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This paper is a thematic review of the existing literature on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) between 2000 and 2023. The review finds various advantages associated with the high adoption rates in the literature in the developed world. It also identified challenges associated with implementation and the effects of the cash-basis standard in developing countries. The study finds that uniform application may not be feasible at this stage of the diffusion process given the inherent limitations in developing countries. This review also provides a platform for identifying strands of the literature which have been underexplored and require further studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the extent to which rainfall variability influences women’s exposure to intimate partner violence in 37 developing countries between 2000 and 2018. Exploiting the variation across residential areas in annual rainfall, we detect a negative association between rainfall deviations from typical levels and women’s experience of various aspects of intimate partner violence. Specifically, women tend to suffer less physical violence (in both less severe and more severe forms) and are less likely to experience domestic abuse in psychological as well as sexual manners when there is more rainfall in their residential area relative to the long-run local average rainfall. In contrast, we present evidence that the lack of rainfall (defined as rainfall below the historical norm) raises the likelihood of all four types of intimate partner violence. The mechanism analysis provides suggestive evidence that the linkage between rainfall and intimate partner violence could be mediated through household income. Our study highlights the sensitivity of women’s well-being to weather shocks and therefore underlines the importance of policy interventions that seek to secure household incomes and protect the welfare of women during adverse weather events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spurred by the need for increased adequacy and international comparability, absolute poverty measures are gaining in policy relevance around the world. This paper proposes a simple and feasible method of calculating absolute poverty thresholds on the basis of households' minimum food needs in advanced economies. It makes three important contributions. First, it demonstrates that conventional statistical methods used in the developing world deliver either unrealistically low or improbably high poverty estimates in rich countries where household spending on food is modest in relative terms. Second, it proposes a new simulation-based inverse method that focuses on the non-food Engel curve and uses predetermined minimum food bundles not as inputs but as targeted reference points in order to calculate adequate poverty thresholds. Finally, an empirical application of the new method using household budget survey data from Italy shows that resulting poverty estimates are comparable to the official figures of the Italian Statistical Office in terms of both the poverty rate and the poverty profiles. Requiring few and easily procurable resources, the proposed algorithm is well suited to produce robust, consistent and internationally comparable absolute poverty estimates in a large number of developed countries and emerging economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the relationship between individuals' attitudes towards fairness and their views about tax compliance in developing countries. It argues that individuals' attitudes regarding fairness shape their views about paying taxes and their ethical stances regarding tax evasion. Using survey data for 18 major cities in Latin America, we find that individuals who are highly sensitive to fairness are less likely to consider paying taxes as a civic duty and more likely to justify tax evasion. These attitudes toward tax compliance are not inelastic. We also find evidence that individualst argues about reciprocity and merit mediate the effect of fairness on personal views about tax compliance. Finally, this paper shows that the heuristics people use to explain their position in the income distribution make them sensitive to inequality, and it affects their tax morale. These findings help us better understand the concept of reciprocity and provide valuable lessons on the urgent task of expanding fiscal capacity to promote economic growth and inequality in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria is an endemic in various tropical countries. The gold standard for disease detection is to examine the blood smears of patients by an expert medical professional to detect malaria parasite called Plasmodium. In the rural areas of underdeveloped countries, with limited infrastructure, a scarcity of healthcare professionals, an absence of sufficient computing devices, and a lack of widespread internet access, this task becomes more challenging. A severe case of malaria can be fatal within one week, so the correct detection of the malaria parasite and its life cycle stage is crucial in treating the disease correctly. Though computer vision-based malaria detection has been adequately explored lately, the malaria life cycle stage classification is still a relatively unexplored field. In this paper, we introduce a fast and robust deep learning methodology to not only classify the malaria parasite-type detection but also the life cycle stage identification of the infected cell. The proposed deep learning architecture is more than twenty times lighter than the widely used DenseNet and has less than 0.4 million parameters, making it a good candidate to be used in the mobile applications of such economically challenged states for malaria detection. We have used four different publicly available malaria datasets to test