District Level Research Articles

Trend analysis of groundwater level of Raipur district: A survey of rice growers

Trend analysis of groundwater level of Raipur district: A survey of rice growers

Engagement of Peer Educators from India’s National Adolescent Health Programme for the COVID-19 response activities: Qualitative findings from i-Saathiya study

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic strained India’s healthcare system and health workers unprecedentedly.PurposeThe extent of the contribution by peer educators (PEs) from India’s National Adolescent Health Programme-Rashtriya Kishor Swasthya Karyakram (RKSK) to...

Determining the onset and cessation of seasonal rains in Shire Valley, Southern Malawi

Background: Malawi's agricultural activities rely heavily on rainfall. Rain signals the start of a distribution of rain that is unsuitable for plant development, whereas lighting marks the end of rain's ability to support plants. Malawi's tropical savanna climate has a rainy season from November to April, accounting for 95% of total annual rainfall, and a dry season from May to October, with milder temperatures and occasional showers at higher elevations from May to July. Methods: This study examines the commencement and cessation of seasonal rainfall in the Shire Valley, southern Malawi, between 1990 and 2019. The objectives include identifying rainfall characteristics, examining trends in the start, closure, and length of the rainy season, and categorizing onset and narrative dates. The Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services provided daily rainfall data, and dates were determined using R-Instat. Findings: Rain often begins in Nsanje on November 28, followed by Ngabu on December 7, and Nchalo on December 9. The advertising dates are comparable across stations: April 3 for Nchalo and Ngabu, and April 5 for Nsanje. While most years fall within the typical range, global phenomena like La Niña and El Niño can cause early or late results. Conclusion: These insights are crucial for sustainably managing and developing socioeconomic activities at the national and district levels in Malawi. Novelty/Originality of this Study: This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the onset and cessation dates of the rainy season, utilizing long-term rainfall data spanning from 1990 to 2019. This localized analysis addresses existing gaps in the understanding of regional rainfall characteristics, which is essential for enhancing agricultural planning and mitigating resource wastage in an area heavily reliant on rain-fed agriculture.

What Works for the Youth: Analysis of Youth Employment Policies in Rwanda

In Rwanda, over 75 percent of youth are not in education, employment and training (NEET). These are mostly absorbed in the informal sector that provides little or no protection to workers against shocks, and are prone to several socio-economic, technical, and financial constraints. Through desk review of existing policies and studies, key informant interviews (KIIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs), this study reviews and analyzes the existing youth employment policies (YEPs) and interventions with intent to identify the hurdles and outcomes of the actual implementation of these YEPs in Rwanda. Youths aged 18 to 30, policy makers, policy implementers, and implementing partners were the key target respondents. The study finds a multitude of YEPs and interventions to promote youth education and skilling, entrepreneurship, and business development funding; though most of them are more focused on supply than demand-side of the labor market, with limited vulnerable youth inclusivity. Common hurdles encountered during implementation of YEPs include: poor coordination among the vast YEPs causing monitoring challenges both at national and district level, and duplication of services. Difficulty to integrate education and skilling into decent youth employment, matching labor laws with youth welfare, cultural bias limiting young women from participating in some labor market activities, funding gaps, and limited youth engagement during program design. Addressing these challenges requires a well-coordinated stakeholder engagement, and strong collaboration between the public and private sector, as well as civil society organizations.

Implementation and performance evaluation of an integrated specimen referral system in Burkina Faso using the national courier services (2020-2022).

In 2017, the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene (MoH) of Burkina Faso designed and piloted a specimen transport system using the national courier services (La Poste BF) in 4 districts. Based on satisfactory performance indicators, the MoH set a vision aimed at scaling up this system to strengthen disease detection and surveillance of epidemic prone diseases across the country. This work describes the implementation process, performances, and lessons learned. This work describes the implementation process, performances, and lessons learned. Under the leadership of the Directorate of Population Health Protection within the MoH, a stepwise approach was used to bring together multiple partners across sectors to develop the first needed documents including a guide, an implementation plan, Standard Operating Procedures, and data collection tools. Then, the execution phase included equipment purchase, trainings, and consensus on a financing mechanism. Key indicators were defined to allow performance monitoring. The integrated biological specimen referral system (SITEB) was officially launched in January 2020 to transport human biological specimens of priority diseases including COVID-19 from district level to reference laboratories nationwide. As of December 31, 2022, La Poste BF transported 168,856 packages containing 206,314 specimens from all 13 regions. 99.66% of packages were delivered in <24 h as required, and 99.68% of specimens were in good condition at reception. COVID-19 specimens represented respectively 18% and 63% of samples transported in 2020 and 2021. The political will combined with the experience gained during the pilot phase and the commitment and support from all stakeholders laid to the foundation of the effective implementation of this system. Collaboration between two government entities (MoH and Minister of Transport, Urban Mobility, and Road Safety) to benefit public health has led to reasonable pricing for sustainability. Although all documents integrate the "One Health" approach, the system ensures the transport of only human samples for now. Despite security constraints, Burkina Faso has successfully set up a system using the national postal service to ensure the routine transport of specimens for all diseases under laboratory surveillance including laboratory tests for HIV and TB from the district level to reference laboratories nationwide. This system has also proved to be useful and efficient in managing public health emergency.

