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This paper seeks to analyse the different characteristics a bill of lading holds as a document of title, including the proprietary effects a transfer of goods in transit can have and the bill's use as a means of security as well as its limitations in mo6dern international commerce.

The paper examines the document's nature and the evolution of its traditional legal functions. The analysis includes, among other things, the implications different types of bills have as an instrument in commercial trade. Special attention is given to the attributes that are likely to limit the bill's application in modern international trade, concerning both its scope and value. Finally, the paper offers a set of conclusions and suggests reform measures.

The paper shows how technological innovations in recent years have resulted in the emergence of new forms of transport documentation that might challenge the bill's role in the future. The paper provides a clear understanding of the problems associated with the bill's current form and outlines the main approaches proposed to meet its need for reform.

The paper offers a conceptual analysis of the bill's weak points and discusses how simplification and standardisation, a central registry system and electronic transmission of information may be able to increase efficiency.

Critical assessment undertaken may pave the way for an open discussion on the subject. Legal culture and mercantile customs should be taken into consideration if a successful and sustainable reform is to be achieved.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a healthcare service redesign. Before 1998, five community hospitals in Winnipeg each managed their intensive care units (ICUs) independently, providing virtually no access to patients in rural and remote regions of the province of Manitoba; and two tertiary university affiliated hospitals were left with insufficient intensive care beds to service the rest of the provincial population in addition to their tertiary service responsibilities. The authors resolved to create a city‐wide integrated critical care services model, in order to improve patient access, quality of care and cost effectiveness.

A population demand analysis was performed and service objectives were defined. A gap analysis became the basis of an integrated service model design and an implementation plan was formulated.

Beds were redistributed among community hospital ICUs to match available nursing resources. A credentialing process was developed to establish medical competency for attending physicians. A central bed registry and a referral triage system were implemented, to ensure that any Manitoban requiring an ICU admission acquired an appropriate bed in a timely manner. A regional computerized critical care database was introduced to all ICUs. The total number of beds was reduced from 92 to 84 and total occupancy fell from 65 to 58. The new model was entirely funded from bed reductions.

This paper describes the integration of a group of hospital‐based ICUs into a regional service delivery model developed to meet the needs of a provincial population.

The purpose of this paper is to consider what the impact of the first six months of the Freedom of Information Act has been on archives and records management services in UK public services. The UK Freedom of Information Act was passed in 2000 and came into full operation on 1 January 2005. It gives people, regardless of nationality, a right to be told whether public bodies hold information and to be provided with that information. Similar legislation exists in over 50 countries including the USA, Canada, Australia and Ireland.

The project undertook interviews with four case study organisations: University College London, the Metropolitan Police, Peterborough City Council and Soham Village College. Using the Department for Constitutional Affairs Model Action Plan, the researchers examined leadership and policy, training and awareness, information and records management, customers and stakeholders and systems and procedures.

The research showed that the four case study organisations coped well with the requests they received in the first six months of 2005. However, the systems would not have been robust enough had request levels been higher.

Archives and records management services are a key part of FOI and should take an active role in research to establish best practice.

To share the experience of implementing an electronic records management system, pointing out the specific problems that can occur.

Drawing on actual experience, the paper goes through the process of implementing an electronic records management system from procurement to training. Any particular problems or things to look out for are pointed out along the way.

In spite of extensive training, most staff never got to grips with the system. This was partially due to three things: (1) staff found the system user unfriendly; (2) the way parts of the system were set up; and (3) having to create complicated business rules to direct staff where the system could not. No electronic records management system can do this beforehand, so that the system automates practice rather than trying to introduce it.

By showing potential problems and failed solutions to those problems, the paper should prevent help those undertaking future implementations from making the same mistakes.

This paper is for any records professional involved in or thinking about implementing an electronic records management system, and is intended to point out areas that are particularly likely to cause an implementation to fail so that these can be avoided.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the current state of consumer education in the context of responsible gambling in Macao and to suggest ways in which Macao could enhance its consumer education efforts to meet its challenges with regard to responsible gambling.

Exploratory and interpretative approaches have been adopted to suggest why and how Macao should strengthen responsible gambling education. The methodology involved extensive review of relevant academic research, government documents and reports related to Macao's responsible gambling initiatives.

Effective long-term responsible gambling education is needed in Macao to further people's understanding of gambling and gambler's fallacy. The government should take leadership in influencing all stakeholders toward effective initiatives and behaviors related to responsible gambling education.

Although research on responsible gambling education is still in its infancy, its importance in reducing common misconceptions about gambling has already been established. This study contributes to strengthen Macao's responsible gambling practices by proposing several changes needed to provide desired outcomes through consumer education.

The purpose of this paper is to present a case study of a healthcare service redesign. In 2005, sleep disorder diagnostic assessments for patients in the Province of Manitoba were conducted at two independent sites. Referrals had accumulated, creating a waiting list of over 3,400 patients while only 1,200 patients were studied annually. Wait times for diagnosis and treatment increased dramatically. No managed patient database existed, nor were there standards to measure the effectiveness of the services.

