State Level Research Articles

Dual citizenship in Ukraine and the world

This work is devoted to the topic of dual (multiple) citizenship and its features. The author examines aspects that may arise with multiple citizenship in matters of national security, taxes on legal conflicts, as well as advantages and complexities, the relationship between rights and obligations. Dual citizenship offers significant and diverse benefits, including empowerment in employment, education, business and travel. Citizens are able to enjoy the social and economic benefits of both countries, which also contributes to the strengthening of international ties through cultural exchanges and diplomatic cooperation, increasing understanding and respect between peoples. However, despite numerous advantages, there are also significant disadvantages and risks associated with dual citizenship. The main ones – are issues of national security and identity, difficulties arising in the areas of taxation, military service, as well as possible legal conflicts when the same person falls under the legislation of two different states. The article considers possible changes in the legislation of Ukraine regarding the introduction of dual (multiple) citizenship, and the prospects for its possible development. The author notes that before making a separate decision regarding dual citizenship, it is necessary to carefully investigate all its aspects. Consider both positive and negative sides, taking into account personal circumstances. In addition, the author of this article presents arguments both for and against dual citizenship, and also describes the possible risks and challenges associated with it. The conclusion states that dual citizenship is a complex legal concept that can have both positive and negative aspects for individuals who have it. The article emphasizes that the issue of dual citizenship should be carefully studied at the state level with the participation of all interested parties — politicians, experts in the field of law, economics, sociology and ordinary citizens. Only a balanced approach will allow to achieve the maximum benefit from dual citizenship, avoid potential risks and ensure the stability and security of the state.

Temporal change in prevalence of BMI categories in India: patterns across States and Union territories of India, 1999–2021

BackgroundThe problem of overweight/obesity often coexists with the burden of undernutrition in most low- and middle-income countries. BMI change in India incorporating the most recent trends has been under-researched.MethodsThis repeated cross-sectional study of 1,477,885 adults in India analyzed the prevalence of different categories of BMI among adults (age 20–54) in 4 rounds of National Family Health Surveys (1998–1999, 2005–2006, 2015–2016, and 2019–2021) for 36 states/UTs. State differences across time were harmonized for accurate analysis. The categories were Severely/Moderately Thin (BMI < 17.0), Mildly Thin (17.0-18.4), Normal (18.5–24.9), Overweight (25.0-29.9), and Obese (≥ 30.0). We also estimated change in Standardized Absolute Change (SAC), ranking of states, and headcount burden to quantify the trend of BMI distribution across time periods for all-India, urban/rural residence, and by states/UTs.ResultsThe prevalence of thinness declined from 31.7% in 1999 to 14.2% in 2021 for women, and from 23.4% in 2006 to 10.0% in 2021 for men. Obesity prevalence increased from 2.9% (1999) to 6.3% (2021) for women, and from 2.0% (2006) to 4.2% (2021) for men. In 2021, the states with the highest obesity prevalence were Puducherry, Chandigarh, and Delhi. These states also had a high prevalence of overweight. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Diu, Gujarat, Jharkhand, and Bihar had the highest prevalence of severe/moderately thin. Prevalence of extreme categories (severely/moderately thin and obese) was larger in the case of women than men. While States/UTs with a higher prevalence of thin populations tend to have a larger absolute burden of severe or moderate thinness, the relationship between headcount burden and prevalence for overweight and obese is unclear.ConclusionsWe found persistent interstate inequalities of undernutrition. Tailored efforts at state levels are required to further strengthen existing policies and develop new interventions to target both forms of malnutrition.

