Comprehensive Set Of Indicators Research Articles

Enhancing Sustainability in Belize’s Ecotourism Sector: A Fuzzy Delphi and Fuzzy DEMATEL Investigation of Key Indicators

Sustainable ecotourism has become a strategy to balance tourism growth with environmental and sociocultural considerations. This study aims to propose an integrated approach of the Delphi technique and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) based on fuzzy set theory to investigate sustainable ecotourism indicators in Belize. The study covers six dimensions: environmental, social, cultural, economic, political, and intrinsic. Firstly, the Fuzzy Delphi technique constructs a comprehensive set of indicators with expert consensus, resulting in 51 relevant and representative indicators out of the initial 63. Secondly, the Fuzzy DEMATEL approach is then applied to analyze the interdependencies among indicators and identify their causal relationships, providing insights into the complex dynamics of sustainable ecotourism in Belize. The results provide a structured decision-making framework to prioritize actions, allocate resources effectively, and promote sustainable practices in the ecotourism sector. Therefore, these findings enhance the understanding of indicator interconnections across dimensions, enabling informed decision making for policymakers, industry practitioners, and researchers. Policymakers can develop policies and regulations that foster sustainable practices, while industry practitioners can enhance visitor experiences, engage with local communities, and ensure the industry’s long-term viability. Researchers can further investigate specific dimensions and indicators to advance the knowledge and implementation of sustainable ecotourism. Finally, this investigation supports the goal of achieving a harmonious and sustainable balance between tourism development and environmental preservation in Belize. By safeguarding the natural and cultural heritage of the region, sustainable ecotourism can benefit present and future generations.

Development of a comprehensive assessment tool to measure the quality of care for individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries.

To develop a comprehensive assessment tool to evaluate the Quality of Care (QoC) in managing individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries (TSCI). At first, the concepts of QoC for TSCI were identified by conducting a qualitative interview along with re-evaluation of the results of a published scoping review (conceptualization). After operationalization of indicators, they were valued by using the expert panel method. Afterward, the content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) were calculated and served as cut-offs for indicator selection. Then specific questions were developed for each indicator and classified into three categories: pre-hospital, in-hospital, and post-hospital. Data availability of the National Spinal Cord Injury Registry of Iran (NSCIR-IR) was subsequently used to design questions that represent indicators in an assessment tool format. The comprehensiveness of the tool was evaluated using a 4-item Likert scale by the expert panel. Twelve experts participated in conceptualization and 11 experts participated in operationalization phase. Overall, 94 concepts for QoC were identified from published scoping review (87 items) and qualitative interviews (7 items). The process of operationalization and indicator selection led to the development of 27 indicators with acceptable content validity. Finally, the assessment tool contained three pre-hospital, twelve in-hospital, nine post-hospital, and three mixed indicators. Ninety-one percent of experts evaluated the entire tool as comprehensive. Our study presents a health-related QoC tool that contains a comprehensive set of indicators to assess the QoC for individuals with TSCI. However, this tool should be used in various situations to establish construct validity further.

On the role of sustainable buildings in achieving the 2030 UN sustainable development goals

Built environment plays a series of key roles in the society and in everyday life and it is also worldwide recognised to be one of the main contributors to the global energy demand and to the emission of greenhouse gases. Achieving sustainability in the building and construction industry is, therefore, crucial to contribute the global transition to a sustainable carbon-neutral built environment: in this regard, the adoption of the 2030 Agenda and the related SDGs would play a strategic role.This paper was set and developed with the aim of identifying the multiple key interactions between buildings and SDGs and, consequently, drawing considerations and points-of-view on a possible, preliminary approach to assess the role of buildings in the achievement of SDGs and their targets.A quantitative evaluation approach focussed on the environmental dimension of sustainability and based on Life Cycle Assessment on the building scale was proposed by the authors. The approach could represent the potential basis for the development of a comprehensive and scientifically-based method for large-scale applications aimed at determining and improving the way buildings affect SDGs. According to this paper's authors' proposal, after the selection of a comprehensive set of indicators and their linkage to the various SDGs, the assessment should be carried out considering reference values for the indicators, specific targets coherent with SDGs (and their targets) for each indicator and key statistical parameters for the built environment, such as the yearly built area.

