Technical Input Research Articles

Design by Transitional Committee: learning from the Green Climate Fund

ABSTRACT In 2022 at the UN climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh (COP27), countries agreed to establish a new fund for loss and damage. This decision was one of the most significant outcomes of the COP, and something Small Island Developing States had spent the previous three decades calling for. The approach taken to realize this new funding arrangement includes many similarities to that taken to create a similarly significant new fund twelve years earlier – the Green Climate Fund (GCF) – including its design by a Transitional Committee. The aim of this article is to assess the extent to which the ambitions for the GCF have been realized, with a view to informing the ongoing design and early implementation of the new fund. To do this, the article compares the GCF’s present-day outcomes to its original intentions as described by the COP16 decision text. This paper finds that the GCF’s operation today only partially reflects the ambitions expressed at COP16. While the ambition for a Board with equal representation by developing and developed countries has been achieved, ambitions to expand the sources of finance and increase funding for adaptation have been mixed. The influence of the World Bank was a key point of tension over the GCF’s Transitional Committee period, and the Bank continues in the Trustee role today. The role of the Committee’s Technical Support Unit – the group of staff seconded from various international development banks and agencies to provide technical and administrative support to the GCF’s Transitional Committee – had an outsized influence on the shape of the GCF, such that these organizations continue to receive the bulk of GCF funding today. These findings suggest a greater plurality of voices providing such technical inputs would enhance the design of new funding bodies. The creation of new international finance institutions is relatively rare, so understanding the history of the GCF’s design is important for contextualising discussions about other climate finance options.

Strengthening health systems during non-pandemic period: Toward universal health coverage in the pandemic agreement.

Reflecting the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global response was reviewed by the Independent Review Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response. Based on the panel reports, the World Health Organization (WHO) member states decided to establish the intergovernmental negotiating body for drafting a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, aiming for approval at the 77th World Health Assembly in 2024 (May 27- June 1). Amidst this process, the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Japan (NCGM), as a global health organization focusing on health system strengthening in low- and middle-income countries, from the perspective of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), provided technical inputs to the representatives of the Japanese government. This paper summarizes crucial aspects of the NCGM inputs, including maintaining essential health services delivery during a pandemic, responding to evolving demand of health workforce, and ensuring the equitable distribution of pandemic products. These aspects can contribute to not only strengthening health crisis response and preparedness, but also achieving UHC. Therefore, the concerted efforts focusing on UHC and health crisis could yield synergistic effects. In addition, another aspect stresses the importance of social protection systems beyond health sector to reach vulnerable populations experiencing hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the whole-of-government approach including social policies is covered in the draft pandemic agreement, it is hoped that the upcoming pandemic agreement will trigger each member state to expand the scope of health crisis management beyond the health sector.

Resilient city construction efficiency and its influencing factors in China's Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle: Considering both construction input and resilience level of the city

The growing expansion of urban centers combined with a deteriorating climatic environment raises the likelihood and severity of urban disasters. Thus, there is an urgent need to accelerate the resilient city construction. Here, we use efficiency theory to structure an assessment indicator system of the resilient city construction efficiency to examine the actual correlation of urban resilience enhancement and urban resource consumption. Specifically, 16 key cities in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle (CCEC) are investigated using the super-efficient SBM and GTWR models. The findings reveal that the resilient city construction efficiency varies greatly among cities in the region, but most cities have relatively low resilient city construction efficiency, showing high resource consumption and low resilience levels. Also, the lower efficiency of regional resilient city construction is mainly due to the serious ineffectiveness of technical and resource inputs, insufficient outputs of ecological resilience and engineering resilience, and is also greatly influenced by factors such as the economic level and the technological innovation level. Upon this basis, we suggest the development strategies for resilient city construction in CCEC. This study broadens the perspective and scope of urban resilience research, and also provides a realistic reference for accelerating the construction of resilient cities.

A comparative study of indoor and outdoor air quality and associated potential health effects in Gurugram, India.

