Future Policy Research Articles

Blaming the Victim, the Bystander, the Perpetrator, or the Institution: Student Allocation of Responsibility for Sexual Assault when Programming Hypothetically Varies

ABSTRACT Guided by theories of socialization and just policy theory, we explore how students allocate blame when sexual assault prevention programming hypothetically varies, net of the effects of evaluators’ traits. Using a survey instrument containing a series of vignettes, we ask whether university students’ (N = 254) perceptions of responsibility attributed to victims, perpetrators, bystanders, and university administrators varies by hypothetical program trainee and also by the hypothetical implementation of any program versus no program. Findings indicate that students allocate more blame to bystanders and perpetrators when hypothetical programming includes bystander training but that programs that train victims are not associated with increased victim blaming. Administrators are blamed less when bystander intervention is included in programming. However, compared to when no training is hypothetically implemented, students allocate more blame to victims and bystanders when any programming is present and less to administrators. Among respondent-level controls, victim blaming is consistently predicted by evaluators’ rape myth acceptance. Implications for future work, theoretical development, and policy are discussed.

The impact of COVID-19 related flight reductions on bird prevalence and behaviour at Manchester Airport, UK, and the implications for airport management

Airport management is a complex and multifarious activity, involving many operators including airlines, retailers and ground handlers, and processes. The presence of wildlife at airports poses a safety risk to aircraft operations and as such managing wildlife hazards is a mandatory legal responsibility. This is important not only from a safety perspective but also from the fact that safety incidents can impact the operational efficiency and the reputation of an airport. Airport operators are required to devise and enact site-specific Wildlife Hazard Management Plans (WHMP) to reduce the risk of aircraft-wildlife interaction under normal airport operating conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, led to an unprecedented reduction in commercial air traffic and the partial or total suspension of flights at some airports. The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of COVID-19 related flight reductions on bird prevalence and behaviour and the potential implications for airport management. Drawing on an empirical dataset of wildlife observations at Manchester Airport, UK, in 2019 and 2020, this paper details the airfield ornithology before and during the pandemic and examines the impact of COVID-19 related flight reductions on bird prevalence and behaviour. The findings reveal variations in the frequency and apparency of individual species as well as changes in the spatial location of bird sightings on the airfield. The paper concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for post-pandemic operations and for the formulation of future airport wildlife hazard management policies.

Shackles or Insurance? -- A Comparative and Political Economic Study of Carbon Taxation

Although the carbon tariff and taxation are not a new initiative, the up-to-now debate is wide around the world since EU has initiated the carbon emission act. Main concerns regard to whether the taxation is imposed as a restriction and bondage or a diversion and promotion for environmentally-friendly industries. This paper will go through scholarly exploration on both sides. Specifically, historical reviews on carbon tariffs will shed light on the nature of this protocol in regulating environmental-friendly manufacturing and traditional energy consumption. The second chapter will adopt political economic point of view to analyze the value of carbon tariff, and its cultural impacts will also be taken into consideration. The concluding segment shall furnish a limited assortment of alternative avenues, thereby affording an array of choices to those tasked with making pivotal determinations. In general, this paper is a legislative analysis on carbon tariff, findings suggest that future practices and comparative policy should been strictly taken in different communities.

Climate integration into sectoral policies: The case of the Brazilian biofuel policy RenovaBio

AbstractSeeking to derive lessons for future policy processes on how climate change concerns can be integrated into sectoral policies to expedite policy approval, we applied the Multiple Streams Framework to analyze the forces and dynamics at work in the policy process of Brazil's National Biofuel Policy (known as RenovaBio). Based on an analysis of 123 newspaper articles citing “RenovaBio” and eleven semistructured interviews with stakeholders from the fuel sector, the research findings suggest that attaching RenovaBio to the country's climate commitments helped to secure policy approval and decrease public opposition to it. On the other hand, having multiple objectives without a clear priority made policy direction more diffuse and vulnerable to criticisms. We also found that the existence of multiple policy entrepreneurs, in the different stages of the political process and with complementary skills, helped to speed the legislative process.

