Modernising Local Government by Fragmentation: Lessons From The Portmore Municipal Experiment - Jamaica

Modernization of local government leads inevitably to the vexed question of how to structure local government to meet the changed circumstances in which it operates. This acknowledgement is no less so for the Caribbean in general and Jamaica in particular, where forces such as increased suburbanization and higher level of citizen demands on local government have prompted policy to respond to the changing world of local government. The recalibration of local government structure serves key objectives – to achieve economies of scale; to assure organisational viability and to reinvigorate local democracy. The Portmore Municipal Council (PMC) in Jamaica, enacted by the Municipalities Act of 2003 is representative of fragmentation of local government and innovates local policy and administration in two ways: (a) popular election of Mayor; and (b) construction of local/community self-management institutional arrangements. This paper reviews the experience of the PMC during its formative years of operation to determine the extent to which the philosophy and practice of local/community self-management norms are being institutionalised into the operations of the municipality and identify lessons for the broader adoption of a process of municipalisation

Local Government and Local Development: Bridging the Gap through Critical Discourse: Evidence from the Commonwealth Caribbean

Local development, whether construed broadly as community development or more narrowly as local as economic development (LED) is not always associated with local government but rather is the purview of a central government department or agency in Anglophone Caribbean policy systems. However with the emergence of ‘local place - and people-oriented approaches’ to development that offer new propositions about how to respond to risks and opportunities brought by globalization, local government is seen increasingly as an appropriate institutional context in which to pursue short-range objectives, such as creation of market opportunities and redressing the disparities within national economies; as well as the long-range goal of social transformation. A developmental role for local government raises two questions that form the central concerns of this paper: What are the institutional and organisational imperatives of a developmental role for local government? To what extent have these imperatives been addressed in reform? A critical analysis of local government reform policies in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica revealed substantive convergence around local development as an outcome of reform but also important divergence in the approach to achieving this goal which suggests the absence of a cohesive model. The paper argues for a new agenda in reform that links local government more consistently with a local development strategy. It asserts that such a strategy must incorporate gender equality, the informal economy and institutional organisational capacity in the process of transformation and as a basis for creating a local context in which all types of resources can be maximized in the process of wealth creation in a locality

Does local government have capacity for enabling local economic development? Lessons from Jamaica

Implementation of the Caribbean Local Economic Development Project (CARILED)1began in 2012 in seven countries for a duration of six years, to support sustainable economic growth in the region. CARILED has introduced the idea of local economic development (LED) to the ‘development’ debate in the region but has also brought the organisational capacity of local government, and local government’s role as ‘facilitator’ of LED,to the fore. This paper assesses organizational behaviour and capability in local government in Jamaica to determine the state of readiness for a developmental role. The paper draws on two sets of research data to aid its analysis–a capacity audit (CAPAUD) conducted in 2010 and an organisational analysis (OA)commissioned by the Ministry of Local Government in 2010, both of which targeted a sample of local authorities in Jamaica.The study found that when assessed against established criteria for an LED organisation, ie: research and information provision; marketing and coordination; learning and innovation; and leadership - local government’s institutional and organisational capacity for development is unevenly distributed. For instance, local leaders understood organisational purpose but efforts to give effect to this appeared undeveloped, sporadic and uni-directional. It was also evident that participatory strategies are used to gain information from communities but these were often devoid of systematic research methodologies rendering formal community impact on local planning negligent. Finally there is strong potential for the kind of administrative leadership required by a developmental local government to evolve,indicated by the quality of training, quantum of managerial/supervisory staff, and stability of staff establishment. However, this potential is threatened by the deficiencies in the non-traditional functional areas that are strategic to the organisation’s effectiveness as a ‘facilitator’ of LED, ie:alignment of community engagement/interface with LED priorities, diffusion of information technology in organisational processes, and utilisation of policy analysis and development. These findings contribute important policy relevant information to the discourses in the region about the construction of alternative solutions to institutional and organisational problems in response to the economic crises of small island developing states (SIDS)

Pengaruh Gender, Intelligent Quotient (Iq), Emotional Quotient (Eq) Dan Spiritual Quotient (Sq) Terhadap Pertimbangan Pemberian Opini Auditor

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of gender, intelligent quotient, emotionalquotient and spiritual quotient on the judgment of the auditor\u27s opinion. Therefore, researcheruses a quantitative methods with SPSS as an analytical tool in this study. The results showthat men and women do not have a significant difference based on psychological aspects that saywomen have a tendency to be more efficient and more thorough in decision making. On the otherhand, The higher of intellectual and emotional intelligence then giving the auditor\u27s opinion willalso increase well. Another finding is the higher of spiritual intelligence the more he can survivein the face of difficulties during performing his duties so that it will affect the conclusions of theexamination set forth in the opinion of auditorsKe y wo rds: Auditors Opinion, Emotional Quotient, Gender, Intellegent Quotient, SpiritualQuotient

