Public Utility Services Research Articles

Photosensitizer conjugated carbon dots@dopamine-copper sulfide nanocomposites: Advanced photoactive agents for antibacterial applications through experimental and theoretical insights

The massive use and abuse of antibiotics has given birth to drug-resistant bacteria and emergence of severe bacterial infections in people. Intriguingly, light activated antimicrobial activity i.e. antimicrobial photodynamic therapy has gained enhanced therapeutic potential and efficacy in killing the bacterial cells. Therefore, the present study investigates the efficacy of employing advanced nanocomposites for biocidal inhibition of bacterial growth through enhanced sterilization capabilities. Specifically, dopamine functionalized CuS NPs combined with carbon dots (CDs@Dop-CuS) were selected for their remarkable photodynamic potential when used in conjunction with methylene blue (MB). Comparative and synergistic application of Dop-CuS, CDs, and MB revealed the superior singlet oxygen generation potency of MB/CDs@Dop-CuS. Furthermore, the structural changes in the E. coli bacterial cells membrane were elucidated through scanning electron microscopy imaging, demonstrating superior inhibition rates of MB/CDs@Dop-CuS compared to MB alone under 660 nm irradiation. The commendable docking score and binding potential of CDs@Dop-CuS nanocomposites obtained via molecular docking simulations further validate their efficacy as photosensitizers against E. coli bacterial cells. Thus, this novel MB/CDs@Dop-CuS photosensitizer provides enhanced efficacy as an alternative to traditional antibiotic treatments, offering a superior disinfection for public utility services and addressing the growing issue of drug-resistant bacterial infections.

Public-Private Partnership: A New Policy to Ameliorate the Quality of Public Utility Services to the Public

Objective: The paper aims to determine why the government resorts to partnerships with the private sector, in addition to the advantages and disadvantages of the public-private partnership system, and explain the types and forms of public-private partnerships. Theoretical Framework: This paper presented the concept of partnership and the reasons for partnership with the private sector. It also presented the types of partnerships with the private sector and, more specifically, the different BOT systems. Method: The study relied mainly on the descriptive approach to understand the concept of partnership, determine the forms of partnership between the public and private sectors, and the types of partnership with the BOT system. The study also relied on the analytical approach in analyzing the advantages of the partnership system between the public and private sectors and identifying the defects and challenges facing the partnership systems between the public and private sectors. Results and Discussion: The partnership between the government and the private sector is not a path strewn with roses. Many challenges must be faced, and for the partnership to work as desired, the conditions and components discussed in this research must be met, which are factors in themselves. Research Implications: This paper examines the role of public-private partnerships in enhancing the performance of public utilities and reducing the cost of providing services. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by explaining the role of public-private partnership contracts in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, presenting their definition, advantages, disadvantages, challenges, and legal framework.

Socio-cultural and contextual resources shaping the initiation of closings of public utility service interactions

This article investigates the pre-closings of interactions between inquirers and public utility service providers to find out what strategic sequential components the participants utilize to bid the closings of their conversations. We examined how these components are co-constructed and linguistically realized and what socio-cultural and co-textual influences have given rise to these sequences. The data analyzed was based on recorded face-to-face interactions between seven employees in public utility services and 100 Jordanian participants who approached the organization to inquire about utility services. Contrary to prior research on pre-closings, our results reveal a more elaborate sequential organization consisting of eight strategic component options, most of which (e.g. supplicating, praising, showing hospitality, invoking compassion) have not been encountered in other similar discourses analyzed. Some components are socio-culturally motivated, others are religiously affiliated, and some others are co-textually and contextually bound. Such findings will, hopefully, contribute to understanding how interlocutors use socio-cultural and religious affiliations to co-construct the preclosing of their interactions

A quality of life index for the rural periphery of Sri Lanka using GIS multi-criteria decision analysis techniques.

