The role of institutional and governance factors in public–private partnerships infrastructure investments in emerging economies

The overall development and sustained growth of any economy depend heavily on its infrastructure provisioning. Emerging economies are usually characterised by constrained public investments in infrastructure. Budgetary constraints of the governments are one of the major hurdles to these investments. Due to these reasons that governments of emerging economies continuously seek collaborations with the private sector for additional sources of funding infrastructure. Economies with solid institutional and governance frameworks are known to provide a conducive environment for enhanced private sector attraction in the sector. However, emerging economies face greater institutional and governance issues than developed economies, and they sometimes fall short of luring private investments in the infrastructure sector. The objective of this study is to empirically evaluate the role of institutional and governance aspects in private sector attraction in emerging economies. This study provides empirical evidence with a sample of 114 emerging economies over a period of 20 years. Various econometric estimates were developed to explore the interplay between public-private partnership investments and governance factors. The results of the study provide an evidence of a positive association between these factors and private investments in public-private partnership arrangements.     

抚养的权利和抚养权

在我国目前缺失民法典、亲权和与离婚后抚养权有密切关系的监护制度体系建构的前提下,离婚后父母子女抚养关系法律问题有待进一步修正和立法.在广泛参考国外和港澳台地区在有亲权制度和监护制度框架下制定的离婚后抚养权的立法和制度模式的基础上,对我国婚姻法上抚养权概念的属种关系和层次关系、未直接抚养子女一方的抚养权利的法律地位、离婚后抚养权与直接抚养权的区别和关系等问题进行了探讨,以期通过立法修正和重新认识达到完善立法和司法、更好地保护离婚后父母和子女权益之作用.     

New Methodism and Old: Churches,Police and State in Fiji, 2008–09

Abstract

Although Methodism has remained the dominant form of Christianity in Fiji, Methodist beliefs have been contested by a proliferation of Pentecostal/evangelical churches, but never more directly than by a new form of Methodism which flourished in the years up to 2009. This new church was called the New Methodist Church and, for a period in 2008 and 2009, the Fiji police forces were strongly encouraged to participate and finally to convert to it. This article is part of ongoing research that traces the alliances and challenges between Christianity and the state in Fiji.     

Party unity and presidential dominance: parliamentary development in the fourth republic of Ghana

Political power in contemporary sub-Saharan Africa is often portrayed as being highly informal and heavily personalised. The assumption that personalised politics is how ‘Africa works’ has led to the neglect of the study of Africa's formal institutions, including parliaments. This article assesses the position of the Parliament of Ghana under the Fourth Republic. It displays evidence suggesting that over successive parliamentary terms parliamentary committees became increasingly adept at handling legislation, and inputting into the policy process. It also shows that the parliament was increasingly able to oversee the implementation of legislation. Although the findings of hitherto undocumented progress represent a valuable nuance, the argument that the parliament became increasingly able to input into the legislative process says exactly that; while the parliament became increasingly capable of amending legislation rarely was this witnessed. The article argues that parliamentary development in Ghana has been a function of three interacting structural factors: the constitution; unified government since 1992; and political party unity. The strong partisan identities of legislators from the two major political parties – the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) – provide the executive with extra leverage to control the parliament. Throughout the Ghanaian parliament is juxtaposed with the Kenyan National Assembly. More substantially, the article seeks to force a revision of the dominant narrative that generalises African party systems as fluid and fragmented, and African political parties as lacking any recognisable internal cohesion or ideology.     

WHEN THE COST IS TOO GREAT: THE EMOTIONAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT ON CHILDREN OF INCARCERATING THEIR PARENTS FOR DRUG OFFENCES1

The advent of the modern “war on drugs” and its accompanying “lock 'em up and throw away the key” crime policies largely explain the evolution of mass incarceration in the U.S. and account for much of the emotional and psychological pain caused to children who have lost their parents to long prison sentences. It is by reducing reliance on incarceration to tackle the “drug problem” in the United States that there will be a positive impact on reducing the number of parents being separated from their children for inordinate amounts of time, thereby potentially reducing the negative emotional and psychological impact on children. Aiding parents combat their addiction outside of prison walls is perhaps to most sensible criminal justice policy in addressing the needs of children who are caught in the cross‐fire of the war on drugs. In the meantime, as policy makers review, assess, and, eventually, reform draconian drug laws and sentencing policies, it is imperative that front‐line service providers who work with children and family and juvenile court judges be mindful of the emotional and psychological impact that parental incarceration has on youth. A more in‐depth understanding of the complexities of these young people's life experiences will hopefully enable the development of appropriate support services.     

