Policy-based Decision Research Articles

A multicriteria GIS-based decision-making approach for locating electric vehicle charging stations

Electric vehicles (EVs) will be the next technological leap for urban mobility, however the market penetration rate depends on several factors, including the major hurdle of limited EV charging stations. Equity is also an important factor – ensuring EV charging stations are widespread and available for all segments of the population. This paper outlines an innovative methodology to systematically determine the locations of EV charging stations while considering equity and efficiency to maximize accessibility and usage. The methodology has two levels. First, solving what is known as the Set Covering Location Problem (SCLP) by determining a threshold so that the distance (or travel time) between the consumer and the EV charging station will be less than or equal to a given value. This is a policy-based decision and provides a framework to ensure EV charging stations are ubiquitous and equitable. Second is solving the Maximum Covering Location Problem (MCLP) by considering a series of evaluation criteria to satisfy the demand of the early adopters. Following evaluation of the SCLP and MCLP, selected locations are aggregated by partitions to develop larger scale hubs. These hubs will not only include EV charging stations but will also function as connection points that integrate different modes of transportation.

Policy-based disaster recovery planning model for interdependent infrastructure systems under uncertainty

Due to continuous population expansion and the threat of climate change, the past century has witnessed increasing occurrences of natural hazards, leading to significant global losses and requiring substantial restoration efforts. This issue challenges decision makers to act in a timely and effective manner to protect infrastructure systems from future natural hazards. This study presents a policy-based decision model for restoration planning, as part of the PRAISys platform, to support informed disaster mitigation of interdependent infrastructure systems under uncertainty. Following the concept of disaster recovery priority used in practice, this model determines the priority rank of each recovery task from pre-defined policies and simulates the restoration accordingly. This model captures different types of interdependencies with rigorous models at the component and system levels and predicts possible system recoveries under a given damage scenario in a probabilistic manner. This model can quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of decision strategies on system recovery and resilience under different disaster recovery policies. As a demonstration example, this study applies the proposed model to the post-earthquake recovery simulation of three interdependent infrastructure systems (i.e., power, communication, and transportation) in the Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, USA. A total of sixteen cases were considered to represent different restoration strategies. For every case, the uncertainties in the recovery steps are captured by probabilistic simulation, and system resilience is calculated for every recovery sample. Simulation results from different strategies are compared to evaluate the effectiveness of non-intuitive strategies on system recovery and resilience. The proposed model uses a simple and straightforward concept to mimic practical disaster recovery plans. It is easy to understand and implement for modelers, and it is also useful to compare outcomes from different recovery criteria and decision strategies for practitioners.

Autonomous Vehicles: The Need for a Separate European Legal Framework

Regulating autonomous vehicles is not only a question of finding solutions in connection with the technical aspects of the legal framework. Rather, it involves making preliminary policy-based decisions that take all stakeholders into consideration. This article makes the case that efforts must focus on how to incentivise the use of autonomous vehicles without putting the burden on the shoulders of those who will ultimately make use of them. In that respect, the existing regulation (implemented on the basis of the Product Liability Directive and the Motor Insurance Directive) is insufficient, as there is a considerable mismatch between the current framework and the challenges posed by autonomous vehicles. There is a need to act urgently on the regulatory level.

Systematic reviews and meta-analysis in nutrition research.

There exists an ever-increasing number of systematic reviews, with or without meta-analysis, in the field of nutrition. Concomitant with this increase is the increased use of such to guide future research as well as both practice and policy-based decisions. Given this increased production and consumption, a need exists to educate both producers and consumers of systematic reviews, with or without meta-analysis, on how to conduct and evaluate high-quality reviews of this nature in nutrition. The purpose of this paper is to try and address this gap. In the present manuscript, the different types of systematic reviews, with or without meta-analyses, are described as well as the description of the major elements, including methodology and interpretation, with a focus on nutrition. It is hoped that this non-technical information will be helpful to producers, reviewers and consumers of systematic reviews, with or without meta-analysis, in the field of nutrition.

