Provincial Government Departments Research Articles

Understanding Challenges Women Face in Flood-Affected Areas to Access Sexual and Reproductive Health Services: A Rapid Assessment from a Disaster-Torn Pakistan.

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is ranked as the fifth-most vulnerable country to climate change. Most recently, during June-August 2022, heavy torrential rains coupled with riverine, urban, and flash flooding led to an unprecedented disaster in Pakistan. Around thirty-three million people were affected by the floods. More than 2 million houses were damaged, leaving approximately 8 million displaced and approximately 600,000 people in relief camps. Among those, 8.2 million women and 16 million children are the worst affected, with many requiring urgent medical and reproductive healthcare. To plan an efficient healthcare program and a climate-resilient health system, it is crucial to understand the issues that the affected people face during floods. Methodology. This rapid assessment included the population in the most severely affected districts across the four provinces of Pakistan. A mixed methods approach using qualitative and quantitative techniques was utilized. A total of 52 qualitative, in-depth interviews were conducted with community-level healthcare providers, national and provincial government departments, and development partners involved in relief activities. Using a structured questionnaire, the quantitative cross-sectional survey was conducted with a final sample of 422 women, married and unmarried (15-49 years old), residing in the relief camps in the flood-affected areas. The outcome variable of the survey was the access to sexual and reproductive health services faced by the women in the flood-affected districts. Data collection took place four months postfloods during Nov-Dec 2022, while the data analysis was conducted between Dec 2022 and Jan 2023. The quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 20, and qualitative data was analyzed using NVivo 12. Ethical consent was sought from all the participants. Ethical approval was also sought from the ethics committee of the Health Services Academy, Government of Pakistan. The findings indicated that, overall, all the provinces were unprepared for a calamity of such a large magnitude. Access to services and health data reporting from the flood-affected areas was challenging mainly due to a shortage of trained health workforce because of the displacement of a large volume of the health workforce. Overall, equipment, medicines, supplies, and food were scarce. Women residing in the camps were markedly affected, and 84% (375) were not satisfied with the flood relief services provided to them. The floods impacted their monthly income as 30% (132) of respondents started depending on charity postfloods. Almost 77% (344) reported limited access to sexual and reproductive health services and had yet to receive sanitary, hygiene, and delivery kits, while 69% (107 out of 154) of girls stopped schooling postfloods. Almost 77% (112) of the married women reported having a child less than one year of age. Yet, only 30% (44 out of 144 currently married women) were using any form of family planning method-damage to the health facilities affected access to overall maternal care services. The findings concluded that there was no planning for sexual and reproductive health services in the flood-affected areas. Several barriers were identified. The government and development partners needed to prepare to cater to women's needs during the floods. The findings highlight the need for collaborative efforts between the government, civil society, and development partners to address the challenges faced in disaster management and strengthen disaster management capacity.

Identifying and Validating Alcohol Diagnostics for Injury-Related Trauma in South Africa: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study.

The burden of alcohol use among patients with trauma and the relative injury risks is not routinely measured in South Africa. Given the prominent burden of alcohol on hospital trauma departments, South Africa needs practical, cost-effective, and accurate alcohol diagnostic tools for testing, surveillance, and clinical management of patients with trauma. This study aims to validate alcohol diagnostics for injury-related trauma and assess its use for improving national health practice and policy. The Alcohol Diagnostic Validation for Injury-Related Trauma study will use mixed methods across 3 work packages. Five web-based focus group discussions will be conducted with 6 to 8 key stakeholders, each across 4 areas of expertise (clinical, academic, policy, and operational) to determine the type of alcohol information that will be useful for different stakeholders in the injury prevention and health care sectors. We will then conduct a small pilot study followed by a validation study of alcohol diagnostic tools (clinical assessment, breath analysis, and fingerprick blood) against enzyme immunoassay blood concentration analysis in a tertiary hospital trauma setting with 1000 patients. Finally, selected alcohol diagnostic tools will be tested in a district hospital setting with a further 1000 patients alongside community-based participatory research on the use of the selected tools. Pilot data are being collected, and the protocol will be modified based on the results. Through this project, we hope to identify and validate the most appropriate methods of diagnosing alcohol-related injury and violence in a clinical setting. The findings from this study are likely to be highly relevant and could influence our primary beneficiaries-policy makers and senior health clinicians-to adopt new practices and policies around alcohol testing in injured patients. The findings will be disseminated to relevant national and provincial government departments, policy experts, and clinicians. Additionally, we will engage in media advocacy and with our stakeholders, including community representatives, work through several nonprofit partners to reach civil society organizations and share findings. In addition, we will publish findings in scientific journals. DERR1-10.2196/52949.

