The Development and Issues of Energy-ICT: A Review of Literature with Economic and Managerial Viewpoints

This paper reviews the economic and managerial literature on the relationship between energy-ICT and the development of the green energy economy. It is summarized that there are four lines of existing literature on energy-ICT: cost and benefit analysis, fair competition issues, cybersecurity issues, and promotion policy issues. Even though ICT is energy-consuming, most of the existing empirical studies support the idea that energy-ICT has net positive effects on energy savings, energy efficiency improvement, emission reduction, and economic growth at both enterprise and economy-wide levels. Energy-ICT equips the platform operator with higher bargaining power, such that a governance mechanism to assure the fair access right of each entitled participant is required. A smarter energy-ICT network also becomes riskier, and hence the cybersecurity protection is more important than before. Future research and development opportunities remain on these issues of the fair competition, cybersecurity, and promotion policy of energy-ICT.

The Effect of Glass Ceiling on Women Advancement: A Case Study of Financial Institutions in Bangladesh

Glass ceiling, a widely practiced but unrevealed obstacle for the development of women and minorities towards executive and upper level of managerial hierarchy in the organizations. At the present time this issue is drawing more attention from human resource practitioners around the globe. In developed and developing countries, women's empowerment is the burning issue as the economy can reach its peak through the participation of all genders. In Bangladesh also women are engaging more in jobs specifically in the financial sector and contributing to the economy at large volume. But the disparity between male and women participation at the decision-making level raises the question of the presence of a glass ceiling and the factors contributing to the glass ceiling in the financial sector of Bangladesh. Based on the survey by using structured questionnaires from the commercial banks of Dhaka City Corporation, this study explores organizational factors, explicitly the absence of human resource practices responsible for creating glass ceilings and its presence at the workplace. Using factor analysis and multiple regressions among the six factors, the study found five factors have a significant contribution to the presence of glass ceiling and thus creating barriers to women's advancement. The factors include recruitment practices, performance appraisal, promotion policy, maintenance issues and equal employment opportunities. Policy implications are discussed in light of the findings to minimize glass ceiling effect to contribute gender parity, women's advancement and reducing gender discrimination.

INNOVATIVE MODELS OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Assessing and forecasting employment in international business are important tools for state regulation of the international labor market, and rethinking their role is a necessary condition for overcoming the effects of the global economic crisis. Employment forecasting should be a priority in finding new ways to form an effective international labor market.The purpose of the article is to develop a methodology for studying the factors that determine the capacity, structure and segments of the international labor market.The article considers the issues of identifying and substantiating the factors that determine the capacity, structure and main segments of the labor market in international business. The proposed models of personnel management in international business include a number of successive stages, the algorithm of which allows to obtain sufficiently reasonable results.Analysis of the dynamics of factors over a number of years or several models over a period of time [1-3] allows to establish the basic patterns inherent in the analyzed international market to justify trends in its development and develop a forecast for the future. It is important to identify those factors whose influence will be dominant for this labor market. The effectiveness of international labor market management depends crucially on measures to influence the latter. Based on the results of the analysis, it is advisable to establish the goals of employment promotion policy for the near future, to rank priorities in the implementation of measures to promote employment and social protection in the international labor market.

The Effect of Glass Ceiling on Women Advancement: A Case Study of Financial Institutions in Bangladesh

Glass ceiling, a widely practiced but unrevealed obstacle for the development of women and minorities towards executive and upper level of managerial hierarchy in the organizations. At the present time this issue is drawing more attention from human resource practitioners around the globe. In developed and developing countries, women's empowerment is the burning issue as the economy can reach its peak through the participation of all genders. In Bangladesh also women are engaging more in jobs specifically in the financial sector and contributing to the economy at large volume. But the disparity between male and women participation at the decision-making level raises the question of the presence of a glass ceiling and the factors contributing to the glass ceiling in the financial sector of Bangladesh. Based on the survey by using structured questionnaires from the commercial banks of Dhaka City Corporation, this study explores organizational factors, explicitly the absence of human resource practices responsible for creating glass ceilings and its presence at the workplace. Using factor analysis and multiple regressions among the six factors, the study found five factors have a significant contribution to the presence of glass ceiling and thus creating barriers to women's advancement. The factors include recruitment practices, performance appraisal, promotion policy, maintenance issues and equal employment opportunities. Policy implications are discussed in light of the findings to minimize glass ceiling effect to contribute gender parity, women's advancement and reducing gender discrimination.

