Why multi-stakeholder groups succeed and fail

Anti-corruption initiatives increasingly use multi-stakeholder groups, comprised of representatives from government, private sector, and civil society organizations, to drive implementation at the local level and serve as a force for transparency. In theory, the multi-stakeholder groups ideal is quite appealing -- each stakeholder has its own interest in the initiative and contributes its unique capacities. In practice, many multi-stakeholder groups have fallen short of expectations. This paper considers two separate but related questions. First, what are the unique barriers to implementation facing multi-stakeholder groups? Second, what policy measures can be taken to improve the likelihood that multi-stakeholder groups will succeed? The authors use existing research in political science and economics to develop a multi-level framework that accounts for the"nested nature"of multi-stakeholder groups. The framework is then applied to experiences of MSGs from the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative, a new pilot program that aims to promote transparency in construction through the release of material project information. The evidence shows that the barriers facing multi-stakeholder groups are substantial, but once the level (individual incentives, organizational dynamics, country context, or international pressures) of the challenge confronting a multi-stakeholder group is identified, the specific barrier, its root causes, and appropriate solutions can be identified. More broadly, the Construction Sector Transparency Initiative experiences suggest that multi-stakeholder groups are best used as a means of promoting dialogue and building consensus, not as the locus of policy implementation and oversight.Public Sector Corruption&Anticorruption Measures,Social Accountability,Emerging Markets,Corporate Law,Corruption&Anticorruption Law

Numerical Simulation of Liquid-Solid, Solid-Liquid Phase Change Using Finite Element Method in h,p,k Framework with Space-Time Variationally Consistent Integral Forms

This thesis presents development of mathematical models for liquid-solid phase change phenomena using Lagrangian description with continuous and differentiable smooth interface (transition region) between the solid and the liquid phases in which specific heat, thermal conductivity, and latent heat of fusion are a function of temperature. The width of the interface region can be as small or as large as desired in specific applications. The mathematical models presented in the thesis assume homogeneous and isotropic medium, zero velocity field (no flow) with free boundaries i.e. stress free domain. With these assumptions the mathematical model reduces to the first law of thermodynamics i.e. energy equation. The mathematical models presented here are neither labeled as enthalpy models or others, instead these are based on a simple statement of the first law of thermodynamics using specific total energy and heat vector augmented by the constitutive equation for heat vector i.e. Fourier heat conduction law and the statement of total specific energy incorporating the physics of phase change in the smooth interface region between solid and liquid phases. This results in a time dependent non-linear convection diffusion in temperature in which physics of interface initiation and propagation is intrinsic and thus avoids front tracking methods. This can also be cast as a system of first order PDEs using auxiliary variables and auxiliary equations if so desired due to the use of specific methods of approximation as done in the present work. The numerical solutions of the initial value problems resulting from the mathematical models are obtained using space-time least squares finite element process based on minimization of the residual functional. This results in space-time variationally consistent integral forms that yield symmetric algebraic systems with positive definite coefficient matrices that ensure unconditionally stable computations during the entire evolution. The local approximations for the space-time finite elements are considered in h,p,k framework which permits higher degree as well as higher order local approximations in space and time. Computations of the evolution are performed using a space-time strip or slab corresponding to an increment of time with time marching procedure. 1D numerical studies are presented and the results are compared with sharp interface and phase field methods. Numerical studies also presented for 1D and 2D model problems in which initiation as well as propagation of the interface is demonstrated. These studies cannot be performed using sharp interface and phase field models. The significant aspects of the present work are: (i) the smooth interface permits desired physics and avoids singular fronts that are non physical (ii) the mathematical model resulting from the present approach is a non-linear diffusion equation, hence intrinsically containing the ability to initiate as well as locate the front during evolution and hence no special front tracking methods are needed. (iii) This methodology permits initiation of the interface i.e. it permits initiation of the phase change phenomena. This is not possible in sharp interface and phase field methods. (iv) The computational infrastructure used ensures stable computations and high accuracy of evolution for each time step and hence time accurate evolutions are possible

ERP Systems as Facilitating and Confounding factors in Corporate Mergers: the case of two Canadian telecommunications companies

