scholarly journals Budgeters’ Perceptions of the Scope, Support, and Patterns of Implementation of Performance Budgeting in Texas Cities

2021 ◽  
pp. 79-104
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
General Framework ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Uniform Pattern ◽  
Performance Budgeting ◽  
Comprehensive Performance ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Pattern Of Implementation

This study views performance budgeting as a budget innovation, and examines how this innovation tool has been diffused across the largest cities in the State of Texas, emphasizing the scope and patterns of implementation of this innovation in the context of a state with comprehensive performance budgeting legislation. The study also reports the perceptions of city budgeters vis-à-vis the external and internal factors that may support the use of performance measures in budgeting at the local level, using survey data from a sample of Texas cities with population over 50,000. The results of the study reveal that although performance laws set up the general framework for performance budgeting, they do not seem to generate a uniform pattern of implementation. Cities in our sample are found at different stages of performance budgeting implementation, and have developed different patterns of budgetary practices.

scholarly journals Influence of the Number of Queens on Nest Establishment: Native and Invasive Ant Species

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 591
Author(s):  
Irene Castañeda ◽  
Elsa Bonnaud ◽  
Franck Courchamp ◽  
Gloria Luque
Keyword(s):  
Species Differences ◽  
Argentine Ants ◽  
Invasive Ant ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Ant Colonies ◽  
Worker Behavior ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
Nest Maintenance ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Tapinoma Nigerrimum

As a critical stage in the life cycle of ant colonies, nest establishment depends on external and internal factors. This study investigates the effect of the number of queens on queen and worker behavior during nest establishment in invasive Argentine ants (Linepitema humile) and native Mediterranean Tapinoma nigerrimum. We set up experimental colonies with the same number of workers but with one or six queens. At different time points, we recorded the positions of queens and workers inside and outside the nest. Our results highlight the influence of the number of queens on the position of queens and workers with between-species differences. Queens of both species entered the nests more quickly when there were six queens. During nest establishment, more workers were inside nests with six queens for both species, with this effect being greater for T. nigerrimum. Once nests were established, fewer workers of both species were engaged in nest maintenance and feeding in nests with six queens; T. nigerrimum had fewer workers engaged in patrolling. These results suggest that the number of queens is a key factor driving queen and worker behavior during and after nest establishment with different species responses.

scholarly journals Coworking, the Sharing Economy, and the City: Which Role for the ‘Coworking Entrepreneur’?

Urban Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Durante ◽  
Margherita Turvani
Keyword(s):  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Organizational Factors ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Sharing Economy ◽  
Internal Factors ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Entrepreneurial Action ◽  
Coworking Spaces ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The City

Sharing economy platforms enabled by information and communication technologies (ICTs) are facilitating the diffusion of collaborative workplaces. Coworking spaces are emerging as a distinctive phenomenon in this context, not only fostering knowledge transfer and facilitating innovation, but also affecting the urban and socio-economic fabric contributing to urban regeneration processes at both the local scale and the city scale. Although the positive impacts of coworking on the urban environment are documented, there is still little or no evidence of the economic viability of coworking businesses, and a “coworking bubble” has been evoked. Given the lack of data, a national survey was set up of Italian coworking businesses, aimed at assessing the relevance of internal organizational factors (size, occupancy, profitability, services provided) for the sustainability of coworking businesses. By presenting the results of the survey, we argue that the sustainability and viability of the coworking model is highly dependent on internal factors, strictly related to the entrepreneurial action of coworking managers.

Excellence and gender

2015 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Farinaz Fassa
Keyword(s):  
Gender Equality ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Local Level ◽  
National Level ◽  
Academic Careers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Feminist Movements

Purpose – Discussing the Swiss case, the purpose of this paper is to examine how gender equality policies deal with the present requirements for scholars to be considered “excellent”. It aims to pinpoint the lines of tension or coherence between excellence, meritocracy and gender politics. Design/methodology/approach – In order to specify the norms of academic careers and their different renditions, the author draws on two studies (at local and national levels) to illustrate where the changes and resistances are taking place. Findings – The translations of a number of demands of feminist movements into the policies set up to favour equality between the sexes may combine to challenge the norms of academia as a gendered realm. Nevertheless, without strong pressure from feminists at local level and the conduct of research pursuing the enterprise of deconstructing norms, top-down policies may prove less “corrective” than affirmative action. This pressure is not only useful to build gender equality in science but also to broaden the spectrum of knowledge that can become a common good. Research limitations/implications – As neither the names nor the positions of the experts who select the candidates at national level are made public, we had to opt for other, less satisfactory means. Originality/value – The originality of the paper lies in the link made between the enhancements brought by Equalities policies and the changes they bring. It attempts to bring to light the extent to which gender equality policies conform to the neo-managerial order or challenge its norms to build a world that is more just.