Extracting human perceptions from street view images for better assessing urban renewal potential

Accurate and efficient assessment of large-scale urban renewal potential is an indispensable prerequisite for managing and facilitating projects. However, few studies consider the built environment when assessing urban renewal potential because it is difficult to measure. Street view images can show the physical setting of a place for humans to perceive the built environment. Hence, we separately extracted emotional and visual perceptions from street view images to construct a new comprehensive indicator set to assess multi-class urban renewal potentials. To establish the assessment model, we applied a backpropagation neural network based on the presence and background learning (PBL-BPNN). The renewal potential assessment based on the proposed indicator set can reach the highest accuracy. Emotional perceptions contribute more to assessing renewal potential than visual perceptions because they are more consistent in portraying the blighted built environment. Emotionally, the ratings of safety, boring, depression, and lively are stable in the blighted built environment. Visually, greenness and imageability often remain at lower values, highlighting the importance of greenspace and urban furniture in determining urban renewal. Furthermore, multi-class renewal potentials can be used for scenario analysis by assuming different renewal intentions. The results can support governments and planners in making efficient urban renewal decisions.

The economic and institutional dynamics of China’s growing financial influence: a “structural power” perspective

What are the economic and institutional dynamics behind China’s growing aspirations to expand its financial influence? Drawing on Susan Strange’s notion of “structural power”, this article examines China’s quest for superiority within the financial realm since the early 2000s. Our findings suggest that China’s financial rise is mainly driven by its efforts at increasing its “international monetary power” and developing its ability to control international credit and investment flows within a new normative and institutional framework. The main contribution of this article lies in conceptualizing China’s growing financial influence based on a comprehensive set of indicators to develop Strange’s theory.

МЕТОДИЧНІ ЗАСАДИ ОЦІНЮВАННЯ ІНКЛЮЗИВНОСТІ АГРАРНИХ БІЗНЕС-СТРУКТУР

Achieving the sustainable development goals is closely linked to increasing the inclusiveness of agriculture and rural areas. The urgent need to implement global and national plans to improve the well-being of people requires transformational change in terms of sustainability, inclusiveness and an appropriate assessment of the progress achieved. The article is devoted to the study and systematisation of methodological principles for assessing the level of inclusiveness of social development, particularly in agriculture. The variety of existing methods currently needs to provide a complete scientific and methodological basis for determining the multifaceted processes of sustainability and inclusiveness. The actual set of indicators for assessing the level of inclusiveness at different levels of management of inclusive transformations was examined on the basis of the results of a scientific search. The UN, World Bank, IMF and OECD methodologies were the most widely used. The analysis of Ukraine's economy's inclusiveness level, based on the inclusive development index in the global ranking, revealed a negative trend towards declining inclusive processes. This article outlines the link between sustainable development goals and the objective of achieving agro-inclusion in domestic practice. Sustainable development goals 1, 5, 8, 10, and 13 display the highest correlation with agro-inclusion. It has been suggested that a system of key indicators be established and analysed across three tiers of economic management. The results of the study were used to organise a comprehensive set of indicators aimed at assessing the extent of inclusive change within society. Agricultural and rural area inclusive growth were given particular focus. A set of criteria and indicators for assessing the achieved level of agro-inclusion for the micro-level of management (the status of a separate agricultural unit) was proposed as the main result of the study. The system of criteria and indicators for the assessment of the micro-level of inclusiveness of development was presented in the complementarity of economic, social, political and ecological components of agro-inclusion.

Data-Based Approach to Educational Programs Quality Management

The purpose of this article is to describe and justify the approach to assessing the quality of educational programs that have been developed and tested at ITMO University since 2019. The article presents the main indicators of assessment and the results of testing this approach at the university. The main unit of quality is an educational program, as it has a long-life cycle and meets the needs of most stakeholders of the educational organization. Taking into account all the features of an educational program, the authors propose a comprehensive set of indicators to assess its quality, which makes it possible to objectively manage it data-based. In conclusion, for completing the task of analyzing the life cycle of an educational program, the authors present an internal rating of educational programs, concise examples of recommendations based on its results. The advantages of the approach to managing educational programs are described, and ways for further development are presented. The article may be of interest to the managers and management teams of institutions of higher education, as well as to the researchers in this field.

