Cyberspace at the Grassroots: E-Governance and Citizen/Stakeholder Perceptions at the Local Level in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
pp. 245513332110340
Author(s):  
Habib Zafarullah ◽  
Jannatul Ferdous
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Citizen Perceptions

Bangladesh has experimented with e-governance since the early 2000s and currently ranks among the top 10 least developed countries. The deployment of e-governance at the local level has provided benefits to the rural people, with local councils increasingly using information and communications technology (ICT) to expand community-based delivery systems and augment rural service delivery. One-stop cyber centres provide a range of services that are user-friendly, cost-effective and less time-consuming. This study focuses on five sub-districts to inquire about the range of services provided by the e-service centres there. It has recorded citizen perceptions and the level of their satisfaction and the observations of service providers about the e-service mechanism. It also identifies key challenges in service delivery. Citizen satisfaction was measured using 12 indicators, while the service provider observations focused on social issues, governance, resource and technical issues. The study found several issues requiring attention to consolidate the e-governance system in the country.

Review of the adaptations in opioid agonist treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic: Focus on buprenorphine-based treatment

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (7) ◽  
pp. 119-131
Author(s):  
Abhishek Ghosh, MD, DM ◽  
Chandrima Naskar, MD ◽  
Fazl-e Roub, MD, DM ◽  
Debasish Basu, MD, DNB, MAMS
Keyword(s):  
Service Delivery ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Opioid Use ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Opioid Agonist ◽  
Opioid Agonist Treatment ◽  
Electronic Database Search ◽  
Narrative Format ◽  
The Impact

Background: Availability and access to opioid agonist treatment (OAT) are limited despite its evidence of effectiveness in treating opioid use disorders (OUDs). COVID-19 pandemic has inadvertently exacerbated the problems of restricted access to OAT and, at the same time, has increased odds of harm due to opioid use.Objectives: We examined (a) adaptations conceived or implemented in the buprenorphine (BPN)-based OAT service delivery at the national, regional, or local level during the COVID-19 pandemic and (b) the impact of such transformations on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of service delivery. We focused exclusively on BPN-based OAT.Methods: We carried out a systematic electronic database search in PubMed and Google Scholar. We included all types of articles. Additionally, we looked up relevant websites of international and national government agencies working in the field of drug abuse.Results: We included 21 articles from 10 countries in the review and summarized the results in a narrative format. The majority of literature was from developed countries. We observed changes in the BPN initiation, dosing, and dispensing protocols, and particular emphasis on telemedicine. There was limited literature on service provisions for the vulnerable population. The changing modes of service delivery have possibly increased the number of new patients and reduced the risk of exposure owing to limited in-person contact.Conclusion: Newer adaptations to meet with the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic in the BPN-based OAT delivery tend to be innovative, flexible, and patient centered. Although it is too early to comment on these newer adaptations’ impact, the outcome's directions appear to be positive.

Increasing the effectiveness of advertisements targeting social issues in least developed countries

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andinet Worku Gebreselassie ◽  
Roger Bougie
Keyword(s):  
Social Issues ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Repetition Condition ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Advertising Strategies ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Addis Ababa University

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the application of advertising variation and repetition strategies in the context of communicating about social issues in least developed countries (LDCs).Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 used a between-subjects experimental study using 106 students which were exposed to either the varied advertising condition (a negative appeal followed by a positive appeal or vice versa) or repetition condition (two negative appeals). In Study 2, a total of 111 students from Tilburg University and 95 students from Addis Ababa University participated in the study. A random ordering of experimental envelopes assigned the students to one of the following message order conditions (negative appeal–positive appeal, negative appeal–negative appeal, positive appeal–positive appeal and positive appeal–negative appeal).FindingsStudy 1 shows that for many social issues, an advertising variation strategy (a negative appeal followed by a positive appeal) is more effective than an advertising repetition strategy (two negative appeals) in terms of recall. Study 2 builds on these findings by differentiating between taboo and non-taboo issues. This distinction is important because many social issues, such as HIV, domestic violence and child abuse, for instance, are taboo in LDCs. Interestingly, the findings of Study 1 are reproduced for non-taboo issues but not for taboo issues. If an issue is a conversational taboo in a certain culture, then an advertising repetition strategy that only uses positive appeals is more effective than an advertising variation strategy.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of students as participants may be a limitation of both studies. Because the reactions of students to specific message appeals may be age-related, concerns regarding the generalizability of the findings are justified.Originality/valueOverall, the results of this paper provide useful information to social advertisers on when and how to use different types of advertising strategies in LDCs.