Deepwater or Troubled Water? Principal–Agent Theory and Performance-Based Contracting in the Coast Guard’s Deepwater Modernization Program

In the mid-1990s, the United States Coast Guard began planning a modernization effort known as the Deepwater program to replace an aging inventory of cutters, aircraft, and small boats. This effort involved a consortium of corporations to develop a “system of systems” to meet performance-based requirements and build the new equipment. This article examines the Deepwater program through the lens of multilayered principal–agent theory and evaluates the performance-based contracting (PBC) method used to alleviate strains linked to accountability from the principal–agent relationship. The findings help better understand the dilemmas prescribed from multilayered principal–agent theory and PBC by illustrating the accountability issues faced by smaller organizations when engaging in complex, large-scale procurement.     

Cold War redux in US–Russia relations? The effects of US media framing and public opinion of the 2008 Russia–Georgia war

This paper examines the Cold War rhetoric in US–Russia relations by looking at the 2008 Russia–Georgia war as a major breaking point. We investigate the links between media, public opinion and foreign policy. In our content analysis of the coverage in two major US newspapers, we find that the framing of the conflict was anti-Russia, especially in the initial stages of the conflict. In addition, our survey results demonstrate that an increase in the media exposure of US respondents increased the likelihood of blaming Russia exclusively in the conflict. This case study helps us understand how media can be powerful in constructing a certain narrative of an international conflict, which can then affect public perceptions of other countries. We believe that the negative framing of Russia in the US media has had important implications for the already-tenuous relations between the US and Russia by reviving and perpetuating the Cold War mentality for the public as well as for foreign policymakers.     

Semi quantitative detection of signature peptides in body fluids by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS)

This study covers a modified semi-quantitative approach to detecting signature peptides for body fluid identification. A liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometer normally used for toxicology was adapted to detect target ion transitions for five semen or saliva specific peptides. Peptide concentrations were measured based on a mixture of synthetic peptide standards. Samples were processed using a three-hour trypsin digestion and Microcon membrane filtration. This method generates PCR compatible DNA and peptide fractions that can be typed without any further treatment. Preliminary validation tests covered stains on different substrates, semen/saliva mixtures, limit of detection, and repeatability. All signature peptides were present at different concentrations, varied amongst donors, and were tissue specific. Saliva peptides were detected at lower concentrations and had a higher limit of detection (LOD). Semen peptides had higher concentrations and were detected even as a minor component in a mixture. All semen peptides and all, but one, saliva peptides were detected on the various substrates. Semen peptide concentrations had relative standard deviations (RSDs) lower than 20%, indicating high repeatability, different from saliva where higher RSDs were observed. DNA fractions did not show signs of degradation or PCR inhibition.     

Building organisation–public relationships: Towards an understanding of the challenges facing public relations

Abstract

The main aim of this article is to investigate the challenges facing public relations professionals in building organisation–public relationships (OPRs), by means of an overview of related modernistic literature, mainly within a modernistic paradigm. Dominant business developments have historically impacted the broader role of public relations in organisations and society, and it is maintained that the change in the domain of public relations to a relational perspective is yet again a consequence of the efforts by business to survive in the new millennium. There can be no doubt about the strategic importance of relationships to the survival of organisations and to public relations. A relational approach to public relations has major strategic value, and embracing its challenges is vital for the profession. The relational approach offers a two-fold opportunity to public relations professionals, namely to confirm their contribution to achieving organisational goals through the measurement of their relationship-building efforts, and the prospect of realigning themselves with other business functions in the organisation. The main objective of this article is to review the change in the domain of public relations to a relational perspective, and to investigate the current challenges facing public relations professionals in building mutually beneficial OPRs on the basis of the relational perspective of public relations.