This Thesis focuses on the health care system in Lithuania and discusses the manifestations and reasons of its inefficiency. The major problems in this sector are inappropriate allocation of funds and inefficient use of resources possessed, which lead to quite low performance of the overall system. The aim of the Thesis is to find relations linking selected factors such as expenditure on pharmaceuticals or number of hospital beds to the health care spending, and to see, which resources are used in the most inefficient way. The empirical research is divided into costs dissection, done by applying fixed effects panel regression, and system efficiency examination, conducted using data envelopment analysis technique. The findings revealed that declining numbers of hospital beds and inpatient consultations do not lower health care spending and might even result in its increase. Meanwhile, data envelopment analysis confirmed that a large proportion of inefficiency in the health care sector can be addressed to overstaffing. It also showed that problems are much higher in Central and Eastern Europe countries, where the resources should be reduced by on average 30% compared to required reductions of 10% in Western Europe. On the other hand, the overall system efficiency analysis revealed that high spending does not necessarily lead to good performance of the system in terms of health status or country’s health care system’s rating. One of the conclusions drawn from the conducted... [to full text] / Šiame darbe yra aptariama Lietuvos sveikatos apsaugos sistema ir jos neefektyvumo apraiškos bei priežastys. Pagrindinės problemos, susijusios su analizuojama sritimi, yra netinkamas lėšų paskirstymas ir neefektyvus turimų išteklių panaudojimas, nulemiantys sistemos žemesnę kokybę. Atliekamo tyrimo tikslas – nustatyti ryšius, siejančius išlaidas sveikatos apsaugai ir įvairius sistemos elementus, kaip kad išlaidos vaistams ar ligoninių lovų skaičius, bei suprasti, kurie iš turimų išteklių panaudojami neefektyviausiu būdu. Empirinis tyrimas yra padalintas į išlaidų nagrinėjimą naudojant fiksuotų efektų panelinę regresiją bei sistemos efektyvumo tyrimą, vykdomą pasitelkiant duomenų apgaubimo analizės techniką. Gauti rezultatai atskleidė, jog mažėjantys ligoninių lovų ar ligonių apsilankymų stacionare skaičiai neskatina išlaidų sveikatos apsaugai smukimo, o netgi gali lemti jų išaugimą. Tuo tarpu duomenų apgaubimo analizė patvirtino tai, jog ypač didelę reikšmę sistemos neefektyvumui turi per didelis sveikatos apsaugos darbuotojų skaičius. Taip pat pastebėta, jog ši problema ypač didelė rytų Europos šalyse, kur ištekliai turėtų būti sumažinti vidutiniškai 30%, lyginant su 10% sumažinimu siūlomu vakarų šalims. Kita vertus, analizuojant bendrą sistemos efektyvumą nustatyta, kad didelės išlaidos sveikatai nebūtinai reiškia gerą gyventojų sveiktos būklę ar aukštus šalies rezultatus sveikatos apsaugos sistemų reitinguose. Viena iš šio darbo išvadų yra ta, jog prieš imantis kokių nors... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

Since Ricardo's nineteenth-century suggestion that the mean's of financing government spending is irrelevant, theoretical debate concerning the burden of government debt has been vigorous / Thesis (M.Econ.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Tyrimo tikslas: Nustatyti paauglių laisvalaikį skatinančių veiksnių sąsają su fiziniu aktyvumu Tyrimo uždaviniai: 1.Literatūros šaltinų apžvalgos metu aptarti veiksnius skatinančius paauglių laisvalaikio praleidimą. 2. Nustatyti paauglių fizinio aktyvumo lygį. 3. Atskleisti paauglių veiksnius skatinančius laisvalaikio fizinį aktyvumą. Tiriamųjų kontingentas: Tiriamųjų imtį sudarė 202 paaugliai, 113 merginų ir 89 vaikinai, 14 – 16 metų amžiaus. Tyrimo rezultatai: Tyrimas parodė, kad moksleivius labiausiai motyvuoja būti fiziškai aktyviems jaučiamas malonumas sportuojant. Mažiausiai paauglius motyvuoja mokykloje skiriamas pakankamas dėmesys fiziniam aktyvumui ir geriausių draugų fizinis aktyvumas. Lyginant pagal lytį nustatyta, kad didesnis fizinis aktyvumas labiau būdingas vaikinams nei merginoms. Išvados: Paauglius labiausiai skatina būti fiziškai aktyviais kūno kultūros mokytojas, įdomios kūno kultūros pamokos, jaučiamas malonumas sportuojant. Nustatyta, kad labiausiai fiziškai