Tomassino Ferrauto, Domenico Parisi, Gabriele Di Stefano, Gianluca Baldassarre
Organisms that live in groups, from microbial symbionts to social insects and schooling fish, exhibit a number of highly efficient cooperative behaviors, often based on role taking and specialization. These behaviors are relevant not only for the biologist but also for the engineer interested in decentralized collective robotics. We address these phenomena by carrying out experiments with groups of two simulated robots controlled by neural networks whose connection weights are evolved by using genetic algorithms. These algorithms and controllers are well suited to autonomously find solutions for decentralized collective robotic tasks based on principles of self-organization. The article first presents a taxonomy of role-taking and specialization mechanisms related to evolved neural network controllers. Then it introduces two cooperation tasks, which can be accomplished by either role taking or specialization, and uses these tasks to compare four different genetic algorithms to evaluate their capacity to evolve a suitable behavioral strategy, which depends on the task demands. Interestingly, only one of the four algorithms, which appears to have more biological plausibility, is capable of evolving role taking or specialization when they are needed. The results are relevant for both collective robotics and biology, as they can provide useful hints on the different processes that can lead to the emergence of specialization in robots and organisms.
Jannik Dreier, Guillaume Dumas, Hugo Jonker, Pascal Lafourcade
An electronic auction protocol will only be used by those who trust that it operates correctly. Therefore, e-auction protocols must be verifiable: seller, buyer and losing bidders must all be able to determine that the result was correct. We pose that the importance of verifiability for e-auctions necessitates a formal analysis. Consequently, in the first part of the talk, we identify notions of verifiability for each stakeholder. We formalize these and then use the developed framework to study the verifiability of several examples. We provide an analysis of the protocol by Sako in the applied pi-calculus with help of ProVerif, finding it to be correct. Additionally we identify issues with the protocols due to Curtis et al. and Brandt. In the second part, we will analyze the protocol by Brandt in more detail. We show first that this protocol – when using malleable interactive zero-knowledge proofs – is vulnerable to attacks by dishonest bidders. Such bidders can manipulate the publicly available data in a way that allows the seller to deduce all participants’ bids. Additionally we discuss attacks on non-repudiation, fairness and the privacy of individual bidders exploiting authentication problems.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to capture, codify and communicate an implicit change‐management process to embed corporate responsibility and sustainability at the Cranfield School of Management. Design/methodology/approach To explain the (on‐going) change‐management process, the authors retrospectively applied change‐management literature to the implicit process in which they have, themselves, been intimately involved. Findings The implicit change‐management process had unconsciously mobilized a variety of tactics identified in the change‐management literature; a more explicit articulation of the “as‐is” and “desired” states, and a more explicit, systematic and regular communication of the journey and goal, might have enabled faster progress. However, the nature of a highly autonomous and decentralized organization, such as an academic institution, means that sustainable change management may be slower than in commercial institutions. Research limitations/implications The authors have been closely engaged in the change‐management process they describe and, inevitably, have unconscious biases and partial perspectives. Nevertheless, as a frank and self‐critical account of a five‐year‐plus process, it can assist other academic institutions. Practical implications As more business schools seek to embed corporate responsibility and sustainability, the case study identifies a series of potential change‐management tactics. Originality/value The paper applies a change‐management model to examine how one school of management is tackling how to embed corporate responsibility and sustainability into its research, teaching, advisory services and its own operations.
We're going to start by beating a retreat from QuantumLand, back onto the safe territory of computational complexity. In particular, we're going to see how, in the 1980s and 1990s, computational complexity theory reinvented the millennia-old concept of mathematical proof – making it probabilistic, interactive, and cryptographic. But then, having fashioned our new pruning-hooks (proving-hooks?), we're going to return to QuantumLand and reap the harvest. In particular, I’ll show you why, if you could see the entire trajectory of a hidden variable, then you could efficiently solve any problem that admits a “statistical zero-knowledge proof protocol,” including problems like Graph Isomorphism for which no efficient quantum algorithm is yet known. What is a proof? Historically, mathematicians have had two very different notions of “proof.” The first is that a proof is something that induces in the audience (or at least the prover!) an intuitive sense of certainty that the result is correct. In this view, a proof is an inner transformative experience – a way for your soul to make contact with the eternal verities of Platonic heaven.
This paper investigates the semiotics of Bitcoin, an electronic cash system that uses decentralized networking to enable irreversible payments. For enthusiasts, Bitcoin provides an alternative to currencies and payment systems that are seen to threaten users' privacy, limit personal liberty, and undermine the value of money through state and corporate oversight. Bitcoin's promise lies in its apparent capacity to resolve these concerns not through regulatory institutions or interpersonal trust, but through its cryptographic protocols. We characterize this semiotics as a “practical materialism” and suggest it replays debates about privacy, labor, and value.
This study is the first attempt to examine the determinants of expenditure decentralization at sub-provincial levels in China. The Chinese central government gives detailed guidelines to local governments on public finance, but, ironically, their expenditure assignment is far from being well-regulated. Differences in fiscal decentralization on the expenditure side are enormous among local governments. Employing a panel dataset of 1995–2006, we provide empirical evidence that transfer dependency negatively affects expenditure decentralization in Chinese local governments. It suggests that intermediate governments, i.e., provincial governments, may have “grabbed” central grants for self-interests.
Demonstrable data retention (DDR) is a technique which certain the integrity of data in storage outsourcing. In this paper we propose an efficient DDR protocol that prevent attacker in gaining information from multiple cloud storage node. Our technique is for distributed cloud storage and support the scalability of services and data migration. This technique Cooperative store and maintain the client’s data on multi cloud storage. To insure the security of our technique we use zero-knowledge proof system, which satisfies zero-knowledge properties, knowledge soundness and completeness. We present a Cooperative DDR (CDDR) protocol based on hash index hierarchy and homomorphic verification response. In order to optimize the performance of our technique we use a novel technique for selecting optimal parameter values to reduce the storage overhead and computation costs of client for service providers. Keyword: Demonstrable Data Retention, homomorphic, zero knowledge, storage outsourcing, multiple cloud, Cooperative, data Retention.
This technical report presents the design and implementation of a Vehicle Follow Control (VFC) func-tion. The main goal of the project focuses on the Proof-Of-Concept of the functional behavior by Rapid Control Prototyping. First, the problem was analyzed by making a feasibility analysis; taking into account the challenges involved, necessary tools, methods and technology available. Second a requirement elicitation process was carried out using the CAFCR method. The Product Creation Process (PCP) followed at the compa-ny was analyzed and used to obtain the customer wishes related to the function. In addition, the relevant stake-holders were identified and a context diagram was created to define the scope. Use case scenarios were proposed to obtain the desired functionality, which served as an input to formulate the VFC Sys-tem Requirements. Subsequently, the architecture for the design was proposed, where different software components were identified. The controller design consists of four major components: Supervisor con-troller, Governor, Splitter and Hill Holder. The Supervisor controller was designed based on the func-tional requirements, using the company’s heuristic approach to design state-flow charts. The Governor was designed using a combined distance/speed control approach. The design of the Splitter was carried out by splitting the control signals to the respective vehicle actuators. Finally, the design of the Hill Holder was performed using a state-flow chart and a vehicle model. This was done by estimating the amount of force needed to prevent the vehicle from moving when driving on a hill. The controller was designed using Matlab, and implemented in the prototype vehicle using dSPACE HW/SW. A radar target filter algorithm was designed to properly filter the data coming from the radar and to detect the target vehicle to follow. The Verification and Validation phase was carried out according to the V-cycle model. A series of test cases were run with the vehicle to assess whether the functionality meets the requirements, and whether it fulfills the customer wishes. It was concluded that the RCP platform created for this project provides an important contribution for the company, since it can be used for the integration with other functions involving longitudinal control, which is included in the road map for future autonomous driving.
