Survey techniques to measure and explain corruption

Reinikka and Svensson demonstrate that, with appropriate survey methods and interview techniques, it is possible to collect quantitative micro-level data on corruption. Public expenditure tracking surveys, service provider surveys, and enterprise surveys are highlighted with several applications. While often broader in scope, these surveys permit measurement of corruption at the level of individual agents, such as schools, health clinics, or firms. They also permit the study of mechanisms responsible for corruption, including leakage of funds and bribery, as data on corruption can be combined with other data collected in these surveys.ICT Policy and Strategies,Public Health Promotion,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Decentralization,Corruption&Anitcorruption Law,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Governance Indicators,National Governance,TF054599-PHRD-KYRGYZ REPUBLIC: WATER MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENT PROJECT,ICT Policy and Strategies

Equity valuation: Nestlé S.A.

Equity investment decisions are partially based on expected share price increases. Other factors may influence an investment decision, such as risk, expected dividends and portfolio diversification. In this perspective, one must establish an opinion regarding the value (or expected value) of the issuer. According to Damodaran (2012), three approaches can be used to value a company: option pricing models, discounted cash flow models and relative valuation. Within each approach, different models can be used. Most models include parameters that carry some subjectivity, such as cash flow forecasting, growth rates, market conditions and several others. This means that, even though valuation models are quantitative, valuation is subjective. "If a business is complex and subject to constant change, we’re not smart enough to predict future cash flows" - Warren Buffett. In this study we analyze and value Nestlé, the number one consumer goods company in the world in terms of sales. We then compare our valuation with the market's and conclude whether the company is under or overvalued (under the scope of our assumptions). To do so we use the following valuation methods: Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF) and Relative Valuation through peer group multiples. We then compare our research to an investment bank's to understand whether the valuation (based on the assumptions we make) is realistic. Our results indicate that Nestlé shares were priced below their true value as at 31-12-2016. Therefore, we would have recommended buying the stock at that time.As decisões de investimento em acções são parcialmente baseadas em expectativas de incremento no preço das mesmas. Há outros factores que também podem influenciar esta decisão, tais como o risco, os dividendos esperados e a diversificação da carteira de investimento. Nesta perspectiva, deve-se estabelecer uma opinião relativamente ao valor (ou valor esperado) da empresa emitente. Damodaran (2012) sugere três abordagens que podem ser utilizadas para valorizar uma empresa: modelos de avaliação por opções, modelos de "cash flows" descontados e avaliação relativa. Em cada abordagem diferentes modelos podem ser empregues. A maioria dos modelos inclui parâmetros cuja estimativa é subjectiva, tais como previsões de cash flows, taxas de crescimento, condições de mercado, entre outros. Isto significa que, apesar de os modelos de avaliação serem quantitativos, a avaliação é subjectiva. "Se um negócio é complexo e está sujeito a mudanças constantes, não temos inteligência suficiente para prever cash flows futuros" - Warren Buffett. Nesta dissertação procedemos à análise e avaliação da Nestlé, a maior empresa de bens de consumo actualmente (em termos de vendas). Seguidamente comparamos a nossa avaliação com o preço de mercado das acções da empresa e concluímos se a empresa está sobre ou subvalorizada. Para o fazermos utilizamos os seguintes modelos de avaliação: Free Cash Flow to the Firm (FCFF) e avaliação por comparáveis através de múltiplos. Seguidamente realizamos uma análise comparativa com um relatório de avaliação do Deutsche Bank de forma a verificar se a avaliação (baseada nos nossos pressupostos) é realista. Os nossos resultados indicam que as acções da Nestlé estão subvalorizadas no mercado à data de 31-12-2016, pelo que a nossa recomendação seria de Compra essa data

Nobody Wants to Eat Them Alive:” Ethical Dilemmas and Dual Media Narratives on Domestic Rabbits as Pets and Commodity

Using semiotic analysis, this study explores changes occurring in the societal perception of rabbits as farm animals as juxtaposed to their increasing popularity as domestic companions. This study is based on a preliminary hypothesis that rabbits are increasingly perceived and portrayed in media as domestic companion animals similar to cats and guinea pigs, which challenges a parallel narrative that views rabbits as commodities for their meat and fur. Operating within a theoretical framework that considers news media as both socially constructed reality and recorded history, the study examines the dynamics of change in numbers of coded news narratives drawn as a 1000-piece convenience sample from a database of news stories published worldwide between 1990 and 2011