aktyvūs yra vaikinai, o lyginant pagal metus aktyviausi 14 metų paaugliai. Remiantis tyrimo duomenimis, paaugliams didžiausi trukdžiai būti fiziškai aktyviems yra laiko stoka, vertėtų apmastyti kūno kultūros pamokų didinimą nuo 2 iki 3 savaitinių pamokų. Dar mokiniams trukdo blogas oras, reikėtų atnaujinti sporto salės inventorių, kad ir blogu oru būtų galima užsiimti įvairiomis veiklomis. / The aim of the research: to establish the connection of the factors stimulating teenagers` free time spending with their physical activity. The tasks of the research: 1. To discuss the factors stimulating teenagers` free time spending on the basis of literary sources. 2. To ascertain the physical level of teenagers. 3. To explain the factors stimulating physical activity of teenagers. Number of the investigatives: 202 teenagers, 113 girls and 89 boys from 14 to 16 years old. Results of the research: the research has proved that the best motive for the students to be physical active in the pleasure received from doing sports. The attention of school to the students` physical education and physical activity of the students` best friends can be considered as the weakest motives. If to make comparison speaking about sex, it is ascertained that boys are more physically active than girls. Conclusions: the teacher of physical education, interesting lessons of physical education and the pleasure received from doing sports are the best motivators for the students to be physically active. It has been ascertained that boys are more active than girls and the 14 years old teenagers are the most physically active if to have in mind age. Basing on the factors the research we can state that lack of time and small number of physical education lesions are the biggest impediments for the students` physical activity. Bad weather, poor implements of gymnasiums can serve as impediments, too. So... [to full text]

Performance management, which is a core element of the New Public Management (NPM), has maintained its significance both in academic and practical perspectives for many scholars and governments, although enthusiasm for the NPM has waned since the late 1990s. There have been debates on the universality of the NPM, and the divergence argument regards the practices and trajectories of specific reforms as being shaped by the different characteristics of politico-administrative and cultural systems. Through the comparative study of performance management based on the case studies in the UK and South Korea, this thesis demonstrates that the processes of a NPM-type reform can be similar in spite of differences of politico-administrative and cultural characteristics. It examines performance management systems in the two countries in terms of the speed and nature of reform, resistance to reform, use of performance information and importance as a control mechanism. The comparison is also useful for lesson-drawing for the improvement of current systems. This research has been conducted by undertaking a wide literature review, including journal articles and government papers, and by conducting semi-structured interviews. To undertake analysis and comparison of performance management systems, the thesis looks at the Public Service Agreements (PSAs) in the UK and the Government Performance Evaluation (GPE), Financial Performance Management System (FPMS) and Performance Agreements in Korea. Case studies have been carried out with the Department of Health in the UK and the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs in Korea. The PSA system has problems generated by excessive central control and lack of participation of professionals and front-line staff. In Korea all three performance management systems are based on evaluation. Departments used evaluation as a tool of exercising control, which resulted in duplication of evaluation and excessive bureaucracy. Focus on the process-oriented evaluation has undermined the value of the systems for improving public services. Whilst the two countries display differences in the fundamental approach to performance management, there are similarities in the detailed practices and trajectories in the operation of the systems. The reason for these similarities may be attributed to the strong leadership of top politicians in both countries.

