Search results for: government policies

Authors: Mary L. G. S. Senna, Afonso R. Aquino, Veruska C. Dutra, Carlos H. C. Tolentino

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The quality of life index, despite elucidating many discussions, the conceptual subjectivity of the term does not show precision, and consequently, many researchers seek to develop methods aiming to measure this concept, bringing it to a more concrete approach. In this study, the quality of life index method was used to analyze the population of Mateiros, Tocantins, Brazil for quality of life. After data collection, it was compared the quality of life index between the population and the group of beneficiaries of the Brazilian government assistance program Bolsa Família (Family Allowance). Some of the people interviewed receive financial aid from the federal government program Bolsa Família (22%). Comparisons were made among the final score of the quality of life index of the Mateiros population and the following factors: Gender, age, education, those working or not with tourism and those who receive or do not receive the Bolsa Família. It was observed that only the factor, Bolsa Família (p-score 0.0138), shows an association with quality of life improvement, noticing that those who have financial aid had a higher quality of life improvement than the rest of the population. It was concluded that, government assistance has shown a decisive element on the enhancement of Mateiros population quality of life, indicating that similar actions should be maintained.

Keywords: quality of life index, government aid to families, sustainable tourism, Bolsa Familia

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Authors: M. Babul Hasan

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Management sciences (MS), big group of companies and industries or government policies (GP) is affiliated with a huge number of decision ingredients and complicated restrictions. Every factor in MS, every product in Industries or decision in GP is not always bankable in practice. After formulating these models there arises large-scale mixed integer programming (MIP) problem. In this paper, we developed decomposition-based pricing procedure to filter the unnecessary decision ingredients from MIP where the variables in huge number will be abated and the complicacy of restrictions will be elementary. A real life numerical example has been illustrated to demonstrate the methods. We develop the computer techniques for these methods by using a mathematical programming language (AMPL).

Keywords: Lagrangian relaxation, decomposition, sub-problem, master-problem, pricing, mixed IP, AMPL

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Authors: Sandiso Mahlala, Fulufhelo Netswera

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Anecdotes of corruption and clear-cut lines of patronage in political parties and the government are frequently featured in South African newspapers and news media. Such graft and favouritism have institutionalised themselves more and more, resulting in the phenomenon of governmental capture and the diversion of Covid-19 relief monies. In order to further their own interests, political elites and those working in the public and private sectors influenced government decisions in this way. This paper presents examples of state capture, Covid-19 corruption, and patronage, as well as how these have a negative impact on broader governance and society at large. The fact that such corruption and patronage are occurring at a time when the South African economy is stagnating is particularly troubling since it implies that more people are getting less and raises concerns about the country's future political stability. This article further examines how party patronage as one method by which political parties exploit the state. The conceptual nature of the study is supported by a survey of the relevant literature from a range of sources, such as government regulations, media excepts, and scholarly works.

Keywords: political corruption, political patronage, patronage, state capture, COVID-19, corruption, South Africa

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Authors: Sayantan Khanra, Rojers P. Joseph

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Background and Significance: This study is aimed at analyzing the role of demographic and service quality variables in the adoption and diffusion of e-government services among the users in India. The study proposes to examine the users' perception about e-Government services and investigate the key variables that are most salient to the Indian populace. Description of the Basic Methodologies: The methodology to be adopted in this study is Hierarchical Regression Analysis, which will help in exploring the impact of the demographic variables and the quality dimensions on the willingness to use e-government services in two steps. First, the impact of demographic variables on the willingness to use e-government services is to be examined. In the second step, quality dimensions would be used as inputs to the model for explaining variance in excess of prior contribution by the demographic variables. Present Status: Our study is in the data collection stage in collaboration with a highly reliable, authentic and adequate source of user data. Assuming that the population of the study comprises all the Internet users in India, a massive sample size of more than 10,000 random respondents is being approached. Data is being collected using an online survey questionnaire. A pilot survey has already been carried out to refine the questionnaire with inputs from an expert in management information systems and a small group of users of e-government services in India. The first three questions in the survey pertain to the Internet usage pattern of a respondent and probe whether the person has used e-government services. If the respondent confirms that he/she has used e-government services, then an aggregate of 15 indicators are used to measure the quality dimensions under consideration and the willingness of the respondent to use e-government services, on a five-point Likert scale. If the respondent reports that he/she has not used e-government services, then a few optional questions are asked to understand the reason(s) behind the same. Last four questions in the survey are dedicated to collect data related to the demographic variables. An indication of the Major Findings: Based on the extensive literature review carried out to develop several propositions; a research model is prescribed to start with. A major outcome expected at the completion of the study is the development of a research model that would help to understand the relationship involving the demographic variables and service quality dimensions, and the willingness to adopt e-government services, particularly in an emerging economy like India. Concluding Statement: Governments of emerging economies and other relevant agencies can use the findings from the study in designing, updating, and promoting e-government services to enhance public participation, which in turn, would help to improve efficiency, convenience, engagement, and transparency in implementing these services.

