Role In Policy-making Research Articles

Investigating tendencies of Malaysian Muslims in Islamic estate planning: Insight into its determinants

Estate planning is one of the crucial elements of managing property during a person’s lifetime. It involves both handling and managing property during one’s lifetime and after death. For Muslims, the objectives of Shariah, which are known as Maqasid Shariah, can be attained if their finances are planned in a wise and cost-effective manner. Unfortunately, it was reported that frozen inheritance assets have steadily increased from the day of Independence, amounting to RM70 billion in 2020 indicating the seriousness of the matter. The freezing of inheritance property is detrimental to the economy and thus opposes the spirit of Maqasid Shari’ah which recommends that it should be properly managed for the benefit of the public. This is where estate planning plays its role in ensuring quicker and easier distribution of assets and property. Hence, the objective of this research is to investigate Malaysian Muslims’ tendencies in estate management planning and its determinants. A total of 406 respondents throughout Peninsular Malaysia responded to the prepared survey, where the Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) approach was employed as the main data analysis for this study. The findings revealed that altruism, advantages and compliance were significant in influencing tendencies of Malaysian Muslims in Islamic estate planning. Surprisingly, service was found to be an insignificant factor in influencing the tendencies of Malaysian Muslims in Islamic estate planning. This study provides some insights on the role of policymakers and estate planning related industry in ensuring the compliance of estate planning product and increasing the awareness of Muslims to do estate planning by promoting the advantages and importance of doing so. Policymakers are also welcome to engage in this matter by providing earlier education on Islamic estate planning among Muslims in Malaysia.

Public Purpose in the Evolution of American Higher Education

Public Purpose in the Evolution of American Higher Education

Expanding the Theoretical Framework in Student Debt Research by Connecting Public Policy Theories to the Student Debt Literature

Current changes in the economic atmosphere have severely impacted the higher education sector worldwide. Policymakers worldwide are facing the challenge of adjusting tuition and financial aid programs in response to these changing economic times. The shift from federal grants to loans has caused student loans to be a popular means of funding higher education for most low and medium-income families. A result of this, is the increase in student loan default as most college students graduate with unmanageable debts, thus, a rising concern for policymakers. The purpose of this paper is to link four public policy theories (Social Contract Theory, Utilitarian Theory, Theory of Neoliberalism, and Three-Policy Stream Theory) to student loan literature. This is to expand the limited database of public policy theories in student loan debt literature. This theoretical linkage points out the role of policymakers in (1) ensuring the security of lives and the preservation of the property of those who voted them into power (Social Contract Theory); (2) establishing educational policies that ensure the ‘the greatest happiness of the greatest number’ (Utilitarian Theory); (3) upholding social welfare or a ‘welfare state’ through fiscal and monetary policies to ensure high employment rates for graduates, low inflation and the provision of public goods (Theory of Neoliberalism), and (4) the risk of undermining the growing power of an informal interest group that is made up of millennials saddled with student loan debt (Three-Policy Stream). These theories reiterate the principal role of policymakers in enhancing human capital through affordable education.

Urban Wetlands: A Review on Ecological and Cultural Values

Wetlands are a critical part of natural environments that offer a wide range of ecosystem services. In urban areas, wetlands contribute to the livability of cities through improving the water quality, carbon sequestration, providing habitats for wildlife species, reducing the effects of urban heat islands, and creating recreation opportunities. However, maintaining wetlands in urban areas faces many challenges, such as the reduction of hydrological functions, changed water regimes due to barriers, contamination by wastewater, habitat loss due to land-use change, and loss of biodiversity due to the entry of alien species. In this article, we review the theoretical background of wetlands in urban areas through the existing studies in the literature. We provide knowledge on urban wetlands and highlight the benefits of these wetlands in urban areas. These benefits include sustainability, biodiversity, urban heat islands, social perception, and recreation values. We also summarize the objectives, methodologies, and findings of the reviewed articles in five tables. In addition, we summarize the critical research gaps addressed in the reviewed articles. Our review study addresses the research gaps by performing a rigorous analysis to identify significant open research challenges, showing the path toward future research in the field. We further discuss and highlight the role of policymakers and stakeholders in preserving wetlands and finally present our conclusions.

