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In the Italian healthcare system, private facilities can supplement public ones in delivering services within the framework of the Italian National Health System, provided they meet specific conditions and obtain the necessary authorisations. This set of requirements is known as the ‘four As’ system, comprising authorisation for the construction of the facility, authorisation to provide healthcare services, accreditation, and contractual agreements. A crucial element in this regulatory framework is the system of tariffs for the remuneration of healthcare services, which are periodically established by the Ministry of Health through a complex procedure. This model of ‘administered competition’ aims to protect both citizens’ health and fair competition among healthcare providers. Proper integration of private facilities into the National Health System is intended to enhance the effi ciency of service delivery. Th e purpose of this paper is to examine the current regulatory framework governing the participation of private clinics in the Italian National Health System and to identify any critical issues.

PurposeGovernance is the key to establishing effective collaboration among humanitarian logistics partners addressing an ongoing relief work. With a focus on humanitarian interorganizational collaboration, this research draws on governance theories to investigate how conflicts can be mitigated in this challenging setting.Design/methodology/approachThe focus on governance extends attention to the frontiers of contractual agreement, trust and environmental uncertainty to be applied in the humanitarian setting. To develop perspectives, an online survey of 289 field executives working in humanitarian organizations across the globe is conducted. The findings are based on hierarchical regressions.FindingsEnvironmental uncertainty, in humanitarian logistics, is not straightforward, but wields distinctive challenges in the response phase (immediate to the disaster) as well as the recovery phase (beginning of build back) – to loom prospects of conflict between partners. Findings outline that contractual agreement can increase conflict during the response phase (high environmental uncertainty), but mitigate it during the recovery phase (low environmental uncertainty). Furthermore, contractual agreement interactively strengthens the ability of trust to reduce conflict. Yet, trust acting alone shows best outcome to mitigate conflict.Research limitations/implicationsContrary to the established understanding in traditional logistics suggesting the vitality of contracts to easily mitigate challenges posed by environmental uncertainty, the humanitarian setting extends a unique outset for interorganizational governance based on the temporality of response and recovery phases.Originality/valueThis research pioneers to quantitatively examine the setting of humanitarian logistics based on survey. Given the difficulty of data acquisition, the extant research has largely relied on qualitative investigations when considering the agenda of governance.

Evaluation is important for judiciously allocating limited conservation resources and for improving conservation success through learning and strategy adjustment. We evaluated the application of systematic conservation planning goals and conservation gains from incentive-based stewardship interventions on private land in the Cape Lowlands and Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. We collected spatial and nonspatial data (2003-2007) to determine the number of hectares of vegetation protected through voluntary contractual and legally nonbinding (informal) agreements with landowners; resources spent on these interventions; contribution of the agreements to 5- and 20-year conservation goals for representation and persistence in the Cape Lowlands of species and ecosystems; and time and staff required to meet these goals. Conservation gains on private lands across the Cape Floristic Region were relatively high. In 5 years, 22,078 ha (27,800 ha of land) and 46,526 ha (90,000 ha of land) of native vegetation were protected through contracts and informal agreements, respectively. Informal agreements often were opportunity driven and cheaper and faster to execute than contracts. All contractual agreements in the Cape Lowlands were within areas of high conservation priority (identified through systematic conservation planning), which demonstrated the conservation plan's practical application and a high level of overlap between resource investment (approximately R1.14 million/year in the lowlands) and priority conservation areas. Nevertheless, conservation agreements met only 11% of 5-year and 9% of 20-year conservation goals for Cape Lowlands and have made only a moderate contribution to regional persistence of flora to date. Meeting the plan's conservation goals will take three to five times longer and many more staff members to maintain agreements than initially envisaged.

This chapter aims to introduce the basics of the types and nature of project documentation created by the sponsor's legal team. It discusses the multitude and complexity of project contracts necessary to create the framework for project financing. The chapter describes the structure, prerequisites, and costs of developing and negotiating project contracts. Project finance contracts vary by size, type, and the parties involved but they all have similar structures and prerequisites, yet involve substantially different costs to create. The nature of project finance necessitates that contractual agreements form the basis of limited‐recourse financing upon which funding for the project is raised. The chapter also discusses the common types of project finance contracts that project teams encounter. It examines the challenges of project finance contract development and addresses the factors that successfully complete contracts and projects.

This chapter presents AU‐C 806's original pronouncements of the Statements on Auditing Standards (SASs) 122 and 125 as presented under generally accepted accounting standards (GAAS). It includes the definition of terms, objectives and fundamental requirements. Auditor's reports issued in connection with compliance with aspects of contractual agreements or regulatory requirements are related to accounting matters connected with audited financial statements. Bond indentures, loan and other agreements, or regulatory agencies may require compliance reports by independent auditors. The auditor may include his or her report on compliance with contractual agreements or regulatory provisions in the auditor's report on the financial statements. The chapter presents practical illustrations that guide readers through the auditing process, and updates are highlighted to call attention to recent changes.

