Related Public Policy Research Articles

Desarrollo Orientado al Transporte Sostenible (DOTS). Una prospectiva para Colombia

De la relación territorio-transporte surge el concepto de Desarrollo Orientado al Transporte (DOT) como un modelo de planeación urbana y territorial en torno a los sistemas de transporte. El presente trabajo tiene por objeto formular las estrategias de un Desarrollo Orientado al Transporte Sostenible (DOTS) para Colombia. La metodología toma como punto de partida la valoración de las políticas públicas con relación a los sistemas de transporte urbano alternativo en el país y utiliza como base los postulados internacionales para el establecimiento de las áreas en las que debe desplegarse el DOTS. Los resultados plantean como áreas estratégicas a la política pública, el territorio y el ambiente, la movilidad y la accesibilidad urbanas, el urbanismo, la economía y la sociedad. Se concluye que la capacidad de transformación urbana que posee el transporte trasciende a la planeación e implementación del DOTS, para lo cual se requiere de políticas públicas integrales.

Health Policies in Romania to Reduce the Mortality Caused by Cardiovascular Diseases.

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) are the main cause of death in Romania. The objective of the paper is to explain the number of deaths caused by the diseases of circulatory system in relation to health expenditures per capita, the number of public hospitals with cardiology sections and the number of cardiologists. The analysis in the paper is based on panel data models and Bayesian linear models. A panel data approach for Romanian macro-regions in the period from 1995–2016 was used to show that an increase in the number of cardiologists would reduce the number of deaths caused by the diseases of circulatory system. The Bayesian approach to national data indicated that the increase in expenditures per capita would alleviate the incidence of deaths caused by CVD. The public health policies in relation to patients with CVD should focus on the future on higher expenditures per person, but the number of public hospitals and doctors treating these diseases should also continue to grow. Future healthcare policies should be also focused on reducing the number of specialists migrating to wealthier countries.

Estimating market power in the Chinese pork-packing industry: a structural approach

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate market power in the Chinese pork supply chain. The authors aim to explain why a steady rise in prices is observed in the sector, apart from existing evidence on incomplete/asymmetric cost pass-through and concerns of growing concentration and consolidation in the sector.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses a new empirical industrial organization model for both oligopoly and oligopsony power to measure the degree of market power exerted on consumers and hog farmers simultaneously.FindingsBy examining annual panel data across provinces in China, the authors find that both oligopoly and oligopsony powers exist in the pork supply chain. In particular, the authors determine that a higher degree of market power is found to influence prices paid to hog farmers than prices paid by pork consumers. Estimates of key elasticities in the Chinese pork supply chain are also updated based on the structural model estimation and the latest data.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the lack of data at a more granular level of geography, the authors are only able to estimate market power by three major economic regions.Practical implicationsThe findings provide useful information for future policy analyses of Chinese food markets. First, the pork-packing industry should be of great concern in terms of market power and its influence on consumers’ and farmers’ welfare. It is essential to take into consideration market power in the pork supply chain before making any public policy regarding the pork market. Furthermore, following economic theory and experience from developed countries, large meat packers will eventually vertically control hog farmers given their stronger oligopsony power over the upstream. Vertical integration may be the next important issue in terms of food market competition. Finally, the results may also draw the government’s attention to investigating market competition in all major food markets.Originality/valueThe empirical evidence draws attention to the issue of food market competition in one of the largest and most important meat-packing markets in China. The authors hope to encourage further discussions on pork and hog market regulations and related public policies.

Relationship management through social media influencers: Effects of followers’ awareness of paid endorsement

This study aimed to examine the effects of awareness of paid endorsements by social media influencers on followers’ cognitive persuasion knowledge (ad recognition), attitudinal persuasion knowledge (relationships with the influencer), and behavioral intentions, specifically eWOM intention and purchase intention. Employing an online survey (N = 269), this study found that awareness of paid endorsement relates to ad recognition, which is correlated with purchase and eWOM intentions. We also found that awareness of paid endorsement is correlated with influencer-follower relationship, which is associated with purchase and eWOM intentions. However, ad recognition does not affect influencer-follower relationship. Implications for public relations theory, practice, and policy are discussed.