Adoption of a combined assurance framework in South Africa’s provincial government departments: A compliance case study

This paper examines the role of compliance units in the adoption of a combined assurance framework within provincial government departments in the Western Cape. It strives to avoid risks being managed in silos and ensure risks are efficiently managed collaboratively. A combined assurance framework provides a coordinated approach to all assurance activities. It aims to optimise the assurance coverage obtained from management and internal and external assurance providers on the risk areas affecting an organisation. Compliance is an independent function that supervises and participates in placing internal procedures in conformity with regulations within the context of the integrity policy covering fields such as corporate governance and fields possibly required by respective Boards of Directors, taking account of risks in various activities. This study followed a qualitative approach, and data was collected by interviewing various officials within the provincial government departments. A sample of 10 respondents ranging from CAEs, Internal Auditors, and Directors was selected to participate in the face-to-face semi-structured interviews. The study aimed to conclude that a combined assurance framework undeniably incorporates the efforts of management and external and internal assurance providers. It builds their alliance and develops a combined and more holistic breakdown of the organisation's risk profile. The general view is that the assurance gap is significant. However, the combined assurance framework will furnish a clear process and criteria for recognising each department's assurance gap and degree of risk coverage.

Main Predictor(s) of Good Corporate Governance in National Government Departments: A Decision-tree Classification and Prediction Analyses

Purpose: Good public sector corporate governance leads to good management, stewardship of public wealth, public engagement, and ultimately, better outcomes for citizens. As South Africa has one of the worst Gini coefficients in the world, its public sector should effectively address the challenges of inequality, poverty, and unemployment. Yet, almost 30% of national and provincial government departments obtain unfavourable audit outcomes. Methodology: Supporting the drive for clean audit outcomes that equate to good corporate governance, the research objective was to determine the predictors of national government departments’ corporate governance success. The study used CHAID (chi-squared automatic interaction detection) analyses, a decision-tree technique based on information reported over a 13-year period. Findings: The CHAID analyses indicated that national government departments’ corporate governance success is primarily explained by three factors, namely: a quality internal audit function (main predictor), the number of fraud incidents, and the number of internal control weaknesses. Implication: Even though all the variables in this study receive attention in literature and regulation, the problem of unfavourable audit outcomes persists. The question is where to focus on resolving the problem. Regulators may take note of where to focus their efforts in strengthening elements of good corporate governance.

The Effectiveness of Legislative Oversight in Democratic South Africa: Exploring Political Will

Abstract Drawing on empirical data from document analysis, this paper will carry out a critical analysis of the effectiveness of the oversight and accountability system of the legislative sector of South Africa in detecting early warning signs prior to financial and governance collapse, by examining three provincial government departments. The results reveal that several key early warning signs preceded governance and financial collapse at the three provincial education departments but that the provincial departments ignored signals of repetitive financial irregularities flagged up by the Auditor General of South Africa. The article argues that there is a lack of political will to effectively respond to early warning signs of looming crises in provincial government departments in South Africa for the purpose of preventing or mitigating their negative impact.

