Public Administration in South Asia


Book Description

A state-of-the-art, one-stop resource, Public Administration in South Asia: India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan examines public administration issues and advances in the Indian subcontinent. The book fulfills a critical need. These nations have the largest public administration programs in South Asia, yet existing knowledge on them is fragmented at best. Bringing together leading scholars from these countries, this book provides both an insider perspective and a scholarly look at the challenges and accomplishments in the region. Focusing on the machinery of government, the book explores questions such as: What is the history of public administration development? How are major decisions made in the agencies? Why are anti-corruption efforts so much a challenge? What is the significance of intergovernmental relations? What is the success of administrative reform? What are examples of successful social development programs? How successful is e-government, and what are its challenges? Why is civil service reform difficult to achieve? How is freedom of information being used as a means to combat corruption and invoke grassroots activism? What can be learned from the successes and failures? While public administration practice and education have become considerably professionalized in the last decade, a sufficiently in-depth and well-rounded reference on public administration in these countries is sorely lacking. Most available books tackle only aspects of public administration such as administrative reforms, civil service, economic developments, or public policy, and are country specific. None provide the in-depth analysis of the sphere of public action in South Asia found in this book. It supplies an understanding of how public administration can be either the source of, or solution to, so many of the problems and achievements in the Indian subcontinent.




Model Law on Access to Information for Africa and other regional instruments: Soft law and human rights in Africa


Book Description

Model Law on Access to Information for Africa and other regional instruments: Soft law and human rights in Africa Edited by Ololade Shyllon 2018 ISBN: 978-1-920538-87-3 Pages: 255 Print version: Available Electronic version: Free PDF available About the publication The adoption in 2013 of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights is an important landmark in the increasing elaboration of human rights-related soft law standards in Africa. Although non-binding, the Model Law significantly influenced the access to information landscape on the continent. Since the adoption of the Model Law, the Commission adopted several General Comments. The AU similarly adopted Model Laws such as the African Union Model Law on Internally Displaced Persons in Addressing Internal Displacement in Africa. This collection of essays inquires into the role and impact of soft law standards within the African human rights system and the AU generally. It assesses the extent to which these standards induced compliance, and identifies factors that contribute to generating such compliance. This book is a collection of papers presented at a conference organised by the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, with the financial support of the government of Norway, through the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Pretoria. Following the conference, the papers were reviewed and reworked. Table of Contents Acknowledgments Preface Contributors Abbreviations and acronyms PART I: THE MODEL LAW AND ITS INFLUENCE ON ACCESS TO INFORMATION IN AFRICA Introduction Ololade Shyllon The impact of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa Fola Adeleke Implementing a Model Law on Access to Information in Africa: Lessons from the Americas Marianna Belalba and Alan Sears The implementation of the constitutional right of access to information in Africa: Opportunities and challenges Ololade Shyllon PART II: COUNTRY STUDIES The Model Law on Access to Information for Africa and the struggle for the review and passage of the Ghanaian Right to Information Bill of 2013 Ugonna Ukaigwe The impact of the Model Law on Access to Information for Africa on Kenya’s Access to Information framework Anne Nderi The Sudanese Access to Information Act 2015: A step forward? Ali Abdelrahman Ali Compliance through decoration: Access to information in Zimbabwe Nhlanhla Ngwenya PART III: INFLUENCE OF SOFT LAW WITHIN THE AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM Soft law and legitimacy in the African Union: The case of the Pretoria Principles on Ending Mass Atrocities Pursuant to Article 4(h) of the AU Constitutive Act Busingye Kabumba The incorporation of the thematic resolutions of the African Commission into the domestic laws of African countries Japhet Biegon General Comment 1 of the African Commission of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights: A source of norms and standard setting on sexual and reproductive health and rights Ebenezer Durojaye The African Union Model Law on Internally Displaced Persons: A critique Romola Adeola Selected bibliography




The Protectors


Book Description




Public Access to Information for Development


Book Description

With more than 100 right to information (RTI) laws—also called freedom of information or access to information laws—now in place globally, the groundwork has been laid to advance more transparent, accountable, and inclusive governance as a pathway to poverty reduction and economic development. This guide explores the historical development of RTI laws, the factors that drive passage and effective implementation of these laws, the operation of the laws, and the impact of these laws in different country contexts and sectors, as well as the challenges of measuring the contribution of RTI laws to development outcomes. Public Access to Information for Development: A Guide to the Effective Implementation of Right to Information Laws is based on two years of research studying how RTI has been implemented in countries in different regions and with varying income levels. The research has aimed to develop a theoretical framework by which to identify the drivers of effective implementation of RTI laws and to support measurement of effective implementation; the outcomes are discussed. This guide grapples with questions such as the following: • What does it mean to have effectively implemented an RTI law? • What aspects of a law have to be operational before it can be said to have been effectively implemented? • What other factors are most critical to the effective implementation of RTI laws? • Why does effective implementation of RTI matter?




