Socio-economic Performance Research Articles

Socio-economic Performance Evaluation of Existing Underground Water Harvesting Structures in Morni Watershed, Shiwalik Foothill of Northern India

The Shiwalik foothill region offers a significant amount of rainfall for underground water harvesting structures, and if appropriately harvested, it can reduce water scarcity. These underground water harvesting structures comprising sub-surface dams, which are effective water conservation hydraulic structures, are generally constructed across seasonal streams near agricultural areas of the Shiwalik foothills of India. This study highlighted the effectiveness and influence of existing subsurface dams in the Panchkula district of Haryana. Structured questionnaires were prepared and provided to the stakeholders to assess the impact of the water harvesting structures and the satisfaction level of the farmers. More than half of the collected underground water was used for farming. The other half was used for drinking purposes during the hot and dry Rabi season, which starts in early November. The sub-surface dam made up of concrete material has an expected lifespan of 35 years. The construction of the underground water harvesting structure led to an increase of 4 to 11 hectares in agricultural land and a significant rise in crop intensity (170–200 per cent). Crop production experienced an increase during the Rabi season. The underground water harvesting structure exhibited a financially viable operation, as viewed by the farmers.

The Scale Validation of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia’s Microfinance Services and Household Socioeconomic Instrument

Households' socioeconomic outcomes play a crucial role in sustainable development. Both public and private organisations have introduced various microfinance schemes to address economic deprivation. Nevertheless, there is ongoing debate in the literature about the effectiveness of these strategies in improving household socioeconomic performance. Researchers continue to face challenges in identifying key factors that enhance the performance of low-income households, largely due to the absence of reliable measurement tools. This study develops and validates a scale specifically designed to capture the multifaceted effect of microfinance on household socioeconomic well-being. The research introduces measuring constructs for first-order constructs relating to variables such as microfinance services, household Entrepreneurial Competencies (EC), Financial Management Practices (FMP), and socioeconomic performance. Using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) on data collected from low-income households engaged in microfinance programs in Malaysia, the study assesses the instrument’s reliability and validity. Findings ensure the potential of the validated measurement tool to evaluate the effectiveness of microfinance interventions. The results confirm that the developed instrument is valid and reliable for future studies on microfinance and household economic models.

Modeling economic growth in pandemic times with machine learning regression algorithms

Objective: The aim of this paper is to analyze the contrast of policies to face the Covid-19 pandemic in the socioeconomic performance of three representative economies: Italy, Mexico, and United States. Methodology: Machine learning (ML) techniques are applied to analyze the socioeconomic effects of the pandemic (containment measures, infection rates, total deaths, vaccination, etc.) on GDP growth in those countries. The experiment is that New Zealand's reference stringency index replaces each of those countries' own stringency index and the forecasts for GDP growth, Covid-19-induced deaths, and the Covid-19 reproduction rate. Thus, we show that ML techniques are robust tools for multiple outcome regressions and for experimental scenarios on the socioeconomic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Results: The experimental results revealed that the Regression Tree and Random Forest techniques successfully estimate and predict the cases of Italy, Mexico, and the United States. Conclusions: The proposal is that stringency measures and vaccination policies are undoubtedly successful in the fight against a pandemic, in addition to measuring the effects of such policies when data is available through the use of novel techniques such as ML.

Sustainability of collective irrigation under water competition between agriculture and civil uses: The case study of Alanya Water Users Association (Türkiye)

This study explores the patterns of sustainable use and management of competing water sectors in the Alanya Water Users Association (WUA) in Southern Türkiye, over eight years (2013–2020) before the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, focusing on the impacts of the recorded huge growth of tourism. Performance indicators of collective irrigation services are used to identify performance patterns and trends over time. The analysis has revealed a notable increase in water consumption for agricultural activities (+30 %), driven by the cultivation of tropical fruits, without a proportional rise in crop production. Concurrently, effective financial management is observed in the WUA, with a consistent reduction in unit Management, Operation and Maintenance costs (-40–70 %). Additionally, the total water demand has surged (+100 %) due to population growth and tourist flux. However, this increase has tensioned water delivery to crops, indicating higher pressures over water availability for all uses. The study has identified three distinct patterns in the technical, financial, and socio-economic performance of the WUA, particularly highlighting the last four years of increased water usage and the disruption caused by the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic in 2020. Despite the current adequacy of water resources, optimized strategies for water management are advocated to address anticipated demographic growth, the introduction of tropical crops and the environmental impacts of climate change.