the proposed architecture and gained significantly better results than the current state of the art on malaria parasite-type and malaria life cycle classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the performance of a water sprinkler cooling system for a centrifugal Babbitt lining machine, used to renovate industrial bearings. A three-dimensional and transient numerical simulation was conducted to study the effects of various parameters on the solidification rate, including mold rotational speed, sprinkler flow rate and angle, and initial temperatures of the mold and Babbitt alloy. Results demonstrate that the temperature drop in the Babbitt layer and mold is directly proportional to the rotational speed, with a 15% change in rotational speed from the reference case resulting in a 5 °C change in the average temperature of the Babbitt alloy, while clockwise (CW) rotation of the mold leads to greater temperature reduction. An optimal rotational speed of 550 rpm CW was determined. The study also identified an optimal total water flow rate of 8.7e−5 m3/s, with minimal additional cooling benefits beyond that point. Furthermore, vertical water sprinkler angles were found to provide superior cooling performance. The initial mold temperature was found to have a more significant influence on the final average Babbitt temperature than the initial Babbitt temperature, due to the mold's larger mass and thermal inertia. The qualitative and quantitative results of this research offer valuable insights for enhancing the design of water sprinkler cooling systems in centrifugal Babbitt lining machines, providing a pathway for transitioning from manual to automated cooling processes. This innovative approach has the potential to transform industries in underdeveloped countries, improving their efficiency, quality, and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landslide event inventories are one of the most critical datasets to increase knowledge on landslide occurrences. However, they are rarely available in various regions, especially in countries of the Global South. This study aims to generate rainfall-induced landslide event inventories and define the rainfall thresholds responsible for landslide occurrence at the national scale of Malawi, Africa. We mainly followed a three-step methodology to generate landslide inventories. First, we went through media reports to identify documented landslide events. Second, we used Sentinel-2 images to identify possible areas affected by landslides using automated change detection algorithms based on vegetation indices. Third, we manually went through optical images provided by Planet Lab and Google Earth and mapped landslides via visual image interpretation. Overall, we mapped 27 rainfall-induced landslide inventories between 2003 and 2022, with a total of 4709 individual landslides. We then analysed the Malawian terrain and identified two different landscape clusters (i.e. Cluster 1 and Cluster 2) showing similar morphometric and climatic conditions. Ultimately, we calculated the rainfall threshold for each landscape cluster. The minimum rainfall amounts responsible for landsliding correspond to 66 mm/two-day and 51 mm/day in Clusters 1 and 2, respectively. In this context, our paper not only presents and shares the first national-scale, digital rainfall-induced landslide event inventory database of Malawi but also suitable rainfall thresholds to be potentially exploited for a national scale landslide early warning system. A similar framework could be applied to generate landslide inventories for other data scarce regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abandoned, lost, and discarded fishing gear (ALDFG) is a problem that is increasingly of concern to global fisheries resources and the aquatic environment. Nearly 2% of all fishing gear used in marine fisheries is lost to the ocean annually. This has negative impacts on the aquatic ecosystem, which includes but not limited to ghostfishing mortality to commercial, recreational and protected species, degradation of benthic habitat, and change to the ecosystem. Fishing gear left in the sea can drift ashore affecting recreational use of beaches and shorelines and poses hazards to navigation. Most of the research on ALDFG has been in the marine fisheries of the developed world with very few studies in the inland fisheries, mostly in the developing world of sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. This paper reviews and synthesizes literature about the status of ALDFG in inland fisheries globally. Only 16 studies, between 1970 to 2023, that referenced ALDFG causes, levels, impacts, and preventive measures were found. Thus, this review highlights that ALDFG in inland fisheries remains a highly understudied area of aquatic plastic pollution. Further studies are recommended to fully understand its status, extent, and potential environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent economic convergence studies show that cross-country income inequalities have declined since the 1990s. However, this study finds that this episode of income convergence is unsustainable in the long run because countries' capacity to earn income diverges. Specifically, the paper analyses the convergence of per-capita Inclusive Wealth, which comprises all capital assets that contribute to the production of goods and services and the well-being of its society. Utilizing a diverse array of techniques to estimate convergence in a sample of 140 countries between 1990 and 2010, the paper demonstrates the simultaneity of unconditional convergence of GDP and unconditional divergence of Inclusive Wealth. Natural-resource-rich countries that lack human capital, in particular, appear unable to match the global per capita Inclusive Wealth growth rate. A trend emerges towards a bimodal Inclusive Wealth distribution with a