Keywords: adoption and diffusion of e-government services, demographic variables, hierarchical regression analysis, service quality dimensions

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Authors: Nazli Kazanoglu

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Reconciliation of work and family life has been an area of interest within the academic as well as in the political debate for more than three decades. With the dramatic changes in the extent to which women and men contribute to unpaid domestic work and paid employment, the reconciliation of work and family life issues have become more prominent than ever before. And they have begun to enjoy an increased attention of policy makers both at the EU and national levels. Over the last three decades the EU has initiated numerous equality programs and strategies and roadmaps regarding reconciliation of work and family life, though particularly because of the crisis and increasing willingness of achieving the EUs target of seventy five per cent of men and women in employment by 2020, those programs, strategies and roadmaps emphasized on eradicating womens familial burdens while entering labor market and providing them as equal opportunities as their male counterparts have. Reconciliation of work and family life policies thus bit by bit moved away from the objectives with a strong commitment to ensuring gender equality towards employment objectives. This paper is thus an endeavor to look at the nature of EU reconciliation of work and family life policies from the angle of gender equality. More precisely relying on the feminist literature, this paper rests on the assumption that reconciliation of work and family policies should provide the sufficient measures indeed with a more emphasis on endorsing gender equality rather than economic concerns and prioritizes two inter-related aspects while evaluating the gender equality of reconciliation of work and family life policies. First providing free choice to women in terms of their family and work lives and second challenge the unequal division of labor at home. In that sense, it investigates the nature of the changing uses and meanings of gender equality in reconciliation of work and family life policies in different stages of the EU social policy development particularly after the introduction of European Employment Strategy which gave a tremendous importance to reconciliation of work and family life during their collaborations with other issues on the EU agenda as well as the major rationale behind their development and implementation and locates them in terms of two inter-related parameters mentioned above.

Keywords: European Union, division of unpaid work, gender equality, rhetoric of free choice

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Authors: Oduntan Oluwakemi, Obisesan Adekemi Adebisola, Ayo-Bello Taofeeq Ayodeji

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The study examined the factors influencing the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices among maize farmers in Ondo State, Nigeria. A Multi-stage sampling procedure was used to randomly select one hundred respondents for the study. Primary data were collected from the respondents with the aid of a structured questionnaire and analysed using descriptive statistics and a probit regression model. The results of this study showed that crop diversification was the most adopted climate-smart agricultural practice by the respondents, and adoption of Climate Smart Agricultural practices is still very low among the respondents. Results of probit regression revealed that marital status, access to extension services, farming experience, membership of farmers’ association, and access to credit had a positive influence on the adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, while age, farm size, and total income had a negative influence. Based on the findings of the study, it was recommended that government should develop suitable policies that will encourage farmers, especially rural farmers, to adopt and utilize Climate Smart Agricultural Practices (CSAP). Equally, the study also recommended government should be geared towards supporting improved extension services, providing on-farm demonstration training, disseminating information about climate-smart agricultural practices, and providing credit facilities through the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme Fund and bank credit to farmers in order to enhance the adoption.

Keywords: adoption, agriculture, climate-smart, farmers, maize, Nigeria

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Authors: Lukasz Kurowski, Paweł Smaga

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We explore the procyclicality of monetary policy decisions towards the financial cycle in the 1995−2015 period on a sample of six central banks. Using interest rate paths and the credit-to-GDP gap to construct a monetary policy procyclicality ratio, we provide evidence that monetary policy procyclicality was high in BoE and CNB and low in Riksbank and ECB. The results support the need for coordination between macroprudential and monetary policies, for example, by including financial stability considerations to the inflation targeting strategy.

