Decorum or Deterrence? The Politics of Execution in Malawi, 1915-1966

This article is not the final print version. The print version is available at http://www.Bergpublishers.com.Capital punishment - specifically public execution - is here investigated not simply as a judicial punishment, but as a lens through which to view the civil and socio-political development of Malawi from the colonial to early independence eras. Public executions were an exceptional measure, employed at times of marked social and political unrest, being ordered by the colonial government in response to the Chilembwe Uprising in 1915 and by Prime Minister Banda in 1965 in the aftermath of the Cabinet crisis and Chipembere Uprising. This article looks at the continuities and changes in the practice and signification of these judicial killings

Open Government Data Initiatives: Open by Default or Publishing with Purpose

Over the last decade, after a set of Open Government Data (OGD) principles were developed, governments around the world started to radically change their culture on data governance. However, at the implementation stage of OGD initiatives governments needed to consider whether publishing the massive quantities of open datasets did meet public needs for use and re-use, in view of the enormous investment and resources put into the production of publishable OGD. This research-in-progress adopts an exploratory case study approach combining it with a narrative literature review to investigate how the “Open by default” principle and the “Publishing with purpose” strategy were involved in facilitating OGD usage and public participation. The study’s goal is to overview the current implementation of OGD initiatives and to explore best practices when working with open data. We expect to present a new logic model or to show the modification of existing government organisational logic models by analysing the findings on the nature of the New Zealand government effort in opening data up relates with the possible advantage experienced by the government and the public at large

THE BENEFITS OF OPEN GOVERNMENT DATA USE: A CROSSCOUNTRY COMPARISON

Data produced by government have enormous importance; in addition to providing the information needed to run governance tasks related to internal processes, they can be used to create new sources of value by combining public datasets with private organisations’ data. In this regard, many countries have implemented Open Government Data (OGD) to unlock the potential value of public data. This study study is concerned with how government agencies create regulations about adopting OGD. The research examined five studies which investigated OGD programs in five different countries, and in one political and economic union. Drawing on the results of the analysis of the selected studies, it presents a list of categorised benefits based on OGD actors’ perspectives. Three categories of benefits are identified, namely 1) technical and operational, 2) economic, and 3) political and societal. This study gives a practical insight into how government agencies can use innovation to create, deliver and benefit from sustainable OGD value

Hubungan Antara Kepercayaan Terhadap Pemimpin Dengan Keterikatan Kerja Pada Karyawan PT Telkom Witel Semarang

Keterikatan kerja adalah kemampuan karyawan yang bersifat positif yang ditandai dengan curahan energi secara fisik dan mental dalam bekerja serta adanya keterlibatan yang kuat dan penuh konsentrasi dalam bekerja.Kepercayaan terhadap pemimpinadalahkepercayaan yang dimiliki karyawan terhadap pemimpin berdasarkan keyakinan bahwa pemimpin tersebut berkompeten, integritas, konsisten, loyalitas dan terbuka. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui hubungan antarakepercayaan terhadap pemimpindengan keterikatan kerja pada karyawan PT Telkom Witel Semarang.Populasi penelitian yang memenuhi karakteristik sebanyak 171 karyawan, sampel penelitian adalah 114 karyawan dengan karakteristik masa kerja minimal satu tahun dengan menggunakan teknik clusterrandom sampling. Pengumpulan data menggunakan skala keterikatan kerja(25 aitem α = 0,87) dan skala kepercayaan terhadap pemimpin(39 aitem α = 0,93). Analisis regresi sederhana menunjukan adanya hubungan positif dan signifikan antara kepercayaan terhadap pemimpin dengan keterikatan kerja (rxy = 0,55 dengn p <0,001) yang berarti semakin tinggikepercayaan terhadap pemimpin, maka semakin tinggi keterikatan kerja yang dimiliki karyawan. Demikian pula sebaliknya jika kepercayaan terhadap pemimpinrendah maka keterikatan kerja yang dimiliki oleh karyawan akan rendah. Kepercayaan terhadap pemimpin memberikan sumbangan efektif sebesar 30 % terhadap keterikatan kerja