substantial low-wealth peak. Thus, although swift income convergence appears promising for developing nations, I caution against optimism. When considering a more appropriate measure of future well-being, such as Inclusive Wealth, the economic outlook for many countries is bleaker than recent studies suggest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is addressed to recent theoretical discussions of the Anthropocene, in particular Bernard Stiegler's Neganthropocene (Open Universities Press, 2018), which argues: "As we drift past tipping points that put future biota at risk, while a post-truth regime institutes the denial of 'climate change' (as fake news), and as Silicon Valley assistants snatch decision and memory, and as gene-editing and a financially-engineered bifurcation advances over the rising hum of extinction events and the innumerable toxins and conceptual opiates that Anthropocene Talk fascinated itself with—in short, as 'the Anthropocene' discloses itself as a dead-end trap...". The objective of this paper is therefore twofold: (1) to discuss how the Anthropocene is appropriated to certain ideological discourses (paradoxically) to maintain the hegemony of precisely those systems of production that have most accelerated climate change etc.; (2) to consider how the factography of the Anthropocene is exploited in this process to mask the ideological character of industry-aligned "technocratic" environmental management. The paper is not concerned with specific case studies in terms of government and industry policy, or climate science, but rather with the ways in which the discourse of the Anthropocene has been inflected within the humanities and the broader cultural field—that is to say, ideologically, as a system or logic of meaning. How the Anthropocene "means" is, in this respect, a question of some importance. This paper does not attempt to address all the facets of this question, but focuses upon a central "apocalyptic" strain in the discourse of the Anthropocene drawn particularly from Francis Fukuyama's millennial posthumanism and centred in the question of "sustainability" as catastrophe management—with the risk that real environmental degradation will become an alibi for a revived neoliberalism. In other words, that the critical Earth system transformations that characterise the Anthropocene are themselves commodities, and that the project of their amelioration is in process of defining a future (opportunistic) "crisis" rhetoric with a global political franchise. The ideological import of the Anthropocene stems precisely from the fact that it is planetary and, while catalysed by human agency, independent in its specific behaviour from it. The Anthropocene objectively presents as the contemporary counterpart of the Cold War doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction and the most compelling argument for a new kind of technological "arms race." But it also presents as the condition of an emerging ideological discourse which will determine how this race is run. From the discourse on "energy security" to the widespread "security crackdown" on environmental activists across the so-called developed & developing world, the Anthropocene has come to represent the co-option of a scientific factography for the thinly disguised resurgence of "ideological science" of the Fukuyamaesque variety (post-history, post-human). For Fukuyama, the true meaning of "posthuman" is thus the accomplishment of humanity's historical mission. As the "End of History" designates an end of ideological struggle, so too the dénouement of the Anthropocene and the "ends of man" represent the accomplished purpose of species warfare: dominion, not simply over the world, but over all possible worlds. According to this narrative, science—like technology—must be uniquely at the service of the maintenance of the global order, organised around a universal appeal to "crisis management." It is precisely for this reason that what calls itself post-human masks the return of an ever-more-apocalyptic Humanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the impact of COVID-19 on higher education practical design courses in Egypt. Because of inadequate resources and preparedness, Egyptian colleges have struggled to adopt digital teaching methods during the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper examines strategies that are the most feasible for teaching practical courses during or after a pandemic through distance learning (on online platforms). An action research project was set up to deliver two studio-based design courses, one on architectural drawing and the other on furniture design via distance learning (online mode). This approach used a suite of technologies and synchronous and asynchronous delivery mechanisms, such as Zoom and Google Classroom. Student perceptions about the impact of these changes were evaluated using questionnaires. A psychological effect of the conditions caused by the pandemic on students has been the loss of interest in academics. The research results partially support the use of online platforms to teach practical courses. However, more needs to be done to improve the delivery of online courses in Egypt. Further, holding competitions was found to boost students' motivation levels. A future strategy for teaching practical courses in applied arts and engineering is proposed in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous bibliometric studies in scientific researchers from developed countries generally support that sharing efforts during research enhances productivity and impact and suggest these effects may be important for researchers from less developed countries exhibiting more exiguous science budgets. We examined whether researchers in the field of animal behavior in an economically less developed country compensate for this burden by collaborating