Some expectations and perceptions of electronic transfer of prescription systems

This article summarises the findings of five focus group sessions discussing the Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions (ETP), held in 2003 at Salford and Huddersfield Universities. The aim of this evaluation was to ascertain the views of the stakeholders towards the introduction of ETP and views on existing ETP pilot models. The eight hypotheses identified as most important from the findings [1] are described

Reports Of Conferences, Institutes, And Seminars

This quarter\u27s column offers coverage of multiple sessions from the 2016 Electronic Resources & Libraries (ER&L) Conference, held April 3–6, 2016, in Austin, Texas. Topics in serials acquisitions dominate the column, including reports on altmetrics, cost per use, demand-driven acquisitions, and scholarly communications and the use of subscriptions agents; ERMS, access, and knowledgebases are also featured

The Global Employer: The Employment Law Review and Reform Issue

[Excerpt] Although the economies of many jurisdictions are improving, there is still some lingering global economic uncertainty. It is no surprise that governments the world over continue to revisit their employment laws to see what else, if anything, can be done to further stimulate their economies. 2013 was another busy year for employment law reform. Baker & McKenzie’s Global Employment Practice Group is pleased to present its 55th issue of The Global Employer™ entitled “The Employment Law Review and Reform Issue.” In this issue, we review changes to the law in 2013 and a look at pending changes for 2014. Included, you will find information pertaining to the leasing of employees in Germany; new measures in Spain intended to promote employment among young people under 30 and employee privacy rights over employers\u27 controls; challenges to the applicable interest rate to worker\u27s claims in Argentina; how employment law reforms will significantly impact employers in Mexico and in some specific cases, may considerably elevate increase the cost of formal employment; and controversy around making the Colombian Social Security System more progressive. We also review several significant legal developments in China during 2013 that impact employers operating there; legislative changes that were expected in Hong Kong in 2013 that may be implemented in 2014 including a focus on discrimination in the coming years; and welcome changes to TUPE and automatic pension plan enrollment in the United Kingdom

Library purchasing consortia in the UK: activity, benefits and good practice.

Following a brief introduction in Section 1, Section 2 sets out the operational context of library purchasing consortia. A range of key factors have shaped recent developments in the four LIS sectors under consideration (FE, HE, health and public libraries); some have exerted a common influence over all (e.g. information technology, European Commission purchasing directives, new central government, decline in bookfunds); some are sector-specific (e.g. purchasing arrangements, regional administrative frameworks, collaborative partnerships). The structure and markets of the book and periodical publishing industry in the UK are reviewed, with attention paid to historical as well as more recent practice that has had an impact on library supply. Although each component of the LIS purchasing consortia jigsaw displays individual characteristics that have evolved as a response to its own environment, the thread that links them together is constant change. Section 3 presents the results of a survey of identified library purchasing consortia in the four library sectors. It treats common themes of relevance to all consortia arising from information gathered by seminar input, questionnaire and interview. These include models of consortium operation, membership and governance, ‘typical’ composition of consortia in each sector, and links to analogous practice in other library sectors. Common features of the tendering and contract management process are elicited and attention paid to any contribution of procurement professionals. Finally, levels of consortium expenditure and cost savings are estimated from the published statistical record, which readily demonstrate in financial terms the efficiency of the consortial purchase model for all types of library in the United Kingdom. Section 4 presents the results of a survey of suppliers to libraries in the United Kingdom of books and periodicals, the two sectors most commonly represented in current contracts of library purchasing consortia. It sets out in some detail the operating context governing the highly segmented activities of library booksellers, as well as that pertaining to periodicals suppliers (also known as subscription agents). Detailed responses to questions on the effects of library purchasing consortia on suppliers of both materials have been gathered by questionnaire survey and selected follow-up interviews. Results are presented and analysed according to supply sector with attention given to the tendering process, current contracts under way, cross-sectoral clientele, and advantages and inhibitors of consortia supply. Further responses are reported on issues of how consortia have affected suppliers’ volume of trade, operating margins and market stability as perceived in their own business, the library supply sector and the publishing industry. Finally, overall conclusions are drawn and projections made as to future implications for both types of library suppliers. Section 5 synthesises findings, details enabling and inhibiting factors for consortia formation and models of best practice amongst consortia. The scope for cross-sectoral collaboration is discussed and found to be limited at present. Pointers are given for future activity

