Changes In Socioeconomic Factors Research Articles

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the socioeconomic gradient of hypertension.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the impact of socioeconomic factors on hypertension outcomes. This review examines the implications of the pandemic on the socioeconomic gradient of hypertension and explores the physiological and pathophysiological processes underlying this relationship. Changes in socioeconomic factors have disproportionately affected individuals with lower socioeconomic status, leading to adverse hypertension outcomes. The pandemic-related stressors, coupled with social isolation and disrupted daily routines, have contributed to elevated stress levels among individuals, particularly those with lower socioeconomic status. Equitable access to healthcare, enhancing health literacy and patient empowerment, and addressing social determinants of health are essential components of hypertension management strategies. By recognizing the specific challenges faced by individuals with lower socioeconomic status and implementing targeted interventions, public health efforts can help reduce the socioeconomic gradient of hypertension.

The Influence of Changing Socioeconomic Conditions in Europe on the Prioritisation of Risks in Travel Behaviour: A Case Study

Pandemics, political instability, social conflict and unrest, the economic crisis resulting from changes in energy supply contracts, terrorism, and civil and international wars exert a negative impact on the lives of millions of people. These events undermine economic and social stability, and they affect travel behaviour (TB). Understanding preferences in travel behaviour is essential for designing effective and sustainable transport systems. Agenda 2030 (the global sustainable development strategy) assigns a central role to mobility and transport in sustainable development and its components: economic, social, and environmental. Relevant research is scarce, which is why potential threats, including changes in socioeconomic factors that affect TB in functional urban areas (FUAs), should be identified and prioritised. The main aim of this study was to determine changes in the prioritisation of threats to TB resulting from the socioeconomic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis in Europe. The study involved an analysis of the literature, a comprehensive classification of potential threats that could impact TB, as well as an expert survey. The results of these analyses were used to develop a list of 46 factors that were grouped into six categories of key threats: social, economic, legal, infrastructural, technological/SMART, and environmental. The level of significance, similarities, and differences in the prioritisation of threats during the COVID-19 pandemic and the energy crisis after the outbreak of the military conflict in Ukraine (duration and range) were compared across 22 European countries.

Data Envelopment Analysis of Urban Development Efficiency from a Traffic Congestion Perspective

In general, socioeconomic factors play an essential role in traffic congestion. However, there is still doubt whether traffic congestion fluctuates indefinitely with the change in socioeconomic factors. Using a time analysis unit–based data envelopment analysis (DEA), this study aims to demonstrate urban development efficiency from the perspective of traffic congestion. We employ a linear model to illustrate the effect of internal correlation between independent variables on the model’s accuracy. Through the Gray correlation model, we explore the correlation between socioeconomic factors and the traffic congestion index and select the key evaluation indices of development efficiency. Because the urban development efficiency evaluation belongs to a multi-input and single-output system, we introduce DEA to build a quantitative model for the coupling situation between socioeconomic factors and traffic congestion and to identify the factors with high redundancy. The results show that Beijing’s urban development over the past two decades has been relatively efficient in terms of traffic congestion. This means that the change in relevant socioeconomic factors has played a rather good role in reducing traffic congestion. The discoveries presented here can make us understand the economic principle of socioeconomic factors to reduce traffic congestion and lay the foundation for adjusting socioeconomic factors' utilities in modeling traffic congestion.

