Involvement Of Local Authorities Research Articles

Operational efficiency and sustainability of vector control of malaria and dengue: descriptive case studies from the Philippines

BackgroundAnalysis is lacking on the management of vector control systems in disease-endemic countries with respect to the efficiency and sustainability of operations.MethodsThree locations were selected, at the scale of province, municipality and barangay (i.e. village). Data on disease incidence, programme activities, and programme management were collected on-site through meetings and focus group discussions.ResultsAdaptation of disease control strategies to the epidemiological situation per barangay, through micro-stratification, brings gains in efficiency, but should be accompanied by further capacity building on local situational analysis for better selection and targeting of vector control interventions within the barangay. An integrated approach to vector control, aiming to improve the rational use of resources, was evident with a multi-disease strategy for detection and response, and by the use of combinations of vector control methods. Collaboration within the health sector was apparent from the involvement of barangay health workers, re-orientation of job descriptions and the creation of a disease surveillance unit. The engagement of barangay leaders and use of existing community structures helped mobilize local resources and voluntary services for vector control. In one location, local authorities and the community were involved in the planning, implementation and evaluation of malaria control, which triggered local programme ownership.ConclusionsStrategies that contributed to an improved efficiency and sustainability of vector control operations were: micro-stratification, integration of vector control within the health sector, a multi-disease approach, involvement of local authorities, and empowerment of communities. Capacity building on situational analysis and vector surveillance should be addressed through national policy and guidelines.

Uptake of PMTCT sites for increasing accessibility of services in prevention of mother to child HIV transmission program in Rwanda, January 2005 June 2010

Background In Rwanda, the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV program (PMTCT) started in 1999 as a pilot project; a positive evaluation conducted 1 year later lead to national scale-up. The integration of the PMTCT program into existing antenatal care (ANC) services was done gradually. Nationally, HIV testing is routinely offered to all pregnant women at the time of enrollment in ANC. Political commitment and involvement of key stakeholders in program implementation; public awareness campaigns, especially for pregnant women; and the involvement of local authorities, care providers, and community health workers have greatly contributed to the scale-up of the PMTCT program in Rwanda.

National monitoring of water utility performance in France

Performance assessment has recently been applied to water utilities in France. Performance indicators (PIs) were initially developed as an aid to the control of public service delegation by local authorities. After a long process, a group of PIs was integrated into mandatory annual reports on service quality and price, in order to better inform utility users and reinforce the regulation of the sector by local public authorities. As water utilities in France are highly fragmented, this development in isolation may have only limited effects. The additional comparison of performance is likely to improve service quality and efficiency and keep prices affordable. The French national agency for water (ONEMA) – created in 2006 – is in charge of building the monitoring system of water utility performance. This paper presents the objectives of this monitoring system, the methodology used to create it and its shortcomings. Due to the large number of utilities, the data collection process faces difficulties. Some conclusions are drawn on how to obtain stronger involvement of local authorities.

Development of Tourism in the Transalpine Area. Premises and Possibilities

The paper highlights the premises of the revitalization process of tourism: the significance of the “Transalpine” area, its intersection with routes of intense mobility of the population, the numerous natural and anthropogenic elements and their outstanding tourist value, the high rate of anthropization and insertions in the mountainous area caused by a diverse economy specific to mountainous areas, the tourist accessibility to the area, etc. The extremely favorable natural premises, the anthropogenic, ethnographic and enthno-folkloric potential, as well as the development of the north-south and east-west routes facilitate development of tourism in the Transalpine mountainous area. We have highlighted some distinct features of certain tourist models. Thus, there are two ethno-folkloric areas, two main tourist axes (a transversal one and a longitudinal one) and secondary tourist axes (along the mountains summits) as well as two urban areas (Sebes in the north and Novaci in the south) which attract and guide the tourist flow. The purpose of this approach is aimed at diminishing the transit tourism, as well as diminishing seasonal tourism through the diversification of tourism. This requires coherent national development strategy integrated in the regional context, inter-county joint projects, the involvement of local authorities and tourist agencies as well as substantial funding.

L'Ypres Salient come luogo della memoria europea? Public History e turismo di guerra dal 1919 ai giorni nostri

This paper seeks to explore the practice of battlefield tourism in the Ypres Salient (Belgium) since 1918. Battlefield tourism is now considered as one of the major fields of Public History. We will thus examine this practice and how it has evolved in a country where Public History does not exist as a discipline. The actors of this tourism and the meanings associated to the memorial landscape of the Ypres Salient have changed over the decades. Besides a growing involvement of local authorities and professional historians in the process of commemoration of the Great War around Ypres, one can notice a growing political use of these commemorations. In the very peculiar context of Belgium, any national dimension of the memories of the conflict seems to be excluded, the accent being put on the regional and transnational levels of the experiences of the Great War.