Spatial evaluation of the region is associated with the assessment of the Quality of Life (QoL). Despite numerous research endeavoring to define, measure, quantify, and map the quality of life, there exists a consistent fault in Sri Lanka. Hence, the objective of this study was to construct a QoL index and determine the spatial disparities of QoL from the Polpitigma town to its periphery. The assessment was conducted by employing 20 geographical factors that quantify QoL using the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The evaluation assigned weights to each criterion based on the assessments of both local residents and experts, utilizing the Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The findings indicated that cultural factors made a greater contribution compared to the environment,service functions,security and socioeconomic factors. Within the study area, the region with a higher quality of life (HQoL) only covered 4.5% (17.3 km2), whilst the lower QoL zone encompassed 63.8% (252 km2). And also, the distance from the town is a crucial factor in determining the spatial variations in QoL. The derived model can serve as a road map for local-level planning, as it has been validated and shown to have an accuracy of 74% through the Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. Considering the lack of previous research in this field, this study offers a crucial contribution in enhancing the QoL for underprivileged communities in the study area by improving employment, income, and accessibility to physical infrastructure, public utility services, and cultural and recreational facilities. Especially the findings of this study can efficiently guide decisions for the distribution of financial resources to enhance the QoL in impoverished rural communities on the rural periphery of DS.

Opening Interactions Between Inquirers and Employees in Jordanian Public Utility Services

Opening Interactions Between Inquirers and Employees in Jordanian Public Utility Services

Legal Regulation of Infrastructure for the Provision of Public Utilities Services Using Regulatory Agreements (Contracts) in Russian and Foreign Practice

International and Russian experience in the application of regulatory contracts (agreements) in the sectors of communal infrastructure (housing and communal services) was investigated. Various models of regulatory agreements were analyzed. Prospects for the development of the concept of regulatory agreements in Russian legislation, including issues of tariff regulation within the framework of regulatory agreements, were considered. Conclusions were drawn regarding the prospects for introducing regulatory agreements in the communal infrastructure in Russia.

LEGAL MEANS TO PROTECT PUBLIC FUNDS IN IRAQ (COMPARATIVE STUDY)

Public funds in any country are considered sacred funds that are surrounded with care and legal protection that is consistent with the desired goal of the service that these funds provide to segments of society in general, without exception, through the freedom to enjoy this service, its freeness, and the general use of it, as they are public facilities that are distinguished from private facilities owned by people, which If its services are provided to a specific segment of society, the service will be for a price with certain restrictions imposed on its enjoyment, in addition to specifying the segments that can benefit from it, contrary to what we have indicated regarding the enjoyment of public utility services. Therefore, we note that most countries, are seeking to establish special legislation for the operation of these facilities, so as to provide the necessary protection for them since the services they provide are related to the general public without exception. 1- Research objectives-: The research aims to identify the legislative shortcomings in Iraqi legislation regulating the protection of public funds and finding effective legal means to protect these funds. 2- Research methodology-: The descriptive and analytical approach was relied upon, as well as the comparative approach to the legislative texts related to the protection of public funds in Iraq, comparing them to the legislation of other countries.

Enhancing Urban Data Analysis: Leveraging Graph-Based Convolutional Neural Networks for a Visual Semantic Decision Support System.

The persistent increase in the magnitude of urban data, combined with the broad range of sensors from which it derives in modern urban environments, poses issues including data integration, visualization, and optimal utilization. The successful selection of suitable locations for predetermined commercial activities and public utility services or the reuse of existing infrastructure arise as urban planning challenges to be addressed with the aid of the aforementioned data. In our previous work, we have integrated a multitude of publicly available real-world urban data in a visual semantic decision support environment, encompassing map-based data visualization with a visual query interface, while employing and comparing several classifiers for the selection of appropriate locations for establishing parking facilities. In the current work, we challenge the best representative of the previous approach, i.e., random forests, with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) in combination with a graph-based representation of the urban input data, relying on the same dataset to ensure comparability of the results. This approach has been inspired by the inherent visual nature of urban data and the increased capability of CNNs to classify image-based data. The experimental results reveal an improvement in several performance indices, implying a promising potential for this specific combination in decision support for urban planning problems.

Greening in the Process of Providing Municipal Services of Local Collective Transport on the Example of Poland and Slovakia

The aim of the paper is to determine the relevance of services for public transport undertakings in terms of externalities. The article develops a methodology for researching and evaluating the quality of public utility services and the degree of saturation of the use of environmentally friendly modern technologies in the field of local public transport. Multi-criteria evaluation was used to assess the degree of quality of utility service delivery systems in the field of local public transport. The article is based on the experience of scientific partners from the University of Economics in Kraków and the University of Economics in Bratislava, using the examples of Poland and Slovakia.

