Poor Policy Research Articles

Assessment Of Air Pollution And Its Association With Population Health: Geo-Statistical Evidence From Pakistan

Human health is harmed by air pollution. The objective of this research was to show that air pollution in Pakistan is getting worse and is negatively impacting people’s health. IQ Air and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation provided the data for this descriptive research. Monthly data of PM2.5 μg/m³ from ten different localities across Pakistan are used to show spatial distribution through the geospatial technique of interpolation. The findings show that two third of the country has high PM2.5 concentration, with Lahore as the most polluted city. In Pakistan, solid fuel use has decreased, leading to a decline in associated mortality and morbidity. However, there have been significant increases in PM2.5 and ozone levels, resulting in a rise in the country’s overall health burden caused by air pollution. Furthermore, the number of deaths attributed to air pollution has also increased since 1990. A total of 57% of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 40% of lower respiratory infections, 36% of ischemic stroke, 35% of ischemic heart diseases, 32% of lung cancer, 25% of diabetes, and 20% of neonatal outcomes are directly attributed to air pollution in Pakistan. The main contributors to air pollution are population growth, growing motorization, and unsustainable energy usage. The main challenges due to air pollution control and monitoring in Pakistan include a lack of awareness, poor policy creation and implementation, the use of improper fuel, rising energy demands, and an absence of pollution monitoring stations in most cities. Therefore, there is a need for a robust air pollution monitoring system, increased public awareness, and the implementation of clean and sustainable policies to regulate this environmental health issue.

Credit Financing and Agricultural Sector Performance in Nigeria (1989–2019)

Providing people with a good standard of living through food consumption, businesses with employment opportunities, and the government with tax revenue through product exports, as well as creating an environment that is favorable for the economy to flourish, determines how well the agricultural sector is performing. Due to insufficient funding, excessive interest rates, and poor policy measures, the agricultural sector's performance continues to suffer. Therefore from 1989 to 2019, the study examined the impact of credit finance on agricultural performance in Nigeria. An ex-post facto research design was used in the study. The study made use of Time series data. The data were obtained from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) statistical bulletin. The study employed descriptive statistics, unit root test, co-integration, bound test, and Auto regressive Distributed lag models, and inferences were made at 5 percent significant level. The study showed that Deposit money banks credit to the Agricultural sector was positively related and significant to agricultural sector performance in Nigeria (β=0.759; P=0.004), while government expenditure on agriculture was positively related and significant to agricultural sector performance in Nigeria (β=0.598; P=0.0002) and interest rate posits a positive but insignificant effect on agricultural sector performance in Nigeria (β=0.1507, P=0.580) within the observed period. The study concluded that deposit money banks' credit to the agricultural sector and government expenditure on the agricultural sector has positively influenced agricultural sector performance, while interest rate on deposit money banks' credit does not have a significant effect on agricultural sector performance. It was recommended that Commercial banks should establish a panel examining committee to make sure that the money distributed is rigorously used for its intended purpose and is not diverted in any way. The delay and strict requirements in assessing deposit money banks' credit and facilities should be overhauled.

WHAT IS THE HARM IN ADDICTION? AUTONOMY, VULNERABILITY, AND THE CASE FOR HARM REDUCTION DRUG POLICY

AbstractSuccessful drugs policy must be driven by thoughtful principle and intergovernmental consensus, not by departmental or legal inertia, nor by public (mis)conceptions about drug use. Perhaps the most pressing choice for drugs policymakers at present is between harm reduction and abstinence approaches to drugs policy. To choose between these two approaches, we need to know addiction's normative status: is having an addiction a misfortune or a harm in its own right, even setting aside knock-on health and wellbeing consequences? We argue that the harm of addiction is driven by poor policies, but that harm is not inevitable.

The impact of older adult care policy mixes on the construction of senior centers.