Quantitative evaluation of tourism crisis response policies: overview and lessons from China’s tourism epidemic response policies

ABSTRACT Governments and DMOs have enacted a number of policies to cope with the impacts of unpredictable disruptions, such as COVID-19, on recovering regional tourism industries. Retrospective analysis and scientific evaluation of the content, quality, and implementation efficacy of existing policies serve as an important reference for future policy formulation, modification, and improvement. This study utilized the PMC-AE index model to construct an evaluation model of the tourism epidemic response policy and then evaluated and compared China’s tourism policies at the national and provincial levels from the perspective of policy formulation. The results indicated that: First, China’s tourism epidemic response policy included four categories: epidemic prevention and control and follow-up supervision, relief support and recovery development, resumption of work and production, and consumption promotion. Second, most of the policies remain relatively high, and the scores at national and provincial levels decline from high to low, forming a ‘top-down’ pattern to cope with the epidemic’s impact effectively. Simultaneously, there were no significant differences between policy types and regions, but provincial policies were significantly more targeted than specialized policies. Lastly, some tourism epidemic response policies remained problematic, particularly concerning insufficient predictive content, a single target audience, the structural imbalance of incentive methods, and the lack of cooperation between the publishing parties. This study validated the reliability and efficacy of the PMC-AE policy evaluation system in tourism policy research and provided a reference for formulating future epidemic response policies.

Stakeholder-Driven Policies and Scenarios of Land System Change and Environmental Impacts: A Case Study of Owyhee County, Idaho, United States

While stakeholder-driven approaches have been increasingly used in scenario modeling, previous studies have mostly focused on the qualitative elements, e.g., narratives and policy documents, from the stakeholders, but lack engagement of stakeholders with quantitative inputs. In this study, we conducted workshops with a stakeholder group to integrate the participatory mapping of future policies in the simulation, and to compare the environmental impacts after including the participatory mapping. A land system change model named CLUMondo was used to simulate four scenarios, i.e., Business-As-Usual (BAU), Destroying Resources in Owyhee (DRO), Ecological Conservation (EC), and Managed Recreation (MR), in Owyhee County, Idaho, United States. The InVEST models were used to assess water yield, soil erosion, and wildlife habitat under the four scenarios. The results show that the DRO scenario would decrease shrubland and increased grassland, thus leading to less water yield, more soil erosion, and deteriorated wildlife habitat anticipated through to 2050. On the contrary, the EC and MR scenarios reverse the trend and would improve these ecosystem services over the same time horizon. The stakeholder-driven policies appear to influence the spatial distribution of the land system and ecosystem services. The results help to reach a nuanced understanding of the stakeholder-driven scenarios and highlight the importance of engaging stakeholders in scenario modeling and environmental impact analysis.

Fostering sustainable practices in Zimbabwean tourism for firewood energy sustainability and efficiency amid costly renewables, weak policies, scarce electricity, and extensive deforestation

AbstractAgainst the backdrop of Zimbabwe's captivating tourism landscapes and cultural heritage, energy sustainability challenges loom large. The paper investigates multifaceted relationship between, three independent variables: (reforestation program and funding, invasive tree species use, efficient cookstove adoption), one mediator: (green tourism supply chain behavior) and one dependent variable: (firewood energy sustainability). A quantitative approach was employed, collecting data from 483 tourists using simple random sampling and the Krejcie and Morgan table for determining the sample size. Questionnaires were distributed via Google forms, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized for data analysis. Statistical findings indicate direct and indirect significant relationship between aforementioned variables and T‐statistics values all hypotheses were all greater than the threshold of 1.96. Ranging from a minimum of 2.515 to a maximum of 15.779. The findings pinpoint the importance of an integrated approach in Zimbabwe's tourism supply chain so as to address firewood energy sustainability and efficiency challenges stemming from costly renewables, weak policies, scarce electricity, and extensive deforestation. The study recommends tourism supply chain and policymakers to implement regulations on invasive species, offer incentives for technology adoption, practice and monitor green tourism supply chain practices within Zimbabwean tourism. The study's recommendations contribute to the ongoing discourse on fostering responsible energy practices within the tourism sector, aligning with global sustainability goals and future policy considerations.

Impact on the time elapsed since SARS-CoV-2 infection, vaccination history, and number of doses, on protection against reinfection

SARS-CoV-2 reinfections have been frequent, even among those vaccinated. The aim of this study is to know if hybrid immunity (infection + vaccination) is affected by the moment of vaccination and number of doses received. We conducted a retrospective study in 746 patients with a history of COVID-19 reinfection and recovered the dates of infection and reinfection and vaccination status (date and number of doses). To assess differences in the time to reinfection(tRI) between unvaccinated, vaccinated before 6 months, and later; and comparing one, two or three doses (incomplete, complete and booster regime) we performed the log-rank test of the cumulative incidence calculated as 1 minus the Kaplan–Meier estimator. Also, an adjusted Cox-regression was performed to evaluate the risk of reinfection in all groups. The tRI was significantly higher in those vaccinated vs. non-vaccinated (p < 0.001). However, an early incomplete regime protects similar time than not receiving a vaccine. Vaccination before 6 months after infection showed a lower tRI compared to those vaccinated later with the same regime (adj-p < 0.001). Actually, early vaccination with complete and booster regimes provided lower length of protection compared to vaccinating later with incomplete and complete regime, respectively. Vaccination with complete and booster regimes significantly increases the tRI (adj-p < 0.001). Vaccination increases the time it takes for a person to become reinfected with SARS-CoV-2. Increasing the time from infection to vaccination increases the time in which a person could be reinfected and reduces the risk of reinfection, especially in complete and booster regimes. Those results emphasize the role of vaccines and boosters during the pandemic and can guide strategies on future vaccination policy.