Keywords: central bank, financial stability, macroprudential policy, monetary policy

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Authors: Mohammed Aladalah

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The emergence of digital citizens is no longer mere speculation; therefore, governments’ use of Web 2.0 tools (hereafter Gov 2.0) should be a part of all current and future e-government plans. The potential of Gov 2.0 to facilitate greater communication, participation, and collaboration with citizens has been highlighted and discussed extensively in recent literature. However, the current levels of citizens’ participation in Gov 2.0 have not lived up to the hype. Therefore, governments need to rethink the way in which they implement Gov 2.0, and take advantage of the digitally-engaged population. We propose a two-dimensional framework to tackle this issue: first, on the supply side, governments tend to use Gov 2.0 mainly for the dissemination of information and for self-promotion without the desire to encourage any interaction with citizens; this is due to many reasons, including the lack of time and the possibility of loss of control. The second dimension of the framework is the demand side; citizens are unwilling to participate in Gov 2.0 activities because they do not perceive its value or trust the government. We attempt to consider the elements of both supply and demand in order to provide a comprehensive solution whereby the potential of Gov 2.0 can be fully utilized. Our framework is based on the theoretical foundation of service science and value co-creation theory. This paper makes two significant contributions: (a) it provides an initial framework intended to increase citizens’ participation in Gov 2.0; and (b) it enhances the understanding of the government’s Gov 2.0 applications, particularly in terms of factors that ensure their attractiveness for citizens. This work is the first step in a comprehensive research undertaking, the purpose of which is to study public’s engagement with the Gov 2.0 concept. It contributes to providing a better understanding of e-government and its future.

Keywords: e-government, Gov 2.0, citizens participation, digital citizen

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Authors: Frederick Monyepao

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Crack cocaine first appeared on the scene in the form of cocaine freebasing in the late 1970s. Stockbrokers, investment bankers, rock stars, Hollywood elites, and a few pro athletes were regular users of the substance. As criminogenic factors associated with substance abuse began to surface, congress passed new legislation. The laws led to the increase of health coverage insurances and the expansion of hospitals. By the mid-1980s, crack use spread into America's inner cities among impoverished African Americans and Latinos. While substance abuse increased among minority communities, legislation pertaining to substance abuse evolved. The prison industry also expanded the number of cells available. A qualitative approach was taken, drawing from a range secondary sources for contextual analysis. This paper traces out the continued marginalisation and racist undertones towards minorities as perpetuated by certain drug policies. It was discovered that the new legislation on crack was instrumental in the largest incarcerations the United States ever faced. Drug offenders increased in prisons eightfold from 1986 to 2000. The paper concludes that American drug control policies are consistently irrational and ineffective when measured by levels of substance use and abuse. On the contrary, these policies have been successful as agents of social control in maintaining the stratification patterns of racial/ethnic minorities and women. To move beyond prohibition, radical law and policy reform may require a change in narratives on substance use.

Keywords: crack, drug policy, minorities, racism, substance abuse

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Authors: Yessenia Parrado, Ana Barbosa, Daniela Mahe, Sebastian Toro, Jhon Garcia

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Public innovation has gained strength in recent years in response to the need to find new strategies or mechanisms to interact between government entities and citizens. In this way, the Colombian government has been promoting policies aimed at strengthening innovation as a fundamental aspect in the work of public entities. However, in order to potentiate the capacities of public servants and therefore of the institutions and organizations to which they belong, it is necessary to be able to understand the context under which they operate in their daily work. This article aims to compile the work developed by the laboratory of innovation, creativity, and new technologies LAB101 of the National University of Colombia for the National Department of Planning. A case study was developed in the central region of Colombia made up of five departments, through the construction of instruments based on quantitative techniques in response to the item combined with qualitative analysis through semi-structured interviews to understand the perception of possible barriers to innovation and the obstacles that have prevented the acceleration of transformation within public organizations. From the information collected, different analyzes are carried out that allows a more robust explanation to be given to the results obtained, and a set of categories are established to group different characteristics associated with possible difficulties that officials perceive to innovate and that are later conceived as barriers. Finally, a proposal for an indicator was built to measure the degree of innovation within public entities in order to be able to carry a metric in future opportunities. The main findings of this study show three key components to be strengthened in public entities and organizations: governance, knowledge management, and the promotion of collaborative workspaces.

Keywords: barriers, enablers, management, public innovation

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Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah

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Governments around the world are adopting Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) because of the important opportunities it provides through E-government (EG) to modernize government public administration processes and delivery of quality and efficient public services. Almost every country in the world is adopting ICT in its public sector administration (EG) to modernize and change the traditional process of government, increase citizen engagement and participation in governance, as well as the provision of timely information to citizens. This paper, therefore, seeks to present the adoption, development and implementation of EG in regions globally, as well as the ICT indicators around the world, which are making EG initiatives successful. Europe leads the world in its EG adoption and development index, followed by the Americas, Asia, Oceania and Africa. There is a gradual growth in ICT indicators in terms of the increase in Internet access and usage, increase in broadband penetration, an increase of individuals using the Internet at home and a decline in fixed telephone use, while the mobile cellular phone has been on the increase year-on-year. Though the lack of ICT infrastructure is a major challenge to EG adoption and implementation around the world, in Africa it is very pervasive, hampering the expansion of Internet access and provision of broadband, and hence is a barrier to the successful adoption, development, and implementation of EG initiatives in countries on the continent. But with the general improvement and increase in ICT indicators around the world, it provides countries in Europe, Americas, Asia, Arab States, Oceania and Africa with the huge opportunity to enhance public service delivery through the adoption of EG. Countries within these regions cannot fail their citizens who desire to enjoy an enhanced and efficient public service delivery from government and its many state institutions.