The socioeconomic factors influencing the PM2.5 levels of 160 cities in China

• 44 underlying socioeconomic drivers of PM 2.5 examined in 160 cities in China. • Most northern cities face more PM 2.5 concentration on weekends than weekdays. • PM 2.5 pollution in the southern areas during the winter is more deteriorating. • Larger areas of landscaping and urban construction associate with higher PM 2.5 . • Influential factors reveal highly urbanised cities to have higher PM 2.5 pollution. PM 2.5 pollution has emerged in Chinese cities due to the acceleration of its social economy; changes in socioeconomic factors result in variations in urban PM 2.5 levels. As the detection of the extensive socioeconomic factors influencing PM 2.5 concentration in literature is insufficient, questions regarding whether there are neglected factors and the relationships among various socioeconomic factors and PM 2.5 pollution remain unexplored. Benefiting from the data mining technique, this study employs association rule mining to identify the critical factors from 44 socioeconomic factors, and their underlying associative relationships with PM 2.5 pollution are extracted. Considering the annual, seasonal, and weekly scenarios of 160 cities with varying PM 2.5 levels, the hidden patterns reflecting the difference of factors’ diverse contributions to different types of cities are further revealed. The main results reveal the following: most northern cities face more PM 2.5 concentration on weekends; PM 2.5 pollution in the southern areas during the winter is more deteriorating; Beijing exhibits high PM 2.5 levels but extremely low seasonal variance. Further, the urban land utilization structure, electricity consumption and its structure, industrial soot emissions, and traffic of passengers and freight are confirmed as critical factors. These findings present practical implications for PM 2.5 pollution control and sustainable development of Chinese cities. Summary of the main finding: Critical socioeconomic factors influencing PM 2.5 levels are identified from 44 potential factors under annual, seasonal, and weekly scenarios.

Can Livestock Raising Alleviate Farmland Abandonment?—Evidence from China

Farmland abandonment is a global phenomenon. Changes in socioeconomic factors in China impact the traditional crop–livestock system; however, studies on the relationship between livestock raising and farmland abandonment are insufficient. This study used the farmer behavior decision-making model to analyze the impact of livestock raising on farmland abandonment and its mechanism. Based on 6707 samples from the 2016 database of the China Labor-force Dynamic Survey, the Logit and Tobit models were used to empirically analyze the relationship between livestock raising and farmland abandonment at the national level and different terrains (plain, hill and mountain) in China. The results showed farmland abandonment in 15.63% of rural households, and a farmland abandonment ratio of 6.24%. The spatial distribution of farmland abandonment was high in the south and low in the north. Livestock raising households accounted for 9.45%, and the influence coefficient of livestock raising on farmland abandonment was negative but not significant. Livestock raising would significantly increase the ratio of rural households with farmland abandonment by 3.9% and 10% in plain areas and hilly areas, respectively, and decrease the ratio in mountain areas by 11.4%. The abandonment ratio due to livestock raising increased by 21.46% in hilly areas and decrease by 41% in mountain areas. For every 1% increase in livestock scale, the ratio of households with farmland abandonment in plain and hilly areas increased by 0.05% and 0.07%, respectively, and in mountain areas decreased by 0.09%. The abandonment ratio in hilly areas increased by 0.02% and in mountain areas decreased by 0.05%. The effects of raising livestock on farmland abandonment differed across terrains and thus require different measures for alleviating. Plain areas and hilly areas could combine livestock raising and crop planting between different households to improve farmland production capacity, and mountain areas could moderately develop livestock raising to alleviate farmland abandonment.

THE ROLE OF WOMEN IN LIVESTOCK DECISION MAKING IN AGRO- PASTORAL SYSTEMS IN KENYA A CRTICAL LITERARURE REVIEW

Purpose: Today, women represent half of the world's population and one third of the official labor force, but they receive only one percent of the total global income and own less than one percent of the world property. The primary objective of this research was to establish how changes in socio-economic factors affect the participation of women of different economic and educational statuses in livestock management and marketing, particularly in terms of their labor inputs and allocation of productive resources.
 Methodology: The paper used a desk study review methodology where relevant empirical literature was reviewed to identify main themes and to extract knowledge gaps.
 Results: The concomitant assumption formulated for this objective was that even as women’s labor contribution to the household in the livestock industry has increased, there has not been a corresponding increase in their decision-making ability.
 Unique Contribution to Theory and Practice: The study recommends that any efforts aimed at empowering women in livestock decision-making should first of all improve women's status through increased education opportunities and participation in formal employment in order to give them independent incomes.

