Policy Community Research Articles

A PRELIMINARY OBSERVED SELF EVALUATION STUDY OF STATUTORY TOBACCO REGULATION ACT IN AND AROUND SCHOOLS OF MYSURU DISTRICT

This preliminary survey investigates the proximity and prevalence of tobacco outlets shop near schools, aiming to understand the potential exposure of school-aged children to tobacco products specially cigarettes. The study focuses on identifying the density and location of tobacco shops within a defined radius of educational institutions. Data were collected from multiple schools in various regions of Mysuru city and rural areas, using geographical information systems (GIS) to map and analyze the distribution of these outlets using the latitude and longitude of the location. The findings reveal a significant number of tobacco outlets situated within close proximity to schools, raising concerns about the accessibility of tobacco products to minors. Although the school management is strictly following the rules in the virtue of COPTA act 2003 of displaying board of prohibition, restriction, prevention and punishments of usage tobacco products. The results underscore the need for stricter zoning regulations and public health interventions to reduce the exposure and appeal of tobacco products to young people. This survey provides a foundational analysis that can inform policy makers and community leaders in their efforts to create healthier environments for children and adolescents.

Why do some academic articles receive more citations from policy communities?

AbstractWe (1) present the landscape of the citations of Public Administration and Policy (PAP) scholarly articles in policy documents and (2) examine influencing factors along three dimensions: collaborative teams, cross‐disciplinary interactions, and disruptive paradigms. Using data from the 30 most‐cited PAP peer‐reviewed journals and 38,062 documents from 1107 policy institutions, we find that 10.1% of all PAP scholarship receives high citations from both academics and policy communities. Collaborative teams, cross‐disciplinary interactions, and disruptive paradigms can all increase the citations within policy communities, yet the relationships are not linear. Nonacademic authors can consistently attract more policy citations, whether publishing alone or collaborating with academics. An article should ideally cite no more than 13 disciplinary subjects. No significant trade‐off between scholarly and policy impact as scholarly citations and the academic reputation of authors often translate into policy citations. These findings offer novel and concrete insights into optimizing academic research for policy impact.

Empowering Women through Education and Skill Development: A Descriptive Analysis of Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao, Stand-Up India, and Skill India Mission

This paper explores three pivotal government initiatives in India—Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao (BBBP), Stand-Up India, and Skill India Mission—aimed at enhancing the education and skill development of women. By examining the genesis, objectives, key components, and impacts of each program, this review highlights the significant strides and ongoing challenges in promoting gender equality and empowering women. Despite progress, gender-based disparities and deeply rooted cultural norms continue to pose significant challenges. The analysis underscores the importance of sustained community engagement, policy enforcement, and resource allocation to address deeply rooted gender disparities and foster a more inclusive society. This research is particularly significant in today's context, as it sheds light on the persistent gender inequality issues in India and the need for comprehensive strategies to overcome them.

Valuation of Ratargul swamp forest conservation: Does climate knowledge matter?

The degradation of swamp forest ecosystem services due to the adverse effects of climate change has already been observed. Ratargul Swamp Forest (RSF), the only swamp forest in Bangladesh, provides livelihood and ecotourism opportunities for millions. It forms a crucial nexus between the community's economic well-being and the preservation of a unique, ecologically significant natural habitat. However, this ecosystem has experienced severe degradation due to various climatic and anthropogenic factors. Conservation of this unique ecosystem is expected to play a crucial role in addressing climate change and achieving the country's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This study aims to estimate household Willingness to Pay (WTP) and total economic value for this ecosystem using the contingent valuation under a climate change scenario. The mean WTP is estimated to be 7,360.00 BDT, while the total annual benefit of the RSF conservation program is estimated to be 31,798,129.50 BDT per year using a parametric approach. Our result shows that individuals with higher incomes whose primary livelihood depends on this ecosystem, receive benefits from this ecosystem, and have a good understanding of climate change are likely to pay more for the RSF conservation program. Therefore, implementing a communication policy to increase knowledge about climate change would significantly contribute to conserving this unique ecosystem and thus achieve the country's SDGs and the United Nations REED+ program in developing countries.

Challenges, Assessment and Recommendations of the Fact-Checkers Regarding Polish Policy of Combating and Counteracting Disinformation

The article presents the results of the research of Polish fact-checkers’ opinions concerning the challenges related to the phenomenon of disinformation, the assessment of Polish policy implemented in this area, and recommendations. Data on this topic were collected using in-depth interviews. Among the most important challenges related to disinformation, Polish fact-checkers mentioned: the 2023 election campaign and the polarisation of Polish society, disinformation about the EU, Russian disinformation, the war in Ukraine and anti-Ukrainian narratives, as well as development of artificial intelligence. The respondents’ assessment of Polish policy of combating and counteracting disinformation was negative. The passivity of the Polish state or illusory actions were also emphasised by the respondents. They pointed out that the state is tackling this problem in a piecemeal manner, focusing on a specific, selected topic. In addition, attention was drawn to the use of disinformation in Poland for political purposes. Fact-checkers would recommend Polish authorities to conduct a clear, fast and coordinated communication policy, to restore trust in public institutions, to increase the level of financing the NGOs’ activity, and to change the approach to media education, which is the best tool for combating disinformation.