Review Article: Extended producer responsibility for packaging wastes and WEEE - a comparison of implementation and the role of local authorities across Europe

A comparison of the implementation of extended producer responsibility (EPR) to packaging waste and waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is presented for a representative sample of eleven European Union countries based on five indicators: stakeholders and responsibilities; compliance mechanisms; role of local authorities; financing mechanisms and merits and limitations, with four countries selected for more detailed case study analysis. Similarities, trends and differences in national systems are highlighted with particular focus on the role of local authorities and their relationship with obligated producers and the effect on the operation and success of each system. The national systems vary considerably in design, in terms of influence of pre-existing policy and systems, methods of achieving producer compliance (multiple or single collective schemes), fee structures, targets, waste stream prioritization and local authority involvement. Differing approaches are evident across all member states with respect to the role played by local authorities, responsibility apportioned to them, and the evolution of working relationships between obligated producers and municipalities. On the whole, EPR for packaging and WEEE has been successfully implemented throughout Europe in terms of Directive targets. It is, however, clear that the EPR systems currently in application across Europe differ primarily due to contrasting opinion on the legitimacy of local authorities as stakeholders and, in some cases, a fear on the part of industry of associated costs. Where local authorities have been engaged in the design and implementation of national systems, existing infrastructure used and defined roles established for producers and local authorities, results have been significantly more positive than in the cases where local authorities have had limited engagement.

Human resource management interventions to improve health workers' performance in low and middle income countries: a realist review

BackgroundImproving health workers' performance is vital for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. In the literature on human resource management (HRM) interventions to improve health workers' performance in Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), hardly any attention has been paid to the question how HRM interventions might bring about outcomes and in which contexts. Such information is, however, critical to assess the transferability of results. Our aim was to explore if realist review of published primary research provides better insight into the functioning of HRM interventions in LMIC.MethodologyA realist review not only asks whether an intervention has shown to be effective, but also through which mechanisms an intervention produces outcomes and which contextual factors appear to be of critical influence. Forty-eight published studies were reviewed.ResultsThe results show that HRM interventions can improve health workers' performance, but that different contexts produce different outcomes. Critical implementation aspects were involvement of local authorities, communities and management; adaptation to the local situation; and active involvement of local staff to identify and implement solutions to problems. Mechanisms that triggered change were increased knowledge and skills, feeling obliged to change and health workers' motivation. Mechanisms to contribute to motivation were health workers' awareness of local problems and staff empowerment, gaining acceptance of new information and creating a sense of belonging and respect. In addition, staff was motivated by visible improvements in quality of care and salary supplements. Only a limited variety of HRM interventions have been evaluated in the health sector in LMIC. Assumptions underlying HRM interventions are usually not made explicit, hampering our understanding of how HRM interventions work.ConclusionApplication of a realist perspective allows identifying which HRM interventions might improve performance, under which circumstances, and for which groups of health workers. To be better able to contribute to an understanding of how HRM interventions could improve health workers' performance, a combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods would be needed and the use of common indicators for evaluation and a common reporting format would be required.

Combining climate change adaptation and mitigation measures at the local level

The vulnerability of individuals and communities to climate change impacts is not simply determined by the location of their settlements, but also by how those settlements are serviced, how effective and capable their local governments are and to what extent communities are able to cope with climate change impacts. It is widely accepted that the poorest communities are the most vulnerable, because they lack access even to the most basic urban services placing them at a comparative disadvantage and challenging their capabilities to take on additional stresses caused by climate change. Such complex vulnerabilities require comprehensive responses that link climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts to the sustainable development of these communities enhancing their adaptive capacity. It is not sufficient to concentrate on either mitigation or adaptation, but a combination of these results in the most sustainable outcomes. Yet, these two strategies do not always complement each other, but can be counterproductive. A similar argument can be made for linking climate change adaptation with sustainable development. In order to avoid these conflicts, priorities need to be set. This calls for a methodology and comparison tool to assess the most cost-effective and appropriate strategies for each community. Strategies need to be evaluated in terms of their negative consequences and priority given to those that minimize these. This article includes case studies of successful adaptation and mitigation strategies suggesting that these successes be translated into local contexts and communalized with the involvement of local authorities using participatory approaches. Successful outcomes integrate different adaptation and mitigation strategies with the overall development goals of the community through local government leadership, comprehensive planning and prioritization.

