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Mounting fiscal constraints and increasing complexity of public services have led governments to search for alternative service delivery mechanisms. The public–private partnership (PPP) is one type of service arrangement in which the public and private sectors enter into a long-term cooperative relationship for the purpose of delivering a public good or service. Despite increasing private sector participation in developing nations, there is a need for more systematic assessment of PPPs in such countries. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect the adoption and implementation of projects in the context of developing countries.

A multiple case holistic design is employed to analyze 19 select projects across several developing countries to identify and pool clusters of variables that facilitate or impede PPPs.

The results indicate five broad categories of political, economic, legislative, financial and management requisites.

A limitation of this research is that the cases were not selected at random. However, the projects are spread across several areas such as public health, public utilities, public works, transportation and water/wastewater infrastructure in different countries. This allows the authors to examine how the common factors apply across different contextual settings.

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature by examining several developing countries to identify and pool clusters of variables that facilitate or impede the effective implementation of PPP projects in the context of such regions.

This paper investigates the impact of structural breaks on volatility spillovers between Asian stock markets (China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan) and the oil futures market. To this end, we apply the bivariate DCC-GARCH model to weekly spot indices during the period 1998-2015. The results reveal significant volatility transmission for the pairs between the Asian stock and oil futures markets. Moreover, we find a significant variability in the time-varying conditional correlations between the considered markets during both bullish and bearish markets, particularly from early 2007 to the summer of 2008. Using the modified ICSS algorithm, we find several sudden changes in these markets with a common break date centred on September 15, 2008. This date corresponds to the collapse of Lehman Brothers which is considered as our breakpoint to define the global financial crisis. Also, we analyse the optimal portfolio weights and time-varying hedge ratios based on the estimates of the multivariate DCC-GARCH model. The results emphasize the importance of overweighting optimal portfolios between Asian stock and the oil futures markets.

This study investigates the influence of theoretical determinants on the Korea sovereign CDS spreads from January 2007 to September 2009 based on structural credit risk model. For the analysis of determinants on the sovereign CDS spread, this study adopts interest swap rate as reference interest rate, and decomposes yields curve into two components, ie, interest level and slope. Considering multivariate regression in level and difference variables, Stock returns and Interest rates have a significant effect on the CDS spreads among the theoretical determinants of structural credit risk models. CDS spreads may behave quite differently during volatile regime compared with their behavior in tranquil regime. We therefore apply Markov switching model to investigate the possibility that the influence of theoretical determinants of CDS spread has a regime dependent behavior. In all regimes Korean sovereign CDS spreads are highly sensitive to stock market returns, whereas in tranquil regime interest rates also have influence on CDS spreads. We conclude that for the efficient hedging of CDS exposure trader should adjust equity hedge ratio to the relevant regime.

This paper investigates the price discovery, volatility spillover, and asymmetric volatility spillover effects between the KOSPI 200 market and its futures contracts market. The investigation was performed using the VECM-DCC-GARCH approach. In the case of returns, we found a significant unidirectional information flow from the futures market to the spot market; this implies that the KOSPI 200 futures market plays an important role on the price discovery in the spot market. In addition, we found a strong bi-directional casualty involving the volatility interaction between the spot and futures markets; this implies that market volatility originating in the spot market will influence the volatility of the futures market and vice versa. We also found strong asymmetric volatility spillover effects between the two markets.

This paper aims to present recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy, providing an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts.

This paper introduces and annotates English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, reports and other materials on library instruction and information literacy published in 2019.

The paper provides a brief description of all 370 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

The aim of this study was to develop a smart wearable mask designed for the prevention of respiratory infectious diseases by understanding consumer's preferences in designs and functions of the smart wearable masks.

To develop a smart mask design, a survey was conducted on Chinese consumers in their 20–40s and analyzed their mask wearing behaviors, preferences and caring aspects of masks. The collected data were analyzed to identify the demographic characteristics of the subjects surveyed by using the SPSS program, and technical statistical analysis was conducted. To identify differences in demographic characteristics, an independent samples t-test, one-way analysis of variance and Scheffe's ad hoc test were conducted.

Based on the research results, design guidelines for wearable masks were defined, and four wearable mask designs were developed and presented in 2D and 3D images based on the design guidelines. There were significant differences among people with different backgrounds.