Nurturing transformative local structures of multisectoral collaboration for primary health care: qualitative insights from select states in India

BackgroundMultisectoral collaboration is essential for advancing primary health care (PHC). In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), limited institutional capacities, governance issues, and inadequate stakeholder engagement impede multisectoral collaboration. India faces similar challenges, especially at the meso-level (districts and subdistricts). Owing to its dependence on context, and insufficient evidence, understanding “How” to improve multisectoral collaboration remains challenging. This study aims to elicit specific recommendations to strengthen meso-level stewardship in India for multisectoral collaboration. The findings from this study may offer lessons for other LMICs.MethodsUsing purposive, maximum variation sampling, the study team conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 diverse participants, including policymakers, implementers, development agency representatives, and academics experienced in multisectoral initiatives. The interviews delved into participants’ experiences, the current situation, enablers, and recommendations for enhancing stakeholder engagement and capacities at the meso-level for multisectoral collaboration.ResultsContext and power are critical elements to consider in fostering effective collaboration. Multisectoral collaboration was particularly successful in three distinct governance contexts: the social-democratic context as in Kerala, the social governance context in Chhattisgarh, and the public health governance context in Tamil Nadu. Adequate health system input and timely guidance instil confidence among local implementers to collaborate. While power plays a role through local leadership’s influence in setting agendas, convening stakeholders, and ensuring accountability. To nurture transformative local leaders for collaboration, holistic, equity-driven, community-informed approaches are essential. The study participants proposed several concrete steps: at the state level, establish “central management units” for supervising local implementers and ensuring bottom-up feedback; at the district level, rationalise committees and assign deliverables to stakeholders; and at the block level, expand convergence structures and involve local self-governments. Development partners can support data-driven priority setting, but local implementers with contextual familiarity should develop decentralised plans collaboratively, articulating rationales, activities, and resources. Finally, innovative training programs are required at all levels, fostering humility, motivation, equity awareness, leadership, problem- solving, and data use proficiency.ConclusionThis study offers multiple solutions to enhance local implementers’ engagement in multisectoral efforts, advocating for the development, piloting, and evaluation of innovative approaches such as the block convergence model, locally-led collaboration efforts, and novel training methods for local implementers.

Do leaders really matter? The failure of ambitions in Turkish foreign policy

The field of international relations is recently witnessing an inflation of attention toward political leaders and personalities. Yet, while political leaders mattered to understand foreign policy behaviors, the question is how much they do and under what conditions. This article argues that how leaders and personalities affect foreign policy is up to the variables that can be analyzed at the state and international levels. To illustrate this argument, I use the example of two strong, influential, and revisionist Turkish leaders: Turgut Özal and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The results point out that the main determinative on Turkish foreign policy on these leaders’ period is not their personality as argued. Instead, the main variables we should analyze are the presence domestic and international constraints such as dominant foreign policy actors, economic capacity, political polarization, and international conjunctures.

Making a vicious cycle virtuous: A research and policy agenda for advancing the water security of unregulated users in the Southwestern U.S.

AbstractIn the United States, most residents receive water from centralized utilities regulated under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. Yet, a sizable portion of U.S. residents satisfy their household water needs through decentralized means, including domestic wells, very small water systems, and hauled water. These federally unregulated water users are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, particularly in aridifying regions like the Southwest. They are, however, inconsistently monitored and regulated at the Tribal, federal, state, and local levels. Compared to regulated users, very few programs exist to assist this population in securing and maintaining safe, affordable drinking water access. This neglect creates a vicious cycle whereby their water security needs remain both poorly understood and inadequately addressed. We review available data sources, regulations, assistance programs, and published studies relevant to unregulated water users across the Southwestern U.S. to illustrate this injurious feedback loop. We then propose four key areas for intervention to transform this vicious cycle into a virtuous one. Drawing on new insights from the emerging literature on modular, adaptive, and decentralized (MAD) water infrastructure, we highlight opportunities for investment and innovation to support decentralized service alongside existing investments in centralized infrastructure, and the critical need to attend to justice in the design and implementation of such policies.This article is categorized under: Science of Water &gt; Water and Environmental Change Human Water &gt; Water Governance Human Water &gt; Rights to Water

“ZEMSKY SOBOR OF ALL THE RUSSIAN LAND” IN 1917. REFLECTIONS ON THE LATEST STUDY OF THE HISTORY OF THE 1917 STATE CONFERENCE BY A.B. NIKOLAEV