The problem of an aging population is becoming increasingly serious, and the establishment of senior centers helps to promote the physical health and mental health of the older adult, a key factor in achieving the high-quality development of the old-age security industry. The government has issued a number of policies to promote the establishment and development of senior centers. However, more and more older adult care policy mixes have gradually shown the phenomenon of poor policy connection, confusing standards, and even mutually exclusive content, resulting in many problems in the construction of policy-driven senior centers. Therefore, based on the overall perspective of the older adult care policy mix, this paper uses the GMM method to explore the impact of the comprehensiveness, balance, and consistency of older adult care policy tool portfolios issued by Chinese government agencies on the construction of senior centers in China. The empirical analysis results show that a comprehensive and consistent policy mix can promote the establishment of senior centers, while the balance of the policy mix will inhibit the establishment of senior centers. This paper analyzes the impact of older adult care policy on the construction of senior centers from the perspective of the policy mix, which helps to clarify the different policy effects produced by different policy mix characteristics and provides feasible policy suggestions for the government to formulate more reasonable and effective policies.

Factors Affecting Cheating Behavior at Quetta- Pakistan

Cheating in examinations across the globe is an issue of growing concern. This study argues that the culture of cheating in exams in Balochistan has reduced the efficiency of human resource and has resulted in producing students with high qualifications but less potential in the province. Therefore, it is very importantto explore the factors contributing to cheating in exams and to suggest a course of action to mitigate the menace it poses. A quantitative research method was employed for this study. Similarly, statistical techniques such as correlation and logistic regression were conducted for statistical analysis and explanation of thestudy using SPSS. Theoretically, the study is inspired by rational choice theory. The findings of the study show a significant relationship between personal, institutional, and situational factors. Personal factors that contribute to cheating were found to be students’ desire to excel, low GPA, and slow learning. Institutional factors include the weak administrative role of institutions, poor academic policies, overload on students, and weak performance of the teachers. Situational factors such as the poor management strategy of the examiner, time pressure, and technological tools were found to be instigating students towards cheating. The study suggests that an appropriate exam hall setting, effective monitoring, concept-oriented exams, and a strong honor code can decrease cheating.

Model‐based offline reinforcement learning for sustainable fishery management

AbstractFisheries, as indispensable natural resources for human, need to be managed with both short‐term economical benefits and long‐term sustainability in consideration. This has remained a challenge, because the population and catch dynamics of the fisheries are complex and noisy, while the data available is often scarce and only provides partial information on the dynamics. To address these challenges, we formulate the population and catch dynamics as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP), and propose a model‐based offline reinforcement learning approach to learn an optimal management policy. Our approach allows learning fishery management policies from possibly incomplete fishery data generated by a stochastic fishery system. This involves first learning a POMDP fishery model using a novel least squares approach, and then computing the optimal policy for the learned POMDP. The learned fishery dynamics model is useful for explaining the resulting policy's performance. We perform systematic and comprehensive simulation study to quantify the effects of stochasticity in fishery dynamics, proliferation rates, missing values in fishery data, dynamics model misspecification, and variability of effort (e.g., the number of boat days). When the effort is sufficiently variable and the noise is moderate, our method can produce a competitive policy that achieves 85% of the optimal value, even for the hardest case of noisy incomplete data and a misspecified model. Interestingly, the learned policies seem to be robust in the presence of model learning errors. However, non‐identifiability kicks in if there is insufficient variability in the effort level and the fishery system is stochastic. This often results in poor policies, highlighting the need for sufficiently informative data. We also provide a theoretical analysis on model misspecification and discuss the tendency of a Schaefer model to overfit compared with a Beverton–Holt model.

Social harvest control rules for sustainable fisheries

AbstractFisheries are supposed to be for the benefit of society, producing food, providing livelihoods and enabling cultural continuity. Biological productivity goals for fish stocks operationalised through Harvest Control Rules (HCRs) are central to contemporary fisheries management. While fisheries policies often state socio‐economic objectives, such as enhancing the livelihoods of coastal communities, those are rarely, if ever, incorporated into operationalised management procedures. The lack of articulation of social objectives and lack of monitoring of social outcomes around HCRs amounts to poor public policy. In this article, we explore the potential for social HCRs (sHCRs) with reference points and agreed predefined actions to make the social dimensions of fisheries explicit. sHCRs cannot cover all social dimensions, so should be considered as one tool within a broader framework of fisheries governance. Moreover, successful sHCRs would require sound deliberative and participatory processes to generate legitimate social objectives, and monitoring and evaluation of fisheries management performance against those objectives. We introduce two potential types of sHCRs, one based on allocation of catch within biological limit reference points, and one for when fishing exceeds biological limit reference points. The application of sHCRs, we argue, can foster accountability and help avoid non‐transparent negotiations on size and distribution of the catch. Our proposal is a call to action for policy makers and fisheries managers to properly integrate social criteria into fisheries governance, and for both biophysical fisheries scientists and social scientists to do better in practical collaboration for methods and knowledge development to support this integration.

