the critical role of prices; and (iii) strategic investment in innovation and infrastructure. Each faces challenges of implementation and government failure, as observed, for example, with wholly inadequate carbon pricing to date, naïve and ineffective approaches to enhancing energy efficiency, or misdirected support to R&D. Based on the domain distinctions, we argue that the corresponding pillars of policy are naturally complementary, and can be mutually supportive: strong standards and norms on energy efficiency, for example, would enhance the political space for carbon pricing by reducing its direct consumer impacts, while carbon pricing has multiple positive two-way interactions with enhanced low-carbon innovation.From this we also posit a 'carbon pricing paradox': that adequate carbon prices, the central recommendation of most economists, are in most jurisdictions only feasible (or even optimal) if equal analytic and policy attention is devoted to the other pillars, and the wider context of macroeconomic and fiscal policies. Only these other aspects can reduce the absolute cost impact of carbon pricing (potentially turning into a gain) and offer consumers and businesses better lower-carbon alternatives, which are critical to establishing climate-compatible pricing structures across our economies.

AbstractIntroductionWith recent approvals of long‐acting (LA) HIV pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in the form of injectable cabotegravir and the dapivirine ring, programmes need to consider how to optimize the delivery of PrEP methods, including by leveraging lessons from the past decade of oral PrEP delivery.DiscussionFramed around differentiated service delivery building blocks, the major considerations for the delivery of LA PrEP are how to reach the populations who would most benefit from PrEP, where to locate PrEP services, how to reduce the user burden of accessing and continuing with PrEP, and how to integrate PrEP with other services. Demand creation for LA PrEP and education about new LA PrEP options should be co‐developed with communities and be positively framed. Client‐facing clinical decision support tools provide information about HIV prevention and PrEP options in non‐technical ways and can support their informed decision‐making about PrEP. Training for providers is needed to increase their ability to ask about sexual and drug use behaviours in a non‐judgmental and comfortable manner as part of risk assessment, discuss harm reduction strategies and counsel about available PrEP options that fit clients' circumstances and needs. PrEP adherence support should include supportive counselling and be tailored to address an individual's particular barriers and needs. Reminders through text messaging or calls can foster PrEP persistence, given the narrow the window around dosing for injectable cabotegravir. Strategies are needed to expand PrEP delivery options, including telePrEP, pharmacy‐based PrEP, key population‐led services and mobile venues. Integrated delivery models are needed which include sexually transmitted infection testing and treatment, contraception for cis‐women not desiring to become pregnant, PrEP for pregnant women in high HIV prevalence settings, and gender‐affirming hormones and support for transgender persons.ConclusionsThe outcome of expanding PrEP options through LA PrEP formulations is to increase PrEP coverage, adherence, persistence and effectiveness by offering a choice of PrEP that meets the needs of persons who would benefit from PrEP. The lessons learned from the delivery of oral PrEP about demand creation, informed client decision‐making, provider training, adherence support and service delivery model are relevant to the delivery of LA PrEP and integration with other services.

The article considers the dependence of political representation at the regional level on the specific configuration of the national political and legal field. The full value and normativeness of public representation are substantiated, as well as the contradictions of the interests of regional political elites and bureaucratic power practices are outlined.The purpose of this article is to clarify the importance of bureaucracy as a factor in the functioning of the regional elite against the background of the challenges of socio-political representation.Research methods. A descriptive method was used to describe the implementation of autonomous government by citizens and to resolve their issues based on the activities of local governments; the method of comparison is used to reflect the composition of regional political elites of European countries and the specifics of the mechanisms of representation at the parliamentary local and regional levels; a method of generalization to demonstrate challenges for elites in the sense of an adequate understanding of their importance and role in political processes at the national and international levels.Results. The assessment of the distribution of powers and the tendencies of influencing the situation in regional communities and territorial units are characteristic only for the countries that are going through a period of democratic transformations and for sustainable democracies. It has been proven that if the bureaucracy is the main actor in the implementation of technical management decisions, the elites can only be coordinators in setting priorities and differences on certain aspects of decision-making at the macro level. Emphasis is placed on the implementation of democratic reform programs, which provide for the representation of the people at all levels of administrative-territorial division. The properties of the elites elected by the citizens, which act only as a temporary component of the general system of decision-making and their implementation, are revealed. It is not possible to represent all, without exception, local communities at the regional level, due to the diversity of their economic and socio-infrastructural potential. An interpretation of the essence of the mechanisms of real democratic political leadership is proposed, which would ensure the support of the population of regional elites as factors of real representation of communities.

