A new model to deliver scheduled outpatient care

Here we describe an integrated model for scheduled care (the ‘cluster clinic’). Following a pilot in April 2018, cluster clinics were established across Aberdeen City from April 2019 but not the area surrounding Aberdeen (ie, Aberdeenshire). There were 2360 referrals in 2017/2018 (pre-cluster clinic), and 2615 in 2019/2020 (post-Aberdeen City cluster clinics). The proportions of referrals from City practices seen pre-cluster and post-cluster were 72% and 56%, respectively, and from Shire practices the corresponding proportions were 70% and 65%. The cluster clinic received positive feedback from parents and referring clinicians and was not associated with increased ‘missed diagnoses’ compared with business as usual clinic. The cluster clinic model is a realistic and effective method to deliver integrated scheduled care for children.

Measurement Research on New Urbanization Development of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster Based on the Concept of “Production-Living-Ecology” Space

With the accelerating urbanization process, the urbanization rate is increasing year by year. Taking Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster as an example, the evaluation index system of new urbanization in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster is constructed from three dimensions: production space, living space and ecological space. The entropy method, mathematical statistics analysis and exploratory spatial data analysis are adopted, and the time from 2008 to 2020 is taken as the research time node. This paper analyzes the development level of new urbanization in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster from two aspects of time series dynamics and spatial pattern. Through data analysis, it is found that there is a high correlation between new urbanization and population urbanization rate in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster. The growth trend of “quality” and “number” of new urbanization is consistent, and the comprehensive level of new urbanization in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster is constantly improving. At the same time, there are some problems in the new urbanization of Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan City Cluster, such as unreasonable industrial structure, backward public transport infrastructure, serious structural unemployment, serious air pollution and large gap between urban and rural areas. Finally, the paper puts forward relevant policy suggestions.

The Impacts of High-Speed Rail on Regional Accessibility and Spatial Development—Updated Evidence from China’s Mid-Yangtze River City-Cluster Region

There has been long and ongoing interest in the impacts of high-speed rail (HSR) on regional spatial development. Most existing studies, however, reported findings at relatively coarse geographic scales, i.e., at the prefecture-city or above level in the Chinese context. This paper presents the empirical evidence of HSR impacts from the county-level cities in China’s Mid-Yangtze River City-Cluster Region (MYRCCR). The study utilized rail time data and the socio-economic data for MYRCCR’s 185 county-level cities in the years of 2006 (without HSR) and 2014 (with HSR) and analyzed the impacts of HSR on inter-city travel times, accessibility, spatial inequality, and regional economic linkages among the MYRCCR cities. The results show that, from 2006 to 2014, HSR reduced city-to-city average travel time by 34.5% or 124 min and improved accessibility to all cities in the MYRCCR. HSR’s impacts on accessibility and spatial equality exhibited a scale-differentiated pattern. MYRCCR-wide, HSR transformed a pattern of spatial polarization towards the one of corridorization. Cities located on major HSR corridors became more balanced in 2014 than in 2006. Nevertheless, at the county-city level, the gap between cities with the most and the least accessibility gains was much greater than the gap between those with the largest and the smallest travel time savings. Attributable to HSR services, the intensity of economic linkage increased between MYRCCR cities, especially between the provincial capital cities and those on the major lines of the national HSR grid, which implies an emerging process towards territorial cohesion in MYRCCR. National, provincial, and local governments should consider transportation as well as non-transportation policies and measures to direct HSR impacts towards further enhanced spatial development and regional equality.

Development of International Education Industry in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area

Building the Greater Bay Area city cluster is a crucial national development strategy for China. As a vital hub of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Greater Bay Area cannot cultivate into an “international first-class bay area and world-class city cluster” without technological innovation and rapid economic progress, and technological innovation and economic development cannot be attained without the training of high-end talents through international education. Thus, the development of an international education demonstration zone is essential in the formation and development of the Greater Bay Area and making it a highland for education and talent, as well as giving full play to the social function of education. As the core of the accumulation of educational resources in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao, the current situation, future opportunities, and development path of international education development in the Greater Bay Area while building a world-class international education center have become the starting point of this study.