FACTORS INFLUENCING ADOPTION OF AGROFORESTRY FARMING SYSTEM AS A MEANS FOR SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION METHOD IN JERE LGA, BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

Farmers were exposed to agroforestry but did not adopt the system due to some perceived factors. However, unless they adopt agroforestry farming system, the potential benefits of the technology for livelihood improvement and sustainable environmental management will not be realized. Thus, this study was carried out to assess the factors influencing adoption of agroforestry farming systems as a means for sustainable environmental conservation method in Jere L.G.A of Borno State. A multistage sampling procedure was used to select the respondents for this study. A total of one hundred and twenty (120) respondents interviewed for the study. Data were collected using structured questionnaires. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive statistics which include fre­quency distributions, means, and percentages. The ordered logistic regression was used to estimate the factors influencing the adoption of agroforestry as a means of sustainable conservation practices by farmers in the study area. The result revealed that majority of the farmers were aware of agroforestry mostly through their farmers’ association. The major factors that positively influenced adoption of agroforestry include gender, household size, extension services and farming experience. Despite the numerous benefits of agroforestry to environmental conservation, farmers were constrained by land fragmentation possibly due to inheritance, inadequate nurseries where seeds/seedlings can be accessed, inadequate incentives and poor government policies, poor access to extension services, inadequate capital, long gestation period of trees, damage caused by animals/humans, limited use of machineries and unavailability of labour. It was recommended that land fragmentation should be discouraged, extension services, seedlings and incentives should also be provided to farmers in the study area to encourage and motivate them to go into agroforestry farming to sustain environmental conservation in the area.

Zimbabwe’s roadmap for decarbonisation and resilience: An evaluation of policy (in)consistency

Zimbabwe intends to build resilience mechanisms against climate change while at the same time ensuring sustainable development in recognition of its climate change vulnerability and national circumstances, in line with the demands of the Paris Agreement of reducing emissions by 2030. The study examined the consistency of government policies in reducing emissions by 1278GgCO2 by 2030. The study reviewed government policies and environmental projects intended at reducing carbon emissions. The results indicated that, on paper, the government has promising targets; but in reality, there are inconsistencies indicating the release of more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The inconsistencies include the commissioned Hwange thermal power station and fossil fuel-powered locomotives. The study found that there is strategic coherence between policy objectives, aimed at building resilient and low-carbon human settlement, and objectives of international policies such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Paris Agreement and SENDAI Framework. The compulsory mixing of petrol and ethanol and the introduction of electric cars in the transportation sector demonstrated the limited but commendable efforts by the government in embracing renewable energy to reduce carbon emissions. The study established that poor policy implementation and lack of policy harmonisation have led to the failure of the Zimbabwean government to have policy consistency in terms of the decarbonisation roadmap resulting in policy conflicts and contradictions. An example of policy duplication is in, the Environmental Management Act and Forestry Act which can have sections dealing with climate change harmonised into the Climate Change Policy. The study recommends that the government establishes a National Climate Financing mechanism for cleaner technologies and practices to reduce emissions by 2030.

Transport policy: Empowering local community for poverty alleviation in a deprived neighborhood in Colombia

Social exclusion is directly related, amongst others, to a lack of educational opportunities, transport accessibility or poor transport policies. Socialcapital can deliver a solution to reduce inequity by providing community transport (CT) to an underprivileged neighborhood. The aim of this paper is to provide a case study on how community participation has proven to be an efficient way of procuring the basic needs of a poor community, such as those involved in providing daily mobility despite the apparent lack of a clear public transport policy. Results indicate that community participation and engagement in a common need can not only provide badly needed means of transportation but also be the impetus to tackle greater transport problems at the policy level. This, as a result, led to better CT which brought about greater accessibility to poor urban neighborhoods and more hands-on government engagement even though it operated only for a short period of time mainly to facilitate the entrance of the public transportation service.