The review examins the monograph by A.B. Nikolaev “State Conference of 1917: Summoning, Composition, Activities”, published in 2022. The preparation and holding of the large-scale all-Russian event in the revolutionary year of 1917 are analyzed in the context of studying parliamentarism in Russia. The Moscow State Conference of 1917 arose from an urgent necessity for the coalition Provisional Government to strengthen its prestige and A.F. Kerensky’s personal power, as well as probably to receive a “tribune”, which could be used to give prompt explanations on all issues that would arise in the event of its transformation from an advisory institution as an ersatz parliament into a body with constituent functions. In addition, the Provisional Government was looking for opportunities on a state level to reconcile revolutionary socialist democracy and bourgeois liberalism movements, which had already completely split by that time. Moscow State Conference of 1917 assumed crucial significance due to the desire to find a way out of the existing revolutionary impasse and to serve as a support for the weak and dependent dual state power. Having ensured this support, it would become a united, strong power, capable of saving the country from internal collapse. In an effort to prevail over the impending political and social anarchy, the Conference became a tense, dramatic episode of the Revolution of 1917. The observers and participants of the State Conference obviously regarded it as the “Zemsky Sobor of all the Russian Land” which met in the former capital of Russia to solve the pressing problems and give state power the physical and spiritual strength it needed. The results of the State Conference proved to be contradictory for all political forces. The Provisional Government was able to obtain majority support at the meeting, but the nature of this support indicated the extremely precarious position of the coalition. As a result of the research, the author of the reviewed monograph comes to the conclusion that the State Conference, while maintaining the coalition, did not strengthen it. Representatives of revolutionary democracy were forced to make concessions to the bourgeoisie, which subsequently led to the loss of revolutionary democracy’s authority among workers and soldiers.

Regulatory competition and cross‐fertilization in bank performance in the US banking markets

AbstractThis paper examines empirically cross‐fertilization in the productivity growth of banks between a state and its neighbouring and non‐neighbouring states (i) before (i.e. 1971–1977) the interstate multibank holding company (IMBHC) deregulations and (ii) during (i.e. 1982–1995) the IMBHC deregulations, which, through cross‐border bank M&amp;As mainly among neighbouring states, could inject new blood, awaken the market for corporate control and enhance cross‐fertilization in bank performance among neighbouring states. Further, the 1978–1981 period offers a natural experiment to examine Baumol's Contestable Markets Hypothesis (CMH). The legislature of Maine made the first IMBHC deregulatory move in 1978. There was no reciprocity until New York and Alaska made their moves in 1982. Under CMH, Maine's move should inject a competitive spirit and alter bank performance for better across all—neighbouring or non‐neighbouring – banking markets during this period. Theoretically, Kane's regulatory equilibrium framework provides guidance to address these matters and Tiebout's people vote with their feet framework extends and supplements this guidance. Empirically, FDIC's annual banking data, aggregated at the state level, constitute the main input in computing the productivity growth indices for each of the 48 contiguous sample states between 1971 and 1995. Estimations of a novel spatially driven fixed effects model that uses these indices produce empirical results. The empirical model exploits the proximity of one sample state to its neighbouring states while also embracing a set of randomly chosen non‐neighbouring states as a control sample. Results show that cross‐fertilization in bank performance, observed among neighbouring states before the introduction of the IMBHC deregulations during 1971–1977, gets stronger in response to the dynamically evolving IMBHC deregulations during 1982–1995 and that improvements in banks' productivity growth during 1978–1981 support Baumol's CMH. Overall, our results demonstrate the importance and influence of cross‐fertilization, as a matter of proximity of subjects, on banks' performance and suggest promise for future research that embraces the spatial dimension of banking markets and data.

In Support of Overdose Prevention Centers: Position Statement of AMERSA, Inc (Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction).

