Stream Theory Research Articles

Stream Theory

Purpose: The main objective of this research was trying to solve the misunderstood nature of light by introducing and studying fluid optic and its influence on physical science. Methodology: The research adopted observation and a study of already published online and school library books on optics and physical science. Observation is always the best approach to quote a natural occurrence and behavior, the researcher observed the behaviour of thin light by isolating themself for a long time in a dark room having roof holes. Findings: The research findings revealed that; light is not basically a wave, a particle or a photon. Light is sensibly a fluid. Fluid optics has no assumptions and weaknesses as other earlier optical theories as fluid optics clearly brings the channels of light (The streams) and its close link, agreement and influence on physical science as physical nature is brought into focus. Unique contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: Stream theory completely solves the mystery of light and brings proper understanding of optics now fluid optics. Adoption of the theory and its concepts completely exposes physical science into focus with ease in understanding the natural phenomenon related to optics as the theory avoids assumptions and connects geometrical optics and physical optics to one singular optical study (fluid optics) as a step to singularity achievement in physics. (It is that and it happened that way).

To rule or not to rule? The policy process of the excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages in Indonesia

PurposeThe rising incidence of non-communicable diseases and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption in Indonesia is a concern to the central government. However, the excise tax policy proposal for SSBs, introduced by the Minister of Finance in a 2020 meeting with the Parliament, remains unapproved until 2023. This study analyzes the process and factors influencing stakeholders in managing the implementation of the excise tax policy on SSBs in Indonesia.Design/methodology/approachThis research is based on Kingdon’s Multiple Streams Theory (MST), focusing on the problem, policy and politics streams. It employs a qualitative design and combines a literature review and in-depth interviews in data collection. Interviews were conducted with policymakers, civil servants, senior representatives from nongovernmental health and consumer organizations, trade associations and academics in nutrition, health and taxation.FindingsWe identified that policy entrepreneurs have not succeeded in aligning the policy with the ideology of decision-makers and broader government goals. Therefore, the Parliament has not ratified the SSB excise tax policy until 2023. The effectiveness of interventions is expected to be the primary driver of policy adoption. Despite the complexity of this policy process, we conclude that implementing some reinforcing strategies may be necessary to facilitate policy change. In the Indonesian context, other actors who proactively manage potential criticism from multiple stakeholders are needed. The power of the Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs is expected to navigate political complexities and interests among stakeholders. Support for adopting the SSB excise tax policy will likely rise when framing policy alternatives aligns with decision-makers values, involves coordination between ministries, and has a broad public appeal.Originality/valueDespite the constitutional mandate to regulate levies through legislation, there is no research on policy processes in Indonesia, specifically regarding levies and taxes. Examining the Indonesian institutional context in which a policy process takes place may improve the understanding of the many components of MST under unique conditions, providing insights into the specific factors that drive policy change in certain cases.

Much ado about nothing?- a comparative perspective on adult career guidance policies in Finland and Denmark

ABSTRACT Transnational organizations like the OECD and the EU have, for many years, focussed on adult career guidance (ACG) as a policy for solving problems, especially those related to the labour market and labour market transitions. In this article, we take a closer look into the development of ACG policies in Finland and Denmark. Drawing on multiple streams theory, we investigate how ACG policies have developed over time, identifying policy windows and the coupling of ACG policies as a solution to different policy problems. We compare across the cases of Finland and Denmark in order to identify similarities and differences with the aim of understanding the development of ACG policies considering the transnational call towards more coherent national systems. Methodologically, we use document analysis, including the examination of policy documents, legal documents, reports and research articles. The period studied spans from the 1990s until today, reflecting the developments at transnational level with the EU Commission and the OECD pushing for more coherent systems.

Research on the Policy Agenda of Elderly Education Moving towards National Legislation from the Perspective of Multiple Streams Theory

Research on the Policy Agenda of Elderly Education Moving towards National Legislation from the Perspective of Multiple Streams Theory

Why has IPSAS been set as an agenda but not adopted in Myanmar?

IMPACT This article provides evidence regarding the efforts of the government of Myanmar to adopt the International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), as well as analysing the interactions among the engaged stakeholders who have participated in Myanmar’s IPSAS agenda-setting and adoption process. The results, which are identified based on multiple streams theory, indicate that the issue of IPSAS adoption reached government agenda status only when all the problem, policy and politics streams were unified (i.e. full coupling). The results of this research explain why governmental inaction or non-decision with regard to public sector accounting reforms occurs and highlight the importance of the presence of a political support in the official adoption of IPSAS.