Abstract Deteriorating air quality remains a leading reason for global human illness and death. This study aims to investigate and compare inside and outside ambient air quality in 15 locations of Gurugram, India. Research technique adopted comprised of extracting outdoor air quality parameter values via Air Quality Index reporting stations for the entire year 2022. Parallel to that, indoor air quality parameter values of houses close to those monitoring stations were recorded through low-cost IoT based AirCubic sensors (T1595) as PM2.5, PM10, relative humidity (RH) and carbon monoxide (CO). After statistical evaluation, it was found that there were significant variations in outdoor and indoor air quality with maximum variations seen in colder season. The study revealed that PM levels were generally lower inside homes than outsides, while CO and RH concentrations were higher indoors. However, these levels often exceeded the acceptable thresholds set by both Indian national and global air quality standards, that could potentially result in harmful health effects, as well as increased risk of short and long-term illnesses, and even death. It may be concluded that more research, extensive air quality monitoring, data sharing, citizen awareness, and better technical and policy inputs are required to maintain healthy air quality for a sustainable lifestyle.

Research on gradual changes in incomplete technical information and optimization mechanism of innovation factor allocation efficiency

The innovation factor allocation efficiency (IFAE), indicated by R&D institutions' technical input information and manufacturers’ technical output information, is mainly optimized by transformation of incomplete technical information into relatively complete information and finally complete technical information. There are two optimization mechanisms, namely single optimization and continuous optimization. The empirical analysis selected data from 73 listed companies in software development and 596 listed companies in processing and manufacturing, and testified its hypotheses with GMM regression results. The research finds that the differences in benefits are caused by gradual changes in technical information. With shared goals of benefit maximization between R&D institutions and manufacturers, a correct strategy for technical information can optimize the IFAE. Single optimization refers to the one-time recognition or identification of relatively complete technical information and complete information, acquisition of technical information from one-time cognition, and thorough application of resource input, thus realizing high-level technology progress gradually. Continuous optimization, based on single optimization, involves the prioritized reporting of complete technical information by participants, thus achieving optimal IFAE. Therefore, it is necessary to accelerate the improvement in the incentive mechanisms for technology innovation efficiency. R&D institutions should promote original innovation and integrated innovation, expand technical information increment, deepen the cooperation with manufacturers actively, and facilitate the technical information sharing.

Interobserver variability in preclinical assessment of collision variables following traffic accidents

PurposeTraffic accidents persist as a leading cause of death. European law mandates the integration of automatic emergency call systems (eCall). Our project focuses on an automated injury prediction device for car accidents, correlating technical and epidemiological input data, such as age, gender, seating position, impact on the passenger compartment, seatbelt usage, impact direction, EES, vehicle class, and airbag deployment. This study aims to explore interobserver variability in data collection quality in real accident scenarios. The assessment will evaluate the impact of user training and measure the time needed for data collection to inform user recommendations for the prehospital assessment.Insights from this study can aid in evaluating the ability of different professional groups to identify potential accident-independent parameters at accident scenes. This includes, among other things, relaying information to dispatchers at rescue control centers, also within the context of telemedicine approaches.MethodsDuring group sessions, real accident scenarios were presented both before and after a training presentation. Participants, including laypersons, accident research staff, emergency services, hospital physicians, and emergency physicians, visually assessed injury prediction parameters within a time limit. Training involved defining and explaining parameters using accident images. The study analyzed participant demographics, prediction accuracy, and time required, comparing assessment quality between professional groups and before and after training.ResultsIn summary, the study demonstrates that training had a significantly positive impact on the quality of assessment for technical accident parameters. The processing time decreased significantly after training. A notable training effect was observed, particularly for the parameters of rigid collision object, affected passenger compartment, energy equivalent speed (EES), and front and side airbags. It was recommended that individuals without prior knowledge should receive training on assessing EES. Overall, it was evident that technical parameters following a traffic accident can be well assessed through training, irrespective of the professional group.ConclusionSignificant differences in the assessment quality of technical accident parameters were observed based on technical and medical expertise. After user training, interdisciplinary differences were reconciled, and all professional groups yielded comparable results, indicating that training can enhance the assessment abilities of all participants in the rescue chain, while the time required for assessing accident parameters was significantly reduced with training.