Given increasing rates of fatal overdoses in the United States and the rapidly changing drug supply, overdose prevention centers (OPCs; also known as safe consumption sites) have been identified as a vital, evidence-based strategy that provide people who use drugs (PWUD) the opportunity to use drugs safely and receive immediate, life-saving overdose support from trained personnel. In addition to providing a safe, supervised space to use drugs, OPCs can house further essential harm reduction drop-in services such as sterile supplies, social services, and medical care. There are established national and international data demonstrating the lifesaving services provided by OPCs, inspiring a groundswell of advocacy efforts to expand these programs in the United States. Thus, the Association for Multidisciplinary Education and Research in Substance Use and Addiction (AMERSA) endorses OPCs, in addition to other harm reduction strategies that protect PWUD. Ultimately, it is imperative to increase access to OPCs across the United States and support key policy changes at the local, state, and federal levels that would facilitate urgent expansion.

Understanding Demographic Factors Influencing Open Burning Incidents in Kentucky

Open burning poses a significant threat to human health and the environment by releasing hazardous chemicals and exacerbating plastic pollution. Urgent action is required to address its pervasive impact and the substantial release of gaseous pollutants. Limited research has explored the demographic aspect of open burning behavior, with none specifically conducted in Kentucky. An analysis of open burning complaints reported to the Kentucky Division for Air Quality in 2015, 2019, and 2021 revealed no significant differences in reported incidents by month and county. Binary logistic regression analyses identified the urban vs rural divide as significant predictors of open burning incidents, while violations were influenced by both urban and rural factors and average household income. Unemployment rates and the percentage of individuals with less than a high school diploma did not significantly predict open burning violations. Targeted interventions at the state and local level, focusing on rural areas and economically disadvantaged communities, can effectively address and mitigate open burning issues.

Underestimation of Thermogenic Methane Emissions in New York City.

Recent studies have shown that methane emissions are underestimated by inventories in many US urban areas. This has important implications for climate change mitigation policy at the city, state, and national levels. Uncertainty in both the spatial distribution and sectoral allocation of urban emissions can limit the ability of policy makers to develop appropriately focused emission reduction strategies. Top-down emission estimates based on atmospheric greenhouse gas measurements can help to improve inventories and inform policy decisions. This study presents a new high-resolution (0.02 × 0.02°) methane emission inventory for New York City and its surrounding area, constructed using the latest activity data, emission factors, and spatial proxies. The new high-resolution inventory estimates of methane emissions for the New York-Newark urban area are 1.3 times larger than those for the gridded Environmental Protection Agency inventory. We used aircraft mole fraction measurements from nine research flights to optimize the high-resolution inventory emissions within a Bayesian inversion. These sectorally optimized emissions show that the high-resolution inventory still significantly underestimates methane emissions within the New York-Newark urban area, primarily because it underestimates emissions from thermogenic sources (by a factor of 2.3). This suggests that there remains a gap in our process-based understanding of urban methane emissions.

Fluorinated silane self-assembled monolayer modification of V2O5 for enhanced hole injection and device efficiency

This study introduces a new approach to enhance hole injection in organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) by modifying the energy band alignment. This enhancement is achieved by incorporating gap states near the Fermi level through the application of a 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltriethoxysilane self-assembled monolayer (F8SAM) coating on V2O5. Compared to thermally evaporated V2O5, the F8SAM coating induces greater oxygen deficiency, reducing the V2O5 (V5+) content from 84.2 % to 76.9 % and increasing the VO2 (V4+) content from 15.7 % to 23.0 %. This modification causes both the highest occupied molecular orbital and gap state levels to move closer to the Fermi level, facilitated by increased oxygen vacancies, high carrier concentration, and delocalized free electrons. The alteration in the gap state provides a more accessible pathway for efficient hole injection, as confirmed in optoelectronic green light devices, which demonstrate a wavelength of 530 ± 5 nm. Significantly, devices incorporating a double-layer hole-injection layer exhibit a 5-fold increase in maximum luminance, a 1.6-fold increase in current efficiency, and a 1.7-fold increase in power efficiency compared to devices with an unmodified V2O5 film. The enhanced performance is attributed to the well-aligned F8SAM on V2O5, which increases the density of hole states and thereby improves device performance. This study demonstrates a practical method for modulating the cation valence state of V2O5, offering a pathway toward improved hole injection and, consequently, more efficient and functional OLED devices.

