Limiting Cross-Retaliation when Punishment is Limited: How DSU Article 22.3 Complements GATT Article XXVIII

This paper analyzes two prominent institutional rules in the international trading system: a lim- ited cross-retaliation rule characterized by the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes (DSU) Article 22.3 and a limited punishment rule characterized by the General Agreement on Taris and Trade (GATT) Article XXVIII. In general, both rules are designed to limit the countermeasures upon a violation; however, the former rule species the limits of composition in retaliation, whereas the latter one designates the limits of retaliation magnitude. We show that, albeit seemingly unrelated, the limited cross-retaliation rule complements the limited punishment rule in per- mitting greater trade liberalization. Specically, we show how the limited cross-retaliation rule also helps limit the incentives to violate the trade agreement when the limited punishment rule prevails.

Public sector accounting reforms in the Indonesian post-Suharto era

The aim of the study is to understand the institutionalization process of an accrual accounting system in the Indonesian public sector. The data were drawn from three sources: (1) official documents (i.e. laws and government regulations) about the adoption and implementation of accrual accounting in the Indonesian public sector; (2) publicly available information about the social, economic and political developments leading to the process of the adoption; (3) interviews with 36 participants who have been involved in or have an understanding of the internalization of accrual accounting in the Indonesian public sector. Drawn from an integrated model of institutionalization (IMI) adapted from Dillard, Rigsby, and Goodman (2004), and Dambrin, Sponem, and Lambert (2007) inspired by New Institutional Sociology (NIS) this study was able to identify and discuss the features of the institutionalization process, at the national level and within one municipality used as a case study. This study found that at the economic and political level and in the organizational field the new ideals which require the adoption of accrual accounting in the Indonesian public sector have been mobilized by the technocrats (economists and accountants) at the Ministry of Finance since the 1980s. This mobilization occurred when the country encountered a fiscal crisis. The study also identified that the desire to adopt accrual accounting may have been driven by the wish to follow a similar practice adopted in other countries. Nonetheless, a formal adoption of the accrual accounting system was only realized following the collapse of Suharto’s regime in 1998 through the issuance of Law 17 (2003) as new discourses and government accounting standards in 2005 as new techniques. In this municipal case, beyond the economic reasons, the move to formally adopt the accrual accounting system at the economic and political level after Suharto appeared to be part of the government’s response to the demand from the public and international financial authorities (the IMF and the World Bank). At the organizational level, drawing from the experience of one municipal government, the internalization processes of the accounting system were primarily motivated by the presence of legal enforcement. This occurs because the political and economic affairs of local governments in Indonesia are regulated by the central government. Therefore, local governments effectively contribute to the domination of the central government in the mobilization process. Beyond this, the process and outcomes of the institutionalization of the accrual accounting system contradict the intended benefits, as expected in the Law 17 (2003), and the government accounting standards issued in 2005. In this case, the lack of skills and experience in using accrual accounting has increased accounting costs of the municipality and the officials within the municipality have yet to use the accrual-based accounting information for real decision making. In addition, power and old habits of local actors (i.e. senior officials in a municipal government observed) relating to a corruption practice (bribery) surrounding the adoption have also produced an unintended outcome. In this vein, technical capacity, power, and old habits of local actors affect the extent to which a new accounting system could be internalized. An important insight that we can draw from this study is that the process and outcomes of this institutionalization are not only shaped by the pressures from external factors, but also by activities, processes and routines of actors within organizations. One of the implications of the these findings for policy making is that Indonesian Central Goverment needs to be aware of the capacity of local governments in implementing policies and programs anfd provides approptriate incentives to achieve full uptake. A lack of competencies besides making successful implementation difficult, may exacerbate frustration fuelling active resistance. Further research could address the relationship between capability building and the proximity of educational institutions. The thesis indicates that successful implementation is limited. This encourages further research into the factors that impact implementation. The influence of culture such as a common practice of bribery should also be considered. The public and academics are also reminded that the adoption of a business-style accounting system in the public sector can be costly and may act against its promoted purposes. The thesis also contributes to the public sector accounting literature by reducing the gap between what is known and unknown about governmental accounting practices in one of emerging economies in Asia, that has been rarely investigated

Methods and Varieties of Guidance According to Imām Māturīdī

Māturīdī, one of the prominent Kalām scholar, is mostly considered to have played a significant role in the construction of a sustainable religious approach today. This recognition originates from his joint reference to intellect and divine inspiration with regard to issues in Kalām in addition to his contributions to the Sunni way of thinking. His balanced use of the intellect and divine inspiration in his solutions for issues of Hidāyat increased his popularity. In the Muslim world, just as in any other community, perception of reality or guidance not as a process but as outright values of their community causes such problems as religious fanaticism and advocacy for sole truth. To solve such problems, a sound understanding of guidance in Muslim communities should be constructed in the light of scientific and social realities. In this respect, determining unique and comprehensive interpretations of Māturīdī of the issue will be of great help for establishing a peaceful religious understanding for the common future of humanity. In the center of Māturīdī’s interpretations of guidance lies his approach to guidance with respect to its methods and varieties. Besides presenting the definitions of these methods and varieties, the current study analyzes Māturīdī’s interpretations of how these methods and varieties interact

Entropic selection of Nash equilibrium

This study argues that Nash equilibria with less variations in players' best responses are more appealing. To that regard, a notion measuring such variations, the entropic selection of Nash equilibrium, is presented: For any given Nash equilibrium, we consider the cardinality of the support of a player's best response against others' strategies that are sufficiently close to the behavior specified. These cardinalities across players are then aggregated with a real-valued function on whose form we impose no restrictions apart from the natural limitation to nondecreasingness in order to obtain equilibria with less variations. We prove that the entropic selection of Nash equilibrium is non-empty and admit desirable properties. Some well-known games, each of which display important insights about virtues / problems of various equilibrium notions, are considered; and, in all of these games our notion displays none of the criticisms associated with these examples. These examples also show that our notion does not have any containment relations with other associated and well-known refinements, perfection, properness and persistence