Does Corporate Governance Impact Risk Disclosure? An Empirical Analysis in the Indian Context

This study aims at identifying the determinants of corporate governance that impact corporate risk disclosure in India’s top non-financial listed companies based on market capitalisation. The analysis of the study is based on risk disclosure practices of the leading non-financial listed companies using annual reports as well as risk disclosure practices in the presence of various regulations. The risk exposure is measured using manual content analysis while the impact is analysed using multiple regression. The empirical findings reveal that the corporate risk disclosure level has improved significantly. The major corporate governance variables namely board size and ownership are insignificant to risk disclosure whereas audit committee meetings and role duality are somewhat significant. Firms having bigger size plays a major role in risk disclosure practices of companies, on the other hand, liquidity and growth of the firm do not influence risk disclosure practice. Due to the constant fallouts of companies, this paper tries to analyse the role of corporate governance practices in minimising companies’ risk exposure. The results of the study help analyse the failures in corporate governance practices that lead to companies’ poor disclosure policies.

Human Rights and Racial Inequality Shifts in Contemporary United States

Racial inequality is a major aspect of Americas history due to the major impacts that slavery had, with black people being the primary victims. Over the past decades, the shapes and forms of racism have changed from overt practices, such as slavery to covert forms. Reviewing the literature on racism in America showed that the changes led to the false illusion that racism ended in America, which is not true, considering the widespread discrimination of blacks and other groups. This paper mainly discusses human rights and racial inequality shifts in contemporary United States with cases studies, critically analyzes racism in contemporary America, including the case of police killing and abuse, show that racial minorities, for instance, African Americans endure high poverty rates, injustice, and victimization by the criminal justice system. The evidence of widespread racism in contemporary America demonstrates the need for change, focusing on addressing the underlying causes, including poor and unfair policies.

Climate‐related armed conflict and communities' resistance to Rural Grazing Area settlement policy in Nigeria's Middlebelt

AbstractIn Nigeria, resource contests have sparked unending ecological conflict. As a result, conflict resolution measures have been proposed to mitigate climate‐related conflict. However, the acceptance of such policies is hampered by ethnic suspicions, communities' exclusion, religious sensitivities, and a lack of political will. State policies are frequently based on centralized resources, which is exacerbated by the complexities of power relations between central and sub‐national authorities. Thus, this article examines communities' resistance to the Rural Grazing Area (RUGA) settlement policy in Nigeria's Middlebelt using Benue state as a reference point. The study employed a quantitative method using questionnaires. The study used a sample size of 385 questionnaires administered in Guma, Gwer‐West, Gwer‐East, Ukum, and Logo local governments in Benue state. Therefore, the article found that the failure of communities' inclusivity substantially contributed to the local revolt against the RUGA settlement policy. Specifically, the study's findings demonstrate that the possibility of losing ancestral lands, the past experience of the host communities, ethnic and political factors, and poor policy awareness were the primary factors that reinforced communities' resistance to RUGA policy. Moreover, the government's over‐reliance on an authoritarian mechanism and wrong policy choices compounded by a non‐inclusive approach contributed to policy failure to gain acceptability at the grassroots level in Benue state. As an intervention, the article recommends democratically inclusive conflict resolution strategies for climate‐related armed conflict in the region.

MYCOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL PROFILE ALONG WITH ANTIFUNGAL SUSCEPTIBILITY PATTERN OF DERMATOPHYTOSIS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL FROM WESTERN INDIA