How to become a cashless economy and what are the determinants of eliminating cash

ABSTRACT This paper aims to ascertain the determinants by which individuals decide to use credit cards as a payment method rather than cash; that is, to understand changes in socioeconomic factors on the long-term use of alternatives to cash. Using the data from the waves (2002–2017) of the Spanish Survey of Household Finances (SSHF) and a panel data estimation (static and dynamic), we identify education, age, income and wealth as the main drivers of credit cards as a payment method. We disentangle the effect of age and the cohort effect. We check for nonlinearity problems and card use persistence. A secondary aim is to establish, using a controlled experiment, some of the financial consequences of being a cashless economy.

Цифровая трансформация как инструмент развития компаний в цифровой экономике на примере Татарстана

Objective: to describe the behavior of economic entities implementing the first projects in the sphere of digital transformation by the example of several service enterprises of the Republic of Tatarstan (medium-size businesses).Methods: abstract-logical and dialectical, phenomenological methods.Results: the main motives of digital transformation are described; conclusions are drawn about the main external and internal challenges of such transformations for business entities (enterprises) in terms of changes in socio-economic factors and structural changes in economic systems at the meso-level. Three stages of implementation of the first projects in the sphere of digital transformation among the Russian private companies are identified by the example of the Republic of Tatarstan. Scientific novelty: it is shown that the implementation of projects in the field of digital transformation by enterprises leads to a lot of external effects; the reluctance to finance the benefits of other economic agents of the enterprise can reduce interest in digital transformation; the relevance of the research in the field of the digital transformation impact on the business development of modern enterprises is shown; the authors show the need to develop research of the impact of digital transformation on the business development of modern enterprises, depending on the industry and the business model used. Practical significance: the understanding of the economic entities’ behavior during implementation of the first projects in the field of digital transformation, revealed in the work, makes it urgent to develop a set of non-profit organizations in the field of digital economy to increase social capital in the society, and also creates a basis for further research in this area.

Research Progress and Discoveries Related to Cultivated Land Abandonment

Using bibliometric methods, this paper analyzes the total amount and keyword composition among 910 studies in the field of farmland abandonment published in the Web of Science database from 1992 to 2019. According to the usage of keywords, existing studies are reviewed from the three aspects of monitoring and mapping, driving forces and influencing factors, and effects assessment and trade-off. The results show that: (1) At present, the extraction and mapping of abandoned farmland data mainly rely on household surveys and remote sensing technology, and combing NDVI time series with spatial information can provide abandoned farmland data with high precision. (2) The driving forces and influencing factors of cultivated land abandonment have been summarized in terms of extent, sources and attributes, respectively. Cultivated land marginalization is the fundamental driving force of cultivated land abandonment, labor migration is the direct driving force, and changes in socio-economic factors are the main driving forces. (3) The environmental effects of cultivated land abandonment are spatially heterogeneous, and temporal-spatial differences, the landscape environment, climate, cultivation and topographic features will all play decisive roles in shaping the ultimate environmental effects. Studies of trade-offs between the impacts of cultivated land abandonment mainly focus on ecosystem service function and value, while the role of spatial background is often ignored. Based on a systematic review of existing literature, this paper suggests that future efforts should carry out large-scale investigations on abandoned cultivated land at the national level, conduct multi-scale research on the driving forces of land abandonment, and conduct trade-off research on the effects of land abandonment based on national conditions.

A Holistic Approach to Beach Development in Badagry Local Government in Nigeria: A Case of Whispering Palm Beach Resort