Ab initio spectroscopy and thermochemistry of the platinum hydride ions, PtH+ and PtH.

Rovibrational levels of low-lying electronic states of the gas-phase, diatomic molecules, PtH+ and PtH-, are computed on potential-energy functions obtained by using a hybrid spin-orbit configuration-interaction procedure. PtH- has a well-separated Σ0++1 ground state, while the first two electronic states of PtH+ (Σ0++1 and 3Δ3) are nearly degenerate. Combining the experimental photoelectron (PE) spectra of PtH- with theoretical photodetachment spectroscopy leads to an improved value for the electron affinity of PtH, EA(PtH) = (1.617 ± 0.015) eV. When PtH- is a product of photodissociation of PtHCO2-, its PE spectrum is broad because of rotational excitation. Temperature-dependent thermodynamic functions and thermochemistry of dissociation are computed from the theoretical energy levels. Previously published energetic quantities for PtH+ and PtH- are revised. The ground 1Σ+ term of PtH+ is not well described using single-reference theory.

Trajectories of State-Level Sepsis-Related Mortality by Race and Ethnicity Group in the United States.

Background: Recent reports on the national temporal trends of sepsis-related mortality in the United States (US) suggested improvement of outcomes in several race and ethnicity groups. However, it is unknown whether national data reflect state-level trajectories. Methods: We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research Multiple Cause of Death data set to identify all decedents with sepsis in the US during 2010-2019. Negative binomial regression models were fit to estimate national and state-level trends of age-adjusted sepsis-related mortality rates within race and ethnicity groups. Results: There were 1,852,610 sepsis-related deaths in the US during 2010-2019. Nationally, sepsis-related mortality rates decreased among Blacks and Asians, were unchanged among Hispanics and Native Americans, and rose among Whites. The percent of states with similar trends were 30.0% among Blacks, 32.1% among Asians, 74.3% among Hispanics, 75.0% among Native Americans, and 66.7%% among Whites, while trending in opposite direction from 3.6% among Asians to 15.0% among Blacks. Conclusions: National trends in sepsis-related mortality in the US did not represent state-level trajectories in race ethnicity groups. Gains in sepsis outcomes among race and ethnicity groups at the national level were not shared equitably at the state level.

Dare to be yourself: courage promotes self-authenticity via sense of power

ABSTRACT The benefits of self-authenticity have been well-documented, although courage is needed to be true to oneself. The present work aims to test whether courage is associated with and promotes self-authenticity. This hypothesis was confirmed across six studies (N = 3868). Study 1 showed that courage was positively related to self-authenticity. Having participants recall courageous (vs. cowardly or neutral) acts, Study 2 showed that temporarily heightened courage could enhance self-authenticity. Studies 3–5 further showed that sense of power could mediate the effect of courage on self-authenticity both at the trait and the state levels. Study 6 demonstrated the causal effect of sense of power on state self-authenticity by manipulating the sense of power. Overall, the current findings provide empirical evidence for the classic wisdom that courage enables one to be authentic and reveal the mediating role of sense of power in this process. Implications and limitations are also discussed.

Piloting a Measure of Segregation at the Census Tract Level: Associations with Place and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Life Expectancy.

