scholarly journals Earnings management in state-owned enterprises: bringing publicness back in

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pasquale Ruggiero ◽  
Daniela Sorrentino ◽  
Riccardo Mussari
Keyword(s):  
Earnings Management ◽  
Financial Control ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Financial Accountability ◽  
Goal Ambiguity ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
The Impact

AbstractFinancial accountability is a major issue for State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) especially because of the large amount of public resources invested in them and the social relevance of their performance. In the awareness that the public interest is increasingly pursued in abstract arenas, the investigation of accounting should be anchored to conceptual rather than contextual spaces. Building on the dimensional concept of publicness, this paper investigates the impact of three publicness dimensions (ownership, political control, and goal ambiguity) on earnings management (EM) in SOEs, a managerial practice that affects the quality of financial accountability. Drawing on data from a sample of 1200 Italian SOEs, the conditional revenue model (Stubben, 2010) is used to estimate their EM during the period 2009–2017. These EM estimates are then regressed against dimensions of publicness. Findings show that publicness is either neutral or relevant for the quality of SOEs’ financial accountability, depending on the dimensions analysed: while ownership and financial control are positively related to EM in SOEs, administrative control and goal ambiguity are not statistically significant predictors of EM. Moreover, the interaction of publicness dimensions does not affect EM in SOEs. Therefore, this paper shows that SOEs’ publicness is either irrelevant or detrimental to the quality of SOEs’ financial accountability, depending on the dimension of publicness considered. Efforts should be made to define policies and governance arrangements able to influence managers’ behaviour in a way that preserves SOEs’ financial accountability.

scholarly journals The Impact of Performance Audit on Public Administrations in Saudi Arabia: An Exploratory Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 144
Author(s):  
Yousef Ali Alwardat ◽  
Abdullatif Mohamed Basheikh
Keyword(s):  
Public Affairs ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Public Administrators ◽  
Public Officials ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Resources ◽  
Performance Audit ◽  
Public Organisations ◽  
The Impact

This study aims to examine if auditors of the Saudi Supreme Audit Institution (SSAI) have exerted influence on administrators in Saudi Public Institutions in order to improve the way they manage public resources. The study also examines the impact of the public administrators’ personal factors, i.e. the experience and qualifications of administrators on the contributions made by the SSAI, in terms of facilitating the undertaking of changes in the public administrations. The result of a survey of 96 Saudi public officials shows that the SSAI can claim remarkable achievements, in terms of improving Saudi public affairs. Administrators, irrespective of their experience and qualifications, have shown positive perceptions of the process of performance audit and that they are convinced of the usefulness and the quality of the SSAI’s reports. This study reveals that the SSAI has contributed towards helping the managements of public organisations define their priorities and adopt both strategic and operational plans. It has also helped them evaluate their projects and services, identify the problems and shortcomings of these projects and services, and then provide valuable recommendations to rectify them.

Social tourism for seniors in Spain: an example to be followed?

2021 ◽  
pp. 72-82
Author(s):  
Elisa Alén González ◽  
Trinidad Domínguez Vila ◽  
Nieves Losada Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Life Quality ◽  
Population Group ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This chapter aims to identify the determining factors and the main aspects to be developed to facilitate healthy and active ageing, thus improving the life quality of elderly people based on the Spanish government's social tourism programmes designed for this population group. This chapter starts with a contextualization of the social tourism concept, followed by a review of the public policies for active and healthy ageing and their impact on the tourism industry. Finally, an in-depth analysis of social tourism programmes in Spain is presented. Included is an exploratory analysis of the impact of social tourism on seniors' quality of life.

Social tourism for seniors in Spain: an example to be followed?

2021 ◽  
pp. 72-82
Author(s):  
Elisa Alén González ◽  
Trinidad Domínguez Vila ◽  
Nieves Losada Sánchez
Keyword(s):  
Life Quality ◽  
Population Group ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Determining Factors ◽  
The Impact

Abstract This chapter aims to identify the determining factors and the main aspects to be developed to facilitate healthy and active ageing, thus improving the life quality of elderly people based on the Spanish government's social tourism programmes designed for this population group. This chapter starts with a contextualization of the social tourism concept, followed by a review of the public policies for active and healthy ageing and their impact on the tourism industry. Finally, an in-depth analysis of social tourism programmes in Spain is presented. Included is an exploratory analysis of the impact of social tourism on seniors' quality of life.

scholarly journals The Social and Economic Impacts of E-hailing Application in Malaysia: A Review

CONSTRUCTION ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-44
Author(s):  
A.K.S Al-Shakhrit ◽  
Khairil Azman Masri ◽  
C.P. Othman
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Taxi Industry ◽  
Public Economy ◽  
The Impact

