Defense Support to Civil Authorities (DSCA) is the process by which military assets can be requested by civilian authorities, often by state or regional offices of emergency management. This request is in response to critical incidents, including natural and human caused disasters. However, little is understood about collaboration and cooperation between civil authorities and their military counterparts in terms of planning and training, especially in the unique circumstance of National Capital Region (NCR) where there are local, state, and federal civil authorities and military organizations. This is problematic, as a lack of training and preparation may result in delayed response to emergency incidents in the region, which may cause a disruption of government nationwide. Using Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith's advocacy coalition framework, the purpose of this case study of DSCA in the NCR was to gain insight on whether collaborative planning and training between civil and military partners has resulted in effective public policy that will guide decision making in the event of a natural or human caused disaster. Data were collected from a total of 15 participants who represented military and civil emergency managers. These data were deductively coded consistent with the elements of the policy advocacy framework, and then subjected to thematic analysis. Findings indicated that military members have a more thorough understanding of DSCA procedures, where civilian emergency managers had knowledge deficits regarding procedures and policies guiding DSCA support. The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations to civil authorities to collaborate with the Department of Defense related to mobilization procedures and DSCA policies to promote seamless cooperation in the event of a major disaster.

Transportation networks, as important lifelines linking communities and goods, are indispensable for the smooth functioning of society. These networks are, however, fragile and vulnerable to natural and manmade disasters, which can disrupt their vital functionality. The role of the transportation sector becomes more crucial during disasters due to its role in pre-disaster evacuation as well as post-disaster recovery. The ability of transportation systems to retain performance during and after disasters undergoing little to no loss and their ability to return to the normal state of operation quickly after disasters defines their resilience. Authorities need to understand the degree of resilience within the transportation system under their jurisdiction and plan for improvements. In this research, attempts have been made to deal with resilience in quantitative ways to provide defensible data to decision makers to support investment strategies. Total loss in the network performance can be quantified by dealing with the variation of network performance over time after disasters and the network resilience can be measured by the ability to minimize this loss. It has been shown that robust networks retain better performance after disruptions and recovery works, which follow optimized recovery paths, in spite of constraints of resources and time, help to minimize the total losses and enhance the network resilience. The objective of this research is to create a conceptual framework to quantify resilience and discuss quantitatively the properties determining resilience of transportation networks. The concepts presented are applied to a test network to illustrate the mathematical procedures. Such methods can help decision makers analyze relative improvements in resiliency as a consequence of proposed project alternatives and help to perform benefit-cost analysis for such projects.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DXN015774.

Pastaruosius kelis dešimtmečius įvairiose valstybėse vystosi tendencija patikėti teisėkūros, vykdomąsias, jurisdikcines funkcijas valstybinio administravimo institucijoms, neįeinančioms į vykdomosios valdžios institucijų sistemą. Šių institucijų steigimo priežasčių yra keletas. Šalyse, kuriose minimos institucijos atsirado anksčiau nei buvo įsteigta ES, šių institucijų plėtra grindžiama tuo, jog visuomenėje egzistuoja sritys, kurių reguliavimą būtų geriau paremti technine, ekonomine ekspertize. Jaunose ES valstybėse narėse šių institucijų plėtra siejama su liberalizuojančių direktyvų nuostatomis, skirtomis nacionalinėms reguliavimo institucijoms. Tokioms institucijoms, joms įgyvendinant reguliavimo funkcijas, suteikiamos plačios diskrecinės galios. Dėl to jos gali tapti įvairių interesų įtakos "taikiniu", siekiančių joms palankių institucijų priimamų sprendimų. Pagrindinis instrumentas apsisaugoti nuo tokių įtakų - tai tinkamas reguliavimo institucijų nepriklausomumo įtvirtinimas teisėje. Disertacinis tyrimas koncentruojamas ties nepriklausomumo nuo politinių įtakų garantijų sistemos įtvirtinimu teisėje bei nepriklausomų reguliavimo institucijų vietos valstybinio administravimo institucijų sistemoje paieška. / For several decades in a row a tendency to delegate legislative, executive and judicial functions to state administration institutions that do not belong to the system of executive bodies has been developing in various states. There exist several reasons for establishing such institutions. In states in which the abovementioned institutions emerged before the establishment of the EU the expansion of such institutions is grounded on the fact that in society there exist spheres the regulation of which should be separated from political cyclicity in order for the decisions to be long-term and based on technical and economic expertise. In young EU states, the development of such institutions is associated with the provisions of liberating directives intended for national regulatory authorities. Such institutions are given wide discretional authority in the implementation of regulatory functions. Thus, they become the "target" of various interest groups that seek for favourable decisions. The main instrument of defence from such influences is a proper legal establishment of the independency guarantees of regulatory authorities. The present dissertation research is aimed at identifying the dysfunctions of the legal regulation of political independence of regulatory authorities and suggesting possible alternative institutional models for the Lithuanian system of state administration institutions.