Knowledge Management Framework Implementation In Government To Increase Organization Performance

The Jak preneur Program is one of Dinas PPUMKM's most successful MSME empowerment and development initiatives in Jakarta. MSMEs are critical to the global economy, contributing to job creation, innovation, and economic growth. However, they frequently face challenges in effectively harnessing and utilizing their knowledge assets to drive competitiveness, particularly for the DKI Jakarta Provincial Government (Pemprov DKI Jakarta). This study investigates the implications of knowledge management in a government organization's Jak preneur program under the supervision of Dinas PPUKM (Provincial Government Department of Industry, Trade, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises). Furthermore, the study's findings will help MSMEs overcome the lack of knowledge-based growth barriers. This thesis investigates the concept of knowledge management (KM) in the context of public government organizations. The goal of this study is to provide a comprehensive analysis of Knowledge Management practices in government organizations, examining current approaches, challenges, and potential strategies and frameworks for improvement. The study employs a qualitative approach that includes in-depth interviews and focuses on group discussions (FGD) with multiple perspectives from MSME owners, managers, mentors, and facilitators in order to identify knowledge gaps, which will be classified into four categories: people, processes, technology, and governance. Each stakeholder is expected to participate in the knowledge management process, accelerating the organization's goal of raising the standard of its MSMEs. The study's findings can help policymakers, MSME practitioners, and researchers design and implement effective knowledge management initiatives. The proposed system is intended to be used to clarify the management of Dinas PPUMKM (Provincial Government Department of Industry, Trade, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), including not only roles and responsibilities but also how the knowledge management system can improve the company's day-to-day performance.

South African government personnel expenditure 2006–2021: Methodological considerations in using remuneration data

ABSTRACT The level of detail, coverage, accuracy, completeness and time range of personnel expenditure data available in the transversal payroll system used by South African national and provincial government departments, PERSAL, offers opportunities for wage bill analysis that is not possible with the more common and well-known approaches of using either highly summarised tabled data, reported data or survey data. This paper describes a methodology that was developed to extract trends in the wage bill and personnel numbers. The key drivers of total wage bill growth have been identified as personnel growth and salary growth and this paper demonstrates how to disaggregate total growth into these two key drivers. The full-time equivalent is proposed as a measure for annual headcounts, as it provides an accurate summary. Appropriate stratification when analysing the impact of remuneration policies is highlighted. The structuring of payroll data as employees’ career trajectories enables the analysis of changes at the personal level, adding insight to into personnel movements and improvements in salaries.

Addressing multi-region data linkage needs through data sharing agreements – Three Canadian initiatives.

ObjectivesData sharing and administrative data access for multi-jurisdictional research must accommodate all local requirements for the protection of personal information and personal health data. Navigating the different safeguards for data sharing found in all relevant Canadian provincial and territorial legislation requires exploring innovative, privacy compliant solutions.
 ApproachHealth Data Research Network Canada (HDRN Canada) and one of its provincial data centre partners, New Brunswick Institute for Research, Data and Training (NB-IRDT), are undertaking unconventional approaches to data sharing that balance legislative compliance and data access needs. Three approaches are being pursued: harmonizing data sharing agreements between a national longitudinal study and 10 provincial data centres; facilitating 4 individual data sharing agreements with one regional cohort of a nationwide study; and coordinating data sharing between 4 provincial government departments and one national data centre. Each approach has unique features that presented problems needing innovative resolutions.
 ResultsThe experiences and challenges of these three approaches to data sharing for multi-regional research have been perplexing but ultimately are leading to productive outcomes. Learnings acquired enable partners to move beyond anecdotal perceptions of data sharing limitations to practical solutions that can be applied in future data sharing partnerships.
 The ongoing project management approach of these initiatives identified a core set of somewhat predictable devices to ensure the advancement of simultaneous multiple regional data sharing agreements. These include the assignment of a project coordinator role, clear and ongoing communication, and the ability to negotiate and manage expectations. More innovative, however, is the roadmap that evolved, laying out the necessary (previously unanticipated) measures and sequence in which they should occur for the most expedient outcome.
 ConclusionTo harness the potential of multi-regional research in Canada, provinces and territories must identify feasible and efficient data sharing solutions. The identification of adoptable and replicable legislatively compliant data sharing practices will increase potential data accessibility. This will increase available data and data platforms for research informed policy decisions.