How are health systems in sub-Saharan Africa adapting to protect human health from climate change threats? A scoping review and case study

BackgroundSub-Saharan Africa stands out as one of the regions most affected by the climate crisis, while it has contributed to the problem only marginally. The foreseen negative effect on health adds great stress to the already overburdened health systems. Health systems' adaptation to climate change is, therefore, urgently needed to better protect human health. There is, however, scant evidence on how adaption is being planned and implemented in Africa. The aim of this study was to review the literature on health system adaptation in sub-Saharan Africa. MethodsIn this scoping review and case study, we first carried out the scoping review, searching for publications on adaptation measures using the PubMed, Science Direct, and Web of Science databases on July 1, 2023. We included papers in English and French that addressed the adaptation of health systems in countries in sub-Saharan Africa without time limit. Second, we did a case study of the design and implementation of the National Adaptation Plan of Benin, with a specific focus on the policy-making process underlying the plan, whereby we used the health policy triangle as a policy analysis framework. Data were collected through a document review of national policy plans, reports, and evaluations. FindingsA total of 14 papers met the inclusion criteria, showing that climate change adaptation remains a niche in the literature for sub-Saharan Africa. Most included papers were authored by individuals from high-income countries. Health system adaptation measures cover seven domains: health systems strengthening; policy and planning; financing and implementation; information and capacity building; societal resilience; disaster risk prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery; and mitigation. The review found that the dominant role of global agencies in supporting or steering health system adaptation planning contributes to policy mimicry across countries, as confirmed by the case study of the adaptation plan in Benin. Benin's National Adaptation Plan prioritised three climate hazards: heat, drought, and flooding. Although the financial and technical inputs of international agencies effectively support Benin's adaptation planning, these inputs might induce a more narrow focus that does not fully respond to Benin's needs in terms of climate shocks and adaptation priorities. InterpretationHealth systems in sub-Saharan Africa are already adapting to climate change. Future research could focus on how national governments could develop adaptation plans that are responsive to local needs by making the needs analysis and priority-setting processes more inclusive of local stakeholders. FundingThe Belgian Directorate-General for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid.

Towards decoupling in chemical industry: Input substitution impacted by technological progress

The chemical industry is one of the fundamental industries of economic development. Coordinating the relationship between economic growth and carbon emissions (EGCE) is crucial in realizing the carbon neutrality target. The Tapio model and decomposition models are used to assess the degree of decoupling within the Chinese chemical industry and identify pivotal factors impeding progress. The energy efficiency decomposition model explores the crux of failure to achieve strong decoupling. This framework further decomposed the energy intensity to uncover how technical efficiency, technological progress, and input substitution changes affect energy intensity and CO2 emission. The paper found that the EGCE of the chemical industry were stable in a weak decoupling mode from 2009 to 2019. The reliance on technological progress to reduce energy intensity and emissions is insufficient (accounting for only 18.2%), far below the cumulative contribution from economic growth (accounting for 57.76%), which has become the crux of the strong decoupling failure. Technological advancements drive energy substitution for labour, resulting in 244.41 Mt of cumulative carbon emissions. The improper factor input allocation hinders the desired reduction in energy intensity and carbon emissions. A series of policy implications are proposed based on the insights derived from the decomposition analysis to foster sustainable practices in the chemical industry.