Within western societies the act of consumption is not merely concerned with satisfying basic human needs. Rather, consumption has become a source of leisure and self expression for the masses (Belk, 1988). This has meant that humankind’s wants have tended to outstrip the world’s finite resources available, leading to environmental damage, questionable farming practice and the widespread abuse of human labour. In response to these issues the phenomena of ethical consumption was born. Ethical consumption attempts to limit the environmental, human and animal costs of our spending via the favouring of products that are deemed to be for the betterment of wider society. At face value ethical consumption has been hugely successful in terms of market share, with sales of products stressing their ethical credentials having grown rapidly in recent years (Cooperative Bank 2011). However, despite this success, ethically branded products still represent a minority of purchases (Thøgersen, 2006). Psychological research exploring the reasons why consumers purchase ethically is dominated by papers focusing upon consumers’ attitudes, values and intentions (Andorfer & Liebe, 2012, Milfont & Duckitt, 2004). However, consumers’ attitudes do not always mirror actual spending (Auger, Burke, Devinney & Louviere., 2003; Auger & Devinney, 2007). Whilst one third of consumers describe themselves as being ethical spenders, only 1-3% of products purchased are Fair Trade certified (Cowe & Williams, 2000). The divergence between attitude and behaviour has been referred to as the ‘ethical purchasing gap’ (Andorfer & Liebe, 2012, Clayton & Brook, 2005). One factor that may be partially responsible for the divergence between purchase intention and actual behaviours is self-regulatory fatigue (ego depletion). Chapter one of the thesis presents the argument for ethical spending being affected by, amongst other things, our ability to suppress our impulsive desires via a process known as self-regulation (Bagozzi, 1992; Baumeister, 2002; Baumeister & Vohs, 2007). According to the self-regulatory fatigue literature, self-control requires the expenditure of blood glucose (Gailliot, 2008, Inzlicht & Gutsell, 2007). However, the available level of blood glucose temporarily diminishes with continued use of the self-regulatory system. In response to the lower availability of blood glucose, individuals begin to limit all non-essential cognitive expenditure, including further acts of self-regulation. Individuals who have exhausted their capacity for self control are said to be ego depleted or in a state of self-regulatory fatigue (Baumeister & Heatherton, 1996; Hofmann. Friese & Strack, 2009; Muraven & Baumeister, 2000) Chapter one argues that self-regulatory fatigue may restrict an individual’s capacity to consider the social and long-term impacts of their spending to resist the temptation of cheap consumer goods. As a result, it is predicted that ethical spending may be negatively affected by self-regulation fatigue. Following this theoretical foundation, Chapter two presents the methodological rationale for the research project that set out to test various aspects of this foundational hypothesis. Chapter three presents the findings of the first empirical study. The purpose of the study was to use open-ended questionnaires to explore the principles that guided participants’ spending, as well gaining an insight into instances where there was a discrepancy between spending and principle. The study is included within the thesis primarily to show the genesis of the research agenda. The study indicated that consumers within the sample were primarily concerned with traditional forms of ethical consumption, namely environmental, human and animal welfare concerns. Participants justified non-principled purchasing as being a result of financial consideration or impulsive urge. It was thus decided to explore the possibility that self-regulation fatigue may have a potentially negative impact upon ethical spending, due to its known relationship with impulsive spending (Vohs & Faber, 2007). Chapter four explores the effects of self-regulation fatigue upon socially-minded economic behaviour within the controlled setting of a social dilemma game. Ethical consumption can be considered to be a prime example of a ‘social dilemma’ in the sense that decisions relating to whether or not to consume ethically involve a direct conflict between an individual’s short term interests (e.g. to save money) and the collective interests of wider society (Gattig & Hendrickx, 