The study was carried out to investigate the issues surrounding the planning and management strategies adopted in Badagry Local government Area for coastal tourism development, with a view to recommending appropriate sustainable measures that will facilitate effective coastal zone development. This work was based on primary data and supported by secondary data. The primary data were collected during field investigation in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State with the aid of questionnaire and interview methods. The secondary data were obtained from both official sources (government agencies) and non-official sources (libraries, the internet and newspapers), to include, population statistics, tourist inflow, etc. In this research, both in-depth interviews and informal interviews were conducted amidst staff of tourism related institutions, such as, hotels, beach development offices, tourism boards and agencies to investigate the different impacts of coastal tourism in Badagry, opinions of tourists and agencies (stakeholders) and the need for proper planning and management. As the sample size of this study is large, the questionnaires were specifically used to gather views from a large number of tourists regarding beaches and coastal zones in Badagry. In order to effectively assess the impact of tourism activity management on the stakeholders, the likert scale pre-coded responses were included in the questionnaire. A total of 100 copies of the survey questionnaire were administered within the Badagry community among host members, tourists, the hospitality related outfits, government and private agencies operating within the area. Data from the questionnaire were analysed by various statistical tools in the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS Version 20.0, 2011). Data were further analysed using correlation analysis and the one-way ANOVA.The study found that, there is significant relationship between coastal tourism management and tourism planning at Whispering palm. It, also, found a positive correlation with all the independent variables. This reveals that any possible change in socioeconomic factors will lead to development of the local community. The study concluded that, any increase in the economic wellbeing of individuals in the community or any significant social change through tourism activities will directly have positive influence on local community development. The study recommended sustainable coastal zone management and planning; provision and implementation of policies and plans for sustainable tourism;effective governance structures and relationships;sustaining coastal tourism development through Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA); and supporting host community livelihood through coastal zone products.

A Pan-Canadian Data Resource for Monitoring Child Developmental Health: The Canadian Neighbourhoods and Early Child Development (CanNECD) Database.

The Canadian Neighbourhoods and Early Child Development (CanNECD) database is a unique resource for research on child developmental health and well-being within the socioeconomic and cultural context of Canadian neighbourhoods. This paper describes the CanNECD database and highlights its potential for advancing research at the intersection of child development, social determinants of health, and neighbourhood effects.The CanNECD database contains cross-sectional population-level child developmental health data from all across Canada collected through regional implementation of the Early Development Instrument (EDI), geo-coded information on residential neighbourhoods covering all of Canada, and socioeconomic and demographic variables from the Canada Census and Income Taxfiler database. Individuals are not identified in the database, as no identifying information, such as names and addresses, is attached to the EDI record. At data collection, each individual child is given a unique number which is a combination of site, school, and position on a class list. Each neighbourhood receives a unique identifier which then is linkable across datasets. The nearly 800,000 EDI records spanning 2003-2014 and representing all Canadian provinces and territories (with the exception of Nunavut) are compiled in a secure electronic collection system at the Offord Centre for Child Studies, McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada.Early studies using the EDI demonstrated its utility as a tool for assessing child developmental health at a population level, and its potential for both community-level and large-scale monitoring of child populations. Research using the CanNECD database is now examining to what extent social determinants and the steepness of the social gradients of developmental health differ between geographical jurisdictions and between different sub-populations. We are also working to identify outlier neighbourhoods in which EDI scores are substantially higher or lower than predicted by a neighbourhood’s demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, and exploring other potentially important determinants of children’s developmental health. Finally, we are examining the extent to which change-over-time in aggregate EDI scores varies geographically, and how well it coincides with changes in socioeconomic factors. Thus, the CanNECD database offers the opportunity for research that will inform national policies and strategies on child developmental health.

Is recession bad for your mental health? The answer could be complex: evidence from the 2008 crisis in Spain

BackgroundWe explored the impact of 2008 recession on the prevalence of mental health problems in Spain.MethodsRepeated cross-sectional survey design. Datasets from 2006 and 2011 were used, and temporal change was examined. The study was conducted on the economically active population (16–64 years old). The two surveys included 29,478 and 21,007 people, obtaining a 96 and 89.6% response rate, respectively.Multiple logistic regression models were adjusted to identify poor mental health risk factors. A standardisation analysis was performed to estimate the prevalence of people at risk of poor mental health (GHQ+).ResultsThe prevalence of GHQ+ following the crisis increased in men and decreased in women. Two logistic regression analyses identified GHQ+ risk factors. From 2006 to 2011, unemployment rose and income fell for both men and women, and there was a decline in the prevalence of somatic illness and limitations, factors associated with a higher prevalence of GHQ+. After controlling for age, the change in employment and income among men prompted an increase in the prevalence of GHQ+, while the change in somatic illness and limitations tended to mitigate this effect. After the recession, unemployed men showed a better level of somatic health. The same effects were not detected in women.ConclusionsThe economic recession exerted a complex effect on mental health problems in men. The reduction of prevalence in women was not associated with changes in socioeconomic factors related to the economic crisis nor with changes in somatic health.