Production Performance and Profitability of Small-scale Commercial Poultry Farms in Arsi and East-Showa Zones, Central Ethiopia

Poultry farming and the demand for chicken meat and eggs are growing due to their quality protein, essential nutrients, affordable price, and low investment cost. The current study was designed to investigate the productivity and profitability of small-scale commercial poultry enterprises. Data were collected from 221 poultry farms using a semi-structured questionnaire. The results were presented using descriptive statistics. Farm performances were measured by total-factor-productivity (TFP), benefit-cost-ratio (BCR), and net-profit-margin (NPM). The majority of the poultry farm owners were male (69.68%) and married (77.4%). Around 55.2% of poultry farmers aged 31-45 years. Group-owned farms had 4.59 ± 1.77 individual members. On average, a batch of layer chickens was kept for 17.0 ± 3.87 and 18.12 ± 4.25 months on individual and group-owned farms, respectively. Moreover, the mean selling ages of pullet and broiler chickens were 2.55 ± 0.71 and 2.18 ± 0.51 months, respectively. The flock size of layer chickens in sole-proprietor farms (562 ± 724) was significantly lower than in partnership farms (1165 ± 877). The average numbers of produced pullets by sole-proprietorship and partnership farms were 3177 ± 2360 and 3137 ± 1826, while the mean numbers of broilers produced were 2257 ± 1875 and 3269 ± 1669, respectively. The average egg and broiler weights in sole-proprietorship farms were significantly higher compared to group-owned farms. Annual egg production rates in individual and group-owned farms were 76.5% and 70.4%, respectively. The cost of feed, chicken, housing, labor, and medication were the top five production expenditures, while feed cost shares 60.4%. Egg producers had NPM, BCR, and TFP indices of 38.99%, 1.03, and 2.03, respectively, with notable differences by ownership types. The NPM, BCR, and TFP indices for broiler and pullet farms, respectively, were 42.78%, 0.93, and 1.93 for broilers and 35.21%, 0.92, and 1.67 for pullets. The results indicated that poultry firms performed optimally, regardless of ownership type. To further improve the efficiency and profitability of poultry enterprises, farmers need technical, finance, and management skills and input supply chains. Keywords: Broiler, Layer, Poultry, Production, Profitability, Pullet

Thermal performance of an aquifer thermal energy storage system: Insights from novel multilateral wells

Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is an effective time-shifting thermal energy storage technology. Considering the enormous technical and economic input of the well pattern layout, the storage volume of a single well needs to be improved. This study proposes a novel aquifer thermal energy storage system in which several multilateral wells are side-tracked from the vertical well in the aquifer. Radial branches can enhance the connectivity of the wellbore to the aquifer. The research creates an unsteady-state 3D model to analyze the novel ATES system's fluid flow and heat transfer performance. The model is verified using experimental data. The temperature and pressure fields of the multilateral-well ATES are analyzed. Additionally, the effects of injection rate, radial branch length, number of radial branches, aquifer temperature, and aquifer thickness on system performance are studied. According to the research results, compared with the vertical wells, the performance coefficients of the multilateral hot well and cold well increase by 113.06 and 39.25, respectively, and the economic efficiency increases by 14.19% and 23.87%, respectively. The findings can provide a crucial reference for scientific research and the application of aquifer thermal energy storage systems with multilateral wells.

Digital Economy and Baumol’s Cost Disease of Performing Arts: An Empirical Research in China

In the past decade, the Chinese government’s financial subsidies for performing arts troupes accounted for an average of 50.57% of their total income. By the end of 2021, China has 18,370 performing arts troupes and 3,093 performing arts venues. The research conclusions of this paper include the following four points: (1) Digital live-streaming theater(DLT) is an “innovation” for traditional Stage Theater(ST) performance, and its changes in creation mechanism, audience-actors relationship, technical esthetics and business model are worthy of further study. (2) Data from 2011 to 2021 show that Baumol’s cost disease also exists in Chinese performing arts. (3) The Chinese government has been reducing its direct management and control of arts troupes, trying to move toward “arm’s length” governance. (4) During the COVID-19 epidemic, performance case data from China show that DLT can indeed reduce the marginal cost, attract more young audiences, and increase performance revenue. However, considering the high technical cost input, whether digital technology can alleviate the cost disease of performing arts still needs more annual industry data analysis.