Assessing for socioeconomic background diversity in behavioral health workforce development programs.

Assessing workforce diversity is an increasing area of evolution. A comprehensive assessment of socioeconomic diversity is important in that it can help identify needs and enable planned inclusion across a range of students. Subsequently, a more comprehensive set of background indicators is needed. The purpose of this brief report is to describe the approach we are using to determine socioeconomic background among individuals participating in a behavioral health workforce program. By using 3 strategies to assess background, we were able to determine that 4 individuals reported being unable to pay for housing, 3 indicated they had sold plasma, and 1 had experienced homelessness since starting graduate school. Our findings provide a starting point for using a comprehensive set of indicators to guide the recruitment and selection process in workforce development programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Economic impact of crude oil supply disruption on social welfare losses and strategic petroleum reserves

Strategic petroleum reserves are a major too to mitigate the risk oil supply disruptions and to discourage the use of energy as a geopolitical weapon. Moreover, oil supply disruption severely damages the energy security and economic growth as well. Therefore, we used econometric estimation and combine numerous relevant, multidimensional and comprehensive set of indicators through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to measure the physical oil supply risk and strategic petroleum reserves in order to enhance the social welfare in South Asia. Our analysis proved that 30% of the shortfall in crude oil distribution in markets accounts for the biggest vacillated system of crude oil costing. This shortfall immediately increases forecasted social welfare wastage via a 40% decrease in gross domestic product, which is estimated at $700 in South Asia and $3000 in the largest crude oil economy. The quantity and value of oil supply required for the strategic petroleum reserves to trigger the optimum building and drawdown of the oil are calculated using PCA and game solution. Limited testing of private sector inventory adjustments was less encouraging, suggesting that private actions may have partially offset some government reductions. Therefore, anticipated costs grow at 4% in regular market situations, decrease nearly 8% in interrupted market conditions, and decrease 9% in highly interrupted market conditions. With the benefit of retrospection, improved management may have considerably increased the value of the strategic petroleum reserves, particularly during the peak disruption. A quantitative risk evaluation of crude oil disruptions reveals the importance of crude oil accumulation and the drawdown of vital national crude oil stockpiles as governments seek to optimize consumer well-being while simultaneously maintaining control over oil stockpiles.

Creating an evidence base for managing structural change in the Rhineland Mining Area—evaluating open space applying a comprehensive set of indicators

Post-mining landscapes undergo thorough structural changes. Hereby, striking transitions take place concerning open spaces in particular. For the Rhineland Mining Area, the project DAZWISCHEN, with five thematic fields of action, in its first phase intends to capture the status quo of the region. Spatial talents and spatial barriers are identified as a result. Considering open space, we present a multi-method approach integrating basic land use data, ecosystem services, and combined indices. We disclose a bipartition of the region with two relatively homogenous areas regarding the assessment of the landscape or open spaces and their functionality. However, we also detect highly functional patches in ‘weaker’ surroundings, making their preservation and protection particularly important. Our results hail from a wide array of analyses using the available data as effectively as possible. Thus, we can provide information for politicians, practitioners, and scientists doing research in similar settings.

Monitoring Menstrual Health Knowledge: Awareness of Menstruation at Menarche as an Indicator.