Keywords: e-government development index, e-government, indicators, information and communication technologies (ICTs)

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Authors: Hussain Ali Bekhet, Endang Jati Mat Sahid

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For the past few decades, the Malaysian economy has expanded at an impressive pace, whilst, the Malaysian population has registered a relatively high growth rate. These factors had driven the growth of final energy demand. The ballooning energy demand coupled with the country’s limited indigenous energy resources have resulted in an increased of the country’s net import. Therefore, acknowledging the precarious position of the country’s energy self-sufficiency, this study has identified three main concerns regarding energy security, namely; over-dependence on fossil fuel, increasing energy import dependency, and increasing energy consumption per capita. This paper discusses the recent energy demand and supply trends, highlights the policies that are affecting energy security in Malaysia and suggests strategic options towards achieving energy security. The paper suggested that diversifying energy sources, reducing carbon content of energy, efficient utilization of energy and facilitating low-carbon industries could further enhance the effectiveness of the measures as the introduction of policies and initiatives will be more holistic.

Keywords: electricity, energy policy, energy security, Malaysia

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Authors: Sanjida Ahmed Sinthia

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Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world. There are several reasons for this insufficiency and uncontrolled population growth is one of the prime reasons. Others include low economic progress, imbalanced resource management, unemployment and underemployment, urban migration and natural catastrophes etc. As a result, the rate of urban poor is increasing inevitably in every sphere of urban cities in Bangladesh and Dhaka is the most affected one. Besides there is scarcity of urban land, housing, urban infrastructure and amenities which create pressure on urban cities and mostly encroach the open space, wetlands that causes environmental degradation. Government has no or limited control over these due to poor government policy and management, political pressure and lack of resource management. Unfortunately, over centralization and bureaucracy creates unnecessary delay and interruptions in any government initiations. There is also no coordination between government and private sector developer to solve the problem of urban Poor. To understand the problem of these huge populations this paper analyzes one of the single largest slum areas in Dhaka, Korail Slum. The study focuses on socio demographic analysis, morphological pattern and role of different actors responsible for the improvements of the area and recommended some possible steps for determining the potential outcomes.

Keywords: demographic analysis, environmental degradation, government policy, housing and land management policy

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Authors: Nchanji Yvonne Kiki, Mala William Armand, Nchanji Eileen Bogweh, Ramcilovik-Suominen Sabaheta, Kotilainen Juha

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The Campo Ma'an National Park was created as part of an environmental and biodiversity compensation for the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline Project, which was meant to help alleviate poverty and boost the livelihood of rural communities around the area. This paper examines different strategies and coping mechanisms employed by the indigenous people and local communities to deal with the national and internationally driven conservation policies and initiatives in the case of the Campo Ma'an National Park. While most literature on park management/co-management/nature conservation has focused on the negative implications for local peoples’ livelihoods, fewer studies have investigated the strategies of local people to respond to these policies and renegotiate their position in a way that enables them to continue their traditional livelihoods using the existing local knowledge systems. This study contributes to the current literature by zooming into not only the impacts of nature conservation policies but also the local individual and collective strategies and responses to such policies and initiatives. We employ a qualitative research approach using ethnomethodology and a convivial lens to analyze data collected from October to November 2018. We find that conservation policies have worsened some existing livelihoods on the one hand and constrained livelihood improvement of indigenous people and local communities (IPLC) on the other hand. Nonetheless, the IPLC has devised individual and collective coping mechanisms to deal with these conservation interventions and the negative effects they have caused. Upon exploring these mechanisms and their effectiveness, this study proposes a management approach to conservation centered on both people and nature, based on indigenous and local people's knowledge and practices, promoting nature for and by humans and strengthening both livelihood and conservation. We take inspiration from the convivial conservation approach and thinking by Bucher and Fletcher.

