Fiscal Management in Myanmar

Past governments in Myanmar presided over a system generally characterized by weak fiscal management, but this has recently changed with the present government restoring a measure of fiscal discipline, reorienting fiscal priorities, and establishing a clear set of fiscal objectives in the Framework for Economic and Social Reforms (FESR), which was finalized in June 2013. The Government of Myanmar now has to prioritize how best to implement these fiscal objectives while strengthening longrun fiscal discipline. This paper provides a broad range of recommendations on how this can be achieved, using analysis of Myanmar's present and past fiscal situation alongside insights provided by the experience of other countries

Science, society, and water resources in New Zealand: Recognizing and overcoming a societal impasse

The Canterbury Regional Council, which manages 70% of New Zealand's irrigated land, has struggled to control the burgeoning demand for water resources as more land is converted to highly profitable, water-intensive dairy farms relying on groundwater. At the centre of Canterbury's struggle over water resources and their effective management are two competing groundwater science models. The different approaches and their implications for water management have led to a situation commonly described as a ‘science impasse’, with scientists, policymakers, and stakeholders increasingly focused on ‘how to break the gridlock over science’, particularly in one of the region's major watersheds, the Selwyn. In keeping with the traditional logical positivist, linear approach to science, the expectation is that if the scientists can get the science right, then the ultimate goal of water sustainability will be made more likely, since the ‘facts’ will guide policymakers towards proper decisions. Yet, our research found that while stakeholders do focus tightly on the dominant role of science and scientists when discussing solutions to the impasse, the underlying reality is a societal impasse grounded in the overarching adversarial setting, the logic of the wicked problem set, and the ultimate goal of sustainability. Seeing the ‘impasse problem’ from this new perspective means that getting only the physical science right addresses the symptoms, not the underlying causes of the impasse. This article develops why the traditional instrumental, linear approach to science is unlikely to work in this case, and why an alternative approach to science—civic science—offers promise as a way forward. A final section turns to the kind of steps most likely required for transition of the Selwyn watershed's ‘societal impasse’ dynamic from an adversarial setting to an effective collaborative governance arrangement conducive to the civic science enterprise

Collaborative water governance in New Zealand : turning the tide in the Canterbury region?

Our objective in this paper is to draw on the increasingly voluminous international literature on collaborative approaches to watershed, natural resource, and ecosystem management to critically appraise the potential for successful collaborative governance of water resources in New Zealand, specifically in the Canterbury region of the South Island and specifically for the purpose of engendering sustainable communities

Enhancing potential for integrated catchment management in NZ: a multi-scalar, strategic perspective

An integrated approach to natural resource management at the catchment scale in a collaborative manner is a strong theme in the recent environmental management and planning literature. In New Zealand, integrated water resource management is undertaken by regional councils within the framework of a devolved legislative mandate, the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). For some time these councils have experienced difficulties discharging this role effectively, in particular with respect to the catchment scale. We argue for a multi-scalar national policy framework,, encapsulating bottom-up and top-down water governance strategies, in order to enhance the potential of ICM

A randomized phase II trial evaluating the addition of low dose, short course sunitinib to docetaxel in advanced solid tumours

AbstractBackgroundWe previously reported that low-dose, short-course sunitinib prior to neoadjuvant doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide (AC) normalised tumour vasculature and improved perfusion, but resulted in neutropenia and delayed subsequent cycles in breast cancer patients. This study combined sunitinib with docetaxel, which has an earlier neutrophil nadir than AC.MethodsPatients with advanced solid cancers were randomized 1:1 to 3-weekly docetaxel 75 mg/m2, with or without sunitinib 12.5 mg daily for 7 days prior to docetaxel, stratified by primary tumour site. Primary endpoints were objective-response (ORR:CR + PR) and clinical-benefit rate (CBR:CR + PR + SD); secondary endpoints were toxicity and progression-free-survival (PFS).ResultsWe enrolled 68 patients from 2 study sites; 33 received docetaxel-sunitinib and 35 docetaxel alone, with 33 breast, 25 lung and 10 patients with other cancers.There was no difference in ORR (30.3% vs 28.6%,p = 0.432, odds-ratio [OR] 1.10, 95% CI 0.38–3.18); CBR was lower in the docetaxel-sunitinib arm (48.5% vs 71.4%,p = 0.027 OR 0.37, 95% CI 0.14–1.01). Median PFS was shorter in the docetaxel-sunitinib arm (2.9 vs 4.9 months, hazard-ratio [HR] 2.00, 95% CI 1.15–3.48,p = 0.014) overall, as well as in breast (4.2 vs 5.6 months,p = 0.048) and other cancers (2.0 vs 5.3 months,p = 0.009), but not in lung cancers (2.9 vs 4.1 months,p = 0.597). Median OS was similar in both arms overall (9.9 vs 10.5 months, HR 0.92, 95% CI 0.51–1.67,p = 0.789), and in the breast (18.9 vs 25.8 months,p = 0.354), lung (7.0 vs 6.7 months,p = 0.970) and other cancers (4.5 vs 8.8 months,p = 0.449) subgroups.Grade 3/4 haematological toxicities were lower with docetaxel-sunitinib (18.2% vs 34.3%,p = 0.132), attributed to greater discretionary use of prophylactic G-CSF (90.9% vs 63.0%,p = 0.024). Grade 3/4 non-haematological toxicities were similar (12.1% vs 14.3%,p = 0.792).ConclusionsThe addition of sunitinib to docetaxel was well-tolerated but did not improve outcomes. The possible negative impact in metastatic breast cancer patients is contrary to results of adding sunitinib to neoadjuvant AC. These negative results suggest that the intermittent administration of sunitinib in the current dose and schedule with docetaxel in advanced solid tumours, particularly breast cancers, is not beneficial.Trial registrationThe study was registered (NCT01803503) prospectively on clinicaltrials.gov on 4th March 2013.</jats:sec

Factors associated with child maltreatment among children aged 11 to 17 years in community settings of Karachi, Pakistan, using belsky ecological framework

Child maltreatment is considered as a global social issue and results as combined effect of parental background, socioeconomic environment, family structure, and child characteristics. The aim of this study was to determine factors associated with child maltreatment among children aged 11 to 17 years in Karachi, Pakistan. A cross-sectional survey of 800 pairs (children ranging from 11 to 17 years old and their parents) was randomly selected from 32 clusters of Karachi, using multistage cluster sampling. A structured questionnaire was adopted from the International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (International Child Abuse Screening Tool for Parent [ICAST-P] and for Child [ICAST-C]). Multiple linear regression technique was used to assess the association of factors with child maltreatment score, by using STATA software. Our study found that children who always get bullied and mistreated by their siblings are at increased risk of getting maltreatment by parents (adjusted beta: 10.78, 95% CI = [8.5, 13.05]).The mean estimated ICAST-C score increases by 9.86 (95% CI = [6.17, 13.55]) for children with exposure of verbal abuse and quarrel within family members. The mean estimated ICAST-C score increases by 5.09 among male children as compared with female children (95% CI = [3.65, 6.52]). Among children whose family always fight with each other and whose parents have exposure to childhood maltreatment, the mean estimated ICAST-C score increases by 22.25 (95% CI = [16.53, 27.98]). This study reflects the potential factors of child maltreatment in Karachi. Our findings provide evidence to raise awareness about child maltreatment