As initiatives to support menstrual health are implemented globally, monitoring progress through a set of comprehensive indicators provides important feedback to direct policies and programs. One proposed core indicator is awareness of menstruation at menarche. That is, at the time of menarche an adolescent girl knowing that menstrual bleeding is something she will experience. In this investigation, we undertook secondary analysis of data collected across four studies to support interpretation of this indicator. We (1) describe the proportion of each sample aware of menstruation at menarche, (2) test variations in awareness according to sociodemographic characteristics, and (3) describe the associations between this indicator and self-reported experience at menarche, social support, and confidence to manage menstruation. Studies included cross-sectional survey data from 421 schoolgirls in Magway, Myanmar, 537 schoolgirls in Soroti, Uganda, 1,359 schoolgirls in Netrokona, Bangladesh, and 599 adult women working in Mukono, Uganda. Awareness of menstruation at menarche varied from 84% in Myanmar to 34% in Bangladesh. Older age at menarche was associated with awareness. Awareness at menarche was not associated with household poverty in the adolescent samples, but greater poverty was associated with lower levels of awareness among adult women. In Myanmar, girls aware of menstruation had significantly higher odds of reporting that they felt prepared (2.85 95% CI 1.34–6.08), happy (OR = 3.81 95% CI 1.74–8.37) and knew what was happening at menarche (OR = 2.37 95% CI 1.34–4.19). However, they also reported higher levels of embarrassment (OR = 1.76 95% CI 1.04–2.97) and did not report significantly less fear (OR = 1.24 95% CI 0.82–1.85). Awareness of menstruation at menarche was associated with higher scores on a menstrual knowledge quiz in both Myanmar (b = 9.51 95% CI 3.99–15.04) and Bangladesh (b = 4.78 95% CI 1.70–7.87). In these studies girls aware of menstruation at menarche also had higher odds of reporting they felt confident discussing menstruation with support sources and managing menstruation at school, while these differences were not significant among schoolgirls in Uganda. Findings support the usefulness of awareness of menstruation at menarche as an indicator to describe minimal knowledge of menstruation and suggest that awareness may signal greater knowledge, social support, and confidence in some settings.

Effective restoration measures in river‐floodplain ecosystems: Lessons learned from the ‘Wilde Mulde’ project

AbstractOver the last 40 years, a growing number of restoration projects have been implemented to improve the ecological conditions of highly degraded rivers and their floodplains. Despite considerable investment in these projects, information is still limited about the effectiveness and the success of such river restoration measures, mainly due to a lack of standardised and interdisciplinary assessment approaches. During the project ‘Wilde Mulde—Restoration of a dynamic riverine landscape in Central Germany’, we implemented hydromorphological restoration measures (installation of large wood, removal of rip‐rap, reconnection of a former river side‐arm) along a lowland river in Central Germany. We carried out intensive scientific monitoring of biodiversity, hydromorphology, ecosystem functions and services, as well as socio‐economic aspects. A Before/After‐Control/Impact (BACI) design was used to identify the spatial and temporal effects of the restoration measures and to distinguish them from changes caused by background variation. For this, we used a comprehensive set of indicators, including abiotic (flow velocity, diversity of riverbed topography, and flow resistance), biological (ecosystem respiration, macroinvertebrates, fish, carabids, vegetation, and birds) and socio‐economic (acceptance and public awareness) indicators as well as the ecosystem service indicator aesthetic quality of the landscape. To meet the inherent challenges of such a large‐scale field experiment, like unpredictable environmental conditions, we used an experimental approach that allowed us to demonstrate a measurable success of the implemented restoration measures. The majority of the abiotic and some of the biological and socio‐economic indicators at the restored sites approached values of a natural reference site while already deviating from values of a nonnatural reference site two years after restoration. In addition to the applied interdisciplinary approach, multiple scales of field investigations and data analyses are essential as key components for evaluating successful river and floodplain restoration projects.

Assessment of energy poverty and key influencing factors in N11 countries

The objective of this study is to measure the energy poverty containing a multi-dimensional and comprehensive set of indicators by combining them via the GRA-SRA method. It involved a case study comprising N11 countries using data from 2001 to 2017. A multidimensional energy poverty index was constructed by combining 13 indicators across 3 dimensions (energy availability, energy cleanability and energy affordability) of the N11 countries. The results prove that the overall energy poverty is being alleviated. It was found that Bangladesh (0.65) and Pakistan (0.47) are the most vulnerable economies in terms of energy poverty while the Philippines (0.36), Indonesia (0.33), and Vietnam (0.28) are less prone to energy poverty. A relative variation in energy poverty was found between N11 countries where South Korea experienced a continuous improvement in energy poverty while Iran showed a decreasing trend with a fluctuating pattern. Furthermore, this study provides an international comparison analysis on energy poverty. The results clarify that the energy types used for heating, are essential in the context of energy poverty and inequality. This study highlights the significance and usefulness of cross-border comparisons of regions with similar climatic or other circumstantial factors. Higher energy availability causes a decrease in energy poverty. In return, lower level of energy poverty leads lower income inequality.