Association of the Usability of Electronic Health Records With Cognitive Workload and Performance Levels Among Physicians

Current electronic health record (EHR) user interfaces are suboptimally designed and may be associated with excess cognitive workload and poor performance. To assess the association between the usability of an EHR system for the management of abnormal test results and physicians' cognitive workload and performance levels. This quality improvement study was conducted in a simulated EHR environment. From April 1, 2016, to December 23, 2016, residents and fellows from a large academic institution were enrolled and allocated to use either a baseline EHR (n = 20) or an enhanced EHR (n = 18). Data analyses were conducted from January 9, 2017, to March 30, 2018. The EHR with enhanced usability segregated in a dedicated folder previously identified critical test results for patients who did not appear for a scheduled follow-up evaluation and provided policy-based decision support instructions for next steps. The baseline EHR displayed all patients with abnormal or critical test results in a general folder and provided no decision support instructions for next steps. Cognitive workload was quantified subjectively using NASA-Task Load Index and physiologically using blink rates. Performance was quantified according to the percentage of appropriately managed abnormal test results. Of the 38 participants, 25 (66%) were female. The 20 participants allocated to the baseline EHR compared with the 18 allocated to the enhanced EHR demonstrated statistically significantly higher cognitive workload as quantified by blink rate (mean [SD] blinks per minute, 16 [9] vs 24 [7]; blink rate, -8 [95% CI, -13 to -2]; P = .01). The baseline group showed statistically significantly poorer performance compared with the enhanced group who appropriately managed 16% more abnormal test results (mean [SD] performance, 68% [19%] vs 98% [18%]; performance rate, -30% [95% CI, -40% to -20%]; P < .001). Relatively basic usability enhancements to the EHR system appear to be associated with better physician cognitive workload and performance; this finding suggests that next-generation systems should strip away non-value-added EHR interactions, which may help physicians eliminate the need to develop their own suboptimal workflows.

Antenatal care data sources and their policy and planning implications: a Palestinian example using the Lives Saved Tool

BackgroundPolicy making in healthcare requires reliable and local data. Different sources of coverage data for health interventions can be utilized to populate the Lives Saved Tool (LiST), a commonly used policy-planning tool for women and children’s health. We have evaluated four existing sources of antenatal care data in Palestine to discuss the implications of their use in LiST.MethodsWe identified all intervention coverage and health status indicators around the antenatal period that could be used to populate LiST. These indicators were calculated from 1) routine reported data, 2) a Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), 3) paper-based antenatal records and 4) the eRegistry (an electronic health information system) for public clinics in the West Bank, Palestine for the most recent year available. We scaled coverage of each indicator to 90%, in public clinics only, and compared this to a no-change scenario for a seven-year period.ResultsEight intervention coverage and health status indicators needed to populate the antenatal section of LiST could be calculated from both paper-based antenatal records and the eRegistry. Only two could be calculated from routine reports and three from a national survey. Maternal lives saved over seven years ranged from 5 to 39, with percent reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) ranging from 1 to 6%. Pre-eclampsia management accounted for 25 to 100% of these lives saved.ConclusionsThe choice of data source for antenatal indicators will affect policy-based decisions when used to populate LiST. Although all data sources have their purpose, clinical data collected directly in an electronic registry during antenatal contacts may provide the most reliable and complete data to populate currently unavailable but needed indicators around specific antenatal care interventions.

Trade regimes as a tool for cyber policy

PurposeThis research develops a framework for assessing international trade regimes which could be used to address global cybersecurity challenges based on the corresponding costs of implementation and their distribution. Trade regimes, such as export controls, tariffs, investment restrictions and localization requirements, have disparate effects on foreign and domestic producers and consumers.Design/methodology/approachThese trade regimes and their effects are explored through a literature review and conceptual framework. A case study then assesses trends in the use of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).FindingsCFIUS investment restrictions have justified blocking specific Chinese acquisitions of American companies, at least partially, on cybersecurity grounds using a targeted and evidence-based approach. Because of its targeted effect, CFIUS is the least likely of these trade regimes to block legitimate international trade. Restrictions on international trade, without sufficient cause, produce dead weight loss under the theory of comparative advantage.Originality/valueThese costs should be accounted for in any policy-based decision, particularly as policy entrepreneurs increasingly push for embedding cybersecurity reforms into these trade regimes. While the literature on trade regimes and cybersecurity is growing, this paper advances this research with its comparative framework.

Site-specific aftercare completion criteria for sustainable landfilling in the Netherlands: Geochemical modelling and sensitivity analysis

