Efficiency Evaluation of Energy in Northeastern China Based on Data Envelopment Analysis

The development of the energy economy in Northeastern China is unbalanced. In this paper, some energy structures such as oil, coal, and electricity are chosen as input indexes, while per capita gross domestic product (GDP) and total retail sales of consumer goods are desirable output indexes. The main causes of haze are industrial waste gas emission, industrial wastewater discharge, and solid waste production, which are regarded as undesirable output indexes. Environmental variables include industrial structure, urbanization, per capita GDP, and government planning. The proportion of the tertiary industry’s output value to its total output value is one of the important indexes to measure economic development in one area. Therefore, industrial structure plays a vital role in a region’s economic development. The tertiary industry oriented by service sector is the main force to promote economic transformation. The development of the urban economy will change from high to low as the process of urbanization, which can be characterized by green coverage of the urban built-up area. The higher per capita GDP, the higher the economic development can be achieved. Government planning refers to the total number of construction projects and completed projects in the year the government takes measures to control pollution. It shows that the total factor productivity of energy green efficiency has been stable in the last decades but fluctuated wildly in special periods, in which technical progress has played a great role, as well as the increase of technical efficiency.

Developing Participatory Analytics Techniques to Inform the Prioritization of Cycling Infrastructure

The planning of bicycle infrastructure across our cities remains is a complex task involving many key stakeholders including the community, who traditionally have had limited involvement in the planning process. This research develops an interactive bicycle prioritisation index tool which includes participatory spatial and textual citizen feedback. The research involves three components. Firstly, a survey of current cyclists in Sydney, their current level of participation, priorities in investment in cycling, and preferred locations for cycling infrastructure. Secondly, it documents the development of an interactive digital bicycle planning tool which is informed through citizen feedback. Thirdly, it evaluates the approach in conversation with potential end-users, including government, planning practitioners, and advocacy group members. The research proposes the combination of multiple passive and active data traces with end-user evaluation to legitimise the citizen co-design of bicycle investment prioritisation initiatives. A case study approach has been taken, focusing on the city of Sydney, Australia. The bicycle planning support system can be used by cities when engaging in cycle prioritisation initiatives, particularly with a focus on integrating citizen feedback and navigating new and complex data landscapes introduced through recent, passively collected big data sets.

Planning to maintain the status quo? A comparative study of digital equity plans of four large US cities

The term digital equity is at the forefront of municipal government planning to mitigate digital equity. Digital equity signifies a desired future to be achieved, yet its meaning is not well-established. As such, planning for digital equity offers an opportunity for new discursive construction. This study examines how municipal governments have constructed the concept of digital equity through textual evidence, the digital equity plans of Kansas City, MO, Portland, OR, San Francisco, CA, and Seattle, WA. Adopting an approach from critical discourse studies, comparative analysis of the texts demonstrates how digital equity plans conceive of digital equity, characterize current problematic circumstances, and prescribe actions to make change. The plans have strikingly little to say about why digital inequality has emerged, yet they prescribe actions that indicate a more complex understanding of the problem than they articulate. The dynamics of policy diffusion suggest that the work of early adopters will influence other municipalities to create similar plans. Thus, the current moment is ripe for scholars to influence municipal planning for digital equity and participate in its discursive construction in both academic research and policymaking circles.

Pharmaceutical subsidy policy in Iran: a qualitative stakeholder analysis

Background Over the past three decades, allocation of foreign currency subsidies has been the primary strategy of various administrations in Iran to improve access to medicines. This strategy has resulted in several challenges, including stakeholder conflicts of interest. Objective To identify the power, interest, and role of the stakeholders in allocating foreign currency subsidies to medicines in the Iranian health system. Methods In this qualitative study, 39 semi-structured interviews were conducted. Key informants were recruited using a purposive sampling technique. The theoretical framework adopted by Varvasovszky and Brugha was employed. The data were analysed using directed content analysis. Results The foreign currency subsidy for medicines included 21 stakeholders in five main categories: governmental organizations, Iranian Parliament, general population, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and the pharmaceutical industry. Stakeholders varied in their level of participation and support in the policy-making process. Among them, the Iranian Government, Planning and Budget Organization, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education (MoHME), and Iran Food and Drug Administration (IFDA) were the most important stakeholders, with highly supportive positions, while domestic drug manufacturers were the strongest opponents of this policy. The Government of Iran is the most powerful institution with regard to the ability to allocate foreign currency subsidies to medicines, followed by the MoHME and the IFDA. Conclusion This study demonstrated that identifying and analysing the stakeholders involved in allocating foreign currency subsidies to medicines can provide valuable information for policy-makers to enable a more comprehensive understanding and better capacity to determine whether or not to eliminate these subsidies. Moreover, decision-making in this process is a long-term issue that requires consensus among all stakeholders. Because of the political and social consequences of eliminating foreign currency subsidies, the necessary political will is not institutionalized. We recommend a step-by-step approach in eliminating foreign currency subsidies if the requirements are met (i.e., those related to the consequences of such interventions). Therefore, revision of the current policy along with these requirements, in addition to financial transparency and enhanced efficiency, will facilitate progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by improving access to medicines.