Is Remote Working Effective in the Public Utility Sector? The Perspective of Resource Allocation in Administrative and Civil Services

Abstract Objectives (1) assessing the effectiveness of resource allocation in the public utility sector groups during remote work, (2) examining the efficiency of remote work compared to stationary work from the entire public utility organization point of view. Methodology To operationalize the research aim, ten research questions (RQ1-RQ9) and a research hypothesis (H1) were prepared for the identification of the effectiveness of resource allocation (Table 1). H1. If remote work improves time management effectiveness for daily tasks, employees are willing to invest their resources to work remotely. Research question RQ10 was prepared to achieve this goal, and the second hypothesis (H2) was formulated. H2. Remote working reduces public utility sector institutions’ resource consumption (utility expenses). Findings (1) remote work requirements do not occupy a significant portion of annual budgets for public utility services, (2) remote work allows reducing the fixed costs of maintaining stationary working in the short term, (3) even if remote work is a cost-effective method for public utility services and decreases indirect employee costs, it has yet to be incorporated successfully. Value added: Consequently, remote work saves resources and is cost-effective for employers. It lowers indirect employee costs (real tax deductible costs) in terms of utility expenses because employees work out of their institutions’ premises in civil and administrative services. In addition, the employer does not finance the psychological and physiological needs of employees adapting to remote work in both services. Recommendations Future research will be essential to assess whether remote work applications have improved in the public utility sector in this regard. Additionally, it would be best practice to conduct a study with a similar research concept in the private sector to compare findings and implementation strategies and offer solutions to the challenges caused by remote work.

SPECIALIZED MEDICAL FORCE - FEM / SPECIALIZED MEDICAL CARE SERVICE – SAME

In light of the growing concerns related to public health in Brazil, from any perspective, in any scenario that can be projected for the future, there is a substantial increase in demands and, with this, the need for a larger, better workforce. qualified and with expanded skills. In that regard. Strategic prospecting studies are fundamental for planning public policies, especially with regard to the workforce for the Unified Health System. Therefore, this study aims to set up a Specialized FEM Medical Force, with a Specialized Medical Care Service - Nationwide SAME linked to the Brazilian Ministry of Health. This study will be carried out through the analysis of the legislation concerning the Federal Public Health Legislation in Brazil, in the analysis of the National Emergency Care Policy of the Unified Health System – SUS, as well as other national, state and municipal documents, as well as consultations on the official websites of these federative entities. The expected results, among other results, are: meeting the needs of the population with specialized care in all areas of medicine; compose a specialized assistance framework for the less favored population and considered vulnerable from a financial point of view and be a public utility service available to the population, with regard to national emergency care in situations of disasters and public calamities.

Assessing citizen satisfaction of urban local government service and infrastructure in Bangladesh: A case study of Pabna municipality

The provision of essential services to residents heavily relies on the infrastructure and functioning of urban local government institutions. The satisfaction citizens have with these institutions is an important indicator of the effectiveness of governance mechanisms. This study aims to assess the degree of citizen satisfaction with urban local government services and infrastructure, specifically in the context of Pabna municipality in Bangladesh. A qualitative and quantitative research approach was employed, utilizing survey data from 120 structured questionnaires and 20 interviews. The study results show that a significant proportion of municipality residents (56%) express deep dissatisfaction with basic services and infrastructure performance. The municipality has failed to effectively deliver sanitation, disaster management, waste management, roads and bridges, traffic infrastructure, and public utilities services as required. The study also identified key challenges in delivering basic services, including poor infrastructure, a lack of initiatives, adequate resources, a large workforce, and sufficient equipment. The findings suggest that the municipality should prioritize sustainable city planning through democratic participation and consideration of residents’ perceived experiences to deliver a high degree of citizen satisfaction.