From Division to Coordination: A Study on the Power of Urban Rural Integration of the Minimum Living Security System from the Perspective of Multi Source Flow

For a long time, China's minimum subsistence guarantee system has suffered from the problem of large differences between provinces and cities, and between cities and rural areas within provinces and cities, and in this context, some regions have gradually implemented the urban-rural integration policy and have gained some experience. Based on the theory of multiple streams, it can be found that the convergence of problem or policy streams can open a window of opportunity for policy change, and in China, the political environment and the party's philosophy of governance can also provide reliance on and support for policy change, and the coupling of the three streams provides the conditions for the promotion of the process of urban-rural integration. On this basis, countermeasures are proposed to promote the urban-rural integration of the minimum subsistence guarantee system in three aspects: paying attention to the emergence of problems, exploring policy options and adhering to the political philosophy.

City health development planning – experiences from the Hungarian members of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network

ABSTRACT This study showcases the City Health Development Planning (CHDP) methodology developed and implemented in Hungarian designated cities of the World Health Organization European Healthy Cities Network. This methodology is based on those principles that the WHO-EHCN recommends for CHDP works. The methodology consists of two phases: creating a City Health Profile (CHP) with specific components such as content analysis of the city’s strategic policy documents, semi-structured interviews with local political decision-makers, adopting a decentralized and participatory planning approach, and gathering available health-related data from the city. Then, the City Health Development Plan is created based on the statement of the CHP using the CHDP. The effectiveness of CHDP efforts, relies on three crucial factors: local politicians’ commitment, the operation of a local multisectoral steering committee, and annual action plans approved by the local government. Kingdon’s multiple streams theory suggests that issues are addressed when the streams of problems, policy, and politics align. The CHDP methodology described in this paper can effectively support the alignment of the three streams and open a window of opportunity to contribute to creating a healthy urban environment, as demonstrated by the experiences of the Hungarian designated cities of the WHO-EHCN.

Promoting Sustainable Development in Urban–Rural Areas: A New Approach for Evaluating the Policies of Characteristic Towns in China

The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted by all United Nations Member States, emphasize sustainable cities and communities, aiming to strengthen development planning and foster positive links between urban and rural areas by 2030. As the newly leading platform for urbanization development, characteristic towns (‘Tese Xiaozhen’ in Chinese) contribute to the target of sustainable urbanisation, wherein town policies are especially important for leading the sound development of characteristic towns. However, the effect of these characteristic towns policies remains uncertain. Additionally, most related studies have utilized qualitative methodologies in policy evaluation, which may be inadequate to guide actual practice. Thus, in order to accurately acknowledge the effect of characteristic towns policies, a policy evaluation framework is established in this paper, utilising the multiple streams theory, text mining and the Policy Modelling Consistency Index model (PMC-Index model). Then, taking 225 policy documents promulgated in China from 2015 to 2022 as the research objects, policy evaluation indicators were selected by combining the multiple streams theory to improve the PMC-Index model and a text mining method. Thereafter, an empirical analysis was conducted to evaluate the consistency of 10 characteristic towns policies chosen. The results indicate that the mean value of the PMC indexes of the 10 examined policies is 7.13 in the total of 9 points, which means that the general performance of the characteristic town policies is satisfactory, yet the low scores in terms of effectiveness, content, and guarantee. In the end, some recommendations and suggestions are proposed for clarifying administrative attributes, optimizing the integration of urban and rural resources, and adjusting the policy hierarchy to a bottom-up approach. This study not only provides a policy evaluation framework to comprehensively understand the consistency of global urbanization policies but also offers a beneficial reference for promote urban–rural sustainable development.

Acoustic streaming: insights across Reynolds numbers

When a fluid system is subjected to an acoustic wave (or another periodic actuation), the response of the fluid is not purely periodic, but is rather characterized by the combination of a periodic flow and a steady Stokes drift component, where the former is, in many cases, an acoustic wave and the latter is commonly referred to as acoustic streaming. Classical theories of acoustic streaming have focused on slow acoustic streaming, where the periodic flow is the leading-order flow, and is insensitive to the steady flow component which appears as a small correction and is characterized by a small hydrodynamic Reynolds number. In contrast, Dubrovski et al. (J. Fluid Mech. vol. 975, 2023, A4) tackle the fast acoustic streaming regime – conceived by Zarembo (Acoustic streaming. In High-Intensity Ultrasonic Fields, 1971, pp. 135–199. Springer) approximately fifty years ago – where both the periodic and steady flow components are of a similar order of magnitude such that the periodic flow both supports and is simultaneously impacted by the steady flow. They present a novel theoretical framework that accounts for the convection of momentum both within and between the periodic and steady flow to extend slow-streaming equations to the case of steady flow with arbitrary hydrodynamic Reynolds number. They leverage a scaling analysis of the resulting system of equations and a case study to demonstrate the compatibility of their equations with slow streaming theories and highlight the distinctive features of fast streaming.