In 1995, the state of Oaxaca, Mexico reformed its constitution to recognize the right of Indigenous municipalities to elect their local governments according to autonomously determined “usos y costumbres.” This chapter explores this paradigmatic case of the politics of recognition and multiculturalism to see how Indigenous communities’ systems of political and social organization function in practice, when faced with the challenges of migration, decentralization, rural-urban tensions, the struggle for gender equity, and changes in subnational institutions. These new challenges, coupled with the recognition of Indigenous rights, often reveal tensions between individual and collective rights and lead to conflicts within and between communities. The author interprets the praxis of Indigenous autonomy in terms of the construction and exercise of citizenship and argues that one way to resolve the tensions experienced by usos y costumbres municipalities is through the exercise of multiple and differentiated citizenships.
Henry‐York Steiner, Claire Halpin, Joseph M. Jez, John Kough · 8 authors
Plant breeding has a long history of developing varieties with desirable traits in response to the needs of both growers and consumers. Although the bases for most of these traits are not known genetically or biochemically, conventional breeding combines these multiple traits to create new hybrids and stable varieties that are safe and not generally subject to safety assessment. With the advent of genetic engineering, a tool for incorporating additional traits has become available to plant breeders. The safe application of genetic engineering to food and feed crops is widely acknowledged as a useful tool in addressing global agricultural challenges, including population growth and climate change. As used here, the term genetically engineered (GE) stack refers to a plant in which two or more transgenic events (i.e. single-locus insertions) that have been separately assessed for safety have been combined by conventional breeding (Table I). In recent years, increasing numbers of GE stacks have been planted, the first of which offered combinations of insect and herbicide tolerance genes to combat a wider range of pests and weeds than covered by the single events (Que et al., 2010; James, 2011). Two main questions arise when considering the food and feed safety of GE stacks: (1) does incorporation of more than one event increase genomic instability, and (2) can potential interactions between the products of the combined events impact safety? A related paper considered the stacking of events in light of the plasticity of plant genomes and concluded that enhanced genetic instability from a transgene or from common sequences in two or more transgenes is remote (Weber et al., 2012). This paper addresses the second question of potential interactions between events and their products combined in a stack, reviews the basic principles of plant breeding and its history of safe use, and extends these principles to the feed and food safety of events combined through the same processes used in conventional breeding of non-GE plants. Potential environmental impacts are outside the scope of food and feed safety. The new varieties developed through modern biotechnology are identified by a number of terms, including genetically modified (GM), GE, transgenic, biotech, recombinant, and plants with novel traits. The term GE is used here as defined by Weber et al. (2012). For these reasons, the term GE is preferred over the term GM. There are many methods encompassed by the general term conventional breeding, including wide crosses and selection, mutagenesis, and somaclonal variation. When the parental species are not closely related, the cross may be facilitated by embryo rescue, somatic hybridization, or x-ray-induced translocations. The term interaction, as used in this paper, refers to an effect, such as a new or modified metabolic activity, resulting from a combination of transgenes. An example of an interaction is protein-protein binding resulting in a novel effect only seen with a specific combination of proteins, for instance, protein cofactors or subunits for the same enzymatic complex or subcellular metabolic binding reaction. Examples can also include a direct metabolic interaction that would inhibit or activate components in a metabolic pathway shared by the proteins newly combined in the GE stack or components of independent metabolic pathways that indirectly interact by way of a common metabolite. Thus, interactions within GE stacks generally refer to the metabolic or physiochemical interplay between the products of transgenes or between the product of one transgene and the second gene, rather than between the two genes themselves. Conventional breeding has a long history of safe use despite the presence of antinutritional factors, toxins, and allergens in crops. There is no evidence that a random genomic change in a crop has resulted in a novel food or feed safety issue (Weber et al., 2012). Historically, humans have selected desirable traits that arise from the crop’s genomic plasticity and interactions between genes. As breeding became more advanced, new methods were applied to select and combine desired traits, which also modify the genome as a consequence. Plants produce a multitude of metabolites that provide various functions. These include signaling activities in response to environmental stress or attack from plant pathogens and pests. Some metabolites have beneficial effects, while others are toxic when fed at high levels to sensitive animal species (Ames et al., 1990). Although particular metabolites tend to be specific to some plant families, there are metabolites of concern in a number of common food and feed crops, including apple (Malus domestica), apricot (Prunus armeniaca), Brassica spp., celery (Apium graveolens), cucumber (Cucumis sativus), lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus), potato (Solanum tuberosum), cherry (Prunus avium or Prunus cerasus), and sorghum (Sorghum bicolor; Beier, 1990; D’Mello et al., 1991; Stewart, 2009). Examples of such metabolites include alkaloids, lectins, glucosinolates, furanocoumarins, cyanoglucosides, nicotines, and phytoestrogens. Some of these can impart bitter taste, and conventional breeding has repeatedly reduced their levels to acceptable concentrations (Drewnowski and Gomez-Carneros, 2000). There are few documented cases in which breeding led to an unacceptable level of a metabolite. Following reports of bitter taste, the potato var Lenape, which was developed from a cross of potato to a wild Solanum species, was found to contain doubled levels of glycoalkaloids (Anonymous, 1970). The only other documented incident of unacceptable metabolite levels associated with plant breeding is that of a disease-resistant celery containing elevated levels of furanocoumarins, which may have contributed to dermatitis among grocery store personnel (Berkley et al., 1986; Seligman et al., 1987). The environment can also play a role in impacting furanocoumarin levels; a later report of dermatitis among celery harvesters in southern Israel was attributed to delayed harvest, and hence more mature plants being handled, due to the Gulf War (Finkelstein et al., 1994). Similarly, reports of toxic squash (Rymal et al., 1984) and zucchini (Herrington, 1983) appear to have been limited to individual plants within otherwise widely grown varieties, suggesting the higher toxin levels were due to environmental conditions or mutations. Despite these few instances, these crops remain safe for food or feed use. Although breeders recombine tens of thousands of genes with virtually infinite potential interactions, to our knowledge, there has never been a report of a completely novel toxin or allergen appearing in a genus as a result of conventional breeding. The development of an interspecific somatic hybrid of potato (S. tuberosum and Solanum brevidens) containing demissidine (Laurila et al., 1996) has often been cited as proof that novel toxins can arise during breeding. In fact, Jadhav et al. (1981) documented the presence of demissidine in potato more than a decade before it was found in the hybrid. To guard against unexpected increases in levels of known toxins, breeders have instituted screens for these compounds in new varieties before they are released. Examples include cotton (Gossypium hirsutum), potato, lima bean, and canola (Brassica napus), because they contain known compounds that can impact food or feed safety. However, breeders cannot and do not screen for de novo compounds. Hundreds of thousands of varieties have been bred without the emergence of any novel allergens or toxins, indicating that the likelihood of such events is virtually zero (Stevens, 1974). Improved crop varieties produced by conventional breeding are the cornerstone of food production in the world today. Thus, the ways in which risks are managed during conventional breeding of non-GE crops, which includes testing for any known concerns, sets the framework for the food and feed safety assessment of GE stacks. As is the case for any other new variety or hybrid, GE stacks are only considered for market introduction if the combined