scholarly journals Technical Efficiency of Regional Public Hospitals in China Based on the Three-Stage DEA

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9383
Author(s):  
Zhensheng Chen ◽  
Xueli Chen ◽  
Xiaoqing Gan ◽  
Kaixuan Bai ◽  
Tomas Baležentis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Operational Environment ◽  
The Public ◽  
Time Period ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
The Social ◽  
Low Efficiency ◽  
The Impact

Many countries are facing the increasing cost of healthcare services and the low efficiency of public hospitals. These issues are also evident in China. This paper offers a comprehensive assessment of the efficiency of public hospitals operating in China’s 31 regions. The impact of the third round of reform of the health system in 2009 is assessed based on the three-stage data envelopment analysis procedure. The time period from 2011 to 2018 is covered in this study. Due to different functions performed by the public hospitals and other ones, the number of patients with infectious diseases is incorporated as an output variable reflecting the social function. The outpatient visits and inpatient visits are considered to reflect the outputs related to the private functions. The results imply an increase in the mean efficiency of public hospitals from 0.927 to 0.981 after taking the impact of environmental variables and statistic noise into account. These results indicate that the efficiency of public hospitals is dependent in the operational environment. There are 11 regions whose hospitals operate on the efficiency frontier during the whole period covered. Therefore, the Chinese government should reasonably design and apply the regulatory tools to improve the efficiency of public hospitals.

scholarly journals Emerging Use of Public-Private Partnerships in Public Radiotherapy Facilities in Nigeria

2021 ◽  
pp. 1260-1269
Author(s):  
Chidinma P. Anakwenze Akinfenwa ◽  
Abiola Ibraheem ◽  
Kenneth Nwankwo ◽  
Nwamaka Lasebikan ◽  
Musa Ali-Gombe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Public Private Partnerships ◽  
External Beam Radiation ◽  
Linear Accelerators ◽  
Beam Radiation ◽  
Maintenance And Repair ◽  
The Public ◽  
Number Of Patients ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Maintenance Plan

PURPOSE Radiotherapy (RT) treatment at public hospitals in Nigeria is often interrupted by prolonged periods of machine breakdown because of insufficient funds for maintenance and repair. These delays have prompted the uptake of public-private partnerships (PPPs) to acquire and maintain RT equipment. This study aimed to understand Nigeria's current RT capacity and the impact of PPPs on RT availability and cost. METHODS Eleven radiation oncologists, each representing one of the 11 RT centers in Nigeria (eight public and three private), were invited to complete a survey on the type, status, acquisition, and maintenance plan of existing RT equipment, cost incurred by patients for external-beam radiation (EBRT) and brachytherapy treatment, and number of patients treated per year on each machine. Type and status of equipment at nonresponding facilities were obtained through literature review and confirmed with the facility. RESULTS A total of eight (81%) respondents completed the survey, all representing public centers, three of which reported PPP use. They reported 11 megavoltage units in total (seven linear accelerators [LINACs] and four Cobalt-60s) and 10 brachytherapy afterloaders. Of those, 57% (4/7) of the LINACs, 100% (4/4) of the Cobalt-60s, and 63% (7/11) of the afterloaders were in clinical use. All commissioned equipment supported by PPPs (three LINACs and one afterloader) were in operation. The public EBRT equipment were nonfunctional 35% of the year (resulting in 60% fewer patients treated per year). The PPP EBRT and afterloaders did not experience any periods of breakdown, but PPP costs were 338% higher than public equipment. CONCLUSION This study characterizes the use of PPP as a more reliable method of RT delivery in Nigeria, albeit at higher costs.

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.

scholarly journals Long-term effectiveness of elderly health care voucher scheme strategies: a system dynamics simulation analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ka Chun Chong ◽  
Hong Fung ◽  
Carrie Ho Kwan Yam ◽  
Patsy Yuen Kwan Chau ◽  
Tsz Yu Chow ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Chronic Disease ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
System Dynamics ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
Dynamics Simulation ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background The elderly healthcare voucher (EHCV) scheme is expected to lead to an increase in the number of elderly people selecting private primary healthcare services and reduce reliance on the public sector in Hong Kong. However, studies thus far have reported that this scheme has not received satisfactory responses. In this study, we examined changes in the ratio of visits between public and private doctors in primary care (to measure reliance on the public sector) for different strategic scenarios in the EHCV scheme. Methods Based on comments from an expert panel, a system dynamics model was formulated to simulate the impact of various enhanced strategies in the scheme: increasing voucher amounts, lowering the age eligibility, and designating vouchers for chronic conditions follow-up. Data and statistics for the model calibration were collected from various sources. Results The simulation results show that the current EHCV scheme is unable to reduce the utilization of public healthcare services, as well as the ratio of visits between public and private primary care among the local aging population. When comparing three different tested scenarios, even if the increase in the annual voucher amount could be maintained at the current pace or the age eligibility can be lowered to include those aged 60 years, the impact on shifts from public-to-private utilization were insignificant. The public-to-private ratio could only be marginally reduced from 0.74 to 0.64 in the first several years. Nevertheless, introducing a chronic disease-oriented voucher could result in a significant drop of 0.50 in the public-to-private ratio during the early implementation phase. However, the effect could not be maintained for an extended period. Conclusions Our findings will assist officials in improving the design of the EHCV scheme, within the wider context of promoting primary care among the elderly. We suggest that an additional chronic disease-oriented voucher can serve as an alternative strategy. The scheme must be redesigned to address more specific objectives or provide a separate voucher that promotes under-utilized healthcare services (e.g., preventive care), instead of services designed for unspecified reasons, which may lead to concerns regarding exploitation.