Experience with Managerial and Political Reform Measures at the Local Level in Slovakia

2016 ◽  
pp. 135-160
Author(s):  
Daniel Klimovský
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Political Reform ◽  
Gender Quotas ◽  
Participatory Budgeting ◽  
Main Attention ◽  
Performance Budgeting ◽  
Direct Elections

This chapter is focused on the Slovak experience with decentralization and relating political and managerial innovations. A main goal is to analyze both managerial and political innovations which have been implemented since 1990, when a democratic local government system with directly elected local government bodies was renewed. An additional aim is to show not only intended outcomes but also the outcomes which can be described as unintended. Main attention is especially paid to inter-municipal cooperation, performance budgeting, participatory budgeting, direct elections of mayors, local referenda, etc. However, attention is paid also to those innovations which have never been implemented in Slovakia, e.g. gender quotas or territorial consolidation (amalgamation).

Russia’s New Politics: The Management of a Postcommunist Society. By Stephen White. Cambridge, UK, and New York: Cambridge University Press, 2000. 386p. $65.00 cloth, $25.00 paper.

2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 526-527
Author(s):  
Allen C. Lynch
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Survey Data ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Cambridge University ◽  
New Politics ◽  
Structure Dynamics ◽  
Successful Series ◽  
Russian Politics

After a highly successful series of revisions of his original Gorbachev in Power (1990), which ultimately became After Gorbachev (1993 and 1994), Stephen White has written an entirely new book that takes stock of contemporary Russian politics after nearly a decade of postcommunist experience. He draws upon a mass of new and newly available data, including archival materials, survey data, memoirs and peri- odical literature, interviews with political principals, and a series of Russian elections at the national, regional, and local level. White has written a very solid companion to any course on the structure, dynamics, and economic and social conse- quences of Russian and, to a certain extent, postcommunist politics.

scholarly journals Operational behavior of the MAP/G/1 queue under N-policy with a single vacation and set-up

2002 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-180
Author(s):  
Ho Woo Lee ◽  
Boo Yong Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Performance Measures ◽  
Waiting Time ◽  
Generating Functions ◽  
Queue Length ◽  
Stieltjes Transform ◽  
Arbitrary Time ◽  
Single Vacation ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Computation Algorithms

This paper considers the MAP/G/1 queue under N-policy with a single vacation and set-up. We derive the vector generating functions of the queue length at an arbitrary time and at departures in decomposed forms. We also derive the Laplace-Stieltjes transform of the waiting time. Computation algorithms for mean performance measures are provided.

scholarly journals Measures Implemented by Local Authorities, Particularly in the Sphere of Spatial Policy, and Its Impact on Setting Up and Developing Companies – Opinions Comparison

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 302-318
Author(s):  
Izabela Rogalska ◽  
Renata Marks-Bielska
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Location Factors ◽  
Local Authorities ◽  
Spatial Policy ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Spatial Resources

AbstractResearch background: The development of business on a local level depends on a variety of factors, which as is often the case are shaped by the local authorities. An example of activities carried out by local governments in order to help develop businesses is the management of the spatial resources in a given municipality in such a way as to facilitate starting and developing companies.Purpose: The principal objective of this study has been to identify how local authorities and businessmen perceive the role of conditions associated with the municipality’s spatial policy in terms of starting and conducting a business.Research methodology: The research results rely on primary data acquired by conducting a survey based on a questionnaire designed by the authors.Results: The results permitted to demonstrate differences and similarities among the opinions of our respondents concerning factors linked to the spatial policy of a municipality that have an impact on decisions to set up and develop companies. Among the location factors, the most important ones, according to both local governments and businessmen, were the state of the local infrastructure, such as IT, transportation, communication, waterworks and sewers, power supply.Novelty: The confrontation of the replies provided by local authorities and by entrepreneurs concerns spatial policy, and the territorial scope of the research covering the whole of Poland, the different types of enterprises from various branches are the innovative element of the study.

scholarly journals Cricket performance measures

2009 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-34
Author(s):  
Hoffie Lemmer
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Weighted Average ◽  
Performance Measure ◽  
Present Form ◽  
National Team ◽  
Higher Weights ◽  
Alternative Measures ◽  
Batting Performance