A novel, regulatory accepted approach is developed that enables competent authorities to decide whether landfill aftercare can be reduced or terminated. Our previous paper (Brand et al., Waste Management 2016, 56, 255–261, https://doi.org//10.1016/j.wasman.2016.07.038) outlines the general approach, that consists of a 10-year treatment phase (e.g., aeration, leachate recirculation), in combination with site-specific Environmental Protection Criteria (EPC) for contaminant concentrations in the landfill leachate after treatment. The current paper presents the unique modelling approach by which the site-specific EPC are derived. The modelling approach is based on the use of mechanistic multi-surface geochemical models covering the main sorption processes in soils underneath the landfills, and is composed of widely-accepted surface complexation models in combination with published “generic” parameter sets. This approach enables the consideration of the main site-specific soil properties that influence the attenuation of emitted contaminants. In addition, the sensitivity of the EPC is shown for variation of the main physicochemical-assumptions and policy-based decisions. Site-specific soil properties have been found to substantially determine the EPC and include soil-pH, dissolved organic matter, and iron-(hydr)oxide content. Apart from the sorption capacity of the local soil, EPC also depend strongly on the assumed dilution with local groundwater in the saturated zone. An important policy-related decision that influences the calculated EPC is the assessment period during which the groundwater is protected. The transparent setup of the approach using geochemical modelling, the explicit consideration of site-specific properties and the achieved regulatory acceptance may also stimulate application to landfills in other countries.

Enhanced wireless network efficiency by cognitive, self-organized resource reconfiguration

Mobile communication systems are facing an increasing demand for higher bit rates and reveal a growing heterogeneity and complexity. The European funded End-to-End Efficiency (E <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> ) project has developed a system concept for cognitive and self-managed adaptation of radio network resource usage to dynamic user traffic and service demands. The main features of that E <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">3</sup> concept for cognitive wireless systems are intelligent and cognitive management mechanisms for network self-configuration and self-optimization. They include self-learning and policy-based decision making. Furthermore, reconfigurable mobile access nodes like flexible base stations enable the adaptation of hardware and processing resources to varying traffic and service demands. In combination, these mechanisms provide the required flexibility for achieving an increased network efficiency and an enhanced user satisfaction.

Empowering Youth: Use of Technology in Advocacy to Affect Social Change

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for integrating technology with youth advocacy efforts to affect social change and influence social determinants of health, particularly in 1) recruiting people to join the cause, 2) organizing collective action, 3) raising awareness and shaping attitudes, 4) raising funds to support the cause, and 5) communicating with decision makers. Making strategic decisions to combine technology and youth advocacy will give youth a voice, arm them with advocacy skills, and increase their self-efficacy. These youth may become adults who are involved in larger policy-based decisions that will address the social determinants of health that affect the health status of people in their communities and throughout the world.

Flow-Through Policies for Hybrid Controller Synthesis Applied to Fully Actuated Systems

This paper addresses the coupled navigation and control problem for fully actuated dynamical systems operating in cluttered environments. The proposed method composes local feedback control policies to address the global problem in a formally correct manner. Our contribution extends the method of sequential composition to a new class of flow-through policies, which are defined for an idealized point robot that is subject to bounds on velocity and acceleration. These policies, which are defined over convex polytopes, express natural behaviors and guarantee safe trajectories while respecting system constraints. This paper presents a constructive technique for building hybrid control systems with guaranteed transitions and stability properties. Simulation results demonstrate policy-based decision making for various initial conditions.

99/02227 Comparison of AB2588 multipathway risk factors for California fossil-fuel power stations: Gratt, L. B. and Levin, L. Proc., Annu. Meet. Air Waste Manage. Assoc., 1997, 90, TP5701, 1–20

Substances released from power plants may travel through various exposure pathways resulting in human health and environmental risks. The stack air emission`s primary pathway is inhalation from the ambient air. Multipathway factors (adjustment factors to the inhalation risk) are used to evaluate the importance of non-inhalation pathways (such as ingestion and dermal contact). The multipathway factor for a specific substance is the health risk by all pathways divided by the inhalation health risk for that substance. These factors are compared for fossil fuel power stations that submitted regulatory risk assessments in compliance with California Toxic Hot Spots Act (AB2588). Substances representing the largest contributions to the cancer risk are of primary concern: arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, chromium (+6), formaldehyde, nickel, lead, selenium, and PAHs. Comparisons of the chemical-specific multipathway factors show the impacts of regulatory policy decisions on the estimated health risk for trace substances. As an example, point estimates of the soil mixing depth, varying from 1 cm to 15 cm, relate to the relative importance of the pathway. For the deeper mixing depths, the root-zone uptake by homegrown tomato plants (for assumed consumption rate of 15% for San Diego) may result in high multipathway factors for several trace metals.more » For shallower mixing depths, soil ingestion may become the dominant non-inhalation pathway. These differences may lead to significantly different risk estimates for similar facilities located at different California locations such as to be under local regulatory authorities. The overall multipathway factor for the total cancer risk is about 2, much smaller than some of the chemical-specific factors. Science-based multipathway analysis should reduce much of the concern that may be due to policy-based decisions on pathway selection and high-value point-estimates of the parameters.« less