traits have met the intended thresholds for efficacy and stability. Newly developed GE events undergo rigorous safety assessments by the developer and by regulatory agencies prior to their commercial release. These assessments evaluate the impact of both intended and potential unintended effects on food, feed, and other aspects of crop safety. Assessment criteria and objectives are based on national priorities and on international standards, such as those of the Joint Food Standards Program of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization (FAO/WHO, 1996, 2000), as well as Codex Alimentarius Commission recommendations for conducting food safety assessments of GE crops (Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2009). Codex principles and guidance are widely followed for single events. The key components of GE crop safety assessments include (1) descriptive information on the transgenes and inserted recombinant DNA; (2) detailed characterization of the DNA insert relative to the native genome, in planta concentration and stability of the products of the transgene(s), analysis of plant phenotype, and descriptive information such as efficacy, mechanism or mode of action of the new trait(s), and crop management considerations; (3) evaluation of the safety of the products of the transgene(s) in the context of common commercial crop practices and uses; and (4) comparative safety assessment for suitability as food and/or feed. Such analyses might include a determination of expression levels of known allergens and toxins, and overall composition, including nutrients, antinutrients, and selected metabolites for that crop (FAO/WHO, 1996, 2000; Cellini et al., 2004; Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2009; Thomas et al., 2009). Assessments of nutrient composition and agronomic characteristics, as well as an assessment of potential allergenicity and toxicity, are widely recognized as significant components of GE crop safety assessments (FAO/WHO, 1996, 2000; Metcalfe et al., 1996; Kuiper et al., 2001; Cellini et al., 2004; Delaney et al., 2008; Codex Alimentarius Commission, 2009; Thomas et al., 2009). Differences between the GE crop and appropriate comparators are evaluated in terms of biological relevance, magnitude of difference, exposure, and impact on food or feed safety to determine the need for further investigation. The comparators may include a closely related non-GE variety and other commercial GE and non-GE varieties. The International Life Sciences Institute’s Crop Composition Database (http://www.cropcomposition.org; International Life Sciences Institute, 2006) may also serve as a reference for comparison for some crops (Ridley et al., 2004). These holistic analyses also take into account interactions of the transgenes with endogenous genes and their products. Agriculturally important plants express approximately 25,000 to 50,000 genes at any given time. The safety assessment evaluates the GE crop phenotype, which includes interactions between the event and the host genome that may impact safety. Once the safety assessment is completed, conventional breeding is used to incorporate the event into different genetic backgrounds, without undergoing additional assessment. The developer of the resulting food and feed products is, however, responsible for the safety of those products and for meeting all relevant statutory and regulatory requirements, as is the case for all foods and feeds. Even within a single genus having species that differ in ploidy level, the number of genes within a plant can vary. For example, some 400 genes are not common in the historically important maize (Zea mays) inbreds B73 and Mo17; each of these genes is found in B73 but not in Mo17 or vice versa (Springer et al., 2009; Lai et al., 2010). Similarly, of the approximately 46,000 of genes in soybean (Glycine max), 856 genes were present in some but not all of the soybean genotypes tested (Lam et al., 2010). Of the two potato genotypes with sequenced genomes, 275 genes are found in only one or the other et al., 2011). Thus, different non-GE genotypes in novel combinations in novel interactions, but no safety have been this of novel interactions is to be by the stacking of transgenes. Despite the genetic in crop most regulatory agencies do not new non-GE varieties developed by conventional breeding there is a known safety concern or associated with the new variety of and Food and of the Food on Organization and Health Food This is based on the that conventional breeding is as As defined conventional breeding traits from genetic interactions of genes and their products are in breeding to produce new crop varieties. In plant breeders through crosses that combine different different et al., in some different genes et al., 2011). However, the are from and among have the that might be in et al., et al., et al., and et al., these that thousands of interactions are when genomes are combined by breeding. these interactions have led to which has been selected by plant breeders to desirable traits et al., 2010). these interactions of genes have a long history of food and feed the bases of these interactions are the information to a specific interactions between endogenous genes in conventional breeding do not to direct As information and methods to complex become it may be to such when GE events by breeding, it is to interactions between the events within the GE stack in a and can be developed for those specific with the historically used in conventional breeding to new traits into crop such as wide hybridization, genetic engineering a direct of a DNA that a specific into a the methods by which individual events are combined to produce a GE stack are to those used to combine multiple traits in new conventional crop varieties and two GE does not any in the genome is by two non-GE (Weber et al., the safety assessments for the individual events are to the GE The only safety question that the individual event assessments do not is that of interactions between the products of the combined transgenes. Two questions on the potential of interactions between the events in a particular GE (1) does a potential interaction between the products in each single event in the GE stack, and (2) would the potential interaction result in a food and feed safety In other are there of engineered and any interactions between these that might create A safety assessment of a crop produced by conventional breeding of parental into a GE stack can incorporate a that addresses interactions of the transgene products are and if they might food and feed safety. A for this is in which the overall development of a for potential interactions, with the and of the crop of the single and the prior food and feed safety assessments on the products. 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International Life Sciences International Food and Plant and and and for and during the The also International Life Sciences and for their in this to also the of and in the of this The and would also to the for in the and for many and de de and of Standards Commission on of of of of Food and of and of of of Agriculture and and Plant Food and of and and genetically engineered genetically modified
Alcohol is the drug of choice among youth, with 12% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 29% of 12th-graders reporting heavy episodic drinking. Although prevalence rates are at historic lows, alcohol use continues to be widespread among adolescents, and pediatricians must screen for underage and family alcohol use in health assessment visits.After completing this article, readers should be able to:National surveys make it clear that the use of alcohol among adolescents is both widespread and harmful. By the 12th grade, close to three-quarters of adolescents in high school report ever having an alcoholic drink, and more than one-quarter report having their first drink before age 13 years. Data from Monitoring the Future, an annual survey of youth in the United States, show that 71% of high school seniors reported some experience with alcohol in the past; 41% reported use in the last 30 days and, of great concern, 3% reported daily use. More than one-half (58%) of 10th-graders and more than one-third (36%) of 8th-graders report having consumed alcohol at some point in their lives, and more than one-third of 10th-graders (37%) and one of six 8th-graders (16%) report having been drunk in the past. (1) The good news is that the use of alcohol by teens, as well as the use of many of the illicit drugs, has declined over the past decade. The bad news is that, although these declines are encouraging, alcohol remains the drug of choice among youth.The pattern of alcohol use that is exhibited by many adolescents is one of drinking too much and at too early an age, thereby creating problems for themselves, for people around them, and for society as a whole. Underage drinking is a leading public health problem in this country. Underage drinkers consume, on average, four to five drinks per occasion approximately six times per month. By comparison, older adult drinkers, ages 26 and older, consume, on average, two to three drinks per occasion approximately nine times per month. A