Good Policy Research Articles

ANALYSIS OF THE MAIN TOURISM PUBLIC POLICIES IN MOZAMBIQUE

The main aim of this research is to identify the main tourism public policies in Mozambique and to reflect on their role and applicability in reducing poverty in vulnerable communities, essentially to understand how they are implemented and what their level of applicability is. Methodologically, bibliographical and documentary research was applied; this is qualitative research and for data analysis we opted for content analysis to encompass the content presented in the various sources that represent tourism public policies and their role in alleviating poverty and promoting development. The main public policies analyzed were the Tourism Law, Tourism Policy and the Strategic Plan for Tourism Development (1st and 2nd). Regarding the policies consulted, it can be said that Mozambique has good public policies and the main ones adopt tourism as a factor in alleviating poverty and promoting development, but there is little empirical evidence that these objectives are being implemented on a large scale and effectively, as the participatory process and involvement of local communities in their design and implementation leaves something to be desired. There are also questions about the quality of jobs in the sector and their sustainability, given that they are very seasonal and often not legally linked to their employers. keywords: Tourism Public Policies; Poverty Alleviating and Development Promotion; Local Community

Quality of Life of Vietnam People through Education and Health Index

The quality of life of the population is a measure of the sustainable development of the country, in which education and health care play an important role. In Vietnam, education and health care have made important strides in improving people's lives, helping to improve the level of education and public health care. The education system is expanding with many good improvement policies, while the health sector is also developing strongly through strengthening facilities and wider access to health services. However, there are still many challenges, quality disparities between regions and overload in hospitals... The article focuses on studying the current status of education, health care, and its impact on the quality of life of the population.

Health outcome convergence and the roles of public health financing and governance in Africa.

Progress in health outcomes across Africa has been uneven, marked by significant disparities among countries, which not only challenges the global health security but impede progress towards achieving the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 10 (SDG 3 and SDG 10) and Universal Health Coverage (UHC). This paper examines the progress of African countries in reducing intra-country health outcome disparities between 2000 and 2019. In other words, the paper investigates the convergence hypothesis in health outcome using a panel data from 40 African countries. Data were sourced from the World Development Indicators, the World Governance Indicators, and the World Health Organization database. Employing a non-linear dynamic factor model, the study focused on three health outcomes: infant mortality rate, under-5 mortality rate, and life expectancy at birth. The findings indicate that while the hypothesis of convergence is not supported for the selected countries, evidence of convergence clubs is observed for the three health outcome variables. The paper further examine the factors contributing to club formation by using the marginal effects of the ordered logit regression model. The findings indicate that the overall impact of the control variables aligns with existing research. Moreover, governance quality and domestic government health expenditure emerge as significant determinants influencing the probability of membership in specific clubs for the child mortality rate models. In the life expectancy model, governance quality significantly drives club formation. The results suggest that there is a need for common health policies for the different convergence clubs, while country-specific policies should be implemented for the divergent countries. For instance, policies and strategies promoting health prioritization in national budget allocation and reallocation should be encouraged within each final club. Efforts to promote good governance policies by emphasizing anti-corruption measures and government effectiveness should also be encouraged. Moreover, there is a need to implement regional monitoring mechanisms to ensure progress in meeting health commitments, while prioritizing urbanization plans in countries with poorer health outcomes to enhance sanitation access.

How “helping” can sustain the stigmatization of homeless people

Summary The article presents findings of an ethnographic study carried out in Poland with homeless people living on the street and in a hostel. Interpretative orientation was used to ensure the opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about their perspectives. The paper has two aims. First, it reconstructs the limits and risks of “(un)helpful help” and its impact on experiences of stigma. Second, it addresses how good intentions and policy efforts can have negative consequences, drawing on data from two separate research studies. The first research included seven male homeless people living on city streets. The second was carried out with 20 homeless people served by an agency working for homeless people. A qualitative methodology was employed for this critical ethnography, according to which the authors analyzed the data using a constructivist grounded theory approach. Findings The research revealed a number of support measures which, instead of positively changing their situation from the participants’ points of view, can exacerbate it by further stigmatizing homeless people with support based on helpers’ stigmatizing approaches which can compound homeless people's negative experiences of “help.” Applications An understanding of the mechanisms of structural and systemic stigmatization from the participants’ perspectives can help shift responsibility for their situation away from homeless people themselves toward society's responsibility as a whole. It highlights how there needs to be a change of consciousness and approaches within assistance systems, shifting the balance from an asymmetrical to a symmetrical relationship based on partnership and collaboration.

