Indonesia\u27s Decentralization Policy: the Budget Allocation and Its Implications for the Business Environment

This paper attempts to answer some questions about the financial capacity of local governments to implement regional autonomy. in the early stages of the implementation of autonomy, financial aspects have been crucial for every kabupaten and kota administration1. according to laws no.22, 1999 and no.25, 1999, financial management is an important indicator of local government performance in determining whether they can continue as autonomous entities or should be merged with other neighboring kabupaten or kota. some of the related issues to be discussed include: what is the regional budget allocation that each local government is to receive and what is the formula applied by the central government to determine this allocation? is the allocated budget smaller than the amount received by local governments prior to regional autonomy? is the allocated budget from the central government less than the amount required for local civil servant salaries and routine bureaucratic and administrative expenses? why have local governments been so eager to increase local revenues? what is the likely impact of this on the business climate? based on the results of field studies conducted by smeru in twelve kabupaten and kota across nine provinces, it is apparent that in many cases, local governments at the kabupaten and kota level have received an allocation of funds from the central government that exceeds routine expenditures. however, this level of funding is substantially less than the total transferred into the regions (including funds received by central government offices operating at the kabupaten and kota level) during the period before regional autonomy. it is a different matter, however, at the province level where the allocation of funds from the central government is much smaller than their routine expenditures. the size of the budget allocation is one the key reasons given by local bureaucrats to explain why local governments, both at the kabupaten and kota level as well as at the provincial level, have been working hard to increase local revenues by imposing more local taxes and levies. the negative impact of these levies on the business and investment climate has not been fully captured by recent field studies. local businessmen have pointed out that most levies have not yet been fully imposed and there is some variation between regions in the degree of their commitment to the creation of these new taxes. but it is widely accepted by local businessmen that all these new levies will create distortions in the market and a high-cost economy in the near future. some indications of these potential distortions can be already identified and will be discussed in detail in the paper. if this pattern continues without any amendments by local government or if the central government fails to intervene, another fundamental question arises: will regional autonomy be able to achieve its important goals of improving the quality of public services and increasing the participation of local business in the local economy in the regions throughout Indonesia? 1 kabupaten is the Indonesian term for district under province level while kota is the term applied to municipalities

Kajian mengenai keselamatan komputer daripada virus, ke atas pensyarah di Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn

Serangan virus ke atas komputer merupakan fenomena yang semakin berleluasa kini. Satu kajian telah dilakukan ke atas pensyarah di dua Jabatan Kolej Universiti Teknologi Tun Hussein Onn iaitu Jabatan Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional serta Pus at Pengajian Kemanusiaan dan Komunikasi. Borang soal selidik telah diedarkan kepada 35 orang pensyarah yang terdiri daripada 19 orang di Jabatan Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional dan 16 orang di Pusat Pengajian Kemanusiaan dan Komunikasi. Daripada keputusan analisis yang diperolehi, 3 tahap iaitu pengetahuan, persediaan dan pencegahan dikenalpasti dan terdapat perbezaan skor yang dikategorikan tinggi, sederhana dan rendah diperolehi. Di akhir kajian kes ini, pengkaji memperolehi keputusan yang sederhana bagi tahap pengetahuan untuk semua responden dikedua-dua jabatan lelaki dan perempuan. Manakala tahap persediaan adalah sederhana bagi responden lelaki dikedua-dua Jabatan dan perempuan di Jabatan Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional. Namun begitu, tahap tinggi bagi responden perempuan di Pusat Pengajian Kemanusiaan dan Komunikasi. Tahap pencegahan adalah seimbang di Jabatan Pendidikan Teknik dan Vokasional bagi responden lelaki manakala selebihnya berada di tahap sederhana

On Solution of Fractional Differential Equations Using Osler Definition in Hilbert Space

In this paper we consider the fractional differential equations with constant coefficients, using Osler definition.......