particularly worrisome trend is the high prevalence of heavy episodic or binge drinking in adolescents, which is defined often as five or more drinks in a row in a single episode. Monitoring the Future data show that 12% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 29% of 12th-graders report engaging in heavy episodic drinking.Studies find that drinking alcohol often starts at very young ages. Moreover, studies indicate that the younger children and adolescents are when they begin to drink, the more likely they are to engage in behaviors that can harm themselves and others. Those who start to drink before age 13 years, for example, are nine times more likely to binge drink frequently as high school students than those who begin drinking later. Data from recent surveys show that approximately 10% of 9- to 10-year-olds have already started drinking; nearly one third of youth begin drinking before age 13, and more than one in four 14-year-olds report drinking within the past year. (2)(3)A number of studies show that the early onset of alcohol use, as well as the escalation of drinking in adolescence, are risk factors for the development of alcohol-related problems in adulthood. Initiating alcohol use earlier in adolescence or in childhood is a marker for later problems, including heavier use of alcohol and other drugs. Individuals who report initiation of alcohol use before age 15 years were four times more likely to meet criteria for alcohol dependence and two times more likely to meet criteria for alcohol abuse as those individuals who began drinking after age 21 years. (4)The consequences of underage drinking include a range of physical, academic, and social problems. Perhaps most frightening is the fact that alcohol is the leading contributor to morbidity and mortality in youth. Alcohol use is the leading contributor to death due to injuries, the primary cause of death in individuals younger than 21 years of age. Annually, 5,000 youth die of alcohol-related injuries that involve underage drinking. This includes injuries sustained in motor vehicle crashes (∼1,900), homicides (∼1,600), and suicides (∼300), as well as unintentional injuries not related to motor vehicle crashes. Among studies of adolescent trauma victims, alcohol is reported in 32% to 45% of hospital admissions. The association between alcohol use and violent behavior is well documented. Numerous studies of adolescents report that alcohol use is linked to both violent behavior and to violence-related injuries. (5)(6)Other harmful behaviors and negative consequences frequently related to excessive drinking among adolescents are high-risk sexual behaviors (unplanned and unprotected intercourse); sexual misconduct, including rape; and assaults. Having multiple sexual partners, failing to use condoms, and performing other high-risk sexual behaviors have been associated with alcohol use in adolescents. Furthermore, alcohol use by the offender, victim, or both has been linked to sexual assault, including date rape.As youth move from adolescence to young adulthood, they encounter dramatic physical, emotional, and lifestyle changes. Developmental transitions, such as puberty and increasing independence, have been associated with alcohol use. Because drinking is so widespread among adolescents, simply being an adolescent may be a key risk factor for initiation of alcohol use, as well as for drinking dangerously.Data from imaging studies show that the brain continues developing well into the twenties, during which time it continues to establish important communication connections and further refines its function. Many believe that this lengthy developmental period may help to explain some of the behaviors characteristic of adolescence, such as the propensity to seek out new and potentially dangerous situations. For some adolescents, thrill-seeking includes experimenting with alcohol use. Developmental changes also may offer a possible physiologic explanation for why teens act so impulsively, often not recognizing that their actions—such as drinking—have consequences.How adolescents view alcohol and its effects also influences their drinking behavior, including whether they begin to drink and how much. An adolescent who expects drinking to be a pleasurable experience is more likely to drink than one who does not. Beliefs about alcohol are established very early in life, even before entering elementary school. Before age 9 years, children generally view alcohol negatively and see drinking as bad and associated with adverse effects. By approximately age 13 years, however, their expectancies shift, becoming more positive. Accordingly, adolescents who drink the most also place the greatest emphasis on the positive and arousing effects of alcohol.Differences between the adult brain and the brain of the maturing adolescent may explain why many young drinkers are able to consume much larger amounts of alcohol than adults before experiencing the negative consequences of drinking, such as drowsiness, lack of coordination, and withdrawal or hangover effects. This unusual tolerance may help to explain the high rates of binge drinking among many adolescents and young adults. At the same time, adolescents appear to be particularly sensitive to the positive effects of drinking, such as feeling more at ease in social situations, and young people may drink more than adults because of these positive social experiences.Children who begin to drink at a very early age (before age 12 years) often share similar personality characteristics that may make them more likely to start drinking. Young people who are disruptive, hyperactive, and aggressive—often referred to as having conduct problems or being antisocial—as well as those who are depressed, withdrawn, or anxious, may be at greatest risk for alcohol problems. Other behavior problems associated with alcohol use include rebelliousness, difficulty avoiding harm or harmful situations, and a host of other traits seen in young people who act out without regard for rules or the feelings of others (ie, disinhibition).Some of the behavioral and physiologic factors that converge to increase or decrease a person’s risk for alcohol problems, including tolerance to alcohol’s effects, may be linked directly to genetic factors. For example, being a child of an alcoholic or having several alcoholic family members places a person at greater risk for alcohol problems. Children of alcoholics (COAs) are between 4 and 10 times more likely to become alcoholics themselves than are children who have no close relatives with alcoholism. (7) COAs also are more likely to begin drinking at a young age and to progress to drinking problems more quickly.Research shows that COAs may have subtle brain differences that could be markers for developing later alcohol problems. For example, by the use of newer brain-imaging techniques, scientists have found that COAs have a distinctive feature in one brainwave pattern (called a P300 response) that could be a marker for later alcoholism risk. (8) Some studies suggest that these brain differences may be particularly evident in people who also have certain behavioral traits, such as signs of conduct disorder, antisocial personality disorder, sensation-seeking, or poor impulse control. (9)Drinking and alcohol-related problem behavior reflect a complex interplay between inherited and social-environmental factors, the implications of which are only beginning to be explored in adolescents. And although even more is understood about the role and contribution of genetics, this knowledge still does not tell the entire story.Social and environmental factors, such as the influence of parents and peers, also play a role in alcohol use. For example, parents who drink more and who view drinking favorably may have children who drink more. Other influences, such as the impact of the media, have been examined and are felt to play an important role. Today, alcohol is widely available and aggressively promoted through television, radio, billboards, and the Internet.Although the severe health problems associated with harmful alcohol use are not as common in adolescents as they are in adults, studies show that adolescents who drink heavily may put themselves at risk for a range of health problems.Chronic heavy drinking during adolescence and into young adulthood appears to be associated with detrimental effects on brain development, brain functioning, and neuropsychological performance. Recent evidence suggests that heavy drinking during adolescence is associated with poorer neurocognitive functioning during the young adult years and is associated particularly with impairment of attention and visuospatial skills. (10)Brain imaging and studies of event-related potentials have demonstrated subtle but significant abnormalities in brain structure and function. In a recent study, researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to determine the effects of heavy drinking on the changing brain structure of teens and young adults with alcohol use disorders. Hippocampal volumes were smaller in youths with alcohol use disorders than in matched controls and correlated with the onset of alcohol use disorder and with the duration of alcohol use disorder. (11) The earlier an individual developed an alcohol use disorder and the longer the duration of the alcohol use disorder, the smaller was the volume of his or her hippocampus. (12) Other studies have looked at the effect of alcohol on the structure of white matter and have demonstrated that white matter integrity was reduced in the corpus callosum of youths with alcohol use disorders.Research studies indicate that a number of factors seem to influence how and to what extent alcohol affects the brain, including:Elevated liver enzymes, indicating some degree of liver damage, have been found in some adolescents who drink Young drinkers who are or liver enzymes, even with only of both and puberty is a period associated with including in the and in increase of other and factors, which are for alcohol during this period of and development (ie, before or during may the for development of and are the in the in of At the same time, they experience high rates of mortality and morbidity because of their behavior, including the use of many including adolescence is a time of risk and for many young people in some of that alcohol use. 