Impacts of water, energy, and food nexus challenges on household vulnerability: the case of Harare City, Zimbabwe

Abstract Water, energy, and food (WEF) are interwoven, and their scarcity in the face of climate change intensifies household vulnerability (HV), particularly in developing countries. The interlinkage is complex; it makes it difficult to make decisions and requires coordinated and integrated approaches. Policymakers face problems when attempting to identify and implement appropriate policy actions at the nexus of these challenges. This study interrogates the contribution of WEF challenges to HV in Harare to create good policies that can enhance synergies. Data was collected from 314 urban households through questionnaires. In addition, 11 in-depth interviews and one focus group discussion were conducted with the Harare Residents’ Association. The stakeholders interviewed included six city council officials, one representative from UNICEF, two from the World Food Program, and two from the Zimbabwe electricity supply authority. Survey data was analysed using both SPSS Statistics and SPSS AMOS software. While SPSS Statistics was used for descriptive statistics, factor analysis, and inferential tests, SPSS Amos was used for construct validation and structural equation modelling (SEM) path analysis. Interviews were recorded, collated, transcribed, and coded through the summative thematic analysis using QSR NVivo v14. SEM was used to test the proposed relationships between WEF challenges and HV. The findings revealed a positive relationship between the WEF constructs and HV among Harare residents. Socioeconomic factors were also found to have a statistically significant effect on the relationship between Climatic Change and HV. Most climate impacts were found to be water-related, meaning, interventions to address water challenges can boost energy and food production. This will enable policymakers to allocate resources for positive results.

Impact of macroeconomic indicators and regime change on debt stress in Zambia.

This paper quantifies the economic impact of regime changes and macroeconomic indicators on debt stress in Zambia using the Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) Bounds test. A 1% short run increase in gross domestic products (GDP) increases debt stress by 3.16% and in the subsequent year lowers it by 7.21%; in the long-run the 1% GDP increases lowers debt stress by 22%. In the long-run, a 1% rise in inflation and the lending rate negatively and positively impacted debt stress levels by -1.52% and 3.90%, respectively. Short-run shocks culminated regime change had short-run adverse impact on debt stress by 3.45% in one year and in the subsequent year by -10.35%, with the variables adjusting to long-run equilibrium at a speed of 71.5%. This is the first paper to quantify the empirical effect of macroeconomic indicators and change in Presidents on debt stress, especially in Africa were the problem of the debt trap is perpetuated. The results from the study implies that to deescalate the impact of debt stress on the economy, the electorate should vote in governments that will not fall short on growth driven macroeconomic policies, making it possible for economic sustainability to prevail; and paper seeks to promote good governance and good economic policies as a premise for sustained macroeconomic stability and development.

Effect of Audit Firm Characteristics on Audit Quality of Quoted Deposit Money Banks in Nigeria

This study investigates how the characteristics of audit firms are associated with audit quality in deposit money banks situated in Nigeria. The core explanatory variables employed or adopted were audit fees, audit tenure, and audit rotation on audit quality. The study adopted an ex-post factor research design. The population of the study consists of twelve (12) quoted deposit money banks on the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) as of 31st December, 2022, and twelve (12) banks were taken as the sample size using census sampling technique. The study period is from 2013 to 2022. The data were collected from the annual reports and accounts of the selected banks. Data collected were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and the hypotheses were tested using feasible generalized least squares regression analysis. The empirical findings revealed that audit fees and audit rotation have a positive and significant effect on audit quality, while audit tenure has a negative and significant effect on audit quality. On the basis of the findings, the study concludes that audit fees and audit rotation are important ingredients in achieving good audit quality. Establishing rotation programs with auditing should be implemented by all organizations seeking better planned undertakings of tasks regarding finance. The study recommended that banks should make use of standard audit firms like the Big 4 so as to get better audit quality, and there should be a good policy for audit rotation for the banks in order to achieve better audit quality.

New Perspectives on the Good Neighbor Policy

New Perspectives on the Good Neighbor Policy

The Impact of Antibiotic Misuse in Adult Patients: A Review of Contributing Factors, Consequences, and Strategies for Mitigation.