English

Soil organic carbon plays a key role in plant biomass production. On smallholder farms, crop and livestock are traditionally integrated and support each other. However, due to changes in socio-economic factors, this relationship is lost as resources are mismanaged. The present study was conducted in the Central Ethiopian highlands that represent about 90% of the country’s smallholder farmers. The objective of this study was to quantify soil organic carbon in different agricultural management systems and to document the contribution of livestock to carbon storage. The study included a socio-economic survey and soil laboratory analysis. Results showed that different land uses and conservation measures had various impacts on soil carbon addition and depletion. The comparison between different land uses showed that the highest soil organic carbon was found in grazing land (27%), followed by fenced-off land (2.59%) at 0 to 15 cm soil depth. It also showed that animal waste and farmyard manure added to soil had the highest amount of organic carbon (3.90 and 1.85%, respectively) at 0-15 cm soil depth. It was concluded that livestock waste, farmyard manure, and crop residues improved soil fertility and soil organic carbon in the top soil indicating that livestock and by-products made a significant contribution to carbon storage. Key words: Farmyard manure, land uses, organic carbon inputs, socio-economic survey, soil management practices.

Modelling the impact of future socio-economic and climate change scenarios on river microbial water quality.

Microbial surface water quality is important, as it is related to health risk when the population is exposed through drinking, recreation or consumption of irrigated vegetables. The microbial surface water quality is expected to change with socio-economic development and climate change. This study explores the combined impacts of future socio-economic and climate change scenarios on microbial water quality using a coupled hydrodynamic and water quality model (MIKE21FM-ECOLab). The model was applied to simulate the baseline (2014-2015) and future (2040s and 2090s) faecal indicator bacteria (FIB: E. coli and enterococci) concentrations in the Betna river in Bangladesh. The scenarios comprise changes in socio-economic variables (e.g. population, urbanization, land use, sanitation and sewage treatment) and climate variables (temperature, precipitation and sea-level rise). Scenarios have been developed building on the most recent Shared Socio-economic Pathways: SSP1 and SSP3 and Representative Concentration Pathways: RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 in a matrix. An uncontrolled future results in a deterioration of the microbial water quality (+75% by the 2090s) due to socio-economic changes, such as higher population growth, and changes in rainfall patterns. However, microbial water quality improves under a sustainable scenario with improved sewage treatment (-98% by the 2090s). Contaminant loads were more influenced by changes in socio-economic factors than by climatic change. To our knowledge, this is the first study that combines climate change and socio-economic development scenarios to simulate the future microbial water quality of a river. This approach can also be used to assess future consequences for health risks.

Systolic blood pressure decline in very old individuals is explained by deteriorating health: Longitudinal changes from Umeå85+/GERDA.

Declining systolic blood pressure (SBP) is common in very old age and is associated with adverse events, such as dementia. Knowledge of factors associated with SBP changes could explain the etiology of this decline in SBP. This study investigated longitudinal changes in socioeconomic factors, medical conditions, drug prescriptions, and assessments and their associations with SBP changes among very old followed individuals.The study was based on data from the Umeå85+/Gerontological Regional Database (GERDA) cohort study, which provided cross-sectional and longitudinal data on participants aged 85, 90, and ≥95 years from 2000 to 2015. Follow-up assessments were conducted after 5 years. The main outcome was a change in SBP. Factors associated with SBP changes were assessed using multivariate linear regression models.In the Umeå85+/GERDA study, 454 surviving individuals underwent follow-up assessment after 5 years. Of these, 297 had SBP measured at baseline and follow-up. The mean change ± standard deviation in SBP was –12 ± 25 mm Hg. SBP decline was associated independently with later investigation year (P = .009), higher baseline SBP (P < .001), baseline antidepressant prescription (P = .011), incident acute myocardial infarction during follow-up (P = .003), new diuretic prescription during follow-up (P = .044), and a decline in the Barthel Activities of Daily Living index at follow-up (P < .001).In conclusion, SBP declines among very old individuals. This decline seems to be associated with initial SBP level, investigation year, and health-related factors.