Socio-Economic Factors Influencing Youth Participation in Local Government Planning and Budgeting in Iringa Municipality

This study focused at exploring the socio-economic factors influencing youth participation in planning and budgeting in Local Government Authorities (LGA) in Iringa Municipal Council. The study employed a mixed approach where data were collected through questionnaires and interviews. Findings from the study indicated that the youth did not participate in any activity in their LGA in the past three years whereby it was only 31(19.1%) of the youth respondents who participated in at least one of the local government activities in the past three years. Findings further indicated more male participation in planning and budgeting than female. On the other hand findings revealed that education has influence on youth participation in planning and budgeting whereby the more educated youth participated more than none educated youth. Based on the findings, it was concluded that there was an information gap between leaders and youth especially on local government planning and budgeting; hence the study recommended for creation of awareness on the right of the youth to participate in planning and budgeting. The study also recommended regular meetings with the youth in the wards/ streets to hear out their challenges and needs. Furthermore, the study urged the government to use youth friendly tools to create awareness to the youth on planning and budgeting processes and opportunities available in their locality and how they can tap into that pool of opportunity.

Sustainability, Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: Building from the Bottom Up – A South African Perspective from the Small-scale Fisheries Sector

This chapter explores the vulnerability context of coastal fishing communities, including the various factors that shape their capacity to cope with and adapt in the face of poverty and increasing threats associated with climate change and natural and human-induced disasters through the lens of small-scale fisheries (SSFs) in South Africa. South Africa has developed a suite of policies, strategies and laws to deal with commitments to sustainable development and address and manage climate change challenges and disaster risks. These national policies, however, are not well aligned or implemented in a coordinated and integrated manner. Nor are they attuned to the realities facing local communities. This chapter reports on work in coastal communities in South Africa that reveals the lack of policy alignment and limited coordination across government departments at all levels charged with oversight responsibilities for these endeavours. Findings suggest that incorporating local knowledge into local development and sector plans, as well as into sustainable development and sector-specific policies, strategies and plans at the national level, would enhance understanding of the realities on the ground and lead to policies, strategies and plans that are more harmonised and more likely to be supported and implemented. How this knowledge gets integrated both vertically and horizontally into formal government planning and decision-making processes, however, and leads to implementation of projects and plans that yield tangible results, remains a challenge.

Towards an Effective Collaboration Between South Western Sydney Local Health District and Local Councils: Insights from the Qualitative Study

Background Urban planning is of fundamental use in promoting a healthy urban environment, prompting increased collaboration between public health and local government planning authorities. A major challenge to the success of this co-operation, however, is the difficulty of ensuring that the views of the health sector are, ultimately, reflected in planning policy. To facilitate this, a qualitative study was designed by Population Health, South Western Sydney Local Health District (SWSLHD) in 2016. Objective The aim of the study was to understand and help improving the effectiveness of collaboration between local governments and public health sector. Methods Qualitative data was collected from 14 in-depth interviews with staff representing five local councils: Bankstown, Camden, Liverpool, Campbelltown, and Fairfield. The data was thematically analysed using inductive and deductive reasoning by applying NVivo software. Results While councils recognise the potential value of consultation (and partnership) with SWSLHD, the fact is that the status quo is one of limited communication and the absence of any clearly defined process for collaboration. Councils perceive knowledge gaps in relation to basic issues such as who provides what services to whom and how to access services from health experts related to evidence based local government level data. Implications: The study demonstrated that a shift in provision of public health evidence that has local applicability in a timely manner on issues of mutual concern, and proactive and ongoing consultations between SWSLHD and councils would enable effective engagement, coordinated and sustained actions. As the concerns raised in this study about the need for practical information on effective interventions and impact of social determinants of health echo the findings from studies that were conducted in other local government settings of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales, the study findings may be applied to other councils beyond the SWSLHD.

Dampak Anggaran, Kesulitan Geografis, dan Rumah Tangga Desa terhadap Status Desa di Provinsi Riau

Enactment of the Village Law brings enthusiasm to the rural development paradigm. One of the main outputs of the government planning document is the increase of priority development in rural areas and villages. This is implemented by increasing the source of village income budget through the village fund program. This study aims to analyze the impact of village budgets and geographic difficulties, and village households on village status in Riau Province. Multiple linear regression model was used to analyze the impact of Village Fund allocation, Village Fund, Geographical Difficulty Index, and number of households in 2018 on the achievements of the Developing Village Index in 2019. Research results show that Village Fund allocation budget and the number of households have positive impacts on the Developing Village Index (Indeks Desa Membangun). in Riau Province. Meanwhile, increase in Village Fund budget and Geographical Difficulty Index have negative impacts on the Developing Village Index in Riau Province.

Municipal Public Budget Planning with Sustainable and Human Development Goals Integrated in a Multi-Criteria Approach

Government planning has a relevant role in the human development of cities, and the local public sector acts on legal regulations and budget planning to reach high levels of sustainability and human development. However, there is a gap in local governments related to the integration of decision-making preferences considering sustainability and human development in their budget planning. This work explores how the preferences of decision-makers have been considered in published research found in high-impact journals, and how they have been used in practice or not, especially in the public budget planning for the improvement of the governance of municipalities and human quality of life. The methodology integrated a literature review (by Methodi Ordinatio) with a sorting procedure (by the ELECTRE-TRI method) to categorize the selected papers, considering the level of adherence to the theme and the most relevant contributions, and also a systematic procedure organized by lenses analysis, and Simos’ procedure to define the weights for these lenses. The results that were found can help scholars to access discussions about budget planning distribution, mainly considering the aspects related to sustainable and social goals. The research also helps local public managers to make evidence-based decisions developing the city and local governance.