From informal to formal: an exploration of firm-level sectoral change in El Salvador

PurposeEnterprises in developed and developing world environments often begin life in the informal sector operating outside the purview of government oversight. Sectoral firm change, however, from the informal to the formal sector is not well studied. The purpose of this paper is to answer the following research question: “What firm-level markers help explain the movement of firms from the informal to the formal sector?”Design/methodology/approachData from 719 urban formal enterprises included in the 2016 El Salvador Enterprise Survey undertaken by the World Bank forms the basis of the empirical analyses. The survey questionnaire comprehensively encompasses business practices and performance and the overall business environment.FindingsMultivariate results reveal location, firm maturity, problems with land acquisition, a line of credit or active business loan, extortion by street gangs and practices of informal competitors increase the odds of informal firms becoming formal enterprises. Lessening the odds of once informal firms moving to the formal sector include the lack of access to public utilities, visitation by tax officials, formation as a corporation, bank accounts, number of employees and time spent focused upon government regulations.Originality/valueContextualized within the national setting of El Salvador, the integration of informal enterprises into the formal economy and related public policy implications of informal firm regularization are discussed.

In Their Own Little Corner: The Gendered Sidelining of NBC’s Information Department

Despite their low pay and clerical status, the women who staffed the National Broadcasting Company’s (NBC) Information Department played an integral role in shaping the national network’s program and public relations policies. As the network’s first line of contact with its audience, Information Department workers influenced public opinion by shaping the networks’ responses to individual audience members’ written complaints. They also processed and molded the information NBC executives used to sell programming to advertisers. Still, as women, they were routinely devalued and their labor dismissed as simultaneously rote, irrelevant, and hyperemotional. This paper brings together internal documents from across NBC’s corporate structure to recover the careers of Anita Barnard and Kathryn Cole, two women who managed the Information Department through the 1940s and 1950s. During this period, the network underwent enormous transitions, including the shift from radio to television and renewed threats of federal regulation. The Information Department’s status waxed and waned along with NBC’s need to appease its audience and recruit and retain sponsors. Barnard and Cole’s status rose when audience information was at a premium, but it fell as soon as network dominance over television was established and financial returns assured.

Social representations of child and adolescent sexual abuse: A study of juridical professionals

Abstract This study sought to identify the structure of legal professionals’ representations of child and adolescent sexual abuse anchored by the central core theory of social representations. The sample included 31 professionals responsible for implementing public policies in relation to victims, their family members, and aggressors. A sociodemographic questionnaire was employed with a free word association task. The resulting data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences 21.0 and the R Interface for Multidimensional Analyses of Texts and Questionnaires, respectively. The central core of the professionals’ representations included the terms “violence”, “trauma”, and “grief”; furthermore, they pathologized the abuser, and their representations were anchored by criminological and psychological explanations of sexual abuse. This fragmented view of sexual abuse lacks macroexplanations that address cultural and social factors as well as proposals that involve society as a whole.

Social transformation of gender and sexuality as viewed by I.S. Kon

The article examines the influence of Igor Kon on many aspects of modern research in the field of gender and sexuality. The authors conclude that it was Igor Kon who identified several key trends describing the current state of gender order in sexuality, namely, individualization and pluralization of cultures and lifestyles. It seems that the better way to speak about sexuality is not to refer to single or “normative models” but about a set of sexualities. In the proposed work, the variety of combinations of different gender identities with a multitude of sexual preferences is shown on the example of the theory of sexual configurations proposed by Canadian researcher Sari van Anders.
 The article emphasizes that, as I. Kon warned, it is gender relations and sexuality that are currently at the center of the agenda, since many more serious social problems are extrapolated to them. Cultural and, in particular, gender diversity is perceived by many people as the threat of losing the most basic landmarks in an unpredictable and changeable world. The article provides examples of different types of public policy in relation to binary and non-binary gender categories in different countries of Europe, Asia and North America.