Forest transitions in tropical landscapes: A test in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot

Analyzing temporal changes in forest amount and configuration is paramount to better design future forest management interventions. Such analyses are especially required for tropical biomes, which are usually subject to dynamic and heterogeneous land uses. Recent studies have suggested that many tropical biomes are passing through the process of “forest transition”, i.e. an overall change from forest loss to forest gain. However, this hypothesis remains scarcely tested, due to the difficulty of obtaining detailed, quantitative historical records of forest cover. In this study, we investigate 38 years of land use change in Brazil's Atlantic Forest, a biodiversity hotspot, from 1976 to 2014, using multitemporal datasets from aerial photographs and satellite images. We classified the historical series to produce land use maps and calculated a set of landscape metrics, including total forest cover, patch size, patch shape and patch connectivity. Our results indicated non-linear changes through time in forest loss and gain and also in landscape structure, which can be classified into two distinct periods. The first period (1976–1996) was marked by expressive forest loss and fragmentation, whereas the second (1996–2014) was characterized by a much less intense forest dynamics, with little deforestation being balanced by forest regeneration. We attribute the forest dynamics observed to temporal changes in socioeconomic factors, such as increasing human settlements and changes in environmental protection policies. Our results show that current forests are a heterogeneous mosaic of forests with different ages, and support the hypothesis that forest transition is occurring in Atlantic Forest landscapes.

The unfinished health agenda: Neonatal mortality in Cambodia.

BackgroundReduction of neonatal and under-five mortality rates remains a primary target in the achievement of universal health goals, as evident in renewed investments of Sustainable Development Goals. Various studies attribute declines in mortality to the combined effects of improvements in health care practices and changes in socio-economic factors. Since the early nineties, Cambodia has managed to evolve from a country devastated by war to a nation soon to enter the group of middle income countries. Cambodia's development efforts are reflected in some remarkable health outcomes such as a significant decline in child mortality rates and the early achievement of related Millennium Development Goals. An achievement acknowledged through the inclusion of Cambodia as one of the ten fast-track countries in the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health. This study aims to highlight findings from the field so to provide evidence for future programming and policy efforts. It will be argued that to foster further advances in health, Cambodia will need to keep neonatal survival and health high on the agenda and tackle exacerbating inequities that arise from a pluralistic health system with considerable regional differences and socio-economic disparities.Methods/FindingsData was drawn from Demographic Health Surveys (2000, 2005, 2010, 2014). Information on a series of demographic and socio-economic household characteristics and on child anthropometry, feeding practices and child health were collected from nationally representative samples. To reach the required sample size, live-births that occurred over the past 10 years before the date of the interview were included. Demographic variables included: gender of the child, living area (urban or rural; four ecological regions (constructed by merging provinces and the capital), mother’s age at birth (<20, 20–35, 35+), birth interval (long, short) and birth order (1st, 2–3, 4–6, 7+). Socio-economic variables included: mother education level (none, primary, secondary+) and household wealth (asset-based index). Data on antenatal care, tetanus injection and skilled assistance at birth were used for the mother's last child.Between 2000 and 2014, Cambodia achieved a considerable reduction in neonatal mortality (46% reduction rate). By 2014, gender inequities became almost non-existent (for all measures of equality); inequity related to mother’s education decreased for all time periods; improvements were observed for differences in neonatal mortality by preceding birth interval; and a reduction in neonatal mortality rates could be noted among all the regional subgroups. Inequities increased between mothers who had limited antenatal care and those who received more than four antenatal care visits. In most scale indicators, the Slope Index of Inequality and Relative Index of Inequality estimates for all four rounds of the survey suggest inequity exacerbated in deprived communities. Also, wealth and residence (urban/rural divide) continued to be major determinants in neonatal mortality rates and related inequity trends.ConclusionAnalysis highlighted some of the complex patterns and determinants of neonatal mortality, in Cambodia. There has been a considerable decline in neonatal mortality which echoes global trends. Our analysis reveals that despite these advances, additional socio-economic and demographic characteristics considerably affected neonatal mortality rates and its inequities. There continue to be pockets of vulnerable groups that are lagging behind. This analysis highlights the determinants along the urban-rural and rich-poor divides in neonatal mortality inequities and how these affect access to and utilization of quality basic health services. This calls for future policy and programming efforts to be deliberate in their equity approach. Quality improvements in health services and targeted interventions for specific socio-economic groups will be required to further accelerate progress in reducing neonatal mortality and address Cambodia’s pressing unfinished agenda in health.