Modeling the Dynamic of Multiwave Diseases: The Model of Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease.

An HFMD outbreak spread over the city of Hải Phòng from summer 2011 to autumn 2012. This epidemic was chosen because it was the very first HFMD epidemic in North Vietnam, eliminating thus interferences with previous outbreaks. This epidemic displayed three separate waves. A complete dataset was collected for more than 9500 patients during this period, which enabled us to analyze this epidemic at different scales. Access to the healthcare system was crucial during this period, which was possible due to a reorganization of the system in February-March 2012. An analysis at the commune level enabled us to track the epidemic along certain communication routes. The three-waves structure reveals a wide disparity at the district level. We developed a mathematical model showing high accuracy at the adjustment of data for both the total number of cases and for the number of cases per week. As a consequence, the model was able to accurately determine the dates of the beginning and end of each wave and to show that they overlapped. Using mathematical functions associated with this model, it was possible to calculate the probability for a patient to belong to a specific wave.

Implementation of Integrated Sub-District Administrative Services Policy (PATEN) in West Kelumpang Sub-District Kotabaru Regency

Human resources (HR) are a crucial element in determining the success or failure of any task. HR managers in agencies have focused on developing strategies to provide the best service to the community through direct services and administrative functions. One key policy in realizing Good Government is the District Integrated Administration Service (PATEN), designed to establish districts as community service centers. In Kelumpang Barat District, Kotabaru City, PATEN has been implemented based on the provisions of Minister of Home Affairs Regulation Number 4 of 2010. This study uses a descriptive qualitative research method, guided by Edwards III’s Policy Implementation theory, which focuses on communication, disposition, resources, and organizational structure. Data was collected through observation, interviews, and documentation, followed by data reduction, display, and verification. The findings highlight that, in Kotabaru City, PATEN services have not yet fully delegated licensing authority to the district level. Only non-licensing services can be managed locally, and applicants must still handle licensing procedures with higher-level agencies. In Kelumpang Barat, however, PATEN has significantly improved service standards and infrastructure. The study concludes that while PATEN has improved public services, there has been no delegation of licensing authority. To avoid overlapping duties and functions, it is recommended that the government focus on a single licensing policy. This will enhance efficiency and streamline the licensing process, further strengthening the district's role as a community service center.

Attraction Agglomeration and Destination Agglomeration: The Case of Chinese National Scenic Areas

We examine the effect of attraction and destination agglomerations on tourism revenues and tourist flows. Using data from 184 national scenic areas in China for the 2012 to 2017 period as the case study for our two-level agglomeration model, we find that the attraction agglomeration yields cooperative competition at the micro level of tourist districts. This co-existence of compatible and competitive effects determines not only individual national scenic areas’ tourism revenues and tourist flows but also the attractiveness of tourist districts where these national scenic areas are located. At the macro level of tourism destinations, we find that the destination agglomeration only yields a competitive effect, adversely affecting the tourism revenues and tourist flows of individual national scenic areas inside these tourism destinations. Our results suggest that policymakers must consider cooperative competition when managing existing tourist attractions and planning for future ones.

Maturity Assessment of District Health Information System Version 2 Implementation in Ethiopia: Current Status and Improvement Pathways.