An analysis of media discourse on genetically modified rice in China

2020 ◽  
pp. 175048132098209
Author(s):  
Quan Zheng ◽  
Zengyi Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Media Discourse ◽  
Dominant Position ◽  
The Public ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Gm Rice ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Media ◽  
Specific Meaning

Current problems and controversies involving GM issues are not limited to scientific fields but spill over into the social context. When disagreements enter society via media outlets, social factors such as interests, resources, and values can contribute to complicating discourse about a controversial subject. Using the framework for the analysis of media discourse proposed by Carvalho, this paper examines news reports on Chinese GM rice from the dimensions of both text and context, covering the period of 2001–2015. This study shows that media may not only construct basic concepts, theme, and discursive strategies but also generate an ideological stance. This ideology constituted an influential dimension of the GM rice controversy. By following ideology consistent with the dominant position of the Chinese government, the media selectively constructed and endowed GM rice with a specific meaning in the Chinese social context, making possible the reproduction and communication of GM rice knowledge and risks to the public.

scholarly journals The Impact of Energy Consumption on the Three Pillars of Sustainable Development

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 1372
Author(s):  
Silviu Nate ◽  
Yuriy Bilan ◽  
Danylo Cherevatskyi ◽  
Ganna Kharlamova ◽  
Oleksandr Lyakh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Energy Density ◽  
Ecological Footprint ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
Low Efficiency ◽  
Disability Adjusted Life Year ◽  
The Impact

The paper analyzes the impact of energy consumption on the three pillars of sustainable development in 74 countries. The main methodological challenge in this research is the choice of a single integral indicator for assessing the social component of sustainable development. Disability-adjusted life year (DALY), ecological footprint, and GDP (Gross domestic product) are used to characterize the social, ecological, and economical pillars. The concept of physics, namely the concept of density (specific gravity), is used. It characterizes the ratio of the mass of a substance to its volume, i.e., reflects the saturation of a certain volume with this substance. Thus, to assess the relationship between energy consumption and the three foundations of sustainable development, it is proposed to determine the energy density of the indicators DALY, the ecological footprint, and GDP. The reaction to changes in energy consumption is described by the elasticity of energy density functions, calculated for each of the abovementioned indicators. The state of the social pillar is mostly dependent on energy consumption. As for the changes in the ecological pillar, a 1% reduction in energy consumption per capita gives only a 0.6% ecological footprint reduction, which indicates a low efficiency of reducing energy consumption policy and its danger for the social pillar. The innovative aspect of the research is to apply a cross-disciplinary approach and a calculative technique to identify the impact that each of the pillars of sustainable development imposes on energy policy design. The policy of renewable energy expansion is preferable for all sustainable development pillars.

FINANCIAL SYSTEM RISKS

2021 ◽  
pp. 13-21
Author(s):  
S. E. Demidova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Finance ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Financial System ◽  
System Stability ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Financial Risks ◽  
The Public ◽  
Systemic Risks ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Government interference in the social-economic processes through the implementation of anti-crisis measures and fiscal expansion holds the embodiment of financial risks for economic entities. As a result, government debt and budget gaps at the continuing drop of real disposable household income and companies’ profitability grow. Over a long-term horizon, the decisions made can cause a financial system misbalance and new risk generation, including systemic risks in the sphere of public finance. The author carries out the theoretical research of financial system risks, which can result in a decrease in the system stability in general. The study determines that there is no single theoretical concept of financial risks of the public sector. Within the research, the author analyzed the approaches to systemic risks in various economic sectors and decomposed systemic risk of the public finance sphere. The study specified global factors of influence on the financial system stability, determined the impact factors and common fiscal limitations considering the needs in the execution of state obligations. The pandemic factor – COVID-19 spread is highlighted as an exogenous factor of impact on the formation of financial system misbalances. The main threat to the financial system stability considered in terms of the functional-institutional approach is the deficiency of economic entities’ liquidity. Unprecedented budgetary measures of anti-crisis financial regulation, the deferred impact – tax preferences, and monetary measures had an immediate influence on the liquidity volume during the implementation of anti-COVID activities. Tools of budgetary monitoring, budget expenditures reviews, tax expenditures reviews, and budget consolidation ensure the budget mechanism flexibility. Factors producing financial system risks and the selected measures of state regulation will set the trends for the social-economic development of the country in the coming years.