Rural land systems both support and hinder the Sustainable Development Goals across Europe

Achieving sustainable rural land systems, including farms and forestry, is essential to achieve the European Union’s goal of fair and healthy food systems while becoming climate-neutral and halting biodiversity loss. Here we quantitatively assess the environmental and socioeconomic sustainability of rural land systems in Europe using spatial hotspot analyses based on 15 environmental and 9 social sustainability indicators from the European Sustainable Development Goals and the Common Agricultural Policy. We find high subsidy support for under-performing sustainability areas and low sustainability performance in areas producing the most calories. However, we identified two brightspots with good environmental and socioeconomic performance (Nordics and Central Europe), and five dragspots hindering sustainability: the Balkans, the Lowlands, Northern Italy, Southern Italy and Malta, and Southern Spain. Redirecting support to reward social and environmental benefits from land use can help achieve sustainability goals.

Clusters of African countries based on the social contacts and associated socioeconomic indicators relevant to the spread of the epidemic

IntroductionIt is well known that social contact patterns differ from country to country. This variation coincides with significant socioeconomic heterogeneity that complicates the design of effective nonpharmaceutical interventions. This study examined how socioeconomic heterogeneity in selected African countries might be factored in to explain better patterns of social contact mix between countries.MethodsWe used a standardized contact matrix for 32 African countries, estimated in (Prem et al. in PLoS Comput Biol 17(7):e1009098, 2021). We scaled the matrices using an epidemic model from (Röst et al. in Viruses 12(7):708, 2020). We also analyzed aggregated data from the World Bank country website. The data includes 28 variables; social, economic, environmental, institutional, governance, health and well-being, education, gender inequality, and other development-related indicators that describe countries. Principal component analysis was used to visualize socioeconomic similarities between countries and identify the indicators for maximum variation. The (2D)2PCA\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$(2D)^{2} PCA$\\end{document} approach was used to reduce the dimension of synthetic contact matrices for each country to avoid the dimensionality curse. Then, hierarchical aggregate clustering was used to identify groups of countries with similar social patterns, taking into account the country’s socioeconomic performance.ResultsOur model yielded four meaningful clusters, each with a few distinguishing features. Social contacts varied between groups, but were generally similar within each set. The socioeconomic performance of the country influenced the clusters.ConclusionsOur results suggest that integrating socioeconomic factors into social contacts can better explain infectious disease transmission dynamics and that similar interventions can be implemented in countries within the cluster

An Empirical Study of the Influence of Psychodynamics Group Therapy on Students’ Learned Resourcefulness in Chinese Vocational Colleges: Systematic Review

The Chinese society values education due to its observation of Confucianism which highlights the value of education to the entire Chinese society. Per the cultural perspectives, education has been popularized in China. The government accord importance to education due to its importance in promoting socio-economic performance in the region. Despite the importance of education in China, vocational students face challenges with the rate of learned resourcefulness. These students have limited access to educational resources and also face mental challenges. Learned resourcefulness concerns one’s ability to use internal factors such as emotions to regulate their response to external stressors to enhance quality of education and other factors in life. Psychodynamic therapy, which aids in the regulation of cognitive traits, can significantly impact students' resourcefulness, helping them better navigate their educational and personal challenges.

Optimal management plans and initiatives for the valorization and safeguarding of local breeds: a mathematical programming approach