EFFICIENCY USE OF RESOURCES AND PROFITABILITY OF “UGU” (FLUTED PUMPKIN) (Telfairia occidentalis Hook F.) PRODUCTION AMONG SMALL-SCALE FARMERS IN SOUTHEAST, NIGERIA

This study examined efficiency use of resources and profitability of fluted pumpkin production among small-scale farmers in Southeast, Nigeria using 400 farmers selected through multistage and purposive sampling techniques. Data collection was done with structured questionnaire and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Results showed that 80% of fluted pumpkin farmers were females while 20% of them were males and aged 38years that operated on the average of 0.7ha which earned them average annual income of N 98,000.00 from fluted pumpkin sales. Results also revealed that the farmers had formal education with 12years average farming experiences and average household size of 7 persons. R2 was 0.794 meaning that 79% of the variations in output of fluted pumpkin in the study area were accounted for, by the independent variables included in the model. The F-value of 19.774 was significant at 1%. Results further showed that farm size (0.517), cost of manure (0.331), farming experience (0.327), and capital input (0.221) were significant and positively related to output of “ugu”. However, age (-0.022) and household size (-0.039) were inversely related to output of “ugu” in the area. The most technical efficient factor inputs were farm size (88.539) and labour (3.166), while fluted pumpkin seed (0.273) and capital input (0.377) were technically inefficient considering their values. The inputs of farm size (3.924) and capital input (24.900) were underutilized, while labour (0.169), cost of fluted pumpkin seed (0.004), cost of manure (0.002) and agro-chemicals (-0.001) were over-utilized. The result of profitability analysis showed that the cost-return-ratio was 1:1.44, meaning that every N1 invested would generate a profit of N0.44k. It would be concluded that small-scale “ugu” producers in Southeast, were not utilizing productive resources efficiently, though cultivation of “ugu” in the area is s viable venture. There is the need for regular training of the farmers in resource utilization and management for optimum productivity.

Microservices Boundary Determination Migration in DevOps: A Case Study

The microservice architecture (MSA) is a widely used and researched approach in industry and academia. However, designing the migration to MSA is a complex and challenging task, and there is a lack of clear guidelines on how to address both business and technical issues during the process. This paper presents a step-by-step method for determining the boundaries of microservices, which is a critical activity in MSA migration for both practitioners and academics.We conducted a case study of SHAMIM, a nationwide project serving over 120,000 students, to demonstrate the proposed method. The microservice boundaries were determined by utilizing both business and technical input types, including domain-driven design (DDD), business processes, service call numbers, and data access patterns in databases.Our findings suggest that MSA migration can be conducted more reliably by using change documents maintained by the DevOps team. The proposed method leads to clear improvements in the determination of each microservice boundary, and it can be useful for practitioners and academics involved in MSA migration.

