Government Decision Research Articles

Effect of coal type on aerosol optical properties at Ulaanbaatar city

In this study, seasonal characteristics of aerosol optical properties at Ulaanbaatar station of the international network of SKYNET are investigated using ground-based skyradiometer from the years extending from 2017 to 2023. The aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 500nm wavelength and Angstrom exponent (AE) were determined in winter to evaluate the decrease in air pollution in Ulaanbaatar since implementing the government's decision to use coal briquettes for household heating. During the study period, the monthly mean AOT at 500nm varied throughout the year, with the maximum value of 0.178±0.004 obtained in winter due to households burning large amounts of biomass, and the highest AOT (0.183) was obtained in February. The mean AOT was 0.21 in the winter of 2017-2019, which decreased by 15 per cent to 0.18 in the winter of 2019-2023.

The evolution of vaccine mandates: from historical perspectives to contemporary applications

Abstract Luigi Sacco pioneered efforts in 19th-century Italian vaccination campaigns when mandatory vaccination practices began as a public health strategy. We bridge past and present through a systematic review of both historical and contemporary vaccine mandate policies. While Sacco’s early initiatives, characterised by compulsory vaccination and effective communication strategies, set foundational principles for vaccine mandates, the modern era, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has seen a significant shift in the nature and application of vaccine mandates. Recent legislative changes across various countries have introduced stricter mandates aimed at managing public health crises. For instance, Italy and France, deeply impacted by reduced vaccine uptake and subsequent measles outbreaks, responded by reinforcing vaccine mandates. These countries aimed to mitigate the dual challenges of achieving high vaccination coverage and combating growing vaccine hesitancy. Comparative analysis of recent legislative changes reveals a trend towards increasing coerciveness in vaccine mandates, reflecting a blend of functional and political pressures driving government decisions. This trend is evident in the legislative adjustments made in California, Australia, France, and Italy, where heightened penalties and reduced exemptions were introduced to counteract declining public compliance. The synthesis of these experiences highlights the critical role of robust, credible communication and the nuanced application of mandates that consider societal and cultural contexts. Contemporary strategies are characterised by targeted interventions aimed at specific populations, reflecting the complex interplay of social, political, and health dynamics in vaccine policy. The enduring relevance of vaccine mandates underscores the necessity of flexible, responsive public health strategies that effectively address both long-standing and emergent vaccine hesitancy and coverage challenges. Speakers/Panelists Carlo Signorelli HSR, Milan, Italy Maria Gańczak Department of Infectious Diseases, University of Zielona Góra, Zielona Góra, Poland

Knowledge and support for AI in the public sector: a deliberative poll experiment

AbstractWe are on the verge of a revolution in public sector decision-making processes, where computers will take over many of the governance tasks previously assigned to human bureaucrats. Governance decisions based on algorithmic information processing are increasing in numbers and scope, contributing to decisions that impact the lives of individual citizens. While significant attention in the recent few years has been devoted to normative discussions on fairness, accountability, and transparency related to algorithmic decision-making based on artificial intelligence, less is known about citizens’ considered views on this issue. To put society in-the-loop, a Deliberative Poll was thus carried out on the topic of using artificial intelligence in the public sector, as a form of in-depth public consultation. The three use cases that were selected for deliberation were refugee reallocation, a welfare-to-work program, and parole. A key finding was that after having acquired more knowledge about the concrete use cases, participants were overall more supportive of using artificial intelligence in the decision processes. The event was set up with a pretest/post-test control group experimental design, and as such, the results offer experimental evidence to extant observational studies showing positive associations between knowledge and support for using artificial intelligence.

Co-design and civic governance: self and others in a dispute over urban infrastructure

ABSTRACT This paper explores how citizens help shape the urban environment, partly through their talk, as they participate in a dispute about what elements of that environment should be like. In our investigation of the talk in civic meetings concerning a bicycle lane, we argue that some of the interactional activities of the meeting can be understood as a form of co-design that involves both present and absent others. Accordingly, we seek to expand the understanding of co-design beyond those explicit collaborative practices that involve designers and others to also include contexts of urban governance. Through considering how citizens present themselves in ways that variously detail personal experience, knowledge of a City’s design-consultation processes, and references to multiple others, we can see how a disagreement concerning an element of urban infrastructure (an existing bicycle lane) is enacted in ways that impact subsequent governance decisions (the lane is removed). We consider how conflict and disruption might be considered constitutive elements of some situations of co-design, with our work building on previous scholarship that explores the policy-related settings of, e.g. government debates, as instances of co-design.