The impact of social security policies on farmland reallocation in rural China

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the causality between social security policies and farmland reallocation in rural China.Design/methodology/approachIt quantitatively analyzes the impact of each ongoing social security policy on farmland reallocation based on a data set from the 2011 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011).FindingsThe study finds that the inclination of a village farmers’ collective to reallocate farmland due to changes in the village population increased if social security policies do not effectively cover the village because farmers rely primarily on income from farmland to cover their basic living expenses. However, if social security policies provide adequate coverage, then farmers do not rely entirely on on-farm income and the likelihood of farmland reallocation decreases. Furthermore, the effectiveness of social security policies includes not only coverage but also the sufficiency of the security policies provided.Research limitations/implicationsFirst, the authors use only cross-sectional data in this study, which may result in biased estimation and also limit temporal examination of the impact of social security systems, farmland reallocation and related policy variables. This limitation may be especially important in China because the country is undergoing a rapid socioeconomic transition. However, the research is constrained by the available data. Furthermore, there could be endogeneity problems that are difficult to address, given the current data set. These problems could involve the impacts of village-level economic, natural and social variables, the implementation of related public policies (land development and consolidation, land expropriation, etc.) and other economic variables.Practical implicationsThese findings may provide implications for related policy reform in the near future.Originality/valueThese findings may facilitate a recognition and understanding of the causality between social security policies and farmland reallocation in rural China.

Patterns of Political Secularism in Italy and Turkey: The Vatican and the Diyanet to the Test of Politics

AbstractFor centuries, Rome and Istanbul have been representing and epitomizing two empires and two entities with both significant spiritual and temporal power: the Papacy and the Caliphate. During the 19th and the 20th centuries, these institutions underwent significant changes in a context of state secularization: in the case of the Papacy, there was a loss of temporal power and its “reduction” to a mainly moral authority; the Caliphate, on the other hand, was abolished after World War I, succeeded by the Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), a bureaucratic body under state control, founded in the era of Kemalist secularism. Despite these changes, today both institutions still play a significant role in the public life and public policies of the Italian and the Turkish republics. While the Vatican is able to influence the Italian public sphere and public discourse through both its influence on common people and its lobbying activities in relation to political decision-makers, in Turkey the Diyanet has become the main tool in the reshaping of Turkish society (both by the Kemalists and, later, by Erdoğan's AKP). This paper will analyze their influence on the two countries’ public policies in relation to religious pluralism and to family-related issues, to show how different ideas of secularism, institutional arrangements, and historical paths have led to a very different role of the two institutions in the Italian and Turkish political systems.

Body mass index in an Australian population with chronic kidney disease

BackgroundObesity emerged as the leading global health concern in 2017. Although higher body mass index (BMI) is a health risk in the general population, its implications for chronic kidney disease (CKD) are not entirely clear. Our aim was to compare BMI in an Australian CKD population with BMI in a sample of the general Australian population, and, in the same group of CKD patients, to describe associations of higher BMI categories with demographic and clinical features.MethodsA cross-sectional study of BMI in CKD patients was conducted from three major sites who were enrolled in the CKD.QLD registry between May 2011 and July 2015. BMI was categorized according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. The prevalence of obesity was compared with a sample of the general Australian population from the most recent National Health Survey (NHS). Associations of BMI with demographic and clinical characteristics of the CKD patients were also analysed.ResultsThere were 3382 CKD patients in this study (median age 68, IQR 56–76 years); 50.5% had BMI ≥30, the WHO threshold for obesity, in contrast with 28.4% having BMI ≥30 in the NHS cohort. Higher BMI categories were correlated with age < 70 years, male gender, and lower socioeconomic status. After adjustment for age and gender, characteristics which significantly correlated with higher BMI category included hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, coronary heart disease, other cardiovascular diseases, gout, obstructive sleep apnoea, depression and chronic lung disease.ConclusionsPatients with CKD in public renal specialty practices in Queensland have strikingly higher rates of obesity than the general Australian population. Within the CKD population, low socio-economic position strongly predisposes to higher BMI categories. Higher BMI categories also strongly correlated with important co-morbidities that contribute to burden of illness. These data flag major opportunities for primary prevention of CKD and for reductions in morbidity in people who already have CKD, which should be considered in public health policy in relation to obesity.

Don’t Ask, Do(n’t) Tell: Homeschooling in Hong Kong

AbstractHong Kong’s history of compulsory schooling (as opposed to education) commenced under colonial rule and has been maintained by the local government following the 1997 Handover. Beyond the exception of “reasonable cause,” homeschooling, or elective home education, is in principle prohibited under the laws of Hong Kong. However, there is evidence of a growing homeschooling community in Hong Kong that relies on loopholes in the law and an apparent de facto government policy to operate. This article sets out the background, legal framework, and homeschooling practice in Hong Kong. It criticizes the current situation from the perspectives of legal certainty and children’s rights. The author suggests that the government should take action to devise clear laws and public policy in relation to elective home education.