Tartan‐ised telecare? The roll‐out of telecare services in Scotland

Following the significant involvement of Scottish local authorities in the trialling and development of telecare services, there is now considerable activity across the entire country. This is the result of clear policy drivers and the introduction of a capital grant which required individual authorities to develop partnerships with a view to achieving clear outcome benefits involving significant efficiency savings in hospital bed use and admissions to residential care. In the future, an emphasis on improved training and communications may further advance the integration of services.

Municipal Policing Meets the New Deal

In urban centres across the UK and elsewhere, one encounters an ever-increasing array of uniformed agencies. Often explicitly aligned with efforts for an urban renaissance, these patrols not only give advice and information to users of urban public spaces but, more significantly, are instrumental in securing these spaces and their populations. Drawing on empirical research in the British city of Glasgow, this article argues that, far from being merely designed to minimize risk, such new policing initiatives work hard to establish a new moral order of acceptable activities for revitalized urban spaces. This happens through renewed involvement of the local authorities as municipal policing. There is, however, one element in the debates of an urban renaissance or the entrepreneurial city that tends to get sidelined easily: that of the actual labour and work lying at the heart of such renaissance. Here, the warden project under discussion, in its design as an intermediate labour market programme, forcefully illustrates the meanings of `securing' and `policing' as it reconnects the moral ordering of contemporary labour market policies with the patrolling of new urban spaces.

The Politics of Food: Gender, Family, Community and Collective Feeding in South Wales in the General Strike and Miners' Lockout of 1926

This article features the General Strike and Miners’ Lockout in South Wales in 1926. It examines the Lockout from the perspective of social and gender history, focusing on communal eating which was a central feature of community survival and resistance. It documents the extensive network of soup kitchens for miners, which was established across the South Wales coal field during the seven months of the Lockout. In addition school feeding and the involvement of both central and local authorities is analysed. The article highlights the opportunities that arose from the Lockout, particularly through communal eating, for a reduction in gender segregation and a challenge to male dominance. It concludes that overall, women in these mining communities were concerned to maintain class solidarity with their men rather than to make advances for women. Maintaining the masculine identity of the militant miner, which necessarily incorporated male bonding and women's subordination, was regarded as an essential feature of the class struggle. The General Strike, and the epic struggle of the miners which followed, have long been regarded as seminal events in the history of the twentieth-century labour movement. It is remembered as perhaps the greatest episode in working class solidarity in British history. Historians writing from a left wing perspective have also been drawn to the leap in class consciousness which occurred in some local areas, transforming the Strike/Lockout from a struggle to defend wages and living standards to the exercise of real workers’ power.1 The vast specialist historiography on this topic, much of which emanates from the 1970s and earlier, focuses very much on the politics of industrial conflict as played out at both national and local levels.2 This emphasis on traditional ‘labour history’ left women either invisible or on the margins of the conflict, although attempts were made from a ‘women's history approach’ by Sarah Boston and Shiela Lewenhak to include women in the General Strike in their more general narratives.3 Despite the advent of ‘gender history’ from the late 1980s there have been no major studies of the social and gender impact of the 1926 dispute, although recently both Ian Haywood and Maroula Joannou have addressed gender aspects of the General Strike through the literature of the period.4 Ellen Wilkinson's novel Clash is perhaps unique in that it develops a socialist–feminist perspective through her heroine, labour activist Joan Craig, who is committed to preserving her independence within marriage.5 Virtually all the studies of this topic focus heavily on the nine days of the General Strike with little consideration of the seven-month Lockout which followed the collapse of the General Strike on 12 May 1926. The only specialist work on the Lockout is Gerard Noel's forgotten text The Great Lockout of 1926 (1976).6 This impressionistic account attempts to bring in some social aspects of the dispute, although even here women make only a fleeting appearance and there is no serious attempt to examine the position of women in the coalfield communities. It is hoped that this article will begin the process of establishing a gendered approach to the General Strike and Miners’ Lockout. Research on this question necessitates a detailed local case study methodology rather than a broad national survey. This article concentrates on Britain's largest (by number of miners) and most militant coalfield, South Wales, which also, unlike most other coalfields, possessed a distinctive separate identity from the surrounding area. Chris Williams has acknowledged that gender history in Wales is still at an early stage.7 In a recent article Paul O’Leary argues that whilst major advances have been made to map out the experiences of women in modern Welsh history, the overall emphasis on community cohesion (rather than social divisions such as gender and ethnicity) has inhibited the development of an integrated approach, often leaving women's history as an ‘add on’ to the dominant narratives.8 The historicization of men in Wales, on the other hand, has scarcely been recognized. O’Leary goes on to make the case for the centrality of gender for research in Welsh history.9 This involves collapsing the public/private divide, being attentive to family dynamics, acknowledging the pivotal role of women's unpaid labour to the local economy, and recognizing both femininity and masculinity as essential components of any historical enquiry. Using this approach, this article will analyse in depth one aspect of the dispute which was central to community survival: food and communal eating.