Developing a mouse model to study the metabolic role of the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 in adipose tissue

The term "diabesity" is a pandemic that is threatening populations worldwide and is the term is finding itself as a household name, fueling itself through the high-fat diet and sedentary lifestyle. As a result of these living choices, the population is suffering from lipotoxicity, the underlying cause of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and insulin resistance. Lipolytic control resides around the rate-limiting enzyme, adipose triglyceride lipase, which is normally downregulated in the insulin-stimulated state. This is the signal that is aberrant in patients who have T2DM and could be a significant factor in lipotoxicity. This state of lipotoxicity leads to many complications, increasing the risk of heart disease, heart attack, blindness, nephropathy, neuropathy, and stroke. Vasculature damage also can lead to poor perfusion of the lower extremities, increasing the risk of ulcer, gangrene, and amputation of the foot. An area of research delving into this issue lies within the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), as it mediates the antilipolytic signal and decreases ATGL expression. This discovery was further clarified when the Kandror lab identified the transcription factor early growth factor 1 (Egr1) as the protein that binds to the promoter region of ATGL and downregulates its transcription. Egr1 has also been thought to be a factor in the development of insulin resistance in the hyperinsulemic state. To date, we have experimented upon murine 3T3-L1 and human adipocytes. We have developed a double transgenic mouse positive for reverse tetracycline transactivator (rtTA) and myc-tagged ras homolog enriched in brain (Rheb), which is a misnomer as it is located in adipose tissue (AT). With the mTORC1 axis hyperactive, we seek to show that Egr1 is a rich target in diabetes and lipotoxicity, regulating and inhibiting ATGL levels through mTORC1

In pursuit of national interest: change and continuity in Malaysia’s foreign policy towards the middle east

Malaysia’s foreign policy has traditionally been focussed on Southeast Asia and its friends in the West. As such, the Middle East was not a priority area in its foreign policy despite the long established historical, social and religious connections that the country had with the region. It was not until the 1980s that Malaysia began to develop closer cooperation with the Middle East within the framework of strengthening relations with the Islamic world. Bilateral relations remained close with several countries of the region, although they lacked the visibility and force in comparison with Malaysia’s relations with East Asian countries and the West. This paper examines Malaysia’s contemporary foreign policy towards the Middle East,the factors shaping it, the issues and challenges in managing its relations with the region. It argues that Malaysia’s objectives in the Middle East are tied to securing its national interests that can be achieved by enhancing political, economic and social ties with the countries of the region. As a small country, Malaysia does not have the influence to affect events in the region. However, there are mechanisms and frameworks as well as the social and religious links that can help promote the country’s national interests. The paper further argues that while there are reasons to continue with the current policy towards the Middle East, Malaysia needs to take stock of the successes and failures of its relations with the countries of the region, and to explore some areas outside those traditional ones so as to take advantage of the economic opportunities that the region may provide

Analisis Pengaruh Gaya Kepemimpinan dan Budaya Organisasi pada Komitmen Organisasi Serta Implikasinya terhadap Kinerja Pegawai Negeri Sipil Dinas Pendidikan Se-provinsi Sumatera Selatan

Latar belakang penelitian ini, yaitu untuk meningkatkan kinerja pegawai negeri sipil pada Dinas Pendidikan di Kabupaten/Kota dan Provinsi Sumatera Selatan. Hipotesis penelitian ini adalah terdapat pengaruh : 1) gaya kepemimpinan terhadap komitmen organisasi, 2) budaya organisasi terhadap komitmen organisasi, 3) gaya kepemimpinan dan budaya organisasi secara simultan terhadap komitmen organisasi, 4) gaya kepemimpinan terhadap kinerja pegawai, 5) budaya organisasi terhadap kinerja pegawai, 6) komitmen organisasi terhadap kinerja pegawai, 7) gaya kepemimpinan, budaya organisasi dan komitmen organisasi secara simultan terhadap kinerja pegawai.Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriptif kuantitatif dan verifikatif dengan melibatkan sampel penelitian sebanyak 200 orang Pegawai Negeri Sipil pada Dinas Pendidikan Kabupaten/Kota dan Provinsi di Sumatera Selatan. Teknik pengambilan sampel menggunakan proporsional random sampling dan pengumpulan data menggunakan kuesioner. Pengujian hipotesis menggunakan model persamaan struktural (Structural Equation Modelling) dengan program aplikasi LISREL 8.70Hasil penelitian ini dengan menggunakan 2nd CFA (Second Order Confirmatory Factor Analysis), menunjukan bahwa : 1) terdapat pengaruh positif dan signifikan gaya kepemimpinan dan Budaya organisasi baik secara parsial maupun simultan terhadap komitmen organisasi, 2) terdapat pengaruh gaya kepemimpinan, budaya organisasi dan komitmen organisasi secara parsial dan simultan terhadap kinerja pegawai. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa gaya kepemimpinan merupakan faktor dominan yang mempengaruhi komitmen organisasi dan komitmen organisasi tersebut merupakan faktor dominan yang mempengaruhi kinerja pegawai khususnya dimensi tekad bulat/kemauan kuat pada indikator kemauan bekerja keras untuk mencapai tujuan organisasi.Kesimpulan: untuk meningkatkan kinerja pegawai pada Dinas Pendidikan Kabupaten/Kota dan Provinsi di Sumatera Selatan diperlukan gaya kepemimpinan selling dan komitmen organisasi yang berorientasi pada tekad bulat/kemauan kuat