Extra! Extra! The Importance of Victim-Offender Relationship in Homicide Newsworthiness.

Domestic violence is a widespread issue, with victims suffering emotional and physical harm and severe cases resulting in homicide. Media presentation of extreme instances of domestic homicide may affect public opinion and related public policies. This study examines the presentation of homicide in print news media in the context of victim-offender relationship (domestic vs. non-domestic) using measures of article prominence. The sample includes articles published in the Vancouver Sun over a 12-year period (2004-2015) that reported on a homicide in British Columbia, Canada, with nature of the victim-offender relationship specified (n = 3,877). Results show that domestic-related homicides are reported less prominently than are non-domestic homicides, including being shorter in length, less likely to be placed on the front page, and less likely to include an image. Results are discussed in light of media impact on public opinion and the influence on public efforts to address and prevent the consequences of domestic violence.

Nuevo modelo de innovación para el contexto organizacional: una relación entre el emprendimiento corporativo y las partes interesadas

El propósito del presente estudio es proponer un nuevo modelo de innovación para el contexto organizacional, ante la falta de consenso en torno al tema y la ausencia de un modelo de innovación generalizable e integrador. Para lograr este objetivo se desarrolla un análisis bibliométrico mediante el software VOSviewer®, que permite identificar conceptos recurrentes a los modelos de innovación, entre los que se resaltan la competitividad, las organizaciones, las culturas y los sistemas. Posteriormente, estos hallazgos pasan a ser contrastados con en el caso de estudio colombiano, que sirve como fundamento para proponer un nuevo modelo de innovación para el contexto organizacional, desde su relación con las partes interesadas y el emprendimiento corporativo, en donde el punto de partida y de llegada son las mismas organizaciones y las partes interesadas quienes desarrollan sus procesos de innovación siguiendo alguno de los modelos referenciados en la literatura. Finalmente, se resalta la importancia de incluir nuevos actores que propicien la interdisciplinariedad de los estudios sobre innovación, la medición de sus resultados, la aplicación del modelo propuesto en contexto empíricos para propiciar su generalización, la definición de políticas e instrumentos públicos conexos que permitan ampliar al alcance del modelo, entre otros.

Linking the management of climate change adaptation in small coastal towns and cities to the Sustainable Development Goals

A new challenge for the management of climate change adaptation in small coastal towns and cities is linking adaptation projects and programs to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals provide guidance for a wide range of programs to achieve a sustainable future for a changing world. The development of these goals and their targets and indicators is described, and the challenges and opportunities for coastal managers in linking adaptation projects and programs to them are delineated. Practical approaches to linking climate adaptation to the SDG targets and indicators are proposed. In addition, perspectives are provided on larger issues of relevance to related public policy sectors and the challenges of national aggregation of progress toward the SDGs. The discussion focuses on the very numerous small coastal towns and cities in the world, but the analysis is relevant also to the large wealthy coastal cities active in climate adaptation.

Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli incidence is related to small area variation in cattle density in a region in Ireland

Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) are pathogenic E. coli that cause infectious diarrhoea. In some cases infection may be complicated by renal failure and death. The incidence of human infection with STEC in Ireland is the highest in Europe. The objective of the study was to examine the spatial incidence of human STEC infection in a region of Ireland with significantly higher rates of STEC incidence than the national average and to identify possible risk factors of STEC incidence at area level. Anonymised laboratory records (n = 379) from 2009 to 2015 were obtained from laboratories serving three counties in the West of Ireland. Data included location and sample date. Population and electoral division (ED) data were obtained from the Irish 2011 Census of Population. STEC incidence was calculated for each ED (n = 498) and used to map hotspots/coldspots using the Getis-Ord Gi* spatial statistic and significant spatial clustering using the Anselin's Local Moran's I statistic. Multivariable regression analysis was used to consider the importance of a number of potential predictors of STEC incidence. Incidence rates for the seven-year period ranged from 0 to 10.9 cases per 1000. A number of areas with significant local clustering of STEC incidence as well as variation in the spatial distribution of the two main serogroups associated with disease in the region i.e. O26 and O157 were identified. Cattle density was found to be a statistically significant predictor of STEC in the region. GIS analysis of routine data indicates that cattle density is associated STEC infection in this high incidence region. This finding points to the importance of agricultural practices for human health and the importance of a “one-health” approach to public policy in relation to agriculture, health and environment.