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The purpose of this dissertation is to accurately identify, categorize, and describe a large and previously unexplored portion of the Long Parliament's military spending during the period before the creation of the New Model Army. Specifically, it focuses on the money and the administrative machinery that was used to construct and support the central government's first regular army, a force that was placed under the immediate command of the third earl of Essex. \n \nA collection of important works have shown us how the English civil wars of the mid-seventeenth century were, in many ways, a decentralized series of phenomena in which local communities armed and waged war against both themselves and outsiders. However, from the outset the revolutionary central government at Westminster played a crucial role by legitimizing and facilitating a concerted, nationwide struggle against the king and his friends. It accomplished this by issuing parliamentary ordinances concerning taxation and strategy, and by providing a centralized hub for money and other military resources. This dissertation integrates a new financial and administrative history of Essex's army into this broader picture by developing and deploying a new organizational taxonomy of civil war armies. Furthermore, it shows how this taxonomy can be used to help shed new light on the messy evolution of what Michael Braddick and others have termed the 'fiscal-military state' in the British context.
Sukhumi, Abkhazia—Angie loves traveling, dancing, and peach juice. She doesn’t like boundaries. That’s because this young human rights worker is from Abkhazia, a self-declared independent territory claimed by Georgia. The 26-year-old, who works for the organization World Without Violence, survived a war, and it has left her with some strong opinions. “I have this habit not to trust Georgians, except those I know long and well,” she says. “There isn’t a family in Abkhazia which doesn’t have a victim from those days. This is terrible, and it’s really hard to forget.”Tensions between Georgia and Abkhazia grew after the fall of the Soviet Union, with Georgia sending troops to the region in 1992, sparking a year-long war. Eventually Abkhaz forces drove out the Georgian troops, winning de facto independence in 1993. The violence left thousands dead and more than 200,000 people—mainly ethnic Georgians—displaced and homeless. A cease-fire was brokered a year later, and Abkhazia officially declared its independence in 1999. But in Abkhazia, which is only recognized as a sovereign country by five other nations, the battle for independence still rages.Right now, there is no internationally recognized standard for what constitutes a nation. Certainly, membership in the United Nations, which requires a two-thirds majority vote of the 193 members of the General Assembly, carries considerable weight. The structure of the United Nations invites deadlock, since the five permanent members of the Security Council—the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China—have the right to veto any membership bid. But membership in UN component organizations may accrue to some states, conveying limited privileges of sovereignty. When Palestine was granted observer-state status at the United Nations, there was dancing in the streets in Gaza, though it is only one step along the road to full statehood.Diplomatic recognition and an exchange of ambassadors on bilateral bases also yields considerable prestige and benefits, especially if this is undertaken by major powers. Abkhazia does not yet possess any such status—neither UN membership nor broad international recognition. A nation hardly becomes a nation by the simple act of self-proclamation. While the world is increasingly interconnected, many of the globe’s most intractable conflicts remain mired in issues of statehood and territorial divisions.Angie, who declines to give her last name because her family works in the Abkhaz government, believes widespread recognition of Abkhazia is “only a matter of time,” adding, “despite the attitude of the Western countries, I think that sooner or later everyone will accept the new reality. It’s worth it to wait.”Still, Thomas de Waal, a senior associate in the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Carnegie Endowment, doesn’t see Abkhazia’s disputed status being resolved any time soon. “From now on, the situation is unlikely to change,” he says, adding that the best Abkhazia could hope for is one or two more small states recognizing its sovereignty.Meanwhile, on the other side of the globe, lies Vanuatu. The Pacific island nation, with a population of 250,000, has been struggling economically since its independence from French and British rule in 1980. More than two-thirds of the people of Vanuatu subsist on small-scale agriculture. Many others sustain themselves through fishing. Due to the effects of climate change on the low-lying island, Vanuatu’s troubles are likely to intensify in the coming years. But this unassuming state has become a proxy in a power struggle between Russia and the United States over recognition of Abkhazia’s independence and, by extension, the broader question of who has the right to declare a nation a nation.In the last two years, Vanuatu has recognized, unrecognized, and then re-recognized Abkhazia’s sovereignty. In the end, it turned out that the government had never actually recognized Abkhazia through official channels to begin with. The waffling is a result of both miscommunication and turf battles within Vanuatu’s government and behind-the-scenes diplomatic battles over the issue.The turmoil between Abkhazia and Vanuatu—two countries whose respective citizens know little of the other but are bound together through outside influence and cash—illustrates the need for a mechanism to normalize the process of international recognition of a state. Abkhazia, along with another de facto independent territory within Georgia’s borders, South Ossetia, is a pro-Moscow separatist region. South Ossetia has enjoyed de facto independence since 1990, and Abkhazia since 1993. Russia became the first country to recognize the territories in May 2008, following a brief war with Georgia earlier that month.Russia’s recognition of the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia is part of a desire by the Kremlin to assert control over what it calls its “near abroad,” vast territories that broke free with the disintegration of the Soviet Union. Having Abkhazia and South Ossetia remain under its sway, while retaining a veneer of independence, is one route to achieving this end. And it is by no means the only region in the world where such forces are in play.But Russia’s tactics have not gone unnoticed. Not surprisingly, its recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia drew swift condemnation from the United States and the European Union, just as these two powers’ recognition of Kosovo two years ago drew denunciations from the Kremlin. Both Western powers affirmed their support for Georgia’s territorial integrity—a position they staunchly hold to this day. Unfortunately for Russia, states willing to recognize Abkhazia and South Ossetia have been hard to come by. Both territories are recognized only by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Nauru, and Tuvalu. Nauru and Tuvalu are Pacific island states even smaller than Vanuatu, each with fewer than 11,000 residents.Russia’s failure to win support from even close ally Belarus is seen as an embarrassment for Moscow’s foreign policy. “It’s been four years since the war and four years since Russia’s recognition of their independence,” says Lincoln Mitchell, a professor of international politics at Columbia University who visited Abkhazia for World Policy Journal in 2010. “They haven’t gotten to 10 or 12 [countries to recognize them]; they’re stalled at five or six, which is a low number, suggesting that really, it’s only extreme outliers who are supporting this idea of independence for Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”But