Visions of a Martian Future

As we look beyond our terrestrial boundary to a multi-planetary future for humankind, it becomes paramount to anticipate the challenges of various human factors on the most likely scenario for this future: permanent human settlement of Mars. Even if technical hurdles are circumvented to provide adequate resources for basic physiological and psychological needs, Homo sapiens will not survive on an alien planet if a dysfunctional psyche prohibits the utilization of these resources. No matter how far we soar into the stars, our psychologies for future generations will be forever tethered to the totality of our surroundings. By shaping our environment toward survival and welfare during the voyage to Mars and in a Martian colony, we indirectly shape our psyches and prepare them for a mission of unprecedented alienation and duration. Once on Mars, human factors such as leadership structure, social organization and code of conduct, group size, gender balance, developmental cycle, mobility, length of stay and the ecological settings and type and manner of subsistence, will create a novel Martian culture. The degree that settlers are severed from the Earth will affect how radically foreign this culture will be when compared with cultures on Earth

Selected Paper Abstracts, Annual Meetings

Agribusiness, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, International Relations/Trade, Land Economics/Use, Production Economics, Risk and Uncertainty,

ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks: a literature review

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation is a complex and vibrant process, one that involves a combination of technological and organizational interactions. Often an ERP implementation project is the single largest IT project that an organization has ever launched and requires a mutual fit of system and organization. Also the concept of an ERP implementation supporting business processes across many different departments is not a generic, rigid and uniform concept and depends on variety of factors. As a result, the issues addressing the ERP implementation process have been one of the major concerns in industry. Therefore ERP implementation receives attention from practitioners and scholars and both, business as well as academic literature is abundant and not always very conclusive or coherent. However, research on ERP systems so far has been mainly focused on diffusion, use and impact issues. Less attention has been given to the methods used during the configuration and the implementation of ERP systems, even though they are commonly used in practice, they still remain largely unexplored and undocumented in Information Systems research. So, the academic relevance of this research is the contribution to the existing body of scientific knowledge. An annotated brief literature review is done in order to evaluate the current state of the existing academic literature. The purpose is to present a systematic overview of relevant ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks as a desire for achieving a better taxonomy of ERP implementation methodologies. This paper is useful to researchers who are interested in ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Results will serve as an input for a classification of the existing ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks. Also, this paper aims also at the professional ERP community involved in the process of ERP implementation by promoting a better understanding of ERP implementation methodologies and frameworks, its variety and history

Review of California Wildfire Evacuations from 2017 to 2019

Between 2017 and 2019, California experienced a series of devastating wildfires that together led over one million people to be ordered to evacuate. Due to the speed of many of these wildfires, residents across California found themselves in challenging evacuation situations, often at night and with little time to escape. These evacuations placed considerable stress on public resources and infrastructure for both transportation and sheltering. In the face of these clear challenges, transportation and emergency management agencies across California have widely varying levels of preparedness for major disasters, and nearly all agencies do not have the public resources to adequately and swiftly evacuate all populations in danger. To holistically address these challenges and bolster current disaster and evacuation planning, preparedness, and response in California, we summarize the evacuations of eleven major wildfires in California between 2017 and 2019 and offer a cross-comparison to highlight key similarities and differences. We present results of new empirical data we collected via an online survey of individuals impacted by: 1) the 2017 October Northern California Wildfires (n=79), 2) the 2017 December Southern California Wildfires (n=226), and 3) the 2018 Carr Wildfire (n=284). These data reveal the decision-making of individuals in these wildfires including choices related to evacuating or staying, departure timing, route, sheltering, destination, transportation mode, and reentry timing. We also present results related to communication and messaging, non-evacuee behavior, and opinion of government response. Using the summarized case studies and empirical evidence, we present a series of recommendations for agencies to prepare for, respond to, and recover from wildfires

Consumer behavior among dog owners : How trends spread from the US to small businesses in Finland

This study discusses the consumer behavior and trends in the dog commodity market in Finland and in the US using qualitative methods. The aim of this study is to find out what kind is the consumer behavior in this market with the sub-objective of discovering the prevalent dog commodity trends and thus creating a coherent picture of the market. This is achieved by Internet content analysis, and small business entrepreneur interviews and dog-owning consumer interviews. The understanding of the market from both, the supply and demand sides, makes it easier for operators to see the full potential of the market and this way benefit from it. The theoretical frame consists of knowledge on consumer behavior, emotions in consuming, trends and their diffusion ways, the human-dog relationship and small businesses. These themes support the understanding of the dog commodity market, how it operates and what the driving forces behind the growth of the market are. A synthesis and a process picture of how the trends spread from the US to Finland are created, which illustrate how WOM and eWOM seem to have a substantial role in the spreading of trends in the dog commodity market. Another of the main discoveries here was the strong role of emotions in this market. The conclusions of this study are that the US is a strong influencer and seems to be the main influencer on the Finnish dog commodity market. The Internet is the most used trend following method among entrepreneurs and consumer informants. Especially social media and discussion forums have a lot of value as they provide needed peer support. In addition, the type of relationship between a dog and its owner is a major influencer on the consumer behavior in this market and different consumer types follow and spread trends in different ways. Furthermore, there is still a lot of potential in this market, especially in the dog service sector. Health and a dog as a companion are themes that will most likely grow their roles in the market