Performance management system in developing countries: A case study in Jordan

The performance management system (PMS) is critical to the success of any organisation, and this article investigates the PMS of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) in Jordan, which is one of the largest public entities in the country. The article identifies various problems that are faced by GAM, such as HRM and staff, management behaviour, and performance management, which significantly affect GAM's performance. Additionally, the article discusses the process of goal and indicator setting and development of the PMS of GAM. The article adopts a phenomenological approach and a qualitative case study methodology to collect primary data from 15 purposeful semi-structured interviews with GAM's experts. Thematic analysis is used as the data analysis technique to identify the PMS activities and address problems and difficulties in GAM's performance. The findings highlight eight major activities of GAM's PMS, which include performance sourcing, targeting, development, setting and responsibility, gauging, information, results, and alignment. These activities need to be managed properly if GAM wanted to meet its performance targets. Hence, the article presents a set of recommendations to improve GAM's PMS and overcome the identified difficulties, such as improving HRM practices and staff role, enhancing management behaviour, and establishing a performance management culture. Overall, the article provides valuable insights into the PMS of GAM and highlights the importance of an effective PMS to achieve organisational success.     

Institutional quality and economic growth: Evidence from South-Asian countries

The current study investigates the relationship between institutional quality and economic growth, focusing on South-Asian countries entailing Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, from 2002 to 2018. The data are analysed using the dynamic heterogeneous panel (panel autoregressive distributed lag [ARDL] model) approach, specifically the dynamic fixed effect (DFE), mean group (MG), and pooled mean group (PMG). Based on the findings, the three governance indicators, namely corruption control, accountability, and the rule of law, positively and significantly affect economic growth. All the nations have consistent long-run estimates but varied short-run estimates and adjustment speed for the long-term equilibrium. This is due to governance volatility that is evident in all the nations. This article offers both practical and theoretical contributions. This article contributes to the institutional quality and economic growth literature from a theoretical perspective from the South-Asian perspective. From a practical perspective, the study findings are significant for policymakers, particularly those from the countries that demonstrate major fiscal and external imbalance due to war and terrorism, low oil prices and weak trade. Hence, there is a pressing need to address economic growth issues instigated by the policymakers' negligence to ensure appropriate governance and macroeconomic management. Regulators can improve economic growth through national and regional image building by developing a stable economic and political landscape and maintaining macroeconomic stability by improving the institutional quality indicators. There is evidence that institutional quality improvement leads to better economic growth.     

Income inequality and level of corruption in post-communist European countries between 1995 and 2014

This paper analyses the relationships between income inequality and corruption in Europe and looks specifically at post-communist European countries. The scientific community agrees that there is important relationship between income inequality and corruption and many authors believe that low income inequality is connected to low corruption. According to empirical papers, this is true not only on the European scale, but also on a global scale. In this paper, I test this claim by conducting a multilevel analysis on 39 European countries in the period of 1995–2014. This model ascertains that there are immense differences between post-communist countries and the rest of European countries. The effects of income inequality on the level of corruption are discussed.     

Achieving the Promise to Leave No Girl behind in Commonwealth Countries

ABSTRACT

The education Sustainable Development Goal includes a commitment to ensuring that all children – regardless of their gender and circumstances within which they are born – should complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education. The Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in April 2018 re-affirmed the importance of 12 years of quality education for all, particularly marginalised groups including disadvantaged girls. To inform these commitments, this paper aims to situate the current evidence on girls’ education across the 53 countries in the Commonwealth, with a particular focus on low- and lower-middle income countries where the challenges are the greatest. It identifies the current status of access to school and learning, and highlights trends in domestic and aid financing to support the targets. It then presents evidence on interventions aimed at tackling barriers to girls’ access and learning to achieve the commitments. The paper argues a need not only to focus on gender parity in education – i.e. an equal proportion of girls and boys in school and learning – but also to pay greater attention to the more ambitious target of gender equality, which requires an end to discrimination if a truly level playing field is to be achieved.     

Therefore,Is Bureaucracy Dead? Making a Case for Complementarity of Paradigms in Public Administrative Thinking and Discourse

Public Administration has gone through conceptual development to inject renaissance and public value creation. The literature provides a battleground of ideas between bureaucracy, new public management and post NPM with the latter ones chastising bureaucracy. The new developments should be seen as perfecting and correcting some of the extremes of bureaucracy but cannot replace it entirely. Owing to the broad nature of the public sector coupled with complex goals, agencies and mandates; this paper argues for a synergistic relationship and harmonization of the principles espoused by each paradigm; because each may be applicable in specific context, sector and periods.     

