Search results
1 – 10 of over 3000An optimal control model is built considering the private sector's opportunistic effort diversion and reciprocal effort improvement, while a numerical study is conducted to draw…
Abstract
Purpose
An optimal control model is built considering the private sector's opportunistic effort diversion and reciprocal effort improvement, while a numerical study is conducted to draw some managerial implications.
Design/methodology/approach
In infrastructure PPP projects, private sectors may opportunistically divert part of their effort from the current projects to other projects to allocate their limited human resources. Nevertheless, this effort diversion can be inhibited by dynamic incentives since the private sectors reciprocally exert greater effort into the current projects when receiving the dynamic incentives. This article investigates how the government specifies the output standard that the private sector should meet and offers dynamic incentives to mitigate the private sector's opportunistic effort diversion.
Findings
The output standard for the private sector to acquire the dynamic incentives should be specified as the output level corresponding to the private sector's optimal long-run stationary equilibrium (OLSE) effort level, which decreases with its reciprocal preference level but increases with its effort-diverting level. The optimal dynamic incentives comprise an initial incentive and a periodic OLSE incentive, which declines with the reciprocal preference level but improves with the effort-diverting level. Besides, the numerical study reveals that the government should distinguish whether the bidders have high effort-diverting levels and, if so, should focus on their reciprocal preference levels and decline the bidders with low reciprocal preference to avoid utility loss.
Originality/value
This article provides a theoretical model combining opportunistic behavior with reciprocal preference through an optimal control lens, thus embedding the problem of incentive design into a broader socioeconomic framework.
Details
Keywords
William Wells and Joseph A. Schafer
The purpose of this paper is to explore police officer perceptions of their contacts with the mentally ill and examine outcomes of an innovative police training program designed…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore police officer perceptions of their contacts with the mentally ill and examine outcomes of an innovative police training program designed to improve police handling of cases involving the mentally ill.
Design/methodology/approach
The study utilizes a sample of 126 police officer respondents from five departments in northern Indiana to understand their perceptions of important aspects of their contacts with the mentally ill.
Findings
Results show the actual dispositions for the mentally ill frequently do not match the outcomes officers desire, police training on responding to the mentally ill is not sufficient, and the training component of an innovative reform holds promise for improving officers' ability to respond to situations that involve the mentally ill.
Research limitations/implications
The study is limited to one community and results may not generalize to communities with distinct mental health resources. Perceptions of police contacts with the mentally ill were not obtained from mental health service providers, advocates, and persons with a mental illness.
Originality/value
Contacts between the police and the mentally ill pose complex challenges for officers. Advocates contend that too many persons with a mental illness end up in jail as a result of police contacts and, thus, promote jail diversion programs. For jail diversion to succeed it is critical to understand officer perceptions of the outcomes they desire for the mentally ill and the obstacles that inhibit appropriate dispositions. Evidence about the outcomes of specialized police training can improve officers' knowledge and perceived ability to respond to the mentally ill.
Details
Keywords
Kimberly McCoy, Justin J. Oliver, D. Scott Borden and Scott I. Cohn
This paper aims to test a nudge, or intervention, designed through behavioral insights at a university campus to discover cost-effective means for increasing recycling…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to test a nudge, or intervention, designed through behavioral insights at a university campus to discover cost-effective means for increasing recycling participation and methods for estimating waste removal cost savings.
Design/methodology/approach
A series of studies were conducted demonstrating the effectiveness of behaviorally based recycling interventions. Study locations included an academic building, a performing arts/studio arts building, a sports complex and a campus library. All locations already had robust and visible recycling programs in operation. Following an observation period, modifications were made to the locations of waste and recycling containers. Waste auditing procedures were used to quantify existing waste diversion rates, and changes to those rates following changes in choice architecture.
Findings
Waste diversion rates improved and significant reductions in the proportion of recyclable materials in the trash were observed at all four study locations. Results indicate that the nudge of changing choice architecture can enhance recycling programs that are already recognized as successful. This paper also explains methods for estimating waste removal, which are important as it enables calculations of cost savings from such interventions. Finally, targeting plastic bottles to increase return on investment is recommended.
Practical implications
Other colleges and universities can apply these methods to improve existing recycling programs and realize cost savings.
Originality value
This is the first study to investigate the use of a nudge on waste management issues on a university campus. An easy-to-replicate method, which allows measuring realized cost savings, is explained.
Details
Keywords
Jonathan C. Clayfield, Albert J. Grudzinskas, William H. Fisher and Kristen Roy-Bujnowski
Large numbers of adults with mental illness detained by police, seen in the courts, and confined in prisons and jails has been a longstanding concern of officials in the mental…
Abstract
Large numbers of adults with mental illness detained by police, seen in the courts, and confined in prisons and jails has been a longstanding concern of officials in the mental health and criminal justice systems. Diversion programs represent an important strategy to counteract the criminalization of persons with mental illness. The challenge is to identify and integrate resources in such a way that an organization bridging the police, courts, mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, welfare and entitlements agencies would evolve that would effectively and appropriately serve offenders with mental health issues, keeping them stable in the community and reducing recidivism.