Dynamic volatility spillovers and investor sentiment components across freight-shipping markets

This paper investigates whether dynamic volatility spillovers across freight-shipping markets can be explained by a comprehensive set of indicators capturing shipping investors’ sentiment. Our results reveal that an increase in the ratio of second-hand over newbuilding vessel price triggers an increase of the transmission of economic information within both the dry-bulk and tanker segments, while an increase in the ratio of price-to-earnings, as well as in the ratio of vessels sold over vessels of the global fleet also trigger an increase of the economic information transmission within each of the dry-bulk and tanker vessels, respectively. These results have important implications for shipping-market players, as they reveal novel mechanisms of the transmission of economic information within the segments and across the sub-segments of freight-shipping markets.

World Approaches to Assessing Human Potential

The purpose of the presented study is to highlight the most relevant system for measuring human potential in terms of tasks to ensure an economic breakthrough at the national level, taking into account the specifics of the Russian Federation. The article explores different approaches to the definition of human potential. The authors have identified international and national methods for calculating this indicator, which make it possible to form the most complete and comprehensive set of indicators for the qualitative determination of the level of human potential. In our work, we used qualitative analysis of official reports and scientific papers on a given topic. An analysis of the concepts of domestic and foreign researchers regarding the assessment of human potential was carried out, which made it possible to determine the disadvantages and advantages of the approaches and the position of individual researchers. The scientific significance of the study results is the provision of a set of indicators for determining human potential. The results of the article can be used to prepare regulatory and methodological documents for the development of human potential and further domestic and foreign research on this topic.

Measuring the Quality of Care for Older Adults With Multimorbidity: Results of the MULTIqual Project.

Background and ObjectivesProviding health care for older adults with multimorbidity is often complex, challenging, and prone to fragmentation. Although clinical decision making should take into account treatment interactions, individual burden, and resources, current approaches to assessing quality of care mostly rely on indicators for single conditions. The aim of this project was to develop a set of generic quality indicators for the management of patients aged 65 and older with multimorbidity that can be used in both health care research and clinical practice.Research Design and MethodsBased on the findings of a systematic literature review and eight focus groups with patients with multimorbidity and their family members, we developed candidate indicators. Identified aspects of quality were mapped to core domains of health care to obtain a guiding framework for quality-of-care assessment. Using nominal group technique, indicators were rated by a multidisciplinary expert panel (n = 23) following standardized criteria.ResultsWe derived 47 candidate quality indicators from the literature and 4 additional indicators from the results of the focus groups. The expert panel selected a set of 25 indicators, which can be assigned to the levels of patient factors, patient–provider communication, and context and organizational structures of the conceptual framework.Discussion and ImplicationsWe developed a comprehensive indicator set for the management of multimorbidity that can help to highlight areas with potential for improving the quality of care and support application of multimorbidity guidelines. Furthermore, this study may serve as a blueprint for participatory designs in the development of quality indicators.

A proposed environmental indicator's system for assessing the environmental sustainability performance of Egyptian industrial zones Case study "Al-Tebeen City in Al-Saleb District"

development goals. The paper proposes a framework for a comprehensive set of indicators for the identification of more sustainable environmental performance for industrial zones. The indicator system cover aspects of Environmental sustainability performance. The framework is applicable across industries; however, more specific indicators for different sectors have to be defined. Thus, it serves as a tool that can assist environmental planners and decision-makers in assessing their performance concerning the goals and objectives of sustainable development. The methodology developed to identify key indicators utilized for evaluating sustainable environmental performance consists of three basic steps to further strengthen the process of assessing sustainability and identifying adaption strategies. The key indicators restricting for industry development, and adaptation and recommendation policy forward to enhance industry development

Applying a projection pursuit model for evaluation of ecological quality in Jiangxi Province, China

