An Assessment of Telecommunications Regulation Performance in the European Union

We assess the performance of National Regulatory Authorities across 16 EU countries regarding economic regulation in telecommunications sector, by constructing a so-called Composite Regulatory Performance Indicator for regulatory aspects such as effectiveness of the national regulatory system, effectiveness of the dispute settlement body, general market access conditions and application of remedies in markets for narrowband voice, mobile, broadband and business services. This composite indicator is the output measure used in the DEA non-parametric approach. The computation of efficiency scores allows to rank the NRAs and to detect some room for improvement in terms of efficiency gains for each national authority.technical efficiency; DEA; telecommunications; regulated industries; National Regulatory Authorities; European Union.

Efficiency and Sustainability of Micro Finance

The objective of this study has been to estimate the efficiency and sustainability of microfinance institution working in the South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. For the efficiency analysis we used non parametric Data Envelopment Analysis. We considered both inputs oriented and output oriented methods by assuming constant returns to scale and variable returns to scale technologies. While conducting DEA analysis using single country data we found that eight MFIs from Pakistan, six MFIs from Bangladesh and five MFIs from India are at the efficient frontier under variable returns to scale. The technical efficiency figures for Pakistan, Bangladesh and India are 0.395, 0.087, and 0.28, respectively, while average pure technical efficiencies for these countries respectively range between 0.713-0.823, 0.175-0.547 and 0.413-0.452. Three countries combine analysis revealed that there are two efficient MFIs under CRS and five efficient MFIs under VRS assumption in these countries. Out of these efficient MFIs three -Annesa, BARC and Grameen Bank, belong to Bangladesh, and two MFIs - Bodhana and Pushtikar, are from India. No MFI from Pakistan was found operating on the efficient frontier. The analysis further reveals that the inefficiencies of MFIs in Pakistan, India and Bangladesd are mainly of technical nature. The results have an important policy implication that in order to improve the efficiency of the MFIs there is need to enhance the managerial skills and improve technology. This could be done by imparting training. Since Grameen bank is the leading MFIs in the world we can adopt its model according to the country specific requirements. Particularly, the lagging countries like Pakistan and India require special training programmes in the field of microfinance management.microfinance institution (MFI), efficiency, Data Envelopment Analysis, Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, South Asia

Technical Efficiency Measurement within the Ivorian Manufacturing Sector: a Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

The African industrial structure is characterised by a strong firm-size heterogeneity with a co-existence of small if not micro-enterprises of the informal sector and large formal organisations operating with a modern technology. In this paper, we investigate the technical efficiency of Ivorian manufacturing firms in four sectors of economic activity: textile and garment, metal products, wood and furniture, food processing. The DEA production frontier is the non-parametric methodology to which we refer to. Efficiency scores are calculated by following the four-stage procedure as presented by Fried, Schmidt and Yaisawarng (1999). In other words, the initial DEA scores are adjusted to take into account the impact of the external operating environment on the volume of the input use. Technical efficiency are then decomposed into three elements: the pure managerial effect, the impact of the production scale, but also a technological effect capturing the potential gain that could result from the adoption of the modern technology by small informal firms.formal-informal sectors, manufacturing sector, non parametric frontier, cote d'ivoire, Technical efficiency

Assessing risk for inpatient violence on high-security forensic psychiatric units

While forensic psychiatric inpatient violence is a serious problem, research on risk assessment for this outcome is limited; the current research investigated the predictive validity of a number of structured risk/forensic instruments for inpatient violence. Research objectives included: 1) observing the profile of dynamic changes in violence risk detected by existing violence risk assessment instruments; 2) assessing whether existing violence risk assessment instruments could be used to assess risk for inpatient violence; 3) evaluating the contribution of dynamic risk measures to the prediction of inpatient violence; and 4) assessing the relationship between dynamic changes in risk and inpatient violence. Instruments included: the Historical Clinical Risk Management 20 - Version 3 (HCR-20V3), the Psychopathy Checklist Revised (PCL-R), the Short-Term Assessment of Risk and Treatability (START), the Revised Violence Risk Appraisal Guide (VRAG-R), and the Violence Risk Scale (VRS). Two studies were conducted on a maximum-security forensic psychiatric unit at Alberta Hospital Edmonton. Study 1 was a pseudo-prospective archival investigation (n = 99), while Study 2 was a prospective investigation (n = 19); all risk assessment scores were based on information available in institutional files. Instruments designed to capture dynamic/clinical risk variables (HCR-20V3, START, VRS) detected dynamic changes in risk in this setting over longer follow-ups (i.e., between admission and discharge), but not over shorter follow-ups (i.e., 28 day periods). Predictive validity analyses indicated that specialized measures designed to capture relevant dynamic/clinical variables were significant predictors of inpatient violence; instruments that were not designed for this purpose (PCL-R and VRAG-R), did not demonstrate predictive validity for inpatient violence. Dynamic measures consistently demonstrated incremental predictive validity for inpatient violence, beyond the static measures. Additionally, change scores demonstrated incremental relationships with decreased inpatient violence, beyond pretreatment scores. Put another way, positive risk change was associated with decreased violence over the course of the patients’ stays in hospital. Reliable and valid risk assessments are a necessary component of effective offender programming (Risk-Need-Responsivity Model) and the current results indicated that valid violence risk assessments for forensic psychiatric inpatient violence are possible. Implications for clinical practice and the reduction/mitigation of inpatient violence are discussed

