Government Action Research Articles

Socio-technical challenges and prospects of residential solar PV diffusion in Ghana: Insights from regime and intermediary actors

This study seeks to broaden the understanding of factors influencing the diffusion of residential solar PV in Ghana by examining the socio-technical challenges confronting this sector from the perspective of regime and intermediary actors. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with focal persons at the Energy Commission, Land Use and Spatial Planning Authority (LUSPA), 18 licensed solar home system (SHS) companies, and 15 real estate developers in Accra. The study uncovers compliance and mediation-based interactions between the intermediary and regime actors. Significant regime support for residential solar PV exists through incentives such as capital subsidies, net-metering schemes, and partnerships with financial institutions to provide soft loans for residential solar investments. Nonetheless, policy-regulation incoherence, a sectoral dichotomy between energy and urban planning, fragmented institutional efforts, inadequate access to long-term finance, and limited awareness/technical know-how of SHS emerged as the key challenges to residential solar PV diffusion in Ghana. Resolving these challenges requires synergies between the regime and intermediary actors to enact conducive regulatory frameworks and coordinate the activities of all actors to facilitate residential solar PV uptake in Ghana. The study also posits that the transition from a fossil-dependent regime to a low-carbon one not only requires a re-direction of financial incentives to technological niches but also to user-based intermediaries.

COVID-19 pandemic in the Niger Delta: the Akwa Ibom State experience

ABSTRACT Although the COVID-19 pandemic was not Nigeria’s first encounter with a global health crisis, it profoundly disrupted nearly every sector of society. This study focuses on Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, offering insights into how the pandemic unfolded within the state. Utilising a qualitative methodology that combines content analysis of newspapers with anonymised interviews, framed by New Institutionalism Theory (NIT), this research reveals how the pandemic’s peak intensified tensions between state administration and health officials, alongside public controversies regarding the distribution and use of palliative measures. Our findings highlight the importance of prioritising public needs and ensuring that government actions align with this priority for effective crisis management during large-scale public health emergencies.

When cities broke into the global stage: 20 years since the publication of ‘Cities and Climate Change’

This short symposium revisits the book Cities and Climate Change by Harriet Bulkeley and Michelle Betsill and its role in establishing cities as central actors in climate change governance. The contributors to this symposium reflect on the research themes and the book’s legacy from their disciplinary perspectives. The first response explores the tensions between the elevation of cities as sites for climate action and the persistent lack of state action, arguing for meaningful public participation and a labour of making visible how city-based practices respond to climate change. The second response examines how the book has enabled generations of scholars to appreciate the complex constitution of city actors and how they interact/enact global climate governance yet remain frustratingly marginal in the discipline of International Relations. The third response explores how the book positioned the urban as a problem space, a manageable scale of intervention, and a political space with the capacity to enact innovation, triggering new questions about the potential and limits of the expanding responsibilities of cities. The fourth response argues that as cities become active in adaptation, they need to engage in an anticolonial politics of love and hospitality that sheds ‘security’ and makes the self vulnerable to ‘others’ for an effective response to climate change. The symposium concludes with a recap by Betsill and Bulkeley which underscores the variety of interdisciplinary debates that the book has generated, and its influence on current thinking on debates on climate change governance.

Modeling of Naïve Bayes and Decision Tree Algorithms to Analyze Sentiment Related to Jaklingko Public Transportation on Social Media X (Twitter)

Technological developments have changed the way people access information and share opinions through the internet and social media such as X (Twitter). Public sentiment is now crucial in evaluating public services, especially in the era of advanced information technology. As a metropolitan city, public transportation in DKI Jakarta plays an important role in economic, business and government activities. The Jaklingko initiative launched by the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government aims to provide efficient and affordable public transportation. This research implements and compares Naive Bayes and Decision Tree classification methods to perform sentiment analysis of twitter users opinions regarding Jaklingko into positive and negative categories. Data was collected by crawling using tweet_harvest which obtained 6001 tweets about Jaklingko, then text preprocessing was carried out. Word weighting is done using the TF-IDF method to give value to each term in the document, and sentiment labeling is done using the Vader Lexicon library. The data is divided into training and testing data with a ratio of 80%:20% for the classification process. Evaluation of the method is done using confusion matrix. The results showed that the accuracy of Naive Bayes reached 84.9% and Decision Tree reached 84.2%. The wordcloud visualization depicts negative words including vehicle stoppage, bad driver attitude, and envy from people in other cities. Meanwhile, positive words included free system, useful programs, and user convenience. This research provides an in-depth understanding of public opinion towards Jaklingko, with potential implications for improving public transportation services in Jakarta.