Local government stakeholders' perceptions of potential policy actions to influence both climate change and healthy eating in Victoria: A qualitative study.

Climate change is a defining public health issue of the 21st century. Food systems are drivers of diet-related disease burden, and account for 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Local governments play a crucial role in improving both the healthiness and environmental sustainability of food systems, but the potential for their actions to simultaneously address these two issues is unclear. This study aimed to explore the perceptions of Australian local government stakeholders regarding policy actions simultaneously addressing healthy eating and climate change, and the influences on policy adoption. We conducted 11 in-depth semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from four local governments in Victoria, Australia. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. We applied Multiple Streams Theory (MST) 'problem', 'politics and 'policy' domains to explain policy adoption influences at the local government level. Key influences on local government action aligned with MST elements of 'problem' (e.g., local government's existing risk reports as drivers for climate change action), 'policy' (e.g., budgetary constraints) and 'politics' (e.g., local government executive agenda). We found limited evidence of coherent policy action in the areas of community gardens, food procurement and urban land use. Barriers to further action, such as resource constraints and competing priorities, could be overcome by better tailoring policy action areas to community needs, with the help of external partnerships and local government executive support. SO WHAT?: This study demonstrates that Victorian local stakeholders believe they are well-positioned to implement feasible and coherent interventions that address both healthy eating and climate.

Why Was the Policy Idea on the Health Benefits Package Advisory Panel Gazetted in Kenya? A Retrospective Policy Analysis.

In 2018, Kenya's Ministry of Health (MoH) gazetted the Health Benefits Package Advisory Panel (HBPAP) to develop a benefits package for its universal health coverage (UHC) programme. In this study, we examine the political process that led to the gazettement of the HBPAP. We conducted a case study based on semi-structured interviews with 20 national-level participants and, reviews of documents such as organizational and media reports. We analyzed data from the interviews and documents thematically using the Braun and Clarke's six step approach. We identified codes and themes deductively using Kingdon's Multiple Streams Theory which postulates that the successful emergence of a policy follows coupling of three streams: the problem, policy, and politics streams. We found that the problem stream was characterized by fragmented and implicit healthcare priority-setting processes that led to unaffordable, unsustainable, and wasteful benefits packages. A potential policy solution for these problems was the creation of an independent expert panel that would use an explicit and evidence-based healthcare priority-setting process to develop an affordable and sustainable benefits package. The political stream was characterized by the re-election of the government and the appointment of a new Cabinet Secretary for Health. Coupling of the problem, policy, and political streams occurred during a policy window that was created by the political prioritization of UHC by the newly re-elected government. Policy entrepreneurs who included health economists, health financing experts, health policy analysts, and health systems experts leveraged this policy window to push for the establishment of an independent expert panel as a solution for the issues identified in the problem stream. They employed strategies such as forming networks, framing, marshalling evidence, and utilizing political connections. Applying Kingdon's theory in this study was valuable in explaining why the HBPAP policy idea was gazetted. It demonstrated the crucial role of policy entrepreneurs and the strategies they employed to couple the three streams during a favourable policy window. This study contributes to the body of literature on healthcare priority-setting processes with an unusual analysis focused on a key procedural policy for such processes.

Analysis of Homestead Institutional Change from the Perspective of Multiple Streams Theory

Analysis of Homestead Institutional Change from the Perspective of Multiple Streams Theory

Evolution of government and market under China’s reform era: through the perspective of state capacity

There are two main stream theories explaining China’s rapid economic development in the reform era: new institutionalism and developmental state theory. Realizing the weaknesses of two main stream theories and based on China’s unique experience as both a transitional economy and developing economy that experienced rapid industrialization and marketization, scholars also developed other theories with some revisions of the above two mainstream theories. While these theories have very different focuses, they agree on the importance of state capacity. The author argues that the Chinese Communist Party composes the institutional foundation of state capacities to promote economic growth and build market institutions, and discusses three important aspects of how party strength and state capacity helped the market transition, government restructuring and enterprise reform. The future challenges are discussed in the conclusion.