Value-creating Roles Played by the Actors in Open Government Data: A Systematic Literature Review

Government-held data are immensely valuable; as well as providing the information required to carry out tasks related to internal governance procedures, additional value may be generated by publishing and making accessible Open Government Data (OGD). The paper aims to identify the underlying factors that influence or are influenced by value creation, from the perspective of the OGD actors engaged in value-creating roles. A systematic literature review was conducted in order to study OGD value creation from the perspective of OGD actors engaged in value-creating roles. The findings of the metasynthesis approach indicate that the value-creating roles of the actors in the OGD ecosystem initiate the value co-creation necessary to turning data value into social and economic benefits for stakeholders, as the outcome of all actors’ efforts and government commitment to OGD initiatives

The impacts of telecommuting in Dublin

Telecommuting has been perceived as an effective means of reducing commuter related trips, travel time and emissions. Previously, the lack of access to broadband Internet connection and teleconferencing software from home has acted as a barrier to telecommuting regularly or at all. However, with advances in information and communication technology in recent years telecommuting is becoming a viable option for employers and employees to undertake. This paper examines the current trends of full day and part day telecommuting in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA), and attempts to ascertain the most influential drivers and constraints related to telecommuting. The research presented estimates of the environmental benefits from individuals that telecommute. Finally, this paper seeks to determine the magnitude of carbon emissions savings from individuals adopting telecommuting and provides a social cost of carbon saving value. The survey results presented suggest that approximately 44% of the population of the GDA telecommute at least once a month. The findings also indicate that needing contact with colleagues is the most influential constraint to telecommuting, while greater flexibility and avoiding travelling in peak periods are the most important drivers in the propensity to telecommute. Finally, this study shows that there are substantial carbon reductions and social cost of carbon savings. Thus illustrating how telecommuting can be a viable and sustainable policy in the GDA or in other similar sized regions

Monitoring the EU protected Geomalacus maculosus (Kerry Slug): what are the factors affecting catch returns in open and forested habitats?

Geomalacus maculosus is a slug species protected under EU law with a distribution limited to the west of Ireland and north-west Iberia. The species, originally thought to be limited within Ireland to deciduous woodland and peatland, has been found in a number of commercial conifer plantations since 2010. While forest managers are now required to incorporate the protection of the species where it is present, no clear species monitoring protocols are currently available. This study examines the efficacy of De Sangosse refuge traps across three habitats frequently associated with commercial forest plantations in Ireland and compares them with hand searching, a commonly used method for slug monitoring. Catch data during different seasons and under different weather conditions are also presented. Results indicate that autumn is the optimal time for sampling G. maculosus but avoiding extremes of hot or cold weather. While refuge traps placed at 1.5 m on trees in mature conifer plantations and directly on exposed rock in blanket peatlands result in significantly greater catches, hand searching is the most successful approach for clear-fell areas. Hand searches in clear-fell preceded by rain are likely to result in greater numbers caught. The results of this study form, for the first time, the basis for G. maculosus monitoring guidelines for forestry managers. © 2016, The Ecological Society of Japa

pcrEfficiency: a Web tool for PCR amplification efficiency prediction

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Relative calculation of differential gene expression in quantitative PCR reactions requires comparison between amplification experiments that include reference genes and genes under study. Ignoring the differences between their efficiencies may lead to miscalculation of gene expression even with the same starting amount of template. Although there are several tools performing PCR primer design, there is no tool available that predicts PCR efficiency for a given amplicon and primer pair.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have used a statistical approach based on 90 primer pair combinations amplifying templates from bacteria, yeast, plants and humans, ranging in size between 74 and 907 bp to identify the parameters that affect PCR efficiency. We developed a generalized additive model fitting the data and constructed an open source Web interface that allows the obtention of oligonucleotides optimized for PCR with predicted amplification efficiencies starting from a given sequence.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>pcrEfficiency provides an easy-to-use web interface allowing the prediction of PCR efficiencies prior to web lab experiments thus easing quantitative real-time PCR set-up. A web-based service as well the source code are provided freely at <url>http://srvgen.upct.es/efficiency.html</url> under the GPL v2 license.</p