Keywords: conservation policies, national park management, indigenous and local people’s experiences, livelihoods, local knowledge, coping strategies, conviviality

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Authors: Diptimayee Nayak

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Ecotourism has been recognised as a popular component of alternative tourism, which claims to guard host local environment and economy. This concept of ecological tourism (eco-tourism) has become more meaningful in evaluating the recreational function and services of any pristine ecosystem in context of ‘The Economics of Ecosystem and Biodiversity (TEEB)’. This ecotourism is said to be a local solution to the global problem of conserving ecosystems and optimising the utilisations of their services. This paper takes a case of recreational services of an Indian protected area ecosystems ‘Bhitarakanika mangrove protected area’ discussing how ecotourism is functioning taking the perspectives of different stakeholders. Specific stakeholders are taken for analysis, viz., tourists and local people, as they are believed to be the major beneficiaries of ecotourism. The stakeholders’ analysis is evaluated on the basis of travel cost techniques (by using truncated Poisson distribution model) for tourists and descriptive and analytical tools for local people. The evaluation of stakeholders’ analysis of ecotourism has gained its impetus after the formulation of Ecotourism guidelines by the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of India. The paper concludes that ecotourism issues and challenges are site-specific and region-specific; without critically focussing challenges of ecotourism faced at local level the discourses of ecotourism at global level cannot be tackled. Mere integration and replication of policies at global level to be followed at local level will not be successful (top down policies). Rather mainstreaming the decision making process at local level with the global policy stature helps to solve global issues to a bigger extent (bottom up).

Keywords: ecosystem services, ecotourism, TEEB, economic valuation, stakeholders, travel cost techniques

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Authors: Dinesh N. Kurup, Celine Perriera

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The economic development of any country is based on the policies adopted by the government from time to time. If these policies are framed by the opinion of the people of the country, there is need for having strong knowledge base, right from the school level. There should be emphasis to provide in education, an ability to take informed decisions regarding socio-scientific issues. It would be better to adopt this practice in high school classrooms to build capacity among future citizens. This study is an attempt to provide a different approach of teaching and learning in classrooms at the high school level in Indian schools for providing opportunity for informed decision making regarding nuclear power use. A unit of work based on the 5E instructional model about the use of nuclear energy is used to build knowledge base and find out the effectiveness in terms of its influence for taking decisions as a future citizen. A sample of 120 students from three high schools using different curricula and teaching and learning methods were chosen for this study. This research used a design based research method. A pre and post questionnaire based on the theory of reasoned action, structured observations, focus group interviews and opportunity for decision making were used during the intervention. The data analysed qualitatively and quantitatively, and the qualitative data were coded into categories based on responses. The results of the study show that students were able to make informed decisions and could give reasons for their decisions. They were enthusiastic in formulating policy making based on their knowledge base and have strong held views and reasoning for their choice.

Keywords: informed decision making, socio-scientific issues, nuclear energy use, policy making

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Authors: Jimmy L. Caldoza, Erlito M. Albina

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Information Systems are increasingly being used to monitor and assess government projects as well as improve transparency and combat corruption. With reference to existing information systems relevant to monitoring and evaluation systems adopted by various government agencies from other countries, this research paper aims to help the Philippine government, particularly the Department of Agriculture, in assessing the impact of their programs and projects on their target beneficiaries through the development of the web-based Monitoring and Evaluation Information System with the application of a short messaging system (sms) technology.

Keywords: monitoring and evaluation system, web-based information system, short messaging system technology, database structure and management

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Authors: Mahdi Ebrahimi

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One of the most effective factors that can empower and modernize the Islamic government according to the needs of society is the institution of expediency in Islamic governance. At the same time, not paying attention to the foundations and principles of Islamic governance may cause this factor to create the basis for corruption and totalitarianism of the rulers, which ultimately causes a gap between the people and the rulers and the emergence of whole government corruption and dictatorship. Meanwhile, there are specific principles in the doctrine of Islamic Governance that can prevent such an event from happening. Principles such as: remaining popular and pious by the Ulama, Amr Bil-Maroof Va Nahy An Al-Munkar (commanding the good and preventing the bad) by the individuals, the rule of frank criticism with loud voices and clarification and accountability in the fields that cause the corruption of those in charge. In this research, these principles are presented along with their Islamic basis. It is also stated what effect each of these cases will have on preserving Islam in the ruling system.