Environmental Impact of Green Marketing in the Present World

Green marketing has emerged as a vital strategy for businesses aiming to address environmental concerns and promote sustainable practices. This article explores the environmental impact of green marketing in the present world, focusing on its effectiveness in promoting eco-friendly products, consumer behavior, and corporate sustainability initiatives. Through a review of literature, we analyze ten scholarly articles that shed light on the challenges, opportunities, and potential of green marketing. The research emphasizes the significance of transparent communication, consumer awareness, and regulatory support in harnessing green marketing for positive environmental outcomes. Furthermore, the article discusses the role of businesses, policymakers, and consumers in creating a greener future through sustainable marketing practices.

Sustainable Development of African Countries: Minding Public Life, Education, and Welfare.

Sustainable development (SD) has increasingly played a key background role in government policymaking across the world, especially for the least developed countries in Africa. Therefore, the purpose of our research is to study the SD of African countries in public life, education, and welfare, and then to help policy makers better monitor the status of sustainable development and formulate development policies in these aspects. We firstly propose a new method to assess the SD in public life, education, and welfare. Then we assess the SD status in 51 African countries as well as other countries in the world. After that, we also make a comparison between African countries and the countries in other continents.

Public policy measures for COVID-19 crisis management: lessons from the UAE

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the fragility of government institutions and prompted a broad range of policy measures from governments around the world. Policy responses to the pandemic have varied considerably, both in nature and in success. This paper highlights the policy capacities of the UAE in different areas that have contributed to managing the COVID-19 crisis. Specifically, the paper examines the functional capacity, analytical capacity, fiscal capacity, well-timed information-sharing capacity and political capacity of the UAE in addressing the pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study on which this paper was based adopted a mixed-method approach to analyze policy capacities. The trajectory and timeframe of COVID-19 from February 2020 to February 2021 were observed intensively and included in the policy capacity analysis. The secondary dataset was collected from several sources and assessed using rapid content analysis to highlight the formal and institutional policy measures implemented during the crisis. To complement the policy analysis and understand the key role of policymakers, semi-structured interviews were conducted with local officials working in various line departments that formulate and implement policy strategies for the UAE government.FindingsThe findings of the study showed that although COVID-19 has severely impacted the UAE, the nation has effectively controlled the spread of the virus and reduced its mortality rate. The UAE government has taken swift policy actions concerning coercive control and mitigation based on a centralized decision-making style, the strengthening of administrative capacity by collaboration, coordination with different departments, successful communication with residents, the allocation of adequate financial resources and a high level of trust in the government by citizens.Originality/valueThis work contributes to the existing literature by highlighting the policy capacity approach to managing the crisis. The UAE case can be used by policymakers as comparative studies of policy designs, tools and capabilities that can be implemented to manage future pandemics and other crises.

The Role of Educational Policy-Making in Changing Awareness and Attitude (Risk Perception) in Adolescents and the Youth in Preventing Substance Dependence

The Role of Educational Policy-Making in Changing Awareness and Attitude (Risk Perception) in Adolescents and the Youth in Preventing Substance Dependence

‘Bottom-up governance’: discourse, practices and the duality of the state

ABSTRACT This paper uses a case study of an Israeli teacher leadership initiative to explore a mode of educational governance that employs ‘bottom-up’ logic and discourse. The authors analyse the origins of this initiative, and – through a policy-making ethnography of the initiative’s enactment at the district level – show how it is sustained and governed through ‘top-down’ structures and strategies. The authors use the term ‘bottom-up governance’ to describe a hybrid mixture of discourse that valorises grass-roots leadership, of governance through actors’ autonomy and reflexivity, of enactment by a complex array of external and internal educational actors, and of initiation and control by central government, which provides insufficient, temporary and unstable resources. Their analysis highlights the conflicted and complex role of mid-level policy-makers in this mode of governance, as well as the simultaneous pursuit by the Israeli education system of centralisation and decentralisation, and ‘weak state’ and ‘strong state’ strategies.