Community-Led Solutions: How Local Organizing Committees Drive Change for Housing and Health Equity in California’s Central Valley

In this research brief, we describe how the HOPe Lab (UC Merced), Faith in the Valley (Fresno), and Cultiva Central Valley (Merced) are collaborating to address housing-related disparities within California’s culturally diverse Central Valley. Focused on the transformative role of Local Organizing Committees (LOCs), our research employs an anti-racist research praxis to actively engage residents, enhance leadership capacity, and foster communication between residents and elected officials. Drawing on several theory-of-change statements and the practical insights gained from “field experts” carrying out ongoing initiatives, this report explores the positive impact of LOCs on meaningful community involvement, empowerment, engagement, accountability, and policy changes.

Developing Artificial Intelligence-Powered Monetary Policy Communication Indicators for Macroeconomic Inquiries in Ghana

Developing Artificial Intelligence-Powered Monetary Policy Communication Indicators for Macroeconomic Inquiries in Ghana

Global warming communicative actions of publics in Türkiye: Utilizing fuzzy rule based system

The effectiveness of government policies and environmental initiatives to mitigate global warming relies heavily on public support, which is closely tied to public perception and awareness. Despite the scientific evidence communicated, the public remains reluctant to take preventive measures against global warming. The aim of the paper is to investigate the communicative actions of publics proposed as in the situational theory of problem solving to understand publics' communicative actions towards global warming. The paper utilizes a fuzzy rule-based system approach to analyze the communicative actions of publics to reveal non-linear relationships; whereas previous studies mostly used linear statistical analysis. The paper provides a deeper understanding into the interplay between problem recognition, constraint recognition, and involvement in shaping information behavior. The results show that the communicative actions of the publics are at a low-to-moderate level. The paper's interesting finding is the nonlinear effects of constraint recognition on communicative action about global warming. Contrary to the current literature, it was found out that the dominant factor that may convince public to start taking action towards global warming seems to be recognizing being constrained at a moderate level. Based on the results, it is suggested for policy makers and communication strategists to mitigate the negative outcomes of global warming by integrating environmental issues into education at all levels and collaborating with non-governmental organizations for national awareness campaigns which focus on increasing public problem recognition and involvement.

Self-efficacy and organizational efficacy effect on employee attrition in IT sector

PurposeInformation technology (IT) plays a major part in the economy growth of any country. Attrition has been an important issue that influences the performance of the company. The increasing levels of attrition are the most immediate concern that IT companies are facing. The present study will help in knowing the influence of self-efficacy (SE) and organizational efficacy (OE) on the turnover of an organization.Design/methodology/approachThis study employed an online survey method for data collection using a sample size of 250. Reliability and validity of the measurement scales were ensured, and hypotheses developed were tested through PLS-SEM using SMART PLS.FindingsA large number of employees are the youth of age group 20–40 years. Work satisfaction within the organization is the main cause of attrition. Lack of contentment along with the biasness in the organizations hampers the dissatisfaction with the nature of work between employees. Thus, effective, timely communication of organizational policies and goals helps to pound satisfaction with work within the organization, which could result in lower employee attrition.Research limitations/implicationsThe research has been conducted as not much research works have been found that show the relationship between SE and OE on employee attrition in the IT sector. The present study will help in further theory development and finding new aspects.Originality/valueThe research is the first of its kind, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that shows the relationship of SE and OE to employee attrition.

Optimizing urban ecosystems through green and blue infrastructure: Strategies for sustainability, resilience, and justice

This article examines the roles of Green and Blue Infrastructures (GBIs) in enhancing urban sustainability, resilience, and environmental justice. It highlights how GBIs promote biodiversity, reduce pollution, and increase climate resilience through integrating technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), Artificial Intelligence (AI), and digital twinning. These innovations improve the management and operational efficiency of urban planning. The study emphasizes the socio-economic and health benefits provided by GBIs, which incorporate natural elements into urban areas to foster environmental equity and resource accessibility. Advanced technological interventions are crucial for optimizing GBI functionality, ensuring urban environments are resilient and sustainable. The paper advocates for a holistic approach involving community engagement and policy reforms to distribute GBI benefits equitably, aiming to create urban ecosystems that are environmentally sound, socially just, and economically viable.

