Showing papers by "KIMEP University published in 2016"

Conceptualising public‐private partnerships: A critical appraisal of approaches to meanings and forms

Abstract: Purpose The purpose of this paper is to survey various meanings attached to a public–private partnership (PPP) and related aspects in Western literature and to identify commonalities and differences between them. Additionally, the article intends to critically assess conflicting and overlapping views on contractual and institutional PPPs, their forms and models and to draw insights for transitional economies. Design/methodology/approach The article contrasts and compares views on PPP meanings, forms and models within Western PPP literature and also draws comparisons with understanding of partnership aspects in the Russian language sources. The paper examines theories underpinning PPPs, builds connections to PPP advantages and drawbacks and provides critical assessment of net benefits that PPPs may bring along to the society. Findings The article concludes that future PPP research in transitional countries such as Kazakhstan and Russia, particularly in the area of organisational and power arrangements in partnerships, may delineate new concepts such as government as a guarantor of a PPP project, social significance of a PPP project and risk management in a country’s contextual environment. Originality/value Research in the field of PPPs in transitional countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan is in its infancy. The paper intends to contribute to the body of knowledge about PPPs by providing detailed account and categorisation of their principal meanings, forms, models and underpinning theories and by drawing insights for future research in transitional countries.

Workplace diversity management in Australia

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify Australian managers’ attitudes and understandings regarding workforce diversity management (WDM) and the practices and incorporation of WDM in organisations. Design/methodology/approach – Methodology is quantitative. A questionnaire in the form of a self-administered survey instrument was mailed to 650 managers (325 HR managers and 325 other managers) in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Findings – The research found that workforce diversity is not especially well understood or appreciated; especially by non-HR managers. Organisations appear generally not to prioritise WDM and levels of senior manager engagement with the topic are tentative. Statistical analysis highlighted considerable divergence of opinion across the surveyed group. Research limitations/implications – As an exploratory study, further research is encouraged to better understand cause and effect relationships pertaining to the findings. Practical implications – There are implications for HR...

Determinants of e-government diffusion in Nigeria An examination of theoretical models

Abstract: While Nigeria began its e-government initiatives in the early 2000s, the country is still in the early stages of e-government development, with very low e-government diffusion among its population....

Prices and Deadweight Loss in Multiproduct Monopoly

Abstract: This paper provides a thorough analysis of oligopolistic markets with positive demand-side network externalities and perfect compatibility. The minimal structure imposed on the model primitives is such that industry output increases in a firm's rivals' total output as well as in the expected network size. This leads to a generalized equilibrium existence treatment that includes guarantees for a nontrivial equilibrium, and some insight into possible multiplicity of equilibria. We formalize the concept of industry viability and show that it is always enhanced by having more firms in the market and/or by technological improvements. We also characterize the e¤ects of market structure on industry performance, with an emphasis on departures from standard markets. The approach relies on lattice-theoretic methods, which allow for a unified treatment of various general results in the literature on network goods. Several illustrative examples with closed-form solutions are also provided.

Multipurpose community telecenters in rural Bangladesh: A study of selected Union Information and Service Centers

Abstract: This paper reviews and analyzes the development of Multipurpose Community Telecenters (MCTs) in rural Bangladesh. The core of the paper builds on bringing together relevant literature review and field study. The findings of the paper suggest that the development of telecenters in Bangladesh is still in its formative stage. MCTs have fared well in improving rural people’s livelihood at large, and the emerging middle class have been the major beneficiaries. Evidence suggests that the telecenters did not work much for the hardcore poor. The paper argues that MCTs as knowledge hubs have facilitated not only narrowing the digital divide but also contributing to the socio-economic development of rural Bangladesh.

New invariant and consistent chi-squared type goodness-of-fit tests for multivariate normality and a related comparative simulation study

Abstract: New invariant and consistent goodness-of-fit tests for multivariate normality are introduced. Tests are based on the Karhunen–Loeve transformation of a multidimensional sample from a population. A comparison of simulated powers of tests and other well-known tests with respect to some alternatives is given. The simulation study demonstrates that power of the proposed McCull test almost does not depend on the number of grouping cells. The test shows an advantage over other chi-squared type tests. However, averaged over all of the simulated conditions examined in this article, the Anderson–Darling type and the Cramer–von Mises type tests seem to be the best.

Superior Bargaining Power and the Global Food Value Chain: The WutheringHeights of Holistic Competition Law?

Abstract: In this paper we analyse the role of superior bargaining power in competition law and policy in the agri-food value chain. Conventional approaches to competition law based on a neoclassical price theory perspective tend to neglect or to stay opaque on the role of bargaining power in competition law. However, national competition authorities and national legislators seem to be less biased by specific theoretical approaches and have increasingly engaged with the application of the concept of bargaining power in competition law. In this paper we discuss both positions and set a general theoretical framework, the global value chain approach, to better understand the interactions between suppliers and retailers in the food sector. Finally, we observe the framing of new tools of competition law intervention at national level, in order to deal with situations of superior bargaining power in specific settings related to the food value chain.

Tapping into the Potential of Academic Diaspora for Homeland Development: the Case of Nigeria

Abstract: Academic Diaspora populations are an important resource that can be harnessed by home governments for national growth and development. Nigeria’s academic Diasporas provide an opportunity for Nigeria’s tertiary institutions to connect to the global knowledge community and for the government to utilize their skills and resources toward national innovation and growth. This paper examines the contributions of Nigeria’s academic Diaspora populations by analyzing their various modes of engagement in Nigeria’s development. The paper uses a review of relevant literature and responses from a questionnaire survey of 45 Nigerian international academics. Using the theoretical lens of the Diaspora Option Theory, the paper observes that the academic Diaspora has made significant contributions to Nigeria’s development but that the benefits of these contributions can be enhanced through proper government engagement and coordination.

