An investigation of the emerging system of host government participation in the international oil industry with particular reference to Libyan participation arrangements

This study has been conceived with the primary objective of identifying and evaluating the financial aspects of the transformation in country/company relations of the international oil industry from the traditional concessionary system to the system of governmental participation in the ownership and operation of oil concessions. The emphasis of the inquiry was placed on assembling a case study of the oil exploitation arrangements of Libya. Through a comprehensive review of the literature, the sociopolitical factors surrounding the international oil business were identified and examined in an attempt to see their influence on contractual arrangements and particularly to gauge the impact of any induced contractual changes on the revenue benefit accruing to the host country from its oil operations. Some comparative analyses were made in the study to examine the viability of the Libyan participation deals both as an investment proposal and as a system of conducting oil activities in the country. The analysis was carried out in the light of specific hypotheses to assess the relative impact of the participation scheme in comparison with the alternative concessionary model on the net revenue resulting to the government from oil operations and the relative effect on the level of research and development within the industry. A discounted cash flow analysis was conducted to measure inputs and outputs of the comparative models and judge their revenue benefits. Then an empirical analysis was carried out to detect any significant behavioural changes in the exploration and development effort associated with the different oil exploitation systems. Results of the investigation of revenues support the argument that the mere introduction of the participation system has not resulted in a significant revenue benefit to the host government. Though there has been a significant increase in government revenue, associated with the period following the emergence of the participation agreements, this increase was mainly due to socio-economic factors other than the participation scheme. At the same time the empirical results have shown an association of the participation scheme with a decline of the oil industry's research and development efforts.

The role and relevance of non-government aid:a case study of Kenya

How effective are non-government organisations (NG0s) in their response to Third World poverty? That is the question which this thesis examines. The thesis begins with an overview of the problems facing Third World communities, and notes the way in which people in Britain have responded through NG0s. A second part of the thesis sets out the issues on which the analysis of NGOs has been made. These are: - the ways in which NGOs analyse the process of development; - the use of 'improving nutrition' and 'promoting self-reliance' as special objectives by NG0s; and - the nature of rural change, and the implications for NGOs as agents of rural development. Kenya is taken as a case study. Firstly the political and economic structure of the country is studied, and the natures of development, nutritional problems and self-reliance in the Kenyan context are noted. The study then focusses attention onto Kitui District, an area of Kenya which at the time of the study was suffering from drought. However, it is argued that the problems of Kitui District and the constraints to change there are as much a consequence of Kenya's structural underdevelopment as of reduced rainfall. Against this background the programmes of some British NGOs in the country are examined, and it is concluded that much of their work has little relevance to the principal problems which have been identified. A final part of the thesis takes a wider look at the policies and practices of NG0s. Issues such as the choice of countries in which NGOs work, how they are represented overseas, and their educational role in Britain are considered. It is concluded that while all NGOs have a concern for the conditions in which the poorest communities of the Third World live, many NGOs take a quite narrow view of development problems, giving only little recognition to the international and intranational political and economic systems which contribute to Third World poverty.

Labour's modernization of local government

The modernization of local government is central to the government’s plans to revitalize the UK’s constitutional arrangements. Implicitly managerialist, the modernizing local government project also contains centralist and localist themes. Translated into policy, these themes are articulated as leadership, community, democracy and regulation. However, these elements are potentially contradictory and may produce tensions in the project that may be difficult to resolve. By reviewing the government’s aims to promote leadership, community and democracy in local government, it is also argued that the planned modernization of local government will extend further and into new areas the regulation of local authorities.

Solving a Direct Marketing Problem by Three Types of ARTMAP Neural Networks

An important task for a direct mailing company is to detect potential customers in order to avoid unnecessary and unwanted mailing. This paper describes a non-linear method to predict profiles of potential customers using dARTMAP, ARTMAP-IC, and Fuzzy ARTMAP neural networks. The paper discusses advantages of the proposed approaches over similar techniques based on MLP neural networks.

Application of Classification Methods to a Problem Related to Specific Groups of E-Government Users

This paper was partly supported by ELOST – a SSA EU project – No 27287.

