Dynamic Flood Resilience Typology: A Systemic Transitional Adaptation from Peitou Plateau, Taiwan

Resilience practice is a place-based activity. This study incorporates the notion of “Transitional Progress” as an available scoping tool pin-pointing the human-habitat domain; the critical human resilience build-up can be identified by the site-specific and locally adapted practice as the residents’ perception and interaction within the local geographical character are examined. The assessment framework is proposed as a measurable process, followed by an adaptive cycle valuation performed for each of the scales at the different transitional stages. This resilience varies from the degree and time exposed to flood and the resident’s respective responses regarding people, community, and place; accordingly, the semi-structured interview documented respondents’ self-evaluation from the Peitou Plateau in Taipei. The study ascertained that in the face of climate risks: (1) adaptive measures aided and enhanced the information gathered for risk impact is based on the residents’ perception of the habitat and human domain (2) adaptive capacity assessment is an effective mean in understanding residents’ mitigation will and confidence, and (3) community ability to reflect on past actual time scenario. Most importantly, the assessment framework contributes to understanding local adaptation practice and contributes toward the sustainability of the urbanity.

Identifying best modelling practices for tobacco control policy simulations: a systematic review and a novel quality assessment framework

BackgroundPolicy simulation models (PSMs) have been used extensively to shape health policies before real-world implementation and evaluate post-implementation impact. This systematic review aimed to examine best practices, identify common pitfalls in tobacco control PSMs and propose a modelling quality assessment framework.MethodsWe searched five databases to identify eligible publications from July 2013 to August 2019. We additionally included papers from Feirman et al for studies before July 2013. Tobacco control PSMs that project tobacco use and tobacco-related outcomes from smoking policies were included. We extracted model inputs, structure and outputs data for models used in two or more included papers. Using our proposed quality assessment framework, we scored these models on population representativeness, policy effectiveness evidence, simulated smoking histories, included smoking-related diseases, exposure-outcome lag time, transparency, sensitivity analysis, validation and equity.FindingsWe found 146 eligible papers and 25 distinct models. Most models used population data from public or administrative registries, and all performed sensitivity analysis. However, smoking behaviour was commonly modelled into crude categories of smoking status. Eight models only presented overall changes in mortality rather than explicitly considering smoking-related diseases. Only four models reported impacts on health inequalities, and none offered the source code. Overall, the higher scored models achieved higher citation rates.ConclusionsWhile fragments of good practices were widespread across the reviewed PSMs, only a few included a ‘critical mass’ of the good practices specified in our quality assessment framework. This framework might, therefore, potentially serve as a benchmark and support sharing of good modelling practices.

Unified Website Accessibility Assessment Framework

In this chapter, a unified web accessibility assessment (UWAA) framework and its software has been proposed. UWAA framework was developed by considering Web Content Accessibility Guideline 2.0 to evaluate accessibility of web sites by integrating more than one evaluation approach. Achecker tool as an automated evaluation approach and barrier walkthrough (BW) as an expert-based evaluation approach were integrated in the UWAA framework. The framework also provides suggestions to recover from the problems determined to the evaluators. The websites of three universities were evaluated to determine the framework's accuracy and consistency. It was revealed that the results obtained from automated and expert-based evaluation methods were consistent and complementary with each other. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that problems which cannot be determined by an automated tool but which can be detected by an expert can be identified by BW method.

Changing Gears in the Assessment Cycle

There is an ongoing need to prepare postsecondary educators to use not only 21st century assessment tools but also 21st andragogy/pedagogy that meets the needs of all 21st century learners. This chapter reviews those issues, reviews different aspects and approaches to assessment, and proposes an encompassing assessment framework for culturally responsive, authentic, reflective, ethical, formative, universal, and learner-focused (CAREFUL) assessment. The chapter contextualizes these approaches in faculty development (FDEV) to help “change gears” using data from a FDEV opportunity at a midsized, comprehensive university. The chapter provides several examples of CAREFUL assessment and a discussion of how FDEV can improve student learning and experiences.

Assessment of E-Government Portals

This research revealed the importance of public service web portals for an e-government information system. An e-government portal is interacting with its administrators, citizens, businesses and other governments helping them increase their operations performance. The authors have developed, modeled, formulated and compared an efficient assessment framework for e-government portals. In order to accomplish such task many quantitative factors and indicators were taken under consideration; also, other frameworks have been studied and compared. The authors focused on the web portals services quantity that the interested parties should use, in order to create an well designed public services’ web portal. This research provides a framework model to evaluate the basic common digital public services that a government offers to its interactive stakeholders, so that all other countries across the world can predefine weaknesses and strengths, improve existing or formulating new e-services. The importance of the assessment framework model is thoroughly explained through the results.