Do accountabilities change when public organisations transform to service systems: A new conceptual approach

In this conceptual paper, we discuss from the service systems perspective how accountabilities differ from a hierarchic and organisational perspective within the domain of New Public Management, looking to shed new light upon accountability as a research topic. The concept of service systems and their accountabilities are scrutinised and the role of integrated social and health care services is discussed in particular. The main argument in the text is the changing nature of accountabilities as the public organisations are being transformed into service systems. To date, the understanding of accountability has remained structural by nature – such is the case also for productivity measurement – but the shift from organisations towards services systems means that accountability ought to be considered as processual by nature. By processual it is meant that accountability should be considered as flows within systems – that is: flows between agents the content of which we argue includes not only knowledge on the outputs of public services, but also values, empathy and thus multi‐layered understanding of accountability. The paper concludes with practical insights for managerial purposes on the basis for this accountability shift.     

Pesticide‐handling practices: the case of coffee growers in Papua New Guinea

Pesticide mismanagement potentially has high risks for farmers, households living in the community and the environment. In Papua New Guinea where farming is the primary occupation, there is evidence of dangerous herbicide application methods being used by coffee growers. Using original survey data for coffee smallholders from four provinces, we assess the factors driving farmers' use of personal protective equipment when preparing and applying herbicides, and farmers' disposal of agro‐chemical containers. We control for households' demographic variables and measure the impact of farmers' training in pest and disease management. We use the special regressor method to estimate binary choice models featuring an endogenous binary regressor (training). Our results show that human capital (education) and training are important drivers of farmers' pesticide‐handling practices, with marginal effects estimated at 10 and 22 per cent, respectively.     

Gentrifier? Who,Me? Interrogating the Gentrifier in the Mirror

Schlichtman and Patch suggest that there is an elephant sitting in the academic corner: while urbanists often use ‘gentrification’ as a pejorative term in formal and informal academic conversation, many urbanists are gentrifiers themselves. Even though urbanists have this firsthand experience with the process, this familiarity makes little impact on scholarly debate. There is, Schlichtman and Patch argue, an artificial distance in accounts of gentrification because researchers have not adequately examined their own relationship to the process. Utilizing a simple diagnostic tool that includes ten common aspects of gentrification, they compose two autoethnographic memoirs to begin this dialogue.     

新能源汽车产业发展商业模式研究

商业模式是新能源汽车产业化的关键。从核心商业要素上看,新能源汽车产业主要出现了降低新能源汽车电池成本、解决能源供给问题和满足消费者需求三种核心商业要素的商业模式;从产业组织上看,新能源汽车产业主要有拓展型、介入型和合作型三种商业模式。为了构建有效的新能源汽车商业模式,需要明确发展重点、加大宏观指导、开展示范运营和创新试点工作以及协调好相关利益等。     

The design of light-handed regulation of airports: Lessons from experience in Australia and New Zealand

The difficulties experienced with traditional forms of economic regulation of airports involving direct control of prices have led to an interest in light-handed regulatory frameworks. Experience with light-handed regulation of airports is primarily confined to Australia and New Zealand. The paper examines the design features of light-handed regulation in Australia and New Zealand in relation to the stated objectives associated with the introduction of light-handed regulation. The paper identifies important aspects associated with the design of light-handed regulation including the incorporation of a credible threat of stronger regulation and the characteristics of this, and an apparent trade-off in objectives achieved with different approaches to light-handed regulation.     

匹配式管理模式在汽车城规划建设中的探索与应用

针对两江国际汽车城规划建设中招商引资困难的问题,结合两江国际汽车城的实际情况、资源条件以及发展趋势,设计了匹配式管理模式.在阐述匹配式管理模式内涵基础上,对匹配式管理体系的组成要素、框架结构、匹配关系等进行了分析,并对该管理模式在实际中的应用效果及推广意义进行了总结.     

The effects of capacity reduction policy under the interest rate peg in China

Capacity reduction has been a recurrent theme in China's economic policy. The central government takes various administrative measures to remove excess capacity, accumulated mainly due to underpriced production factors and distorted incentives. I evaluate the de-capacity policy in a series of models and prove that its effects depend critically on its persistence and monetary policy regime. Under an interest rate peg, a transient policy that changes markup temporarily is ineffective and even expansionary, whereas a persistent policy is effective due to a negative wealth effect. A permanent de-capacity policy can lead to over-reactions in macro variables because the interest rate peg adds positive feedback to the economy. Therefore, the de-capacity policy has greater uncertainty under the interest rate peg. As a policy tool, it easily deviates from its target and brings about excessive volatility. However, long-run price stability and a gradually advanced de-capacity policy are conducive to the achievement of policy targets.     

太行山区耕地整理适宜性评价及障碍因子诊断——以河北省涞源县为例

[目的]耕地整理适宜性评价是土地整治规划的基础,可以为划定耕地整理重点区域、确定耕地整理项目和整理时序提供依据。[方法]文章以位于太行山区的涞源县为研究区域,以现状耕地图斑为评价单元,经独立性分析后选取地形坡度、表层土壤质地、灌溉保证率、耕地系数、与道路距离、与城镇中心距离、地质灾害易发性7个评价指标,运用贝叶斯概率模型计算各指标权重及未整理耕地的整理后验概率,并得到研究区未整理耕地的适宜性空间分布。同时根据改进的障碍因子诊断模型,分析了各适宜整理区的障碍因子并提出相应的整理措施。[结果](1)在影响涞源县耕地整理的各因素中,影响程度从小到大依次是表层土壤质地、与城镇中心距离、耕地系数、地形坡度、与道路距离、地质灾害易发性和灌溉保证率;(2)在涞源县未整理耕地中,高适宜整理区与较适宜整理区占未整理耕地的20.79%,可作为涞源县下一步耕地整理的选择;(3)制约涞源县全域耕地质量的障碍因子是灌溉保证率,整理过程中应根据实际情况科学寻找灌溉水源、结合地形条件采用蓄、引、提相结合的方式合理布设农田水利设施,提高水资源利用率。[结论]该文可为太行山区更科学合理地开展耕地整理项目提供依据。