Antibiotic misuse, characterized by inappropriate use, over-prescription, and self-medication, is a severe threat to health in that it increases the rate at which antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop. This paper provides a review of antibiotic misuse concerning adult patients, an outline of factors that perpetuate it, the consequences, and the possible mitigation strategies. We discuss patient-related issues, such as lack of knowledge and non-compliance, problems with healthcare providers in terms of over-subscription and poor training, and system problems like poor stewardship programs and lack of regulatory efforts. In addition, the authors debate the environmental consequences of poor antibiotic stewardship coming from agriculture use and contamination. The consequences of misuse include the development of antibiotic-resistant pathogens and deleterious drug reactions, but also imply significant costs to the health system. The review calls for increased antibiotic stewardship, improved patient education, the development of new antimicrobial agents, and good policy infection control. This review is essence, a call to multifaceted efforts in the fight against the misuse of antibiotics and stresses that continuous research works are required to change policies. Antibiotic misuse is emerging as a global problem because addressing this problem not only ensures sustainability in the existing antibiotics but also assures that public health is protected.

CURRENT CONDITIONS IN TOBACCO PRODUCTION IN MACEDONIA - SUSTAINABILITY ANALYSIS, DEVELOPMENT POSSIBILITIES AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

The Republic of North Macedonia, both regionally and globally, is known for producing high-quality aromatic Oriental tobacco. It is a country where quality types of Oriental tobacco are traditionally cultivated, alongside well-known regions in Turkey, such as Izmir and the Aegean region, where there are ecological conditions for producing high-quality Oriental tobacco. As a small continental country in the Balkans, Macedonia represents a "golden triangle" in the process of Oriental tobacco production and a long-term relatively stable traditional producer compared to surrounding countries that also produce this type of tobacco. Driven by the demands of the global market, scientific and technological advancements worldwide, and the available natural, production, and human potentials, it can be stated that today, and even more so in the future, there will be a significant need to elevate the quality of tobacco production to a much higher level, considering the demands of buyers and the need for efficient and effective production. Looking ahead, tobacco production, with certain oscillations, has a stable trend in movements, with gentle upward trends in global production, which our country must also follow and adapt to. The future of tobacco production will largely depend on good agricultural and export policies, as well as good state subsidy policies, all aimed at encouraging and directing the young, capable population towards tobacco production, where they will see not only an opportunity for existence but also space for development, expansion and certainly profit.

Optimization of Human Resources in the Construction Industry at PT. Superior Pusadega

This research discusses efforts to optimize human resources (HR) in the construction industry at PT. Pusadega Superior. Effective HR management is crucial for increasing productivity and reducing risks in construction projects. The main problem identified is how HR optimization strategies influence project performance and job satisfaction. This study offers a new perspective by analyzing a comprehensive approach to HR management in the construction sector, an area that has not been widely explored in previous research. The research employs a qualitative case study method, utilizing qualitative analysis through interviews with project managers and staff, as well as document review related to HR management at PT. Pusadega Superior. The findings reveal that despite having good HR policies, their implementation is often inconsistent, which negatively impacts project performance. The main influencing factors are the quality of training and internal communication. The conclusion of this research is that increasing consistency in the implementation of HR policies and improving training and communication can enhance project performance and job satisfaction. The implication is that PT. Pusadega Superior must invest in better training programs and more effective communication strategies. The key message is that effective HR optimization is critical to the success of construction projects and worker satisfaction.

Dynamic Programming, Neuro-Dynamic Programming, Rollout Method and Model Predictive Control to Optimal Control of a Fermentation Process

This work presents the use of dynamic programming (DP), neuro-dynamic programming (NDP), rollout algorithm (RA) and model predictive control (MPC) for optimal control of batch cultivation of the yeast Kluyveromyces marxianus var. lactis MC5. DP is a widespread method for solving problems related to optimization and optimal process control. To reduce the “curse of dimensionality”, NDP has been implemented as an alternative. In NDP, a neural network is used to solve the dimensionality problem. A simpler NDP method, called RA, is used to approximate the optimal cost through the cost of a relatively good suboptimal policy, called the baseline policy. RA is a suboptimal method for deterministic and stochastic problems that can be solved by DP. In this paper we also present off-line MPC technique for tracking of constrained fermentation systems and it overcomes the problem by off-line optimizations prior to implementation. MPC is used to provide perturbation feedback and it is developed theoretical on base a controller as an illustration how we can avoid disturbances in the process optimisation. The developed control algorithm-combined NDP and MPC ensures maximum biomass production at the end of the process and feedback during disturbances and process stability and shows that robust stability can be ensured.

The pursuit of ‘good’ Internet policy

AbstractAs our digital society continues to advance, an increasingly diverse array of scholars, policymakers, civic interest groups, companies and regulatory bodies from around the world are seeking to have an increased say in its governance. This diversity makes the challenge of achieving ‘good’ Internet policy more complex and contested. Of course, the notion of 'good Internet policy' raises several important questions: What defines a good Internet policy? Who is it intended for? How can it be achieved and evaluated? Why is it worth pursuing? The papers in this collection explore a number of issues relevant to this pursuit. They include research into deploying digital systems to increase participation in democratic elections and other e‐governance initiatives, navigating the intersection of local norms and global rules, addressing algorithmic discrimination, confronting the role of conspiracy theories in democratic processes, defining responsibility in content moderation, balancing legal certainty with operational flexibility in platform governance and the potential for data justice in AI governance.

