Central control and local government performance in the context of fiscal crises : the South Korean experience

Korean local govenmentsRescued from Japanese colonization after 36 years, Korea resumed independence as The Republic of Korea in 1948 grounded on liberal democracy. The democratic institution promised a system of separation of power, democratic rights and freedom for all people. In this context, local autonomy was experimented with but soon ceased due to internal instability and local government was suspended until the 1990s. Institutionally Korean central government undertook a steady shift toward decentralization over the past two decades or so, but that shift has more recently been tempered by the exercise of stronger central controls facing fiscal crises. This thesis argues that centralism is still a predominant ideology in intergovernmental relations despite the implementation of local autonomy. Central controls exhibited democratic change in some cases but the core nature of controlling local government has survived through institutional change appearing in different modes since the introduction of local autonomy. The democratic change in central control is declared to increase local autonomy. From this viewpoint, the democratic change in central control is assumed to improve the performance of local government based on the theory that the growth of local autonomy motivates local government to improve its performance. Financial crises were used to justify the revival of pervasive central controls. So this thesis is concerned with the relationship between central control and local performance in the context of fiscal crisis, whose focus is driven by the experience of fiscal crises over recent years in Korea. An extensive statistical analysis, drawing on a unique data base, reveals that, despite the local autonomy rhetoric, overall current central controls have a negative link with local government performance. Democratic change of central controls has not significantly improved the performance of local government. This evidence supports the view that even after the revival of local autonomy in Korea; central control plays a role of regulator rather than a role of constructive engagement with local government and emphasises institutional stability. Thus central government has not yet developed the creative potential of democratic local government and should more positively make an effort to establish democratic central-local government relations

Gel electrophoretic analysis of differently shaped interacting and non-interacting bioconjugated nanoparticles

The use of a simple gel electrophoretic method to study mixtures of differently shaped biofunctionalized nanoparticles (NP's) that undergo bioaffinity interactions is demonstrated. Both gold nanorods (NR's) and quasi-spherical nanoparticles (qNS's) were functionalized with an interacting antigen and antibody pairing (alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) protein and antiAAT) or non-interacting antibody controls (antiBNP). Gel-based measurements were accompanied with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and UV-vis spectroscopy analysis before and after separation. Initial measurements of NR and qNS bioconjugates suspended individually were applied to optimize the gel separation conditions and it was demonstrated that higher particle uniformities could be obtained relative to the initial stock solutions. A series of NR and qNS mixtures prepared at various stoichiometric ratios were then compared for both interacting (antiAAT–AAT) and non-interacting (antiAAT–antiBNP) particle conjugates. Both gel images and extinction measurements were utilized to demonstrate reduced NP concentrations transported along the gel due to bioaffinity-induced NP assembly. This confirmed that gel electrophoresis can be extended to identifying particle aggregation associated with protein bioaffinity interactions as well as being an established tool for separating particles based on size, shape and surface chemistry

Femtomolar detection of Tau proteins in undiluted plasma using surface plasmon resonance

The ability to directly detect Tau protein and other neurodegenerative biomarkers in human plasma at clinically relevant concentrations continues to be a significant hurdle for the establishment of diagnostic tests for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this article, we introduce a new DNA aptamer/antibody sandwich assay pairing and apply it for the detection of human Tau 381 in undiluted plasma at concentrations as low as 10 fM. This was achieved on a multichannel surface plasmon resonance (SPR) platform with the challenge of working in plasma overcome through the development of a tailored mixed monolayer surface chemistry. In addition, a robust methodology was developed involving various same chip control measurements on reference channels to which the detection signal was normalized. Comparative measurements in plasma between SPR and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measurements were also performed to highlight both the 1000-fold performance enhancement of SPR and the ability to measure both spiked and native concentrations that are not achievable with ELISA

Tandem femto- and nanomolar analysis of two protein biomarkers in plasma on a single mixed antibody monolayer surface using surface plasmon resonance

