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2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 57
Author(s):  
Lingbo Liu ◽  
Hanchen Yu ◽  
Jie Zhao ◽  
Hao Wu ◽  
Zhenghong Peng ◽  
...  

The layout of public service facilities and their accessibility are important factors affecting spatial justice. Previous studies have verified the positive influence of public facilities accessibility on house prices; however, the spatial scale of the impact of various public facilities accessibility on house prices is not yet clear. This study takes transportation analysis zone of Wuhan city as the spatial unit, measure the public facilities accessibility of schools, hospitals, green space, and public transit stations with four kinds of accessibility models such as the nearest distance, real time travel cost, kernel density, and two step floating catchment area (2SFCA), and explores the multiscale effect of public services accessibility on house prices with multiscale geographically weighted regression model. The results show that the differentiated scale effect not only exists among different public facility accessibilities, but also exists in different accessibility models of the same sort of facility. The article also suggests that different facilities should adopt its appropriate accessibility model. This study provides insights into spatial heterogeneity of urban public service facilities accessibility, which will benefit decision making in equal accessibility planning and policy formulation for the layout of urban service facilities.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Walter Magero Wafula ◽  
Oliver Vivian Wasonga ◽  
Oscar Kipchirchir Koech ◽  
Staline Kibet

AbstractPastoralism is globally recognized as the backbone of the economy in the vast arid and semi-arid rangelands. Despite its enormous economic contribution, the system is facing a myriad of challenges, among them, land use and land tenure changes, resulting in diminished grazing land. Accompanying such changes is the conversion of traditional grazing lands into other uses such as settlements, with urbanization being one of the key drivers of pastoral system dynamics. Understanding such dynamics in the face of compounding factors such as frequent droughts linked to climate change is key in guiding policy formulation and interventions aimed at achieving a sustainable pastoral production system. This study investigated factors determining migration and settlement of pastoralists in Nairobi City of Kenya. Data was collected through a snowball sampling approach using semi-structured household questionnaires, focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informant interviews (KIIs) in five Sub-counties of Nairobi City County. A total of 144 household interviews, 6 FGDs and 16 KIIs were conducted to elucidate drivers of urban pastoralism, opportunities and challenges encountered by pastoralists in the city. A binary logistic regression model was used to analyse the determinants of their migration. Results show that search for pasture and water resources, and alternative markets especially during droughts, are the main reasons for pastoralists’ migration to the city. In addition, educated herders were found to be more likely to migrate to the city as they pursue wage employment. Whereas these findings revealed that migration to the city exposes pastoralists to diverse livelihood opportunities, they are equally faced by a number of challenges - mainly road accidents involving livestock, frequent land displacements to pave way for development of real estates, and livestock poisoning from sewage and garbage wastes. There is a need for policy and regulatory interventions to recognize pastoralism alongside other forms of urban farming and addressing challenges facing sustainable pastoral production.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul Plantinga

The digitalisation of public services is implicated in fundamental changes to how civil servants make decisions and exercise discretion. Most significant has been a shift in responsibility away from ‘street-level bureaucrats’ to ‘system-level bureaucrats’; a technology-savvy community of officials, consultants and private enterprises involved in the design of information technology systems and associated rules. The relatively recent inclusion of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven algorithms raises new questions about the conflation of policy formulation and system development activities, but also intensifies concerns about the epistemic dependence and policy alienation of public officials. African public administrations are in an especially vulnerable position with respect to the adoption of AI, and so this chapter seeks to synthesise lessons from previous digital implementations on the continent, and considers the implications for AI use. Four broad considerations emerge from the review of literature: Integrity of recommendations provided by decision-support systems, including how they are influenced by local organisational practices and the reliability of underlying infrastructures; Inclusive decision-making that balances the (assumed) objectivity of data-driven algorithms and the influence of different stakeholder groups; Exception and accountability in how digital and AI platforms are funded, developed, implemented and used; and a Complete understanding of people and events through the integration of traditionally dispersed data sources and systems, and how policy actors seek to mitigate the risks associated with this aspiration.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Olorunjuwon Michael Samuel ◽  
Tshegofatso Moagi