Through the Lens of Networks: Health Promotion Policy Implementation for the Elderly at the Local Level in Thailand

<p>The Thai government has included health promotion in its national policies and strategies to directly address the health of the elderly. Multiple government organisations at various levels are involved in this health promotion policy and its related efforts. With an emphasis on ensuring that the elderly in the community benefit from national health promotion policies, and have access to health promotion services, the policies directed government organisations to work together as a network to implement the health promotion policy for the elderly at the local level. The Local Administrative Organisations (LAOs), decentralised government organisations, acted as the centre of the networks in each sub-district across the country. Networks play a role as an essential mechanism in the health promotion policy implementation for the elderly and in reaching out to the smallest unit of the community: individual older people. However, there are known gaps in the functioning of the decentralised governance arrangements and in coordination between organisations to implement the health promotion policy. Policy implementation can be improved to ensure that key goals and objectives are met. The objective of this research was to analyse the ways in which the LAOs and other government organisations together implement the health promotion policy for the elderly at the local level in Thailand. Using a network perspective, the governance structure and governance characteristics, including relationships and the functioning of the policy implementation network, are identified and analysed. How the observed network characteristics affect network collaboration, policy outcomes, and actors’ capacity in policy implementation are then explored. Within an interpretivist perspective, the research employed multiple network analysis approaches and mixed methods data collection such as network mapping, non-participant observation, interviews, and questionnaire surveys, across two case study sites. A combination of thematic analysis and constant comparative methods were employed to analyse the data. The networks in this study were found to have a hybrid governance form, being a combination of lead organisation-governed and shared governance. However, it is not possible to predict the likelihood of achieving good policy outcomes based on the form of network governance alone; other networks characteristics must also be studied. At the network level, influential factors indicative of policy outcomes were found to be the exchanges of political and cultural capitals between network actors, with the latter differentiating the policy outcomes across the two cases. To improve the network actors’ capacity in policy implementation, learning and resource exchanges between actors were found to be important. Based on the study findings, an intervention to improve policy outcomes should be encouraged through financial capital exchanges between network actors as this is when administrative authority is most dominant. The research provides an empirical review to inform policymakers and practitioners that the most influential factors should be embedded during the funding process so that the policy implementation can better support health for the elderly and the aged society that Thailand is entering.</p>

Through the Lens of Networks: Health Promotion Policy Implementation for the Elderly at the Local Level in Thailand

<p>The Thai government has included health promotion in its national policies and strategies to directly address the health of the elderly. Multiple government organisations at various levels are involved in this health promotion policy and its related efforts. With an emphasis on ensuring that the elderly in the community benefit from national health promotion policies, and have access to health promotion services, the policies directed government organisations to work together as a network to implement the health promotion policy for the elderly at the local level. The Local Administrative Organisations (LAOs), decentralised government organisations, acted as the centre of the networks in each sub-district across the country. Networks play a role as an essential mechanism in the health promotion policy implementation for the elderly and in reaching out to the smallest unit of the community: individual older people. However, there are known gaps in the functioning of the decentralised governance arrangements and in coordination between organisations to implement the health promotion policy. Policy implementation can be improved to ensure that key goals and objectives are met. The objective of this research was to analyse the ways in which the LAOs and other government organisations together implement the health promotion policy for the elderly at the local level in Thailand. Using a network perspective, the governance structure and governance characteristics, including relationships and the functioning of the policy implementation network, are identified and analysed. How the observed network characteristics affect network collaboration, policy outcomes, and actors’ capacity in policy implementation are then explored. Within an interpretivist perspective, the research employed multiple network analysis approaches and mixed methods data collection such as network mapping, non-participant observation, interviews, and questionnaire surveys, across two case study sites. A combination of thematic analysis and constant comparative methods were employed to analyse the data. The networks in this study were found to have a hybrid governance form, being a combination of lead organisation-governed and shared governance. However, it is not possible to predict the likelihood of achieving good policy outcomes based on the form of network governance alone; other networks characteristics must also be studied. At the network level, influential factors indicative of policy outcomes were found to be the exchanges of political and cultural capitals between network actors, with the latter differentiating the policy outcomes across the two cases. To improve the network actors’ capacity in policy implementation, learning and resource exchanges between actors were found to be important. Based on the study findings, an intervention to improve policy outcomes should be encouraged through financial capital exchanges between network actors as this is when administrative authority is most dominant. The research provides an empirical review to inform policymakers and practitioners that the most influential factors should be embedded during the funding process so that the policy implementation can better support health for the elderly and the aged society that Thailand is entering.</p>

Adoption Behaviour of the Rural Farming Household in South West Nigeria: A Panacea for Agricultural Promotion Policy (APP)

The study examined the adoption behaviour of the rural farming household in South-West Nigeria. A cross-sectional sample survey of 200 farmers were randomly chosen for the study. Descriptive statistics and Tobit regression were used to calculate the probability of adoption. The study showed the magnitude of change in the level of adoption of agroforestry-based technologies by performing simulated analysis on some identified variables that could influence government policies. The simulation is done with an increase in the values of the variables by 5%, 10% and 20%. The results of this simulation of policy variables revealed that adoption will decrease with increase in age and credit facility. Also, any policy that will improve the quality and/or coverage of extension education is likely to increase adoption of agroforestry-based technologies. Landowners are likely to adopt agroforestry based technologies than tenants. Any policy that provides land to prospective farmers is likely to increase adoption of agroforestry-based technologies. Some of the general conclusion which have emerged from this investigation are that: Only availability of credit to farmers has significant effect on adoption of agroforestry-based technology at 0.05 level. However, at 0.10 level of significance, distance of input source from farm, membership of cooperative society and farmers’ educational status are significant in explaining adoption decision of farmers in the area. It is therefore recommended that there is need for provision of regular and better extension services to keep farmers abreast of the latest agroforestry-based technologies.