The Progress and Challenges of the e-Government Initiatives and Implementation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq

The Electronic Government (e-Government) means delivering the services and information to the citizens and businesses through the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in order to enable them to interact more effectively with the government, and to increase the quality of the services. As many other governments in the developed and developing countries, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has embarked on the e-Government initiatives. This study revealed that there are various challenges which affect the e-Government in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), but also a lot of e-Government progress has happened. In addition, based on the United Nations’ e-Government maturity level benchmarking, the e-Government in the KRI is at the interactive stage. In this study the services that the citizens want from the government in order to implement an appropriate e-Government were also identified.

IT service catalog : a case study of the implementation need in a Pan-Nordic Insurance Company

IT service catalog is an increasingly important issue as many IT organizations have been realizing it as a central communication and visualization tool to bridge the gap between IT and the business. This study reviews relevant literature on IT service catalog and related issues on IT services delivery. Furthermore, the study shows how IT service catalog can enhance IT effectiveness as well as provide more benefits when integrating with Configuration Management Database. In order to analyze whether IT service catalog is needed to be implemented in a Pan-Nordic Insurance Company, this study also investigates the current IT services delivery of a case study. The findings of the study show the problems in the current situation of IT services delivery in the case. The characteristics of IT service catalog are recommended in order to help with the mentioned flaws.

Configuration management process improvement : a case study of a Pan-Nordic insurance company

Configuration management is often seen as an enabler for the main IT Service Management (ITSM) processes such as Incident and Problem management. A decent level of quality of IT configuration data is required in order to carry out routines of these processes. This case study examines the state of configuration management in a multinational organization and aims at identification of methods for its improvement. The author has stayed five months with this company in order to collect different sources of evidence and to make observations. The main source of data for this study is interviews with some of the key employees of the assigned organization who are involved into the ITSM processes. This study concludes the maturity level of the existing configuration management process to be repeatable but intuitive, and outlines the principal requirements for its improvement. A match between the requirements identified in the organization and the requirements stated in the ISO/IEC 20000 standard indicates the possibility of adopting ITIL guidelines as a method for configuration management process improvement. The outcome of the study presents a set of recommendations for improvement that considers the process, the information model and the information system for configuration management in the case organization.

“THE PATIENT SURVIVED DESPITE THE TREATMENT”. A study of Finnish health policy and New Public Management. Case: The Government Resolution on the Health 2015 public health programme.

Internationally, Finland has been among the most respected countries during several decades in terms of public health. WHO has had the most significant influence on Finnish health policy and the relationship has traditionally been warm. However, the situation has slightly changed in the last 10-20 years. The objectives of Finnish national health policy have been to secure the best possible health for the population and to minimize disparities in health between different population groups. Nevertheless, although the state of public health and welfare has steadily improved, the socioeconomic disparities in health have increased. This qualitative case study will demonstrate why health is political and why health matters. It will also present some recommendations for research topics and administrative reforms. It will be argued that lack of political interest in health policy leads to absence of health policy visions and political commitment, which can be disastrous for public health. This study will investigate how Finnish health policy is defined and organised, and it will also shed light on Finnish health policy formation processes and actors. Health policy is understood as a broader societal construct covering the domains of different ministries, not just Ministry of Social Affairs and Health (MSAH). The influences of economic recession of the 1990s, state subsidy reform in 1993, globalisation and the European Union will be addressed, as well. There is not much earlier Finnish research done on health policy from political science viewpoint. Therefore, this study is interdisciplinary and combines political science with administrative science, contemporary history and health policy research with a hint of epidemiology. As a method, literature review, semi-structured interviews and policy analysi will be utilised. Institutionalism, policy transfer, and corporatism are understood as the theoretical framework. According to the study, there are two health policies in Finland: the official health policy and health policy generated by industry, media and various interest organisations. The complex relationships between the Government and municipalities, and on the other hand, the MSAH and National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) seemed significant in terms of Finnish health policy coordination. The study also showed that the Investigated case, Health 2015, does not fulfil all necessary criteria for a successful public health programme. There were also several features both in Health 2015 and Finnish health policy, which can be interpreted in NPM framework and seen having NPM influences.