Purpose The rapidly emerging digital work system, accentuated by technological innovation, has dramatically changed the nature of skill-sets required for employees to perform their tasks effectively at the workplaces. This paper aims to examine the skills development strategies that organizations in South Africa are adopting in the transitioning of their respective workforces to fit the skills dynamics of the emerging work system. Design/methodology/approach The paper uses the interpretive qualitative research strategy to draw evidence from semi-structured interviews conducted on 38 respondents, using the thematic analytical process to derive themes embedded in the data set. Findings Based on the strength of data analysis, this paper identified two broad themes and six sub-themes that are critical for the transformation and transition of existing pool of skills for the emerging work system in South Africa. Research limitations/implications The research lacks ability to be generalized, which is a methodological limitation that is inherently associated with cross-sectional design and qualitative strategy in terms of causality and generalizability of findings. Originality/value The main value-add of this paper is the development of evidence-based research outcomes that provide both theoretical and practical framework for skills development and transition initiatives that are imperative for policy formulation. The paper responded to, and advanced the respective works of Hirschi (2017), Sharma et al. (2021) and Barley et al. (2017), by establishing the following strategic themes that are critical for skills development and transition mechanisms in the emerging work system: stakeholder relationship, media and public perception, learning organization, higher education system, continuous skills development and technology and job losses.


Author(s):  
Peter Dok Tindan ◽  
Divine Odame Appiah ◽  
Alexander Yao Segbefia

AbstractSuccessful drought planning is dependent on the generation of timely and accurate early warning information. Yet there is little evidence to explain the extent to which crop farmers pay attention to and assimilate early warning drought information that aids in the policy formulation in support of drought risk reduction. A socioecological survey, using a structured questionnaire administered to 426 crop farming households, was carried out in the Talensi District of the Upper East Region, Ghana. The data analytic techniques used were frequency tables, relative importance index, and multinomial logistics embedded in SPSS v.20 software. The results show that crop farmers predominantly rely on agricultural extension officers for early warning drought information, with an estimated 78% of them paying little to very much attention to the information. The likelihood ratio Chi-square test showed that there is a significant improvement in fit as X2 (20) = 96.792, p < 0.000. Household status, average monthly income, and age were the significant predictors for crop farmers paying no attention at all to early warning drought information, while household status was the only significant factor among those paying a little attention. The drive to build a climate-resilient society with effective early warning centers across Ghana will receive 60% lower support from crop farmers paying no to a little attention as compared to farmers paying very much attention to early warning drought information. Broader stakeholder engagements should be carried out to harness inclusive support from crop farmers to build a climate-resilient society in Ghana.


Electronics ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Hongxing Gao ◽  
Guoxi Liang ◽  
Huiling Chen

In this study, the authors aimed to study an effective intelligent method for employment stability prediction in order to provide a reasonable reference for postgraduate employment decision and for policy formulation in related departments. First, this paper introduces an enhanced slime mould algorithm (MSMA) with a multi-population strategy. Moreover, this paper proposes a prediction model based on the modified algorithm and the support vector machine (SVM) algorithm called MSMA-SVM. Among them, the multi-population strategy balances the exploitation and exploration ability of the algorithm and improves the solution accuracy of the algorithm. Additionally, the proposed model enhances the ability to optimize the support vector machine for parameter tuning and for identifying compact feature subsets to obtain more appropriate parameters and feature subsets. Then, the proposed modified slime mould algorithm is compared against various other famous algorithms in experiments on the 30 IEEE CEC2017 benchmark functions. The experimental results indicate that the established modified slime mould algorithm has an observably better performance compared to the algorithms on most functions. Meanwhile, a comparison between the optimal support vector machine model and other several machine learning methods on their ability to predict employment stability was conducted, and the results showed that the suggested the optimal support vector machine model has better classification ability and more stable performance. Therefore, it is possible to infer that the optimal support vector machine model is likely to be an effective tool that can be used to predict employment stability.


2022 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 210-229
Author(s):  
Budi Zulfachri ◽  
Ahmad Puad Mat Som Som

Social capital is assumed as an alternative form of other modalities. Theoretically, there is a debate about social capital leading to social relations. The debate relates to the conceptualization of social capital as concrete capital where individuals or groups are able to utilize social relations including values, social networks and trust to obtain economic benefits and social benefits. Using a qualitative approach with a literature study method, this article aims to explain social capital as a theoretical concept. The presentation of the study shows that there is a relationship between social capital and inclusiveness and community empowerment, especially in the context of sustainable inclusive development. This article concludes that the concept of social capital serves as a useful framework for successful development and policy formulation.


2022 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 2
Author(s):  
John Ibhagbemien Anetor ◽  
Temidayo Olamide Adigun ◽  
Elizabeth Bosede Bolajoko ◽  
Gloria Oiyahumen Anetor ◽  
Bose Etaniamhe Orimadegun ◽  
...  

