Towards more effective provision of business services: conceptual considerations and practical examples from Thai-German development cooperation

"The study is based on desk research on the BDS concept as well as on the available empirical evidence. In addition, we conducted a number of interviews with GTZ project managers and Thai counterparts during the spring of 2003. In coming up with our general assessment of Thailand’s institutional performance in business services, we draw on a parallel GDI research project with a much broader empirical base. Chapter 1 summarizes the new BDS paradigm, presenting the four principle arguments that cast doubt on the traditional path taken by state- or donor-led service provision as well as the policy conclusions made by proponents of the BDS market approach. Chapter 2 then identifies four conceptual and practical limitations of this school of thought. Chapters 3-6 go on to elaborate on these four critical arguments. Chapter 3 discusses the distinction between public and private goods, arguing that some business services are, at least in part, public goods, and concluding that there is a case for subsidizing them. In Chapter 4 we show that the evolution of private service markets is a slow process of interaction between customers and service providers. These interactions serve to increase specialization and deepen the division of labour, thus contributing to productivity growth, innovation and competitiveness. Government action aimed at accelerating this process may thus be assumed to spur economic development. Chapter 5 demonstrates that service provision for SMEs is a political issue. Some politicians and bureaucrats clearly pursue self-interests which may not be compatible with the new paradigm of undistorted private service markets. Development of such markets is therefore not a technocratic project but one that requires political bargaining. In Chapter 6 we point out that the development of service markets never starts from scratch. Usually there are already a number of established subsidized, and often bureaucratic, service providers. This leads us to discuss the challenge of how to propel these service providers towards business-like modes of service delivery. Finally, Chapter 7 draws some practical conclusions for development co-operation." (author's abstract)Auf internationaler Ebene, insbesondere unter den Geberländern im Rahmen der Entwicklungskooperation, gibt es eine intensive Debatte über den besten Weg zur Erreichung eines fundierten, hochqualitativen und erschwinglichen Dienstleistungsangebots, das schließlich in den Nehmerländern für eine Verbesserung der Leistungen und Wettbewerbsfähigkeit kleiner und mittelständischer Unternehmen sorgen soll. Diese Dienstleistungen firmieren entsprechend unter dem Begriff der Business Development Services (BDS), die hier im Kontext der thailändisch-deutschen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit hinsichtlich ihrer Neuausrichtung untersucht werden. Die Ausführungen basieren auf theoretischen Forschungsergebnissen über das BDS-Konzept sowie auf Interviews mit Projektmanagern der Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) und ihren thailändischen Kollegen Anfang 2003. In einem ersten Schritt wird das neue BDS-Paradigma in seinen Grundzügen vorgestellt. Im zweiten Schritt kommt es zur Identifizierung von vier konzeptuellen und praktischen Einschränkungen dieser Überlegungen. Die nachfolgenden vier Schritte untersuchen und diskutieren diese kritischen Argumente und zwar: (1) die Unterscheidung zwischen öffentlichen und privaten Gütern, (2) die Entwicklung der privaten Dienstleistungsmärkte, (3) die politische Ökonomie im Rahmen der BDS sowie (4) die Reformierung bereits bestehender öffentlicher Dienstleistungsanbieter. Der Text schließt mit einigen praktischen Schlussfolgerungen für die Entwicklungszusammenarbeit. (ICG2

Destructive (Erosive) Tufted Angioma/Kaposiform Hemangioendothelioma of the Eyelid

BACKGROUND: Tufted angioma/kaposiform hemangioendothelioma represents a spectrum of rare benign skin vascular neoplasms that differ in the extent and prognosis. Tufted angioma affects primarily children, is localized to skin, shows no tendency for ulceration or tissue invasion and has a favorable prognosis. CASE REPORT: In this case report, tufted angioma involved the lower eyelid resulting in its destruction and compromised its function, hence necessitating rapid surgical excision to preserve the function of eyelid. CONCLUSION: TA/KHE is a rare vascular benign neoplasm usually asymptomatic but may affect delicate structures, such as the eyelid resulting in destruction and hence may require rapid surgical intervention. corresponding eye

Investigating the Arctic phytoplankton variability and diversity based on modeling and satellite retrievals

In our study we focus on improving our understanding of possible interactions between the open water and sea ice and the surface ocean biogeochemistry under the recently observed sea ice decline in the Arctic. In particular, the analysis of changes in phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) over 2002 to 2012 based on long-term time series of satellite retrievals and supported by a modeling study is presented. The phytoplankton dynamics as well as phytoplankton diversity in response to Arctic Amplification is simulated with the DARWIN biogeochemical model (Follows et al., 2007, Dutkiewicz et al., 2015) coupled to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model (MITgcm) with a configuration based on a cubed‐sphere grid (Menemenlis et al. 2008). The model results are complemented with information on phytoplankton compositions retrieved with PhytoDOAS (Bracher et al. 2009, Sadeghi et al. 2012) from available hyper-spectral optical satellite measurements (SCIAMACHY and OMI), which are synergistically combined via an optimal interpolation technique with multi-spectral optical satellite data (OC-CCI)

Middle East - North Africa and the millennium development goals : implications for German development cooperation

          Closed-loop controlled combustion is a promising technique to improve the overall performance of internal combustion engines and Diesel engines in particular. In order for this technique to be implemented some form of feedback from the combustion process is required. The feedback signal is processed and from it combustionrelated parameters are computed. These parameters are then fed to a control process which drives a series of outputs (e.g. injection timing in Diesel engines) to control their values. This paper’s focus lies on the processing and computation that is needed on the feedback signal before this is ready to be fed to the control process as well as on the electronics necessary to support it. A number of feedback alternatives are briefly discussed and for one of them, the in-cylinder pressure sensor, the CA50 (crank angle in which the integrated heat release curve reaches its 50% value) and the IMEP (Indicated Mean Effective Pressure) are identified as two potential control variables. The hardware architecture of a system capable of calculating both of them on-line is proposed and necessary feasibility size and speed considerations are made by implementing critical blocks in VHDL targeting a flash-based Actel ProASIC3 automotive-grade FPGA