with researchers from developed countries, and whether this effect is gender specific. Methods: We quantified collaborations of 30 Chilean-based focal animal behavioralists with peers from developed countries based on co-authorships within 664 animal behavior papers. We examined whether the mean number, or mean proportion of such co-authorships was positively associated with productivity (number of research papers) and impact (h-index, citations per research paper) when gender, author role (i.e., first or corresponding author), and other covariates were considered. We complemented these analyses with a survey to focal researchers to estimate the perceived relevance of collaborations with peers from developed countries. Results: The h-index, but not the number of animal behavior papers published by focal researchers, increased with the mean number (but not with the mean proportion) of international co-authors from developed countries, an effect not gender-specific, but that supported the perceived importance of collaborations with peers from developed countries. The number of papers and the individual impact of focal researchers increased with academic age. The number of citations of individual papers increased with journal impact factor, year since publication, but not with the role (first or corresponding author) played by collaborators from developed countries. Conclusions: Our bibliometric and survey-based approach supported that establishing collaborations with researchers from developed countries and publishing in high impact factor journals are correlated with the career-long impact of Chilean-based animal behavioralists, and that this association is not contingent on gender, or influenced by the role (first or corresponding author) played by collaborators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – bundled mobility and transport services accessible on-demand and on a single platform – has been a popular research topic in recent years. Most MaaS studies, however, are embedded in the context of cities in the Global North, where most of the existing MaaS schemes are operational. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of first findings of studies in the Global South. We aim to answer the following questions: Is MaaS likely to gain traction in the Global South? How does MaaS in the Global South differ from the known model? Can MaaS mitigate transport problems in the Global South? Methodology: We conducted a systematic literature review with a thematic analysis and narrative synthesis. In total, we identified 23 relevant papers that were included for full-text analysis. Findings: A qualitative synthesis of the analyzed papers suggests that: (i) there is a considerable demand and preference for integrated, app-based mobility services and that both public and private actors are likely to push the MaaS concept; (ii) however, different regulatory frameworks, available infrastructures, and user preferences, among others, require an adjusted MaaS model; and (iii) there is initial evidence that MaaS can indeed promote more sustainable mobility behavior in the developing world, although these findings require further validation from MaaS pilots and comprehensive simulation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the role of local community organizations in disaster management following the Beirut explosion of August 4, 2020. It answers the following question: How can interorganizational relationships be effective in their response to disaster in a developing context? The main argument is that a lack of communication and collaboration made non-profit organizations' interventions unsuccessful, and governmental support is necessary for successful interorganizational coordination. This paper develops a framework for disaster response that can be adapted in developing countries. Its theoretical importance is in adding to scarce literature on interorganizational relationships in developing contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AI technology is capturing the African imaginations as a gateway to progress and prosperity. There is a growing interest in AI by different actors across the continent including scientists, researchers, humanitarian and aid organizations, academic institutions, tech start-ups, and media organizations. Several African states are looking to adopt AI technology to capture economic growth and development opportunities. On the other hand, African researchers highlight the gap in regulatory frameworks and policies that govern the development of AI in the continent. They argue that this could lead to AI technology exacerbating problems of inequalities and injustice in the continent. However, most of the literature on AI ethics is biased toward Euro-American perspectives and lack the understanding of how AI development is apprehended in the Global South, and particularly Africa. Drawing on the case study of the first African Master's in Machine Intelligence program, this paper argues for looking beyond the question of ethics in AI and examining AI governance issues through the analytical lens of the raciality of computing and the political economy of technoscience to understand AI development in Africa. By doing so, this paper seeks a different theorization for AI ethics from the South that is based on lived experiences of those in the margins and avoids the framings of technological futures that simplistically pathologize or celebrate Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islamic banking is among rapidly-growing components in the world's financial system. Within its institutions, continuous criteria of efficiency facilitate the evaluation of the impact of the reforms and policies on the banks' performance. In this paper, we employ the Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS) method for estimating the efficiency of Islamic