Objectives: There is increasing exposure to petrochemicals, including benzene, particularly in the low and medium-income countries. Benzene is a component of many petrochemicals and a ubiquitous environmental pollutant. Phenol is one of its principal metabolites and serves as a biomarker of exposure to benzene. The mechanism of its toxicity is incompletely elucidated. Benzene’s interaction with key micronutrients; copper (Cu), iron (Fe), and zinc (Zn) in the haemopoietic system has only been poorly explored, particularly in the developing countries where their status is variable and uncertain, with attendant intense exposure to petrochemicals. Material and Methods: Two groups of 50 gasoline dispensers (GDs) and 50 non-occupationally exposed participants were selected from Oye Local Government Area, Nigeria. The duration of occupational exposure was 2–10 years. Serum levels of Cu, Fe, and Zn were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry while heme and phenol were determined by standard spectrophotometry. Results: Phenol was significantly higher in GDs (P = 0.000), compared to controls (P < 0.05). The micronutrients, Cu, Fe, and Zn were all significantly decreased in GDs compared to controls (P = 0.000 in all cases). Phenol and Fe demonstrated significant inverse correlation (r = −0.557, P = 0.00), while heme and Zn also exhibited inverse correlation respectively to phenol (r = −0.38, P = 0.01; r = −0.37, P = 0.01). Conclusion: These data suggest intense perturbation of the haemopoietic system in GDs; likely from altered xenobiotic metabolism requiring heme in cytochrome P450; cell cycle dysregulation, where Zn is pivotal, p53 suppression also dependent on Zn and oxidative stress all converging in haemopoietic dysregulation. Importantly, depression of these micronutrients implies potentiation of myelotoxicity and risk of myeloproliferation, probably arising from alterations in transcription, differentiation errors, genome instability, and derangement in cell signal transduction moderated by Zn; accentuating risk of myeloproliferation; suggesting a role for these micronutrients in chemoprevention. Understanding these events may be important in risk assessment, policy formulation, regulatory measures and chemoprevention in GDs and the general population.


2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Brock ◽  
Robert P. Shepherd

PurposeAccording to the traditional view of public administration, a critical component of good policy formulation is the provision of frank and fearless advice to elected decision-makers. This advice can be provided by permanent public officials or by the people selected by the elected governments to fill key and continuing posts. However, there are major questions as to whether new Governor-in-Council (GIC) appointment processes rooted in new public governance (NPG) are yielding the expected results promised, such as less partisanism, as a consideration for appointment.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a mixed methods approach to examine the GIC process as it is used in Canada. In using these methods, the authors employed interviews with senior officials, governmental documents review and expert validation interviews to triangulate its main findings.FindingsThe paper uses the case of the revised appointment process for GIC appointments in Canada and suggests that the new arrangements do not deliver on merit-based criteria that ensures independence is protected between political executive and senior bureaucratic officials. Although new processes may be more open and transparent than past processes, the paper suggests that such processes are more susceptible to partisan influence under the guise of being merit-based.Research limitations/implicationsThe research was limited to one country context, Canada. As such, it will be necessary to expand this to other Westminster countries. Testing whether manifestations of new public governance in appointment processes elsewhere will be important to validate whether Canada is unique or not.Practical implicationsThe authors are left to wonder if this innovation of merit-based appointments in the new administrative state is obscuring the lines of accountability and whether it forms the basis for good policy advice despite promises to the contrary.Social implicationsTrust in the government is affected by decisions behind closed doors. They appear partisan, even when they may not be. Process matters if only to highlight increased value placed on meritorious appointments.Originality/valuePrevious studies on GIC appointments have generally been to explore representation as a value. That is, studies have questioned whether diversity is maintained, for example. However, few studies have explored appointment processes using institutional approaches to examine whether reforms to such processes have respected key principles, such as merit and accountability.


Atmosphere ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 91
Author(s):  
Smart Asomaning Sarpong ◽  
Racheal Fosu Donkoh ◽  
Youngjo Lee

The concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is worsening across the globe alongside growth in industrial and general anthropogenic activities. Due to its serious health implications with long-term exposure, studies on NO2 concentration have gained space in the academic literature. In this study, awareness is created on the levels of NO2 across four (4) locations within the Tema Metropolitan area, with specific interest in selecting locations and periods significantly saturated with NO2 within the study area. NO2 was measured using RKI Eagle, an instrument with a built-in sensor for a specific gas measurement. Measurements were taken day and night at sampling points around 100 meters apart in each location. Data collection was performed over a nine (9)-month period. The Generalized Linear model is explored for selecting locations and periods significantly affected by NO2. From the results, the fourth week (26th–31st) of July 2020, the fourth week (27th–31st) of December 2020, the first week (1st–7th) of January 2021, and the fourth week (24th–31st) of January 2021 recorded severe concentrations of NO2. Additionally, the lives of residents in the Oil Jetty and the VALVO hospital areas were found to be the most endangered, as they recorded significantly high concentrations of NO2. In a developing country such as Ghana, this study is useful for monitoring NO2 concentrations in similar areas to inform decision making and environmental policy formulation.


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