How to Reduce Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Power Systems in Gansu Province—Analyze from the Life Cycle Perspective

To develop effective strategies to reduce CO2 emissions from electricity systems, this study accounted for carbon emissions from power systems (production, transmission, consumption) in Gansu Province based on life cycle theory. We used LMDI and SDA decomposition methods to analyze the driving force of carbon emissions and quantified the influence effect and action intensity of various factors on carbon emissions in corresponding links. Several results were found: (1) Direct carbon emissions during the stage of electricity production had the largest share of the entire electricity life cycle. (2) From the perspective of the cumulative contribution rate, electricity consumption and the electricity trade promoted carbon emissions in the stage of electricity production; the power structure, electricity efficiency, and fuel structure had opposite effects. (3) In the stage of electricity transmission, the higher the voltage level, the lower the net loss rate; high-voltage-level transmission lines effectively reduced the growth of implied carbon emissions. (4) Industrial restructuring and technological advances effectively offset the growth in carbon emissions due to population, economy, and electricity consumption. The results can provide a scientific basis for energy-saving and emission reduction policies in provincial government departments and the electric industry.

Knowledge management awareness in South African provincial government departments: The case of KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works, Pietermaritzburg

Background: Knowledge management (KM) holds a major influence on the effective delivery of services in government departments as it is tactically affiliated to the formation, composition, and sharing of information to prevent ‘reinvention of the wheel’ by staffs when performing their jobs. However, few government departments within the South African context have implemented formal KM initiatives.Objectives: This research sought to examine the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works (Pietermaritzburg) employees’ awareness of any KM initiatives, their benefits, and barriers that are preventing the successful implementation of a formal initiative.Method: A survey research approach was utilised in which structured questionnaires were administered to respondents. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS).Results: The research established that KM initiatives are being practiced informally within the Department and there is a reasonably high level of awareness of these initiatives together with the benefits associated with them. The lack of a dedicated unit for KM and KM professionals are some of the barriers to the successful implementation of formal initiatives.Conclusion: The research concluded that the Department is in dire need of a formal KM initiative to reap the potential benefits and improve service delivery.

Knowledge management awareness in South African provincial government departments: The case of KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works, Pietermaritzburg

Background: Knowledge management (KM) holds a major influence on the effective delivery of services in government departments as it is tactically affiliated to the formation, composition, and sharing of information to prevent ‘reinvention of the wheel’ by staffs when performing their jobs. However, few government departments within the South African context have implemented formal KM initiatives. Objectives: This research sought to examine the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Public Works (Pietermaritzburg) employees’ awareness of any KM initiatives, their benefits, and barriers that are preventing the successful implementation of a formal initiative. Method: A survey research approach was utilised in which structured questionnaires were administered to respondents. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS). Results: The research established that KM initiatives are being practiced informally within the Department and there is a reasonably high level of awareness of these initiatives together with the benefits associated with them. The lack of a dedicated unit for KM and KM professionals are some of the barriers to the successful implementation of formal initiatives. Conclusion: The research concluded that the Department is in dire need of a formal KM initiative to reap the potential benefits and improve service delivery.

