Administrative Units Research Articles

Models of Valuing Used by Christian Religious Education Teachers to Enable Secondary School Learners Acquire Social, Spiritual and Moral Insights Secondary Schools in Kenya

This investigation was motivated by the extant evidence which indicates that social, economic and political vices are on the rise in Kenya. For example the Kenya police report indicates that nationally crime among the youths stood at 22% between the years 2004 and 2006 from 08% in the period 1998 to 2003. Kisumu East was among the most hit areas with the crime index at 38% in 2006. In addition to this school dropout stood at 31% whereas HIV and AIDS prevalence stood at 12.5% in the same period. This scenario created a need to examine the mechanisms put in place by the Kenyan society to enhance moral growth of the learner more so in Kisumu East district. The study sought to determine the valuing methods used by the Christian Religious Education (C.R.E) teachers in secondary schools with the view of establishing whether or not, the methods equipped the learners with the ability to use valuing models in societal context. The design of the study was descriptive survey and it was conducted in Kisumu East District of Nyanza Province in the Republic of Kenya. The study population consisted of forty seven schools, forty eight teachers and three thousand two hundred and twenty five form two students. Using stratified sampling technique, fifteen mixed secondary schools, five from each of the three administrative units in the district were randomly selected for the study. A population of three hundred and forty three students determined by use of the Fischer formula and then simple randomly sampled formed the sample. Added to the above sixteen C.R.E teachers within the study schools were sampled purposively for the study. Data was collected as follows: the teachers were observed using a rating scale as they taught C.R.E. Secondly, the learners were given a test to ascertain their affective achievements with regards to value identification in societal context and an in-depth interview was conducted with the teachers. Data was also generated through documents analysis in which the teacher's schemes of work, the syllabus and curriculum guides were scrutinized to determine their adequacy in addressing the learners' value needs. To ensure the usefulness of the instruments in collecting data, they were piloted to ascertain their reliability. They were also critiqued and corrected by the experts from the faculty of Education to determine their face validity. Quantitative data was analyzed by use of descriptive statistics such as frequency counts, means and percentages then presented in form of tables. Information from the interviews and documents was analyzed qualitatively by transcription and organization into categories as per the emergent themes then reported and presented in narrative form. The research revealed that the teachers were not acquainted with the valuing models that are supposed to be used in teaching morals to enable learners to acquire social and spiritual insights in societal context. The research concluded that moral decadence experienced in Kisumu East district is due to teachers' inability to use the right valuing models of teaching values using C.R.E. Due to this, there is an urgent need to review the C.R.E. teaching curriculum guide to emphasize on valuing skills. The findings of this study are useful to the designers of curriculum at Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development, the Quality Assurance and Standards Officers in the Ministry of Education as well as the C.R.E teachers in a secondary school classroom since it contributes to the theory and practice of value education.

Police vehicle contamination by inorganic gunshot residue (iGSR) in Zagreb County Police Administration (Croatia): Analysis of characteristic and indicative particles across different vehicle parts and contributory risk factors.

Inorganic gunshot residue (iGSR) analysis, crucial for linking suspects to firearm use, faces challenges from potential environmental contamination, notably in police vehicles. The present study aimed to explore the level of iGSR contamination in police vehicles from the Zagreb County Police Administration (Croatia), considering particle types and their position in vehicles, and to identify associated risk factors. From December 2021 to April 2022, 65 of 86 police vehicles (margin of error: ±6% at a 95% confidence level) were sampled with GSR stubs on the drivers' seats, back seats, and backrests and analyzed using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis (SEM/EDX). Characteristic particles were found in 63.1% of vehicles, 33.8% on the driver's seat, and 24.6% on the back seat/backrest. Indicative particles were found in 70.77% of vehicles, with a fairly even distribution. McNemar's chi-square analysis showed no significant disparities in positive sample ratios across vehicle parts or particle types (p > 0.05). In total, 228 characteristic and 166 indicative GSR particles were identified, with no notable correlation among them (p = 0.346). Logistic regression analysis identified the transportation of individuals involved in firearms incidents as a statistically significant factor influencing the presence of characteristic particles (p = 0.030). The findings suggest a considerable prevalence of iGSR in the analyzed Police Administration unit, highlighting the need for careful contamination management in police operations to preserve evidence integrity, particularly in cases when individuals who used firearms had been transported in the vehicle.

