Continuing Costs: The Impact of Continuing Resolutions on Federal Contracting

2021 ◽  
pp. 027507402110103
Author(s):  
Stuart Roy Kasdin
Keyword(s):  
Sole Source ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Fiscal Year ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Obama Administration ◽  
Fixed Price ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Federal Contracting

Are there unintended consequences from Congress’ use of continuing resolutions (CRs), which are designed as short-term funding to bridge the period before regular appropriations are completed? During a CR, agencies are restricted in their ability to issue contracts, and after the CR ends, agencies may rush to complete their contracting before the fiscal year ends. To expedite contracting, we hypothesize that CRs encourage agencies to use sole-source contracts, rather than on a competitive basis, as well as to use cost-reimbursement contract designs, rather than fixed-price contracts. The Obama Administration found that these contracting practices result in “wasted taxpayer resources, poor contractor performance, and inadequate accountability for results . . .” We anticipate that the longer a CR is in effect, the greater the incentive to use sole-source contracts and cost-reimbursement contract designs. There are implications both for future attempts at contracting reforms, as well as for efforts to establish automatic CRs.

Reducing risk and leveraging markets: The impact of financial structure on federal contractor performance

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 6-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin M Brunjes
Keyword(s):  
Financial Structure ◽  
Asset Specificity ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Performance Incentives ◽  
Fixed Price ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Contract Managers ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Federal Contracting ◽  
Government Contract

This paper analyzes how financial controls, as established through the payment structure, are used and whether they influence federal contractor performance. These payment structures include variants on three primary types of contract: firm fixed-price, cost-reimbursement, and time-and-materials. Each of these payment structures creates different performance incentives for contractors, provides government contract managers with varying levels of information on contractor activities, and alters the dispersion of risk between the partners. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) prefers fixed-price contracts whenever possible, as they theoretically place the risk on the contractor, who is required to finish the work for the allocated price. Based on an analysis of nearly 25,000 federal definitive contracts that concluded between 2005 and 2014, findings indicate federal contracting officials tend to use payment structures in expected ways: to limit exposure to risk, leverage market forces, and reduce transaction costs when possible. Findings also show that there are important performance differences between contracts that use different financial structures, even when accounting for information asymmetries, asset specificity, and the complexity of the contracted work. Cost-reimbursement contracts are highly correlated with early contract termination.

Premises, promises, and perils of the Academic Potemkin Village

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Lund Dean ◽  
Charles Fornaciari ◽  
Regina Bento ◽  
Carlos Asarta
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Core Values ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Short Term ◽  
The Core ◽  
The Impact

Increased competition for students and financial resources has contributed to a managerialist perspective in higher education. In this competitive landscape, institutional decision-making may prioritize choices perceived as rational imperatives to the forces buffeting higher education, bringing unintended consequences when they are driven mostly by short-term, marketing-based, revenue-enhancing considerations. In their efforts to “look good,” such institutions risk becoming Academic Potemkin Villages where symbolic façades are erected to impress relevant stakeholders at the risk of overshadowing core missions of learning and research. Exploring the Academic Potemkin Village metaphor, we examine its premises (factors that are pressuring higher education), its promises (the seduction of building various symbolic façades to respond to those pressures), and its perils (the impact on institutions, faculty, and students). We then suggest ways of building out Academic Potemkin Villages into lasting and unique collaborations, re-focused on the core values of higher education.

A Newspaper’s Effect on the Strength of Automatic Associations in Memory

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Arendt
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Term Effect ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Implicit Measure ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Short Term Treatment ◽  
Short Term Effect ◽  
Automatic Associations ◽  
Foreign Nationality ◽  
The Impact

A test was done to see if reading a newspaper which consistently overrepresents foreigners as criminals strengthens the automatic association between foreign country and criminal in memory (i.e., implicit cultivation). Further, an investigation was done to find out if reading articles from the same newspaper produces a short-term effect on the same measure and if (1) emotionalization of the newspaper texts, (2) emotional reactions of the reader (indicated by arousal), and (3) attributed text credibility moderate the short-term treatment effect. Eighty-five participants were assigned to one of three experimental conditions. Participants in the control group received short factual crime texts, where the nationality of the offender was not mentioned. Participants in the factual treatment group received the same texts, but the foreign nationality was mentioned. Participants in the emotionalized treatment group received emotionalized articles (i.e., texts which are high in vividness and frequency) covering the same crimes, with the foreign nationality mentioned. Supporting empirical evidence for implicit cultivation and a short-term effect was found. However, only emotionalized articles produced a short-term effect on the strength of the automatic association, indicating that newspaper texts must have a minimum of stimulus intensity to overcome an effect threshold. There were no moderating effects of arousal or credibility pertaining to the impact on the implicit measure. However, credibility moderated the short-term effect on a first-order judgment (i.e., estimated frequency of foreigners of all criminals). This indicates that a newspaper’s effect on the strength of automatic associations is relatively independent from processes of propositional reasoning.