E-hailing is a service that allows users to book a journey online and provides a platform for users to interact with E-hailing companies. E-hailing service in Malaysia was launched in January 2018. Growing population and rising migration from rural to urban areas have put a strain on quality of life for Malaysia's population. The service is available in Malaysia. It has so far had success. E-hailing services have become more popular than traditional taxis for a variety of reasons. Customers are likely to seek out these providers' services as long as they pay close attention to their needs, solicit feedback often, and improve the quality of the services they give. Mobile applications developed by e-hailing businesses have had a significant influence on the taxi industry and public transportation in the last few years. Experts examined the impact of e-Hailing services on consumers, drivers and the public economy. Economics service created a lot of work prospects for drivers. Taxi industry struggling to keep up with E-Hailing system which put it under threat, as it cuts in taxi industry's profits. All e-hailing drivers must now obtain Public Service Vehicle (PSV) permits, but they complained that the regulations were too strict. Many of these driver-partners used E-hailing as a method to earn supplemental money in addition to driving. In the next several years, the way people move around in cities is anticipated to alter drastically. The conventional marketplace is being replaced by the online transaction as a method of conducting business. E-hailing in Malaysia today, as an alternative to private and public transportation, may be summed up by pointing out its increasing use.

Shall I trust you? From child human-robot interaction to trusting relationships

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cinzia Di Dio ◽  
Federico Manzi ◽  
Giulia Peretti ◽  
Angelo Cangelosi ◽  
Paul L. Harris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Pattern ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Robot Interaction ◽  
Cognitive Correlates ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Relationship

Studying trust within human-robot interaction is of great importance given the social relevance of robotic agents in a variety of contexts. We investigated the acquisition, loss and restoration of trust when preschool and school-age children played with either a human or a humanoid robot in-vivo. The relationship between trust and the quality of attachment relationships, Theory of Mind, and executive function skills was also investigated. No differences were found in children’s trust in the play-partner as a function of agency (human or robot). Nevertheless, 3-years-olds showed a trend toward trusting the human more than the robot, while 7-years-olds displayed the reverse behavioral pattern, thus highlighting the developing interplay between affective and cognitive correlates of trust.

New Wars and Their Visual Representation: Dead Bodies without Graves/Mourne

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Tuncay Şur ◽  
Betül Yarar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Visual Representation ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
The Public ◽  
Photographic Images ◽  
War Photography ◽  
New Wars ◽  
The Social ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

This paper seeks to understand why there has been an increase in photographic images exposing military violence or displaying bodies killed by military forces and how they can freely circulate in the public without being censored or kept hidden. In other words, it aims to analyze this particular issue as a symptom of the emergence of new wars and a new regime of their visual representation. Within this framework, it attempts to relate two kinds of literature that are namely the history of war and war photography with the bridge of theoretical discussions on the real, its photographic representation, power, and violence.  Rather than systematic empirical analysis, the paper is based on a theoretical attempt which is reflected on some socio-political observations in the Middle East where there has been ongoing wars or new wars. The core discussion of the paper is supported by a brief analysis of some illustrative photographic images that are served through the social media under the circumstances of war for instance in Turkey between Turkish military troops and the Kurdish militants. The paper concludes that in line with the process of dissolution/transformation of the old nation-state formations and globalization, the mechanism and mode of power have also transformed to the extent that it resulted in the emergence of new wars. This is one dynamic that we need to recognize in relation to the above-mentioned question, the other is the impact of social media in not only delivering but also receiving war photographies. Today these changes have led the emergence of new machinery of power in which the old modern visual/photographic techniques of representing wars without human beings, torture, and violence through censorship began to be employed alongside medieval power techniques of a visual exhibition of tortures and violence.

Evolution of the public administration system. The Republic of Estonia

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 82-118
Author(s):  
YANA TOOM ◽  
◽  
VALENTINA V. KOMLEVA ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
Administration System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Administrative Reforms ◽  
Social Sphere ◽  
External Threats ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Republic

The article studies the main stages and features of the evolution of the public administration system in the Republic of Estonia after 1992. This paper presents brief geographical and socio-economic characteristics that largely determine the development of the country’s public administration. The evolution of the institution of the presidency, executive, and legislative powers are considered. The role of parliament and mechanisms for coordinating the interests of different groups of the population for the development of the country is especially emphasized. The authors analyze the state and administrative reforms of recent years, which were aimed at improving the quality of services provided to the population, increasing the competitiveness of different parts of Estonia, as well as optimizing public spending and management structure. The introduction of digital technologies into the sphere of public administration, healthcare, education, and the social sphere is of a notable place. Such phenomena as e-residency, e-federation, and other digital projects are considered. The development of a digital system of interstate interaction between Estonia and Finland made it possible to create the world’s first e-federation, and the digitization of all strategically important information and its transfer to cloud storage speaks of the creation of the world’s first e-residency, a special residence of data outside the country’s borders to ensure digital continuity and statehood in the event of critical malfunctions or external threats.