The multiplexed detection of protein biomarkers in plasma present over a range of clinically relevant concentrations continues to be difficult for surface-based bioaffinity detection platforms such as surface plasmon resonance (SPR). As well as nonspecific adsorption, challenges include quantitative comparison between targets whose concentrations differ by orders of magnitude, regenerating SPR chips after plasma exposure, and the two- or four-channel limitation of many commercial SPR instruments limiting sample throughput. In this article, we explore an approach where two protein biomarkers alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) and Tau 381 are detected in tandem within a single SPR channel at micromolar and femtomolar concentrations, respectively. This was achieved by creating a mixed antibody (antiAAT and antiTau) monolayer on the chip surface. After the adsorption of AAT and/or Tau, further specificity was obtained via the adsorption of a DNA aptamer specific to each target. The detection range for each target was controlled via the relative surface density ratio of each antibody type as well as each aptamer concentration. Calibration measurements were performed in both buffer and spiked plasma with the detection of native concentrations of ∼39 fM (Tau) and ∼65 μM (AAT) in a human plasma sample. Finally, tandem measurements of both targets within the same SPR signal channel were demonstrated at these very different concentrations

Major medical causes by breed and life stage for dogs presented at veterinary clinics in the Republic of Korea: a survey of electronic medical records

Background Age and breed are considered the greatest risk factors for disease prevalence and mortality in companion dogs. Understanding the prevalence of diseases, in relation to age and breed, would support appropriate guidance for future health care strategies and provide useful information for the early diagnosis of diseases. The purpose of this study was to investigate the major medical causes for dogs visiting primary-care veterinary clinics in the Republic of Korea, stratified by age and breed. Methods A total of 15,531 medical records of canine patients were analyzed from 11 veterinary clinics who shared data from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016. An electronic medical record (EMR) system was used for data collection, which included the animal identification number, age, breed, gender, neuter status, clinical information, and diagnosis. EMR data were classified using the International Classification of Disease system from the World Health Organization; presenting signs or diagnoses were identified according to breed and life stage. Results Within the age groups, preventive medicine (16.7% confidence intervals (CI) [15.9–17.5]) was the most common cause for clinic visits for the 10 year), the prevalences of heart disease, kidney disease, Cushing’s disease, and mammary tumors were higher than in the other age groups. Small and toy breed dogs comprised 67.7% of all dogs in this analysis. For all breeds, otitis externa, dermatitis or eczema, vomiting, and diarrhea were common medical problems. Discussion This study identified the most common medical disorders and differences in prevalences of diseases, according to age and breeds. The information from EMRs for dogs visiting primary-care veterinary clinics can provide background knowledge that is required to enable a better understanding of disease patterns and occurrence by age and breeds. The information from this study could enable the creation of strategies for preventing diseases and enable the identification of health problems for more effective disease management in companion dogs

Evaluation of the efficacy of ivermectin against Theileria orientalis infection in grazing cattle

Background Raising cattle on pastures is known to be beneficial for animal welfare and cost reduction. However, grazing is associated with the risk of contracting tick-borne diseases, such as theileriosis. Here, the efficacy of ivermectin against these diseases and associated clinical symptoms were evaluated. Results A total of 68 cattle from a grazing cattle farm were selected and divided into two groups: the control group (17 cattle) with no preventive treatment and the ivermectin-treated group (51 cattle) in which cattle were treated with pour-on ivermectin prior to grazing. The infection rates of Theileria orientalis and the red blood cell (RBC) profile (e.g., RBC count, hematocrit value, and hemoglobin concentration) were compared in the spring (before grazing) and summer (during grazing) between the two groups. Based on PCR amplification of the major piroplasm surface protein (MPSP) gene, 12 cattle were positive for T. orientalis infection. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the isolates identified in this study consisted of three MPSP types (1, 2, and 7). The T. orientalis infection rate in the control group during grazing was 3-fold higher than that in the ivermectin-treated group. Moreover, differences in RBC parameters during grazing were greater in the control group than in the ivermectin-treated group. In particular, the hematocrit value was significantly reduced in the control group. Conclusions The results of this study demonstrated that ivermectin had protective effects against T. orientalis infection and RBC hemolysis in grazing cattle.This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF2017R1A2B2005685). This research was partially supported by Technology Development Program (Project No. 1116043–1) for Bio-industry, Ministry for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Republic of Korea. The funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of results, writing of the report, decision to submit the paper for publication