Theory of acoustic streaming for arbitrary Reynolds number flow

We study a fifty-year-old problem of fast acoustic streaming, that is, the generation of moderate or large hydrodynamic Reynolds number ( $\textit {Re}$ ) acoustic streaming (or steady flow) by the convection of momentum in an acoustic wave (or another periodic flow), while the latter is simultaneously altered by the former. The intrinsic disparity of length and time scales makes a brute-force solution of the full Navier–Stokes and continuity equations a formidable problem. Circumventing this difficulty, we split the problem into a time-averaged system of equations for the steady flow component and a dynamic system of equations for its quasi-periodic flow counterpart. The latter system of equations is obtained by subtracting the time-averaged Navier–Stokes equation from its original dynamic form, and is rendered a nonlinear wave equation using the continuity equation and an adiabatic connection between density and pressure. The resulting equations are compatible with the theory by Eckart for small $\textit {Re}$ flow, and capture large- $\textit {Re}$ effects. Scaling analysis and a case study show that acoustic streaming is weak and does not contribute to the acoustic wave close to the wave source, relevant to many microfluidic systems. At small $\textit {Re}$ , the streaming magnitude is proportional to an inverse Strouhal number, a small quantity in experiments. Moderate and large $\textit {Re}$ render the streaming magnitude comparable to the pre-attenuating periodic flow (or particle velocity of the wave) at approximately a wave attenuation length away from the wave source or further; the wave is altered by the streaming that it generates, and the streaming dominates the flow far from the wave source.

A focus on the multiple interfaces between action and perception and their neural correlates.

Successful behaviour relies on the appropriate interplay between action and perception. The well-established dorsal and ventral stream theories depicted two distinct functional pathways for the processes of action and perception, respectively. In physiological conditions, the two pathways closely cooperate in order to produce successful adaptive behaviour.As the coupling between perception and action exists, this requires an interface that is responsible for a common reading of the two functions. Several studies have proposed different types of perception and action interfaces, suggesting their role in the creation of the shared interaction channel. In the present review, we describe three possible perception and action interfaces: i) the motor code, including common coding approaches, ii) attention, and iii) object affordance; we highlight their potential neural correlates. From this overview, a recurrent neural substrate that underlies all these interface functions appears to be crucial: the parieto-frontal circuit. This network is involved in the mirror mechanism which underlies the perception and action interfaces identified as common coding and motor code theories. The same network is also involved in the spotlight of attention and in the encoding of potential action towards objects; these are manifested in the perception and action interfaces for common attention and object affordance, respectively. Within this framework, most studies were dedicated to the description of the role of the inferior parietal lobule; growing evidence, however, suggests that the superior parietal lobule also plays a crucial role in the interplay between action and perception. The present review proposes a novel model that is inclusive of the superior parietal regions and their relative contribution to the different action and perception interfaces.

The Role of Immersive Arts in Interpreting Traditional Cultural Phenomena

Immersive art is a new form of media art that relies on the theory of stream of consciousness, on the stimulation of various human senses, often using light to achieve a deep psychological and physiological immersion of the audience in a trance-like empathy with the art. From the point of view of technical means it can be divided into virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and expanded reality. The article analyses the problems of using technical means of immersive art, considers the advantages and disadvantages of its application in various cultural expositions. The questions arising when applying the means of immersive art to traditional culture (in this case to shamanic culture) are considered. The study finds that works of immersive art demonstrate contemporary culture much more often than traditional culture. Using the example of four technical tools in analysing works of immersive art, the author describes the problems that exist at this stage of its application. The aim of the work is to identify and consider the advantages and disadvantages of incorporating traditional meanings into virtual reality. The tasks of the work include: analysing technical means of immersive art, peculiarities of embodiment of traditional meanings in immersive art (on the example of shamanism). The author argues that virtual spaces created by immersive art are currently gravitating towards purely sensory experience and are not able to carry information about the connotation of meanings. In the process of creating works of immersive art, artists have their own understanding of shamanic culture and cannot reproduce shamanic rituals, so there is a problem of inability to interpret the cultural connotation and show the depth of the rich traditional shamanic culture.

Nutrition policy reforms to address the double burden of malnutrition in Zambia: A prospective policy analysis.