Consolidación del observatorio de educación ambiental para la sustentabilidad de Risaralda

El Observatorio de Educación Ambiental de Risaralda – OEAR – está basado en la complejidad, además contempla la noción del desarrollo sostenible y el desarrollo humano como estrategias para evaluar los mecanismos de mejora de la calidad de vida y su impacto sobre el ambiente. En ese marco de ideas, el Observatorio como espacio para el diálogo, es una propuesta que pretende propiciar un encuentro constructivo que fortalezca la comprensión sobre el territorio como lugar de identidad cultural y que a su vez propicie la reflexión de las personas sobre las transformaciones que generan en él. En virtud de ello OEAR es una herramienta que permite democratizar la información en el campo de la educación ambiental y las políticas públicas relacionadas, dado que integra indicadores de múltiples dimensiones del desarrollo, recursos y temas de la gestión ambiental, alineándose con los principios de la Agenda XXI en el capítulo 40 “Información para la adopción de decisiones, donde se enfatiza que cada persona es a la vez usuario y portador de información, que incluye datos y el conjunto adecuado de experiencias y conocimientos”. Esta propuesta se fundamenta metodológicamente en la sistematización de información generada por los actores involucrados y sus compromisos institucionales; posteriormente se formaliza el contenido y estructura del observatorio, donde se consolidan algunos indicadores que dan cuenta de la generación de información ambiental por parte de los actores del sistema.

Media Influence on Public Policy in Kenya: The Case of Illicit Brew Consumption

The media plays a major role in public life, influencing citizens’ focus of attention and providing many of the facts and opinions that shape perspectives on topics of the day. Studies that analyze media influences on policy making have had mixed results on whether the media does actually influence public policy. This case study analyzes the role of the media in Kenya in influencing public policy in relation to illegal brew sale and consumption. The study seeks to understand media coverage mechanisms that led to government actions on an issue. This was done through content analysis of the coverage in two leading daily newspapers over a period of 10 years (2005-2015). The analysis found that intense, congruent, and incident-driven media coverage had influence on government action and consequently public policy on the issue. The findings also found weaknesses in media reporting. The media was very good at telling the politicians what was happening and what to talk about, but they were less able to tell the politicians what to do, which compromised the watchdog role of the media in Kenya. These findings can also be useful for advocacy groups and the public on the ways to engage the media to influence policy makers’ decisions.

Political Economy of Forest Ecology in Sierra Leone: A Focus on the Western Area Peninsular Forest (WAPFoR)

This article addressed historical aspects of the political economy involving sustained forest ecology in Sierra Leone as a whole, with emphasis on the Freetown Peninsula and its surrounding communities. Attention is paid to cultural, social and economic aspects involving forest livelihoods of residents on the Freetown Peninsula and far afield. The term 'Political Economy' is used in this situation to denote the relationship between the economics of people's livelihoods and public policy (in relation to the management of legislative procedures) in ensuring that resources in the forest environment is sustainably managed to cater for the livelihood needs of people in Sierra Leone, while at the same time maintaining a balance in protecting the forest ecosystems. The paper has provided a critical review of the political economy of forest ecology in the country on the basis of scholarly discourses, and its applicability in adapting to the fragile political administrative management Sierra Leone have (and is continuing to) experienced.

Participação Comunitária e Identidade Territorial na Gestão de Museus: A Mobilização Museológica Organizacional e Interorganizacional

This article proposes management strategies for museological community initiatives based on participation and territorial identity as key factors to these initiatives and mobilizers of their organizational and inter-organizational dimension. The organizational mobilization starts from the organization's understanding as a process that seeks to connect the ‘functional areas’ of the museum (linked, specifically, to museological functions) to the ‘managerial areas’ (related to management activities) by developing action strategies on internal museum context, enabling a more complete and managerial vision of the organization. The inter-organizational mobilization refers to the potential for external relationships, either through partnerships or a networking, but also through the cooperation between organizations that share the territorial identity and the dynamics of participation. From the qualitative approach, document analysis and studies of different museums, national and international ones, the research outcomes (management strategies), with technological vocation, helps community leaders, social managers and cultural entrepreneurs of communities to better manage museums based on community participation and territorial. It also helps in the training for social museology and management. Consequently, it becomes relevant for guiding public policies in relation to the role of the management in the development of community-based museums. Keywords: community museum management; organization; interorganizations; participation; territorial identity.