scholarly journals Reduction of Economic Burden on State Exchequer by Using Various International Legal Flexibilities under TRIPS Agreement 1994 of WTO

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-70
Author(s):  
Muhammad Danyal Khan ◽  
Rao Imran Habib ◽  
Muhammad Asif Safdar
Keyword(s):  
Research And Development ◽  
Economic Burden ◽  
Patent Protection ◽  
Public Spending ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Trips Agreement ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Pharmaceutical Patent ◽  
Indigenous Production

Revised format: May 2018 AvailableOnline: June 2018 During budget year 2016-17, public spending on procurement of medicines in Pakistan surged 29% touching an exorbitant figure of PKR 7.5 billion (Health Budget, 2016-17)Volume of provincial expenditure on medicine almost doubled rising to PKR 1.02 billion from 0.67 billion in last budget year 2015-16. Growing sum of public spending on medicine procurement has many factors such as poverty, money devaluation, indigenous production incapacity, and less developed standards of research and development. Apart from all enumerated above, global pharmaceutical patent protection regime under TRIPS Agreement, initiated by WTO, plays a pivotal role increasing public spending on procurement of medicines in developed and least developed countries. This work presents ways for reducing economic burden on state exchequer by exploiting maximum possible flexibilities under WTO regime to procure cost effective medicines. The work will be done in three parts; explaining Pakistan role and status in global pharmaceutical patent protection regime, existing challenges, and potentials for the country to save public spending on health using international legal agreements under WTO

scholarly journals Transitioning to Society 5.0 in Africa: Tools to Support ICT Infrastructure Sharing

Data ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Kennedy Nomamidobo Amadasun ◽  
Michael Short ◽  
Rajesh Shankar-Priya ◽  
Tracey Crosbie
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Pollution ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Capital Expenditure ◽  
Mobile Network ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Information And Communications Technology ◽  
Regulatory Body ◽  
Network Service

Society 5.0 represents an opportunity to transform the economy and create a digital society with the goal of long-term sustainable development and economic growth. There is a growing importance of boosting ICT as an effective and efficient means of achieving this transformation, and Target 9c of the UN Sustainable Development Goals is to ‘Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet in least developed countries’. Mobile telecommunication systems have become the most effective and convenient means of communicating in the world, and as such, they are revolutionizing business operations. Nigeria is the fastest growing telecommunication market in Africa, with approximately 298 million subscribers accommodated by over 53,000 base transceiver stations (BTSs) which are largely concentrated in urban areas. As a result of increasing subscribers, all mobile network service providers in Nigeria are building new BTSs, often without considering existing infrastructure. This has led to a proliferation of masts, defacing the environment and causing unnecessary environmental pollution as BTSs are largely powered by diesel generators. It is therefore becoming paramount for the telecommunication regulatory body in Nigeria to enforce principles of infrastructure sharing and the colocation of sites for all mobile network service provider BTSs to improve network availability, reliability, scalability, customer satisfaction and sustainability. This paper argues, through the development of ICT tools and their application to a case study, that infrastructure sharing and colocation of sites is not only feasible if supported correctly but also offers the potential to reduce operational and capital expenditure, reduce the number of BTSs required for the rapidly growing mobile telecoms industry in Nigeria and in doing so reduce environmental pollution.

scholarly journals Performance of Decentralized Local Service Delivery in Developed Countries: Case Study of Japan

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (35) ◽  
Author(s):  
Priyantha W. Mudalige
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Local Service ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative

Many countries decentralize the administrative, fiscal, and political functions of the central government to lower-level governments. In many developing and developed countries, governments and their policymakers have used decentralization as a means of improving the delivery of local service. Accordingly, this study is based on the delivery of local services to the people by the local governments of Japan as a developed country. The overall objective of this article is to review the performance of decentralized local service delivery in developed countries and based on a case study of Japan. The study also aims to examine the correlation between the revenue and expenditure of local governments of Japan and its trends. Basically, this article has been written based on secondary data materials. This data consists of qualitative and quantitative characteristics. Hence, a qualitative and quantitative descriptive method has been applied to analyse the performance of local government decentralization in Japan, and descriptive statistical methods are used to analyse the data and the correlation between revenue and expenditure. The problem in this research is how the functional political institutions created for local service delivery at the sub-national governments in Japan affects the success of decentralization. This research revealed several findings. The local governments of Japan have a sound institutional system and several powers recognized by the constitution. Japanese local governments monitor over 70% of national works, but a majority of the standard public services are the responsibility of local governments. Karl Pearson’s correlation value of revenue and expenditure is 0.979, and there is a strong positive relationship between revenues and expenditure. In Japan, the highest value of local government spending is on public welfare. It is followed by education, civil engineering works, and general administration, second, third, and fourth, respectively. Also, its central and local administrative institutions are maintained in a mutually dependent and mutually complementary relationship. Most of the local governments are collaborating with the private sector in Japan. As a result, the efficiency of service delivery has improved at the local level. In this way, waste management, which is a major local problem in Japan, is being dealt with closely by the central government and the local governments.

