The exchange of tax information has received ample attention recently, due to a number of recent headlines on aggressive tax planning and tax evasion. Whilst both participating tax authorities will gain when foreign investments (FDI) are bilateral, we demonstrate that FDI receiving nations will lose in asymmetric situations. We solve a bargaining model that proves that tax information exchange will only happen voluntarily with compensation for this loss. We then present empirical evidence in a global panel and find that a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) or a double tax treaty with information exchange (DTT) is more likely when the capital importer is compensated through official development assistence (ODA). We finally demonstrate how the foreign account tax compliance act (FATCA) and similar international initiatives bias the bargaining outcome in favour of capital exporting countries. (authors' abstract) / Series: WU International Taxation Research Paper Series

The role of tax havens in the global issue of tax evasion has been illustrated by numerous studies. In 2009, a major international initiative has been launched by G20 and OECD with a purpose to put an end to offshore tax evasion. Yet the outcomes of this tax haven crackdown are often contested. This thesis brings new findings to the empirical research that has been done on the field of crackdown's evaluation. First, I confirm the results of earlier academic papers and I find a negative impact of information exchange treaties on the value of funds placed in tax havens. Second, I extend the existing research shifting the attention to deposits in non-havens, concluding that also the money from tax havens placed on non-havens' bank accounts disappear after signing a treaty. In the final part of the thesis, I - for the first time in literature - link the data on cross-border deposits with a measure of financial secrecy. I find that a decrease in secrecy score corresponds to a decline in deposits on a sample of all countries and non-havens. All my findings suggest that weakening the financial secrecy is associated with a significant outflow of cross-border deposits.

Background: Effective information exchange is an asset to effective lung cancer care. Although a considerable body of evidence informs the approaches to ‘diagnostic bad news delivery’, the exchange of information that takes place between patients with cancer and professionals with whom they interact thereafter is less well documented. Information exchange has an influential role throughout the lung cancer care continuum, providing patients and professionals with details relative to the cancer diagnosis and the subsequent choices to be made in its management. Information on disease extent, treatment and related side-effects, rehabilitation and prognosis are judged by patients as the most prominent for them. Despite awareness of the specific categories relevant to information exchange needs, there is little evidence available exploring the information exchange process, per se, within cancer generally and even less within the lung cancer context. Aim: To investigate information exchange processes during lung cancer consultations, specifically exploring information content which is both exchanged and not exchanged. Design: Qualitative, multiple case study design. Methods: A case centred on a patient with lung cancer. Within the case were the patients, the health professionals they consulted with and accompanying companions. Seven cases were recruited, which included 12 companions. Data were collected in outpatient clinics between 2010 and 2011. Data were digital recordings of consultations; debrief interviews immediately post-consultation and later in-depth patient interviews. All interviews were transcribed and analysed for pattern matching and coding. Findings: Analysis of categorical data indicated cases were typical of the Scottish lung cancer population across all demographic domains, accept age and performance status. The preliminary analysis showed across cases, almost universal satisfaction with the level and content of information exchange for the main a priori categories of diagnosis, treatment and treatment outcome. Substantive analysis revealed that information content across the a priori categories was influenced by the presence of the accompanying companion. Within the clinical consultation, companion influence on information exchange was shown to be mediating, moderating or neutral. A key finding which emerged showed companion accompaniment to be a negotiated process, with three identifying levels of accompaniment. Non-negotiated companion presence at the clinic was associated with influential and expert companions who significantly moderated the content, direction and flow of information exchange, using the constructs of companion control, companion agenda and companion as expert. Persuasive influences further shaped non-negotiated accompaniment and were identified as demographic characteristics and relationship alliances. Patient and professional perspective regarding companion accompaniment was shown to be discordant. Conclusions: The level of negotiated companion presence at lung cancer clinics has direct implications for clinical care. There needs to be greater understanding among professionals of ways in which information exchange can be influenced by companions.