Aviation and the Microbiome

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. 651-661
Author(s):  
Joshua T. Davis ◽  
Hilary A. Uyhelji
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Health ◽  
Aviation Safety ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Unintended Consequences ◽  
Microbial Colonization ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Aerospace Medicine ◽  
Medical Certification ◽  
Physical Disorders ◽  
The Impact

INTRODUCTION: Although the impact of microorganisms on their hosts has been investigated for decades, recent technological advances have permitted high-throughput studies of the collective microbial genomes colonizing a host or habitat, also known as the microbiome. This literature review presents an overview of microbiome research, with an emphasis on topics that have the potential for future applications to aviation safety. In humans, research is beginning to suggest relationships of the microbiome with physical disorders, including type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease. The microbiome also has been associated with psychological health, including depression, anxiety, and the social complications that arise in autism spectrum disorders. Pharmaceuticals can alter microbiome diversity, and may lead to unintended consequences both short and long-term. As research strengthens understanding of the connections between the microbiota and human health, several potential applications for aerospace medicine and aviation safety emerge. For example, information derived from tests of the microbiota has potential future relevance for medical certification of pilots, accident investigation, and evaluation of fitness for duty in aerospace operations. Moreover, air travel may impact the microbiome of passengers and crew, including potential impacts on the spread of disease nationally and internationally. Construction, maintenance, and cleaning regimens that consider the potential for microbial colonization in airports and cabin environments may promote the health of travelers. Altogether, the mounting knowledge of microbiome effects on health presents several opportunities for future research into how and whether microbiome-based insights could be used to improve aviation safety.Davis JT, Uyhelji HA. Aviation and the microbiome. Aerosp Med Hum Perform. 2020; 91(8):651–661.

Diatoms in the Amur Bay sediments (Sea of Japan) and the impact of typhoons on their accumulation over the last 2000 years

2019 ◽  
pp. 252-256
Author(s):  
Irina A. Prushkovskaya ◽  
Ira B. Tsoy
Keyword(s):  
Sea Of Japan ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Catastrophic Events ◽  
Bromine Content ◽  
Amur Bay ◽  
The Impact

The study of diatoms in the sediments of the Amur Bay (Sea of Japan), formed over the last 2000 years, showed that the sharp short-term drops in the concentration of diatoms coincide with the minima of bromine content, which can be explained by the influence of typhoons or other catastrophic events leading to floods and used later in paleoreconstructions.

PENERAPAN CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY DALAM PENGELOLAAN WAKAF PRODUKTIF

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masruchin Masruchin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Infrastructure Development ◽  
Religious Activities ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Local Society ◽  
Business Units ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
A Company ◽  
Social And Environmental Impacts

Corporate Social Responsibilityis a concept that a company has various forms of responsibility to all stakeholders including consumers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of the company's operations that include economic, social, and environmental aspects. Therefore CSR is closely related to "sustainable development", in which a company, in carrying out its activities must base its decisions not only on the impact on economic aspects, such as the level of profits or dividends (profits), but also must consider the social and environmental impacts that arise from that decision, both for the short term and the longer term.Pondok Modern Darussalam Gontor (PMDG), in managing its Productive Waqf by establishing business units which mostly involve workers from the local society around PMDG. They are employed according to their skills. This is a form of implementing CSR in order to help advance and improve the welfare of the local society. The existence of these various business units is one of the educational facilities and as a form of CSR application which is actually intended to educate in the fields of independence, entrepreneurship, sincerity and sacrifice.PMDG involvement in social activities that are useful for the local society such as infrastructure development and village facilities, regeneration of students who are from around PMDG to be able to get higher education with funding from the PMDG, doing guidance to the local society through various religious activities, educational and economic activities is a form of PMDG responsibility to the local society environment and also to all stakeholders such as students, Ustadz, employees, so as to provide social and environmental impacts for the short term and the longer term.Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibilityandproductive waqf.

SUMBER-SUMBER RESILIENSI PADA REMAJA AKHIR YANG MENGALAMI KEKERASAN DARI ORANGTUA PADA MASA KANAK-KANAK

Psibernetika ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Devina Calista ◽  
Garvin Garvin
Keyword(s):  
Late Adolescents ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Parental Affection ◽  
Resilience Factors ◽  
Childhood Violence ◽  
Past Experiences ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Depth Interviews

<p><em>Child abuse by parents is common in households. The impact of violence on children will bring short-term effects and long-term effects that can be attributed to their various emotional, behavioral and social problems in the future; especially in late adolescence that will enter adulthood. Resilience factors increase the likelihood that adolescents who are victims of childhood violence recover from their past experiences</em><em>,</em><em> become more powerful individuals and have a better life. The purpose of this study was to determine the source of resilience in late adolescents who experienced violence from parents in their childhood. This research uses qualitative research methods with in-depth interviews as a method of data collection. The result shows that the three research participants have the aspects of "I Have", "I Am", and "I Can"; a participant has "I Can" aspects as a source of resilience, and one other subject has no source of resilience. The study concluded that parental affection and acceptance of the past experience have role to the three sources of resilience (I Have, I Am, and I Can)</em></p><p><em> </em></p><p><strong><em>Keyword : </em></strong><em>Resilience, adolescence, violence, parents</em></p>

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