Introduction:Dermatophytosis is a common superficial mycosis causing significant cutaneous morbidity. In recent times, the prevalence of dermatophytosis is increasing. The dermatophyte infections spread easily and rapidly especially in low socioeconomic classes and thus warrant early therapy.Dermatophyte infections are commonly treated by topical antifungal drugs like clotrimazole, terbinafine, ketoconazole. But severe and chronic form of dermatophytosis requires treatment with systemic antifungal drugs like itraconazole, griseofulvin and terbinafine.There is emergence of antifungal resistant strains due to incongruous use of antifungals and poor antifungal policy. There are limited studies related to antifungal susceptibility testing (AFST). So present study was undertaken to determine mycological, clinical profile and antifungal Susceptibility testing ofdermatophytosis. Material & Methods: A prospective study was conducted on patients with superficial fungal infections over a period of 11 months (October 2018 to August 2019). Various samples like skin scrapings, scales, hair and nail clippings were processed by standard fungal culture methods. AFST was performed by using E-test strips (HiMedia) of fluconazole, itraconazole and terbinafine on Sabourauds dextrose agar plates and interpreted according to CLSI (M38A). Results: A total of 25 (23.8%) dermatophytes were isolated from 105 (skin 57, Nail 41, scales 11, Hair 6) samples. Out of 25 culture positive patients, 18 presented as tineacorporis, 3 as tineacruris, 3 onchomycosis, 1 each as tineacapitis&tinea incognito. T. tonsurans was most common dermatophyte 40% (N10), followed by T. rubrum 36% (N9), T. mentagrophytes 12% (N3) and M. canis 8% (N2) and T. megninii 4% (N1). AFST of all 25 isolates revealed that 21 isolates were sensitive to itraconazole (0.023 to 0.75 mcg/ml) wheras a single isolate of T. rubrum and T. tonsurans each were resistant. Two isolates of T.tonsurans showed lower MICs for itraconazole (0.023mcg/ml). For terbinafine (0.002-0.008mcg/ml), 14 isolates (56%) showed resistance with MICs >32 mcg/ml. For fluconazole (range 0.5-4 mcg/ml) only 3 isolates showed MIC in range while22 were resistant MICs >256mcg/ml. The results were communicated with dermatologists and appropriate changes were made in patient therapy. Conclusion: The emergence of resistant dermatophytesemphasises the need of antifungal drug susceptibility tests, antifungal stewardship and strong antifungal policy to enable the clinician to start suitable antifungals to avoid antifungal resistance and treatment failure.

The Factors Affecting Female Literacy Rate in Rural Areas of Kech

In the present study, the researchers explored various factors that affected the female literacy rate in rural areas of district Kech. Females are considered to be the first educators of the new generation, and as well as the literacy of females is considered to be a significant symbol for the socio-economic development of any country. However, the nature of the present study was quantitative, and the research type was explanatory and exploratory. The universe of the study was the rural areas of district Kech. And sampling units were the heads of the female primary schools, teachers of female primary schools and parents of the females. Thus, convenience sampling was used to distribute the response, and the data collection tool was a structured questionnaire. The recommended sample was 230. Data were analyzed through SPSS software. The study's findings revealed various factors affecting the female literacy rate in rural areas of district Kech. The factors which affected the female literacy rate were; poor policy implementation, social and cultural norms, shortage of teachers, early age marriage, lack of awareness, parents’ negative attitude, long distance, domestic chores, ghost schools, poverty, lack of facilities, religion misinterpretation, teacher’s absenteeism, lack of infrastructure and buildings, illiterate parents, political interference, the security issue of rural areas. Government should provide basic facilities, better teacher training, technologically equipped classrooms and a school environment for quality education in rural areas of Kech.

Pragmatic Act and Force Inherent in the Use of Invectives in Fela Anikulakpo Selected Songs

A recipient is being criticised in a critical, unreserved, non-euphemistic, and non-attenuating way when someone uses invective. Even though invective is typically regarded as a crude and unattractive form of expression, its potential as the most direct form of satire has also been acknowledged in some situations, such as the music genre. In Fela's songs, the use of profanity as a satirical criticism instrument is axiomatic. This paper explores the potential of invective as an aesthetic form as well as the pragmatic interpretation of Fela's proclivity for using insults to satirically ridicule the regime. To analyse purposefully chosen Fela songs, Alagbon Close and International Thief Thief, some pragmatic tools incorporated into a modified theoretical framework of Mey's (2001) "Pragmatic Act Theory," Brown and Levinson's (1987) "Politeness Principles," and the canonical classifications of context are used. The analysis' conclusions show that Fela overtly attacks the government with some highly disparaging invectives in response to that body's poor policies. According to the analysis's findings, the types of instantiated pragmatic acts used in the chosen songs are assertive, expressive, and directive. The topics of the songs are reflected in these performances. The data also revealed two distinct sorts of face acts: face threatening without restitution and face threatening conduct utilising offrecord politeness techniques. These demonstrate that Fela does not soften the propositional message included in his songs.