for Moscow, the consolation prize of the two territories’ loyalty—as well as assured access to the Black Sea through Abkhazia—may be enough. De Waal notes that while Russia’s neighbors resisted pressure to recognize the two territories in 2008, Moscow isn’t too troubled by how things stand. “Since then, I see that Moscow is fairly happy with the status quo, and that the limited recognition of these two entities gives Moscow greater de facto control over Abkhazia and South Ossetia.”As for Vanuatu, the island nation has changed its stance on Abkhazia’s independence several times. Its fractured politics are based on divided tribal and clan ties, resulting in an indecisiveness that has also provided a window into the pressure applied on the tiny island by powerful diplomatic forces.In May 2011, Abkhazia announced that Vanuatu had agreed to recognize its sovereignty. But three days later, Vanuatu’s ambassador to the United Nations, Donald Kalpokas, denied this. “I have asked my capital whether this is true, and they denied it emphatically,” he told The New York Times. “We don’t know who is responsible for declaring that this is true. As far as we are concerned, we are dealing with Georgia, not Abkhazia. It is defamation for our country. This is disrespect.” That statement would come back to haunt the ambassador. A week later, Vanuatu’s foreign minister, Alfred Carlot, said on video that his government did, in fact, recognize Abkhazia as a sovereign nation. He chalked the confusion up to a miscommunication between his ministry and Vanuatu’s UN mission. But 11 months later, Kalpokas again said that his country did not recognize the independence of Abkhazia. “Well, we here don’t have any position on it—whether to recognize or not recognize Abkhazia,” Kalpokas told me in a telephone interview. “It’s somewhere [that] we don’t know.” Then, under further questioning, he hung up the phone.Finally, the UN expert at Vanuatu’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs clarified the matter. Johnny George Koanapo said that Vanuatu had never officially recognized Abkhazia. That decision would have to be considered and approved by Parliament. In January, Koanapo affirmed there had been no change. Carlot’s office had acted unilaterally and illegally in declaring recognition the previous year.Moreover, Georgia’s UN Ambassador Alexander Lomaia alleges that Russia engages in “checkbook diplomacy” when it comes to Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Moscow simply pays countries in exchange for their cooperation—and in some cases, for votes in their favor at the United Nations. “A huge delegation of Russian government representatives parachuted to the various gatherings of these [Pacific island] states, trying to court the governments, promising them financial and material resources,” Lomaia says, adding that of the Georgians displaced during the 1992-1993 war “three-fourths of those forced to flee were overwhelmingly in favor of the peaceful restoration of unity, and of the divided communities.” Which would mean no Abkhazia, no South Ossetia, only a single greater Georgia.Anton Uspensky, a spokesman at Russia’s UN mission, sidesteps the “checkbook diplomacy” allegation, but observes, “We are not conducting a special campaign among countries to have Abkhazia and South Ossetia recognized. However, we encourage everybody to accept the new geopolitical reality in the South Caucasus. Two independent states, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, exist there alongside Georgia.”Vanuatu’s UN mission denies its country has received any financial benefit from Russia in exchange for its declared recognition of Abkhazia, and Lomaia acknowledges there is no proof that such an exchange took place. But it has been widely reported that Venezuela found itself $2 billion richer from new military sales to Russia after recognizing Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Nicaragua also reportedly received a multi-million dollar aid package, while the Russian daily Kommersant reported Nauru received $50 million.Meanwhile, the United States, the European Union, and China have stepped in to deter such diplomatic recognitions. Juris Gulbis, Abkhazia’s de facto ambassador to the Pacific and Caribbean, says Washington has “constantly interfered” with Abkhazia’s efforts to win international recognition. “There is great pressure on … Vanuatu, Tuvalu, and Nauru to unrecognize Abkhazia,” Gulbis says. He claims Washington is “withholding aid” to the countries over the issue. In Washington, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, says, “Vanuatu has not formally recognized Abkhazia or South Ossetia, and we have no information of any plans for it to do so. We have made our position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia clear and continue to raise this issue with Pacific island states as appropriate.” American aid to the islands, he continues, is actually set to increase this May, through renegotiation of a treaty that provides aid to Pacific island nations in exchange for American access to the western and central Pacific Ocean’s tuna reserves. In 2012, Vanuatu received $9.4 million from one such five-year program.Christopher Matthews, spokesman for the European Mission to the United Nations, says the European Union “respects and supports” the territorial integrity of Georgia, adding, “The EU reminds its partners and interlocutors of this position when appropriate.” Indeed, the EU provides a five-year aid package of €23.2 million to Vanuatu, aimed at supporting economic development and creating employment.The Pacific island nation has some past experience in selling diplomatic ties to the highest bidder. In 2004, Vanuatu briefly suspended diplomatic relations with China and recognized Taiwan, after reportedly being offered $30 million in aid from Taipei. A month later, Vanuatu switched back, severing relations with Taiwan and restoring them with Beijing after its head of state, who orchestrated the deal with Taipei, was removed from office. This is a common occurrence in Vanuatu, where the recently re-elected prime minster faced an unsuccessful no-confidence vote within two weeks of taking office.The legal definition of statehood, developed in 1933, is known as the Montevideo Convention. In order to be considered a state, a territory must have a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with the other states. This definition of statehood, however, would include “nations” like Somaliland, Western Sahara, and Iraqi Kurdistan. Instead, at the United Nations and elsewhere, sovereignty is all about politics.The United Nations has presided over the decolonization of many of the world’s occupied territories. As countries won their independence from colonizing powers, an enormous wave of states, from Kenya in 1963 to Angola in 1976, joined the United Nations. The breakup of the Soviet Union caused another influx. In the early 1990s, Yugoslavia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Slovenia, and Croatia, among many others, became independent and were accepted as member states of the General Assembly. From 1990 to 1994, 29 countries became UN member states, while between 1995 and 2013, there were only nine: Tonga, Kiribati, Nauru, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now Serbia), Tuvalu, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, Montenegro, and, most recently, South Sudan.Global boundaries have rarely been more rigid than they are today. This has left many of the world’s long-running territorial conflicts in a seemingly The to hold a vote for membership at the United Nations are the must an to the of the United Nations. The Security then the The Security votes on whether the be considered by the General Assembly, a that all 193 UN member states. this step to of the members must vote in with of the five permanent United States, United France, Russia, and This is where of these five has a or economic in the issue and to its veto was the by Palestine for full UN member This was by the United States, which with among Security that Palestine would not the votes it Palestine the vote to and the United States the need to an Palestine has a of its efforts to the United Nations as a full the to the to the it could with war and accepted to their citizens to And just the of the has not yet full at in UN it was to a a change that does not have to be approved by the Security only a simple majority in the General Assembly, which was is also no veto power in the General Assembly, the Security The was an from its previous status as a and Palestine on with the vote was in states and of the were Pacific island the and joined the United States, and In the of the of the Pacific island nations to the was a who a diplomatic says the United States have to the situation where the U.S. and were in He was to them to countries and that it an at the UN from and the that Palestine be as a new status means isn’t The by a disputed is at the United Nations, and each the have to whether to Palestine as a full But it is clear that the and its widespread was a to and the United UN which to has some countries struggling with a territorial to international recognition outside