Ethnobotanical study of medicinal plants in Dibatie district, Metekel zone, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, western Ethiopia

BackgroundHerbal medicine has been used for the treatment of human and livestock ailments since ancient times. Numerous rural and urban communities in Ethiopia practice traditional medicine and transfer the knowledge verbally from generation to generation. Thus, this study was conducted to document the traditional medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge in Dibatie district, Metekel zone, Benishangul Gumuz Regional State, western Ethiopia.MethodsThree hundred seventy-four (374) informants from 11 kebeles (the smallest administrative units) were selected and participated in the data delivery. The ethnobotanical data collection was carried out using semi-structured interviews, preference ranking, direct matrix ranking, field observation, market surveys, and focus group discussions, including voucher specimen collections. The ethnobotanical data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage), ranking, comparison, and quantitative ethnobotanical techniques such as informant consensus factor, fidelity level index, Jaccard’s coefficient of similarity, and use value index.ResultsA total of 170 plant species were recorded to treat 79 human and 29 livestock ailments. Fabaceae (with 20 species) and Asteraceae (with 18 species) were the most dominant medicinal plant families in the area. Most remedial plants were herbs (61 species, 35.88%), followed by shrubs (39 species, 22.94%). The majority (135 species, 79.41%) of medicinal plants were harvested from wild sources and mainly possessed multiple remedy parts (41.17%) that are usually prescribed in fresh form (60.13%). The most commonly reported human ailment was snake venom, while blackleg was mostly reported among livestock diseases. The herbal medicines were mostly administered orally (52.20%), followed by dermal (17.62%) application. Embelia schimperi Vatke, Glinus lotoides L., Haplosciadium abyssinicum Hochst., Mucuna melanocarpa Hochst. ex A. Rich., and Phragmanthera macrosolen (Steud. ex A. Rich.) M.G.Gilbert had the highest fidelity level values (100%) against the corresponding ailments.ConclusionThe study area is rich in a diversity of potential medicinal plants and associated indigenous knowledge. Thus, appropriate conservation actions and careful utilization are essential to counteract the rise of anthropogenic threats and to ensure the continuity of plants with the related indigenous knowledge. Additionally, the medicinal plants should be validated through experimentation to integrate local knowledge with modern medications.

Optimalisasi Penggunaan Human Resource Information System (HRIS) pada Human Capital Administration of The Foundation

The Foundation is a non-profit organization that focuses on education and empowerment of women in micro-enterprises (MSMEs). The Foundation has several community activity programs such as scholarship programs, batik learning houses, learning house programs for underprivileged community groups, etc. Community Service Activities carried out by STIE Trisakti at The Foundation aim to help organizations improve the accuracy and completeness of data on the HRIS (Human Resource Information System) used by The Foundation so that the process of managing Human Resource (HR) management activities becomes more efficient and appropriate. The STIE Trisakti Community Service Team together with The Foundation team carry out activities to apply management science, especially human resource management, to optimize the use of HRIS as a solution for managing organizational HR by updating employee data through the process of collecting the latest employee data and filling out employee data update forms continuously. The use of HRIS in routine activities is the responsibility of the HC administration unit so that the available data is accurate and can minimize errors that generally occur in the process of organizational HR management activities. Accurate employee data information is an important part of the HR management process to achieve efficiency and effectiveness in achieving success goals.

Disaggregating census data for population mapping using a Bayesian Additive Regression Tree model

Population data is crucial for policy decisions, but fine-scale population numbers are often lacking due to the challenge of sharing sensitive data. Different approaches, such as the use of the Random Forest (RF) model, have been used to disaggregate census data from higher administrative units to small area scales. A major limitation of the RF model is its inability to quantify the uncertainties associated with the predicted populations, which can be important for policy decisions. In this study, we applied a Bayesian Additive Regression Tree (BART) model for population disaggregation and compared the result with a RF model using both simulated data and the 2021 census data for Ghana. The BART model consistently outperforms the RF model in out-of-sample predictions for all metrics, such as bias, mean squared error (MSE), and root mean squared error (RMSE). The BART model also addresses the limitations of the RF model by providing uncertainty estimates around the predicted population, which is often lacking with the RF model. Overall, the study demonstrates the superiority of the BART model over the RF model in disaggregating population data and highlights its potential for gridded population estimates.