This study considers residential segregation as a critical driver of racial/ethnic health disparities and introduces a proxy measure of segregation that estimates the degree of segregation at the census tract level with a metric capturing the overrepresentation of a racialized/ethnic group in a census tract in relation to that group's representation at the city level. Using Dallas, Texas as a pilot city, the measure is used to investigate mean life expectancy at birth for relatively overrepresented Hispanic, non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, and Asian census tracts and examine for significant differences between mean life expectancy in relatively overrepresented census tracts and that group's mean life expectancy at the state level. Multivariable linear regression analysis was utilized to assess how segregation measured at the census tract level associates with life expectancy across different racialized/ethnic groups, controlling for socioeconomic disparities. This study aimed to expose the need to consider the possibility of neighborhood mechanisms beyond socioeconomic characteristics as an important determinant of health and draw attention to the importance of critically engaging the experience of place in examinations of racial and ethnic health disparities. Multivariable linear regression modeling resulted in significant findings for non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic white, and Asian groups, indicating increased census tract-level life expectancy for Black and white residents in highly segregated census tracts and decreased life expectancy for residents of tracts in which the Asian community is overrepresented when compared to state means. Unadjusted models demonstrated socioeconomic inequities between first and fourth quartile census tracts and pointed to the importance of mixed methods in health disparities research and the importance of including the voice of community members to account for places of daily lived experience and people's relationships with them.

Quantum Magnetism of the Iron Core in Ferritin Proteins-A Re-Evaluation of the Giant-Spin Model.

The electron-electron, or zero-field interaction (ZFI) in the electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) of high-spin transition ions in metalloproteins and coordination complexes, is commonly described by a simple spin Hamiltonian that is second-order in the spin S: H=D[Sz2-SS+1/3+E(Sx2-Sy2). Symmetry considerations, however, allow for fourth-order terms when S ≥ 2. In metalloprotein EPR studies, these terms have rarely been explored. Metal ions can cluster via non-metal bridges, as, for example, in iron-sulfur clusters, in which exchange interaction can result in higher system spin, and this would allow for sixth- and higher-order ZFI terms. For metalloproteins, these have thus far been completely ignored. Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) are multi-metal ion high spin complexes, in which the ZFI usually has a negative sign, thus affording a ground state level pair with maximal spin quantum number mS = ±S, giving rise to unusual magnetic properties at low temperatures. The description of EPR from SMMs is commonly cast in terms of the 'giant-spin model', which assumes a magnetically isolated system spin, and in which fourth-order, and recently, even sixth-order ZFI terms have been found to be required. A special version of the giant-spin model, adopted for scaling-up to system spins of order S ≈ 103-104, has been applied to the ubiquitous iron-storage protein ferritin, which has an internal core containing Fe3+ ions whose individual high spins couple in a way to create a superparamagnet at ambient temperature with very high system spin reminiscent to that of ferromagnetic nanoparticles. This scaled giant-spin model is critically evaluated; limitations and future possibilities are explicitly formulated.

Multilevel analysis of determinants in postnatal care utilisation among mother-newborn pairs in India, 2019-21.

Postnatal care (PNC) utilisation within 24 hours of delivery is a critical component of health care services for mothers and newborns. While substantial geographic variations in various health outcomes have been documented in India, there remains a lack of understanding regarding PNC utilisation and underlying factors accounting for these geographic variations. In this study, we aimed to partition and explain the variation in PNC utilisation across multiple geographic levels in India. Using India's 5th National Family Health Survey (2019-21), we conducted four-level logistic regression analyses to partition the total geographic variation in PNC utilisation by state, district, and cluster levels, and to quantify how much of theses variations are explained by a set of 12 demographic, socioeconomic, and pregnancy-related factors. We also conducted analyses stratified by selected states/union territories. Among 149 622 mother-newborn pairs, 82.29% of mothers and 84.92% of newborns were reported to have received PNC within 24 hours of delivery. In the null model, more than half (56.64%) of the total geographic variation in mother's PNC utilisation was attributed to clusters, followed by 26.06% to states/union territories, and 17.30% to districts. Almost 30% of the between-state variation in mother's PNC utilisation was explained by the demographic, socioeconomic, and pregnancy-related factors (i.e. state level variance reduced from 0.486 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.238, 0.735) to 0.320 (95% CI = 0.152, 0.488)). We observed consistent results for newborn's PNC utilisation. State-specific analyses showed substantial geographic variation attributed to clusters across all selected states/union territories. Our findings highlight the consistently large cluster variation in PNC utilisation that remains unexplained by compositional effects. Future studies should explore contextual drivers of cluster variation in PNC utilisation to inform and design interventions aimed to improve maternal and child health.