Investigation for optimal hybrid concrete blended with polypropylene and steel fiber to evaluate structural performance

In recent times, there has been a significant surge in interest regarding the usage of different materials to strengthen concrete. The capacity to enhance the tensile strength of concrete has made Hybrid Fiber Reinforced Concrete (HFRC) a subject of considerable interest. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of polypropylene and steel fibers on the strength of concrete. The variable parameters encompass varying proportions of steel and polypropylene fibers. A thorough experimental program, encompassing a total of 36 combinations, was executed with diverse HFRC mixtures. Based on past research, it is projected that fibers would perform better. One combination served as the control, while the other 35 combinations incorporated PPF in varying proportions (ranging from 0.2% to 1% of the cement’s mass) with an increment of 0.2%, along with steel fibers (ranging from 0.25% to 3% of the cement’s mass). Following this, split tensile strength tests (performed according to ASTM C 496) were carried out. Tensile testing was performed on specimens to observe the failure mode and tensile strength of the samples. The report ends by highlighting the research findings and outlining potential directions for additional study in this area. In conclusion, this study’s findings offer convincing evidence about the use of fibers in concrete

Unmasking the elusive: an early gestational age placenta accreta case series to illuminate the path towards avoiding missed diagnosis

Placenta accreta is a condition characterized by the abnormal invasion of the placenta into the uterine wall, leading to torrential hemorrhage. This case series, highlights the importance of accurate diagnosis and early detection of this life-threatening complication. The incidence of this iatrogenic complication is rising due to increased caesarean deliveries. While in advance stages of pregnancy the chances of missing accreta are less but in early pregnancy the diagnosis may be elusive. Timely detection by using imaging modalities like ultrasound both 2D and colour Doppler, provide valuable clues. Misdiagnosis may be fatal, especially in the first trimester. The present case series presents 3 cases where initial diagnosis of missed abortion followed by repeated curettage and gestational trophoblastic disease (GTD) was made respectively. The agony of suffering leads the patient to our tertiary care center where the diagnosis of accreta was made. Accurate diagnosis and early detection of placenta accreta are vital to optimize patient outcome. Detecting the nicheand an anteriorly situated low lying placenta with history of previous birth by caesarian section should raise suspicion, and vigilance on the part of treating obstetrician is must

Structured knowledge creation for Urdu language: A DBpedia approach

Wikipedia information is extracted by DBpedia and linked to other web resources as Linked Open Data, which is an important contribution to the field of semantics. As part of its internationalisation endeavour, DBpedia now has 20 language chapters that have been mapped to it; nonetheless, there have been very few attempts from Urdu. This article outlines the procedures and highlights the efforts put forward as the first contribution to the manual creation of Urdu mappings with DBpedia Ontology classes. Our approach led to an increase in the number of mapped infoboxes, thus enhancing the DBpedia. The mapping procedure is broken down into two parts. The infobox template is first mapped to the DBpedia ontology's relevant class, and then the attributes of the infobox are mapped to the properties of that class. In addition, alongside other mapped languages, Urdu labels are included to the description of Ontology classes. We have covered around a thousand properties and attributes of Urdu with English DBpedia Ontology on DBpedia mapping server

Facile Synthesis of Gallium (III)-Chitosan Complexes as Antibacterial Biomaterial

Even though antibiotic treatment remains one of the most common tools to handle bacterial infections, the excessive antibiotic concentration at the target site may lead to undesired effects. Aiming at the fabrication of antibiotic-free biomaterials for antibacterial applications, in this work, we propose the synthesis of gallium (III)—chitosan (Ga (III)-CS) complexes with six different gallium concentrations via an in situ precipitation method. Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy indicated the chelation of chitosan with Ga (III) by peak shifts and changes in the relative absorbance of key spectral bands, while energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy indicated the homogenous distribution of the metal ions within the polymer matrix. Additionally, similar to CS, all Ga (III)-CS complexes showed hydrophobic behavior during static contact-angle measurements. The antibacterial property of the complexes against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria was positively correlated with the Ga (III) concentration. Moreover, cell studies confirmed the nontoxic behavior of the complexes against the human osteosarcoma cell line (MG-63 cells) and mouse embryonic fibroblasts cell line (MEFs). Based on the results of this study, new antibiotic-free antibacterial biomaterials based on Ga (III)-CS can be developed, expanding the scope of CS applications in the biomedical field