ĐƠN VỊ HÀNH CHÍNH – KINH TẾ ĐẶC BIỆT THEO QUY ĐỊNH CỦA HIẾN PHÁP NĂM 2013 VÀ VIỆC TRIỂN KHAI THI HÀNH

A prominent new feature of the 2013 Constitution is that it directly stipulates special administrative and economic units. This is an important legal basis for the formation of this special type of administrative unit in our country. The article clarifies the scientific basis for special administrative-economic units, the political and legal basis for their establishment, and directions for perfecting the legal basis for administrative-economic units special economic.

Analysis and evaluation of the usefulness of open data for research projects—The case of the BrineRIS project

AbstractOpen research data refer to publicly available scientific information that can be accessed free of charge, usually provided by public data sources. Users must comply with specific requirements set by the institutions providing the data and always acknowledge the source of the data when processing, transmitting, storing or publishing it. One of the tasks of the BrineRIS project is the mapping of brine resources, requiring reliable data on the location of exploration facilities, environmental characteristics, brine exploitation parameters and formal and legal information. These data come from a review of various archives, databases and survey results. Initially, information on the location of the sources should be obtained, which may be available in publicly accessible databases. Next, geological and hydrogeological parameters, which can be obtained from scientific papers and reports, are useful. An important part of the project is also the analysis of legal regulations concerning water extraction and environmental protection. Therefore, data should be obtained from various sources, such as public administration, state institutions or research units. These will serve to develop the database needed to perform further analyses within the BrineRIS research project. It is therefore crucial to carefully collect, analyse and assess the usefulness of the data.

An analysis of strategic goals and public procurement strategy regarding the implementation of The National Program for Land Registration in Romania

The National Program for Land Registration was supposed to be completed by 2023 with the registration of all administrative units in Romania. The aim of this study is to analyze the feasibility and acceptance of the strategic objectives of this project and the public procurement strategy in the view of three types of stakeholders involved in the project: private sector providers, cadastre academics and local cadastre offices directors. It is the first study that analyses The National Program for Land Registration from this perspective. The research shows that, in the view of the stakeholders questioned the strategic objectives were not feasible and they weren’t consulted in designing them, making the objectives unacceptable. In regards to the public procurement strategy, the results of the study show that the targets set were not clear, there is not enough competition in the market and the awarding criteria lack a balance between quality and price.

Conflict Management and Resolution in Uganda: A case of Ntungamo District Local Government

The study focused on conflict management on resolution in Ntungamo District Local Government. Specifically to identify the influence of arbitration on resolution, to examine the influence of negotiation on resolution and to examine the influence of confrontation on resolution in Ntungamo District Local Government. The research used case study design. The study used purposive random sampling to select documents in the study that helped to gather detailed information on conflict resolution. The data study used secondary source of data collection with the sample size of 6 articles were considered. Data was analysed using content analysis for qualitative data. The study found out that local council courts were established to bring justice nearer to the people. The grading of the courts is based on the administrative units created by the local Government Act (Cap 243). Every village, parish, sub county and division/town councils is established as a local council court according to Local councils Courts Act. The law establishes local courts for the administration of Justice at local levels, defines their jurisdictional powers and procedures. The study also found out that LCs are viewed as popular organs created to counter and hold in check abuses of the civil servants and all other state functionaries. The study recommends that Ntungamo Local Government actors should be capacitated with the skills and knowledge to manage conflict is a proactive measure that will support their efforts to prevent and mitigate conflicts that may arise in these increasingly densely populated urban environments

The prevalence and factors associated with neck and low back pain in patients with stroke: insights from the CHARLS

BackgroundAlthough stroke is prevalent among Chinese, individuals with stroke may become more disabling if they have concomitant neck pain (NP) and low back pain (LBP). However, the prevalence and factors associated with post-stroke spinal pain among Chinese remain unknown. The current study used the 2018 cohort data from the China Health and Aged Care Tracking Survey (CHARLS) to determine the prevalence and factors associated with increased post-stroke NP and LBP in China.MethodsThe CHARLS study was conducted on four cohorts of nationally representative samples of individuals aged 45 years and above from 30 provincial-level administrative units in China. We used data from the 2018 cohort of the CHARLS survey to determine the prevalence and factors associated with NP and LBP in the non-stroke and post-stroke populations. Participants aged 45 years or older who reported to have NP, and/or LBP were identified. The study was statistically analyzed using t-test, and ANOVA analysis of variance. A multiple logistic regression model was used to identify factors significantly associated with NP and/or LBP in the non-stroke and post-stroke populations.ResultsA total of 19,816 individuals participated in the 2018 survey. The final inclusion of 17,802 subjects who met the criteria included 16,197 non-stroke and 885 stroke participants. The prevalence of NP and LBP in non-stroke population was 17.80% (95% CI: 17.21–18.39) and 37.22% (95% CI: 36.47–37.96), respectively. The prevalence of NP and LBP in the target stroke population was 26.44% (95% CI: 23.53–29.35) and 45.42% (95% CI: 42.14–48.71), respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (p < 0.05). Factors associated with increased post-stroke NP included female, short sleep duration, long lunch break, physical dysfunction, and depression. Factors associated with increased post-stroke LBP included female, comorbidities of two or more chronic diseases, physical dysfunction, and depression.ConclusionThe current study highlighted the high prevalence of post-stroke neck pain (26.44%) and LBP (45.42%) in China. While slightly different associated factors were found to be associated with a higher prevalence of post-stroke NP and LBP, female and individuals with more physical dysfunction or depression were more likely to experience post-stroke spinal pain. Clinicians should pay more attention to vulnerable individuals and provide pain management measures.