Modern Collective Transport. The Impact of Public Policy on the Implementation of the EU Legislative Objectives on the Example of Poland

Urban policy is driven by current trends and ideas. In the 20th century, it was mainly based on modernist views and the most important element of the transport planning policy at that time was the use of the private motor vehicle (car). As a result, transport policies in the 20th century were focused on large-scale road projects, while public transport was marginalized. However, this approach changed drastically at the turn of the 20th and the 21st centuries. Nowadays, the main emphasis is put on environmentally and user-friendly public transport. However, public urban transport often fails to meet the needs of the society. What are the reasons why urban public transport is still not as effective as it should be? The author of this article points in this respect to the poor policy of public bodies responsible for the provision of transport services for the society rather than to the poor quality of the transport law. There are two main areas for improvement - public service planning (defining the service) and cost-effectiveness of providing transport services. The author of the article proposes specific solutions in this regard.

Preparing Students for Post-COVID Nursing Careers: The Value of International Clinical Placements

Prior to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, international clinical placements (ICPs) for nursing students were used to build cultural humility and global awareness. This study explored the influence of ICPs on nursing students' career planning and views of the nursing role; the findings were considered against the evolving pandemic context. A qualitative, descriptive longitudinal study was conducted with 25 preregistration nursing students who participated in an international placement. Semistructured individual interview data were examined using thematic analysis. Participants were interested in patient equity and empowerment, high acuity and variety, health policy, and primary care. Participants developed resilience and nursing confidence. They saw the effects of poor health equity and health policy decisions on population health. ICPs expanded participants' understanding of global interconnectedness and also identified new career possibilities. Postpandemic, nursing education should continue to maintain a global focus on health. [J Nurs Educ. 2023;62(4):207-214.].

The Forest Policy Process, Regulatory, and Institutional Frameworks in Ethiopia

The purpose of the study is to examine the trends of the forest policy process, its responses, legal frameworks, institutional developments, stakeholder relations, and stakeholder roles, as well as the major driving causes of the forest policy, regulatory, and institutional practices in Ethiopia. A qualitative content analysis method was employed for the study. The review of the literature is fundamentally based on data sources from archival and review of relevant empirical studies, as well as policy, legal, and strategy documents, supplemented with data sources from six key informants from the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) Ministry of Agriculture, FDRE Forest Development, and FDRE Environment Protection Authority who have relevant leadership and professional responsibilities in relation to forest policy, legal, and interdisciplinary issues. The result of the findings indicated that the trends were top-down and coercive. Moreover, the historical legacies of forest policy, legal, and institutional frameworks of past regimes have immensely affected the performance of the current forest policy and regulatory frameworks and their institutional strengths. Such an operation hindered public participation and resulted in poor forest policy outcomes. Therefore, the study recommends the urgency of creating strong inter-sectoral coordination in forest-related matters, ensuring participation, freeing institutional mandate allocation from the influence of the agriculture sector by balancing forest conservation and agriculture intensification, ensuring independent forest regulatory bodies across the tiers, providing the necessary implementation directives and guidelines, and giving adequate support to discharge their roles at the grassroots community level, as suggested. Key terms : Forest policy, regulatory, institutional framework, Ethiopia DOI: 10.7176/PPAR/13-3-02 Publication date: April 30 th 2023

Challenges of Clinical Teaching in Developing Countries

Clinical teaching is very important for students’ learning as it helps them to integrate cognitive, affective and psychomotor skills when delivering medical care. However, it has been noted that across all medical fields new graduates have low level of competency and questions have been raised with regard to the contributing challenges. This paper aimed at exploring the challenges that affect clinical teaching in the developing countries. A Google search of the published article on challenges of clinical teaching in the developing countries was done and the reported factors were documented. The challenges found included: poor teachers’ knowledge and skills, finance related constraints, unfavorable learning environment, large numbers of enrolled students and the accompanying constraints, poorly motivated teachers and poor government policies. Based on these findings, it is recommended that efforts need to be made to address the challenges so as to enable effective clinical teaching that will roll out health workers who can offer appropriate services to society.