Keywords: expediency, Islamic ruling, Islamic principles, Islam

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Authors: Petcharat Kerdonfag, Supunnee Thrakul

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School health services through regular screening of school students’ health status have been the main responsibility for community or school health nurses. The purposes of these retrospective study were to assess and compare health problems between government and private primary school students in the central region of Thailand. The data were collected from the school health records in October at the end of the first semester in the academic year 2018. Two thousand and fifty primary school health records from government and private primary schools were gathered to assess health problems regarding anthropometric measurements, physical examination/personal hygiene, and clinical findings for this study. Descriptive statistics and Chi-square were used to be analyzed. The results revealed that health problems of all the school students remained high magnitude. The five top ranks for prevalence rate of health problems were dental caries (36.6%), visual acuity problem (27.7%), over-nutrition (16.8%), head lice (12.8%), and under-nutrition (6.8%), respectively. However, when compared between government and private schools among five health problems; dental caries (55.0% vs 19.9%), visual acuity problem (23.1% vs 31.9%), over-nutrition (20.2% vs 13.8%), head lice (26.5% vs 0.3%), and under-nutrition (10.6% vs 3.4%) with Chi-square analysis, there were significantly different (p < .001). The problem of visual acuity seems to be more serious in private schools while other health problems tend to be more critical in government schools. The findings have suggested that parents who have children in the private primary schools should pay more attention to visual health defects whereas parents with children in the government school should pay more vigilance regards to hygiene and health behavior problems.

Keywords: community health nursing, school health service, health status, primary school children

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Authors: Sukanya Sripho

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The purpose of this research was to study the role of local administration management to promote culture based on philosophy of sufficiency economy to many communities in Thailand. The philosophy was given to the Thai people by their King and become one of the important policies from the Thai government. A total of 375 local people in main district, Amnadcharoen province were selected by random sampling. A questionnaire was used as the tool for collecting data. Descriptive statistics in this research included percentage, mean, and multiple regression analysis. The findings revealed that the role of facilitator was utilized the most from the management in order to promote culture based on philosophy of sufficiency economy to many communities in Thailand.

Keywords: administration, management, philosophy of sufficiency economy, facilitator

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Authors: Isaac Kofi Mensah

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The adoption and application of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in government administration through e-government is expected to permeate all sectors of state/ public institutions as well as democratic institutions. One of such public institutions is the Electoral Commission of Ghana mandated by the 1992 Constitution to hold all public elections including presidential and parliamentary elections. As Ghana holds its 7th General Elections since 1992, on 7th November 2016, there are demands from key stakeholders for the Election Management Body, which is the Electoral Commission (EC) of Ghana to adopt and implement an electronic voting system. This case study, therefore, attempts to contribute significantly to the debate by examining influencing factors that would impact on citizen’s readiness to adopt and use an electronic voting system in Ghana. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was used as a theoretical framework for this study, out of which a research model and hypotheses were developed. Importantly, the outcome of this research finding would form a basis for appropriate policy recommendation for consideration of Government and EC of Ghana.

Keywords: citizens readiness, e-government, electronic voting, technology acceptance model (TAM)

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Authors: Siti Mariani, Arwin DW Sumari, Retno Gumilang Dewi

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This paper analyzes the necessity of a structured tariff calculation for geothermal electricity in Indonesia. Indonesia is blessed with abundant natural resources and a choices of energy resources to generate electricity among other are coal, gas, biomass, hydro to geothermal, creating a fierce competition in electricity tariffs. While geothermal is inline with energy security principle and green growth initiative, it requires a huge capital funding. Geothermal electricity development consists of phases of project with each having its own financial characteristics. The Indonesian government has set a support in the form of ceiling price of geothermal electricity tariff by 11 U.S cents / kWh. However, the government did not set a levelized cost of geothermal, as an indication of lower limit capacity class, to which support is given. The government should establish a levelized cost of geothermal energy to reflect its financial capability in supporting geothermal development. Aside of that, the government is also need to establish a structured tariff calculation to reflect a fair and transparent business cooperation.

Keywords: load fator, levelized cost of geothermal, geothermal power plant, structured tariff calculation

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Authors: Vasudha Thapa, Kiran Chappa

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There is a pressing need to prepare cities in the developing countries of the global south such as India against the chaos created by COVID 19 pandemic and future disaster risks. This pandemic posed the nation with an unprecedented challenge of dealing with a wave of stranded migrant workers. These workers comprise the most vulnerable section of the society in case of any pandemic or disaster risks. The COVID 19 pandemic exposed the vulnerability of migrant workers in the urban form and the need for capacity-building strategies against future pandemics. This paper highlights the challenges of these migrant workers in the case of Mumbai city in lockdown, post lockdown, and the current uncertain scenarios. The paper deals with a thorough investigation of the existing and the recent policies and strategies taken by the Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), state, and central government to assist these migrants in the city during this mayhem of uncertainties. The paper looks further deep into the challenges and opportunities presented in the current scenario through the assessment of existing data and response to policy measures taken by the government organizations. The ULBs are at the forefront in the response to any disaster risk, hence the paper assesses the capacity gaps of the Urban local bodies in mitigating the risks posed by any pandemic-like situation. The study further recommends capacity-building strategies at various levels of governance and uniform policy measures to assist the migrant population of the city.