2007; Milfont & Gouveiac, 2006). Therefore it was decided to measure the effects of self-regulatory fatigue within an experimental social dilemma task. The task used was based upon the forest game, which was first outlined by Sheldon and McGregor (2000), with the white bear thought suppression task (Wegner, Schneider, Carter, & White, 1987) being utilised to manipulate self-regulatory fatigue. The results revealed a clear divergence in behaviour within the game as a function of the manipulation of self-regulatory fatigue, with non-depleted groups sustaining the central resource longer than their depleted counterparts. Chapter five builds on the findings of chapter four through an exploration of the relationship between ego depletion and participants’ willingness to pay for ethical goods. The study utilised a discrete choice measure in order to measure participant’s willingness to pay for ethical goods. The findings did not show a significant effect of self-regulatory fatigue on the willingness to pay for ethical goods. However a potential explanation for this result was the fact that the decision-making processes involved in this study were less arduous than those required within a real-life shopping environment (or, for that matter, than the decisions required in the forest game reported in chapter four). It is possible that the complexity of the choice presented may have been insufficient for the decision to be negatively affected by self-regulatory fatigue. The study is thus included in order to illustrate the importance of utilising more realistic measures of spending that incorporate more of the complexity of decision-making required in real-world contexts. Chapter six presents four separate experiments exploring the relationship between self-regulatory fatigue and ethical spending. The first study utilised an online supermarket simulation and asked participants to go shopping for one week’s worth of groceries after either completing, or not completing, the white bear thought suppression task. The simulated supermarket allowed participants to select from a range of over 1900 products. The pattern of results indicated that participants in a state of self-regulatory fatigue spent significantly less on ethically branded products than their non-depleted counterparts. However, this was only true for individuals with a high food budget. Those with a low budget were not significantly affected, presumably due to having relatively little flexibility in terms of product choice and/or having established shopping habits focusing upon value. The second study in chapter six explored the ways in which social appeals interact with self-regulatory fatigue. Participants were presented with an attention control task before reading either an article praising students for their ethical behaviours or a control article. Participants were then asked to “go shopping” within the online store. Results once again indicated that self-regulatory fatigue reduced spending on ethically branded goods. However, contrary to predictions, the social appeal had no significant effect on levels of ethical spending either as a main effect or in interaction with self-regulatory fatigue.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of History / David Stone / This manuscript reveals the primary causes of Habsburg defeat both in 1866 and in 1914-1918. The choice of offensive strategy and tactics against an enemy possessing superior weaponry in the Austro-Prussian War and opponents with superior numbers and weapons in the First World War resulted in catastrophe. The inferiority of the Habsburg forces in both wars stemmed from imprudent spending decisions during peacetime rather than conservatism or parliamentary stinginess. The desire to restore the sunken prestige of Austria-Hungary and prove Habsburg great power status drove the military to waste money on an expensive fleet and choose offensive tactics to win great victories. This study shows the civil-military interaction in regard to funding and procurement decisions as well as the deep intellectual debates within the army, which refute the idea that the Habsburg military remained opposed to technology or progress.

This thesis deals with the system of financing education in the Czech Republic and the development of education over the past 20 years. Individual chapters are divided by levels of the educational system in the last chapter analyzes public spending on education, the above developments and the relationship with the State budget and the amount of taxes collected.