Pengaruh Debt Default , Firm Size , dan Prior Opinion terhadap Penerimaan Opini Going Concern

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of debt default, firm size, prior opinion onacceptance of going concern audit opinion on companies listing on BEI. This type of research isassociative. The types and sources of data in this study are secondary data and Indonesia StockExchange. Technique of taking data is done with documentation. The result of this research isDebt Default have positive effect to the acceptance of going concern opinion, firm size does nothave an effect on the acceptance of going concern opinion, prior opinion has an effect on acceptance of going concern opinion

Integrable Systems in Stringy Gravity

Static axisymmetric Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton and stationary axisymmetric Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton-Axion (EMDA) theories in four space-time dimensions are shown to be integrable by means of the inverse scattering transform method. The proof is based on the coset-space representation of the 4-dim theory in a space-time admitting a Killing vector field. Hidden symmetry group of the four-dimensional EMDA theory, unifying T and S string dualities, is shown to be Sp(2, R) acting transitively on the coset Sp(2, R)/U(2). In the case of two-parameter Abelian space-time isometry group, the hidden symmetry is the corresponding infinite-dimensional group of the Geroch-Kinnersley-Chitre type.Comment: 8 pages, LATEX, MSU-DTP-94/21, October 9

Ehlers-Harrison transformations and black holes in Dilaton-Axion Gravity with multiple vector fields

Dilaton-axion gravity with $p U(1)$ vector fields is studied on space-times admitting a timelike Killing vector field. Three-dimensional sigma-model is derived in terms of K\"ahler geometry, and holomorphic representation of the SO(2,2+p) global symmetry is constructed. A general static black hole solution depending on $2p+5$ parameters is obtained via SO(2,2+p) covariantization of the Schwarzschild solution. The metric in the curvature coordinates looks as the variable mass Reissner-Nordstr\"om one and generically possesses two horizons. The inner horizon is pushed to the singularity if electric and magnetic SO(p) charge vectors are parallel. For non-parallel charges the inner horizon has a finite area except for an extremal limit when this property is preserved only for orthogonal charges. Extremal dyon configurations with orthogonal charges have finite horizon radii continuously varying from zero to the ADM mass. New general solution is endowed with a NUT parameter, asymptotic values of dilaton and axion, and a gauge parameter which can be used to ascribe any given value to one of scalar charges.Comment: 37 pages, Late

Pengaruh Pajak Progresif Kendaraan Bermotor terhadap Pendapatan Asli Daerah Kota Malang

Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui Pengaruh Pajak Progresif Kendaraan Bermotor terhadap Pendapatan Asli Daerah Kota Malang. Sejauh apakah efektifitas dan kontribusi sebelum penerapan dan sesudah penerapan Perda no 9 Tahun 2010 tentang Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor. Metode yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah deskriptif kuantitatif. Data yang digunakan pada penelitian ini adalah data primer dan sekunder. Data yang digunakan adalah data tentang Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor dan Pendapatan Asli Daerah Kota Malang periode 2008-2013. Analisis yang digunakan adalah analisis regresi sederhana dan pengujian hipotesis dilakukan dengan menggunakan uji t. Penelitian ini menganalisis dan membandingkan antara sebelum penerapan pajak dan sesudah penerapan pajak. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa penerapan Perda no 9 Tahun 2010 tentang Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor sudah dikatakan efektif, sebab rataan dalam 3 tahun telah mencapai sebesar 100,31%. Tetapi bila di bandingkan dengan sebelum penerapan Perda No 9 Tahun 2010 tentang Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor atau setelah januari 2011 lebih tinggi efektifivitas sebelum penerapan Perda ini. besarnya presentase rataan 3 tahun sebesar 119,31%. Pada kontribusi juga sama, pencapaian dari pajak kendaraan bermotor memang lebih baik sebelum penerapan Perda No 9 Tahun 2010 tentang Pajak Kendaraan Bermotor daripada setelah penerapan perda ini. Pencapaian kontribusi realisasi sebelum pajak progresif berlaku sebesar 3,51% dan setelah pajak progresif ini berlaku sebesar 3,47%

Geroch--Kinnersley--Chitre group for Dilaton--Axion Gravity

Kinnersley--type representation is constructed for the four--dimensional Einstein--Maxwell--dilaton--axion system restricted to space--times possessing two non--null commuting Killing symmetries. New representation essentially uses the matrix--valued $SL(2,R)$ formulation and effectively reduces the construction of the Geroch group to the corresponding problem for the vacuum Einstein equations. An infinite hierarchy of potentials is introduced in terms of $2\times 2$ real symmetric matrices generalizing the scalar hierarchy of Kinnersley--Chitre known for the vacuum Einstein equations.Comment: Published in ``Quantum Field Theory under the Influence of External Conditions'', M. Bordag (Ed.) (Proc. of the International Workshop, Leipzig, Germany, 18--22 September 1995), B.G. Teubner Verlagsgessellschaft, Stuttgart--Leipzig, 1996, pp. 228-23