Stand-up Comedy in India: Redefining Freedom of Expression Beyond Mainstream Media’s Reach

This paper explores how stand-up comedy serves as a platform for political criticism in India, focusing on comedians Varun Grover, Vir Das, and Kunal Kamra. It aims to understand their perspectives on government actions through their performances. In a context where traditional media faces censorship, stand-up comedy emerges as a unique and impactful tool for free expression. These comedians use humor to address sensitive topics, empowering audiences to engage with critical political issues. By raising public awareness through laughter, they contribute to the democratic process and challenge the limitations of free speech in India.

The impact of biased land resource allocation on local behaviour and subnational service provision: evidence from China

ABSTRACT Land resources are crucial yet limited inputs in economic activities, with significant implications for both economic development and public sector behaviour. This study investigates how land resource supply affects local government actions, using the place-biased land supply policy (PBLP) introduced in 2004 as a quasi-natural experiment. Through a propensity score matching and difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) approach, this study finds that cities facing land supply restrictions under PBLP experienced slower GDP growth alongside higher pollutant emissions. These effects remain robust across alternative variable measures, accounting for other policies, and varying matching techniques. The slowdown in economic growth is primarily driven by reduced fixed assets and foreign investment, prompting local governments to relax environmental regulations to boost short-term growth. These findings highlight the unintended consequences of administrative land policies on social welfare, revealing the complex dynamics between land supply, government behaviour, and socio-economic outcomes.

Exploring the Acceptance of the Public Consumer in Scandinavian Governance: An Essay About Choice as Both a Right and an Obligation

In this essay, I critically explore the acceptance of the “public consumer” concept within Scandinavian governance. The rise of neo-liberal policies and New Public Management has significantly influenced current governance models, emphasizing principles of competition and marketisation to enhance public sector efficiency. However, limited attention has been given to the public consumer concept, particularly within the Scandinavian context, despite the region's prominence in adopting new and innovative management techniques. Drawing upon Anglo-Saxon literature and Scandinavian administrative models, I explore why the public consumer concept has been so accepted in Scandinavian governance contexts. I argue that the existence of mixed administrative models has created a fertile ground for accepting the public consumer as a viable actor in Scandinavian governance. This is highlighted by understanding choice as both a right and an obligation. Furthermore, I argue that although the public consumer concept may be attributed to the rise of New Public Management, it is expected that the public consumer will play an even more intricate role as post-New Public Management comes into motion.

Navigating Borderspaces

Grounded in the literature on critical humanitarian and border studies, this research examined the relationship between criminalization and the positionality of non-governmental search and rescue organizations in the context of the European Union’s and, specifically, Italy’s migration governance. It interrogated whether criminalization fosters heightened antagonism towards states and politicizes the civil fleet or if, on the contrary, it leads to an increased humanitarian focus, incorporating SAR NGOs further into the depoliticized EUropean border regime. It conceptualized criminalization and traced its evolution from the early 2000s until 2023. A qualitative content analysis of SAR NGO’s public communication around key moments in criminalization policy shifts was conducted. Two NGOs representing opposite sides of the spectrum between 'political' and 'humanitarian' positionalities were analyzed, enriched by interviews with SAR community members. The findings indicate that criminalization leads to politicization and increased antagonism towards states for both NGOs scrutinized. However, positionality shifts are, to varying degrees, influenced by alternative explanatory factors, particularly path dependency. Overall, the study provided crucial insights into NGO-state relations, shedding light on maritime humanitarian action in the Central Mediterranean and opening new perspectives on European migration governance and humanitarian action in solidarity with people on the move.

CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF CORRUPTION CRIMES IN UKRAINE AND LITHUANIA DURING THE STATE OF EMERGENCY AND MARTIAL LAW

Background: Martial law in Ukraine and the state of emergency in Lithuania have changed the daily lifestyles of many residents of these countries. The circumstances necessitating the introduction of these special regimes have also increased the risk of illegal activities, including corruption, in these territories. Methods: This study applied a comprehensive approach that included a thorough analysis of Ukrainian and Lithuanian anti-corruption legislation, reports on the implementation of anticorruption measures during the state of emergency in Lithuania and martial law in Ukraine, and content analysis of news media. The researcher surveyed 13 anti-corruption experts in Ukraine and, based on their answers and previous research materials, identified the factors that contribute to the spread of corruption in Ukraine during martial law and in Lithuania during its state of emergency. Survey results were also used to determine measures to control and prevent corruption during periods of exception in these countries. Results and Conclusion: The study of corruption in these contexts provides insight into the factors contributing to the spread of corruption. The anti-corruption experts in Ukraine selected the following factors as the greatest contributors to corruption: inadequate control and supervision (53.8%), increased need for funding (23.1%), lack of transparency and openness (53.8%), vulnerability and citizens’ moral hazards (38.5%), and aggravation of social problems and mistrust in authorities (61.5%). The analysis of these factors made it possible to provide recommendations to enhance the control and prevention of corruption offences in Ukraine and Lithuania. These measures include strengthening the independence of anticorruption bodies, increasing the transparency of government activities, disseminating anticorruption education, promoting international cooperation in combating corruption, and strengthening public control.

Perlindungan Kepada Warga Negara Melalui PTUN terhadap Penyalahgunaan Wewenang oleh Pejabat Publik

Perlindungan Kepada Warga Negara Melalui PTUN terhadap Penyalahgunaan Wewenang oleh Pejabat Publik

Origins of British reservoir safety legislation 1850–1930

One hundred years ago in 1925, there were two dam failures with significant loss of life, and following these disasters, the 1930 Reservoirs (Safety Provisions) Act was enacted. Catastrophic failures in the nineteenth century had produced demands for government action but legislation had been much delayed by changes of government at critical times and by concerns about inadvertently reducing the legal liability of reservoir owners. Also, there was a marked lack of enthusiasm within the civil engineering profession for a government inspectorate. The key feature of the 1930 Act was that reservoir owners were required to appoint qualified civil engineers to inspect their reservoirs and, following such inspections, to implement measures required in the interests of safety. Post-1930 legislation, which it is intended will be the subject of a further paper, has done much to enhance public safety but the fundamental importance of independent qualified civil engineers has not diminished.

No one-size-fits-all: Multi-actor perspectives on public participation and digital participatory platforms.

This paper explores the perspectives of different urban actors regarding public participation in the context of the increasing incorporation of digital technologies and urban platforms. The study is based on three workshops with local governance actors, six semi-structured interviews with academics in the fields of public participation and digital technologies and a citizen survey with 260 respondents. The results provide multi-perspective insights into the challenges of participatory processes and are synthesized into three contributions: (i) guidelines for effective public participation, including factors that encourage or discourage citizen engagement; (ii) guidelines for designing participatory platforms, highlighting specific features that promote digital engagement (i.e. social media, gamification and user-friendly interfaces), and (iii) a typology of digital participation platforms to connect the diverse needs of actor groups with the various possibilities provided by new technologies. The guidelines provide concrete recommendations to support both urban practitioners and interface designers in designing participatory strategies and platforms, respectively. Recognizing that there is no-one-size-fits-all platform, the typology provides a framework for the assessment and further development of digital platforms for public participation.This article is part of the theme issue 'Co-creating the future: participatory cities and digital governance'.

AI Tools in the Digital Transformation Programmes of Industrial Enterprises

This article is devoted to the study of the prospects for the development and implementation of AI in industry in the context of digital transformation. Autonomous factories, integrated supply chains, and autonomous vehicles is a real proof of technological advances that AI brings to life. The article highlights a number of problems and challenges for Russian industry based on the results of applied research conducted in November-December 2023 at 18 medium and large industrial enterprises. The main conclusions include not only the identified systemic problems and risks (shortcomings in digitalisation methodology, ambiguity in calculating economic parameters, lack of technical expertise), but also the most promising areas for the development of AI technologies. The study finds significant potential for enhancing the technologies of the Industry 3.0 and Industry 4.0 paradigms using AI tools. Also, it describe the necessary changes in enterprise management and regulatory government activities aimed at realising the identified potential. In conclusion, the article emphasises the need to optimise parallel imports, develop human capital and adequately analyse the economic parameters of industrial enterprises’ digital transformation project. The authors emphasise the relevance of studying the prospects for the development of AI in industry for Russian economic science in the period 2024–2026.