Community Engagement in Local Governance

Community engagement in local governance is crucial for effective and inclusive decision-making. Lack of Awareness and Information has been found that limited knowledge can have its community members may not fully understand the governance processes or their rights and responsibilities. Information gaps have been found that the insufficient information about local issues and decision-making processes can hinder meaningful participation. Low Participation Rates have been found that apathy and disinterest is that some community members may be disengaged due to a lack of trust in the system or a perception that their participation will not make a difference. Barriers to access has been found that the physical, economic, or social barriers may prevent certain groups from participating, such as the elderly, disabled, or economically disadvantaged. During the initial phase (2008-2013) of the Local Governance and Community Development Program (LGCDP) in Nepal, social mobilization emerged as one of its most effective components. Approximately 1 million citizens actively influenced local government decisions, leading many local bodies to develop annual plans that more accurately addressed the needs of citizens, particularly marginalized and disadvantaged groups. However, there remain several lessons to be learned in addressing the challenges of implementation. It is crucial to harmonize local social mobilization efforts and enhance the quality and support of social mobilization initiatives across Nepal. Addressing the challenges of community engagement in local governance involves a multifaceted approach that includes enhancing communication, building capacity, fostering inclusivity, and ensuring accountability. Public education campaigns have been found to Conduct outreach programs to educate community members about their rights, governance processes, and how they can participate. Workshops and training have been identified to offer workshops and training sessions to increase understanding of local governance and decision-making procedures. Diverse engagement channels have to utilize multiple platforms for engagement, including town hall meetings, online forums, surveys, and community events, to reach a broader audience. Inclusive scheduling has to schedule meetings and events at times that are convenient for different community groups, including evenings and weekends.

The UK’s pandemic preparedness and early response to the COVID-19 pandemic

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the UK’s pre-COVID 19 pandemic preparedness and its early response to the COVID-19 pandemic (January ‘20 – March ‘20). The aim of this article is to explain the high excess mortality the UK experienced compared to many of its international and European peers in the first wave, which is contrary to the country’s high ranking in pre-COVID-19 preparedness rankings. The article assesses the various components of pre-COVID-19 pandemic preparedness such as pandemic strategy, exercises, and stockpiles, and it covers government decision making processes on the early response, including questions around post-travel quarantining, test and trace, and mobility restrictions. The article concludes that there were important deficiencies in the UK's pandemic preparedness and early response in the COVID-19 pandemic. These include the centrality of the ‘inevitability of spread’-assumption underpinning the UK’s pandemic planning pre-COVID, the insufficient implementation of pandemic exercise recommendations, the lack of early and ‘live learning’ from other countries’ experiences, the lack of adoption of public health advice of the World Health Organisation early on, the late implementation of internal mobility restrictions, the lack of timely consideration of alternative early pandemic response models, and fragilities in the SAGE/governmental interplay.

The Relocation of Indonesia's Capital: Public Policy Analysis and Its Implications for Regional Development

The relocation of the Indonesian capital has become a significant topic of debate in Indonesian public policy. In analyzing public policy and its implications, this study explores the factors that influenced the government's decision to move the country's capital. Using a multidisciplinary approach, this study considers the geopolitical, economic, social, and environmental aspects associated with the relocation process. The implications of this policy are also examined, including its impact on national development, the distribution of political power, as well as people's welfare. This research aims to provide a deeper understanding of the process of relocating Indonesia's capital and evaluate its impact on society and the country as a whole.