scholarly journals Improving maternal health services through social accountability interventions in Nepal: an analytical review of existing literature

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adweeti Nepal ◽  
Santa Kumar Dangol ◽  
Anke van der Kwaak
Keyword(s):  
Maternal Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Health System ◽  
Maternal Health Services ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Social Accountability ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The persistent quality gap in maternal health services in Nepal has resulted in poor maternal health outcomes. Accordingly, the Government of Nepal (GoN) has placed emphasis on responsive and accountable maternal health services and initiated social accountability interventions as a strategical approach simultaneously. This review critically explores the social accountability interventions in maternal health services in Nepal and its outcomes by analyzing existing evidence to contribute to the informed policy formulation process. Methods A literature review and desk study undertaken between December 2018 and May 2019. An adapted framework of social accountability by Lodenstein et al. was used for critical analysis of the existing literature between January 2000 and May 2019 from Nepal and other low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) that have similar operational context to Nepal. The literature was searched and extracted from database such as PubMed and ScienceDirect, and web search engines such as Google Scholar using defined keywords. Results The study found various social accountability interventions that have been initiated by GoN and external development partners in maternal health services in Nepal. Evidence from Nepal and other LMICs showed that the social accountability interventions improved the quality of maternal health services by improving health system responsiveness, enhancing community ownership, addressing inequalities and enabling the community to influence the policy decision-making process. Strong gender norms, caste-hierarchy system, socio-political and economic context and weak enforceability mechanism in the health system are found to be the major contextual factors influencing community engagement in social accountability interventions in Nepal. Conclusions Social accountability interventions have potential to improve the quality of maternal health services in Nepal. The critical factor for successful outcomes in maternal health services is quality implementation of interventions. Similarly, continuous effort is needed from policymakers to strengthen monitoring and regulatory mechanism of the health system and decentralization process, to improve access to the information and to establish proper complaints and feedback system from the community to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of the interventions. Furthermore, more study needs to be conducted to evaluate the impact of the existing social accountability interventions in improving maternal health services in Nepal.

Public Sector Employment, Quality of Government, and Well-Being: A Global Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 223386592110117
Author(s):  
Robert Davidson ◽  
Alexander Pacek ◽  
Benjamin Radcliff
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Global Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Political Factors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Employment Quality ◽  
The Impact

While a growing literature within the study of subjective well-being demonstrates the impact of socio-political factors on subjective well-being, scholars have conspicuously failed to consider the role of the size and scope of government as determinants of well-being. Where such studies exist, the focus is largely on the advanced industrial democracies of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development. In this study, we examine the size of the public sector as a determinant of cross-national variation in life satisfaction across a worldwide sample. Our findings strongly suggest that as the public sector grows, subjective well-being increases as well, conditional on the extent of quality of government. Using cross-sectional data on 84 countries, we show this relationship has an independent and separable impact from other economic and political factors.

The impact of the social network, stigma and empowerment on the quality of life in patients with schizophrenia

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Sibitz ◽  
M. Amering ◽  
A. Unger ◽  
M.E. Seyringer ◽  
A. Bachmann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Internalized Stigma ◽  
Stigma Reduction ◽  
Equation Modelling ◽  
The Social ◽  
Recovery Approach ◽  
The Impact

Abstract:Objective:The quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia has been found to be positively correlated with the social network and empowerment, and negatively correlated with stigma and depression. However, little is known about the way these variables impact on the QOL. The study aims to test the hypothesis that the social network, stigma and empowerment directly and indirectly by contributing to depression influence the QOL in patients with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders.Method:Data were collected on demographic and clinical variables, internalized stigma, perceived devaluation and discrimination, empowerment, control convictions, depression and QOL. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was applied to examine the impact of the above-mentioned constructs on QOL.Results:The influences of the social network, stigma, empowerment and depression on QOL were supported by the SEM. A poor social network contributed to a lack of empowerment and stigma, which resulted in depression and, in turn, in poor QOL. Interestingly, however, the social network and stigma did not show a direct effect on QOL.Conclusions:Following a recovery approach in mental health services by focusing on the improvement of the social network, stigma reduction and especially on the development of personal strength has the potential to reduce depression in patients with psychosis and improving their QOL.

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