Keywords: urban resilience, covid 19, migrant population, India, capacity building, governance

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Authors: Muhammad Nur Haniff Mohd Noor, Rokiah Kadir, Suriyani Muhamad

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The National Forestry Act (NFA) 1984 is the primary forest law that regulates forest-related activities in Peninsular Malaysia. In the 1990s, abundance of illegal logging cases have called for legislative reform of the NFA 1984. As a result, NFA 1984 was amended in 1993 with the principal goal of controlling illegal forest encroachment in the forms of illegal logging, unauthorized harvesting, unlicensed forest settlement and other forms of unlawful activities. At a conceptual level, this paper discusses the policies and strategies implemented under the NFA 1984 (Amendment 1993) that are dedicated to overcome illegal logging. Then, the policies and strategies employed are reviewed and evaluated. Next, this paper conceptually discusses the loopholes of NFA 1984 (Amendment 1993) in relation to aspects where the regulation is considered insufficient to curb illegal logging. In the final section, vital actions and suggested improvements to improve the overall effectiveness of NFA 1984 (Amendment 1993) are examined.

Keywords: forest law and regulation, illegal logging, National Forestry Act 1984, NFA 1984, Amendment 1993, Peninsular Malaysia

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Authors: Ellen Holtmaat

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With an ever increasing influence of international organizations (IOs) on national policies and with the expectation that IOs are the transmission belts of world ideologies it is interesting to see to what extent IOs express a specific ideology and what determines the dominance of this ideology. This thesis looks at the OECD as IO and higher education as a field of policy. Evidence is found that the OECD promotes neoliberal developments in higher education and that its position is influenced by business, dominant countries and the dominant beliefs that are carried by the people working for the OECD that form an epistemic community. These results can possibly be extrapolated to other IOs.

Keywords: higher education, international organizations, neoliberal, OECD

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Authors: Jessica Ding

Abstract:

The field of global health is currently advocating for a resurgence in the use of traditional medicines to improve people-centered care. Healthcare policies are rapidly changing in response; in China, the increasing presence of TCM in the same spaces as biomedicine has led to a new term: integrative medicine. However, the existence of TCM as a part of integrative medicine creates a pressing paradoxical tension where TCM is both seen as a marginalized system within ‘modern’ hospitals and as a modality worth integrating. Additionally, the impact of such shifts has not been fully explored: the World Health Organization for one focuses only on three angles —practices, products, and practitioners— with regards to traditional medicines. Through ten weeks of fieldwork conducted at an urban hospital in Shanghai, China, this research expands the perspective of existing strategies by looking at integrative care through a fourth lens: patients and families. The understanding of self-care, health-seeking behavior, and non-professional caregiving structures are critical to grasping the significance of traditional medicine for people-centered care. Indeed, those individual and informal health care expectations align with the very spaces and needs that traditional medicine has filled before such ideas of integration. It specifically looks at this issue via three processes that operationalize experiences of care: (1) how aspects of TCM are valued within integrative medicine, (2) how negotiations of care occur between patients and doctors, and (3) how 'good quality' caregiving presents in integrative clinical spaces. This research hopes to lend insight into how culturally embedded traditions, bureaucratic and institutional rationalities, and social patterns of health-seeking behavior influence care to shape illness experiences at the intersection of two medical modalities. This analysis of patients’ clinical and illness experiences serves to enrich the narratives of integrative medical care’s ability to provide patient-centered care to determine how international policies are realized at the individual level. This anthropological study of the integration of Traditional Chinese medicine in local contexts can reveal the extent to which global strategies, as promoted by the WHO and the Chinese government actually align with the expectations and perspectives of patients receiving care. Ultimately, this ethnographic analysis of a local Chinese context hopes to inform global policies regarding the future use and integration of traditional medicines.

Keywords: emergent systems, global health, integrative medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, TCM

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Authors: Ondrej Slach, Jan Machacek, Jan Zenka, Lucie Hyllova, Petr Rumpel

Abstract:

The aim of the paper is to identify and asses different trajectories of two fashionable urban policies –creative and smart cities– in specific post-socialistic context. Drawing on the case of Czechia, we employ the concept of policy mobility research. More specifically, we employ a discourse analysis in order to identify the so-called 'infrastructure' of both policies (such as principal actors, journals, conferences, events), with the special focus on 'agents of transfer' in a multiscale perspective. The preliminary results indicate faster and more aggressive spatial penetration of smart cities policy compared to creative cities policy in Czechia. Further, it seems that existed translation and implementation of smart cities policy into the national and urban context resulted in deliberated fragmented policy of smart cities in Czechia (pure technocratic view), which might be a threat for the future development of social sustainability, especially in cities that are facing increasing social polarisation. Last but not least, due to the fast spatial penetration of the concept and policies of smart cities, it seems that creative cities policy has almost been crowded out of the Czech urban agenda.