PurposeThis research focuses on suggesting an optimized model for selecting best employees using advanced multi-criteria decision making method to a supply chain firm, who is planning to start a new cold chain business vertical.Design/methodology/approachStudy has been conducted in a supply chain firm in North India, who wants to expand its business with the help of efficient team members. In total 38 applicants were considered for the study, as selected by the firm after initial screening from pool of talent. AHP-LP and TOPSIS-LP integrated approach were applied separately for evaluation and implementation of personnel selection model. Further, both the approaches were compared to find the best fit and optimized model.FindingsAs per the findings, both AHP and TOPSIS can be used to select the best candidate among the alternatives available. TOPSIS was found easier to implement as it involves ranking of applicants with respect to each skills required for respective job profile only once, whereas AHP involves pair-wise comparison among candidates with respect to each skills required for respective job profile and normalization of each comparison, resulting in the formation of number of comparison matrices. However, AHP is more reliable as it considers consistency check for each level of pair-wise comparison. Hence, there is a chance to avoid or revise the human judgment error. Integrated ranking and optimization approach minimizes the cost by suggesting the relevant positions to be filed to make an efficient team.Research limitations/implicationsGroup of interviewers are involved in the decision-making process, hence there are chances of biasness in ranking method which can influence the group decision. Research is limited to a particular geography of North India therefore needs to be tested for other regions also in order to generalize. The research will help the third party logistics (3PL) and other related firms in efficient team selection.Originality/valueThe researcher focuses on formalizing a method for potential candidate selection by considering the constraints of the organization. It has been observed that limited researches have been done on the application of AHP-LP or TOPSIS-LP integrated approach for selection process. Hence, this research proposes two integrated ranking-optimization method and suggests the best fit by comparing both the approaches.

Purpose– Sale-and-leaseback has become an increasingly common approach during the last two decades in the investment of high street banks (banking-halls) in the UK. One measure commonly used in making property investment decisions is the all risks yield (ARY) which is associated with the level of rental income. Investors and their advisors need to know which factors are likely to result in the highest ARY when assembling investment portfolios of such properties. The purpose of this paper is to identify those yield influences.Design/methodology/approach– A qualitative multiple-case study was adopted. A literature review generated a hypothesis which was tested by a qualitative study, based upon semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire, to establish the influencing factors. Expert interviews were held with the heads of those three major auction-houses dealing with auctions of all retail bank premises in the Great Britain market, whilst the questionnaire survey involved investment professionals from within the auction-houses.Findings– The study confirmed that the four factors influencing yields and investors' decision-making when purchasing retail banking premises were tenant banking company (brand names), regional location (north and south super-regions), lot size (hammer price), and tenure (freehold or leasehold).Research limitations/implications– This investigation focuses on Great Britain's geographical and political area which includes England, Scotland and Wales, but excludes Northern Ireland. This research focuses on banking-halls as a sub-class of retail property investment. The findings form a baseline upon which further research can be conducted on other sub-types of retail property such as high street shops and retail parks. The results will also underpin the development of a quantitative yield predictive model based on regression analysis.Practical implications– To maximize the returns on property investments, investors and their professional advisors can use those factors having the greatest influence on yields to make informed investment decisions for the building of property portfolios.Originality/value– As a sub-sector, bank premises do not necessarily correlate to the generic retail sector. This research consolidates the broad systematic drivers of retail yields into specific factors influencing the ARY of banking-halls. The findings provide better understanding of an active but sparsely analysed sub-market of banking hall investments, and by so-doing help investors to maximize their investment returns.