The purpose of this paper is to present a summary of batting and bowling performance measures that have been developed over a period of eight years. The measure of batting performance (BP) consists of three components. Firstly, an exponentially weighted average (EWA) is calculated in which recent scores have higher weights than scores further back in time in order to get a measure that adequately reflects the batsman’s present form. EWA is then adjusted up- or downwards depending on the batsman’s consistency and strike rate. This measure was subsequently generalized to BPW which includes weights for runs scored against specific countries in home or away matches separately. In the case of bowling, the first challenge was to develop a single comprehensive measure of bowling performance, the combined bowling rate (CBR) for limited overs matches and the dynamic bowling rate (DBR) for unlimited overs matches. Hence, by alsotaking bowling consistency into account, the current bowling performance measure (CBP) wasdeveloped. This measure was also extended to include weights for wickets taken and runs concededagainst each international team in home or away matches. These measures contain parametersthat were based on players’ scores up to the specific date of calculation. Before using the latestavailable data for the present presentation, it is logical to update these parameters. This hasbeen done in the present study. If a player performs well at local level, it is important to be ableto compare his performance with those of players already in the national team. Weights havebeen determined for runs scored by batsmen and also for runs conceded and wickets taken bybowlers in local matches, whereby the performances of players can be compared irrespective ofthe proportion of international matches played by each player. After having used the measures onvarious occasions the need arose to revise some of them slightly. The updated measures are thenused to give rankings of South African batsmen and bowlers in First Class and List A matchesalike. Methods have also been developed to compare the batting and bowling performances ofplayers after a short series of matches. It was shown that the traditional average could haveunrealistic values in the case of a batsman who had a large percentage of not out scores in ashort series. Alternative measures have been developed and shown to give much more realisticvalues. In the case of bowling it is important not only to count the number of wickets a bowlerhas taken, but to distinguish between the wickets of top and middle order batsmen on the onehand and lower order batsmen on the other. A system has been established whereby weights areattached to the wickets according to the batting position of the batsman. Instead of just countingthe number of wickets taken, the sum of the weights of the wickets taken by the bowler is usedin the calculation of CBR* or DBR*. Finally, the latest form of the game, Twenty20 cricket, isalso discussed. 

scholarly journals REFORMING OF THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN UKRAINE: PRACTICAL ASPECTS

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (11) ◽  
pp. 271-281
Author(s):  
Mikhail Pavlovich Mazurenko
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Voluntary Association ◽  
State Budget ◽  
The Road ◽  
District Council ◽  
Administrative Unit ◽  
Set Up

The practical aspects of the reform of local government in Ukraine at the present stage of decentralization of power are highlighted, namely: in the conditions of voluntary association of territorial communities on the example of Koropsky district of Chernihiv region. It is proved that the administrative and territorial reform of the territorial formation of the administrative unit, which will carry the name of the rayon and which will unite several united territorial communities, should be a logical continuation of the process of completion of the association of territorial communities. This should depend on the geographical location, the availability of infrastructure, the road transport network, the avail- ability of medical services, and other factors. It was noted that in order to ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Concept for the reform of local self-government and the territorial organiza- tion of power in Ukraine, a district council of representatives of OTG should be formed in such a structural unit, which will provide the main powers of lo- cal government bodies at the district level. The district council should establish its own executive body, which should be under its control and accountable. The system of central executive authorities in the newly created administrative unit (rayon) may be represented by the relevant body set up by the Cabinet of Minis- ters of Ukraine, whose functions should include the coordination of the activities of the territorial units of the executive power on the ground and control over the targeted and effective use of the State budget funds that will be received on the development of the respective territories. It has been determined that local authorities, which are one of the main sub- jects of public administration at the local level and, in particular, the develop- ment of territories, most in their activity take into account the traditions of the people, their mentality, the level of development of civil society and its ability.

scholarly journals BANDED VAULTS IN TURIN: TLS SURVEY, GEOMETRIC INTERPRETATION, DIGITAL RE-CONSTRUCTION, BETWEEN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION. PALAZZO CAPRIS DI CIGLIÈ

2021 ◽  
Vol XLVI-M-1-2021 ◽  
pp. 793-800
Author(s):  
M. Vitali ◽  
M. C. López González ◽  
G. Bertola ◽  
F. Natta
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Geometric Interpretation ◽  
Parametric Model ◽  
Parametric Modeling ◽  
Focus Attention ◽  
Survey Analysis ◽  
Digital Modeling ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Design And Construction

Abstract. This contribution intends to focus attention on the banded vault (‘a fascioni’) that characterizes the atrium of the Capris di Cigliè Palace in Turin, whose construction is dated around 1730 and is attributed to Gian Giacomo Plantery (1680–1756).The work of survey, analysis, interpretation and digital modeling has been organized in phases (detailed respectively in the next paragraphs) which have allowed us to: study the criteria of architectural-geometric composition at the base of the complex vaulted system that is the object of the present study and to relate them to the most usual operative practices of construction, in particular to the realization and arrangement of the centerings; organize the survey on the basis of the main treatise and manual sources, in order to choose the most appropriate working methods; analyze survey data and set up a parametric model of geometric interpretation; make a comparison between the survey data and the interpretive model.In particular, the phases of geometric reading and interpretation, parametric modeling and discussion of the results were structured with the aim of studying in detail the different arches that define the structure of the banded vault.

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