In this study, a parametric programming model was developed in order to deliver optimal management plans for various types of farms rearing endangered Greek sheep breeds under three distinct scenarios. The first scenario investigated the optimal internal organization of farms (i.e., management practices and resource allocation strategies that increase profitability of farms) under current market conditions (e.g., product prices) without, however, considering subsidies and compensations. The second assessed the impact of an agri-environmental support scheme on farm optimal structure and socioeconomic performance. The third investigated the effects of integrating farms into value chains and niche markets where premium prices prevail. For this purpose, a questionnaire survey was conducted in the wider region of Epirus and Thessaly, collecting management data from 16 farms rearing (i) Kalaritiko, (ii) Orino Epiru and (iii) Katsika rare sheep breeds. The main finding of this study was that the optimal internal organization of farms is essential for their self-reliance and viability. Therefore, it should be the basis in the designing of any initiative aimed at the preservation and valorization of local breeds. Furthermore, the analysis showed that a niche marketing strategy (i.e., a premium price strategy) can have a broader positive impact on farms structure and socioeconomic performance, particularly those engaged in cheese production, compared to an agri-environmental scheme. However, due to the fact that both initiatives possess limitations that may render them inefficient under specific external conditions, the development of an integrated incentive mechanism, which will combine both policy schemes and market-based initiatives, appeared to be a more effective strategy for the long-term viability of farms.

Investigating the Performance of the Tourism Industry in the Kabarole District of Uganda

This study investigates the performance of the tourism industry in Kabarole district, Uganda. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design with a sample of 154 respondents that was determined using Solvene’s method of sample size determination. Findings confirm that there is a significant influence of tourism attraction sites on the socio-economic performance of local communities in the Kabarole district, which indicates that an increase in attraction sites results in increased job creation in the district. Based on the findings, the study recommends that efforts should be made by the Kabarole local government district in conjunction with the central government to improve the condition of transport routes to enable tourists to maintain their contact with the rest of the world and enhance the fringe benefits to the local communities. Also, more accommodation establishments should be established in the local district to create further employment opportunities for locals in the district. Keywords: Income, Performance, Revenue, Socioeconomic development, Tourism.

Socioeconomic sustainability of agroecological farming: a quantitative analysis of cucurbit crop production in Eastern Central Tanzania

ABSTRACT Agroecological farming emerges among approaches for managing crop pests including the “True” fruit fly (Diptera, Tephritidae). We conducted baseline interviews and field experiments in Eastern Central Tanzania to determine farmers’ perception on the approach and verify its socio-economic performance in cucurbit crop production. The performance of small-scale cucurbit farming in agroecological and conventional agriculture was broadly comparable. Farmers perceived the approach as effective and beneficial over conventional farming and pesticide-based agriculture but constrained by its more elaborate/laborious implementation. Still, agroecological farming significantly lowered the production costs. Therefore small-scale agroecological cucurbit farming in Tanzania represents a viable alternative and promising tool to reduce use of synthetic pesticides that negatively impact human health and the environment.

Socioeconomic Performance of Local Communities in Tourism Development in Kabarole District of Uganda

This study examines the socioeconomic performance of local communities in tourism development in Kabarole district of Uganda. The persistent increase in number of unemployed youths with limited local participation and empowerment in regards to tourism activities in kabarole district necessitated the present study. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design with a sample of 154 respondents that was determined using Solvene’s method of sample size determination. Findings confirm that tourism tourism infrastructure has a statistically significant influence on the socio-economic performance of local communities in Kabarole district, which implyies that variations in socio-economic performance of local communities in Kabarole district are explained by tourism infrastructure. Based on the findings, the study calls for tourism destination areas in Kabarole district along with the central government should put in place deliberate conditions that can enhance the establishment of more tourism amenities. These include giving tax holidays to local and international investors who are willing to invest in amenities such as banking institutions, shopping malls. Also, the government should provide land to potential investors in Kabarole and other areas in Uganda so that more tourism amenities can be established in the country. Keywords: Investors, Socioeconomic performance, Tourism, Tourism infrastructure, Unemployment.

Drivers of geographical indication food supply chain performance: a B2B network perspective

PurposeThis study aims to examine the role relational dynamics, grounded in the theories of social exchange and social capital, play within the context of geographic indication (GI) food supply chain network (FSCN) performance.Design/methodology/approachA total of 30 qualitative interviews were undertaken with key informant stakeholders across a variety of organizations within Turkish GI FSCNs. An open, axial and selective grounded theory coding process was used for the analysis, teasing out critical themes that underpinned the conceptual framework.FindingsThe findings identify the formal and informal mechanisms which govern GI FSCNs. These two forms of governance mechanisms influence network performance, which was found to comprise logistics, production, business and socio-economic performance dimensions. Transparency, GI traceability, trust and psychological contract violations were found to mediate the link between governance and network performance outcomes.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to explore GI FSCNs from the perspective of relationship marketing and through the lens of social exchange and social capital theory. Accordingly, both academics and practitioners can benefit from the study, as it unveils relevant relational factors underpinning such networks.