COVID’s Effect on India’s Health Services: A Commentary

Social Change ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-492
Author(s):  
Imrana Qadeer
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Healthcare Services ◽  
The Public ◽  
State Authority ◽  
Comprehensive Framework ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Second Wave

Using a comprehensive framework (the state’s will to deliver, its institutional strength and its legitimacy), this article assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public sector healthcare services in India. The power to deliver was explicit when the interventions were harsh, increasing the burden of death and disease on health services. But when it came to healthcare by the public sector we find a worsening of achievements of non-COVID ailments during the pandemic and an inability to tackle the second wave due to gaps in the nation's infrastructure, a centralised control undermining state authority; and visible results of a flawed policy that pushed further the agenda of making healthcare a profitable business.

scholarly journals Female labor applying by the Maritime Ministry of the Russian Empire at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 355-373
Author(s):  
Irina V Sinova
Keyword(s):  
Public Service ◽  
Equal Opportunity ◽  
Objective Assessment ◽  
Russian Empire ◽  
Periodical Press ◽  
The Public ◽  
Russian State ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Russian Empire ◽  
The Impact

The article deals with the issues related to the evolution of the use of women in the civil service at the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries on the example of the Maritime Ministry on the basis of previously unpublished documents stored in the Russian state archive of the Navy and periodical press materials. The study of gender issues can be of scientific interest on the basis of its documents, as practically not in demand in research related to the women’s issue. As a result of the struggle of the public, there were some concessions on the part of the authorities related to the expansion of women’s access to fill certain positions in a number of areas that experienced a lack of certain qualifications, including public service, in the conditions of intensive bourgeois development. The article analyzes the legal acts regulating the work of women, especially in the public service. it is shown how the changes that took place in the Russian Empire influenced the transformation of the socio-economic situation of women in General, and, also, became a reflection of the social policy of the state. The article reveals the attitude of the heads of departments of the Ministry to the admission of women to the public service, as well as their opinion on the degree of necessity for the service itself in attracting women to it. The article deals with the arguments of men - heads of departments of the Ministry, related to the impact of women’s work on home life, on the family and on itself, which differed largely by philistine assessments, rather than progressive views. In fact, on the part of the authorities, concessions to women were more imaginary and forced than the result of an objective assessment of their equal opportunity to serve in the public system.

scholarly journals Stigma dan Tingkat Kecemasan Masyarakat pada Covid-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 131
Author(s):  
Lilis Banowati ◽  
Cucu Herawati ◽  
Wiwiet Indriyani
Keyword(s):  
Social Impact ◽  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Positive Thinking ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Data Presentation ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
Study Population ◽  
The Impact

Background: The increasing number of positive patients with Covid-19, the social impact in the form of stigma from being shunned by neighbors and even families and the impact of mental health, namely causing major psychosocial stresses that can trigger anxiety. Purpose  this study was to determine the stigma and level of public anxiety about Covid- 19. Methods: This type of research is descriptive quantitative, the study population is all people in the UPTD Haurgeulis Puskesmas, Indramayu Regency, as many as 88,468 people. The number of samples was 100 respondents using purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed statistically using univariate analysis and data presentation in the form of frequency distributions. Results: This study shows that people have a low stigma as much as 1% and those who experience a high stigma are as much as 99%. As well as people who do not experience anxiety as much as 14% and most of them experience mild anxiety as much as 86%. Conclusion: The public should be wiser in sorting out information related to Covid-19 from various sources and can manage anxiety with good self-coping management, for example by relaxation and positive thinking related to Covid-19.

scholarly journals Menentukan Nilai Penggantian Wajar Lahan Terdampak Pekerjaan Reaktifasi Jalur Kereta Api Trase Muaro Logas, Kabupaten Sijunjung, Provinsi Sumatera Barat

2019 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-55
Author(s):  
Hasta Herlan Asymar
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
The Public ◽  
Railway Line ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Reform Plan ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Socio Economic Factors

Abstract  – The calculation of the value of the Reasonable Land Turnover Terdamapak Job Reaktifasi railway line for arbitration was Muaro Logas was part of the study of the action of liberation/land and buildings for the reform plan of the reaktifasi railway line between Muaro-Logas is part of the planning of the reactivation railway line. This study analyzes regulations and policies, perceived an inventory and survey/census by identifying the affected community land procurement, with regard to the characteristics and the types of harm experienced, agreement agreement between the local government, the province and the Center in funding the acquisition of land; analyze optimum land procurement and analyse livelihood for the population affected by socio-economic factors, analyzing the parameters with the social, cultural, and economic related to population, the impact of the procurement of land and influence implementation of the work against the poor, residents of the tribal minorities, alienated, and other vulnerable groups, including women, as well as the institutional framework in planning the liberation of land and the settlements back including duties and responsibilities each institution. In the calculation of the Reasonable Replacement Value using Standar Penilaian Indonesia306 (SPI 306) about the assessment of the provision of Land for development for the benefit of the public

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