Although Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in the uptake of the District Health Information System version 2 (DHIS2) for national aggregate data reporting, there has been no comprehensive assessment of the maturity level of the system. This study aims to assess the maturity level of DHIS2 implementation in Ethiopia and propose a road map that could guide the progress toward a higher level of maturity. We also aim to assess the current maturity status, implementation gaps, and future directions of DHIS2 implementation in Ethiopia. The assessment focused on digital health system governance, skilled human resources, information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, interoperability, and data quality and use. A collaborative assessment was conducted with the engagement of key stakeholders through consultative workshops using the Stages of Continuous Improvement tool to measure maturity levels in 5 core domains, 13 components, and 39 subcomponents. A 5-point scale (1=emerging, 2=repeatable, 3=defined, 4=managed, and 5=optimized) was used to measure the DHIS2 implementation maturity level. The national DHIS2 implementation's maturity level is currently at the defined stage (score=2.81) and planned to move to the manageable stage (score=4.09) by 2025. The domain-wise maturity score indicated that except for ICT infrastructure, which is at the repeatable stage (score=2.14), the remaining 4 domains are at the defined stage (score=3). The development of a standardized and basic DHIS2 process at the national level, the development of a 10-year strategic plan to guide the implementation of digital health systems including DHIS2, and the presence of the required competencies at the facility level to accomplish specific DHIS2-related tasks are the major strength of the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia so far. The lack of workforce competency guidelines to support the implementation of DHIS2; the unavailability of core competencies (knowledge, skills, and abilities) required to accomplish DHIS2 tasks at all levels of the health system; and ICT infrastructures such as communication network and internet connectivity at the district, zonal, and regional levels are the major hindrances to effective DHIS2 implementation in the country. On the basis of the Stages of Continuous Improvement maturity model toolkit, the implementation status of DHIS2 in Ethiopia is at the defined stage, with the ICT infrastructure domain being at the lowest stage as compared to the other 4 domains. By 2025, the maturity status is planned to move from the defined stage to the managed stage by improving the identified gaps. Various action points are suggested to address the identified gaps and reach the stated maturity level. The responsible body, necessary resources, and methods of verification required to reach the specified maturity level are also listed.

The role of public social expenditure for mitigating local income inequality: An investigation across spatial scales in Austria

AbstractThis paper investigates the role of municipal and provincial public social spending for local income inequality after taxes and transfers in Austria. We utilize a spatial multi‐level model, which allows us to analyze the contribution of three spatial scales (municipal, district, and provincial level) to municipal income inequality. Our analysis shows that the effect of public social spending on local Gini indices does not only differ across provinces but also across municipalities which indicates that the potential cushioning effect of social expenditure is highly localized. Further splitting total public social expenditure into three distinct categories (education, health, social protection) reveals that spending on social protection has the highest effect on local inequality across all provinces, while health spending does not exert a discernible influence in any province. The method and results presented in this paper are of international interest for policymakers and researchers who aim to investigate whether the same patterns hold true in other countries.

Building the capacity of education department heads and training to meet the demands of educational innovation today

The Education and Training Department Head is the head of the Department of Education and Training (DOET), responsible to the People's Committee, the Chairman of the People's Committee at the district level, and the law for the implementation of the functions, tasks, powers, and all activities of the DOET. The article focuses on clarifying the functions, tasks of the DOET department head, the requirements for the DOET department head in the current context, and proposing a capacity framework for Education and Training department heads to meet the demands of educational innovation in the current context. Keywords: DOET Department Head, Educational Innovation, Capacity Framework.

Factors shaping network emergence: A cross-country comparison of quality of care networks in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda.

The Quality-of-Care Network (QCN) was conceptualized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other global partners to facilitate learning on and improve quality of care for maternal and newborn health within and across low and middle-income countries. However, there was significant variance in the speed and extent to which QCN formed in the involved countries. This paper investigates the factors that shaped QCN's differential emergence in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda. Drawing on network scholarship, we conducted a replicated case study of the four country cases and triangulated several sources of data, including a document review, observations of national-level and district level meetings, and key informant interviews in each country and at the global level. Thematic coding was performed in NVivo 12. We find that QCN emerged most quickly and robustly in Bangladesh, followed by Ethiopia, then Uganda, and slowest and with least institutionalization in Malawi. Factors connected to the policy environment and network features explained variance in network emergence. With respect to the policy environment, pre-existing resources and initiatives dedicated to maternal and newborn health and quality improvement, strong data and health system capacity, and national commitment to advancing on synergistic goals were crucial drivers to QCN's emergence. With respect to the features of the network itself, the embedding of QCN leadership in powerful agencies with pre-existing coordination structures and trusting relationships with key stakeholders, inclusive network membership, and effective individual national and local leadership were also crucial in explaining QCN's speed and quality of emergence across countries. Studying QCN emergence provides critical insights as to why well-intentioned top-down global health networks may not materialize in some country contexts and have relatively quick uptake in others, and has implications for a network's perceived legitimacy and ultimate effectiveness in producing stated objectives.