Agriculture in Shifting Climates: The Configuration and Ripeness of Problem Understandings in Uganda and Senegal

The international community has advocated the adoption of climate‐smart agriculture (CSA) as lower‐income countries deal with the negative consequences of climate change. Scaling up such policies, practices, and programs successfully will require support from a variety of local stakeholders. Such support requires alignment between CSA solutions and the problem understandings of stakeholders. However, problem understandings can differ across individuals, stakeholder groups, and geographic areas. Consequently, we examine understandings of climate problems and socioeconomic and infrastructure problems related to agriculture among different stakeholder groups in Uganda and Senegal. We operationalized and measured these problem understandings following the detailed guidance of the political will and public will approach for analyzing social change. Semistructured interviews elicited stakeholder‐generated lists of problems for each group. Limited quantification of problem understandings and their relative importance or “ripeness” demonstrates how contexts might shape opportunities for CSA.     

The Role of Scientific Excellence in the Changing Meaning of Maize in Mexico

Making policy is giving a meaning to objects. This perspective on policy making gained importance in the 1990s with the emergence of discursive approaches. In this article, we use the concepts of Hajer's discourse coalition approach to shed light on the evolving meaning of maize in Mexican society. Specifically, we trace a parallel between the evolution of biotechnology policy and discourses on maize over a 25‐year period. The article argues that until recently, the protection against biotechnological manipulations enjoyed by maize has been bolstered by a discourse granting the plant a special status in the country's history. However, the emergence of a new discourse grounded on the practice of scientific excellence is now challenging the old perspectives, and also finding support among government officials. As a result, the Mexican policies granting maize special protection is changing, and this policy change will likely trigger changes in the symbolic meaning of maize.     

南海“安全共同体”构建的理论探讨

南海地区国家如何在主权纠纷未获解决的情况下开展区域安全治理及实现南海和平、稳定,这至今仍是一个尚未找到答案的问题。南海地区现有的区域安全治理理念、制度安排及其实践效果与地区国家实现南海和平、稳定的共同愿景之间还有不少落差。归根结底,这与中国、东盟与美国之间存在的结构性问题及由此产生的互信不足、缺失有关。南海区域安全治理的核心内容应聚焦于中国、东盟与美国之间存在的结构性问题及互信关系的建立,而致力于缓解与消除地区行为体"恐惧"心理与建立身份、角色认同的"安全共同体"在理论上有可能为实现南海安全塑造一条理想的路径。南海"安全共同体"在理论上虽与"安全共同体"相通,但它不强调一个集体身份的建立,而寻求在地区现有安全态势基础上致力于中国、东盟与美国等主要行为体之间信任关系与身份、角色认同的确立。惟此,南海地区建立"安全共同体"的标志———"和平变革可靠性预期"的条件才有可能得以成熟。     

中美东亚冲突管控:第三方的角色与选择

第三方在中美东亚博弈中发挥着特殊的作用,其政策选择对于管控中美冲突具有重要的意义。根据主要国际关系理论的逻辑推演,第三方通过在一定条件下的选边站、推动制度构建和协调、促进双方间良性认知,能够在管控中美冲突方面发挥一定的作用。在国际社会仍处于无政府状态以及国家间实力对比总是处于变化之中的背景下,基于实力考虑的"选边站"政策容易导致新的安全问题,第三方在中美间扮演制度推动者和观念沟通者的角色更加值得倡导,东盟系列机制以及新加坡的实践提供了这方面的经验与教训。当前的问题是,日、韩等国对与美同盟体系的坚持,东盟系列机制效能的降低以及新加坡一度将重心转移到实力平衡者而非观念沟通者的角色,都反映出许多东亚第三方的选择正在与管控中美冲突的目标背道而驰。为了地区的和平与自己的长远利益,东亚国家需要采取更加明智和有远见的政策。     

The relationship between physical activity and mental health among adolescents in six middle-income countries: A cross-sectional study

Physical inactivity and poor mental health are emerging worldwide youth problems. Using the Global School-based Health Survey, this secondary data analysis study examined the link between physical activity and adolescent mental health among 23,372 adolescents between 11 and 17 years of age in six middle-income countries. The authors assessed physical activity by participation in (a) exercise for 60 min and (b) walking/biking in any day of a week in the past 7 days. The authors assessed mental health by the presence of (a) loneliness, (b) anxiety, (c) depression, (d) suicidal ideation, and (e) suicide attempts in the past 12 months. There was a low prevalence of physical activity among the participants. In general, there was a low prevalence of 12-month mental health problems among adolescents. Further research may incorporate physical activity to promote positive youth mental health for possible cost-effective interventions.