banks in developed and developing countries. MARS is a well-known efficient method for the flexible modelling of high-dimensional data. Unlike previous work, using a nonparametric technique of such a robustness instead of parametric approaches contributes to the improvement of the various estimates, which provides investors with accurate and timely information they can immediately react upon for a better decision-making in turbulent times. On the one hand, the results of the experiments show that, in the emerging region, there is evidence of a strong linkage between Islamic banking efficiency and gross domestic product. On the other hand, in the developed region, the efficiency is rather based upon Sharia Supervisory Board and board committees. These outcomes confirm previous works showing that governance-related variables have a significant positive effect on Islamic banking efficiency. Furthermore, the overall MARS-based predictions reveal that Islamic banks operating in developed countries are relatively more efficient than their counterparts in emerging countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays globalization seems to be an irresistible phenomenon that affects all countries around the world, including developed and developing countries. In that context, the purpose of this paper is to check whether increasing globalization level spreads happiness in Africa. We employ a dynamic panel data model on 34 African countries over the period 2006–2019 to assess the effect of globalization on happiness. We used the two-step system generalized method of moments estimator to control for potential endogeneity of regressors and unobserved heterogeneity. We find that globalization is positively associated with happiness. Among the sub-indexes of globalization, economic and political globalization enhance happiness while social globalization worsens happiness. In addition, the effects of globalization on happiness are sensitive to the level of human development, democratization and natural resource wealth. Specifically, the positive effect of globalization turns out to be more robust in democratic and non-oil producing countries than in autocratic and oil-producing countries. Similarly, the effects of globalization are positive in high-human development countries while these effects remain negative in low-human development countries. Furthermore, the results also show that unemployment and inflation are the channels through which economic globalization positively affects happiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern height systems are based on the combination of satellite positioning and gravity field models of high resolution. However, in many regions, especially developing or newly industrializing countries, there is no (reliable) regional gravity model at all, due to challenges such as limited data availability, unknown/low data quality, and missing metadata. This paper addresses this issue in a case study of Colombia, where eight decades of historical terrestrial and airborne gravity measurements are available but widely contain systematic errors, outliers, and biases. Correspondingly, processing strategies and structures are proposed and applied to validate and improve the quality of old gravity datasets. A novel method is developed based on spherical radial basis functions (SRBFs) for estimating biases, which are found in different airborne surveys with values exceeding 40 mGal. The validity of this bias estimation method is demonstrated both by a simulation test and by the evaluation of the airborne data in comparison to the SATOP (SAtellite-TOPography) model, which merges the satellite-only global gravity model GOCO06s with the Earth2014 topography model. The terrestrial and airborne data are then combined with a global gravity model (GGM), ultra-high-resolution topography models, as well as altimetry-derived gravity anomalies from DTU21GRA for the offshore areas. The results are presented in terms of height anomalies (QGeoidCOL2023), and they are thoroughly validated using GPS/leveling data both in the absolute and relative manner. The standard deviation in comparison to the GPS/leveling data after applying a correction surface to account for the datum inconsistencies amounts to 15.76 cm, which is 27% smaller compared to the mean standard deviation value given by five recent high-resolution GGMs, and 36% smaller than the one delivered by the latest South American quasi-geoid model QGEOID2021. The relative validation results show that QGeoidCOL2023 performs better, i.e., delivers lower RMS errors than the GGMs and QGEOID2021 in all the baseline length groups. These results indicate the validity and benefits of the developed methods and procedures, which can be used for other data-challenging areas to facilitate the realization of geopotential-based height systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper measures the human development indices of 31 inland provinces (municipalities) in China in a continuous time series during 2000–2017 according to the 2010 HDI compilation method. It uses a geographically and temporally weighted regression model for conducting an empirical study on the effects of R&D investment and network penetration on human development in each province (municipality) of China. There is significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity in the impact of R&D investment and network penetration on human development across provinces (municipalities) in China due to differences in resource endowments and economic and social development. For R&D investment, eastern provinces (municipalities) have mostly positive effects on human development, and central regions have mostly weak positive or negative effects. In contrast, western provinces (municipalities) show different development paths, with weak positive effects in the early stage and