Advancing Urban Water Security in the Indus Basin, Pakistan—Priority Actions for Karachi and Lahore

Despite growing recognition of solutions to water scarcity challenges, decision-makers across the world continue to face barriers to effective implementation of water planning, governance and management. This is evident in the cases of Lahore and Karachi in the Indus Basin in Pakistan and illustrated through the experiences of the provincial government departments and utilities. Water scarcity and associated challenges are continuing to impose significant costs on these cities, which continue to grow as water availability further declines, demand increases, water quality deteriorates, and infrastructure degrades. A team of Australian water experts was commissioned by the Australian Water Partnership to diagnose urban water challenges and identify priority actions for improved water security, in collaboration with Pakistani partners. This paper presents the outcomes of that work. This includes a synthesis of the published literature and data on the geographical, climatic, and water scarcity contexts of both Karachi and Lahore. It then identifies responses to water insecurity that have been considered or implemented in the past and the barriers that have inhibited the effectiveness of these efforts. Finally, it presents actions within five priority action areas that Pakistani stakeholders have identified as being most practical and impactful for improving water security outcomes.

Examining the maturity of South Africa’s government departments to implement the Infrastructure Delivery Management System (IDMS)

The purpose of this exploratory study is to examine the maturity of South Africa’s provincial government departments in engaging with the Infrastructure Delivery Management System (IDMS) towards facilitating effective infrastructure delivery. Furthermore, the study sought to formulate evidence-based interventions that could be utilised by these government departments to engender successful delivery of infrastructure assets and associated services to their beneficiaries. This research was descriptive and employed the quantitative research approach. Data was elicited from three provincial government departments in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Structured maturity modelling questionnaires were deployed for data collection from the respondents. The emergent data was analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), Version 26. A One-Way ANOVA, aimed at enabling a comparative analysis of differences in the degree of maturity between the three provincial government departments that utilise the IDMS, was conducted. Results from the study indicate that the three departments (cases) had a maturity rating between 3 and 4, signifying well-defined and documented standard processes that can be improved over time. However, an IDMS-ready organisation would ideally have a maturity rating at level 5. In addition, the leadership dimension was found to be a driver of all other dimensions, where a high maturity level under this dimension directly correlates with improved maturity in the other dimensions. It is recommended that adequate management and leadership support is needed to improve organisational maturity in relation to IDMS implementation. The study was confined to KwaZulu-Natal, due to the short survey period for information gathering and data collection. The COVID-19 pandemic also had a great impact on the undertaking of some key research processes mostly affecting the research methodology, particularly during data collection. This study is the first of its kind in South Africa to assess the maturity of provincial government departments to implement the IDMS, which is indicative of an evaluation void gap.

An Explorative Study of Financial Manipulation of Working Women through Discourse

The present study aims to find out the role of language in financial manipulation of working women. Financial manipulation refers to the unfair use of someone’s labor and financial resources. The study population comprises of the working women serving in the provincial government departments located in Dera Ghazi Khan Division in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. The sample size of 150 working women through purposive sampling technique is taken for study, and a self-administered questionnaire was served through convenience sampling technique. Dijik’s (2006) idea of manipulation through discourse as appeared in Discourse and Manipulation is taken as theoretical framework for the study. The data is analyzed quantitatively using SPSS.The study concludes that the working women in South Punjab, Pakistan are manipulated financially through various linguistic tools as they intentionally ignore their own needs in order to save family relations and to avoid sarcastic remarks. The study can be helpful for further research to be carried out in the field of women empowerment in society. It can pave the way for future study in the use of language as a tool of manipulation.

Comparative study on prevention and control policies of major animal epidemics in China—Quantitative analysis of policy texts from 1972-2019

The matching of central and provincial governments' policy themes and the correspondence between them are important for measuring the accurate delivery of policies. Such measurement can directly reflect policy connections between the central and provincial governments and is helpful in understanding the strength and effect of policy implementation. In this study of animal epidemic prevention and control policy texts issued by central and provincial government departments from 1972 to 2019, the themes of the texts were determined by the segmentation of high- and low-frequency keywords, and the quantitative analysis was carried out in four dimensions: the year, number, subject and theme of each policy. The findings indicate that the central government takes the initiative in preventing and controlling animal epidemics and adjusts prevention and control measures through feedback, mostly using restrictive tools. The provincial governments’ prevention and control of animal epidemics are a combination of active and passive types, and the tools used basically have the same characteristics as those used by the central government. The central government has formed an animal epidemic prevention and control emergency management decision-making group with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and the State Administration for Market Supervision and Administration as the core. The policy text themes of provincial governments and agricultural animal disease prevention and control management departments match more closely than those of the central government. The study suggests that the central government's animal epidemic prevention and control policy themes can increase coverage and promote the implementation of provincial government prevention and control management measures. Provincial governments can form decision-making groups for the emergency management of animal epidemics, mobilize enthusiasm for animal epidemic prevention and control and receive feedback information, and enhance their ability to actively intervene in epidemic prevention and control.