Interplay between regulatory changes and firm behavior

This thesis consists of three empirical studies on the interplay between regulatory changes and firm behavior from the viewpoint of business ethics. While the first study investigates one of the most stringent anti-bribery laws in the U.K., the next two studies examine a new regulation in Korea affecting the ownership structure of large-sized business groups. The first study uses the U.K. Bribery Act 2010 to examine the impact of anti-bribery regulation on firm risk. I find that U.K. firms with high bribery exposure experience a significant reduction in the cost of equity as a proxy for risk to shareholders, which is estimated by using the residual income valuation model. I further find that the Bribery Act affects the cost of equity by improving the internal control system and increasing the stock liquidity of firms with high bribery exposure. This study highlights the risk reduction benefit of stringent anti-bribery laws. The second study examines the relation between cross-shareholdings and firm value in the context of changing regulatory regimes. Exploiting a new regulation in Korea that prohibits new and existing cross-ownership of business groups over 5 trillion KRW in combined assets, I estimate the market valuation changes of group-affiliated firms. I find the overall positive market response to the affiliates of regulated business groups, but significant costs of removing pre-existent cross-shareholdings. The costs are positively moderated by a greater disparity in cash-flow and voting rights, a distance from controlling shareholders’ direct ownership, and a dependency on the internal capital market. The findings suggest that the removal of cross-shareholdings reduces agency costs but simultaneously imposes potential costs. The third study explores how ownership structure affects the financing choices and efficiency of capital allocation of firms in a business group. Using a difference-in-differences design with the same regulatory change on cross-shareholdings of the second study, I provide evidence that a controlling shareholder’s direct ownership from the removal of cross-shares substitutes intra-group loans with external debts and external equity with internal equity financing. The substitution is due to the enhancing motive of controlling shareholders to maintain control over group firms from reduced wedges between control and cash-flow rights. I further find that the financing substitution improves the firms’ debt-financing sensitivity to growth potential and investment efficiency. The findings on financing and investment efficiency are valid against robustness checks with a placebo test using an artificial event year and parallel-trends test. I also show that capital allocative efficiency comes from exposing the management to financial market discipline rather than being over-leveraged. Overall, these findings suggest that the controlling shareholder’s direct equity ownership limiting access to internal capital markets improves the capital allocative efficiency of group-affiliated firms

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Department of Chemical Engineeringclos

Individual and Environmental Factors Associated with Proteinuria in Korean Children: A Multilevel Analysis

Proteinuria is a significant sign of childhood renal disorders. However, little is known about how sociodemographic and environmental factors are related to the presence of proteinuria among children and adolescents. This paper focuses on the prevalence of proteinuria and its risk factors among children and adolescents. This study conducted a secondary analysis of data from the 2016 Sample Schools Raw Data of Health Examination for School Students (SSRDHESS). Data collected from 27,081 students who had undergone a health screening were analyzed using Chi-square tests, independent t-tests, and multilevel logistic regression analysis. The prevalence of proteinuria was higher in the thin group than in the normal weight group (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 1.77; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.34–2.33) and lower in the overweight/obese group (aOR = 0.64; 95% CI = 0.51–0.80). Additionally, those in metropolitan and small–medium sized cities had a proteinuria prevalence about 1.5-fold higher than that of those in rural areas (95% CI = 1.08–2.02, 95% CI = 1.19–1.92, respectively). Proteinuria was associated with environmental pollution, including smoking rate, ambient particulate matter and heavy metals in drinking water (aOR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.01–1.20; aOR = 1.06; 95% CI = 1.01–1.11, aOR = 1.001; 95% CI = 1.0001–1.0015). These results suggest that to improve health management effectiveness, kidney disease prevention efforts for children and adolescents should focus on geographical area and environmental pollution, as well as body weight as individual factors

The effect of publication, format and content of Integrated Reports on analysts’ earnings forecasts

Integrated Reporting (IR) has recently emerged as an accounting innovation that combines financial and non-financial/sustainability information relevant to corporate value creation in a single report. While prior research on IR examined the supply side (i.e., motivation for and content) of IR, this study focuses on the demand side of IR. We specifically investigate whether IR strengthens financial analysts’ earnings forecasts and what aspects of IR influence better forecasting. For this purpose, we conduct (1) a within-firm analysis from a sample of IR early adopters to measure the difference between the pre- and post-levels of forecast dispersion following the IR release and (2) a between-firm matching analysis to test whether an IR release is indeed associated with a lower dispersion. We examine 156 IR adopters from 18 countries in 2014 and 2015, matched with 95 non-IR firms selected as a control group. The results show that a single IR (type 3) decreases the post-level of forecast dispersion of IR firms with a smaller pre-forecast dispersion in comparison with the control group. Moreover, IR completeness and detail are associated with the post-level of forecast dispersion of IR firms with smaller pre-forecast dispersion, while IR accountability (reporting more negative issues) and length have no effect on it. Our findings suggest that an IR presenting more content elements and more detail may decrease uncertainty about a firm’s information environment and therefore strengthen analysts’ decisions