The Private Litigation Impact of New York’s Green Amendment

The increasing urgency of climate change, combined with federal environmental inaction under the Trump Administration, inspired a wave of environmental action at the state and local level. Building on the environmental movement of the 1970s, activists have pushed to amend more than a dozen state constitutions to include “green amendments”—self-executing individual rights to a clean environ-ment. In 2022, New York activists succeeded, and New York’s Green Amendment (the NYGA) now provides that “Each person shall have a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” However, the power of the NYGA and similar green amendments turns on judicial interpretations of their scope. In the first decision to reach the issue, a New York trial court held, with little analysis, that the NYGA provides no private rights against private polluters. This conclusion could severely limit the reach and significance of state envi-ronmental rights. This article examines a single question: Does the NYGA grant private rights that are enforceable against private parties? In answering this question, we examine the 50-year history of private litigation under green amendments, the substance and historical context of the NYGA, and the broader structure of New York’s constitution and environmental law. We conclude that the New York trial court got it wrong, and that the NYGA does provide a private cause of action against private parties. We further assess the indirect impact of constitutional envi-ronmental rights on private litigation, and conclude that the NYGA will have an enormous impact on private litigation generally, irrespective of whether New York’s courts reject private litigation under the NYGA. This discussion provides a novel evaluation of the shadow that consti-tutional changes cast on non-constitutional law.

Systematic Approach to Evaluate the State of Illinois’ Preparedness for Smart Mobility

Connected, automated, shared, and electric (CASE) technologies are shaping Mobility 4.0—a connected, digitized, multimodal, and autonomous system of systems that is challenging past and existing strategic transportation planning practices at state and local levels. A systematic approach is presented to aid transportation agencies in their planning needs to evaluate preparedness for smart mobility. Guided by a set of online surveys, interviews, and workshops conducted among different stakeholders, this paper identifies strengths and opportunities to leverage the state’s public, private, and academic sector resources to prepare agencies in realizing the potential opportunities of Mobility 4.0 technologies, while avoiding possible pitfalls in the process. Seven smart mobility pillars were identified and ranked through a balanced scorecard analysis in this study for Illinois—namely (in decreasing order of importance), alternative fuels, scaling intelligent transportation systems, connected and automated (CA) freight, farm automation, CA logistics, insurance, and urban mobility. Tactical focus areas were also identified for each pillar and prioritized with suggested leads and stakeholders to champion the CASE directives and opportunities. Near-term actions were also suggested that included establishing a central structure for Illinois’ CASE program, enriching the knowledge base and experience, preparing the transportation infrastructure, partnerships with external stakeholders, and expansion of laws, regulations, and policies that will help administer and grow CASE technology deployment and integration.

Prediction of Annual Rural Unemployment Rate in West Bengal using Grey Model

The rural unemployment rate is a critical economic indicator used to assess strength of rural economy in India. Annual estimates of rural UR are released in both usual status (ps+ss) as well as current weekly status (CWS) at the state and national level in India by National Statistics Office (NSO) through Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS). At present, the annual rural UR estimates are available for the state of West Bengal from the year 2017-18 to 2021-22. However, there is a notable delay in the publication of UR estimates as compared to the reference period. Therefore, accurate forecasting of the UR is crucial for timely and targeted interventions, and effective policy planning. Conventional forecasting models fail to provide accurate predictions of UR in these type of small time series due to the violation of requirement of number of data points. In contrast, the Grey model requires limited data to establish a differential forecasting model. In this study, application of grey model has been considered to forecast annual rural UR in West Bengal for different age groups as well as gender, and it was found that grey model provides satisfactory forecast.