McCaffree offers important points to consider to dietetic technicians engaging in contractual agreements with a physician clinic. Knowing the ground rules is an important step in conducting contract negotiations and business relationships. Dietetics professionals must know what they need and what are their expectations.

At this point, it is worth pausing to assess how the understanding of the ‘covenant’ between Humanity, God and the caliph had been transformed by the events of the mid-eighth century. Among the best sources of evidence for this are the copies of the ‘dispositive documents’ (sharṭ, pl. shurūṭ, sharāɔit) concerning the succession that emanated from the early Abbasid caliphal court. These were written records of contractual agreements about the succession. The anonymous commander's account of the ceremony at which cĪsā b. Mūsā was deposed in 764 describes how:‘By God, if by chance cĪsā b. Mūsā forgot something in the sequence of his public declaration, then (al-Mahdī's scribe), Abū cUbayd Allāh would stop him until he had completed every detail, in order to bind him into the agreement (li'l-istīthāq minhu). Then he sealed the document (al-kitāb) and the witnesses witnessed it; I, and all the people, were present until cĪsā put his own handwriting and seal on it (waḍaca calayhi cĪsā khaṭṭahu wa-khātamahu). Then they went into the palace through the door of the caliphal enclosure (maqṣūra).’As we have seen, copies of similar documents said to have been used in 776, 802 and 805 are extant in the later tradition (where the documents of 802 and 805 have been conflated). In this chapter, the structure and formulas of the agreements of 802 and 805 are compared with the sharṭ for the succession to al-Mahdī, drawn up in 776, as well as with other similar conditional agreements, such as amāns, or ‘safe-conducts’.

This book argues for the urgent need for countries to move forward aggressively on adopting and upgrading quality and standards. The focus is on developing countries, many of which are lagging in the race for standards adoption, and within that category, on middle-income countries. The book analyzes the economic impact of quality and standards on economic growth, on international trade, and as an entry point for the industrial upgrading and mainstreaming of small enterprises. It offers detailed guidelines for the creation of national quality systems that can effectively support the use and adoption of standards. It describes the optimal structure for a national quality system, evaluates the precise roles of the public and private sectors, and proposes best-practice guidelines and norms for these roles. It also addresses the financing issue, including the extent of and rationale for targeted subsidies, and questions of jurisdiction. Special emphasis is given to international integration through mutual recognition agreements that enhance access to external markets-a key objective for developing countries. The first part of the book is generic and normative, providing empirical evidence and guidelines for reform. The second part describes and evaluates the performance of a number of Latin American countries with respect to various components of the national quality system. The first half of this book presents a conceptual framework, highlighting the importance of a national quality system and explaining its role in international trade and economic development. Chapter 2 examines the systemic impact of quality and standards on economic growth and international trade. In particular, it looks at the usefulness of standards as an entry point for technological upgrading and for the mainstreaming of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). Chapter 3 addresses the relative roles and jurisdictions of the public and private sectors in the implementation of an effective national quality system. Chapter 4 presents the structure, organization, and functioning of the certification, testing, calibration, inspection, accreditation, and metrology bodies of the national quality system. Chapters 5 and 6 discuss international aspects of the system, especially the ISO 9000 quality management standards. Chapters 7 through 10 focus on the experience in Latin America and the Caribbean. These chapters examine the standards-setting institutions, certification activities, accreditation processes, and metrology institutions in this region. The last two chapters of the text turn to the policy framework. Chapter 11 analyzes existing policies and support programs implemented in several Latin American countries to facilitate the diffusion of standards and quality in the productive sector. Finally, chapter 12 presents detailed policy recommendations for developing countries for implementing effective national quality systems and ends with a brief conclusion.

PurposeGiven the pivotal influence of institutional forces, an important yet underexplored question in supply chain management literature is how contractual and relational governance jointly affect supplier performance under weak legislative environments. This study tends to solve the debate by distinguishing contractual definability from contractual enforceability and by considering the contingent role of legal development in China.Design/methodology/approachUsing a combined dataset of secondary data and a survey of 224 buyer–supplier dyads in China, this study examines how contractual definability and contractual enforceability interact with relational governance differently in driving supplier performance, and assesses the contingent role of legal development.FindingsThis study finds that contractual definability complements yet contractual enforceability substitutes relational governance in affecting supplier performance. Moreover, legal development weakens the complementary effect but strengthens the substitutive effect.Originality/valueThe study firstly enriches supply chain management literature by classifying the roles of contracts into contractual definability and contractual enforceability and showing their differential interplay with relational governance. Second, the study contributes to the complements–substitutes debate by revealing the shifting role of legal development. Third, the research enriches the understanding of supply chain management in the Chinese market.