Global Metrics for Terrestrial Biodiversity

Biodiversity metrics are increasingly in demand for informing government, business, and civil society decisions. However, it is not always clear to end users how these metrics differ or for what purpose they are best suited. We seek to answer these questions using a database of 573 biodiversity-related metrics, indicators, indices, and layers, which address aspects of genetic diversity, species, and ecosystems. We provide examples of indicators and their uses within the state–pressure–response–benefits framework that is widely used in conservation science. Considering complementarity across this framework, we recommend a small number of metrics considered most pertinent for use in decision-making by governments and businesses. We conclude by highlighting five future directions: increasing the importance of national metrics, ensuring wider uptake of business metrics, agreeing on a minimum set of metrics for government and business use, automating metric calculation through use of technology, and generating sustainable funding for metric production.

Investigating the impact of multiple governance mechanisms on new infrastructure projects performance: evidence from China

PurposeThis study aims to construct a “contractual–relational–governmental” 3D governance framework for new infrastructure projects (NIPs) within China’s distinct institutional context. The primary objective is to explore the impact of multiple governance mechanisms on the NIP performance, thus identifying the key governance mechanisms and proposing targeted performance improvement strategies.Design/methodology/approachThe research design follows a sequential mixed methodology of integrating qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Firstly, project governance and performance indicators were collected from relevant literature and expert interviews. Secondly, a questionnaire was developed, and data were collected through on-site and online means. Finally, the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) was utilized to examine and analyze the relationships between governance mechanisms and NIP performance.FindingsContractual, relational and governmental governance all have a certain role in promoting the NIP performance. Specifically, contract stringency, trust and governmental decision are the core elements of contractual, relational and governmental governance, respectively, while commitment does not significantly affect NIP performance. Generally, relational and governmental governance exert a more substantial influence compared to contractual governance, with governmental decision and trust being the most effective.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the field by introducing PLS-SEM as a measurement tool for exploring the impact of multiple governance mechanisms on governance performance in NIPs. The results offer valuable insights for project managers, enabling them to concentrate on core factors while refining and optimizing governance mechanisms and strategies.

Transformative Local Governments: Addressing Social Urban Challenges by Bringing People and Politics Together

As the tier of government closest to people, local government plays a key role in answering local needs and aspirations. However, local governments are often under-resourced, leaving them inadequately responsive to many of these critical local demands. Moreover, accountability to their citizens, which is the core of a well-functioning local democracy, is often lacking because the necessary formal laws and informal norms do not enable citizens to influence the decision-making process in a collaborative, creative, and evidence-based process that promotes collective learning. Through innovative case study analyses from around the world, the 12 contributions in this thematic issue delve into the multifaceted ways in which local governments can bridge the gap between people and politics, offering innovative perspectives on participatory governance, co-creation, and collaborative decision-making for inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable cities. The cases showcase innovations and challenges in the urban environment, capturing different ways to bring people and politics together in an attempt to co-create solutions for a sustainable and resilient urban future. The insights provided by this plethora of cases provides lessons that can help revolutionise international, national, and local urban policy to empower local authorities and their local communities to address the increasingly urgent challenges faced by municipalities around the world, ensuring an inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable future for the generations to come.

Asserting the public interest in health data: On the ethics of data governance for biobanks and insurers

Recent reporting has revealed that the UK Biobank (UKB)—a large, publicly-funded research database containing highly-sensitive health records of over half a million participants—has shared its data with private insurance companies seeking to develop actuarial AI systems for analyzing risk and predicting health. While news reports have characterized this as a significant breach of public trust, the UKB contends that insurance research is “in the public interest,” and that all research participants are adequately protected from the possibility of insurance discrimination via data de-identification. Here, we contest both of these claims. Insurers use population data to identify novel categories of risk, which become fodder in the production of black-boxed actuarial algorithms. The deployment of these algorithms, as we argue, has the potential to increase inequality in health and decrease access to insurance. Importantly, these types of harms are not limited just to UKB participants: instead, they are likely to proliferate unevenly across various populations within global insurance markets via practices of profiling and sorting based on the synthesis of multiple data sources, alongside advances in data analysis capabilities, over space/time. This necessitates a significantly expanded understanding of the publics who must be involved in biobank governance and data-sharing decisions involving insurers.