Patients as EU citizens? The implementation and corporatist stakeholders’ perceptions of the EU cross-border health care directive in Austria

After a series of ECJ rulings, Directive 2011/24/EU was finally adopted to regulate access and reimbursement of planned health care in another member state. Several studies have analysed the Directive's implementation and impact on national health care systems around the time of the transposition. The case of Austria is particularly interesting. Along with Portugal, Poland, and Romania, Austria voted against the Directive, even though major elements were already in line with national legislation. This paper investigates the implementation of the patients’ rights Directive in Austria through the lens of public key stakeholders. The analysis goes beyond the legal implementation and traces the policy process from the Directive's adoption at EU level to the time after its national transposition. Based on a rigorous policy document analysis, the study discusses the reasons of Austria's initial denial of the Directive and addresses the perceived tensions in its application, both from a patient and health systems’ perspective. Results include the stakeholders’ critical opinion towards the Directive's ability to provide legal clarity and show that its practical application remains restrictive even years after transposition. By providing evidence from Austria and discussing the findings in the context of other country examples, this paper offers new insights into the role of EU health policy-making and the practical controversies concerning its implementation on national level.

Role of the Food Supply Chain Stakeholders in Achieving UN SDGs

This paper gives an overview of main food supply chain stakeholders and their role in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As this supply chain is global, playing a significant role in feeding the world, a deeper analysis of 17 SDGs, their targets and indicators reveals numerous direct and indirect connections with various SDGs. To perform such an overview, the authors investigated the link between the main stakeholders of the chain (farmers, food processors, food traders and consumers) with UN SDGs. In parallel, the authors explored the roles of policymakers, inspection services, certification bodies and academia in supporting these SDGs. In spite of numerous papers, calculations and estimations, discussion and media coverage, the authors believe that only the tip of the iceberg has been revealed. Based on this overview, the authors emphasize SDG 2—Zero Hunger and SDG 12—Responsible Consumption and Production as the most dominant for the food supply chain. In parallel, the achievement of SDG 17—Partnerships for the Goals will enable deeper intertwining of the goals and all stakeholders in the food supply chain continuum. Additional efforts are needed to pave the way for fulfilling the targets of the UN SDGs and exceeding expectations of all stakeholders.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the current status of solid waste management in India

Managing Solid Waste is always a challenge for any developing nations due to poor infrastructure and awareness. The emergency situation due to COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the dynamics of solid waste generation globally. However, its impact varies from developed world to developing nation. Multiple knowledge gaps exist regarding the containment of waste during pandemic situation in developing nation. For overcoming health crisis, a multifaceted coordinated approach between civic authorities, policymakers and scientific community is required. Therefore, present review article highlights the challenges associated with solid waste management and role of policymakers in combating pandemic strategically.

Does R&D investment moderate the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and firm performance in China’s high-tech industries? Based on DuPont components

ABSTRACT The spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on business and economies globally. This paper aims to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on firm performance in China’s high-tech industries. The population of this paper is 116 companies listed on the sci-tech innovation board (STAR market) of the Shanghai stock exchange. DuPont analysis is applied to measure firm performance including return on equity (ROE), return on assets (ROA), asset turnover ratio (ATO), and profit margin. The empirical results show that the COVID-19 pandemic has a significant and negative impact on ROE, ROA, and ATO in high-tech industries, and research and development (R&D) investment has a moderating role in the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and firm performance. The findings may play a guiding role for corporate managers and policymakers to overcome this formidable crisis in the era of COVID-19.