significant positive effects after 2010. Most provinces (municipalities) show a continuous and increasing positive effect for network penetration. The marginal contributions of this paper are mainly in improving the shortcomings in research perspectives, empirical methods, and research data in the study of human development influencing factors in China relative to the study of HDI itself in terms of measurement or application dimensions. This paper constructs a human development index for China, analyzes its spatial and temporal distribution, and explores the impact of R&D investment and network penetration on human development in China, with the hope of providing lessons for China and developing countries to promote the level of human development and cope with the pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discussion on reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries began at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Conference of the Parties in 2005, and the agenda for "reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries (REDD+)" was introduced under the UNFCCC. The REDD+ framework was developed with the expectation that it would significantly contribute to climate change mitigation at a relatively low cost and produce benefits for both developed and developing countries. Finance is a key element of REDD+ implementation, and many financial sources, approaches, and mechanisms have supported REDD+-related activities in various developing countries. However, the comprehensive challenges and lessons learned for REDD+ finance and its governance have not been fully explored. This paper reviews the relevant literature to understand the challenges for REDD+ finance and its governance in two areas—(1) REDD+ finance aligned with the UNFCCC and (2) REDD+-related finance outside the UNFCCC—which have developed differently and have different implications. This paper first identifies the six key elements of REDD+ finance and its governance across the two fields, and then reviews the related challenges and lessons learned with respect to public and private finance. The challenges for REDD+ finance and its governance aligned with the UNFCCC include enhancing the performance of REDD+ finance using mainly public finance, such as results-based finance and the jurisdictional approach. In contrast, the challenges regarding REDD+-related finance outside the UNFCCC include enhancing the engagement of the private sector in REDD+ finance, mainly targeting the project level, and the relationship between voluntary carbon markets and other investment and finance mechanisms. This paper also identifies the common challenges across REDD+ finance and its governance in the two fields. These challenges include the need to enhance linkages between REDD+ and other objectives, such as carbon neutrality/net-zero, deforestation-free supply chains, and nature-based solutions, as well as the need to develop learning systems for REDD+ finance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature review shows research gaps into the food supply chain design. In that context, this paper deals with the design of a sustainable supply chain. A multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model includes four decisions and three sustainable criteria (economic—total network costs—, environmental—carbon emissions—, and social—work conditions and societal development—). The model aims to determine the optimal location and capacity of processing and distribution facilities, to choose the suppliers from a set of potential candidates, to determine transportation modes between all the actors, and to define the quantity of product, in order to satisfy the demand of dairy products in a set of regions. The applicability of the model is tested in a realistic case in the dairy sector in the central region of Colombia. The results show the existent trade-offs between the three dimensions of sustainability. The unweighted balance results, giving more priority to the social dimension, which obtains the least deviation, affecting the environmental performance of the chain. The analysis carried out in this paper does help decision-makers that will have at hand a set of possible configurations to be chosen in order to comply with environmental and social regulations without neglecting economic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The paper studies the impact of predictive policing on crime in a developing country. It also assesses the impact of different police trainings. Method: We analyze a randomized controlled trial conducted in Montevideo, Uruguay to assess the implementation of a predictive policing software developed in the United States. Half of the precincts were randomly assigned to the software and half to the local crime analysts (status quo). The second experiment allocated randomly a specially trained police force to targeted patrol areas per shift and day. Results: No statistically significant differences were found in crime outcomes between the precincts assigned to the foreign predictive software and those assigned to local crime analysts. On the second experiment, given determined targeted places, the specially trained task force showed more compliance with the assigned patrol sites (20% more patrol time) and a greater potential for reducing crime (reduction of 30% in robberies only during high crime shifts in comparison to the control group (no special training). There is also evidence of a diffusion of benefits to adjacent areas. Conclusions: The implementation of an international predictive policing software did not outperform local crime analysts in terms of crime reduction. Local crime analysts are more cost-effective. Given determined targeted places, a modest increase in police dosage of a specially trained police force could reduce crime in high-crime times. In developing countries