Evaluate the Effectiveness of the Agricultural Machinery Purchase Subsidy Policy for Poverty Alleviation in Guizhou, China

Southwest China's weak economic development has been the focus of China's rural revitalization strategy; exploring the impact of implementing an agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy can impetus the economic development of Southwest China. Since its introduction in 2004, the policy of subsidizing the purchase of agricultural machinery has been mainly used to support the purchase of advanced and applicable agricultural machinery. The implementation of this policy has promoted China's socioeconomic development and, until now, has been an indispensable supportive policy in the rural revitalization strategy. As the province with the most poverty-reducing people in the country, Guizhou's achievements cannot be attributed to the conscientious implementation of the central government's decisions and deployments. However, Guizhou's practice of subsidizing the purchase of agricultural machinery also requires improvement. The Smith Model is the theoretical framework for this research. This paper lists the problem Guizhou's agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy needs to fix with stakeholder analysis. It then uses the Smith Model to look into the reasons for the "irrational agricultural machinery structure" gap in Guizhou's application of the agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy and makes suggestions for how to make things better. This study's main contribution is to enrich existing literature by analyzing Guizhou's policy implication in addressing the problem of insufficient production of agricultural machinery and providing a direction for the future implementation of Guizhou's agricultural machinery purchase subsidy policy.

D2kg: An integrated ontology for knowledge graph-based representation of government decisions and acts

To implement Open Governance a crucial element is the efficient use of the big amounts of open data produced in the public domain. Public administration is a rich source of data and potentially new knowledge. It is a data intensive sector producing vast amounts of information encoded in government decisions and acts, published nowadays on the World Wide Web. The knowledge shared on the Web is mostly made available via semi-structured documents written in natural language. To exploit this knowledge, technologies such as Natural Language Processing, Information Extraction, Data mining and the Semantic Web could be used, embedding into documents explicit semantics based on formal knowledge representations such as ontologies. Knowledge representation can be made possible by the deployment of Knowledge Graphs, collections of interlinked representations of entities, events or concepts, based on underlying ontologies. This can assist data analysts to achieve a higher level of situational awareness, facilitating automated reasoning towards different objectives, such as for knowledge management, data maintenance, transparency and cybersecurity. This paper presents a new ontology d2kg [d(iavgeia) 2(to) k(nowledge) g(raph)] integrating in a unique way standard EU ontologies, core and controlled vocabularies to enable exploitation of publicly available data from government decisions and acts published on the Greek platform Diavgeia with the aim to facilitate data sharing, re-usability and interoperability. It demonstrates a characteristic example of a Knowledge Graph based representation of government decisions and acts, highlighting its added value to respond to real practical use cases for the promotion of transparency, accountability and public awareness. The developed d2kg ontology in owl is accessible at: http://w3id.org/d2kg, as well as documented at: http://w3id.org/d2kg/documentation.

COVINet: a deep learning-based and interpretable prediction model for the county-wise trajectories of COVID-19 in the United States

The devastating impact of COVID-19 on the United States has been profound since its onset in January 2020. Predicting the trajectory of epidemics accurately and devising strategies to curb their progression are currently formidable challenges. In response to this crisis, we propose COVINet, which combines the architecture of Long Short-Term Memory and Gated Recurrent Unit, incorporating actionable covariates to offer high-accuracy prediction and explainable response. First, we train COVINet models for confirmed cases and total deaths with five input features, and compare Mean Absolute Errors (MAEs) and Mean Relative Errors (MREs) of COVINet against ten competing models from the United States CDC in the last four weeks before April 26, 2021. The results show COVINet outperforms all competing models for MAEs and MREs when predicting total deaths. Then, we focus on prediction for the most severe county in each of the top 10 hot-spot states using COVINet. The MREs are small for all predictions made in the last 7 or 30 days before March 23, 2023. Beyond predictive accuracy, COVINet offers high interpretability, enhancing the understanding of pandemic dynamics. This dual capability positions COVINet as a powerful tool for informing effective strategies in pandemic prevention and governmental decision-making.