Registries for Evaluating Patient Outcomes


Book Description

This User’s Guide is intended to support the design, implementation, analysis, interpretation, and quality evaluation of registries created to increase understanding of patient outcomes. For the purposes of this guide, a patient registry is an organized system that uses observational study methods to collect uniform data (clinical and other) to evaluate specified outcomes for a population defined by a particular disease, condition, or exposure, and that serves one or more predetermined scientific, clinical, or policy purposes. A registry database is a file (or files) derived from the registry. Although registries can serve many purposes, this guide focuses on registries created for one or more of the following purposes: to describe the natural history of disease, to determine clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness of health care products and services, to measure or monitor safety and harm, and/or to measure quality of care. Registries are classified according to how their populations are defined. For example, product registries include patients who have been exposed to biopharmaceutical products or medical devices. Health services registries consist of patients who have had a common procedure, clinical encounter, or hospitalization. Disease or condition registries are defined by patients having the same diagnosis, such as cystic fibrosis or heart failure. The User’s Guide was created by researchers affiliated with AHRQ’s Effective Health Care Program, particularly those who participated in AHRQ’s DEcIDE (Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions About Effectiveness) program. Chapters were subject to multiple internal and external independent reviews.




Social Science Research


Book Description

This book is designed to introduce doctoral and graduate students to the process of conducting scientific research in the social sciences, business, education, public health, and related disciplines. It is a one-stop, comprehensive, and compact source for foundational concepts in behavioral research, and can serve as a stand-alone text or as a supplement to research readings in any doctoral seminar or research methods class. This book is currently used as a research text at universities on six continents and will shortly be available in nine different languages.




Researching Corporations and Global Health Governance


Book Description

The profound changes to the world economy since the late twentieth century have been characterised by a growth in the number and size of transnational corporations. In this context, there is now increasing evidence of unprecedented reversals in health indicators among populations around the world. Research in this area has focused on documenting the global health impacts arising from the economic activity of corporations. The challenge for public health researchers is to understand the ways in which corporations are regulated by, and participate in global health governance and implications for health and well-being across the globe. This book is an introductory guide to conducting research on the role of corporations in global health governance from a range of disciplinary perspectives and gives an overview of different approaches, methodologies and data sources. Also, for case studies providing interdisciplinary empirical analysis of the impact of corporations on global health and global health governance, see the partner volume: http://www.rowmaninternational.com/books/case-studies-on-corporations-and-global-health-governance




A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis


Book Description

Trade flows and trade policies need to be properly quantified to describe, compare, or follow the evolution of policies between sectors or countries or over time. This is essential to ensure that policy choices are made with an appropriate knowledge of the real conditions. This practical guide introduces the main techniques of trade and trade policy data analysis. It shows how to develop the main indexes used to analyze trade flows, tariff structures, and non-tariff measures. It presents the databases needed to construct these indexes as well as the challenges faced in collecting and processing these data, such as measurement errors or aggregation bias. Written by experts with practical experience in the field, A Practical Guide to Trade Policy Analysis has been developed to contribute to enhance developing countries' capacity to analyze and implement trade policy. It offers a hands-on introduction on how to estimate the distributional effects of trade policies on welfare, in particular on inequality and poverty. The guide is aimed at government experts engaged in trade negotiations, as well as students and researchers involved in trade-related study or research. An accompanying DVD contains data sets and program command files required for the exercises. Copublished by the WTO and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development




Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning


Book Description

Updated in its 3rd edition, Basic Methods of Policy Analysis and Planning presents quickly applied methods for analyzing and resolving planning and policy issues at state, regional, and urban levels. Divided into two parts, Methods which presents quick methods in nine chapters and is organized around the steps in the policy analysis process, and Cases which presents seven policy cases, ranging in degree of complexity, the text provides readers with the resources they need for effective policy planning and analysis. Quantitative and qualitative methods are systematically combined to address policy dilemmas and urban planning problems. Readers and analysts utilizing this text gain comprehensive skills and background needed to impact public policy.