La presente investigación tiene por objetivo evaluar el impacto tributario de los principales gastos de promoción reparables y su relación con el principio de causalidad aplicado en los laboratorios farmacéuticos trasnacionales de Lima Metropolitana durante el ejercicio fiscal 2017. Al respecto, existen distintas posiciones por parte de la Administración Tributaria y de los entes jurisprudenciales en cuanto al tratamiento tributario de tales gastos, lo cual ha originado que los contribuyentes del sector farmacéutico no tengan una posición muy clara sobre este tema. Por ello, este estudio busca aclarar y dar a conocer cuáles son los gastos de promoción observados por la Administración Tributaria que podrían ser reparables, así como los criterios y pautas para sustentar dichos gastos como “escudo fiscal” de los laboratorios farmacéuticos frente a un proceso de fiscalización. En ese sentido, se ha recurrido al análisis de diferentes jurisprudencias que tratan sobre la deducibilidad de tales gastos y también se tomaron en cuenta las opiniones de gerentes y socios del área tributaria de las principales firmas auditoras a nivel mundial, estudios de abogados y del gremio ALAFARPE (Asociación Nacional de Laboratorios Farmacéuticos). Todo ello ha permitido concluir, que los gastos de promoción son uno de los más importantes para este tipo de negocio y que los principales gastos son las muestras médicas, congresos y eventos médicos. Para el caso de las muestras médicas, podrían ser deducibles si se cuenta con todos los sustentos para su acreditación. Por otro lado, para los congresos y eventos médicos la Administración Tributaria no acepta dicho gasto, ya que la principal controversia de Sunat por este gasto es el principio de causalidad cuestionando la necesidad de tal gasto. Sin embargo, los expertos del tema opinan que, si deberían ser deducibles, ya que estos si cumplen con el principio de causalidad. / The present investigation evaluates the tax impact of the main repairable promotion expenses and its relation with the principle of causality applied in transnational pharmaceutical laboratories of Metropolitan Lima in the period of 2017. There are different positions between the Peruvian Tax Administration and the jurisprudential organisms regarding the tax treatment of such expenses, which has caused that the contributors of the pharmaceutical sector don´t, have a very clear position on this subject. Therefore, this study seeks to clarify the promotional costs that are observe for the Peruvian Tax Administration that could be deductible, as well as the criteria and guidelines to support such expenses as "tax shield" of pharmaceutical laboratories facing an audit process. In this sense, an analysis of different jurisprudences that deal with the deductibility of such expenses and the different opinions of manager and partner of tax area in the leading audit firms world-wide, law firms and the ALAFARPE association (National Association of Pharmaceutical Laboratories). All this has allowed to conclude that the promotion expenses are one of the most important in the determination of Income Tax and are mainly the expenses of medical samples, congresses and medical events. In the case of medical samples, it could be deductible if all the proofs are available for their accreditation. Regarding congresses and medical events, the Tax Administration does not accept this expense, since the main controversy of Sunat by this expense is the principle of causality questioning the need for such expense. However, the experts on this matter believe that they should be deductible since those comply with the principle of causality. / Tesis

Os estudos sobre a eficiência do setor público têm estado cada vez mais presentes em trabalhos acadêmicos. Os conceitos referentes à eficiência do gasto público se destacam nesse cenário, pois se referem a abordagens acerca da correta alocação dos recursos públicos e desenvolvimento econômico e social da sociedade. Um grande desafio da gestão pública versa sobre o alcance do equilíbrio dos gastos públicos e os resultados alcançados com a aplicação destes. Quando se pensa nessa situação em nível municipal, pode-se encontrar um desequilíbrio ainda maior entre os gastos e os impactos causados na sociedade. Diante da importância e representatividade no cenário nacional dos gastos públicos, este trabalho propõe avaliar o nível de eficiência do gasto público dos municípios da microrregião de Varginha. A metodologia utilizada é a análise de fronteira estocástica, onde se estima a função fronteira de produção ideal utilizando-se a regressão de múltiplas variáveis, a partir de um conjunto de dados das unidades produtivas selecionadas. Foram utilizadas como variáveis de análise: Indicadores de Desempenho Agregados (DSP’s) das áreas de Saúde, Saneamento, Educação e Cultura, Gasto público em Saúde, Saneamento, Educação e Cultura e a proporção destes gastos com relação ao gasto total dos municípios, número de habitantes, PIB (Produto Interno Bruto) per capita, taxa de urbanização, e gastos com pessoal. A partir das análises realizadas, observou-se, pelos desvios padrão, que os valores dos DSP’s não se