Climate change, vulnerability and well-being in the Pacific region

The Pacific region has experienced vast adverse effects from climate change impacting the peoples’ livelihoods both in these nations’ urban and rural areas. Countries association between socio-economic performance and livelihoods have been adversity impacted by climatic hazards and vulnerabilities on nations’ economic performance impacting the societal outcomes. An assessment of the Pacific’s climate change, vulnerability and well-being is presented in general and a case study of Fiji in particular. The Pacific islands require resources invested in environmental education, and climate change and trade policy linkages to benefit the islands, future returns to individuals and higher levels of satisfied basic needs to reduce vulnerabilities.

Propagation of best practices in value and supply chain management: Demand forecasting and planning

This paper is a discussion article that focuses on the propagation of best practices in value and supply chain management. Specifically, the article discusses the application of prudent demand analysis and forecasting techniques as tools for effective and efficient business management. The use of quantitative models such as time-series and econometric methods in forecasting prices, sales and demand volumes have formed the subject matter of the paper. The expeditious adoption of the techniques presented herein can equip the entrepreneur or manager with essential knowledge of future demand conditions that can be extremely useful when planning production schedules, inventory control, advertising campaigns, output in future periods, and investment, among other things. The ultimate expected impacts would be to facilitate the enhancement of economic and financial profitability, sustainability and other micro-economic and socio-economic performance variables.

INNOVATION IN FIBERGLASS SHIP ASSEMBLY: SOCIAL-ECONOMIC AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP STUDY OF COASTAL COMMUNITIES

The problem of low performance of fishing communities in producing capture fisheries is generally related to the low quality of the capital ships used. This research aims to reveal the factors that caused the emergence of innovation in the business of assembling fiberglass fishing ships, the level of business development, and its impact on improving the socio-economic performance of fishing communities in rural areas. The research sample included small fishing communities and a group of fishermen who had built a business assembling fiberglass fishing ships in Bengkulu Selatan Regency. Because the data collected is mostly in the form of qualitative data, the analysis method used is a descriptive-qualitative method supported by statistical analysis methods. The results indicate that the emergence of innovation in assembling fiberglass fishing ships is driven by evidence highlighting the superior quality of fiberglass over wood in ship construction. The growth of the fiberglass ship assembly business is evident through its expanding market reach and increased sales turnover. Qualitatively, the study demonstrates that the innovation in assembling fiberglass ships has a positive impact on the socio-economic performance of fishermen, manifested through improved workability, heightened work motivation, and increased capture fisheries production. Three key recommendations emerge from the findings: (1) Stakeholders should consistently support the sustainability of fiberglass ship assembly businesses; (2) Relevant agencies are encouraged to actively contribute to the substantial development of the fiberglass ship assembly sector; and (3) Fishing communities greatly benefit from socialization, empowerment, literacy, and education programs.

Marine Stewardship Council’s Fisheries Standard: Updated best practices for promoting sustainable seafood

Eco-labeling can incentivize effective management to sustain productive fisheries, but certification standards occasionally need to be updated to reflect iterative advancement in marine policy. The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) recently developed a revised standard for fishery certification, and the process provides case studies in policy development that are compiled in this special issue. Consultation with a broad group of international stakeholders identified several aspects of the MSC standard that required re-evaluation. Standards, expressed as performance indictors and scoring criteria, were revised based on current perceptions of best practices in fishery management. The revised standard requires greater evidence of management performance, more rigorous protection of endangered species and vulnerable habitats, more comprehensive mitigation of ghost fishing, explicit harvest strategies, more effective exclusion of shark finning, and socioeconomic performance indicators. Although the implementation of certification standards will continue to be imperfect, the process and results from MSC’s standard review offer methods and case studies for broader application to codify best practices in marine policy as they continually evolve.

