Public-Private Partnerships, Capital Infrastructure Project Investments and Infrastructure Finance
Public-Private Partnerships, Capital Infrastructure Project Investments and Infrastructure Finance

Author: Jane Beckett-Camarata

Publisher: Emerald Group Publishing

Published: 2020-10-20

Total Pages: 276

ISBN-13: 1839096543

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Through the introduction of a new lens through which to view infrastructure finance policy, this book analyses the role of Public Private Partnerships within the context of long-term capital investment and improvement planning, and as a critical aspect of effective long-term capital infrastructure finance policy.

A 21st Century Employability Skills Improvement Framework for the Construction Industry
A 21st Century Employability Skills Improvement Framework for the Construction Industry

Author: John Aliu

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-04-30

Total Pages: 275

ISBN-13: 100036898X

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This book will provide readers with an understanding of the employability concept and develop an employability skills improvement model to enhance the employability of built environment graduates to foster economic development. The developed model determines the influence of generic skills, discipline specific skills, work-integrated learning, emotional intelligence, university-industry collaboration outcomes and 4IR knowledge in predicting the outcomes of improved graduate employability. The model is developed with a theoretical lens on existing frameworks of employability and skills development. Whilst drawing comparisons with countries such as the UK, USA, Australia and Canada, the authors present the results of a two-stage Delphi survey in South Africa as a case study on the current state of skills development and on the skills of the future. The case study is presented in line with the South Africa’s long-term National Development Plan (NDP) aimed at developing the key capabilities and skills of its citizens by ensuring quality education on a broader scale by 2030. As automation continues to rapidly advance, the pressures on universities to revamp and restructure their curricula have become increasingly necessary. This book recommends that higher education institutions urgently need to intensify their efforts by introducing significant modifications to the science and technology curriculum to enable students to develop and acquire competencies in the rapidly emerging areas of artificial intelligence, data science, robotics, advanced simulation, data communication, system automation, real-time inventory operations, cloud computing, and information technologies. This implies that universities’ curriculum should be infused with 4IR thinking within the conventional primary sciences of biology, chemistry, and physics, with greater emphasis on digital literacy to boost 4IR understanding amongst the graduates. The book is therefore of interest to researchers and policy makers in the built environment that are placed in academia, the construction industry or at consultancy levels, it provides significant recommendations for universities as they intensify their efforts to develop graduates for the future.

Budgeting for Local Governments and Communities
Budgeting for Local Governments and Communities

Author: Douglas Morgan

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 608

ISBN-13: 1317507282

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Budgeting for Local Governments and Communities is designed as the primary textbook for a quarter or semester-long course in public budgeting and finance in an MPA programme. Many currently available texts for this course suffer from a combination of defects that include a focus on federal and state budgeting, a lack of a theoretical governance framework, an omission of important topics, and typically a lack of exercises and datasets for student use. Budgeting for Local Governments and Communities solves all of these problems. The book is exceptionally comprehensive and well written, and represents the efforts of veteran authors with both teaching and real-world experience. Key Features: Special Focus on Local Government Budgeting: focuses exclusively on budgeting at the local levels of American government, which are responsible for spending 40 percent of the taxes collected from citizens. Integration of Theory and Practice: teaching cases and chapters capture the "lessons learned" by professional practitioners who have extensive experience in making local public budgeting work on the ground. Polity Approach to Local Budgeting: presents an introduction to local budgeting as the central political activity that integrates the resources of the community into a unified whole. Budgeting is presented as governance work, rather than as a unique set of skills possessed by analysts and financial specialists. Legal, Historical, Economic and Moral Foundations of Local Government Budgeting: provides readers with an understanding of how the structures and processes of local budgeting systems are firmly tethered to the underlying core values, legal principles and historical development of the larger American federal, state and local political systems. Electronic Datasets and Budgeting Exercises: the text includes access to extensive electronic datasets and practice exercises that provide abundant opportunities for students to "learn through doing." Extensive Glossary and Bibliography: covers terms on the history and practice of local public budgeting.

Framework and Tools for Estimating Benefits of Specific Freight Network Investments
Framework and Tools for Estimating Benefits of Specific Freight Network Investments

Author:

Publisher: Transportation Research Board

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 133

ISBN-13: 0309213568

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"This report provides a comprehensive analytical framework and related tools that private-sector freight transportation modes and public-sector transportation interests can use to estimate private and public benefits to evaluate potential freight infrastructure investments. Using interviews with transportation planners and an extensive review of prior research and a review of current methods used to assess freight benefits or prioritize improvement projects, the research developed a freight evaluation framework with three main functions: (1) to enhance public planning and decision-making processes regarding freight; (2) to supplement benefit/cost assessment with distributional impact measures; and (3) to advance public-private cooperation. The framework is capable of handling projects that span all of the different modes and able to assess benefits from a variety of project types, including those that improve freight operations, as well as generate more capacity through infrastructure expansion. The research, by developing a practical set of formats for information collection, will support public-private agency discussions by helping all parties understand the wide range of perspectives and interests in potential freight investments."--Pub. desc.

Water Replenishment District of Southern California
Water Replenishment District of Southern California

Author: Elaine M. Howle

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2008-09

Total Pages: 54

ISBN-13: 1437904149

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Audit report concerning the operations and management of the Water Replenishment District of Southern California. The district adopted a reserve-funds policy that calls for increasing its reserve funds, but that policy lacks credibility, largely because since adopting the policy, the district allowed its reserve funds to further deplete. In addition, the district likely overstated its reserve-funds targets by using some faulty assumptions in calculating them. Moreover, although it included goals and objectives in its strategic plan, it did not include outcomes by which the district and public can measure the district¿s progress in meeting them. Further, the district spent district funds on items such as gifts and flowers that its policies specifically prohibit. Illustrations.