RECOGNISING SUSTAINABILITY THROUGH THE CORPORATE REPORTS A REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENT OF DISCLOSURES IN INDIA

Purpose: The stride of Sustainability has led to a new form of reporting called Sustainability Reporting. This form of reporting is being widely accepted and has recently surged amongst Indian corporates and researchers. This paper tries studying the evolution of Sustainability Reporting and its development In Indian context. It also attempts to identify the gaps in the available literature, for further research in this area. Design/Methodology: Using the literature published between 2011 and 2020 review is conducted in various aspects of Sustainability Reporting in India. Findings: As Sustainability Reporting became popular in India only two decades back, there are several gaps in the study in this area, leading to abundant dimensions for future research. The role of Policy makers, Regulators and Academicians in development of best practices in reporting also is highlighted. Practical implication: This study shall give a historical perspective of Sustainability Reporting in India and help researchers focus their study on critical areas that need to be researched. Originality/Value: Sustainability Reporting has drawn a large number of attentions amongst the financial stakeholders. There are several research/review being undertaken in this field. However, a review of the development of studies of Sustainability Reporting in India is one of its kinds. No previous research was found which systematically incorporates evolution and development of Sustainability Reporting in Indian context.

The contribution of ocean-based solutions to carbon reduction in China

Climate change has become a great challenge for humanity. However, the current climate change mitigation measures, primarily concentrate on land, more or less neglecting the vital role of the ocean-based solutions. While the ocean is a crucial regulator of the global climate, ocean-based solutions could also play an essential role in climate change mitigation and policymaking. This paper developed an Ocean-based Solutions Carbon Reduction Assessment Model (OSCRAM) that addresses coastal ecosystems, ocean energy, marine transportation, fishery, and seabed to estimate the oceanic contribution to climate change mitigation. It has been applied to evaluate the capacity of carbon emission reduction through oceans in China. We found that the total contribution for carbon emission reduction was about 6.86 Tg CO2 per year, and it may reach 139.39 Tg in 2030 under the target scenario. The results indicated that the ocean has huge potential to reduce carbon emissions. The development of marine energy and low-carbon marine shipping may have more potential for emission reduction in China, and the government should also protect and restore coastal wetlands for their enormous carbon storage. It can also provide a reference for the globe and other nations in achieving emission reduction goals.

Driving Factors of Land Surface Temperature in Urban Agglomerations: A Case Study in the Pearl River Delta, China

Land surface temperature (LST) in urban agglomerations plays an important role for policymakers in urban planning. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) is one of the regions with the highest urban densities in the world. This study aims to explore the spatial patterns and the dominant drivers of LST in the PRD. MODIS LST (MYD11A2) data from 2005 and 2015 were used in this study. First, spatial analysis methods were applied in order to determine the spatial patterns of LST and to identity the hotspot areas (HSAs). Second, the hotspot ratio index (HRI), as a metric of thermal heterogeneity, was developed in order to identify the features of thermal environment across the nine cities in the PRD. Finally, the geo-detector (GD) metric was employed to explore the dominant drivers of LST, which included elevation, land use/land cover (LUCC), the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), impervious surface distribution density (ISDD), gross domestic product (GDP), population density (POP), and nighttime light index (NLI). The GD metric has the advantages of detecting the dominant drivers without assuming linear relationships and measuring the combined effects of the drivers. The results of Moran’s Index showed that the daytime and nighttime LST were close to the cluster pattern. Therefore, this process led to the identification of HSAs. The HSAs were concentrated in the central PRD and were distributed around the Pearl River estuary. The results of the HRI indicated that the spatial distribution of the HSAs was highly heterogeneous among the cities for both daytime and nighttime. The highest HRI values were recorded in the cities of Dongguan and Shenzhen during the daytime. The HRI values in the cities of Zhaoqing, Jiangmen, and Huizhou were relatively lower in both daytime and nighttime. The dominant drivers of LST varied from city to city. The influence of land cover and socio-economic factors on daytime LST was higher in the highly urbanized cities than in the cities with low urbanization rates. For the cities of Zhaoqing, Huizhou, and Jiangmen, elevation was the dominant driver of daytime LST during the study period, and for the other cities in the PRD, the main driver changed from land cover in 2005 to NLI in 2015. This study is expected to provide useful guidance for planning of the thermal environment in urban agglomerations.