Police Reform in England and Wales: Producer-Driven or Consumer-Led? An Evaluation of the Current Police Reform Programme

This article considers the current status of police reform and the many problems associated with it. It argues that the current proposals are very largely producer-driven rather than consumer-led and if implemented would serve to undermine the Prime Minister's policy commitment to both public service reform and the encouragement of greater consumer choice. Recent public opinion polls indicate that consumer perceptions of police amalgamations are almost wholly negative. It is also argued that the criteria for determination of ‘stand-alone’ forces set by the Home Office has proven to be highly arbitrary. It argues for the need for more effective collaboration between forces and for much closer local authority involvement in the delivery of local police services. It highlights possible local government reform proposals within the forthcoming White Paper and the need to link reform of local government structures with those of police forces. It concludes with an evaluation of neighbourhood policing strategy and the need for joint responsibility and oversight between police and local authority to both anchor and sustain this important initiative.

A Combined MOIP–MCDA Approach to Building and Screening Atmospheric Pollution Control Strategies in Urban Regions

This article presents a methodological approach for the formulation of control strategies capable of reducing atmospheric pollution at the standards set by European legislation. The approach was implemented in the greater area of Thessaloniki and was part of a project aiming at the compliance with air quality standards in five major cities in Greece. The methodological approach comprises two stages: in the first stage, the availability of several measures contributing to a certain extent to reducing atmospheric pollution indicates a combinatorial problem and favors the use of Integer Programming. More specifically, Multiple Objective Integer Programming is used in order to generate alternative efficient combinations of the available policy measures on the basis of two conflicting objectives: public expenditure minimization and social acceptance maximization. In the second stage, these combinations of control measures (i.e., the control strategies) are then comparatively evaluated with respect to a wider set of criteria, using tools from Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis, namely, the well-known PROMETHEE method. The whole procedure is based on the active involvement of local and central authorities in order to incorporate their concerns and preferences, as well as to secure the adoption and implementation of the resulting solution.

Municipalities and energy efficiency in countries in transition: Review of factors that determine municipal involvement in the markets for energy services and energy efficient equipment, or how to augment the role of municipalities as market players

It is widely recognized that many cost-efficient opportunities to employ end-use energy efficiency measures exist in countries in transition (CITs) and that municipal authorities have an essential role to play in capturing these opportunities. The aim of this paper is to review the factors that determine the degree of involvement of local authorities in the market for energy services and energy efficient (EE) equipment in three CITs: Bulgaria, Hungary and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (hereafter: Macedonia). We achieve this aim by examining the current status of local governments as the most powerful determinant of municipal market involvement. Two broad groups of factors are discussed: statutory obligations and powers of local governments, especially energy-related tasks, and finance. We explain how specific features within these two areas may influence the motivation of local authorities to improve energy efficiency and their capacity to do so. We argue that greater decentralization is the first step in augmenting the role of local authorities in the market for energy services and EE equipment. Based on the analysis we give recommendations on how to encourage municipal authorities to use market mechanisms more extensively to deliver energy efficiency.

Old and New Patterns of Domestic Politics in the European Perspective: The Debate in the Republic of Cyprus

This contribution sets out an analytical framework for the ongoing constitutional debate within the European Union and examines its implications for the domestic politics of the Republic of Cyprus. An empirical analysis suggests that the patterns of this original debate follow, with a certain degree of innovation, the traditional path of domestic politics. The central, Europe-wide debate, while elite-driven and nationally organized, is less controversial than national ones. The involvement of local authorities and non-governmental organizations is still limited; public awareness, therefore, is following a dynamic process which is aimed at reaching non-familiar audiences.