Lowland farming system inefficiency in Benin (West Africa):

This paper uses a directional distance function and a single truncated bootstrap approach to investigate inefficiency of lowland farming systems in the Benin Republic. First, we employed a dual approach to estimate and decompose short-run profit inefficiency of each farming system into pure technical, allocative and scale inefficiency and also into input and output inefficiency. Second, an econometric analysis of factors affecting the inefficiency was generated using a single truncated bootstrap procedure to improve inefficiency analysis statistically and obtain consistent estimates. In the short run, scale, allocative and output inefficiency were found to be the main sources of inefficiency. Based on inefficiency results, the inefficiency of lowland farming systems is the most diverse. Compared to a vegetable farming system, technical inefficiency is significantly higher if farmers switch to a rice farming system. Scale, allocative, output, and input inefficiency are significantly lower with an integrated ricevegetable farming system and there was high prevalence of increasing returns to scale in the integrated rice-vegetable farming system. Water control and lowland farming systems are complements and play a significant role in the level of inefficiency. Input inefficiency shows the difficulty that the producers face in adjusting the quality and quantity of seeds and fertilizers. The paper provides empirical support for efforts to promote an integrated rice-vegetable farming system in West Africa lowlands to increase food security. Keywords Lowlands . Inefficiency . Bootstrap . Beni

Design and Implementation of Online Learning Environments

This thesis describes a systematic approach in the design and implementation of online learning environments. This approach incorporates the principles of human learning as well as the best practices in software engineering. This thesis implements a conceptual model for the design, and it describes how software elements can be developed to comply with the model. In the context of this research two online environments are developed and analyzed. The end product of this approach is a robust and reusable software architecture, a framework for design, and an effective and engaging model suited to online learning environments

Design and Implementation of Online Learning Environments

This thesis describes a systematic approach in the design and implementation of online learning environments. This approach incorporates the principles of human learning as well as the best practices in software engineering. This thesis implements a conceptual model for the design, and it describes how software elements can be developed to comply with the model. In the context of this research two online environments are developed and analyzed. The end product of this approach is a robust and reusable software architecture, a framework for design, and an effective and engaging model suited to online learning environments

USING BLOCKCHAIN TO SUPPORT PROVENANCE IN THE INTERNET OF THINGS

The Internet of Things (IoT) has gained traction in all sectors and pervades all spheres of our lives. With statistics projecting an increase in the number of devices by 87% as well as increase in security concerns, traceability within this IoT will become a major problem. As more devices communicate with each other via the Internet, it will be crucial to determine the origins of requests and responses. Being able to store records related to the life cycle of requests and responses in an immutable form will provide documentary evidence that will help to establish transparency and accountability within the IoT. Previous works employed provenance techniques to address this problem but focuses on the request perspective. However, little or nothing has been done regarding the response perspective. Consequently, this thesis proposes and develops a blockchain-based provenance system to trace bi-directionally the sources of requests and responses in the IoT. This is achieved through the investigation of historical communication records. Furthermore, a performance evaluation of the system is provided. The results show that the developed system is scalable under real-world setting

Design and Implementation of Online Learning Environments

This thesis describes a systematic approach in the design and implementation of online learning environments. This approach incorporates the principles of human learning as well as the best practices in software engineering. This thesis implements a conceptual model for the design, and it describes how software elements can be developed to comply with the model. In the context of this research two online environments are developed and analyzed. The end product of this approach is a robust and reusable software architecture, a framework for design, and an effective and engaging model suited to online learning environments