The 2023 US 50-State National Seismic Hazard Model: Overview and implications

The US National Seismic Hazard Model (NSHM) was updated in 2023 for all 50 states using new science on seismicity, fault ruptures, ground motions, and probabilistic techniques to produce a standard of practice for public policy and other engineering applications (defined for return periods greater than ∼475 or less than ∼10,000 years). Changes in 2023 time-independent seismic hazard (both increases and decreases compared to previous NSHMs) are substantial because the new model considers more data and updated earthquake rupture forecasts and ground-motion components. In developing the 2023 model, we tried to apply best available or applicable science based on advice of co-authors, more than 50 reviewers, and hundreds of hazard scientists and end-users, who attended public workshops and provided technical inputs. The hazard assessment incorporates new catalogs, declustering algorithms, gridded seismicity models, magnitude-scaling equations, fault-based structural and deformation models, multi-fault earthquake rupture forecast models, semi-empirical and simulation-based ground-motion models, and site amplification models conditioned on shear-wave velocities of the upper 30 m of soil and deeper sedimentary basin structures. Seismic hazard calculations yield hazard curves at hundreds of thousands of sites, ground-motion maps, uniform-hazard response spectra, and disaggregations developed for pseudo-spectral accelerations at 21 oscillator periods and two peak parameters, Modified Mercalli Intensity, and 8 site classes required by building codes and other public policy applications. Tests show the new model is consistent with past ShakeMap intensity observations. Sensitivity and uncertainty assessments ensure resulting ground motions are compatible with known hazard information and highlight the range and causes of variability in ground motions. We produce several impact products including building seismic design criteria, intensity maps, planning scenarios, and engineering risk assessments showing the potential physical and social impacts. These applications provide a basis for assessing, planning, and mitigating the effects of future earthquakes.

The IRNSS/NavIC designing characteristics and development in antenna application: An overview

<p class="abstract">Today is a generation of the satellite navigation system and every country needs its own positioning and secured services. GPS invention has given birth to a new era in technology. India in terms of population is highly dense and should have its own navigation system. High-level research is still going on for Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC) the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) to be developed for the frequency band L-band (1176.45MHz) and S-band (2492.08 MHz). In this paper, we summarize the attributes characterizing the NavIC antenna which includes patch size, polarization, Fractal attributes, etc. Similarly, the paper gives technical inputs to develop a compact and efficient NavIC antenna system for future L-band and S-band.</p>

Traditional Practices Pertaining to Sustainable Agriculture in North East India: A Review

Agriculture is the backbone of India’s rural economy. Sustainable agriculture needs to emerge at an accelerated pace integrated with technical and traditional knowledge. The advent of the concept of sustainable agriculture in the late eighties in the Indian agricultural scenario has evoked interest in indigenous traditional knowledge (ITK) that uses natural products to solve the problems pertaining to agriculture and allied activities. Since the past centuries, farmers have grown food and survived in harsh environments through the knowledge gained from their ancestors, where such a rich tradition of indigenous traditional knowledge has been interwoven with the agricultural practices followed by them. The northeast region is known for its rich natural scenic beauty, diversity, ethnicity, rare and unique wildlife, people, and culture. The traditional knowledge that the people possess in these regions is a precious resource that is shared through generations. However, such knowledge remains largely unreported, especially from the northeastern region, and has slowly been lost over time. Such knowledge needs to be harnessed along with some technical inputs to make sustainable development faster. There is a need to document and record such traditional knowledge which can act as a foundation for the creation of modern technology. This paper highlights the role and challenges of agriculture to the economy, the indigenous cultivation practices, and the traditional practices in Northeast India for sustainable agriculture.

Potential Role and International Trade of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants in the World

Before the dawn of civilization, humans have hunted and gathered, and the only trustworthy sources of medicine were plants and herbs. The needs for traditional medicine, which are present in both local and international markets, are met in large part by medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). Due to the abundance of medicinal plants, people in many tribal and rural parts of Bangladesh, like many other nations, have traditionally relied on nature and natural remedies to heal themselves and avoid ailments. The market is flooded with items made from medicinal and aromatic herbs. Plants can be used to produce specialty materials like biocides, cosmetics, medicines, essential oils, dyes, and colorants. Most of the species of MAPs are produced for such industrial uses, but most of them are still wild collected. The increasing demand in botanicals results in a great trade from local to international level. Identifying the significant role played by MAPs in serving health and well-being security, it is very important for the countries to utilize the need to conserve, sustainably use, and commercialize the MAP biodiversity resources responsibly throughout the world. The total trades in MAPs have increased from 2.4 billion USD in 1996 to 6.2 billion USD in 2013 with annual growth rate of 5.4% in past 18 years, and growth rate of 10.7% is noticed in recent years. By 2023, it will be expected that the market for herbal medicines would develop at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.88% and reach USD 1,29,689.3 million. Nowadays, roughly 80% of the world’s population gets their healthcare mostly from plants and plant extracts. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) forecast, the worldwide herbal industry would reach $5 trillion by the year 2050. China, India, Hong Kong, USA, Germany, Republic of Korea, Canada and Poland are the top export countries while top destinations include USA, Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, France, Republic of Korea, China and Singapore. The study suggests five major trade centers of MAPs worldwide viz. USA, Hong Kong, Germany, Republic of Korea and China. A number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), Governmental Organizations (GOs) and International Non-Governmental Organization (INGOs) have been working on improvement and expansion of commodity-wise value chains for selected MAPs throughout the world. For commercial developments of MAPs sub-sector, it is required to gather experiences of technical, socio-economical, institutional and policy inputs.