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The control of environmentally damaging activities has become one of the most important areas for concern in recent years. The amount of legislation relating to this subject area has increased several-fold, with European Directives and domestic laws being introduced in response to pressure from a variety of avenues. Key studies on the enforcement of environmental law have been carried out. However, this work was undertaken prior to the expansion of legislative provisions at the start of the 1990s. In the light of this new legislation,n ew regulatorya genciesa, ndc hangingp ublic opinion, the following researcha imsw ere formulated: 1. To assess the approach to enforcement by regulatory agencies (co-operation versus confrontation). 2. To determinet he extent and rate of utilisation of enforcemenmt ethodsb y the regulatory authorities, and the reasons for non-utilisation. 3. To determine which factors influence the strategic decision making process, and to measure the relative importance of each factor. 4. To investigate the types of enforcement policies prevalent in regulatory agencies and evaluate their varying levels of effectiveness. 5. To determine the level of consistency in the approach to enforcement within and between regulatory agencies. 6. To examine the consistency of the levels of penalties applied by the courts. 7. To suggest improvements to the system where required. The first phase of the research involved a postal questionnaire to local authorities. This was followed by structured interviews with NRA and HMIP personnel. An assessment of the consistency of the regulators' enforcement action was made through responses to a regulated community questionnaire, and an appraisal of the consistency of penalties applied by the courts was achieved by analysis of case reports. The main findings from the research were: I. Regulatory agencies adopted a co-operative enforcement approach in the first instance, followed by more stringent action if required. 2. Most regulatory bodies did not use the full array of enforcement methods at their disposal. 3. A large variety of factors relating to the incident affects the decision making process. 4. Not all local authorities had an enforcement policy. Of those that did, a wide variation in the type of enforcement policies existed. 5. Regulators were found to be inconsistent in their enforcement practices. 6. The levels of penalties applied by the courts were also found to be inconsistent. Improvements to the system were suggested as a result of these research findings.

Masters in Public Administration - MPA / This research study focuses on the community of Blue Downs and their associated problems. The study furthermore provides some insight on the history of Local Government, the past policies of the Government of the day with specific reference to separation of communities, which was based on racial segregation. In this context the distribution of wealth, resources and income was uneven and separate development of population groups was a deliberate policy of the previous government. Townships such as Mitchells Plain, Atlantis and Blue Downs came into being as a result of these policies, while no employment opportunities existed. This and other social factors all lead to hardship and poverty. It is commonly accepted and consensus exists that the continuing high levels of poverty are the single biggest threat to sustainable economic growth and democratic consolidation. It is thus important to understand and appreciate why Local Government can playa critical meaningful role in addressing these challenges. The purpose of the study is to identify the needs of the people in specifically the Blue Downs area and to look at ways to address and implement the findings of the research. The research can also be regarded as a blue print, which could be adapted to the needs of the communities in other areas within the Oostenberg Municipal area. The methodology adopted to achieve the objectives of this research comprises a literature review of relevant legislation, existing documentation on the Oostenberg Municipal socio-economic indicators and a literature review on any existing literature on Blue Downs. Public meetings were held during the months of June, July and September 2000. Whilst a quantitative approach in the form of open-ended questions was also undertaken. The research study is divided into the following 5 chapters: Chapter 1 sets out the scope of and the approach of the work, and draws together the themes and key fmdings of the research. Chapter 2 deals with a case study of Blue Downs, the historical perspective with relation to Local Government and the community and set the stage for job creation as determined in Chapter 4 of this study, which could be implemented to address the outcomes of the survey and workshops held with the community. Chapter 3 sets out the framework for analysing the data captured from the needsassessments, which was executed and provides descriptions of the key features and outcomes of the surveys. The ultimate objective of this research is to look at ways to improve the quality of life of the communities of Oostenberg, especially in the Blue Downs area. The research also paves the way for other research projects within the Municipal area or can be used or adapted for communities to address their own needs. Nonetheless, in a research of this nature, issues pertaining to communities are of vital importance. Where I have made comments and/or recommendations, it is important that these be reviewed for implementation. Chapter 4 looks at the existing and new economic opportunities that are available in the Blue Downs Area. Chapter 5 describes the fmdings of the research and recommendations. The research highlights the unemployment situation in the Blue Downs area. It is thus imperative that the local community, together with the Local authority becomes the driving force in order to ensure that the recommendations and implementation gets underway. The research study could be used as a tool for the upliftment of the local community by the community through a joint partnership with the business sector and local auth