distanciam da média da microrregião. O modelo de fronteira estocástica mostrou que as variáveis representativas dos gastos absolutos e do PIB influenciam negativamente os DSP’s. Entretanto, as variáveis ditas populacionais, o número de habitantes e a taxa de urbanização do município, apresentaram um resultado diretamente proporcional. Os resultados demonstram que os gastos dos municípios não necessariamente estão sendo direcionados para obtenção dos melhores resultados, ou seja, não estão sendo aplicados de maneira eficiente. Espera-se que o estudo realizado possa representar um avanço teórico e prático no campo das finanças públicas de maneira a possibilitar o aperfeiçoamento na condução da aplicação dos recursos públicos por parte dos gestores municipais, permitindo que possam contribuir de maneira concreta para o desenvolvimento econômico e social da gestão pública local. / Studies on the efficiency of the public sector has been increasingly present in academic papers. The concepts relating to public spending efficiency stand out in this scenario, because they relate to approaches to the correct allocation of public resources and economic and social development of society. A major challenge of public management is about balancing the scope of public expenditure and the results achieved with the application of these. When we think in this situation at the municipal level, one can find an even greater imbalance between spending and the impacts on society. Given the importance and representation in the national scenario of public spending, this work proposes assess the level of public spending efficiency of the municipalities of micro-region of Varginha. The methodology used is the stochastic frontier analysis, which is an estimated optimal production boundary feature using the regression multiple variables from a data set of selected production units, in which the inputs are set as independent variables and the product, is set as dependent variable. It were used as variables: Performance Indicators Aggregates (DSP’s) by areas health, sanitation, education and culture, public expenditure in health, sanitation, education and culture and the proportion of these expenditures to total expenditures of municipalities, number of inhabitants, GDP (Gross National Product)per capita, urbanization rate, and expenses whit personnel. From the analyzes, it was observed, by standard deviations, that the values ​​of DSP 's not differ from the average of the micro-region. Stochastic frontier model showed that the variables thats represents the absolute spending and GDP negatively influence the DSP's. However, population variables, the number of inhabitants and the city's urbanization rate showed a directly proportional result. The results show that spending by municipalities are not necessarily being directed to obtain the best results, or are not being applied effectively. It is hoped that the study may represent a theoretical and practical advances in the public finances field in order to enable improvement in driving the use of public resources by city managers, allowing to contribute concretely to the economic and social development of the local public administration.

This thesis examines the position of Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu within Barcelona’s cultural lanscapeas a means of exploring its modern-day role as one of Europe’s most important opera houses. Other studies of the Liceu have provided extensive historical narratives, but have rarely considered any kind of sociological or cultural theory when analysing the theatre’s role in the city. Chapter 1 explores the Liceu in Spanish and Catalan literature and dramaturgy and questions its role as a representative of upper-class Barcelona culture, and the changes this role has undergone over the course of Spain’s transition to democracy. The Liceu’s location in the adjacent Raval district is examined in Chapter 2: the area has undergone considerable physical and demographic changes over the last decades, and the opera house’s relationship to this area and the larger Barcelona context is discussed in some detail. The third chapter contextualises the Liceu within the wider Catalan cultural panorama and examines the impact of the recession in Spain, which has greatly affected cultural spending, and consequently the theatre’s programme. This problem has been aggravated by an awkward, opaque system of management; the thesis provides examples and analysis of the difficulties the theatre experienced between 2010 and 2013. The final chapter seeks to underline the efforts of the artistic direction to make the Liceu a referent of modern European operatic productions, with three case studies of stagings that represent modern interpretations of opera by contemporary Catalan directors. These works have been chosen as representative of the Liceu’s determined modernisation of the operatic spectacle and of its commitment to local artists. The thesis aims to present a more critical view of Barcelona’s opera house that goes beyond chronological narrative and anecdote in depicting the modern-day situation of the institution and its place in the Barcelona context.