Remittance flows to post-conflict states: perspectives on human security and development

This repository item contains a single issue of the Pardee Center Task Force Reports, a publication series that began publishing in 2009 by the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.Migrant remittances – that is, money or other goods sent to relatives in the country of origin– play an increasingly central role in post-conflict reconstruction and national development of conflict-affected states. Private remittances are of central importance for restoring stability and enhancing human security in post-conflict countries. Yet the dynamics of conflict-induced remittance flows and the possibilities of leveraging remittances for post-conflict development have been sparsely researched to date. This Pardee Center Task Force Report is the outcome of an interdisciplinary research project organized by the Boston University Center for Finance, Law & Policy, in collaboration with The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future. The Task Force was convened by Boston University development economist John R. Harris and international banking expert Donald F. Terry, and social anthropologist Daivi Rodima-Taylor, Visiting Researcher at the Boston University African Studies Center, served as lead researcher and editor for the report. The Task Force was asked to research, analyze, and propose policy recommendations regarding the role of remittances in post-conflict environments and their potential to serve as a major source of development funds. The report’s authors collectively suggest a broader approach to remittance institutions that provides flexibility to adapt to specific local practices and to make broader institutional connections in an era of growing population displacement and expanding human and capital flows. Conditions for more productive use of migrants’ remittances are analyzed while drawing upon case studies from post-conflict countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The papers in this Task Force Report establish the importance of remittances for sustaining local livelihoods as well as rehabilitating institutional infrastructures and improving financial inclusion in post-conflict environments. Highlighting the increasing complexity of global remittance systems, the report examines the growing informality of conflict-induced remittance flows and explores solutions for more efficient linkages between financial institutions of different scales and degrees of formality. It discusses challenges to regulating international remittance transfers in the context of growing concerns about transparency, and documents the increasing role of diaspora networks and migrant associations in post-conflict co-development initiatives. The Task Force Report authors outline the main challenges to leveraging remittances for post-conflict development and make recommendations for further research and policy applications

The Discourse of Digital Deceptions and ‘419’ Emails

This study applies a computer-mediated discourse analysis (CMDA) to the study of discourse structures and functions of ‘419’ emails – the Nigerian term for online/financial fraud. The hoax mails are in the form of online lottery winning announcements, and email ‘business proposals’ involving money transfers/claims of dormant bank accounts overseas. Data comprise 68 email samples collected from the researcher’s inboxes and colleagues’ and students’ mail boxes between January 2008 and March 2009 in Ota, Nigeria. The study reveals that the writers of the mails apply discourse/pragmatic strategies such as socio-cultural greeting formulas,self-identification, reassurance/confidence building, narrativity and action prompting strategies to sustain the interest of the receivers. The study also shows that this genre of computer-mediated communication (CMC) has become a regular part of our Internet experience, and is not likely to be extinct in the near future as previous studies of email hoaxes have predicted. It is believed that as the global economy witnesses a recession, chances are that more creative and complex ways of combating the situation will arise. Economic hardship has been blamed for fraud/online scams, inadvertently prompting youths to engage in various anti-social activities. K E Y W O R D S : computer-media communication, deceptions, discourse, email, ‘419’, fraud, hoax

Money as a legally enforceable debt

Money is usually regarded as a subject in the domain of economists, but it is really a fundamentally legal notion. In fact, it is a creation of the law. Money is a special object of property, and at the same time a form of debt, enforceable by law which ultimately confers on it the quality of money. The concept of dematerialised property assists in describing the concept of money accurately. The article discusses the different types of money, and the creation of money through central banks and through commercial banks by giving credit. It explores the possible legal foundation of this money creation process. The discussion also looks at the legal regulation of money creation in Germany and presents findings from an interview with a practising commercial lawyer in Germany which confirm the author’s thesis that money is a legally enforceable debt