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor Of Philosophy in the Department of Psychology at the University Of Zululand, 2018 / The study aimed at investigating the prevalence and effects of abuse or violence against men in an intimate relationship in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Notably, the thesis is entitled “The prevalence and Effects of Abuse against Men in the three Tribal Authorities in Ingwavuma in KwaZulu-Natal”. The study defines domestic violence as an abusive behaviour by one or both partners in an intimate relationship (e.g. marriage, dating, family, friends, and cohabitation). Domestic violence as a public health problem leads to death, physical disabilities, mental health problems, psychological problems, economical deficiencies, to mention a few. The study was informed by three main research objectives: to identify the causes of men abuse; to determine the effects of men abuse; and to develop strategies for addressing men abuse. The theoretical framework that underpinned the study was Social Learning Theory by Bandura. The study used a post-positivist research paradigm which enabled the researcher to yield multiple perspectives from the target population rather than a single reality. In that light, the study used both quantitative and qualitative research methods during data collection. The qualitative data were gathered through open-ended questions among men who once experienced abuse by their intimate partners while quantitative data were gathered through a survey. The study also used in depth literature review and document analysis which formed part of qualitative content analysis. The study drew a sample from men who once experienced abuse from their intimate partners. The study adopted non-probability sampling because the researcher did not know the size of the population. Additionally, the researcher used snowball and purposive sampling techniques. These sampling techniques were used at different stages to select the respondents. Snowball was largely used because the researcher did not know the victims of abuse. The study sampled 60 men who once experienced abuse and interestingly, all of them were interviewed as intended by the study. The collected data were analysed through the use of qualitative content analysis. The study acknowledged the wealth of knowledge on the concept ‘abuse’ by the respondents. The findings showed that men abuse is not a new thing in the province but is well-known and experienced by a number of men. The concept ‘abuse’, among men, meant different ways of abuse experienced by any gender in an intimate relationship. For example, the findings showed that abuse means an intimate partner who may pull a man by his private parts, being beaten, insulted, forced to clean the floor and wash nappies. It is observed that men abuse is a problem in the area and is well-known in the community. The findings showed that a large number of men suffer silent abuse because they believe that it is a mark of shame to be known as a man who is abused by his wife. It was established that the main cause of men abuse is power hunger by women. It was established that some women deprived men of sexual intercourse; some young women cheated with young men, they call Ben 10s, in the community. It was observed that a large number of men do not report cases of abuse. It was revealed that the reason men do not report cases of abuse, is the fear of being in the spotlight and that they do not know where to report. The study found that the few men who reported cases of abuse by their intimate partners ended up being a joke in the community. It was revealed that the culprit is never punished. The study showed that men do not have rights in KwaZulu-Natal. In other words, there is nothing that protects men from their women intimate partners. The strategies for preventing men abuse from their intimate partners are well presented. The most crucial strategies spelled out were related to raising awareness campaigns on men abuse; community workshops on men abuse; and educating women on men abuse. The full thesis is available in the University of Zululand Institutional Repository. / National Research Foundation Of South Africa and NIHSS/SAHUDA

<p> The term "underground economy" refers to output that is produced, and income that is generated, by agents who hide this fact from authorities. There has been a recent resurgence in interest in the underground economy and this interest has predominantly been stimulated by the perception that the underground economy is sizeable and growing. This dissertation is comprised of three essays, the goals of which are to provide empirical measures of underground activity.</p> <p> The first paper in this dissertation applies a modeling technique that treats the underground economy as an unobservable or latent variable and incorporates multiple indicator and multiple causal (MIMIC) variables to estimate a time-path of the size of broadly defined underground economy. Using macroeconomic Canadian data, the results indicate that the underground economy grew steadily over the sample period: from 7.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 1976 to about 15.3% in 2001.</p> <p> The second paper uses microeconomic data and proposes a nonparametric expenditure-based approach to obtain estimates of income under-reporting by self- employed households. The approach is illustrated by estimating the effect of the Canadian Goods and Services Tax (GST) on income under-reporting. It is found that the difference between true and reported self-employment income is larger for households at the lower end of the self-employment income distribution and that there was no statistically significant change in under-reporting behaviour following the implementation of the GST.</p> <p>The third paper investigates the characteristics of businesses that engage in tax non-compliance using a survey of firms from around the world. Overall, small firms tend to be less compliant than larger firms. In addition, foreign owned firms, exporters, and firms that have audited financial statements are found to be more compliant but quite surprisingly, government ownership does not result in increased tax compliance. Finally, the existence of organized crime, high taxes, and government corruption all result in lower compliance.</p> / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

No description available.