Flood vulnerability assessment of Thailand's flood-prone Pathum Thani province and vulnerability mitigation strategies

This research assesses the flood vulnerability of Thailand's flood-prone province of Pathum Thani using a comprehensive vulnerability assessment framework. The assessment framework incorporates three key components: exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, consisting of 10, 12 and 11 flood vulnerability indicators, respectively. The flood vulnerability components and the flood vulnerability indicators are statistically validated by confirmatory factor analysis to determine the factor loadings and reliability of the components and indicators. The flood vulnerability questionnaire corresponding to the flood vulnerability indicators is subsequently developed and applied to the flood-prone districts of the province. The results show that proximity to rivers (with an indicator score of 0.685), household debt levels (0.612), land use patterns (0.617), and the proportion of low-income households (0.621) significantly contribute to the flood exposure of the province (with an exposure index score of 0.531). Larger household size (with an indicator score of 0.901), disruptions in public utility services (0.747), and workplace absenteeism due to flooding (0.741) contribute to the province's higher flood sensitivity (with a sensitivity index score of 0.633). Drainage capacity of natural and man-made waterways (0.571) contributes to low to moderate levels of flood adaptive capacity. The flood vulnerability of seven administrative districts of Pathum Thani, as measured by the flood vulnerability index scores (0.454–0.608), range from moderate to high. Local authorities need to invest in flood warning and response systems, prioritize infrastructure development and encourage community engagement to reduce the flood vulnerability.

Balancing Economic Sustainability with Densification: A Case Study of Dhaka

Economically sustainable urban residential neighborhoods are characterized by adequate provision of physical infrastructure including transport facilities and utility services. The built urban fabric of residential areas of Dhaka has been undergoing densification operation over the past decades without considering the physical infrastructure capacity of these areas in terms of accessibility and provision of transportation and utility services. This intervention eventually exerted pressure on the existing infrastructure and caused negative externalities like traffic congestion, pollution, and water clogging. Thus, this paper aims to investigate the impact of densification on residential areas of Dhaka through the lens of economic sustainability. Seven residential areas from Old and New Dhaka that underwent various degreesof densification were selected as the study areas. Primary data was collected through a random sampling household questionnaire survey, fieldwork, and informal qualitative interviews with the residents and officials. Various published literature, newspaper articles, plans, and reports from government archives, Capital Development Authority (RAJUK), Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), and Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) provided the secondary data. The analysis is carried out in two parts. In the firstpart the impact of densification on accessibility to transportation facilities and utility services is analyzed in terms of availability of the services, distance to the bus stops, average travel time, modal choice, and residents’ satisfaction level. The second part explores the relationship between density and aspects of economic sustainability through Pearson’s correlation test. The findings revealed that public transportation is more accessible in lower-density areas than the higher-density residential areas owing to the road network pattern. A significant service delivery gap except for water supply was observed regarding the provision and quality of gas, electricity, sewerage, and garbage disposal services across all the study areas. Overall, density was found to have a negative association with the accessibility to physical infrastructures indicating that high-density residential areas of Dhaka do not have increased access to public transport and utility services which is contrary to the expected benefits of high-density living. A comprehensive density planning with an integrated sustainable transport plan needs to be formulated where viable public transport like Bus Rapid Transit (BRTs) systems and waterways may mitigate the situation from further worsening.

Statistical indicators system characterizing state and course of modernization process as a factor of housing and public utility services system in regional development

Statistical indicators system characterizing state and course of modernization process as a factor of housing and public utility services system in regional development

Comprehensive evaluation of passenger road transportation through dynamic network data envelopment analysis: A case study of state road transport undertakings in India

AbstractState road transport undertakings (STUs) in India are public utility services that link diverse terrains and remote and hilly areas throughout the country and play a vital role in enhancing public mobility. These organizations are motivated to work through a sense of social responsibility. For example, they operate in low‐revenue‐generating regions to serve the public. Therefore, they require regular performance monitoring and constant efforts toward course corrections. Existing literature on the performance evaluation of STUs ignores the internal structures of the passenger transportation process and treats the process as a “black‐box.” Consequently, it fails to identify the precise cause of inefficiencies, making course corrections in a multistage transportation process difficult. To close this research gap and comprehensively evaluate the performance of STUs, considering their internal structure and based on long‐term optimization, this study employs a slacks‐based dynamic network data envelopment analysis (DNDEA) approach to deconstruct India's publicly owned passenger road transportation process into operations and revenue divisions, subjected to a multiperiod performance evaluation from 2014–2015 to 2017–2018. Moreover, we utilize panel data regression to explore other influential factors not included in the DNDEA, explaining the efficiency variation across STUs. This study is the first to explore the internal structure of STUs in India and perform a comprehensive evaluation of STUs, considering their internal divisions and multiple‐period long‐term optimization. The DNDEA results highlight evidence of capital misallocation in India's public road transport sector. While operational inefficiency can be attributed to improper utilization of resources, price regulation is the major source of inefficiency in the revenue division. Fixed effects panel data regression revealed that STUs with higher bus utilization and passenger lead are more efficient. The contribution of this study lies in its innovative approach of using DNDEA to analyze India's passenger road transportation sector and its inner constructs, providing insights into the efficiency scores of STUs and their dynamic changes in one model. Managers and policymakers can use the findings of this study to revise and frame policies targeted at improving STU efficiency.

