To what extent do infrastructure and financial sectors reforms interplay? Evidence from panel data on the power sector in developing countries

The main goal of this study is to demonstrate the existence of a significant empirical link between infrastructure and financial sectors reforms the effects of which are reflected in infrastructure sectors performance. This paper reports on the findings of an exploration of this issue for the case of the power sector in developing countries. We estimate the impact of the four main components of the power sector reform in these countries, namely, the creation of an independent regulatory agency, the unbundling of generation, transmission, and distribution, the introduction of competition and the implementation of privatization programs in the generation and distribution segments, on some of this sector’s performance outcomes, and attempt to assess the contribution of the domestic financial systems’ reforms to these outcomes. In a dataset on 42 developing countries covering the 1990-2005 period, we find that private participation in generation and distribution has significantly improved power supply as reflected in higher electricity generation per capita and technical and labor efficiency in the distribution segment. The unbundling of generation, transmission, and distribution has contributed to improving productive efficiency through a better use of the labor factor in the distribution segment. We find that the creation of a separate regulatory agency has boosted the generation segment in terms of both capacity and sales and has generated better incentives for a more efficient use of labor input in the distribution segment. We also find that regulatory experience has significantly contributed to improving access to electricity. The results suggest that while the power sector, in particular, its generation segment, has significantly benefited from the introduction of independent regulation, the beneficial effects of (good) regulatory practices have been exacerbated by the modernization of the financial systems. More specifically, improved financial systems have eased access to capital for operators allowing them to upgrade their networks and decrease power losses in distribution. The overall results obtained in this paper strongly recommend that along with reforming the power sector, policy makers in developing countries should implement the financial reforms that would deepen their domestic financial systems thus allowing them to recover the full benefits of these systems’ positive externalities on the performance of the sector.Developing countries, electricity industry performance, privatization, regulation, unbundling, competition, financial sector development

Telecommunications Technologies: Deployment in Developing Countries

This paper examines some policies pursued in developing countries for the provision of telecommunications services in rural areas. These policies significantly differ from those typically implemented in developed countries in their fundamental objectives, the technological strategies deployed and the market and institutional environments they rest on. A review of some representative experiences suggests that thinking about public utility reforms in this part of the world is quite a challenging exercise. We point out some economic and institutional characteristics of these countries that we believe normative analysis of the reforms should explicitly take into accountTelecommunications; Developing Countries; Universal Access

Comparing the Image of Man between the Islamic and Western Sources

أهداف البحث: يهدف البحث إلى الكشف عن أصول مفهوم الإنسان التي ينضبط بها تعريفه في القرآن الكريم والسنة النبوية الشريفة وهي: "الفكر والغرائز والعقائد والأعمال" للكشف عن مختلف مراتبه العليا: كالرجولة والمروءة والفتوة والرجـل الأمة، ومراتبه الدنيا: كالإنسان الذي يحمل طباع الثعلب أو الطاووس أو الكلب..  ويضعه  كمعيار أثناء تتبع السيرة الذاتية له في الحقول المعرفية، بغية تذكير الآدميين بالمفهوم الأصل -إنسان الفطرة-، علها تحافظ على ما تبقى منه وتنقذ الحضارة الآدمية من "الفتنة والنكبة والهلاك". منهج الدراسة: يقوم البحث على المنهج التحليلي الاستنباطي إذا تعلق الأمر بتحليل المفاهيم، والمنهج النقدي المقارن أثناء الموازنة بين الحقول المعرفية والشعب العلمية، والمنهج الاستقرائي كلما استدعى الأمر فحص علاقة المفاهيم بالواقع. النتائج: أبرز البحث مكانة مفهوم الإنسان؛ فالقرآن الكريم موجه للإنسان، ومنه فالنهضة تبدأ بإعادة بنائه، فالنهضة لها أربعة وجوه: نهضة فكرية ونهضة غريزية ونهضة عقدية، ونهضة عملية، وكل هذا يكون بالتربية الدينية، بداية بالتربية الإسلامية وأركان الإسلام ثم التربية الإيمانية وأركان الإيمان ثم التربية الإحسانية وأركان الإحسان، لأنها تنتج أربع صور بمثابة مراتب أخلاقية: صورة الرجولة والمروءة والفتوة وصورة الرجل الأمة، لهذا يوصي البحث بتأسيس منظومة تربوية، تحكمها هذه المراحل. أصالة البحث: تظهر أصالة البحث في كونه أول بحث أكاديمي يربط مفهوم الإنسان بالتجارب الدينية الإسـلامية الثلاثة: التجربة الإسلامية والإيمانية والإحسانية وما ينتج عنها من مدارج تضع الإنسان في مراتب: الرجولة المروءة والفتوة والرجل الأمة.Purpose: The study aims to uncover the principles of the concept of Man, defined in the Holy Quran and the Prophet's Sunnah, namely, his thought, instincts, beliefs and actions to reveal his various higher characteristics: masculinity, virility, chivalry, and being a comprehensive leader. This is in addition to his lower characteristics such as being a man who carries the nature of a fox, a peacock or a dog. It sets them as standards while tracing Man’s biography in the fields of knowledge, in order to remind human beings of the original concept - human instinct – in an attempt to preserve what is left of it and save human civilization from "fitnah (disorder), calamity and destruction." Methodology: The study is based on the deductive analytical method when it comes to analysis of concepts, the comparative critical method when balancing between fields of knowledge and scientific divisions, and the inductive method whenever it is necessary to examine the relationship of concepts to reality. Findings: The study highlights the place of the concept of man. The Holy Quran targets the human being. Renaissance begins by rebuilding Man, and has four aspects: intellectual, instinctive, doctrinal, and a practical renaissance. All are achieved by religious education, starting with Islamic education and the pillars of Islam, then Eman (faith) education and the pillars of Eman, then Ihsan (excellence) education and the pillars of Ihsan. These produce four images that serve as moral ranks: the image of masculinity, virility, chivalry, and the image of the comprehensive leader. The study recommends the establishment of a system of education, governed by these stages. Originality: This appears in the fact that the study is the first academic study linking the concept of man to the three Islamic religious experiences:  the Islamic experience, The Eman experience and the Ihsan experience and the resulting routes that place man in the ranks of masculinity, virility, chivalry and comprehensive leader