Food safety, consumption behavior, and personal values: an integrative review

Purpose: To map in international literature how personal values ​​have been addressed in the context of consumer behavior in relation to food safety.Design/methodology/approach: An integrative review was employed as the research method using the Web of Science and Scopus scientific databases. Nineteen empirical articles were selected and classified into five analysis categories: i) cultural context; ii) risk perception and willingness to pay; iii) sustainable consumption; iv) animal welfare; and v) differences among sociodemographic profiles. Findings: The studies focus on identifying personal values that influence attitudes and behaviors related to food safety in food consumption. They seek to understand how these values, reflected in consumer concerns about food safety, affect the categorization of foods as healthy/safe. Practical implications: The understanding of the factors that interfere with consumer relationships is crucial in the context of food safety, as it allows for the enhancement of communication strategies and policies targeted toward the consuming public. Originality/value: This study provides an integrative framework based on the analyzed literature and suggests future research perspectives to advance knowledge on the subject.

Impact Of Early Childhood Sports Intervention on The Discovery of Physical Fitness Potential of Young Children: Jiang Xi Province

This study highlights the significance of forming lifelong physical activity habits at a young age by investigating the effects of early childhood sports intervention on young children's capacity for physical fitness in Jiangxi Province, China. The study looks at physical strength, flexibility, coordination, and cardiovascular health using a quantitative methodology that includes surveys and objective evaluations. Partial Least Squares regression is used for analysis. The results show that sports intervention programmes have a positive impact on participants' potential for physical fitness as well as their emotional, social, and cognitive development. While practical implications place an emphasis on policy integration and community partnerships, theoretical implications depend on a variety of theories to understand developmental outcomes. Nonetheless certain limitations, such as the cross-sectional design, the study offers insightful information about how sports intervention might promote children's well-being and suggests future research directions to improve generalizability and deepen understanding.

Food self-reliant community policy in Quebec: an opportunity for the reterritorialisation of agrifood?

Food self-reliant community policy in Quebec: an opportunity for the reterritorialisation of agrifood?

Public event lobbying: how interest groups use seminars and conferences for political influence

While interest groups frequently arrange seminars and conferences, the strategic use of public events for political influence has largely evaded scholarly scrutiny. Drawing on systematic, in-depth data from 49 interviews, quantitative event mapping and extensive ethnographic observation within the health field, this study proposes that public event lobbying serve two key purposes: first, to forward policy issues and -solutions directly to policy makers within a public, communicatively controlled setting, and second, to network with a broad range of issue stakeholders, including policy makers. By arranging public events, interest groups in practice construct non-institutional arenas for direct access which afford substantial control over how issues are presented, and by whom. Moreover, by physically assembling decision makers and issue stakeholders, public event lobbying directly or indirectly contributes to establish and strengthen policy communities. Theoretically, public event lobbying is proposed as a direct outsider lobbying strategy, which serve both short-term issue influence objectives and long-term capacity building for lobbying through the construction of supportive networks. While public event lobbying is applied across group types, the study finds that financial resources and inter-organizational cooperation are key determinants for event organizing.

Attitudes towards disclosure of familial genetic risk in a Mediterranean island population – A survey of the Maltese population

Germline genetic testing has implications that extend beyond the individual patient to relatives, particularly for high-penetrance variants implicated in hereditary cancer or neurodegenerative syndromes. Many countries encourage patient-led communication to inform at-risk relatives, although the efficacy and uptake of this approach varies. Alternative scenarios envisage direct contact mediated by clinicians. The familial disclosure of sensitive genetic information is also determined by complex socio-ethnic factors. To date, no study has explored whether relatives would want to be informed of familial genetic risk and their preferences on different methods of communication in Malta. We thus used a published instrument that utilizes hypothetical scenario methodology to survey the attitudes of the Maltese population (n = 334) to receiving genetic information from family members. Two vignettes on Huntington's disease and colorectal cancer were presented. We also explored preferences towards the communication of genetic risk, confidentiality, and disclosure policies. Our preliminary results show that most respondents want to be informed of their increased risk by a family member or a clinician and would opt to receive confirmatory genetic testing. Most respondents preferred being informed of genetic risk by a close relative, but in the case of non-disclosure would want to be informed by a clinician. Most respondents expressed preference in favour of the introduction of registries, legislative change and sharing of contact details to address cases of nondisclosure. Our findings contribute further to evidence that supports, in selected hypothetical scenarios, an envisioned change in disclosure of genetic data policy by the public that is different from current practice to date.