Necessary but non-existent: The paradox of teacher induction in Portugal

The induction of beginning teachers has attracted a number of scholars as it is seen as the fundamental link between initial and in-service teacher education. In this paper I examine the Portuguese case as far as teacher induction is concerned, particularly in terms of policy and research. The paper ends with the discussion of key issues that need to be considered in future scenarios in which induction plays a pivotal role in the professional development of teachers. Issues of who, what and for which purposes are explored as well as the role of policy makers, teacher education institutions and schools. Implications for the design of induction programmes are discussed.

Power to the people? Evaluating the European Commission’s engagement efforts in EU copyright policy

ABSTRACT This paper asks to what extent the European Commission’s stakeholder participation model takes into account non-expert citizen contributions in policy processes pertaining to copyright. In theory, the increasing scale of citizen engagement in stakeholder consultations on copyright could help address the EU’s democratic deficit. The paper analyses the European Commission’s consultation processes in copyright policy across the Barroso 1&2 and Juncker Commissions (2004–2019). It documents the scale and the type of stakeholder involvement in public consultations. Through expert interviews and a survey, the paper gives critical insight into stakeholders’ perception of the Commission’s consultation practices and citizens’ role in policymaking. It concludes that the Commission is inclusive of different types of stakeholders, but casts doubt on the (perceived) motivation and appropriateness of its stakeholder participation model for non-expert citizens. The paper thus sheds light on the attempts and the struggle to engage with citizens in a digital age.

The policy implications of 'thinking problematically': problematizing Big Food's role in obesity policymaking.

Practitioners need to engage with the contested nature of public health policymaking. This study, stemming from a concern that the involvement of Big Food is not widely problematized in health promotion practice, used 'What's the Problem Represented to Be?' discourse analysis to examine how Big Food, as a discursive actor, reacted to and shaped a problem representation of childhood obesity. Analysis of Big Food documents, including Coca-Cola and Burger King, developed during the regulation of broadcast advertising to children in Ireland found that Big Food constructs the problem of childhood obesity in a way which privileges its role as policy actor; it draws on and undermines public health discourses of obesity; and it negates the impact of corporate practices on obesity and on related policymaking. An in-depth analysis of Big Food's own documents provides access to the processes of knowledge production and governing undertaken by Big Food. The study offers two tools of resistance for health promotion practitioners to interrogate and challenge Big Food-problematization as a policy tool and 'corporate influence' as a critical public health discourse.

China’s Image in Russia: Historical Background

Studying the cultural specificity of the neighboring countries is an important research question for philosophical anthropology and philosophy of culture as it gives a perspective of new possibilities of interaction and partnership in various areas. People’s understanding of a different culture originates from a complex interrelation of consciously chosen strategies and unconsciously projected feelings. The resulting image of the Other culture often plays a significant role in policy-making and helps determine the quality and extent of interrelations, including cooperation, both at the governmental and non-governmental levels. There are multiple ways of constructing such an image. Intensified contacts, that include direct interaction, diplomatic and scientific contacts, lead to the increase of knowledge about neighboring countries’ lifestyle, household organization, and traditions. Art is one of the key means of getting to know another culture. The author pays special attention to visual images, namely political caricature, as interesting yet poorly explored ways of forming the image of China in Russian society’s perception. Herein political caricature, i.e. political visual satire, not only translates the atmosphere of those times but also greatly affects the audience and influences public opinion by creating strong and vivid impressions. Both external and internal images of the self-perception of the Chinese played their role in the development of the perception of China. Their comparative analysis proves that these images underwent a certain evolution in Russia: the image of the neighboring state dynamically altered over the years. Emotional and affective evaluations of China several times drastically changed from positive to negative, and back. The paper explores peculiar features of the political caricature of the 20th century and looks into the ways the imagery shows the Chinese in the light of major political events. It is noted that the images represent both Chinese and Russian historical and cultural context of the epoch. During the period under consideration, the Soviet way of thinking about China mainly came from the logical approach of seeing China as the Other. At the same time, this period is characterized by an increased interest in universal human values of freedom and political independence, the unity of the working population, and the positive outlook on the workpeople’s future. The Chinese middle kingdom in the vein of proletarian internationalism appears a leader fighting for the above-mentioned values. This friendly approach towards China and the possibility of a partnership between the countries remains unquestioned till the 1950s.