Studentification and the Political Displacement of the Black Worker Electorate

Studentification research shows how urban universities transform surrounding neighborhoods into more transient, dense, renter, and segregated places. Despite work on economic, social, physical, and cultural changes, there is a dearth of literature that examines racial and political changes. This dimension is especially important given the impact of many American universities upon historic Black neighborhoods which played a crucial role in struggles for political and economic democracy. This paper examines census data aggregated at the political district level and maps election data to understand the extent to which political districts surrounding Philadelphia universities have studentified, whether studentified and Black Worker neighborhoods emerge as distinct political cleavages, and whether these divisions played a role in two recent elections that saw the unseating of Black Worker incumbents. It argues that the studentification of the Black Worker political districts is correlated with the political displacement of the Black Worker electorate.

Design Transformation of The Industrial Relations Peace : Towards A Prosperous, Harmonious and Fair Work Relations Model In The Karawang Industry

The minimum wage is one of the national strategic policies whose regulations are determined by the central government through laws and derivative regulations. The business problem faced by business actors in Karawang is the disruption of business operations due to the freeze that occurred during the minimum wage period at the district level. Even though discovery is a right as an Indonesian citizen, this research aims to initiate an industrial relations peace strategy for companies in Karawang to be able to carry out promotional, preventive, overcoming, and rehabilitative steps. This research focuses on the period 2019–2024 and analyzes the district minimum wage policy, which is accommodated by the Apindo Karawang Regency Leadership Council. The research methods used include literature studies, policy analysis, and interviews with relevant stakeholders such as business leaders, human resources managers, Government and Union Leaders . The results of the analysis highlight significant developments in the industrial relations paradigm in Karawang by identifying factors that influence welfare, harmony, and justice in work relations. The findings of this research provide in-depth insight into the impact of implementing minimum wages on the dynamics of industrial relations in companies in Karawang. This research provides a positive contribution to business as well as a better understanding of the strategies that can be used to achieve prosperous, harmonious, and fair working relationships in an industrial environment. It is hoped that the policy implications resulting from this thesis can provide guidance for stakeholders in developing steps that support the positive development of industrial relations in Karawang.

Teacher Professional Development @scale: Achieving Quality and Sustainability in Zambia

This paper presents a conceptual model which explains the challenges of providing high quality sustainable, teacher professional development at scale. It provides a framework to support holistic thinking at a systemic level, applicable across different systems. It draws on sociocultural theories of learning and encourages the user to think about the knowledge and skills required by actors at different levels of the system and the structures required to support their learning. It brings together the needs of teachers, school leaders and Education Officers (at the County, District or Provincial level). The empirical evidence for this model comes from a seven-year programme of activity supporting school-based professional development in Zambia. Evaluation findings highlight the importance of the role of mid-level professionals (District and Provincial Officers) in ensuring the sustainability of gains made through development projects. This is important because the professional development needs of those supporting teachers are often neglected.

Prioritising urban heat island mitigation interventions: Mapping a heat risk index

The global climate is under threat from increasing extreme heat, evidenced by rising temperatures and a surge in hot days. Heat waves are intensifying worldwide, impacting cities and residents, as demonstrated by the record-breaking heat experienced in the UK in 2022, which resulted in over 4500 deaths. Urban heat islands (UHIs) exacerbate these heat waves, making city residents more vulnerable to heat-related deaths. UHIs occur when temperatures in urban areas exceed those in surrounding rural areas due to the heat-absorbing properties of urban structures. Implementing mitigation strategies, such as green infrastructure, is crucial for enhancing urban resilience and reducing vulnerability to UHIs.Effectively addressing UHIs requires a systematic approach, including developing risk maps to prioritise areas for UHI mitigation strategies. Using remote sensing, GIS, and SPSS correlational analysis, the research aims to develop and assess a Heat Risk Index (HRI). This index integrates UHI spatial intensity, current green cover, and population density at the district level to develop the risk index. This study stands out for its novel approach to developing the HRI, focusing on the localised impact of the UHI in Manchester City, identifying high-risk heat-vulnerable districts, and prioritising implementing effective UHI mitigation strategies.The findings highlight the importance of this approach, revealing that approximately 30 % of Manchester City is affected by UHI effects, with areas near the city centre, characterised by higher population density and reduced green cover, being particularly vulnerable. Furthermore, the study suggests that applying HRIs at a more localised level, such as the neighbourhood level rather than the district level, would provide more relevant and targeted insights for mitigating UHI. A more localised index would offer tailored insights into the unique conditions of each neighbourhood within the districts, enabling more effective mitigation strategies. The HRI developed in this paper serves as a test for a more nuanced and comprehensive index, considering additional variables related to population vulnerability and city urban structure.