Syfte - Syftet med studien är att kartlägga hantering av information mellan original equipment manufacturer (OEM) och kontraktstillverkare. Syftet har brutits ner i tre frågeställningar: Vilken information skickas mellan OEM och kontraktstillverkare? Hur skickas information mellan OEM och kontraktstillverkare? Vilka faktorer påverkar informationsutbytet mellan OEM och kontraktstillverkare? Metod – En förstudie genomfördes för att formulera en problemformulering, vilket låg till grund för utformandet av studiens syfte samt frågeställningar. Fallstudien genomfördes parallellt med en kompletterande litteraturgenomgång för att skapa studiens teoretiska ramverk. Studiens syfte samt frågeställningar besvarades genom fallstudien och teorier. Slutsatser – Brister identifierades under studien gång och har en direkt påverkan på informationsutbytet mellan parterna. Det finns flera faktorer som kan påverka informationsutbytet, den främsta påverkande faktorn är kommunikationen inom företaget, vilket ligger till grund för ett väl fungerande informationsflöde. Ett tillverkande företag bör finna en balans mellan tillgång och användning av nödvändiga resurser för att integrera informationsflödet mellan parter och minska möjliga informationsgap. Det existerar svårigheter i att koordinera ett informationsflöde på bästa sätt vid användning av multipla tillverkningskanaler. Genom att identifiera slöseri i företagets administrativa processer kan de elimineras för att minska onödigt höga kostnader för företaget. Implikationer – Studien kan fungera som en vägledning hur företag ska hantera sitt informationsflöde vid användning av multipla tillverkningskanaler. Organisationer inom tillverkningsbranschen kan med fördel ta del av studien för erhållande av förståelse beträffande kommunikation, informationsutbyte, partnerskap samt framgångsfaktorer vid användning av lean i det administrativa flödet. Begränsningar – Då två enheter studerades, kan en relativt hög reliabilitet antas. Dock hade det varit fördelaktigt att studera fler företag med liknande tillverkningsprocess för att stärka studiens reliabilitet ytterligare. / Purpose – The purpose of the thesis is to map the handling of information between original equipment manufacturer (OEM) and contract manufacturers. The purpose has been broken down into three research questions: What information is sent between OEM and contract manufacturers? How is information sent between OEM and contract manufacturers? What factors affect the exchange of information between OEM and contract manufacturers? Method – A case study was conducted to formulate a problem formulation, which formed the basis for the design of the study's purpose and issues. The case study was conducted in parallel with a supplementary literature review to create the theoretical framework of the study. The purpose of the study and the three research questions were answered through the case study and theories. Findings – The study identified several deficiencies that have a direct impact on the exchange of information between parties. There are several factors that can influence the exchange of information, the main influencing factor being the communication within the company that forms the basis for a well-functioning information flow. A manufacturing company should find a balance between access and use of the necessary resources to integrate information flow between parties and reduce possible information gaps. There are difficulties in coordinating an information flow in the best possible way using multiple manufacturing channels. By identifying waste in the company's administrative processes, they can be eliminated to reduce ultimately unnecessarily high costs for the company. Implications – The study can serve as a guide for companies to manage their information flow when using multiple manufacturing channels. Manufacturing organizations can benefit from the study to gain an understanding of communication, information exchange, partnership and success factors when using lean in the administrative flow. Limitations – When two units were studied, a relatively high reliability can be assumed. Yet, it would have been advantageous to study more companies with similar manufacturing processes to further strengthen the study’s reliability.

No description available.

Multi-agency cooperation has been considered a very important aspect of crime investigation and crime prevention in modern time. The aim of this study was to explore the realities of multi-agency cooperation as experienced by Swedish crime workers from the police, the Prison and Probation Service and the Social Service. Previous research has shown that inter-agency cooperation’s success and/or failure is controlled by factors such as time, resources, amount of guidance and so on, however very little research has explored the modern Swedish crime workers’ perspective in the subject. Semi-structured interviews were conducted regarding the topics of cooperation between agencies, information exchange and secrecy. The results showed that while cooperation within the Swedish Judicial System was operating well, collaborative efforts with external agencies like the Social Service, was severely lacking. Collaborative efforts were experienced as less actual cooperation and more information exchange, which in turn was heavily controlled by secrecy laws and therefore often seen as one-way communication with external agencies. Additionally, when well-planned collaborative projects funded by the government are in place, the cooperation tends to work easier, however workers are less inclined to prioritize such efforts when the agencies’ own resources are being used.

Implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) is a driver for the improvement of health care and the reduction of health care costs. Developing countries face substantial challenges in adopting EHRs. The complex adaptive system conceptual framework was used to guide this single case study to explore strategies that health care leaders used to successfully implement the EHR system. Data were collected from 6 health care leaders from an island in the Caribbean using a semistructured interview technique. Data were analyzed using the Bengtsson's 4-stage data analysis process, which includes decontextualization, recontextualization, categorization, and compilation. The results of the study yielded 5 main themes: training, increased staffing, monitoring, identifying organizational gaps, and time. The implications of the study for positive social change include the potential to improve the standards of care provided to promote improved patient outcomes by using the strategies identified in this study to successfully implement the EHR system.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (Specialising in Taxation) / South Africa had entered into 97 double taxation agreements (at the time of this study in 2014) with other countries which generally contain an article which authorises the exchange of information between South Africa and the treaty partner. The 2008 global financial crisis re-emphasized the increase in tax planning structures as a result of globalisation to avoid or evade taxes and this highlighted the need for a more transparent tax information sharing platform. Since the 2008 economic crisis, one of the key themes has been the attempts to co-ordinate reform of the global financial system in the pursuit of greater international transparency. Since 2012 Treasury started entering into agreements with various other countries to enhance the transparency of taxes paid by entering into exchange of information agreements: these includes the Bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) and the Multilateral Mutual Administrative Assistance (MAA) Agreements and the agreement entered into with the United States of America known as the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) agreement, signed 9 June 2014. This will support the Double Tax Agreement already in place to enhance the information sharing regime. Government Notices 508 and 509, Gazette number 37778, were published on 27 June 2014 in order to facilitate FATCA compliance in terms of the Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (TAA) sections 26, 29 and 30. As FATCA is a new agreement, there is a limited overview of the impact of this exchange of information agreement. This report is to gain insight into the reasons for implementing these agreements, an overview of these agreements and the implications of these agreements, with a specific focus on the newest agreement, FATCA.