A systems analysis approach was used which including population demand analysis, value stream mapping and refining the clinical service objectives. The current and desired state of the system was defined and a gap analysis became the foundation of a change management plan.

A system redesign resulted in tripling the throughput with a 35 per cent increase in operating budget, evaluation metrics, elimination of diagnostic handling and treatment start delays, and an increase in treatment rates for positively diagnosed patients from 55 to 70 per cent.

This paper provides an example of how healthcare services can be envisioned using a systems analysis approach.

The purpose of this paper is to present a concept of the protocol for public registries based on blockchain. New database protocol aims to use the benefits of blockchain technologies and ensure their interoperability.

This paper is framed with design science research (DSR). The primary method is exaptation, i.e. adoption of solutions from other fields. The research is looking into existing technologies which are applied here as elements of the protocol: Name-Value Storage (NVS), Berkley DB, RAID protocol, among others. The choice of NVS as a reference technology for creating a database over blockchain is based on the analysis and comparison with two other similar technologies Bigchain and Amazon QLDB.

The proposed mechanism allows creating a standard database over a bundle of distributed ledgers. It ensures a blockchain agnostic approach and uses the benefits of various blockchain technologies in one ecosystem. In this scheme, blockchains play the role of journal storages (immutable log), whereas the overlaid database is the indexed storage. The distinctive feature of such a system is that in blockchain, users can perform peer-to-peer transactions directly in the ledger using blockchain native mechanism of user access management with public-key cryptography (blockchain does not require to administrate its database).

This paper presents a new method of creating a public peer-to-peer database across a bundle of distributed ledgers.

Many recent social media posts and news may create a perception of big success in the use of blockchain for the real estate industry, land registration and protection of titles and property rights. A sobering outlook is crucial because misleading concepts may bury the whole idea of blockchain use. This paper aims to research the possibilities of blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies (DLT) and applicability of these technologies for different purposes in real estate, property rights and public registries.

This research is framed with policy studies and focuses on property rights, land registration regulatory framework and information and communication technologies innovations. The context of this paper is decentralization which has been developed in political science studies and the role of blockchain and DLT in it. Therefore, the provided analysis of blockchain and DLT is interdisciplinary research to interpret the facets of DLT technologies in the context of real estate and land title registration.

Permissioned and private DLT systems cannot be considered a significant evolutionary step in government systems. Blockchain, which is distinguished from permissioned systems as the technology of the immutable ledger that does not require authorities, is a new word in governance. However, this technology has some principal features that can restrain its implementation at the state level and thus require further research and development. The application of blockchain requires a proper architecture of overlaid technologies to support changes of outdated and mistaken data, address issues of digital identity and privacy, legal compliance and enforceability of smart contracts and scalability of the ledger.

This paper shows the constraints of the technology’s properties which were not explained before in the context of title rights and land registration even though technological limits are known in more specific technical sources. Along with the known benefits this meant to help to avoid misinterpretation of some DLT features by non-technical people. A multidisciplinary approach in analyzing the technology and laws helped to better understand what can and cannot be beneficial for public registries and the protection of property rights. The presented outcomes can be laid down as requirements for the technical protocols aimed at addressing the issues of DLT and public policies to put blockchain at the service of society.

The recent adoption by the US Federal Trade Commission of the national Do‐Not‐Call Registry prohibiting most telemarketers from contacting individuals once their number is added to the listing is a threat to the US domestic telemarketing industry. Analysis of US federal law suggests that the national registry is likely an unconstitutional exercise of administrative power. To be legal, governmental prior restraints on commercial speech must pass the four‐part Central Hudson test adopted by the US Supreme Court. The Do‐Not‐Call Registry fails parts three and four of the test and probably part two as well. There is an insufficient fit between the stated governmental purpose of the regulation and its operation. Moreover, balancing the benefits from the registry against the harm it inflicts further militates against its constitutionality. International and public relations implications are explored and discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to review land/real estate registration practice in Hong Kong, and make an in-depth comparison with Mainland China and finally provide helpful suggestions for the government.

Research methods including document analysis/review and comparative study are used in this paper.

The main findings focus on the problems existing in the mainland, including narrow query subject, single way of query, limited query time, and lacking of incentive mechanism. Helpful suggestions for real estate registration system in Mainland China are offered based on the comparative study.

The unified registration system can improve the efficiency of administrative institutions to ensure an open and transparent environment of property right registration, which helps prevent the relevant departments from abusing administrative power and harming the interests of obligees. The findings of this research can serve as a useful reference for policy makers to improve the unified registration system in China.

The registration system/mechanism determines the efficiency and effectiveness of real estate/land market. However, land registration and query in some countries such as Mainland China have institutional problems which hinder the sustained and healthy development of the real estate industry. The value of this paper is to propose constructive suggestions for such countries/regions by comparing and learning from a good model.