Perluasan Kompetensi Pengadilan Tata Usaha Negara dalam Mengadili Tindakan Faktual Pemerintah

Decisions and decrees as legal instruments of the government in carrying out legal actions unilaterally, can be the cause of legal violations for citizens, in Law Number 5 of 1986 concerning State Administrative Courts and its amendments, the law explains that the object of state administrative disputes is that which contains legal actions that can have legal consequences for a person or civil legal entity, at least there is ease for the public to sue the government and request the cancellation of decisions made by the government, but due to the expansion of objects in Law Number 30 of 2014 Article 87 letter (a) includes written decisions, it also includes factual actions. Therefore, the problem formulation in this research is whether the state administrative court has the authority to adjudicate factual government actions that harm the community, how legal protection for people who are harmed by factual government actions. This research is a normative legal research with statutory, conceptual, historical, and doctrinal approaches that apply to determine the rule of law as a whole. The results showed that the expansion of the competence of the State Administrative Court to adjudicate factual actions of the government is not competent because it cannot cause legal consequences because it is not in line and contradicts what is regulated in Law Number 5 of 1986 concerning State Administrative Courts and its Amendments, the public does not get legal protection through the State Administrative Court as a result of the factual actions of State Administrative bodies/officials. Suggestions from this research are that factual actions should be removed or eliminated from the competence of the State Administrative Court and there is no need to expand the object of State Administrative disputes, for people who feel harmed by factual actions of State Administrative bodies/officials should file a lawsuit against the law to the district court.

Thematic analysis of six Asian prehospital emergency medical systems to explore development principles

Abstract Background Well-designed and functioning emergency medical service (EMS) can provide equitable access to emergency care to improve health issues, especially in low- and middle-income countries where the majority of deaths are due to conditions that could be treated with emergency care. To address this gap, this study explored the contextually appropriate development process in addition to the system architecture, which is lacking in Global South EMS research. Method This study was a thematic analysis of the development of EMS systems in six Asian countries. Experts in emergency care were selected through convenience sampling. Each country described and evaluated its EMS system using a standardized form with 102 EMS items that cover the emergency care system in terms of leadership, governance, financing, community-based activities, prehospital care, and quality assessment. From the descriptions, various themes were extracted focusing on the developmental perspective of EMS in Asia. Result The study identified the domain of the developmental focus, best practices, and future strategies for EMS in the Asian region. The identified areas for developmental focus are governance, multidisciplinary collaboration, communication/coordination, community participation, decentralization, equitable access, supply-demand balance, and quality assurance activities. Conclusion Countries under investigation achieved progress in planning, implementing, and sustaining EMS through varied strategies in the mentioned focal areas that can be emulated by other countries in this region. Further, their development levels varied according to the extent to which each country realized the development principles identified in this study.

Constitutionalization in the context of modern constitutionalism: theoretical and methodological analysis

The article examines constitutionalization as an important category of constitutional law. The author explores various approaches to understanding this concept, its historical development, and modern interpretations. The views of domestic and foreign scholars on the essence, characteristics, and forms of manifestation of constitutionalization are analyzed. Special attention is paid to the relationship between the concepts of “constitutional order”, “constitutionalism”, and “constitutionalization”. The author emphasizes that constitutionalization is a dynamic process that reflects the practical aspect of constitutionalism and has a global character. The article examines various aspects of constitutionalization, including its impact on the legal system, the expansion of constitutional regulation, and the subordination of government activities to constitutional principles. The author analyzes the role of constitutionalization in ensuring the unity of the legal system and guaranteeing constitutional rights and freedoms. Special attention is paid to the process of constitutionalization in the context of developing a democratic state governed by the rule of law. Based on the analysis of scientific sources, the author formulates their own definition of constitutionalization as a multifaceted process that includes the formal establishment of rights in the constitution, subordination of government activities to constitutional principles, expansion of constitutional regulation of various spheres of public life, and the influence of constitutional norms on the development of the legal system. The conclusions emphasize the importance of further research on constitutionalization for improving constitutional and legal regulation and ensuring the effective operation of constitutional norms in modern society.