A qualitative exploration of the reasons and influencing factors for pregnancy termination among young women in Soweto, South Africa: a Socio-ecological perspective

BackgroundPregnancy termination is an essential component of reproductive healthcare. In Southern Africa, an estimated 23% of all pregnancies end in termination of pregnancy, against a backdrop of high rates of unintended pregnancies and unsafe pregnancy terminations, which contributes to maternal morbidity and mortality. Understanding the reasons for pregnancy termination may remain incomplete if seen in isolation of interpersonal (including family, peer, and partner), community, institutional, and public policy factors. This study therefore aimed to use a socio-ecological framework to qualitatively explore, in Soweto, South Africa, i) reasons for pregnancy termination amongst women aged 18–28 years, and ii) factors characterising the decision to terminate.MethodsIn-depth interviews were conducted between February to March 2022 with ten participants of varying parity, who underwent a termination of pregnancy since being enrolled in the Bukhali trial, set in Soweto, South Africa. A semi-structured, in-depth interview guide, based on the socioecological domains, was used. The data was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, and a deductive approach.ResultsAn application of the socio-ecological framework indicated that the direct reasons to terminate a pregnancy fell into the individual and interpersonal domains of the socioecological framework. Key reasons included financial dependence and insecurity, feeling unready to have a child (again), and a lack of support from family and partners for the participant and their pregnancy. In addition to these reasons, Factors that characterised the participants’ decision experience were identified across all socio-ecological domains and included the availability of social support and (lack of) accessibility to termination services. The COVID-19 pandemic and resultant lockdown policies also indirectly impacted participants’ decisions through detrimental changes in interpersonal support and financial situation.ConclusionsAmongst the South African women included in this study, the decision to terminate a pregnancy was made within a complex structural and social context. Insight into the reasons why women choose to terminate helps to better align legal termination services with women’s needs across multiple sectors, for example by reducing judgement within healthcare settings and improving access to social and mental health support.

Exploring Climate Change Communication in Afghanistan on the X Platform over the Last Six Months of 2024

Social media has emerged as an accessible communication tool for mass audiences worldwide. These new platforms are widely used in Afghanistan for various purposes. Given Afghanistan's high vulnerability to climate change impacts, the country requires effective public awareness and communication strategies across both traditional and new media. To inform policymaking for collective climate action, there is a need to analyze the content of social media discourse on climate change. The primary aim of this study is to explore climate change communication on the X platform to develop effective policies and strategies for leveraging social media, particularly the X platform, to communicate about climate change impacts in Afghanistan. The study employed a descriptive research design combined with a content analysis approach. The results indicate that the social media discourse revolved around key themes, including climate change impacts, Afghanistan's vulnerability to droughts, flash floods, monsoon rains, and unexpected snowfall, the lack of funding for climate change communication and mitigation efforts, and the disproportionate impact on women. The analysis also found that the total user engagement during the five-month study period reached 424,522 interactions, including reposts, replies, likes, and views. The findings of this study can inform the development of targeted, evidence-based communication strategies and policies to raise public awareness and catalyze collective action on climate change in Afghanistan, leveraging the reach and engagement potential of social media platforms.

Changing Contours of Policy Communications in India

Changing Contours of Policy Communications in India

Artificial Intelligence Governance

Research on AI governance is important towards potentially useful and constraining affordable misuse, reduce new risks and economic trends that threaten to disrupt public political and economic trends, and drive off target as interest in advanced AI systems and the norms, focal points, and use of new AI research are potentially transformative and governance institutions aim to prevent. Potential public benefits from policy community re-using AI research are enormous, including reduced economic instability. A fundamental challenge in AI governance is a cognitive framing challenge: governing AI research requires understanding new kinds of safety risks, performance goals, and intended applications that advanced AI systems will make possible. Specifically, the letter focuses on how AI research could mitigate issues such as the possibility of AI capabilities getting concentrated within a small and hard-to-regulate group of actors, and ultimately recommends the prioritization of open research and collaboration, with concern for long-term social and economic looming to the forefront of coalitions if AI becomes an increasingly important aspect of the future economy and society.

Towards a fair, reliable, and practical verification framework for Blue Carbon-based CDR

Abstract While the (re-)establishment of Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCE) is seen as an important tool to mitigate climate change, the credibility of such nature-based solutions has been marred by recent revelations ranging from weak accounting to malpractice. In light of this, there is a clear need to develop monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) systems towards the reliable, practical, and accurate accounting of additional and durable carbon dioxide removal (CDR). We propose the development of a Blue Carbon Ecosystem Digital Twin (BCE-DT) as a practical solution, integrating real-time data and models into What-If Scenarios of CDR aimed at the quantification of CDR additionality and durability. Critically, such a solution would be amenable to projects across a broad range in spatial scale and ecosytem type. In parallel, we propose the creation of an independent and not-for-profit Standards Development Organization (SDO) for the management of this Digital Twin and oversight of the certification process based on MRV. Considering the interwoven nature of the scientific and policy/legal needs we raise, an improved dialogue and collaboration between the scientific and policy communities is clearly needed. We argue that this BCE-DT, along with its oversight and implementation by a SDO, would fit this niche and support the fair and accurate implementation of MRV critically needed for BCE-based CDR to proceed.