Monitoring and evaluating ecological quality and changes are crucial for policy formulation to guide ecosystem management and socioeconomic sustainable development. However, evaluation of ecological quality is still very challenging due to difficulties in determination of its associated indicators and weights. This paper proposes supporting, providing and regulating ecosystems services-based indicators to describe ecological quality, and applies a Projection Pursuit Model to eliminate redundant indicators and objectively determine weights for an ecological quality index (EQI) on a regional scale. Taking Jiangxi Province, China, as a demonstration area, the data for indicator measures were retrieved from satellite remote sensing and ecosystem modelling with a spatial resolution of 1 km for the three years 2005, 2010 and 2015. The results suggest that Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and water use efficiency (WUE) should be weighed higher and leaf area index (LAI) and Bowen ratio should be weighed lowest in the calculation of an EQI for Jiangxi Province. For 2015, the regional EQI was calculated to be 55.32 on a scale from 0 as the worst to 100 as the best, with higher values ascribed to the hills and mountains and the lower values existing near urban areas. The EQI increased from 52.26 in 2005 to 55.32 in 2015 with an increased area of good-and-above grade from 25.47% to 36.8% for the whole province. The changes in EQI could be attributed to a warmer and wetter climate trend playing a positive dominant effect, while urbanization and afforestation have negative and positive effects, respectively. This study demonstrates that it is feasible to evaluate ecological quality based on a comprehensive set of indicators and PPM-based weight determination, which could be further applied in regular ecological quality monitoring and evaluation on the regional, or even the national scale.

The ‘Rocket Framework’: A Novel Framework to Define Key Performance Indicators for Nature-based Solutions Against Shallow Landslides and Erosion

The idea of nature providing solutions to societal challenges is relatively easy to understand by the layperson. Nature-based solutions (NBS) against landslides and erosion mostly comprise plant-based interventions in which the reinforcement of slopes provided by vegetation plays a crucial role in natural hazard prevention and mitigation, and in the provision of multiple socio-ecological benefits. However, the full potential of NBS against landslides and erosion is not realised yet because a strong evidence base on their multi-functional performance is lacking, hindering the operational rigour of NBS practice and science. This knowledge gap can be addressed through the definition of repositories of key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics, which should stem from holistic frameworks facilitating the multi-functional assessment of NBS. Herein, we propose the ‘rocket framework’ to promote the uptake of NBS against landslides and erosion through the provision of a comprehensive set of indicators which, through their appropriate selection and measurement, can contribute to build a robust evidence base on NBS performance. The ‘rocket framework’ is holistic, reproducible, dynamic, versatile, and flexible in helping define metrics for NBS actions against landslides and erosion along the NBS project timeline. The framework, resultant from an iterative research approach applied in a real-world environment, follows a hierarchical approach to deal with multiple scales and environmental contexts, and to integrate environmental, eco-engineering, and socio-ecological domains, thus establishing a balance between monitoring the engineering performance of NBS actions against landslides and erosion, and the wider provision of ecosystem functions and services. Using a case study, and following the principles of credibility, salience, legitimacy, and feasibility, we illustrate herein how the ‘rocket framework’ can be effectively employed to define a repository with over 40 performance indicators for monitoring NBS against landslides and erosion, and with over 60 metrics for establishing the context and baseline upon which the NBS are built and encourage their reproduction and upscaling.

The impact of on-premises piped water supply on fecal contamination pathways in rural Zambia

Reliable access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services is a critical component of child health and development. However, as piped water systems with taps conveniently close to households are rare in rural, sub-Saharan Africa, there is limited evidence of their impact. We conducted a quasi-experimental study in four rural villages of southern Zambia between April 2018 and May 2019 in which we measured the impact of installing on-premises piped water systems on fecal contamination of stored water and caregivers’ hands. Gaining access to piped water was associated with a 0.5 log10 reduction of E. coli concentration in drinking water (p < 0.05) but no changes in hand contamination. The piped water systems in this study reduced the median distance to a safe drinking water source by over 90%, but we measured only small improvements in microbiological outcomes and no changes in the duration of self-reported, in-home water storage. These findings emphasize the need for future impact assessments of piped water systems to measure a comprehensive set of indicators directly linked to human well-being such as time savings.