Early Prediction of Preeclampsia by Using Serum Human Leukocyte Antigen G: A Retrospective Case-Control Study Followed by a Prospective Unselected Cohort Study

Background: Human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G), a non-classic class I antigen, has been well documented in that its concentrations in maternal peripheral blood are significantly lower in pregnant women with preeclampsia (PE) than those pregnant women without PE. However, the clinical significance of measuring serum HLA-G as a test for predicting PE development has not been studied. Methods: First, we determined cutoff values for serum HLA-G levels for PE in a retrospective case-control study with 100 PE patients and 300 non-PE pregnant women. Then, we performed a prospective unselected cohort study with 3,439 pregnant women. In the prospective study, pregnant women whose serum HLA-G levels were lower than the cutoff values and who had other PE risk factors were included in a PE rule-in group. In contrast, pregnant women whose serum HLA-G levels were greater than the cutoff values and who had no other PE risk factors were included in a PE rule-out group. The participants were followed up until end of study. Finding: The cutoff values of serum HLA-G levels for PE were established in the retrospective study. In the subsequent prospective study, we demonstrated that serum HLA-G levels lower than 80 U/mL at 10−13 gestational weeks (GW) in the PE rule-in group showed a positive predictive value for PE development with 83.78% sensitivity and 87.93% specificity while serum HLA-G levels higher than 80 U/mL at 10−13 GW in the PE rule-out group had a negative predictive value with 88.57% sensitivity and 97.14% specificity. Interpretation: Serum HLA-G levels lower than 80 U/mL in the first trimester of pregnancy can be used to predict the absence or presence of PE development in the third trimester of pregnancy. Funding Statement: Allowance to SMY for new technique development from provincial and municipal government department of Sichuan, Chengdu, P. R. China. Declaration of Interests: All authors declare no competing interests. Ethics Approval Statement: The hospital review board (Second Affiliated Hospital, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, P.R. China) approved the study protocol. All participants provided their written informed consent.

Experiences of workplace breastfeeding in a provincial government setting: a qualitative exploratory study among managers and mothers in South Africa

BackgroundReturn to employment is a major barrier to breastfeeding continuation, globally and in the Southern African context. The Lancet Breastfeeding Series revealed an explicit need for research exploring breastfeeding as a workplace issue in low- and middle-income countries. A dearth of research on workplace breastfeeding in South Africa calls for attention to this topic. This study sought to explore breastfeeding at work experiences from the perspective of employed mothers and senior managers in a provincial government setting in South Africa.MethodsThe study adopted an exploratory qualitative design with multi-perspective semi-structured interviews. Snowball sampling was employed to recruit twelve participants, senior managers (n = 4) and employed mothers (n = 8), from two provincial government departments in Cape Town, South Africa. Interviews were conducted between April and August 2018 to capture participants’ experiences with breastfeeding in the workplace. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data.ResultsFour key themes that described experiences of workplace breastfeeding emerged which further traversed three critical maternity periods: pregnancy, maternity leave, and return to work. The prevalent themes were: 1) Knowledge about the legislation and breastfeeding support benefits. Most participants only knew about the legislated four months maternity leave and time off for prenatal visits but lacked knowledge about comprehensive maternity benefits; 2) Perceptions and experiences of breastfeeding in the workplace. Breastfeeding was perceived to be a mother’s responsibility and a private issue. As a result, most participants stopped breastfeeding prior to or immediately upon return to work after maternity leave; 3) Barriers to breastfeeding continuation, such as the absence of a conversation about infant feeding plans between managers and mothers; and 4) Recommendations to improve breastfeeding support at work from an individual, organisational and national level.ConclusionsOur study contributions emphasise that breastfeeding support from managers should begin prior to the mother taking maternity leave, and that in addition to providing supportive facilities (such as private space and breastmilk storage), immediate supervisor support may be critical in fostering breastfeeding-friendly workplaces for mothers. Management implications for advancing workplace breastfeeding support in the public sector are presented.