Revitalization of Work Spaces and Building Façade of Government Office Building

Abstract: Probably the most important building in the city is the Municipal Corporation Administration Headquarter. The Municipal Corporation offers all the infrastructure and services required, such water and drainage, public parks, and other amenities that make a city more livable. Therefore, in order for a city to develop, the administrative structure must be planned with consideration for the Municipal Corporation's operations, the type of the job being done there, the comfort of the workers and visitors, as well as the facility's security. In the context of India, the municipal corporation's administration building lacks the fundamental interconnectedness of various places and functions. Particularly, there is no link between the city's biggest organize. During the last ninety years of its existence, this Civic Body has grown into an organization with the responsibility of beautifying the city and providing civic services. This civic body has always laid stress on quality of service. During this period the Municipality provided an building norms, façade, building shape and building envelop, in the area. Open land were covered and reclaimed land has been utilized for construction of public utility services as well as greenery.

Organizational and technological approaches to the reconstruction of municipal infrastructure facilities

Housing and public utility services constitute one of the most important sectors of the national economy. Reforming and renewal of the housing and public utility services sector is unthinkable without technological modernization of the utility pipeline networks. At the same time, public utility infrastructure facilities in many cities and towns of Russia can be characterized by significant deterioration. Frequent accidents negatively affect the life support of populated areas, which urges the development of organizational and technological approaches to the reconstruction of municipal infrastructure facilities.

Public Utility Services in Poland and Belarus

The text deals with the definition of public services and their scope in Belarus and Poland. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that it is difficult to accept one criterion indicating that the given services are public. A permanent criterion of non-payment for the services provided cannot be accepted, as there are public services which are paid for. A wide group of beneficiaries may indicate that it is a service or product of general interest. A comparison of the scope and services of public utility in Belarus and in Poland shows their wider scope present in Belarus. The aim of the study is to investigate: − whether the scope of public utility has evolved in the last thirty years, after the political transformation that took place in Poland and Belarus, − what scope of public utility services is provided by the public administration in Poland and Belarus, − whether services of general interest can be provided by private entrepreneurs in these two States. Conducting the research required the use of a comparative research method aimed at comparing the legal regulations regarding the conduct of activities in the field of public utility in Poland and in Belarus. The historical-legal method was also used to show the evolution of the scope of public utility services through the change of legal regulations.

Инвестиционная модель социально-экономического партнерства в сфере ЖКХ муниципального образования

In the context of high depreciation of operating facilities (more than 70 %) and insufficient investment in maintenance and repair in the form of concessions, Russian regions do not attract investment necessary for a comprehensive resource-saving modernisation. Thus, most municipalities are characterised by low quality of public utility services and high tariffs. The article substantiates a scientific approach to the establishment and implementation of an investment model of socio-economic partnership between regional and municipal governments, resource providers and population aimed at the comprehensive modernisation of facilities benefitting socio-economic development of municipalities and regions. An investment fund at the expense of public investment payments and budget financing is necessary for ensuring this modernisation. The population will simultaneously become a participant in facility management, customer and active investor interested in its development. Investment aimed at achieving target indicators of utility competitiveness should be calculated for a specific period in accordance with the tariff setting system. The model’s universal principles can be applied in various public utility fields (water supply, sewerage, heat supply). Water supply and sewerage facilities of Murom okrug of Vladimir oblast were analysed to reveal that the introduction of the investment model and its organisational and economic mechanism will contribute to the comprehensive modernisation in the planning period (approximately 15 years). It will lead to an increase in the quality of service and decrease in the loss of water resources, service cost, tariffs and inflation rate, subsequently improving the welfare and quality of living standards in municipalities. As a result, modernisation will reduce regional and local budget expenditures, currently increased due to high depreciation and losses, financing and subsidies for increased payments of the population and budgetary organisations for utilities.