From comfort zone to front-line care: perspectives and reflections of community pharmacists entering home-based palliative care

BackgroundPalliative care requires a multidisciplinary team to assist patients and their families to obtain good quality care at the end of life. Typically, community pharmacists have fewer opportunities to provide services for patients with palliative care needs than hospital pharmacists. Moreover, home-based palliative care (HBPC) by pharmacists remains low and there is a lack of research regarding HBPC provided by pharmacists. Therefore, this study sought to understand the views and reflections of community pharmacists in the clinical frontline providing palliative home services.MethodsPurposive sampling was used to recruit six community pharmacists for one-on-one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews and the data were analysed using thematic analysis.ResultsFive major themes emerged: [1] Engagement, [2] Challenge, [3] Mission, [4] Career metamorphosis, and [5] Outlook. The pharmacists described how they engaged in HBPC and faced the challenges. They regarded opioid management as a burden. Moreover, some mentioned that reimbursement for palliative home care is low or non-profitable. They suggested building a platform to exchange advice and legislation adjustments so that they could pass on their experiences to less experienced pharmacists in HBPC.ConclusionsThe involvement of pharmacists is crucial to provide better palliative care. Although the present study was small and might not fully represent the whole situation, the findings could still inform future education, training, and policy planning to promote pharmacists’ participation in palliative care to generalise community palliative care.

Excluded workers and exempted employers: A qualitative study on domestic workers' access to social protection in the Netherlands

AbstractIn the Netherlands, many part‐time domestic workers fall within the scope of a particular type of labour law, that gives them fewer social protection rights and that renders private actors (households and workers) responsible for exercising those rights. Over the years, this policy has been criticised for institutionalising the differential treatment of domestic workers, which goes against ideas propagated in international initiatives, like the European Pillar of Social Rights. This contribution explores Dutch domestic workers' access to social protection in greater detail. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews with 30 domestic workers, we show that the actual access to social protection greatly varies over different workers and over different employment relationships of individual workers, but generally falls below par. Our findings indicate that this is partly due to the fact that the Dutch policy option underestimates domestic workers' wariness of placing demands on the households they work for, which raises questions over the desirability of non‐mediated employment relationships in the sector. We conclude with a brief discussion and suggestions for future policy directions.

Race, sex, and age disparities in death penalty sentencing: a systematic review

Demographic factors can influence death penalty outcomes. This systematic review examines literature regarding intersectionality of race, sex, and age disparities in capital punishment sentencing. Three databases were searched with similar terms, yielding 1,258 articles for review. After evaluating the remaining articles based on inclusion and exclusion criteria, 12 articles were included for the final review. Differences in outcomes were reported when evaluating the race, sex, and/or age of both the defendant and the victim. Most studies found disadvantaged death penalty sentencing outcomes for both minority defendants and minority victims. Implications for future research and policy decisions are discussed.

How do advanced nurse practitioners enhance healthcare outcomes in frail older patients living in care homes?