Implementation of Evacuation Training in Emergency Situations to Improve Ship Passenger Safety on KMP Jatra 2

The incidence of accidents and occupational diseases is still quite high. Various ship incidents include sinking, collision, fire, aground, people falling overboard, steering damage, and pollution at sea. as well as work accidents during duty on the ship, generally caused by human factors or human error. The purpose of this study is to find out the emergency drills on the ship, based on SOLAS on the KMP Jatra 2 ship and to find out how to handle problems in maximizing job training to each crew member according to SOLAS and SOP regulations. The results of this study found that emergency training on board KMP Jatra 2 is not running properly due to lack of consistency in following the SOP and SOLAS standards that have been set. To deal with this problem, several steps need to be taken, namely good HR policies, implementation of a punishment system for undisciplined crew members, regular training and realistic simulation of emergency situations, continuous supervision and evaluation of training implementation.

Tourist Walking Trails in Italy and Argentina: Navigating Political Recognition and Socio-Territorial Innovation

Tourism is often considered the world’s biggest industry, as it contributes approximately 10% of the global GDP. Despite this economic impact, tourism also includes important critical issues like territorial inequalities, diminishment of local engagement, and has high environmental and cultural impacts. This study investigates the rise of “walking trail tourism”, a niche sector where the respect for local communities and the environmental sustainability are particularly important. The focus is on Italy and Argentina: two countries with very different political, tourism, and biophysical backgrounds, but with the common recent development of walking trails and forms of social innovation. This study explores three main questions: the trends in walking trail tourism, the role of these trails in fostering local social innovation, and the influence of national policies in this domain. The study combines historical-statistical analysis, political–legislative review, and interviews with experts in order to assess all these aspects. Findings reveal significant social innovation trends within walking trail tourism but also challenges in territorial coordination and the establishment of national governance. Italy and Argentina are both characterized by an opposite situation regarding walking trails: there are several local initiatives but a lack of national guidelines in the former, and some good national policies but few bottom-up initiatives in the latter.

On Micropolitics: Climate adaptation and Indigenous governance in Western Alaska

Climate adaptation for Indigenous communities is not as simple as making good policy; it is equally about how policy is implemented and how collaboration unfolds between settler governments and Indigenous stakeholders. Rural Alaska Native villages are among the most environmentally threatened communities in the United States. Their ability to effectively manage environmental change and preserve sovereignty depends upon successful collaboration with a range of stakeholders, especially federal agencies. For more than two decades, academics and government agencies have documented a consistent pattern of failures, particularly by federal actors, to effectively manage adaptation challenges. These obstacles are sometimes misrepresented as policy failures. While poor policy is certainly involved in these poor outcomes, this paper highlights a set of barriers to successful collaboration that are not policy issues, per se, but rather micropolitical issues; that is, they pertain to the conduct of government in the context of Tribal relationships. Unaddressed, these micropolitical issues have created obstacles to Alaska Native communities’ self-determination as they adapt to a changing landscape. These barriers are explored in a case study drawn from Typhoon Merbok, which struck Western Alaska in 2022, and empirically grounded in a series of interviews and participant observation with experts, elders, elected officials, and Tribal staff. This article concludes with several concrete recommendations to improve the practice of domestic diplomacy between Indigenous communities and colonial governments.

ANALYSIS OF UZBEKISTAN'S RELATIONS WITH CHINA, RUSSIA, AND SOUTH KOREA: UTILIZING TEXT MINING BASED ON GDELT BIG DATA

GDELT (Global Dataset on Events, Language, and Tone), a comprehensive event dataset developed in 2013, provides quantifiable data on cooperative and conflictual relations between countries, as well as events related to specific phenomena. Its utility has been widely recognized, and it is actively used in international relations and foreign policy research. This study also utilizes GDELT data to introduce a method for analyzing the relationships between Uzbekistan and China, Russia, and South Korea through keyword correlation indicators derived from text mining, and to present the actual analysis results. By conducting a keyword correlation analysis based on event data between Uzbekistan and the three analyzed countries—China, Russia, and South Korea—it was possible to identify diplomatic action patterns through the correlation of core keywords such as "engage," "express intent," and "make" with keywords indicating specific actions. Uzbekistan’s foreign policy under the Mirziyoyev government has shown a diplomatic action pattern of seeking or participating in negotiations, expressing intentions for negotiation or cooperation, and pursuing meetings for negotiation and cooperation with the analyzed countries, while inviting or visiting counterpart countries as part of these processes. This demonstrates that Uzbekistan has actively worked towards establishing cooperative relations, which were set as the goal or direction of its foreign relations, named the “Good Neighbor Policy” by President Mirziyoyev. Such keyword correlation indicator analysis facilitates the explanation of cooperative relationships.

