Do Community Engagement And Fairness Matter In Local Acceptance Of Wind Turbines In Tunisia?

Environmental concern is considered as a significant interest for companies, government and communities. These stakeholders are conscious about the energy situation but this consciousness is not always reflected in actions of acceptance. Accordingly, this research paper sheds light on the impact of the main key factors influencing the community acceptance of wind energy projects in Tunisia. An extensive literature review about community acceptance, community engagement, fairness and perceived risks is presented. Based on previous studies, authors identify the relationships between these variables. A quantitative approach is used to test the hypotheses using responses from a sample of 265 survey respondents in Tunisia. The research results and implications are discussed. Recommendations to be considered by interest stakeholders are drawn.

Community Acceptance of Wind Energy: Lessons from a Case Study on a Local Participatory Project in Pays Des Mauges (West France)

This article focuses on the community acceptance of wind parks in a rural territory in western France, in a country where they are not much developed yet. We hypothetise that their set-up stems from a specific pattern, embedded in the territorial rural context of the case study. Semi-structured interviews with 30 actors aimed to analyse this citizen-led project, in line with their representations of this territory and its sustainable development. Results show that citizen-led investment is not a prerequisite for community acceptance in this case. The sense of a rural place that is fit for technologies kept up to date by the green industry, and the fairness of the process, are the strongest drivers for acceptance of wind energy, in general, in this case. Subsequently, the confidence obtained from previous fundraising actions can foster new participatory wind projects. An early communication with inhabitants, and a construction fit for a rural development that makes sense to the locals can bring an essential sense of trust for energy projects within the community. However, given the different definitions, it seems also critical to assess their true community dimension in order not to jeopardise the sense of fairness if the outcomes are not largely shared.

Acceptance, Concerns, and Obstacles related to COVID-19 Vaccination among the General Society in Saudi Arabia

Background: The strongest COVID-19 control solution is an effective vaccine. Several factors affect COVID-19 vaccine acceptance by the general population. Public health officials and practitioners must recognize all obstacles that may discourage people from obtaining COVID-19 vaccines. The present study aimed to measure the extent of community acceptance of taking the COVID-19 vaccine in Saudi Arabia, as well as to assess the limitations, concerns, and obstacles that is related to the vaccine. Methods: A cross-sectional study of a sample consisting of 1400 participants living in Saudi Arabia assessed socio-demographic characteristics, general characteristics of the vaccinated participants, and participants’ acceptance, concerns, and obstacles related to COVID-19 vaccination. Results: Most participants were females (63.1%) and from the western region of Saudi Arabia (81.2%). Nearly equal number was reported between vaccinated and non-vaccinated participants with COVID-19 vaccination (45% and 55% respectively). Exact of 324 participants reported obstacles that prevent them from getting the vaccine, in which the highly reported item was lack of information about the vaccine (21.6%). A total number of 1,796 participants reported few concerns, in which the most common item was health concern (43.4%), followed by misleading ideas and beliefs (35.4%). A recorded statistical significance p-value was determined between the participants who received COVID-19 vaccination and the gender, nationality, place of residence, and working in government sector (P=0.002, 0.002, 0.001, and 0.011, respectively). Conclusions: Awareness of COVID-19 vaccination is still lacking. Thus, a targeted health educational programs are needed to increase the individuals convince and reduce the fears about the vaccination.

Explore Consumers’ Willingness to Purchase Biotechnology Produced Fruit: An International Study

While food biotechnology has been widely applied and benefited the food and agriculture sector, community acceptance of biotechnology is still low. The factors that drive consumer rejection of food biotechnology have been well studied, but knowledge on the factors that drive willingness to purchase, particularly on an international level, is limited. This study aims to identify driving factors for respondents’ willingness to purchase fresh fruit produced with biotechnology, using an international survey conducted in the US, Canada, UK, France, and South Korea. While the overall willingness to purchase biotechnology produced fruit is low across countries, French consumers have the highest rate of willingness to purchase biotechnology produced fresh fruit among studied countries, followed by South Korea. The factors influencing respondents’ willingness to purchase include demographics, lifestyle, and shopping behavior. While respondents behave differently across countries, factors like environmental awareness, self-reported healthiness, and habits of eating away from home, have been found to enhance the willingness to purchase biotechnology produced fruit across countries.