Source-Based Modeling Of Urban Stormwater Quality Response to the Selected Scenarios Combining Future Changes in Climate and Socio-Economic Factors.

The assessment of future trends in urban stormwater quality should be most helpful for ensuring the effectiveness of the existing stormwater quality infrastructure in the future and mitigating the associated impacts on receiving waters. Combined effects of expected changes in climate and socio-economic factors on stormwater quality were examined in two urban test catchments by applying a source-based computer model (WinSLAMM) for TSS and three heavy metals (copper, lead, and zinc) for various future scenarios. Generally, both catchments showed similar responses to the future scenarios and pollutant loads were generally more sensitive to changes in socio-economic factors (i.e., increasing traffic intensities, growth and intensification of the individual land-uses) than in the climate. Specifically, for the selected Intermediate socio-economic scenario and two climate change scenarios (RSP=2.6 and 8.5), the TSS loads from both catchments increased by about 10% on average, but when applying the Intermediate climate change scenario (RCP=4.5) for two SSPs, the Sustainability and Security scenarios (SSP1 and SSP3), the TSS loads increased on average by 70%. Furthermore, it was observed that well-designed and maintained stormwater treatment facilities targeting local pollution hotspots exhibited the potential to significantly improve stormwater quality, however, at potentially high costs. In fact, it was possible to reduce pollutant loads from both catchments under the future Sustainability scenario (on average, e.g., TSS were reduced by 20%), compared to the current conditions. The methodology developed in this study was found useful for planning climate change adaptation strategies in the context of local conditions.

Economic growth and selection of municipal waste treatment options in Bangkok

A reasonable selection of waste treatment options is indispensable to address challenges in waste management. Introduction of incineration plants for municipal waste in Bangkok had been considered in the past, but each time it was dismissed. In 2013, however, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) decided to introduce an incinerator facility with electricity generation. This study examined how changes in socio-economic factors resulting from economic growth affected the BMA’s decision. First, we conducted interviews of key relevant stakeholders (policymakers and other experts) to determine what kinds of changes in socio-economic factors affected their decision. Then, for interpretation and confirmation of the results from interview, we quantitatively estimated changes in environmental factors (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions), financial factors (e.g., construction and operating costs), and social factors (e.g., employment) in 1990, 2000, and 2012. Based on the result of interview and quantitative analysis, we illustrated the complicated structure of the mechanism of how economic growth affected the selection of waste treatment options in Bangkok, particularly those that led to the selection of the incineration. In addition to local conditions, global economic also affected the waste treatment policy in Bangkok even though waste management is usually thought of as a local issue.

Do changes in socioeconomic factors lead to changes in mental health? Findings from three waves of a population based panel study

BackgroundThere has been little investigation of changes in socioeconomic measures and mental health (MH)/illness over time within individuals using methods that control for time-invariant unobserved confounders. We investigate whether changes...