Background: As the UK healthcare service strains to meet the demand from its ageing population for 24-hour care, there is an increased need to develop an effective way to provide quality care to frail residents living in care homes. The role of the advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) has evolved over the last 20 years, developing in part to meet the shortfall of GPs and geriatric specialist doctors. Despite research having been previously conducted in the US and Canada into how the ANP role can function within care homes, there has been limited exploration into how the role can enhance UK healthcare outcomes in relation to the 2019 NHS Long-Term Plan, which aimed to provide care closer to home for ageing patients. Aims: This paper was designed to critically review published primary research papers and evaluate the impact of the ANP role on healthcare outcomes for frail elderly care home residents. Its objective was to help guide future healthcare delivery policy within the UK. Methods: A saturated systematic search of primary research literature was conducted. An inclusion/exclusion criterion was also utilised. Key papers identified were subject to critical synthesis, using ratified critical appraisal tools from the Joanna Briggs Institute and mixed-method appraisal tool by Hong et al (2018) . A thematic/narrative approach was employed to evaluate the findings of the mixed-method heterogenic-style research. Results: A total of 14 primary research papers met the criteria, which included mixed methods of study from across four English language-speaking countries. Five outcome themes were recurrent throughout the synthesis of the results, including, in order of prevalence: improved/equivalent quality of care; successful collaborative role; reduced hospitalisations; timely access to primary/secondary care; colleague/patient/family satisfaction. Discussion: Following the review of the highlighted themes, there was a consensus that ANPs positively influence the care quality of elderly patients living within care homes. Although no superiority over a physician approach was found, there was indication of supplementary benefits when including ANPs in the care home setting. These include instilling positive role models into the healthcare environment, increasing the general knowledge and education capacity of care staff, and streamlining communication—especially within advanced care planning and coordination of care. These qualities clearly encompass the current NHS priorities of the 2019 Long-Term Plan and the Enhanced Health in Care Homes Framework, which are set to be fully achieved by 2024.

Điều hành chính sách tiền tệ của Ngân hàng Nhà nước Việt Nam trong năm 2023: Thực trạng và khuyến nghị chính sách

In responses to unexpectedly adverse developments in the international market and internal economic weaknesses, the State Bank of Viet Nam has proactively deployed a comprehensive package of monetary, credit and foreign exchange measures to curb inflation, and support economic growth in 2023. By employing the qualitative method for secondary data, the research aims to evaluate the monetary policy implemented by the State Bank of Vietnam in 2023. Therefore, the research suggests policy recommendations to enhance effectiveness of transmission mechanism of monetary policy in future

North Korea: The End of Strategic Seclusion?

A lonely but unbroken North Korea stands up against the South Korean-U.S. alliance, playing diplomatic overtures in between crises and skillfully using contradictions between other actors in Northeast Asia. Yet although North Korea has nuclear weapons, the military balance on and around the Korean Peninsula is not developing to Pyongyang’s advantage. This puts North Korea’s security at risk, especially due to the unpredictability of Seoul’s future policy. In terms of Kenneth Waltz’s structural realism, North Korea’s ability to balance the mounting strategic risks internally by mobilizing its own resources is extremely limited. This leaves the option of external balancing through alliance with strong military powers. The theory of structural realism remains relevant and helps to better understand the ongoing rapprochement between Pyongyang and Moscow.

Uncertainties about waste using an online survey and review approach: Environmentalist perceptions, household waste compositions and views from media and science

Abstract Waste generation and subsequent plastic pollution pose a major threat to both human and environmental health. Furthering our understanding of waste at individual levels can inform future waste reduction strategies, education and policies. This study explores the components and perceptions among individuals using survey data combined with a mini-review. An online Qualtrics survey was distributed pre-COVID-19 following a global social media challenge, Futuristic February, which directed participants to collect their nonperishable waste during February 2020. Participants were asked about their waste generation, perceptions toward waste and plastic pollution issues, and environmental worldview using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) scale (n = 50). We also conducted a mini-review of eight waste and plastic pollution statements from our survey in both popular media and scientific journal articles. Survey results indicated participants had an overall pro-ecological worldview (M = 4.32, SD = 0.88) and reported cardboard and paper (66%) as the most commonly occurring nonperishable waste category. Across categories, food packaging was the most common waste type. Participants were most uncertain about statements focusing on bioplastic or biodegradable plastic, respectively (44% and 30%), while the statement on microplastic toxicity obtained 100% mild or strong agreement among participants. Uncertainty for reviewed statements varied depending on the topic and group. Popular media and scholarly articles did not always agree, possibly due to differences in communication of uncertainty or terminology definitions. These results can inform future policy and educational campaigns around topics of misinformation.

O Corredor Internacional de Transporte Norte-Sul (INSTC) e a Índia: potencial e impedimentos

ABSTRACT The model corridor stretching from Mumbai (India) to St. Petersburg (Russia) through Iran and Azerbaijan is known as the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC). This multi-modal corridor is around 7,200 km long and consists of rail, roads, and waterways. The main objective of the construction of the corridor is to improve connectivity and trade relations between the North and the South. It will play a crucial role in promoting regional cooperation and economic integration. Bilateral relations between the member countries will be developed through the project. India will have easy access to the resource-rich Central Asian nations via this corridor, bypassing Pakistan. It will help India by exporting its products to the North and Central Asian countries, including Russia, and importing hydrocarbons at a lower cost by avoiding the traditional long-time route. In the present geopolitical situation, this venture will also improve India’s strategic relations with the member countries. Although the project at present is suffering from some glitches, it will be a game changer for India’s Eurasia policy in the near future.