PRAVA DETETA – EVOLUCIJA, REALIZACIJA I ZAŠTITA

Ana Covic, PhDRIGHTS OF CHILD - EVOLUTION, REALIZATION AND PROTECTIONInstitute for Comparative Law, Belgrade, 2017. 141 pagesDr Ana Čović PRAVA DETETA – EVOLUCIJA, REALIZACIJA I ZAŠTITA Institut za uporedno pravo, Beograd, 2017.- 141 stran

Educational Reforms and EFL Teaching at Algerian Middle and Secondary Schools

تواجه المدارس في الوقت الراهن تحديات هائلة استجابة لمجتمع معقد للغاية واقتصاد قائم على التكنولوجيا ، لذا كان لزاما على المدارس تلبية المعايير الجديدة وتعليم الطلاب على معايير أكاديمية أعلى من أي وقت مضى. إلى جانب ذلك ، فإن هدف التعليم في الجزائر هو نقل المعرفة والمهارات إلى نسبة متزايدة من المتعلمين للقيادة المهنية والأكاديمية والاجتماعية المستقبلية للبلاد. يستعرض العمل البحثي الأدبيات حول تطور النظريات التربوية من أسلوب المحاضر إلى التعليم ضمن بيئة تعليمية مدعمة بالوسائل التكنولوجية. يبدأ البحث بتقديم لمحة عامة عن نظريات التعلم الحالية. ثم يلقي بعض الضوء على مكانة ودور اللغة الإنجليزية في الجزائر. كما يناقش الدور المهم لتعلم اللغة الإنجليزية كلغة أجنبية ، مع التركيز بشكل خاص على تدريس التعبير الكتابي للغة الإنجليزية مع تسليط الضوء على الإصلاحات التعليمية التي قادتها وزارة التربية والتعليم الجزائرية مع التركيز على الأساليب والابتكارات المعتمدة حديثا.Nowadays schools face enormous challenges. In response to a very complex society and a technology-based economy, schools are required to meet the new standards and educate students to higher academic standards than ever before. Besides, the goal of higher education in Algeria is to impart knowledge and skills to an increasing proportion of the population for future professional, academic and social leadership for the country. The present work reviews the literature on the evolution of pedagogical theories from the lecturer style to the development of a blended learning environment. It starts by providing an overview about the current learning theories. It then sheds some light on the status and role of English in Algeria. The important role of learning English as a foreign language, with special focus on English composition teaching, is also discussed. The educational reforms that were led by both the Algerian Education Ministry are highlighted focusing on the methods and innovations newly adopted