Mapping the carbon mitigation potential of photovoltaic development in the Gobi and desert regions of China

The sunny, sparsely populated sand, gravel, and other desert regions known as the Gobi and desert regions (GDRs) have significant advantages and enormous potential in the development of solar resources. Based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform and multi-source datasets, this study used the random forest algorithm to identify the current distribution of GDRs in China, analyzed the carbon mitigation potential (CMP), and further explored the layout optimization strategies for the future development of China's GDRs photovoltaic (PV) industry. Research has found that only 2.25 % of the land in GDRs of the five provincial-level administrative units involved in GDRs was used for PV development, and there was still a large amount of land suitable for PV development; Regional solar energy resources were crucial for PV development, but policy support and terrain characteristics could not be underestimated; When the installed area of GDRs, which is most suitable for installing PV facilities, reaches 50 %, it can meet the electricity consumption of the entire Chinese society in 2022. At this time, the CMP was about 5.39 × 1012 kg CO2. The research results can provide decision-making basis for China's PV industry, and the research framework is also applicable to other similar regions.

Farm Household Head Characteristics and Perceptions of Factors Related to Sustainable Management of Fogera Wetlands in Five Kebeles of South Gondar, Ethiopia

Policies regulating common-pool resources (CPR), such as wetlands, should take into account community socio-economic realities and community perceptions. The study aims to examine whether policies regulating common-pool resources, such as wetlands, should take into account community socio-economic realities and community perceptions. Specifically, it characterized Ethiopian farm households in the Amhara Region and household-head perceptions of six factors related to sustainable wetland management. Surveys were given to 385 respondents from five administrative units or kebeles (kebele is the smallest administrative unit). Focus-group discussions followed. All respondents were Orthodox Christians, and men constituted 93% of household heads. Kebeles differed significantly for household-head age and education, but overall education level was low. Most households had three or four children. Overall, the mean farm area was 0.89 ha, but within kebeles, mean areas ranged from 1.35 to 0.80 ha. Kidest Hana was the most successful kebele for farm size and yield. Significant differences existed among kebele farms for percentages of harvested crops sold, suggesting some were less food-secure. Data suggested male household-head farms had twice the area of female-head farms, older household heads had more land than younger ones, heads with more education had more children, and married heads had more land than divorced or unmarried heads. None felt that people outside their kebele should access their natural resources. Overall, 85% thought land ownership was communal, and 15% thought it was private. A plurality (44%) did not know who oversaw land management. None knew of any organizations working on sustainable wetland management, but most (75%) wanted to attend meetings on the subject. No farm used mechanized agriculture. Most (87%) had not abandoned alternative crops to produce more rice. Therefore, as a conclusion, every effort needs to be taken to address this socio-ecological and development challenge that faces Fogera wetlands and larger national and international impacts to achieve balanced and sustainable development. Hence, our study highlights the need for better education, leadership, and policies regarding sustainable wetland management.

Crisis Management in Public Administration Units in Poland and Czech Republic. International Comparative Analysis

Crisis Management in Public Administration Units in Poland and Czech Republic. International Comparative Analysis

Characterization of smallholder irob cattle production system: contributions to develop a breeding program.