The Self and the Other: Individual Emotions and Ontological Security in Turkish Foreign Policy

Emotions and ontological security open up one of the latest avenues in International Relations (IR). An increasing number of interdisciplinary approaches have been engaging in emotions and ontological security, for example, foreign policy analysis. However, academic research is scarce concerning the triangulation of emotions, foreign policy, and individual ontological security. Driven by the gap in the literature, the study analyzes how Turkey’s foreign policy decisions influence individual existentialism in terms of ontological security during the AKP era. A subsidiary question addresses how Turkey’s foreign policy decisions adjust/affect individual emotions towards its most engaged and interacted countries. Based on Ontological Security Theory (OST), the study has conducted 20 interviews. The questions cover Turkey’s foreign policy milestones: the start of the EU accession negotiations, the “one minute incident,” the Mavi Marmara incident, and the Arab Uprisings and the Syrian Civil War. The questions aim to reveal people’s emotional reactions to and descriptions of such events. The interview transcripts are analyzed in a Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) context. Through CDA, the individuals’ perceptions of risk, threat, and danger are analyzed to seek the determinants of growing existential uncertainty in tandem with significant foreign policy decisions of the AKP government. This study finds that foreign policy decisions in Turkey impact individuals’ emotions based on key events. Through the case of Turkey, the study contributes to the emerging literature on emotions and ontological security by studying the dimensions between foreign policy and individual insecurities and emotions.

ФОРСАЙТ ЯК ІНСТРУМЕНТ ВІДПОВІДАЛЬНОГО ДЕРЖАВНОГО УПРАВЛІННЯ І СТРАТЕГУВАННЯ МІЖНАРОДНОЇ ЕКОНОМІЧНОЇ ПОЛІТИКИ В УМОВАХ ЗАГОСТРЕННЯ ГЛОБАЛЬНИХ ПРОБЛЕМ РОЗВИТКУ

The purpose of the article is to study strategic long-term planning tools that allow timely identification of the latest risks, challenges and threats to international economic development that make it difficult to solve global problems that are a consequence of failures in the coordination of international economic policy. It has been determined that strategic forecasting allows politicians to increase the efficiency of government decision-making by identifying opportunities and threats that may arise in the coming years and decades, and also involves the development of possible strategies to counter them by taking into account the characteristics of the identified trends. The phenomenon of the new economy is characterized. The influence of technological development on the asymmetry of international economic development is determined. It has been established that the problems of international economic development in foresight strategizing include geopolitical rivalry, resource confrontation, energy dependence, deglobalization, disintegration processes, trade fragmentation, gaps in value and supply chains, reinstitutionalization of the system of international economic relations, recession, population aging, unemployment. Foresight forecasting tools that are not aimed at predicting a single “correct future” include: analysis of long-term trends and uncertainties; horizon scanning); scenario planning; shaping a normative future; political games; futures wheels; causal multilevel analysis. Research into long-term trends and uncertainties reveals key factors in different possible futures. The comprehensive observation carried out allows us to identify risks for the macroeconomic environment and proactively formulate a pool of measures to minimize the destructive impact of instability on socio-economic development. Improving foresight research as a critical element of strategic forecasting for solving problems of long-term development affects both theoretical aspects (conceptual approach, conceptual apparatus) and applied aspects (technologies and methods of development) of the development and use of this tool. Strategic planning allows you to develop adequate tools to achieve goals and proactively respond to the challenges of modern development, minimizing costs and compensating for the losses that arise for this reason, which lead to the loss of existing competitive advantages. The difference between forecasts and foresights is noted: forecasts are usually associated with uncontrollable events, while foresights most often deal with events and processes that are clearly controllable, therefore they assess the probability of not only one or another outcome of future events, but also the adoption of certain strategic and management decisions. The ability to distinguish normative approaches (what we want) from pragmatic approaches (what we should) is an important component of thinking in terms of alternative futures

The Impact of Immersive 360-Degree Video Learning on Enhancing Oral Communication Skills

This study investigates the pivotal role of immersive 360-degree video and its perceived advantages on the enhancement of oral communication skills within the framework of the ELC650 course, 'English for Professional Interaction'. The research involved twenty-four students enrolled in the Bachelor of Applied Language (Arabic Communication Professionals) (Hons) program. The distribution of questionnaires immediately after the students watched the video aimed to assess the role of immersive 360-degree video and its perceived advantages of this technology in preparing students for conducting assessments within a meeting discussion. Employing a cross-sectional design, the study collects both closed-ended and open-ended responses through the distributed questionnaires. The latter serves as a crucial means of triangulating the data, offering real-time insights into the students' understanding of professional interaction and assessment practices using 360-degree video. The study's findings on the use of 360-degree video in education can inform government decisions and contribute to achieving SDG 4, which aims to improve the quality of education. It is important for government and learning institutions to recognize and embrace the role of 360-degree video in enhancing learning quality, specifically in fostering communication skills within the area of professional interaction in English. Other than that, this study holds implications for refining curriculum design, shaping instructional strategies, and optimizing the integration of innovative technologies in language education, particularly for students specializing in Arabic communication.