Balochistan: Overview of its Geo-economic and Socio-economic Perspectives

This study gives an overview of geo-economic and socio-economic perspectives of Balochistan. The research methodology of descriptive analysis is used to highlight the objectives of this study on thematic analysis outcomes. The findings of the study show paradoxical themes that Balochistan is the largest and resourceful yet the least developed province of Pakistan. The major portion of population comprises of youth but not skilled enough to find decent works for livelihood earnings. Political awareness is present, but the government is made on the consent of governments formed at federal level. Economic snapshots reveal that resource-rich attributes of the province are associated with the lowest socio-economic indices across all districts of the province. The natural cum geo-economic importance and resources abundance have not contributed for socio-economic development of this backward province of Balochistan. Unemployment, low skills development, zero industrialization and socio-economic backwardness are main economic issues responsible for the lowest development of the province. The policy recommendations include the implementation of comprehensive development policies for natural resource development, human capital formation of its labor force, coastal area development, development of Gwadar sea-port, enhancing capacity building of the provincial government departments, rule of law, investment for socio-economic development and mainstreaming the local population in macro decision making for the development of the least developed province of Balochistan.

Active citizenry, community - Based organisations and the protection of urban wetlands: The case of colbyn, Tshwane, South Africa

Green infrastructure, such as wetlands, provide significant benefits to urban populations. They are, however, vulnerable to destruction and degradation due to competing land uses, weak local government and poor management. This is especially true when local governments are appointed guardians but have competing mandates and a shortage of funds. Drawing upon a qualitative research approach, this study provides evidence of processes that the community undertook to protect the Colbyn Valley Wetland. The results indicate that local communities are on the receiving end of the decision-making, with little or no opportunity to be involved in the management. Important secondary stakeholders, namely the provincial and local government departments mandated to manage and protect ecosystems, only acted when pressured by the community and the media. It was also found that the community with other stakeholders have been unrelenting in their resistance to convert the wetland into housing estates, shopping centres and car parking to get it proclaimed a nature reserve.

Interaction between Marine Economic Development and Talent Cultivation: The Result of Canonical Correlation Analysis

Ding, Y.; Yao, F.; Lv, H., and Hu, Y., 2020. Interaction between marine economic development and talent cultivation: The result of canonical correlation analysis. In: Yang, Y.; Mi, C.; Zhao, L., and Lam, S. (eds.), Global Topics and New Trends in Coastal Research: Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 103, pp. 79–84. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.The talent cultivation is crucial to improve the level of marine economic development. In this paper Heilongjiang Province is taken for example, and canonical correlation analysis is used to conduct empirical analysis of the relationship between Heilongjiang Province's marine economic development and talent cultivation. The research results show that there is a significant correlation between Heilongjiang Province's marine economic development and talent cultivation, and they support each other for common progress. GDP, total investment in fixed assets and public finance expenditure are critical factors affecting Heilongjiang Province's marine economic development. The number of institutions for talent cultivation and the number of students enrolled by institutions of talent cultivation are critical factors affecting the development of talent cultivation development in Heilongjiang Province. The empirical research result is expected to provide guidance for the establishment of corresponding policies by Heilongjiang Provincial Government, all prefectures and relevant departments.