Ultrahigh step-up dc-dc converter for distributed generation by three Degrees of Freedom (3DoF) approach

This paper proposes a novel dc-dc converter topology to achieve an ultrahigh step-up ratio while maintaining a high conversion efficiency. It adopts a three degree of freedom approach in the circuit design. It also demonstrates the flexibility of the proposed converter to combine with the features of modularity, electrical isolation, soft-switching, low voltage stress on switching devices, and is thus considered to be an improved topology over traditional dc-dc converters. New control strategies including the two-section output voltage control and cell idle control are also developed to improve the converter performance. With the cell idle control, the secondary winding inductance of the idle module is bypassed to decrease its power loss. A 400-W dc-dc converter is prototyped and tested to verify the proposed techniques, in addition to a simulation study. The step-up conversion ratio can reach 1:14 with a peak efficiency of 94% and the proposed techniques can be applied to a wide range of high voltage and high power distributed generation and dc power transmission.

A regionalizmus három generációja Latin-Amerikában (Three generations of regionalism in Latin America)

A szerző a Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem Nemzetközi Tanulmányok Intézetének tanársegéde. Tanulmánya a regionalizmus jelenségét vizsgálja Latin-Amerikában, célja az egyes generációk létrejöttének és legfőbb jellemzőinek felvázolása, illetve a jelenleg működő latin-amerikai integrációs tömörülések eredményeinek és legfontosabb kihívásainak vizsgálata. A cikk rávilágít a latin-amerikai alrégiók mentén megalakult csoportok belső integrációja, illetve a más régiókkal való interregionális törekvések közötti szoros összefüggésre, azok kölcsönhatására. A szerző éppen ezért a regionális tömörülések eredményei mellett kitér az egyes latin-amerikai alrégiók más – fejlett és fejlődő világbeli – régiókkal kiépített kapcsolataira is. ______ The paper examines initiatives aimed at regional integration in Latin-America in order to identify the main characteristics of the three generations of regionalism on the continent, as well as show what the main results and challenges are of today's regional organizations. The paper demonstrates that there is an interesting link between the level of integration within the various regional groupings and their interregional contacts with other regions. The author also examines the relations of Latin-American sub-regions with other regions of the world, both developed and developing.

A New Approach Model in Post Graduate Training of Local Government Officers

In 2013-15 there was a new type of post graduate training elaborated and piloted in Hungary at the Institute of Executive Training and Continuing Education (VTKI) within the National University of Public Service (NKE). Although the pilot financed by the State Administration Reform Operative Program (ÁROP) had not lacked the previously established attempts to include interactivity in the training, it was the first to observe and apply the actual principles of the European Union 2020 expressed in the threefold criteria of economic growth: smartness, sustainability and inclusiveness. All of them are represented by a pillar of the program like e-learning, class training and field training with the inclusion of local society. According to the objectives of the program there were at least 10 thousand attendees from the civil service sphere set as project indicators, so it has been a large scale training program that took place in 2014 in Hungary. The following article shows the innovations included in this new approach model of post graduate training civil servants.

Three Generations of Cuban Authors: The 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s , Lecture by Reina María Rodríguez

This flyer promotes the event "Three Generations of Cuban Authors: The 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s : Lecture by Reina María Rodríguez" and was cosponsored by the Cuban Research Institute and the Department of Modern Languages at Florida International University.

Factors Affecting the Adoption of New Technology: the case of 311 Government Call Centers

Government call centers (311) were first created to reduce the volume of non-emergency calls that were being placed to emergency 911 call centers. The number of 311 call centers increased from 57 in 2008 to about 300 in 2013. Considering that there are over 2,700 municipal government units across the United States, the adoption rate of the 311 centers is arguably low in the country. This dissertation is an examination of the adoption of 311 call centers by municipal governments. My focus is specifically on why municipal governments adopt 311 and identifying which barriers result in the non-adoption of 311 call centers. This dissertation is possibly the first study to examine the adoption of 311 call centers in the United States. The dissertation study has identified several significant factors in the adoption and non-adoption of 311 government call centers. The following factors were significant in the adoption of 311 government call centers: managerial support, financial constraints, organizational responsiveness, strategic plan placement, and technology champion. The following factors were significant barriers that resulted in the non-adoption of a 311 government call center; no demand from citizens, start up costs, annual operating costs, unavailability of funding, and no obvious need for one.If local government entities that do not have a 311 government call center decide to adopt one, this study will help them identify the conditions that need to be in place for successful adoption to occur. Local government officials would first need to address the barriers in setting up the 311 call centers.

Women demonstrate in support of the Three Marias of Portugal [and Portuguese women]

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Women demonstrate in support of the Three Marias of Portugal [and Portuguese women]

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Women demonstrate in support of the "Three Marias of Portugal" (and Portuguese women)

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

Women demonstrate in support of the Three Marias of Portugal [and Portuguese women]

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.