An exploratory survey (i) to investigate livestock production system, reproductive and production performance of Irob cattle and (ii) to recognize constraints to cattle production was conducted in eastern Tigray zone, northern Ethiopia. Six tabias (the smallest administrative unit consisting of several villages) were chosen using purposive sampling method and households from each tabia were randomly selected. Mixed crop-livestock farming system dominates the study area. Overall herd size was 5.3 ± 2.7, with each herd comprising of 1.7 ± 1.2 cows, 1.4 ± 0.9 oxen, 0.5 ± 0.7 heifers, 0.5 ± 0.7 bulls and 1.2 ± 0.9 calves. Cattle are kept for draught power (index = 0.43), milk (index = 0.32), income (index = 0.15), manure (index = 0.06) and crop threshing (index = 0.04). Major feed resources in the study area were natural pasture, crop residue and cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica). Overall mean (± SD) for age at first services (AFS), age at first calving (AFC), calving interval (CI), days open (DO), daily milk yield (DMY) and lactation length (LL) was 28.3 ± 3.9 months, 37.4 ± 5.5 months, 15.5 ± 4.1 months, 6.5 ± 1.8 months, 1.7 ± 0.4L and 7.4 ± 2.0 months, respectively. There was no significant (p > 0.05) difference in performance traits between districts. Well-known cattle production constraints in order of significance were feed, disease and parasites, AI, water and veterinary service. In conclusion, the study shown importance of taking into account the production environment in developing breed improvement program and recommends fit management system.

Spatio-temporal Heterogeneity of Factors Influencing Transportation Carbon Emissions in Provinces Along the Belt and Road

The administrative units of 17 provinces （autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government） along the "Belt and Road" were selected as basic spatial units to calculate the provincial traffic carbon emissions along the "Belt and Road" from 2000 to 2021. On the basis of analyzing the spatial and temporal characteristics of traffic carbon emissions by using the spatial autocorrelation method, the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of influencing factors of traffic carbon emissions was explored by combining a fixed-effect regression model and geographic detector. The results show that： ① The provincial traffic carbon emissions along the "Belt and Road" had significant spatial positive correlation, and the overall trend was upward. Additionally, the cluster evolution of high and low values of traffic carbon emissions presented the characteristics of polarization in space. The high value cluster area was mainly distributed in the open leading area, and the low value cluster area was mainly distributed in the core area of the silk road. ② Opening-up level and vehicle ownership were the positive driving factors of carbon emissions from transportation, whereas energy intensity, transportation structure, industry development scale, and government intervention were the negative driving factors. ③ Energy intensity and transportation structure were the main driving factors for the spatial variation of transportation carbon emissions, and most of them would produce nonlinear enhancement when they were spatially superimposed with other factors, that is, there was strong synergy among driving factors. The results showed that the provincial traffic carbon emissions along the "Belt and Road" were affected by the surrounding areas, the influence degree was increasing, and there was synergy between the key driving factors of traffic carbon emissions. Therefore, it is suggested that the provinces along the "Belt and Road" should fully consider the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of traffic carbon emission influencing factors and formulate differentiated traffic carbon emission reduction policies.

How parties impact the trajectories of federalism: India

ABSTRACT The article examines the interface between the party system and the trajectories of center-state interactions in independent India. It argues that the Constituent Assembly put in place a strong-center model of federalism, giving the center much greater leverage than the states. The structural features envisaged in the constitution implicitly give us the image of a rigid framework and do not account for the dynamic nature of federalism. The discussion in the article, however, shows that there have been periods when the central state has been able to achieve a greater level of vertical integration, overriding the existing institutional frameworks. This has occurred whenever a party, owing to a lack of federal political culture and being under a person-centered leadership, managed to achieve polity-wide legislative dominance. Whenever it happens, the constituent states are reduced to more like administrative units, accepting directives from the center, as the existing federal safeguard mechanism loses its efficacy. However, here again the degree of integration has varied depending on the ruling strategy of the party leader, the party’s internal structure, and the level of resistance put up by the state units, and the opposition parties. In sharp contrast, when, due to political and economic transitions, the state-based parties gained prominence at the national level, then they invariably pushed for greater decentralization, strengthening the existing federal institutional safeguards, and striving to make the constituent states more autonomous political and economic units.