The adoption and implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM), as technologies and processes, in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry marked a significant step forward in advanced digital transformation. One of the distinctive features of the AEC industry is that it necessitates a collaborative effort between several actors from different domains to realize building projects effectively. The involved actors employ different BIM platforms and tools that best suit the task they perform. In addition, the actors rely on one another for information to successfully perform their tasks indicating the crucial importance of digital collaboration and information exchanges between the involved actors. Building product manufacturers are among the important actors in the AEC industry and digitizing how building product data is shared and exchanged is an essential factor for the success of digital BIM processes. The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) is a widely used data schema for representing building information in a neutral format to support information exchanges between different digital tools. Currently, IFC is supported by several BIM applications employed in the industry and can successfully exchange geometric information of a product. However, the IFC data schema does not cover explicit semantic definitions for domain-specific, innovative or multifunctional product data descriptions, making semantic enrichment of product data difficult. In addition, semantic queries, consistency checking, reasoning and automated data processing are challenging to apply on the IFC models. Several studies suggest using web-based standards and technologies, including the semantic web, to digitally manage and share information. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate how the semantic web technologies can support information interoperability and data integration processes between the manufacturing and building industries. As a proof of concept, a prototype is developed to investigate and demonstrate the feasibility of using the semantic web technologies for information exchanges. The design science research methodology frames the research work presented in this thesis and guides the development and evaluation of the prototype. The prototype is evaluated, with industry representatives, based on product description requirements derived from the research problem and related studies. The outcome demonstrates the feasibility of applying the semantic web technologies in the AEC industry, implying the potential benefits the semantic web could provide in addressing the industry's long-standing information interoperability challenge. / Implementeringen av Byggnads Information Modeller (BIM) har varit en katalysator för digitaliseringen inom samhällsbyggnadssektorn. En av de utmärkande egenskaperna hos samhällsbyggnadssektorn är att det krävs samarbete mellan ett stort antal aktörer, från olika domäner, för att effektivt realisera byggprojekt. De inblandade aktörerna använder oftast olika digitala verktyg, anpassade för de uppgifter aktören utför. De olika aktörerna är också helt beroende av de andra aktörernas information för att framgångsrikt kunna utföra sina uppgifter. Detta gör att ett väl fungerande digitalt samarbete och informationsutbyte är av avgörande betydelse. Då byggnader och anläggningar till stor del består av produkter från tillverkningsindustrin så är tillverkarna en kategori viktiga aktörer inom samhällsbyggnadssektorn och digitaliseringen av produktdata är en väsentlig faktor för digitaliseringen av sektorn. Informationsutbyten mellan aktörerna sker idag främst med hjälp av Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). IFC täcker inte explicita semantiska definitioner för domänspecifika, innovativa eller multifunktionella produktdatabeskrivningar vilket gör det svårt att semantiskt berika produktdata. Dessutom är sökning efter produktdata, med hjälp av semantiska frågor, och automatiserad databehandling utmanande i dagsläget. P g a dessa problem föreslår flera studier att man bör applicera standarder och tekniker framtagna för WWW, inklusive teknologier från området semantiska nätverk, för att digitalt hantera och dela information. Syftet med denna forskning är att undersöka hur dessa teknologier kan stödja informationsutbytet mellan tillverknings- och byggindustrin. Forskningen utfördes enligt forskningsmetodiken Design Science Research (DSR). En prototyp har implementerats. Prototypens funktionalitet och användbarhet utvärderades tillsammans med branschrepresentanter. Dessutom utvärderades prototypen med hjälp av en kravlista som utformades med hjälp av vetenskaplig litteratur inom området. Resultaten från utvärderingen visar att teknologin från området semantiska nätverk kan användas för att informationsutbyten av produktdata mellan tillverknings- och byggindustrier. Resultaten visar också att denna teknologi kan lösa vissa av de problem som länge varit en utmaning i samhällsbyggnadssektorn.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Public health agencies protect the health and safety of populations. A key function of public health agencies is surveillance or the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of data about health-related events. Recent public health events, such as the H1N1 outbreak, have triggered increased funding for and attention towards the improvement and sustainability of public health agencies’ capacity for surveillance activities. For example, provisions in the final U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) “meaningful use” criteria ask that physicians and hospitals report surveillance data to public health agencies using electronic laboratory reporting (ELR) and syndromic surveillance functionalities within electronic health record (EHR) systems. Health information exchange (HIE), organized exchange of clinical and financial health data among a network of trusted entities, may be a path towards achieving meaningful use and enhancing the nation’s public health surveillance infrastructure. Yet the evidence on the value of HIE, especially in the context of public health surveillance, is sparse. In this research, the value of HIE to the process of public health surveillance is explored. Specifically, the study describes the real and perceived completeness and usefulness of HIE in public health surveillance activities. To explore the real value of HIE, the study examined ELR data from two states, comparing raw, unedited data sent from hospitals and laboratories to data enhanced by an HIE. To explore the perceived value of HIE, the study examined public health, infection control, and HIE professionals’ perceptions of public health surveillance data and information flows, comparing traditional flows to HIE-enabled ones. Together these methods, along with the existing literature, triangulate the value that HIE does and can provide public health surveillance processes. The study further describes remaining gaps that future research and development projects should explore. The data collected in the study show that public health surveillance activities vary dramatically, encompassing a wide range of paper and electronic methods for receiving and analyzing population health trends. Few public health agencies currently utilize HIE-enabled processes for performing surveillance activities, relying instead on direct reporting of information from hospitals, physicians, and laboratories. Generally HIE is perceived well among public health and infection control professionals, and many of these professionals feel that HIE can improve surveillance methods and population health. Human and financial resource constraints prevent additional public health agencies from participating in burgeoning HIE initiatives. For those agencies that do participate, real value is being added by HIEs. Specifically, HIEs are improving the completeness and semantic interoperability of ELR messages sent from clinical information systems. New investments, policies, and approaches will be necessary to increase public health utilization of HIEs while improving HIEs’ capacity to deliver greater value to public health surveillance processes.