Efficiency of International Law Mechanisms for Human Rights Protection in Education

Objectives. The study deals with international law mechanisms for human rights protection in education. The aim of the study is to analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of international law mechanisms for human rights protection in education. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical basis of the research was made up of the scientific works of scientists, quality and qualitative indicators of research, and the regulatory and legal framework. Methods: The research employed the method of comparison, visual graphic methods, a set of methods of processing, comprehension and interpretation of information. Results and Discussion: The study established the most common types of violations in the field of education, in particular: violation of the right of national minorities to education; impossibility of choosing the language of instruction; failure to provide inclusive education; discrimination against people with mental illness. Specific manifestations of the effectiveness of international law mechanisms for the human rights protection in the field of education are singled out, in particular: increasing public awareness and transparency of government activity, etc. Research Implications: The study gave grounds to draw the conclusions regarding the difficulty of proving the existence of violations in education. Attention is drawn to the subjectivity of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and the ambiguous interpretation of norms enshrined in international legal acts. Originality/Value: The research is original, based on official data and the author's own conclusions, and has practical significance.

Assembling governance in São Paulo's "Cracolândia"

This article explores current governance arrangements in “Cracolândia” (“Crackland”), a heterogeneous area in central São Paulo where large numbers of crack cocaine users occupy public spaces. The territory has long been subject to public interventions in the fields of security, social assistance, health and housing, but is also shaped by the activities of an array of nonstate governance actors, including community associations, NGOs, and organised crime. We present four ethnographic case studies of women who vary markedly in terms of their social characteristics, living conditions, and relationships to the territory to explore the diverse ways that they define and seek to address governance problems. We find that each uses the resources and relationships available to them to individually “assemble governance”, by developing problem-solving strategies and interacting with different combinations of state and nonstate actors. However, these contrasting cases also shed light on broader governance arrangements. They reveal how, even in the context of normative ruptures and everyday tensions, a range of situated and provisional mechanisms of mutual accommodation partially integrate distinct governance actors into a broader territorial governance assemblage.

Sámi trust in hydropower governance: A survey study

The collaborative water governance literature, especially that concerned with trust, has paid scant attention to Indigenous Peoples. In this paper, we present the results from a survey targeting the Sámi population in Sweden, exploring trust in key state and industry actors in the governance of hydropower. The results demonstrate a widespread signal of low trust, which is correlated with a confluence of factors: a strong concern with negative impacts from hydropower on Sámi culture, experiences of limited opportunities to influence decisions, and a perceived low competence as well as limiting attitude from governance actors. Regarding the role of demographic variables, we report on some notable deviations from previous research about institutional trust. We discuss how collaborative governance initiatives often-times are launched to strengthen trust, but that design and implementation failures can, counter-productively, serve to erode trust among Indigenous constituencies. If Sámi trust is to be strengthened, then it will require state authorities and hydropower companies to genuinely engage with Sámi rights claims and ensure influence in decision-making. Our findings also have direct policy relevance, pointing to the need for a steep learning curve if the pending review of hydropower licenses, launched by the Swedish government, is to play a meaningful role in addressing past and ongoing impacts of hydropower on the Sámi People.

Public Acceptance on the Benefits and Risks of DNA Profile Storage in Forensic DNA Databases: A Lesson from Malaysia

In December 2015, the Forensic DNA Databank of Malaysia (FDDM) was formally established to help in crime prevention and justice. Government activities are boosting public awareness, yet some misconceptions and concerns remain about the collection, storage, and use of Forensic DNA databases. The study's aim is to raise awareness about the benefits and risks of profile storage in forensic DNA data banks. A small number of public informants were selected using the qualitative technique. These included ten public informants and the study employs thematic analysis, and the results are somewhat unexpected. The findings of Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) show that informants' understanding of the benefits and risk of storing DNA profiles in forensic DNA data banks remains low. If the public is unclear and has limited understanding of the benefits and risks involved, it can have an impact on public health in general, and informants continue to blame practitioners in the relevant authorities for a lack of information. It raises the question of how the Malaysian forensic DNA database can be considered sustainable by the public. In recommendations, the government can collaborate with all key government agencies, including the judicial system, the attorney general's office, and the department of chemistry, to raise public acceptance of the benefits and risks of preserving DNA profiles in forensics DNA databanks. Future research is expected to involve additional stakeholders and use a variety of methodological approaches to cover a broader scope.