It is significant that this research presents smart wearable mask design guidelines and designs through supplementation and improvement of existing mask. It is expected that this research provides basic empirical data for mask designs through the planning of smart wearable mask designs and surveys assessing consumer perceptions, attitudes and satisfaction.

The objective of this paper is to understand changes and progress of the Korean childcare regime by examining the evolutional process of childcare initiatives that were developed since the Japanese colonial rule.

This study employed a qualitative-based research design with a particular emphasis on explanatory research. Meanwhile, the data were gathered through the peer-reviewed literature and reports.

The findings indicate that Korea has had three types of childcare regimes: effective-informal, productivist and inclusive-liberal orientation. It also pinpoints that while the care regime development followed the European regime, the egalitarian society, which is a social prerequisite for modern welfare state-building, has not yet been fully established. This paradoxical situation eventually impedes the development of universal childcare aimed at promoting gender equality and a work-life balance.

This article offers a model and characteristics of the Korean childcare regime dating back to the Japanese colonial period up until the Moon Jae-In administration, where it still receives less attention in most of the social policy literature (see Table 1).

This study aims to investigate the historical technological catch-up processes with particular attention to the role of windows of opportunity (WoO). As Industry 4.0 becomes the benchmark of many latecomer countries, this paper may provide guidelines to both policymakers and business practitioners. For clarifying how to catch up with the incumbents and leaders, the authors summarize the lessons based on the historical observations to conclude the pathways for latecomers who aim to reduce the gaps to leaders and manage catch-up. This study enriches the literature of catch-up from a holistic view with fresh insights into how and where to catch up.

The authors analyze the technological catch-up processes emerged in advanced industrial powers, newly industrialized countries (NICs) and emerging economies (EEs). By categorizing the countries into three kinds, they summarize the processes of catch-up along with the industry evolutions. Moreover, they explore how WoO may facilitate the catch-up processes from one stage to the next in above-mentioned categories. Doing so helps to further examine how technological catch-up and WoO interplay and differ among countries. Then, the authors further investigate the latecomers and incumbents and conclude the target choosing, path setting and direction selecting when implementing a catch-up strategy.

This study shows that technological catch-up emerged first in advanced industrial powers (AIPs), then in NICs and recently in EEs. Technological catch-up processes in AIPs and NICs take longer time than those in EEs. WoO from policy, market and technology usually collaboratively facilitate the technological catch-up processes in AIPs and NICs. However, in EEs, single WoO can lead to a successful catch-up. The authors further summarize the directions and pathways of catch-up: AIPs and NICs are normally considered by some latecomers to catch up with, while EEs are not.

This study is among the first to systematically review the historical developments of industry evolutions by focusing the technological catch-up based on the different categories of countries: AIPs, NICs and EEs. Moreover, the authors are also among the first few integrating the WoO and technological catch-up processes in different kinds of countries. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, they are also one of the pioneers who highlight the directions and pathways of latecomers and target choosing to catch up with. They also explore the possibility of selecting EEs as catch-up targets.

This paper concentrated on the objective evaluation of total hand value in knitted fabrics using the theory of neural networks and the comparison of two methods. For the objective evaluation of overall hand feeling in knitted fabric, 47 kinds of weft‐knitted and warp‐knitted fabrics were manufactured. The optimum construction of neural networks was investigated through the change of layer and neuron number. For the comparison of the two methods, a subjective test was carried out. Two techniques, KES‐FB system and neural network applied simulator, were compared using nine randomly selected knitted fabrics. These fabrics were used to show that the neural network adapted simulation method was in good agreement with subjective test results.

In this study, in order to facilitate application of the NNs as well as to provide user‐friendly conditions, a performance diagnostic computer code using MATLAB^® was newly proposed. As a result, not only more precise and prompt analysis results can be obtained due to use of the toolbox in MATLAB^® on diagnosis and numerical analysis, but also the graphical user interface platform can be realized. The proposed engine diagnostics system is able to train the BPN with each fault pattern and then construct the total training network by assembling the trained BPNs. The database for network learning and test was constructed using a gas turbine performance simulation program. In order to investigate reliability on construction of the database for diagnostic results, an analysis is performed with five combination cases of 40 fault patterns. Finally, a diagnostic application example for the PT6A‐62 turboprop engine is performed using the trained network with the database, which represents the best diagnostic results among test sets.