Conservation agriculture‐based sustainable intensification improves technical efficiency in Northern Bangladesh: The case of Rangpur

AbstractThe dissemination of conservation agriculture (CA) technologies has become the objective of a growing number of projects aimed at reducing food insecurity in vulnerable areas of the world. While many studies have found that CA increases farm productivity, little is known about the components of the productivity gains related to CA adoption. CA is a knowledge‐intensive technology, and it is expected to affect both technical efficiency (TE) and input productivity positively. Using cross‐sectional farm‐level data of 220 maize farmers in Bangladesh, we measure the impact of CA on farmers' TE. We first apply propensity score matching (PSM) to create comparable counterfactual groups of CA and non‐CA farmers. Then, we use a stochastic frontier with correction for self‐selection bias to analyse TE. Finally, we fit a stochastic meta‐frontier (SMF) model to the data and use it to compare TE across the two farmer groups. The analysis showed that CA farmers exhibit greater TE levels than non‐CA farmers. This can be attributed to enhancements in farm management, leading to 8% and 9% increases in their productivity and TE, respectively. Thus, there is a case for policymakers to strengthen programs delivering CA technologies that improve food security in Bangladesh.

Stakeholder-based modelling in climate change planning for the agriculture sector in Argentina

ABSTRACT The development of long-term scenarios to outline pathways for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 has become a standard practice in climate change policy planning. In Argentina, a modelling process was initiated in 2019 in the agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU) sector utilizing three tools: FABLE calculator, Dinamica EGO and Nature Map. In order to generate technical inputs for the modelling exercise a stakeholder dialogue was launched. A 2050 Carbon Neutrality scenario was developed, alongside several intermediate scenarios based on stakeholders´ visions of the future. The modelling results demonstrated the biophysical feasibility of achieving carbon neutrality in the Argentinean AFOLU sector by 2050. However, alignment with current sectoral priorities was identified as a challenge, leading stakeholders to propose less ambitious scenarios as more attainable targets. This experience underscored the significance of constructing multiple policy scenarios, facilitating the evaluation of diverse potential future trajectories for policymaking. These different pathways provided contrasting perspectives between political objectives, such as achieving carbon neutrality, and the practical feasibility of local implementation. Moreover, the process highlighted the vital role of integrating the private sector and environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in long-term climate planning, emphasizing the need for inclusive collaboration to address climate challenges effectively.

Evaluation on Innovation and Development of University Education Management Informatization Construction Under the Background of Big Data

The purpose of this article is to discuss the innovation and development of university education management informationization construction in the context of big data. Through a comprehensive comparison of innovative and traditional university education management information systems, it reveals the advantages of the innovative model in terms of flexibility, efficiency, data-driven decision-making, and personalized learning. The questionnaire survey and comparative analysis reveal the positive impact of big data on education management. However, it also reveals the limitations of the innovative informationized education management model, which requires more technical input and security. Finally, future research suggestions such as integrating data from multiple sources, promoting personalized education, and incorporating artificial intelligence are proposed to promote the innovation and development of information technology construction for education management in universities. This study provides insights and guidance for university administrators and researchers.