the of the Security which from in 2008, as a de facto state, even official UN been recognized by more than of the 193 UN even more than the it is recognized by the United States and of the European recognition carries with it some diplomatic or Western who more with a nation recognized by the United States and most of became a of the United Nations in after to war to a under its of independence, it has its government with and foreign while unilaterally the as its though it is not a member of the European Union. together with it the issue of just what constitutes a nation in that the United Nations itself does not recognize states. states other he says. “The to a state is other states recognizing as is some hope for Kosovo a full member of the United Nations. Russia, an ally of which has recognition of the government in the has to any for recognition in the Security But the government in in that it be to UN membership for Kosovo in exchange for a with is the pressure to normalize relations with the territory because it is EU membership for EU foreign with the and in early in in the to since Indeed, the European Union has the of the United Nations in a to the Kosovo A senior European speaking on recently told “The Security to these issues from time to but the is that it is the European Union and its that to the the Kosovo government has said UN membership is its it’s how which recognition by and with Western countries, as well as a widely recognized would actually benefit from being made a member Abkhazia has only a of a for internationally recognized But that from his The claims that family in the capital of is from the last war with Georgia and that he would still a to I all people and them But if I had the to in with Georgia, or and for the and independence of Abkhazia, the would be Abkhazia must be the that Abkhazia must be a part of Georgia is It’s to than accept also any “There is no in the world which would Abkhazia to be part of Georgia, if there is even one We will for our that we have to from We don’t have another and never is willing to for his the young human rights has of as a and that Abkhazia’s status as a nation on the international her to as she She says that while she has a Russian she has to to Moscow to for a to other European of to the to and of other she says with some I don’t have this I know well who me of these But I have hope for people to change to change their attitude and accept that this is the new geopolitical Abkhazia isn’t Georgia’s Abkhazia, or for that matter Kosovo or be recognized as independent countries is not even the central issue. of disputed who simply to and for their on the they not have to be as diplomatic between the world’s five permanent members of the Security the United Nations. Without their support there be no change to the veto which them to the of UN and all the membership would those on disputed an the permanent five would recognize that the Security power and veto structure is an to or UN membership to states. status quo, in one the United States Russia for UN and in the to any vote on there to be an Security for which was in during the to a in the The the General the power to the Security in some if the of of of the permanent to its for the of international and in any where there to be a to the of the or act of The issue of for would to under these But it because for has only been a of since its and never in the of the members of the Security may an issue to the General Assembly, and there is no veto by any of the permanent members to such a The with this is that it only gives the General the to for with no for as strong as for a General vote on if states are by broad international recognition by other states, it no to UN membership to be by one of the 193 UN member states. for be or a but mechanism to Security and a General vote where statehood is concerned, and of widely recognized territories the they not to the that to for international a and on international membership in the and for under international to name just a recognized as sovereign by the vast majority of the world have these rights that from UN membership a veto from a also be a for like Abkhazia to their if the UN it could to the which was to and the decolonization of territories. The been since 1994, when its last became this or creating a mechanism to the rights of those in disputed territories would within the UN full UN the citizens of these have no except being and for their to be a mechanism would states to in and for their to and in our increasingly for his a by a Russian during the war between Russia and about this one with all his I the has the of And the people are with and others who are with need a new to their Without an too many like are left between diplomatic at the United Nations or violence in the from in and from
Bid validity proof and verification is an efficiency bottleneck and privacy drawback in homomorphic e‐auction. The existing bid validity proof technique is inefficient and only achieves honest‐verifier zero knowledge (ZK). In this study, an efficient proof and verification technique is proposed to guarantee bid validity in homomorphic e‐auction. The new proof technique is mainly based on hash function operations and only needs a very small number of costly public key cryptographic operations. Moreover, it can handle untrusted verifiers and achieve perfect ZK. As a result, efficiency and privacy of homomorphic e‐auction applications are significantly improved. To the best of authors’ knowledge, it proof technique is the first to handle untrusted verifiers in e‐auction applications.
This study revolves around the process implementation about a management model as a tool to improve organizational effectiveness and efficiency of Sigchos Self - Goverment. This research will be divided into four chapters according to the following scheme: Charperter I.- Theoretical Framework: In this Charperter, I will investigate the historical process of decentralization of the central State to the Autonomous Governments in Ecuador, according to the new management model that must be implemented in GADs according to the new functions to be assumed. Chapter II. - Situational Diagnosis. – I Will analyze the current situation in the municipal GADs Ecuador and particularly Sigchos GAD regarding organizational architecture and process approach. Chapter III. Implementation Proposed in the Management.- I am going to develop the proposal based on an analysis of the current situation, in which I will raise organizational architecture that can improve the efficiency and effectiveness of Sigchos GAD for this entity can provide better quality of services to citizens for this entity can provide better quality of services to citizens, contributing to the development of the people. Chapter IV. - At this point I will do Conclusions and Recommendations that emerge from this research.
Gover Barja Daza, Sergio Villarroel Böhrt, David Zavaleta Castellón
The second generation fiscal federalism (sGff) approach is used as a reference to analyze the political and fiscal institutional design of Bolivia’s decentralization model and its evolution. subnational public finance data up to 2008 is used to verify that decentralization of expenditure was higher than that of revenue, establishing a context of vertical fiscal imbalance that increased due to growing fiscal transfers during the positive external shock (boom) period. consequently, the subnational fiscal surplus was not a result of internal efficiency but of excess revenues from such transfers. Panel models were estimated to identify and assess the implicit incentives embedded in fiscal institutions of the decentralization model. findings at the municipal level are: i) misalignment of local spending with local interests due to dominance of transfers over own revenue (dominance of central government development policies); ii) incentive to spend transfers faster than own revenue (flypaper effect); iii) greater marginal contribution of own revenue to positive fiscal balances compared to transfers, thus introducing the seed for a soft budget constraint but hidden by the fiscal surplus; iv) disincentive to generate own revenue (tax and non-tax) due to the size and growth of transfers (disincentive to the culture of contributing to own revenue). findings at the prefecturall level are: i) misalignment with regional interests given the dominance of transfers over own revenue due to absolute lack of tax powers (until 2009); ii) high tendency to a soft budget constraint and, eventually, also fiscal bail-out, hidden by the fiscal surplus; iii) in only two departments collection of national-level taxes were higher, compared to transfers received in the same departments; iv) disincentive to pay the VAt (national-level tax) due to higher royalty transfers received, an effect not extended to other national-level taxes; v) high dependence from hydrocarbon-based transfers, and fiscal risk when this natural resource declines (both in volume and prices) due to volatility of international oil prices. Also, as a result of the decentralization model a positive and significant impact was found on education-coverage indicators, an important development objective of the national government.