Effectiveness and Community Acceptance of Extending Seasonal Malaria Chemoprevention to Children 5 to 14 Years of Age in Dangassa, Mali

Seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) was adopted in Mali in 2012 for preventing malaria in children younger than 5 years. Although this strategy has been highly effective in reducing childhood malaria, an uptick in malaria occurrence has occurred in children 5 to 15 years of age. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of providing SMC to older children. A cohort of 350 children age 5 to 14 years were monitored during the 2019 transmission season in Dangassa, Mali. The intervention group received five monthly rounds of sulfadoxine–pyrimethamine plus amodiaquine, whereas the control group consisted of untreated children. Community acceptance for extending SMC was assessed during the final round. Logistic regression models were applied to compare the risk of Plasmodium falciparum malaria infection, anemia, and fever between the intervention and control groups. Kaplan-Meier survival analyses were used to compare the time to P. falciparum parasitemia infection between the groups. The community acceptance rate was 96.5% (139 of 144). Significant declines were observed in the prevalence of P. falciparum parasitemia (adjusted odds ratio, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.11–0.42) and anemia (adjusted odds ratio, 0.15; 95% CI, 0.07–0.28) in the intervention group compared with the control group. The cumulative incidence of P. falciparum infections was significantly greater (75.4%, 104 of 138) in the control group compared with the intervention group (40.7%, 61 of 143, P = 0.001). This study reveals that expanding SMC to older children is likely feasible, has high community acceptance, and is in reducing uncomplicated malaria and anemia in older children.

Reconciling Amenity and Intensification in New Zealand's Coastal Suburbs: An Island Bay Case Study

<p>With the global and national populations predicted to increase, the location of new residences provides a planning challenge. Intensification of existing areas has been identified as an alternative to urban sprawl (constant development at the edges of cities), but it has been suggested that opposition to intensification is greatest in desirable locations. As a result, this thesis examines how the tension between amenity and intensification can be overcome to allow for future growth in New Zealand’s coastal suburbs. A review of the existing research indicates a gap exists in the literature regarding the suburban coast, so a study of national and international coastal suburbs was conducted in order to develop an understanding of patterns and relationships within these areas. A survey of international suburbs examines the relationships between housing types and density, in order to identify the potential that different housing types offer to an intensification project. A design case study located in Wellington’s Island Bay applies and tests the findings of the previous chapters. The research finds that rather than an inherent tension existing between amenity and intensification, intensification has significant potential to increase amenity when planned at an urban scale, and that this may be best applied around a public waterfront. While the research presents a set of design guidelines to assist in the reconciliation of amenity and intensification, further research needs to be conducted into the mechanics of implementing such a scheme, especially with regard to its economic and community acceptance aspects.</p>

The Heart of Rural New Zealand

<p>New Zealand rural farming communities are the milieu of the agriculture sector. Despite New Zealand’s heavy economic reliance on agriculture, little is known about the architecture for cultivating community in the rural context. Overall, literature on rural communities reviewed for this thesis presented little direct information concerning community and architecture in the rural context. This study is an investigation of how architecture in the New Zealand rural context can cultivate a greater sense of community through the empirical research of existing rural communities. The sociological and architectural theories of community, as a generalised term in the literature, are analysed as determinants for community in the rural context of Northland, New Zealand through empirical research. The three theories of deprivation, density and development, as well as social interaction opportunities were externally applied to the sample Northland communities of Titoki, Maungatapere and Maungakaramea. Interviews with 18 community members as to their community perception authenticate the variation depicted in the external determinants. Empirical research into the theory of community acceptance analysed the vernacular for rural agricultural and rural community hall architecture. The findings from the empirical research informed the criteria for a case study design in Titoki. The resulting architectural application of these principles from the sociological and architectural theories is a uniquely agricultural rural community building to fulfil the Titoki agricultural community’s needs. This research applies commonly regarded sociological and architectural theories of community to the sample rural context to investigate what and how architecture can enable community. The findings from the sample suggest these theories are determinants for community cultivation in the rural context where architecture is a vehicle for building community. A socially healthy community prospers and is therefore more likely to be economically successful.</p>