The place of strategic ecological communications in change management (based on the national project “Ecological Well-Being”)

Comprehensive improvement of the state of the environment is currently the subject of government decisions, programs and projects in Russia. This affects the interests of various audiences: business, the public, federal and regional influence groups, and hence requires strategic communications aimed at explaining, expanding the number of supporters, uniting efforts, legitimizing the governmental decisions, and changing the behavior of the audiences. The purpose of the study is to analyze the place of strategic environmental communications in the action program for the implementation of state environmental strategies. The author relies on theoretical studies of Russian and foreign authors on this issue. In the practical part, she analyzes communications in the process of forming the national project “Ecological Well-Being”. The results of the conducted study of the media and official resources of state authorities allow to consider several communicative models of behavior: public and non-public. The stage of formation of the national project is accompanied by non-public communication, which creates certain risks when information is released into the public space, since criticism and disagreement with the adoption of relevant decisions may arise from various groups. The author offers a list of possible conflict topics and examines the features of the formation of strategic environmental communications, based on M. Harvell’s matrix.

Discriminatory discourses against Morocco and Moroccan immigrants in the Spanish context. A corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis of ‘Jovenlandia/jovenlandés’ (Youthland/Youthlandian) on X

Media discourse has provided a breeding ground for the advent of new patterns of discrimination with the power of influencing the public narrative. This goal of this study is to analyze how the recently-created terms ‘Jovenlandia’ (Youthland) and ‘jovenlandés’ (Youthlandian) are employed mockingly on X in response to the use of generic ‘joven’ (youth, youngster) in news articles. With the use of these terms, X users imply a supposed cancel culture in mass media that withholds data of Muslim immigrant criminals. The theoretical approach adopted combines corpus tools with Critical Discourse Analysis to examine 3856 posts on X during the 2023 Spanish general election campaign (from May 29th to July 23rd 2023). The analysis is based on Wodak’s discourse-historical approach and examines referential and predication strategies to unveil the linguistic expressions to represent immigrants. The results show that the words serve to construct a racist discursive representation of Moroccan migrant identities on the platform X in Spain. Immigrants are portrayed as violent, criminals, and rapists, whereas Morocco is depicted as a land of criminals with homophobic and sexist traditions. The discursive strategies against migrants were commonly grounded in the Muslims’ perceived failure to assimilate into the Spanish culture. In this sense, pork meat is used as a symbolic cultural criterion for evaluating authentic Spanish adherence. Spaniards are self-portrayed as victims of the left-wing government decisions and X users appeal to the extreme-right wing party Vox to solve the problem.

Revisiting citizen preferences for who should govern and how. the case of cross-national surveys

ABSTRACT A growing body of literature suggests that many citizens reject representative politics and demand instead that people or unelected experts direct governmental decision-making. This study contributes to this literature by highlighting how undetected response biases and other sources of measurement error have misled previous inquiries about patterns of support for political processes. Using recent cross-national surveys with innovative measurement proposals, the article finds that theorized dimensions of the political process represent citizens’ views consistently across citizen backgrounds only when measurement errors are corrected. This technical adjustment has substantive theoretical and empirical implications for further explanatory analyses. First, it shows when indicators measuring the political process are comparable across citizens’ groups, sharing understandings about and abilities to identify the dimensions of the political process with low response bias. Second, it finds that uncontrolled measurement errors obscure analyses of who supports political processes. Several patterns in explaining citizens’ preferences turn statistically non-significant, and new predictors emerge –mostly associated with citizens’ conservatism and resource mobilization theory. The findings offer new insights and methodological suggestions for future comparative research on citizens’ preferences for who should govern and how.