Transparency and Corruption in Southeast Asia

In the contemporary world, effective democratic governance is anchored, among other key factors, on the degree of openness that governments exhibit in political and administrative affairs and the amplitude of integrity public administrators demonstrate in performing their official routine. Democracy cannot thrive in an environment of secrecy, as the free flow of information is imperative for people to follow and scrutinize the operations of a representative government, assess the policies and decisions it makes, and appraise the conduct of its personnel. Open government, which can promote a culture of probity within the public service, facilitates the consolidation and gradual deepening of democracy. It strengthens the structures of accountability by applying the wherewithal to reduce malfeasance and corruption in public organizations. The more transparent a government is, the fewer will be the opportunities for public administrators and managers to resort to corrupt practices in the tasks they perform and deeper will be people's capacity to exercise control over arbitrary state power. Framing public policies behind closed doors or adhering to obscure procurement and financial practices can lead to making erroneous choices that may have adverse implications for the community and beyond. The immoderate exercise of bureaucratic discretion in a closed secretive environment or the influence of nontransparent corporate culture and the almost unbound volition of oligopolists to control competition in the market place result in corruption. Thus in the symbiotic relationship between corruption and opacity, discretion and monopoly are critical factors, and the social and economic fallout of inordinate opacity and pervasive corruption can be a bane for democracy and development

Combating Corruption and Managing Integrity in Malaysia: A Critical Overview of Recent Strategies and Initiatives

Corruption, Public integrity, Governance, Politicisation, Patronage and money politics,

Necessity and relevance of precipitate free clear electrolytes for electrodeposition of CdS semiconductor materials with enhanced photovoltaic properties

Cadmium sulfide (CdS) is a well-known window material used for fabrication of second generation thin film solar cells including CdS/CdTe and CdS/CuInGaSe2. Among the CdS fabrication techniques, electrodeposition is a simple, cost effective and scalable method that has been stepped towards large scale commercialization. However, the presence of precipitates in baths used for electrodeposition of CdS has been found to be a persistent problem which had produced CdS thin films with poor photovoltaic properties. Hence, an investigation was carried out to identify a set of optimum physiochemical conditions that can produce clear stable electrolyte for electrodeposition of CdS thin film semiconductors using CdCl2 and Na2S2O3 precursor salts. The study revealed that, electrolytes containing 0.10 mol/L CdCl2 and 0.01 mol/L Na2S2O3, within the pH range of 1.50–2.00 and the temperature range of 55–65 °C can provide clear and stable electrolytes for electrodeposition of CdS thin films. Further, the results showed that, the electrical, optical, morphological and structural properties of CdS layers electrodeposited from electrolytes within above physiochemical conditions were remarkably better to those electrodeposited from the turbid electrolytic baths formed beyond the ranges of predetermined optimum physiochemical conditions

Leadership and Collaborative Governance in Managing Emergencies and Crises

Leadership and governance are two concepts very central to disaster management. This chapter analyzes disaster and crisis management in two mega-disasters of 2010: the Haiti Earthquake and Pakistan Floods. These two cases are compared and contrasted from collaborative governance, international coordination, and multi-layered leadership perspectives. Findings indicate that leadership is a multi-layered and multi-dimensional phenomenon and concept in disasters and collaborative settings. Leadership layers comprise presidential and political leadership, civilian government leadership, military leadership, international humanitarian leadership which is primarily UN centric, and also community leadership. Comparative governance and leadership structures in the two countries show that the Pakistan military response and their leadership stand out because of their commendable efforts in the flood response and relief phases. On the other hand, Haiti has no military forces and had to rely heavily on the US military. Overall political leadership seems to be very weak in the two countries. The issue of competitive elections in Haiti, the deaths of many government officials and the destruction of government offices in the capital city contributed to worsening Haiti’s government response. Findings also indicate that the International humanitarian leadership which is UN centric, and follows a UN cluster approach, has ample shortcomings and needs to be revamped and improved