The Alchemists' Search for the Philosophers' Stone: The Status of Registered Social Landlords under the Human Rights Act

Social housing in Great Britain is undergoing a radical transformation with the transfer of local authority housing to housing associations, more particularly registered social landlords (RSLs). While the former are clearly ‘public authorities’ for the purposes of the Human Rights Act (HRA), the status of the latter is less clear. The first part of this article addresses the increasingly important role played by housing associations in the provision of social housing, and the significant implications of the stock transfer process. It goes on to explore the meaning of ‘public authority’ for the purposes of claims under the HRA, taking into account available approaches to interpretation as well as the tests traditionally used to determine amenability to judicial review. It concludes that there is a strong case for acknowledging that RSLs are hybrid authorities for the purposes of the HRA, given in particular their ‘publicness’ and the fact that they are often carrying out the same functions as local authorities.

Bidding to host a major sports event

Major sports events have the potential to offer significant benefits to any city, but at the same time are likely to entail immense resource utilisation and enormous risk. Focussed at the organising committee level, and drawing upon general management and project management literature, aims to collect empirical data to identify current management practice used in the bidding process, and determine key factors in successful bidding. A self‐administered postal questionnaire was sent to 220 randomly selected major sports event organisers from ten different countries. Targeted at the chief executive officer level or equivalent, the questionnaire provided general contextual detail and focussed on present sports event management practices and processes. To gain more in‐depth understanding of successful applications, three semi‐structured interviews were administered in England. The findings reveal that the primary motivations behind local authority involvement are heightening area profile and sport promotion. Successful public sector applications were found to use bounded rational decision‐making, driven largely by political reasoning rather than detailed objective analysis. Specifically identifies and discusses five key factors behind successful national and international governing body approval.

Explaining the Revival of a Traditional Crop, "Common Millet", in Tonaki and Aguni Islands, Okinawa Prefecture

In recent years, common millet, a traditional upland crop, is being cultivated once again in some islands of Okinawa after a period of abandonment. This study reports on the revival and spread of common millet production on the islands of Tonaki and Aguni in Okinawa Prefecture. Regional features of the two sites are compared and the background and factors leading to this phenomenon are examined.The results show that the village office of Tonaki Island has been actively involved in the development of common millet production, while on Aguni Island, individual farming households have been concerned with its production, with relatively little involvement of local authorities. This difference is attributable to agricultural circumstances; Tonaki households tend to have a weak basis of agricultural management and require the involvement of authorities, whereas agricultural management on Aguni Island is comparatively well-established and stable.Factors in this revival include the following: 1) ease of cultivation, an important concern for the ageing populations of these islands; 2) the common millet under cultivation on the islands is glutinous, thus suiting the taste of the local people, which results in the stability of and increase in demand for the product; 3) the preservability of common millet is an important factor for the people of these islands, where an efficient transportation system has not been developed.In addition to the above factors in the revival of common millet production, it is also necessary to consider the deep-rooted feeling held by the people of Okinawa for traditional upland crops such as common millet, foxtail millet, barley, wheat and so on. This strong feeling inspired people with the idea of cultivating millet once again and they accordingly brought seeds to the islands. The revival of common millet production indicates the intensity of feeling concerning traditional upland crop production among the people of the islands of Okinawa.

Research into the applicability of the healthy cities movement in Dakar district (Senegal): methodology and results

This paper reports on the findings of participatory research undertaken in three settlements within Dakar which sought to develop concrete actions for achieving “healthy towns and villages” and which also identified the constraints on such action. It begins by describing the key healthy city principles – local authority involvement, dialogue and coordination between sectors, and community participation. It then outlines the range of participatory techniques used in diagnosing problems and developing proposals, and discusses the potentials and constraints on their successful implementation. This highlights the potential contradictions between the “healthy cities” philosophy and conventional local authority management culture. But it also points to the more favourable conditions provided by decentralization and by new models of urban management which rely on the increased use of partnerships between neighbourhood associations, NGOs and local authorities.

Research into the applicability of the healthy cities movement in Dakar district (Senegal): methodology and results

This paper reports on the findings of participatory research undertaken in three settlements within Dakar which sought to develop concrete actions for achieving “healthy towns and villages” and which also identified the constraints on such action. It begins by describing the key healthy city principles – local authority involvement, dialogue and coordination between sectors, and community participation. It then outlines the range of participatory techniques used in diagnosing problems and developing proposals, and discusses the potentials and constraints on their successful implementation. This highlights the potential contradictions between the “healthy cities” philosophy and conventional local authority management culture. But it also points to the more favourable conditions provided by decentralization and by new models of urban management which rely on the increased use of partnerships between neighbourhood associations, NGOs and local authorities.