Innovations in municipal service delivery : the case of Vietnam's HPWSCo

Thesis (M.C.P.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning, 1999.Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-67).This thesis describes a state owned municipal water supply service company, the Haiphong Water Supply Company (HPWSCo), that improved its service delivery and successfully transformed itself into a profit making utility with metered consumers willing to pay for improved service. The thesis examines how HPWSCo tackled the typical problems of a developing country's municipal water supply company and succeeded in the eyes of the consumers, the local and national governments, and the wider development community. The thesis describes how and under what conditions HPWSCo has changed itself from a poorly performing utility to a successful one. It explores the characteristics of the local level service delivery 'ward model' that underpin HPWSCo's success, including: the structure of the ward water supply sub offices; the local procedures for responding to consumer need; and the management of local employees in a way that motivates exemplary performance. The thesis examines how HPWSCo used existing resources and scaled-out improvements ward by ward, learning lessons for subsequent ward enhancements. By focusing on what HPWSCo did the thesis attempts to illustrate the reform strategy of a government agency (state owned enterprise) previously riddled with problems and poor performance that became much more effective and efficient.by Joyce E. Coffee.M.C.P

More urgency, not less: The COVID-19 pandemic’s lessons for local climate leadership

This report is the first of three that will provide community leaders, inside and outside of local government, with guidance about navigating their climate action priorities through the gauntlet of challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis. Each document, based on a synthesis of expertise and analysis of local climate action options and current research, will address a different topic: 1. Why local climate action needs more urgency, not less; 2. How the pandemic response creates opportunities and risks for local climate action, and how socially vulnerable populations can benefit from purposeful responses to the pandemic and climate change; and, 3. Which local climate actions should be a priority for federal funding

An Online Dynamic Amplitude-Correcting Gradient Estimation Technique to Align X-ray Focusing Optics

High-brightness X-ray pulses, as generated at synchrotrons and X-ray free electron lasers (XFEL), are used in a variety of scientific experiments. Many experimental testbeds require optical equipment, e.g Compound Refractive Lenses (CRLs), to be precisely aligned and focused. The lateral alignment of CRLs to a beamline requires precise positioning along four axes: two translational, and the two rotational. At a synchrotron, alignment is often accomplished manually. However, XFEL beamlines present a beam brightness that fluctuates in time, making manual alignment a time-consuming endeavor. Automation using classic stochastic methods often fail, given the errant gradient estimates. We present an online correction based on the combination of a generalized finite difference stencil and a time-dependent sampling pattern. Error expectation is analyzed, and efficacy is demonstrated. We provide a proof of concept by laterally aligning optics on a simulated XFEL beamline

Audit within the corporate governance paradigm: a cornerstone built on shifting sand?:a cornerstone built on shifting sand?

This paper is a case study-based investigation of aspects of the current paradigmatic approach to ‘good’ corporate governance with its focus on the interlinked roles of internal control and risk management procedures, internal audit and external audit, overseen and co-ordinated by a formal structure of board committees, in particular the audit committee. The evidence that we adduce from the study of four high-profile cases of perceived accounting and governance failure provides limited assurance that this approach will in fact be cost-effective or efficient in preventing further such cases of accounting and governance failure. Specifically, issues as to remuneration and fee dependence; lack of relevant knowledge and expertise; and social and psychological dependence upon executive management appear to have significantly and negatively affected the quality of decision-making of governance gatekeepers. This suggests that further consideration of relevant economic, institutional and cognitive/behavioural factors beyond the rational choice model of traditional economics should underpin future developments in required modes and structures of governance

Prognostic Indicators for Ebola Patient Survival

To determine whether 2 readily available indicators predicted survival among patients with Ebola virus disease in Sierra Leone, we evaluated information for 216 of the 227 patients in Bo District during a 4-month period. The indicators were time from symptom onset to healthcare facility admission and quantitative real-time reverse transcription PCR cycle threshold (Ct), a surrogate for viral load, in first Ebola virus–positive blood sample tested. Of these patients, 151 were alive when detected and had reported healthcare facility admission dates and Ct values available. Time from symptom onset to healthcare facility admission was not associated with survival, but viral load in the first Ebola virus–positive blood sample was inversely associated with survival: 52 (87%) of 60 patients with a Ct of >24 survived and 20 (22%) of 91 with a Ct of <24 survived. Ct values may be useful for clinicians making treatment decisions or managing patient or family expectations

Addition of H19 ‘Loss of Methylation Testing’ for Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) Increases the Diagnostic Yield

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) is a clinical diagnosis; however, molecular confirmation via abnormal methylation of DMR2(LIT1) and/or DMR1(H19) has clinical utility due to epigenotype-tumor association. Despite the strong link between H19 hypermethylation and tumor risk, several diagnostic laboratories only test for hypomethylation of LIT1. We assessed the added diagnostic value of combined LIT1 and H19 testing in a large series of referred samples from 1298 patients, including 53 well-characterized patients from the St. Louis Children's Hospital BWS-Registry (validation samples) and 1245 consecutive nationwide referrals (practice samples). Methylation-sensitive enzymatic digestion with Southern hybridization assessed loss of normal imprinting. In the validation group, abnormal LIT1 hypomethylation was detected in 60% (32/52) of patients but LIT1/H19-combined testing was abnormal in 68% (36/53); sensitivity in the practice setting demonstrated 27% (342/1245) abnormal LIT1 and 32% (404/1245) abnormal LIT1/H19-combined. In addition, H19 methylation was abnormal in 7% of LIT1-normal patients. We observed absence of uniparental disomy (UPD) in 27% of combined LIT1/H19-abnormal samples, diagnostic of multilocus methylation abnormalities; in contrast to studies implicating that combined LIT1/H19 abnormalities are diagnostic of UPD. The overall low detection rate, even in validated patient samples and despite characterization of both loci and UPD status, emphasizes the importance of clinical diagnosis in BWS