This paper aims to look at two recently published studies from the UK that report on using geo‐engineering solutions
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to look at two recently published studies from the UK that report on using geo‐engineering solutions
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines the geo‐engineering solutions suggested by the two publications: to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, or reflect solar radiation back into space.
Findings
The paper finds that using geo‐engineering solutions to remove CO2 from the atmosphere, or reflect solar radiation back into space, may well be needed in order help avoid dangerous temperature increases and climate change. The publications agree that certain solutions, ranging from artificial trees and algae covered buildings to fleets of sea salt spraying cloud ships are technically possible, could be effective and so need to be investigated further. However, both studies also emphasize that geo‐engineering is no silver bullet that can combat climate change in isolation. Moreover, it must not be seen as a diversion from efforts to reduce carbon emissions through mitigation. However, as reduction efforts to date have yet to deliver anything like what is needed, the studies state that geo‐engineering solutions of the type they propose should be further investigated, and those with merit invested in and used to buy the world time to decarbonize the global economy.
Originality/value
The two recently published studies from the UK provide useful information on geo‐engineering solutions to help avoid dangerous temperature increases and climate change.
Details
Keywords
Nigeria's anti-corruption efforts.
Details
DOI: 10.1108/OXAN-DB227848
ISSN: 2633-304X
Keywords
Geographic
Topical
This article evaluates contemporary Cuban economic policy and development prospects after a decade of market experimentation in a socialist context. An introductory historical…
Abstract
This article evaluates contemporary Cuban economic policy and development prospects after a decade of market experimentation in a socialist context. An introductory historical review assesses the successes and failures of Cuban development policy in the 1970s and 1980s and describes the staggering dimensions of the economic crisis triggered by the abrupt disruption of Cuba's relations with the Soviet bloc in 1989–1991. The next section, “To the market in the 1990s,” examines Cuban efforts to stabilize the economy in the early 1990s while maintaining a strong social safety net. The historic policy shift toward limited market liberalization within a state-dominated economy is analyzed and the key market concessions described. The economic turnaround of the late 1990s and Cuban macroeconomic and industrial performance over the past decade are then examined. The final part of the article evaluates the coherence and sustainability of Cuba's emerging economic model and assesses prospects for the survival of some form of Cuban socialism.
Argues that the collapse of socialism in the former Soviet Union aswell as the collapse of that state resulted from a complex interactionof both internal and external factors…
Abstract
Argues that the collapse of socialism in the former Soviet Union as well as the collapse of that state resulted from a complex interaction of both internal and external factors. Internally the systemic transformation is significantly impeded by the hysteretic memory of the old system and its functioning. External pressures influence the pace and the scope of this transformation, conditioning Western assistance to the reform process by the demands for rapid convergence to the path of the resolute marketization. The evolution of the internal and external circumstances has brought about the current crisis in the former Soviet Union and raised the critical question of tactical and strategic goals.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper to synthesise much of the existing research on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and offending behaviour.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper to synthesise much of the existing research on autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and offending behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
It considers three key areas, namely, first, a discussion about the nature of ASD and how it might be related to offending behaviour; second, a brief commentary about the prevalence of this population; and, finally, an exploration of the effective management and possible treatment outcomes.
Findings
Methodological limitations have resulted in variable findings which has hindered our understanding of this population. Some of the research is based on small, highly specialist samples making prevalence difficult to measure. The link between ASD and offending is still not well understood, and despite advances in staff training, awareness amongst practitioners remains an underdeveloped area, thus yielding variable treatment outcomes.
Originality/value
This review continues to demonstrate the urgent need for robust research in order to better understand the link between ASD and offending behaviour, to provide tailored, needs-led interventions, and reduce the risk of offending amongst this group as a whole.
Details
Keywords
William E. Shafer and Yves Gendron
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recently proposed a global consulting credential involving a diverse set of professions including accountancy…
Abstract
Purpose
The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) recently proposed a global consulting credential involving a diverse set of professions including accountancy, business law, and information technology. The proposal was widely debated in the professional literature, and was a divisive issue among CPAs. In late 2001, the AICPA membership voted against any further commitment to the credential. The purpose of this paper is to examine the global credential initiative in an effort to understand why professional jurisdictional claims may fail at the theorization stage.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper relies primarily on a qualitative review and analysis of archival materials and published articles and commentaries relating to the global credential project.
Findings
The analysis indicates that the AICPA failed to establish either the pragmatic or moral legitimacy of the proposed credential in the eyes of the audiences. This failure appears to be attributable to the sociopolitical environment in which the credential was promoted, and to flaws in the rhetoric used by the AICPA to articulate its jurisdictional claim.
Research limitations/implications
The paper demonstrates the importance of legitimacy to the ability to successfully theorize institutional changes.
Originality/value
This paper investigates how the AICPA theorized the global credential knowledge claim, and how theorization failed to persuade the audiences to support the credential.
Details