Remembering and forgetting: the state policy of memorializing Stalin's repression in post-Soviet Kazakhstan

Abstract: The general perception of Western analysts and observers is that the nation-states created as a result of the breakup of the Soviet Union all treat the memory of the dark, repressive aspects of the Stalinist regime in public spaces as a symbolic element in the creation of a new post-Soviet identity [Denison, Michael. 2009. “The Art of the Impossible: Political Symbolism, and the Creation of National Identity and Collective Memory in Post-Soviet Turkmenistan.” Europe-Asia Studies 61 (7): 1167–1187]. We argue that the government of Kazakhstan employs non-nationalistic discourse in its treatment of Stalinist victims’ commemoration in a variety of forms, through the creation of modern memorial complexes at the sites of horrific Soviet activity (mass burial places, labor camps, and detention centers), purpose-built museum exhibitions, and the commemorative speeches of its president and other officials. Kazakhstan's strategy in commemorating its Soviet past is designed to highlight the inclusiveness of repressi...

Kazakhstan and the Global Industry of Mega Events: A Case of Autocratic Management

Abstract: The chapter looks into the roots of the Kazakhstani regime’s aspirations to host significant international events of both a political and sports character, and unveils how such ambitions have been evolving over the past two decades. The author discusses how mega events were represented to the public, both domestically and internationally. The chapter claims that mega events are driven by the ambitions of the elite to affirm their status in the eyes of the international community and legitimize their domestic practices, translated in the subsequent campaigning for internal approval by drumming up patriotic sentiment and diverting attention of the public from political and socio-economic issues.

The imagined nation-state in Soviet literature: the case of Koshpendiler

Abstract: This article focuses on the famous novel Koshpendiler (1976) by Ilyas Esenberlin. This literary work occupies a special place in Soviet Kazakh literature because it raises important problems such as the foundation of the state and nation, the sense of territoriality, and the struggle against Russian colonizers. The authors argue that this historical novel can be considered as an example of post-colonial discourse. The novel itself is an extrapolation of the 1970s' Soviet reality when national Union republics, including Kazakhstan, were seeking greater independence. Kazakh cultural elites and the intelligentsia turned to the past history of nation-building to address the problems of the present day. Not having an opportunity to openly express their views, the Kazakh establishment preferred to express their national sentiments through the historical genre. In this work, the authors suggest their own vision of Soviet national literature from political science and historical perspectives.

Local News and Mobile: Major Tipping Points

Abstract: The first economic tipping for traditional media hit in 2006 when newspaper revenues began to collapse. Leonard Downie Jr. (2009), vice president at large for the Washington Post, notes how most newspaper executives knew that the time would come when the Internet would begin stealing newspaper readers and revenues, but they didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. That is the nature of a tipping point. In one year, according to Downie, they were at an economic high and adding personnel to their news staff, and the next year they were laying people off. How quickly the economic downturn occurred took them and many other newspapers by surprise. In 2005 newspapers achieved $49.4 billion in advertising revenues. By 2014 revenues had fallen about 60% to $19.9 billion (Pew, 2015). There is evidence that such a tipping point is about to hit local TV stations. These two tipping points could lead to the end of quality local news coverage. This chapter explores how newspapers and TV stations can survive and flourish in the Digital Age.

Marketing and Mobile: Increasing Integration

Abstract: Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) was gaining popularity even before the World Wide Web. But with the explosion of online marketing, it is nearly impossible to avoid integration. This chapter will explore how digital and mobile marketing are dictating such changes in marketing. An overview of modern mobile marketing practices and trends builds upon a comparison of the traditional marketing mix (4 Ps) with a more consumer-oriented concept of 4 Cs. As products are being replaced with consumers, promotion with communication, place with convenience, and price with cost, the rise of mobile devices and the mobile Internet brings up a multitude of new concepts into traditional marketing theory and practice. Supplemented with best industry examples, the review of emerging mobile marketing concepts moves from broad online strategies, like inbound marketing, to very mobile-specific trends, like the Internet of Things.

Advertising and Mobile: More than a Platform Shift

Abstract: There is no field that has experienced a more positive financial impact from mobile technology than advertising. This is evident by billions of dollars in traditional media fleeing to online media, and increasingly to mobile. Yet, it is difficult to distinguish mobile totally from other online advertising approaches. Mobile is certainly not diverging from the other platforms, but rather driving some of the strongest advertising trends. Because the trends of all online channels overlap with mobile, it will be difficult to address mobile without addressing all – then clarifying and exploring how mobile is driving and will continue to drive those trends.

Weighted Estimates of a Class of Integral Operators with Three Parameters

Abstract: We characterize the validity of a Hardy-type inequality with a kernel and three parameters under some conditions on three weight functions , , and .

Financial Literacy and Retirement Planning in Kazakhstan

Abstract: Financial literacy level of Kazakhstan is measured using internationally standardized basic questions to compare with other countries previously studied. The level in Kazakhstan is alarmingly low compared to advanced countries. The most vulnerable groups are identified as female with no business education and lower income. The relationship between the financial literacy and retirement planning indicates that both variables are jointly determined, i.e. the higher is the literacy scores the more likely planned retirement and vice versa. This result indicates the importance of government efforts to promote the financial literacy level of the most vulnerable groups for the successful implementation of the recent pension reform which emphasizes more on the individual responsibility for the retirement.

On model-theoretical properties in the sense of Peretyat’kin, o-minimality, and mutually interpretable theories

Abstract: We prove that o-minimality is not a model-theoretical property in the sense of Peretyat’kin. We also prove that existence of a prime models need not be preserved under a passage between mutually interpretable theories.