Abstract In the last three decades, China has experienced dual decentralization in transforming its economy, resulting in decentralization and deconcentration in public administration and social service delivery. Under the policy framework of decentralization, particularly when welfare financing has been decentralized to local governments, the emergence of welfare regionalism is evident in China. This paper sets out against this policy context to examine how three local governments in eastern coastal areas in China handle changing labour welfare needs by institutionalizing social and labour protection measures to meet the local needs instead of implementing central policy. With particular reference to examine why regional variations exist in welfare provision even though the socio-economic development status is similar in these areas, this paper shows how different forms of capitals, government's governance style and diversity of industries have affected welfare arrangements for labour in China.
이 연구는 지방분권을 위한 정책수단으로 재정분권이 어떠한 방식으로 이해될 수 있으며, 왜 필요한지에 대해 시스템사고의 이론을 바탕으로 지방재정시스템을 구성하는 변수들의 상호작용관계를 분석하였다. 연구를 통해 얻어진 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 지방재정시스템을 구성하는 변수들은 상당한 수준에서상호작용관계가 형성되고 있으며, 5개의 양(+)의 피드백 루프가 중심이 되어 급속한 성장과 급속한 쇠퇴를 거듭한다는 점을 발견할 수 있었다. 둘째, 지방재정분권화의 타당성에 대한 전략 지점이 인과지도 모델링을 통해 발견되었다. 특히, 선순환구조를 악순환의 구조를 변질시키는 변수(국고보조금, 부동산거래과세, 중앙정부차원의 지방재정조정제도, 지방정부채무 등)이 지속적으로 작동함으로써 지방재정시스템을 쇠퇴시키는 것으로 나타났으며, 이를 바탕으로 전략적 정책과제가 도출 될 수 있었다. 이러한 연구는 지방재정분권에 대해 부분에 지식이 아닌 전체적 지식의 관점에서 지방재정시스템을 이해하고 지방재정의 학문적 폭을 높여 줄 것으로 판단된다. This study analyzes the interaction of variables consisting of the local finance system based on the theory of system thinking regarding how financial decentralization can be understood as the political means for local decentralization and why it is needed. The results gained from this research are as follows: first, variables consisting of the local finance system form interactional relationship in the significant level, and it has been found that rapid growth and rapid decline repeat with five positive feedback loops as the center. Second, strategic points for the validity of local finance decentralization were discovered through causal map modeling. In particular, it has been shown that the virtuous cycle structure declines the local finance system through the constant operation of variables (government subsidies, taxation for real estate transactions, central government's local finance mediation system, and local government debt, etc.) that deteriorate the vicious cycle structure. Based on this, strategic policy tasks were drawn. It is expected that this study will help the understanding of the local finance system and increase academic width for local finance from the aspects of general knowledge, not the knowledge about local finance decentralization.
OBJECTIVE: China's ongoing new health reform aims to reduce individual out-of-pocket (OOP) payments for healthcare services. The aim of this article is to analyse the impact of this reform and to draw policy implications. METHODS: Data are retrieved from the relevant government publications. Polynomial regression models are used to predict future health expenditures. An extensive sensitivity analysis is conducted to investigate the ratios of OOP payments to the total health expenditures (THEs) and to the disposable personal income (DPI) for 2009-11 under different scenarios of cost projections and personal income distributions. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses are carried out to draw conclusions. RESULTS: The ratios of OOP payments to THE and DPI vary significantly across scenarios tested. Only if all committed government investments and social health expenditure are realized can China's new health reform reduce both ratios and achieve its target goals. In particular, the ratio of OOP payments to DPI can also be significantly reduced by improving income distribution. Due to the complicated interplay among different cost components in health expenditures, these two ratios may not change in the same direction, indicating that both need to be examined when evaluating the reform. CONCLUSION: The new health reform in China aims to alleviate the high OOP payments for healthcare services, but it has not yet been able to reduce both OOP-to-THE and OOP-to-DPI ratios simultaneously. Major reasons include (1) inability of local governments to fulfil their responsible investments due to health finance decentralization and uneven economic development in China and (2) a serious cost inflation in health expenditures coupled with a low level of income distribution. It is suggested that the central government should bear more financial responsibility and assist local governments to fully invest, and should improve individual incomes, in particular for the poor.
The objective of this study is to \n explore in depth public finance issues and their impact on \n decentralized service delivery at the regional and woreda \n levels in Benishangul Gumuz (BG) region. The study is \n carried out as part of the federal and some regional case \n studies designed to examine effectiveness of public finances \n of sub-national governments. This study was expected to (i) \n review the institutional arrangement for managing public \n finances at the regional level including policies, budgetary \n institutions, systems and processes; (ii) assess the level, \n trend, and composition of public spending (both functional \n and economic classification) in per capita terms over the \n past five years and identify key achievements and \n limitations; (iii) assess the level, trend, and, composition \n of revenue at the regional level and examine the financing \n framework, including ways to increase local revenue \n generation capacity; (iv) assess the role of external aid in \n supporting decentralized service delivery and the \n sustainability of the program in absence of external aid; \n (v) review the planning and budgeting process as well as the \n quality of PFM system; and (vi) data permitting, establish \n the link between the level of spending and the outputs and \n outcomes for selected sectors. The study used standard \n public financial process review methodologies used for \n undertaking PFM assessments. The report reviewed the various \n studies, plans and performance reports of the various \n sectors in the regions between 1997 and 2001. In addition, \n key informant interviews were carried out at bureaus levels \n and woreda offices of education, health, water, agriculture \n and rural development, finance and economic development, \n revenue, General Auditor, rural road and woreda administrations.
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African history and culture analysis
Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East
The objective of this study is explore \n in depth public finance issues and their impact on \n decentralized service delivery at the regional and woreda \n level in Amhara region. The study is carried out as part of \n the federal and some regional case studies designed to \n examine effectiveness of public finances of sub-national \n governments. This study was expected to (i) review the \n institutional arrangement for managing public finances at \n the regional level including policies, budgetary \n institutions, systems and processes; (ii) assess the level, \n trend, and composition of public spending (both functional \n and economic classification) in per capita terms over the \n past five years and identify key achievements and \n limitations; (iii) assess the level, trend, and, composition \n of revenue at the regional level and examine the financing \n framework, including ways to increase local revenue \n generation capacity; (iv) assess the role of external aid in \n supporting decentralized service delivery and the \n sustainability of the program in absence of external aid; \n (v) review the planning and budgeting process as well as the \n quality of PFM system; and (vi) data permitting, establish \n the link between the level of spending and the outputs and \n outcomes for selected sectors. The study used standard \n public financial process review methodologies used for \n undertaking PEFA assessments. The report reviewed the \n various studies, plans and performance reports of the \n various sectors in the regions between EFY 1997 and 2001. In \n addition, key informant interviews were carried out at \n bureaus levels and woreda offices of education, health, \n water, agriculture and rural development, finance and \n economic development, revenue, General Auditor, rural road \n and woreda administrations.