Utilizing nighttime light datasets to uncover the spatial patterns of county-level relative poverty-returning risk in China and its alleviating factors

China has launched a series of ambitious poverty alleviation strategies to end extreme poverty, officially announcing the achievement of this goal in 2020. Currently, these counties persist in their efforts to achieve the goal of rural revitalization. Many studies often showcase the spatial patterns of China's remarkable success in counties out of poverty, but often disregard the relative poverty-returning risk (PRR), specifically within China's 832 extreme poverty counties. Nighttime light datasets (NTL) have been extensively employed as a surrogate measure for socioeconomic performance in underserved regions. In this work, we constructed an NTL-based relative PRR index to detect the spatial patterns of PRR among 832 counties. Then, we identified the main influencing factors concerning the PRR mitigation of 14 poverty-stricken clusters based on three dimensions: geophysical, economic, and social. Our results showed that counties in central China are far from returning to extreme poverty with low PRR. However 14 counties (2.41% of the 832) show high PRR, and those counties are mainly clustered in southwest China. This implies that those regions require more poverty-related policy support, financial inflows, and assistance. Regional differences were found in the factors that influence the mitigation of PRR. This is crucial for developing targeted strategies to consolidate poverty eradication. Our findings are essential for China's poverty-related SDGs, ensuring that no one is left behind.

Strong Leaders in the Former Soviet Union: Successful or Simply Authoritarian?

ABSTRACT The term “strong leader” is generally understood to mean a leader who concentrates power in his or her hands, dominates public policy and the political party to which he or she belongs, and takes the big decisions. Many contemporary politicians present themselves as leaders in this mold and there is substantial public support around the world for this type of leader. Recent research, however, has questioned the desirability of strong leaders, finding that they are high-risk individuals who often have negative records in office. This article is concerned specifically with the personalist authoritarian strong leaders who hold office in the Former Soviet Union (FSU), a grouping that has received little attention in this emerging literature. The article sets out to ascertain whether these personalist authoritarians have been successful leaders as well as strong ones. We undertake this by examining performance (according to a variety of socio-economic and governance indicators) in the 15 states of the FSU in the period 2000–2020. This study finds no evidence of exceptional performance in the states with personalist authoritarian leaders in this time period. Rather, what these personalist leaders have offered is authoritarianism, poor governance, and socio-economic performance that is middling to poor.

Risk analysis and assessment of water resource carrying capacity based on weighted gray model with improved entropy weighting method in the central plains region of China

The issue of global water shortage is a serious concern. The scientific evaluation of water resource carrying capacity (WRCC) serves as the foundation for implementing measures to protect water resources. In addition, most of the studies are based on the analysis and research of regional WRCC from the aspects of water quantity and water quality. There are few studies on the four aspects of water resources endowment conditions, society, economy and ecological environment, which is difficult to scientifically and accurately reflect the analysis and evaluation of regional WRCC by the four systems. Therefore, it is necessary to conduct a deeper discussion and Analysis on this topic. This study presents a WRCC index system and corresponding ranking criteria based on 20 influencing factors from four aspects: water resources endowment (WRE), economy, society, and ecological environment. In addition, by combining the improved entropy weighting method (EWM) with gray correlation analysis, the weighted gray technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS) model is proposed for analyzing and assessing WRCC risk. Finally, the WRCC of the study area from 2012 to 2021 is comprehensively evaluated in the central plains region of China (CPROC) as an example. The results show that the comprehensive evaluation obtained a multi-year average value of 0.2935, and the water resources shortage in the CPROC is generally in grade III status. The comprehensive average value of Beijing is 0.345, and the comprehensive average value of Henan is 0.397. The overall degree of water resources shortage is in the state of grade V shortage, Shaanxi is in the state of grade IV shortage, and the degree of water resources in Tianjin and Shanxi is relatively good. This study provides corresponding scientific basis and methodological guidance for the sustainable utilization of water resources and healthy socio-economic performance in the CPROC.

Modern management and socio-economic performance : A literature Review

Cet article a pour objectif de dresser le passage théorique de la notion de modernisation vers l’intégration d’une vision globale de la performance à la fois économique et sociale. Pour ce faire, la littérature a été analysée. Elle montre une tendance vers l’intégration des performances sociales et économiques dans les pratiques managériales des organisations publiques. Par conséquent, le modèle socio-économique demeure le meilleur parmi d’autres dans la mesure et le pilotage du fonctionnement interne des organisations, dans sa capacité à concilier la performance économique et la performance sociale et dans son habileté à convertir les coûts cachés en valeur ajoutée.