A bibliometric and topic analysis of climate justice: Mapping trends, voices, and the way forward

The field of climate justice has been growing in relevance since its conception in 1997. This paper presents a comprehensive bibliometric and topic modelling analyses to examine the evolution and trajectory of the climate justice literature. We analyse 1,683 publications covering the period from 1997 to 2021, highlighting foundational works, influential authors, leading nations and institutions, and prevailing research topics within this field. We employ Latent Dirichlet Allocation to uncover latent research trends in the literature providing a crucial baseline for future scholarly endeavours and policy development in the realm of climate justice.Our results show that the field of climate justice has grown exponentially from less than 5 papers annually between 1997 and 2005, to around 200 papers annually in recent years. This growth has seen a diversification of research themes with an increase in papers around the topics of health, vulnerability and adaptation, and policy and activism. There has been a consistent backdrop of publications around the topics of sustainable development and policy, and international relations and carbon emissions. Other prominent topics in the literature include education and food security, and human rights and Indigenous people. The field has moved from theoretical research to examining actual examples of climate injustices, with an increased diversification of topics.Future research could usefully focus on exploring future generations and more-than-human entities; the integration of climate justice and climate activism with broader struggles for justice; re-thinking climate adaptation “success” and “effectiveness” through the lens of climate justice, and the ramifications of the Global Goal on Adaptation on climate justice led-approaches that are inclusive, build on human rights approaches, and extend the scale of adaptation analysis beyond the local. It is imperative to prioritise addressing the climate justice needs of those most affected by climate change, transcending national borders, generational gaps, cultural differences, and even the well-being of various species. Such a holistic approach will help inform and refine global climate policy and action.

Dynamic relationship among carbon dioxide emissions, energy consumption and economic growth

The present research analyzes the short and long run relationship between Energy Consumption, Economic growth, and Carbon Dioxide emissions in Jordan. The study employs two (2) models: 1: Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) bound testing approach and 2: Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) Granger causality and impulse response function. The results reveal that energy consumption has a positive impact on carbon dioxide emissions and in turn carbon dioxide emissions have a positive link to economic growth. Further, the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis is tested, and it reveals that the EKC hypothesis is validated in the case of Jordan since the carbon dioxide emissions show a significant impact on economic growth in the short and long run. The study provides important results for future researchers and government policy makers.

Multicountry research on comprehensive abortion policy implementation in Latin America: a mixed-methods study protocol

IntroductionAccess to comprehensive abortion care could prevent the death of between 13 865 and 38 940 women and the associated morbidity of 5 million women worldwide. There have been some...

Stakeholder Engagement to Identify Implementation Strategies to Overcome Barriers to Delivering Chronic Pain Treatments: A NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

The purpose of this article is to illustrate the process of stakeholder-engaged intervention mapping approach to identify implementation strategies to overcome data-driven prioritized barriers to receiving chronic pain services for persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI). Community. Healthcare providers (n = 63) with 2 or more years' experience treating persons with TBI, interviewed between October 2020 and November 2021 provided data for identification of barriers. TBI, chronic pain, and qualitative research subject matter experts (SMEs) participated in the mapping approach. Participatory-based research design, using descriptive and intervention mapping approaches. Four barriers to accessing chronic pain treatment by persons with TBI which emerged from provider interviews were prioritized for intervention mapping: cognitive deficits of patients (67%); patient comorbidities (63%); mental health and/or substance abuse issues (59%); and patient participation (62%). SMEs used prioritized barriers to develop 4 primary objectives and implementation strategies designed to: (1) engage consumers to validate and identify strategies; (2) tailor pain treatment and delivery to overcome barriers; (3) develop and disseminate guidelines and best practices when delivering care to persons with TBI to support spread; and (4) increase awareness, skills, and readiness of workforce to deliver pain treatment to persons with TBI. SMEs used an evidence-based approach to develop a mapping matrix of the prioritized barriers, implementation objectives, and aligned implementation strategies to impact change. Implementation science is needed to facilitate knowledge translation into practice for this complex population to overcome barriers to care. Implementation strategies to address barriers to accessing chronic pain care for individuals with TBI were chosen through a participatory approach to engaging SMEs to support these rehabilitation implementation efforts. Future work includes gathering input from individuals with TBI and chronic pain and to move the intervention (implementation) mapping matrix forward to inform future implementation research, policy, and practice.