Analysis of Social Vulnerability in Java Island using K-Medoids Algorithm with Variation of Distance Measurements (Euclidean, Manhattan, Minkowski)

The Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) measurement to assess social vulnerability is only able to describe conditions in general, without being able to show which factors dominate the score. Therefore, the aim of this research is to fill this gap by applying a correlational approach with a clustering method to characterize the dominant factors of social vulnerability at the district level in Java and surrounding areas. The clustering method used in this study is the K-Medoids algorithm. This method is more powerful when there are outliers in the dataset used. In this study, we considered the use of 3 different distance methods, namely Euclidean distance, Manhattan distance, and Minkowski distance. As a result, the K-Medoids algorithm using Manhattan distance provides the best value based on the Davies Bouldin Index. This research found that social vulnerability exists in every region of Java Island and its surroundings.

Model of yearly transition to severe trachomatous scarring and trichiasis in a cohort of women in Kongwa Tanzania

One criterion for validation of trachoma elimination is the management of Trachomatous Trichiasis (TT) after Trachoma inflammation—follicular (TF) is eliminated in children ages 1–9 years at district level. No data exist on how long countries must have dedicated TT programs, as the timeline for progression to TT from trachomatous scarring is unknown. We used eight years of longitudinal data in women in Kongwa Tanzania to model progression from no scarring (S0) through grades of scarring severity (S1–S4) to TT. Markov models were used, with age, community prevalence of TF (CPTF), and household characteristics as co-variates. Adjusted for covariates, the incidence of S1 was estimated at 4∙7% per year, and the risk increased by 26% if the CPTF was between 5–10% and by 48% if greater than 10%. The transition from S4 to TT was estimated at 2∙6% per year. Districts, even after elimination of TF, may have some communities with TF ≥ 5% and increased risk of incident scarring. Once scarring progresses to S2, further progression is not dependent on CPTF. These data suggest that, depending on the district level of scarring and degree of heterogeneity in CPTF at the time of elimination, incident TT will still be an issue for decades.

An Analytical Framework for Assessing Equity of Access to Public Electric Vehicle Charging Stations: The Case of Shanghai

With the unprecedented growth of electric vehicles usage, the equitable population-based provision of public charging services has become an important concern in high-density urban centers. To address sustainability concerns, this study explores an analytical framework for assessing the equity of access to public charging services. By comprehensively analyzing factors such as accessibility, the Gini coefficient, the correlation coefficient, and supply–demand matching, we investigated the unequal access to public charging stations within 24 types of sites in central Shanghai. The spatial distribution and accessibility were visualized to illustrate differences in service access. Subsequently, social equity was assessed by considering the population distribution and identifying areas of supply–demand imbalance. The results show that 81% of households share only 10% of public charging services, suggesting a generalized inequality within areas and facilities. Residents of large-scale, low-density, low-grade neighborhoods have difficulties accessing services. Nearly 66.96% of subdistricts have supply and demand conflicts. In addition, priority types of improvement were identified and directions for improvement were suggested, as well as recommendations for the integration of PCSs with exterior built places. We also found significant differences in accessibility and equity at both the district and subdistrict level. The findings of this study will help urban planners assess and locate unequal areas and provide insights and the basis for further expansion into the analysis methods adopted at different stages to achieve sustainable development.

Pengaruh Dukungan Sosial terhadap Work Family Conflict pada Guru yang Sudah Menikah

This study aims to investigate how social support impacts work-family conflict among married teachers in Alas District, Sumbawa Regency. The research adopts a quantitative approach with a correlational design. The study's population comprised all married female teachers working at the junior/senior high school level in Alas District, Sumbawa Regency, totaling 97 individuals. The sampling method employed was total sampling, resulting in a total sample size of 97 participants. Findings indicated a significant relationship between social support and work-family conflict among married female teachers in Alas District, with a significance level of Sig. 0.000 &lt; 0.05. Social support was found to contribute 40.9% to work-family conflict, while 59.1% was influenced by other variables.