The evolution of nutrition patterns in Zambia has resulted in the coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition in the same population, the double burden of malnutrition. While Zambia has strong policies addressing undernutrition and stunting, these do not adequately address food environment drivers of the double burden of malnutrition and the adolescent age group, hence the need for nutrition policy reforms. We conducted a theory-based qualitative prospective policy analysis involving in-depth interviews with nutrition policy stakeholders and policy documents review to examine the feasibility of introducing nutrition policy options that address the double burden of malnutrition among adolescents to identify barriers and facilitators to such policy reforms. Using the multiple streams theory, we categorized the barriers and facilitators to prospective policy reforms into those related to the problem, policy solutions, and politics stream. Using a life course approach in nutrition programming could facilitate policy reforms as adolescence is one of the critical invention points in a person's lifecycle. Another key facilitator of policy reform was the availability of institutional infrastructure that could be leveraged to deliver adolescent-focused policies. However, the lack of evidence on the burden and long-term impacts of adolescent nutrition problems, the food industry's strong influence over governments' policy agenda setting, and the lack of public awareness to demand better nutrition were perceived as critical barriers to policy reforms. In addition, the use of the individual responsibility framing for nutrition problems was dominant among stakeholders. As a result, stakeholders did not perceive legislative nutrition policy options that effectively address food environment drivers of the double burden of malnutrition to be feasible for the Zambian context. Policy entrepreneurs are required to broker policy reforms that will get legislative policy options on the government's agenda as they can help raise public support and re-engineer the framing of nutrition problems and their solutions in Zambia.

Evidence synthesis to policy: development and implementation of an impact-oriented approach from the Eastern Mediterranean Region

BackgroundDespite the importance of evidence syntheses in informing policymaking, their production and use remain limited in the Eastern Mediterranean region (EMR). There is a lack of empirical research on approaches to promote and use policy-relevant evidence syntheses to inform policymaking processes in the EMR.ObjectiveThis study sought to describe the development of an impact-oriented approach to link evidence synthesis to policy, and its implementation through selected case studies in Lebanon, a middle-income country in the EMR.MethodsThis study followed a multifaceted and iterative process that included (i) a review of the literature, (ii) input from international experts in evidence synthesis and evidence-informed health policymaking, and (iii) application in a real-world setting (implementation). We describe four selected case studies of implementation. Surveys were used to assess policy briefs, deliberative dialogues, and post-dialogue activities. Additionally, Kingdon’s stream theory was adopted to further explain how and why the selected policy issues rose to the decision agenda.ResultsThe approach incorporates three interrelated phases: (1) priority setting, (2) evidence synthesis, and (3) uptake. Policy-relevant priorities are generated through formal priority setting exercises, direct requests by policymakers and stakeholders, or a focusing event. Identified priorities are translated into focused questions that can be addressed via evidence synthesis (phase 1). Next, a scoping of the literature is conducted to identify existing evidence syntheses addressing the question of interest. Unless the team identifies relevant, up-to-date and high-quality evidence syntheses, it proceeds to conducting SRs addressing the priority questions of interest (phase 2). Next, the team prepares knowledge translation products (e.g., policy briefs) for undertaking knowledge uptake activities, followed by monitoring and evaluation (phase 3). There are two prerequisites to the application of the approach: enhancing contextual awareness and capacity strengthening. The four case studies illustrate how evidence produced from the suites of activities was used to inform health policies and practices.ConclusionsTo our knowledge, this is the first study to describe both the development and implementation of an approach to link evidence synthesis to policy in the EMR. We believe the approach will be useful for researchers, knowledge translation platforms, governments, and funders seeking to promote evidence-informed policymaking and practice.

The Influence of Media Coverage on UK Refugee Policy from the Perspective of Multiple Sources Theory

At this time in history, there have never been as many people displaced. How the problem has developed and expanded, as well as how media portrays refugees, are actively shaped by journalists, giving nations a unique cognitive platform to handle refugee issues and introduce policies in line with those needs.An important tool for dissecting the policy process and its policy implications, the multi-source theory analytical framework can provide new explanatory perspectives to explain the relationship between media coverage and the development of refugee policy in the UK. The paper assesses the driving role of media feedback mechanisms in the development of UK refugee policy using the issue, policy, and political source streams of the multi-source stream theory framework, using UK media coverage of the refugee Olympic delegation since 2016 as a vehicle. The issue stream, which uses media feedback as a cognitive mechanism, is not the main driver of the UK refugee policy agenda; the political and policy streams are more critical drivers in the government's policy development.

Institutional Adaptation in Slow Motion: Zooming In on Desertification Governance

Abstract The ability of multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs) to keep pace with their changing circumstances is crucial for a more effective global environmental governance. Yet, we know little about how new institutional design features are taken up by MEAs, allowing them to evolve over time. Building on Kingdon’s multiple streams theory, I conceive the development of new institutional design features as the association between streams of problems, solutions, and political receptivity at critical moments. I apply this framework to two features introduced within the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) framework and find that the main design entrepreneurs were the UNCCD Secretariat and independent scientists. The article provides important insight into characteristics that can make MEAs more adaptive. Namely, treaty bodies able to generate feedback about problems, push for solutions, and provide windows of opportunity for advocates to present and revise their proposals are found critical to the development of new design features.