scholarly journals UDC and e-Service Delivery at Local Government Level in Bangladesh: A Framework for e-Government

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saroar Ahmed Saleheen
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Governance System ◽  
Public Service Delivery ◽  
The People ◽  
Local Government Level ◽  
Government Level

This is the age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) which has brought change by being an integral part of governmental service delivery of the twenty-first century. Public service delivery is a great concern for governments. The present government of Bangladesh has realized this fact of ICT and has introduced ICT based Union Digital Centre (UDC), district and upazila web portals to provide quicker and smoother services to the people for creating “Digital Bangladesh”. The main focus of this study is to bring citizens under the whole e-governance system. ICT based UDCs are the main actors for this purpose. The present government has set up 4547 service centres at every Union level (the lowest tier of Local Government) which is known as Union Digital Centre (UDC). ICT based UDCs providetime and cost effective some sorts of off-line and online door step services to the rural people.The broad objective of this study is to make an e-government framework at the local government level in Bangladesh by providing e-services through UDC. The specific objectives are: To find out the role of UDC in public service delivery at the local government level in Bangladesh; and to know the effectiveness of UDC in promoting e-government by delivering e-services to the people. This study has attempted a qualitative research approach to obtain its objectives.

scholarly journals The Influence of Modern International Terrorism on the Main Megatrends of Modern World Politics

2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 22-33
Author(s):  
Hasan Jabbarinasir ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Political Organization ◽  
International Terrorism ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Contemporary World

The article analyzes the influence of modern terrorism on two megatrends of contemporary world politics – globalization and democratization, which are linked with three levels of political organization of modern world – the Westphalian system, the system of interstate relations and the political system of states. A simplified method of constructing a forecasting scenario is used, which provides a description of the influence of terrorism on the dynamics of the development of globalization and democratization in the future. The author relies on the ideas of a cyclical approach, according to which “upward” and “downward” stages are inherent characteristic of social and political processes. It has been established that modern international terrorism uses the uneven distribution of benefits from globalization and its unifying characteristics in the sphere of culture and social relations in its destructive ideology and practice. As a result, globalization in the least developed countries is perceived in a negative way, and the risks of local rollbacks for this phenomenon remain. Long-term recommendations are proposed to improve the current situation. A scenario of anti-terrorist struggle, its state and prospects, and the dynamics of the two selected megatrends in the context of those scenarios have been developed. Results. It is concluded that terrorism is a significant negative factor for globalization and democratization. The first feels the influence of terrorism at the local level and it is unlikely to become a de-globalizing force, while the direct or indirect influence of international terrorism on the dynamic of democratization waves can be more significant.

scholarly journals Design and Development of an Open-Source and Affordable LoT System for Developing and Least Developed Countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anindya Karmaker ◽  
Mahmudul Hasan ◽  
Ahaduzzaman Nahid
Keyword(s):  
Open Source ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
System Response ◽  
Android Application ◽  
Least Developed Countries ◽  
Safety And Reliability ◽  
The Internet Of Things

Abstract The Internet of Things (IoT) has improved the quality of our lives through various interconnected gadgets and devices. Despite having great potential, IoT systemsstill have not made it into the mainstream industries orresidential complexes due to the high cost associated with commercial IoT solutions particularly in developing or least developed countries. In-expensive and open-source IoT-based systems could be employed in these fields to improve overall safety and drastically reduce accidents. In this paper, a model IoT system has been presented that could be used in any commercial apartmentor building complex or retrofitted to existing industry and can augment safety and reliability along with improving the quality of life. For this purpose, Atmega1284P and ESP32 microcontroller-based IoT device was developed and implemented.For IoT integration and cloud operation, the Google Firebase IoT platform was chosen. To monitor the system using both Bluetooth (low energy, BLE) and Wi-Fi, an Android application was created usingMIT App Inventor 2.This device is capable of receiving and handling multiple analog or digital sensors andwill send an automated email whenever a threshold value for the sensor is exceeded which could be easily changed via the application. Furthermore, the delay and system response of this device were experimentally determined. This type of system could be easily scaled for various applications which are also discussed in this paper. It also offers better flexibility and cost-effective solution to commercially available alternatives.

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