This paper presents early findings from a research project in which the research partners, academics and a telecommunication labour union, are attempting to understand, learn from and anticipate further changes related to the implementation of ERP in an industry sector in the midst of consolidation via corporate merger enabled in part by the adoption of ERP systems in the merging partners

A Study of Reading Times and Reader Preference when Line Length and Alphabet Length are Simultaneously and Directly Varied

The printer-publisher approach to readability of print has been more intuitive than empirical. They have traditionally stressed the esthetic quality of print, claiming . . . that the softer, freer-flowing oldstyle types, as exemplified by Cloister, Garamond, Granjon, and others, were easier to read in mass and less tiring to the eye than the sharp, precise modern-face letters. (17-161) The early investigators of readability of type were psychologists, physiology and pedagogy of reading. Huey said that the size of type was the “most important single factor” in ease of reading. From prior research reported it was evident that two opposing variables affected speed of reading, shorter line length and shorter alphabet length, were interacting when this process was used. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of the prism-camera “shrinkage” process on speed of reading. From the foregoing discussion, one might tentatively hypothesize that the interaction of these two variables would cancel the other’s effect, thus reading speed would not be seriously affected. A secondary reason for this study was to investigate people’s preference of typographical treatment before or after photographic modification; that is, which form they thought was the most appealing and which form they thought was easiest to read. (see more in text

The problem of blasphemy: The fourth gospel and early Jewish understandings

This thesis argues that the Johannine Jewish Christians—those who produced, preserved, and propagated the Fourth Gospel—were perceived to be blasphemers of God because of their exalted claims for Jesus and their disparaging remarks against the Ιουδαιοι. It was probably on this basis that Jewish Christians were excommunicated from the synagogue (cf Jn 9:22; 12:42; 16:2). We take three steps to establish this claim. First, we review J. Louis Martyn's hypothesis that the Johannine Christians were expelled from the synagogue as a result of the Birkat ha-Minim. We argue that the Birkat ha-Minim is problematic, suggest that an alternative hypothesis is necessary, and propose that accusations of blasphemy would provide an alternative explanation. Next, we survey recent research on blasphemy, offer an analysis of the historical, social, and literary context of the Fourth Gospel, and present a semantic analysis of βλασφημέωand related terms. Second, we probe seven Jewish traditions pertaining to blasphemy. We examine the prohibitions against cursing God (Exod 22:27[28]), "naming the name" (Lev 24:10- 24), and sinning with a high hand (Num 15:30-31). Then, we track some of the most notorious blasphemers, including Sennacherib (2 Kgs 18:1—19:37), Antiochus (1 Mace 1:20—2:14), Nicanor (2 Mace 14:16—15:37), and an unnamed Egyptian ruler 2.123-132).Third, we examine three Johannine claims—that Jesus is equal with God, that Jesus is the New Temple, and that the ' Ιουδαιοι are of the devil -and argue that non-believing Jews would have regarded these claims as blasphemous and would have expelled anyone from the synagogue who proclaimed them

Addressing second and third grade California science and social science content standards through environmental literature

In response to the federal legislation No Child Left Behind, schools across the country implemented required reading programs for classroom instruction. Open Court\u27s Reading program meets this criterion for many schools. The text in Open Court Reading for grades two and three was evaluated for science and social science content standards that would be supportive of environmental education. Supplemental lessons from Project Learning Tree, Project WILD, and Project WET were identified

Examining the Differences between Methodical and Amethodical ISD

This paper reports on a research program designed to investigate the differences in systems developer\u27s mental models as they develop information systems applying formal system development methods as compared to amethodicaldevelopment

Three Issues Concerning Relevance in IS Research: Epistemology, Audience, and Method

Academic concerns about making research into the design, construction and use of information systems (IS) more relevant to practice is a persistent theme in the IS literature and in recent ISWorld discussions. This essay addresses three questions implicit in this discussion: Is there an agreed upon epistemology underlying IS research? To whom should IS be relevant or alternatively what ends should this research serve? Does the choice of research method contribute to the creation of relevant IS research? These questions are explored from the perspective on an unrepentant idealist