Mortality risk and burden of sudden cardiac arrest associated with hot nights, heatwaves, cold spells, and non-optimum temperatures in 0.88 million patients: An individual-level case-crossover study

Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) is a global health concern, imposing a substantial mortality burden. However, the understanding of the impact of various extreme temperature events, when accounting for the effect of daily average temperature on SCA, remains incomplete. Additionally, the assessment of SCA mortality burden associated with temperatures from an individual-level design is limited. This nationwide case-crossover study collected individual SCA death records across all (2844) county-level administrative units in the Chinese Mainland from 2013 to 2019. Four definitions for hot nights and ten for both cold spells and heatwaves were established using various temperature thresholds and durations. Conditional logistic regression models combined with distributed lag nonlinear models were employed to estimate the cumulative exposure-response relationships. Based on 887,662 SCA decedents, this analysis found that both hot nights [odds ratio (OR): 1.28; attributable fraction (AF): 1.32 %] and heatwaves (OR: 1.40; AF: 1.29 %) exhibited significant added effects on SCA mortality independent of daily average temperatures, while cold spells were not associated with an elevated SCA risk after accounting for effects of temperatures. Cold temperatures [below the minimum mortality temperature (MMT)] accounted for a larger mortality burden than high temperatures (above the MMT) [AF: 12.2 % vs. 1.5 %]. Higher temperature-related mortality risks and burdens were observed in patients who experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest compared to those with in-hospital cardiac arrest. This nationwide study presents the most compelling and comprehensive evidence of the elevated mortality risk and burden of SCA associated with extreme temperature events and ambient temperatures amid global warming.

Integrated assessment of geophysical and social vulnerability to natural hazards in North-East Region, Romania

The multidisciplinary approach outlined in this paper aims to assess the correlation between geophysical and social vulnerability for disaster risk reduction. To achieve this, two multi-criteria methods based on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) techniques have been integrated to assess the risk to natural hazards in the North-East Development Region. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was utilized to conduct a comprehensive hazard analysis, including floods, landslides, and earthquakes. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) method was applied to examine the spatial distribution of social vulnerability at the Local Administrative Unit (LAU level), utilizing 24 variables to generate 6 principal components. Based on these results a Regional Risk Index (RRI) was developed using the bivariate method, combining the multi-hazard distribution with social vulnerability. The results showed that the north-eastern part of the region presents the highest risk, encompassing 10.68% of administrative units. These results can contribute to the design of risk reduction programs and policies.

France-Wide Monitoring of 1,4-Dioxane in Raw and Treated Water: Occurrence and Exposure Via Drinking Water Consumption

In recent years, 1,4-dioxane has emerged as a pollutant of increasing concern following widespread detection in the aquatic environment of several countries. This persistent contaminant with specific physical and chemical properties can be rapidly dispersed and transported to river banks, groundwater and drinking water. Given the limited data on its occurrence in France, it was considered necessary to assess the potential exposure of the French population to this compound in drinking water. An analytical method based on solid-phase extraction (SPE) combined with gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC–MS/MS) was developed and validated during this study with a limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.15 µg/L. Recoveries in natural water matrices ranged from 113 to 117% with a relative bias not exceeding 17%. This method was used for a nationwide campaign at almost 300 sites, evenly distributed over 101 French départements (administrative units), including some that were overseas. Of the 587 samples analysed, only 8% had a concentration that was greater than or equal to the LOQ. 1,4-Dioxane was detected mainly (63%) in raw and treated water from sites associated with historical industrial practices related to the use of chlorinated solvents. Concentrations of 1,4-dioxane ranging from 0.19 to 2.85 µg/L were observed in the raw water and from 0.18 to 2.46 µg/L in the treated water. Drinking water treatment plants using ozonation, granular activated carbon and chlorination have limited effectiveness in the removal of 1,4-dioxane. The results of this study are the first step towards bridging the knowledge gap in the occurrence of 1,4-dioxane in France.

Hedonic Pricing Models in Rural Tourism: Analyzing Factors Influencing Accommodation Pricing in Romania Using Geographically Weighted Regression

This study investigates the factors influencing pricing in Romanian rural tourism using a hedonic pricing model through a hybrid LASSO-OLS regression and geographically weighted regression (GWR). By analyzing data from 5028 unique accommodation units across 1170 local administrative units, we identify some key pricing determinants, including accommodation size, capacity, facilities, and environmental attributes. The results reveal that larger accommodations and those with higher guest capacities command higher prices. Luxurious facilities, such as massage services, pools, and fireplaces, significantly increase pricing, although the impact of such features varies by region, as do accommodation type and natural scenery, with agritouristic boarding houses and proximity to natural attractions like water bodies and forests being more valued in certain regions. These factors can aid rural entrepreneurs in optimizing pricing to enhance competitiveness and profitability.