Interdependence of International Stock Markets, European Government Bond Market and Gold Market

This thesis examines the interdependence of international stock markets (the USA, Europe, Japan, emerging markets, and frontier markets), European government bond market, and gold market during the 21st century. Special focus is on the dynamics of the correlations between the markets, as well as on, spillovers in mean returns and volatility. The mean return spillovers are examined on the basis of the bivariate VAR(1) model, whereas the bivariate BEKK-GARCH(1, 1) model is employed for the analysis of the volatility spillovers. In order to analyze the spillover effects in different market conditions, the full sample period from 2000 to 2013 is divided into the pre-crisis period (2000–2006) and the crisis period (2007–2013). The results indicate an increasing interdependence especially within international stock markets during the periods of financial turbulence, and are thus consistent with the existing literature. Hence, bond and gold markets provide the best diversification benefits for equity investors, particularly during the periods of market turmoil.

India : west coast : Gulf of Cutch to Viziadrig from surveys by the officers of the East India government 1828-1856

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

India : west coast : Viziadrug to Cochin with the Lacadivh archipelago from surveys by the officers of the East India government 1828-1856

Kartta kuuluu A. E. Nordenskiöldin kokoelmaan

The very worst government that any country ever had. Kirkkovaltio ja paavin asema Britannian parlamenttikeskusteluissa Italian yhdistymisprosessin aikana 1858–1861

Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan Britannian parlamentissa käytyä keskustelua Kirkkovaltiosta ja paavin maallisesta vallasta vuosina 1858–1861. Aihetta tarkastellaan kolmen teeman kautta. Nämä teemat ovat Kirkkovaltion ajassa ja paikassa tapahtunut kontekstualisointi, paavin ja katolilaisten Britannialle aiheuttamasta sisäisestä ja ulkoisesta uhasta käyty keskustelu, sekä Kirkkovaltion liittäminen kansainvälisiin suhteisiin. Britannian ja Kirkkovaltion suhdetta 1800-luvun puolivälissä on käsitelty aikaisemmassa tutkimuksessa vain vähän. Suhtautumisen perusasenteena sekä konservatiiveilla että liberaaleilla on pidetty katolilaisvastaisuutta ja Kirkkovaltion lakkauttamisen ajamista. Tutkielmassa pyritään osoittamaan, että Britannian parlamentin jäsenten suhtautuminen oli kuitenkin moniulotteisempaa ja moniäänisempää, kuin pelkkä tiukka katolilaisvastaisuus. Parlamentin jäsenet pyrkivät kontekstualisoimaan Kirkkovaltiota käyttämällä vertauksia sekä Britanniaan ja Sardinian kuningaskuntaan, että erilaisiin historiallisiin tilanteisiin. Keskusteluun osallistuneilla parlamentin jäsenillä oli myös hyvin laaja skaala erilaisia kontakteja Italiaan ja Roomaan, ja he olivat hyvin perillä paavin maallisesta vallasta käydystä yleiseurooppalaisesta kirjallisesta debatista. Osa parlamentin jäsenistä näki paavin ja katolilaiset sekä sisäisenä että ulkoisena uhkana Britannialle, mikä liittyy vahvasti 1800-luvun puolivälin uhkakuvia täynnä olleeseen näkemykseen. Näkemys uhasta tiivistyi keskusteluun uskollisuudenvalan uudistamisesta vuonna 1858. Tässä keskustelussa esiin nousivat erityisesti ääriprotestanttiset, katolilaisvastaiset parlamentin jäsenet. Osa parlamentin jäsenistä näki paavin itsenäisyyden toisaalta myös hyvänä asiana, ja paavin maallisen vallan lakkauttamista uhkana Britannialle. Viimeisessä käsittelyluvussa tutkitaan suhtautumista Kirkkovaltioon kansainvälisten suhteiden tasolla. Britannialla ei ollut virallisia diplomaattisuhteita Kirkkovaltioon, mutta maan epävirallisista suhteista ja niiden kehittämisestä käytiin parlamentissa keskustelua. Parlamentissa keskusteltiin myös Ranskan ja Itävallan merkityksestä Kirkkovaltiolle, sekä Kirkkovaltion mahdollisista aluemenetyksistä tai jopa valtion lakkauttamisesta. Keskustelua käytiin myös brittien värväämisestä paavin armeijaan ja paavia vastustaneen Garibaldin joukkoihin.