Transforming ambition into action to catalyse nature-based solutions: Insights from 250 good practice policy instruments

Ambition to leverage the power of nature-based solutions (NbS) to address global challenges such as the interlinked climate change and biodiversity crises has reached unprecedented levels. Despite a growing consensus around the potential benefits of NbS, this ambition has not translated into sufficient actionable progress in practice. Cities, increasingly recognized as centres of transformative capacity, have become a focal point for achieving NbS ambitions. Nevertheless, the transition from theoretical discourse to practical implementation has been slow, with NbS frequently being overlooked until recently in political agendas. A key obstacle to progress is the lack of action-oriented research grounding theoretical discussions in empirical evidence on NbS policy design and application. This paper seeks to address these knowledge gaps by: (i) defining criteria for good practices in urban NbS policy design and implementation; (ii) assessing policy instruments from the Urban Governance Atlas (UGA) against these criteria using mixed statistical and qualitative methods; and (iii) identifying potential pathways and actionable measures to promote the adoption of good practices in practice. Drawing on the diverse UGA examples, with a particular focus on Europe and the CELAC region, the paper identifies seven good practice criteria and outlines four potential pathways and related actions to guide the development of NbS policy instruments across varied urban contexts. Concrete recommendations around actionable knowledge aim to tap the transformative potential of NbS in addressing pressing global issues.

Competence of Frontline Implementers in the Implementation of the Policy of Appointing State Treasury Officials to Work Units within the Ministry of Religious Affairs Office Ciamis Regency

The new approach to state financial management began with the introduction of Law Number 17 of 2003 on State Finance, Law Number 1 of 2004 on State Treasury, and Law Number 15 of 2004 on the Audit of State Financial Management and Accountability. The implementation of Minister of Religious Affairs Regulation Number 32 of 2021, which essentially serves as a policy or program within the Ministry of Religious Affairs, outlines the procedures for appointing treasury officials. This process will significantly influence the transparency and accountability of budget management. The success of these policies in achieving their intended outcomes naturally depends on factors related to policy, organizational structure, and the surrounding environment. The competence of frontline implementers is the competence of policy implementers, while the competence of implementers is a work ability of each policy implementer which includes aspects of knowledge, skills, and work attitudes in accordance with the expected standardization. Minister of Religious Affairs Regulation Number 32 of 2021 Article 2 Paragraph 5 states that state treasury officials, namely Paying Warrant Signing Officers, Commitment Making Officials and Expenditure Treasurers must have a certificate of competence. With regard to the prerequisites to be able to carry out duties as a state treasury official, they must have competence, where one of the indicators of having this competence is eligibility indicated by the certificate obtained after following the certification process. To achieve good policy implementation cannot be achieved in a short time where there must be several stages taken. The first stage is called the fullness stage where it is very important to be qualified to be eligible for office, the next stage is quality, namely how the work is carried out better and who does it.

Relationship of ESG scores on firm performance: Moderating roles of board size and CEO duality

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) activities and the performance of Thai listed firms. The moderating roles of board size and CEO duality on this relationship are also assessed. The ESG score provided by LSEG (formerly Refinitiv) is chosen to measure ESG activities, both as an overall ESG combined scores and as Environment, Social, and Governance pillar scores. Multiple regression analysis is used to test the impact of ESG on firm performance while the PROCESS macro is used to test the moderating effects. Results reveal that the overall ESG combined score demonstrates no statistically significant effect on firm market-based performance. However, it shows the significant effects on firm performance for both the ESG combined score and the Environmental and Social pillar scores when moderated by board size and CEO duality; Governance pillar score exhibits no significant effect. Additionally, it is found that when the CEO operates only as the managing director and small board size and average board size are evident, higher ESG disclosure scores enhance firm performance. However, when the CEO serves as both managing director and chairman of the board of directors, and where there is a large board size, higher ESG disclosure scores diminish firm performance. This study contributes to the ESG literature and encourages companies to enhance their performance by implementing ESG combined activities with good governance policies.