Keywords: policy mobility, smart cities, creative cities, Czechia

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Authors: Adrián P. Gómez Mañas

Abstract:

Autonomous vehicles have already transformed urban policies and cities. This is the main assumption of our research, which aims to understand how the representations of the possible arrival of autonomous vehicles already transform priorities or actions in transport and more largely, urban policies. This research is done within the framework of a Ph.D. doctorate directed by Professor Xavier Desjardins at the Sorbonne University of Paris. Our hypotheses are: (i) the perspectives, representations, and imaginaries on autonomous vehicles already affect the stakeholders of urban policies; (ii) the discourses on the opportunities or threats of autonomous vehicles reflect the current strategies of the stakeholders. Each stakeholder tries to integrate a discourse on autonomous vehicles that allows them to change as little as possible their current tactics and strategies. The objective is to eventually make a comparison between three different cases: Paris, United Arab Emirates, and Bogota. We chose those territories because their contexts are very different, but they all have important interests in mobility and innovation, and they all have started to reflect on the subject of self-driving mobility. The main methodology used is to interview actors of the metropolitan area (local officials, leading urban and transport planners, influent experts, and private companies). This work is supplemented with conferences, official documents, press articles, and websites. The objective is to understand: 1) What they know about autonomous vehicles and where does their knowledge come from; 2) What they expect from autonomous vehicles; 3) How their ideas about autonomous vehicles are transforming their action and strategy in managing daily mobility, investing in transport, designing public spaces and urban planning. We are going to present the research and some preliminary results; we will show that autonomous vehicles are often viewed by public authorities as a lever to reach something else. We will also present that speeches are very influenced by local context (political, geographical, economic, etc.), creating an interesting balance between global and local influences. We will analyze the differences and similarities between the three cases and will try to understand which are the causes.

Keywords: autonomous vehicles, self-driving mobility, urban planning, urban mobility, transport, public policies

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Authors: Okpu Enoh Ndip Nkongho

Abstract:

The type of political leadership in place impacts a state's economic development or underdevelopment directly and indirectly. One of the main challenges to Cameroon's economic development may be ineffective or misguided political leadership. The economy of the Cameroon state has declined significantly due to a number of factors, including a lack of effective and feasible economic policies, a reliance on crude oil that is excessive, tribal politics, the threat of insurgency, bribery, and corruption, violations of human rights, neglect of other sectors like science, technology, education, and transportation, and a careless attitude on the part of the administrators toward the general public. As a result, the standard of living has decreased, foreign exchange has decreased, and the value of the Cameroonian currency has depreciated. Therefore, from 2000 to 2023, this paper focused on the relationship between political leadership and economic development in Cameroon and offered suggestions for improving political leadership that will, in turn, lead to the country's economy getting back on track. The study employed a qualitative technique, with the framework for the investigation derived from the trait theory of leadership. According to the information provided above, the paper was able to conclude that there is a lack of cooperation between the three branches of government in Cameroon. This is shown in situations when one branch operates independently of the others and refuses to function as a backup when needed. The study recommended that the Executive collaborate closely with the National Assembly to speed action on some key legislation required to stimulate economic development. On the other hand, there is a need for more clarity and consistency in the government's policy orientation. There is no doubt that our current economic troubles are at least partially the result of a lack of economic policy leadership and confidence.

Keywords: politics, leadership, economic, development, Cameroon

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Authors: Manotar Tampubolon

Abstract:

Although the Indonesian human rights protection has increased in recent years, but human rights violations still occur in the industrial sector. Crimes against human rights continue to occur and go unnoticed in spite of the government's legislation on human rights, employment law in addition to an international treaty that has been ratified by Indonesia. The increasing number of garment companies in Bekasi, also give rise to increased human rights violations since the government does not have a commitment to protect it. The Indonesian government and industry owners should pay attention to and protect the human rights of workers and treat them accordingly. This paper will review the human rights violations experienced by workers at garment factories in the context of the law, as well as ideas to improve the protection of workers' rights.

Keywords: human rights protection, human rights violations, workers’ rights, justice, security

Procedia PDF Downloads 435