new policing technologies and training require a deep understanding of the context to channel limited resources in the most efficient way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Human Development Index (HDI) produced by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been in existence since 1990. In its annual Human Development Reports (HDRs) the UNDP provides rankings of countries based on the HDI, and the idea is that these will help bring about positive change as countries compare their performance in the rankings with what they see as their peers. The HDRs are widely reported in the media, and previous research has suggested that the extent of newspaper reporting of the HDI (i.e. number of articles) is greater for those countries at the bottom and top end of the rankings. However, there are gaps in knowledge about how the HDI is reported in these media outlets. For example, to what extent does newspaper reporting of the HDI equate it to terms such as 'quality of life' and 'well-being', and how does this relate to the ranking of countries based on the HDI? This is the question addressed by the research reported in this paper. Results suggest that newspaper do often associate the terms 'quality of life and 'well-being' with the HDI, and that the association appears to be stronger for countries towards the top-end of the rankings (i.e. those that have more 'human development') compared to those at the bottom-end of the rankings. This suggests that the association between reporting of the HDI and 'quality of life' and 'well-being' is a narrative that is perceived by the media to suit the developed rather than developing world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is highly development-oriented and appeals to developing countries whose wish is to catch up with developed economies. China has called for co-construction of the BRI with all and sundry, particularly with African countries, which it has considered important and strategic in actualizing the BRI project. The call for co-construction echoes well with the African partners, who are keen on leveraging the BRI for their own development. Tied to China's status as a rising economic power, both partners have agreed to align the BRI with the African Union's development agenda for complementary and beneficial development. Our paper revealed that although the call for co-construction of the BRI is a welcomed initiative, there are potential setbacks that abound, and therefore offered strategies for responding to China's call for co-construction of the BRI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document discusses the development of sustainable and economical platforms for electrochemical sensing using micro- and nanotechnologies. The use of micro- and nanomaterials has proven to be essential in creating selective and sensitive sensing devices for various applications. The document highlights the importance of sustainability and accessibility in the production of sensing devices, particularly for developing countries. It also provides examples of successful platforms, such as paper-based analytical devices, and discusses the latest advances in the field. The document emphasizes the connection between these developments and the United Nations' sustainable development goals, including goals related to health, responsible consumption and production, clean water, and justice. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Mobility as a Service (MaaS) – bundled mobility and transport services accessible on-demand and on a single platform – has been a popular research topic in recent years. Most MaaS studies, however, are embedded in the context of cities in the Global North, where most of the existing MaaS schemes are operational. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of first findings of studies in the Global South. We aim to answer the following questions: Is MaaS likely to gain traction in the Global South? How does MaaS in the Global South differ from the known model? Can MaaS mitigate transport problems in the Global South? Methodology: We conducted a systematic literature review with a thematic analysis and narrative synthesis. In total, we identified 23 relevant papers that were included for full-text analysis. Findings: A qualitative synthesis of the analyzed papers suggests that: (i) there is a considerable demand and preference for integrated, app-based mobility services and that both public and private actors are likely to push the MaaS concept; (ii) however, different regulatory frameworks, available infrastructures, and user preferences, among others, require an adjusted MaaS model; and (iii) there is initial evidence that MaaS can indeed promote more sustainable mobility behavior in the developing world, although these findings require further validation from MaaS pilots and comprehensive simulation studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid urbanization of cities in the Global South, and indeed Ghanaian cities has left many Municipalities grappling with a widening gap in infrastructure need. This is largely due to limited financial resources to expand infrastructure to keep pace with urban expansion. In this context, land-based financing has become topical among city managers in generating resources to provide the much-needed urban infrastructure. The paper examines how non-state actors such as parastatal land operators collaborate with state actors—local authorities to provide urban infrastructure using land-based financing mechanisms. The case study approach was used to study two parastatal land development companies—Tema Development Company and Ghana Airport Company. The paper finds that leasehold premium and infrastructure levy are instruments used for providing urban infrastructure. It further finds that the application of these instruments requires the management of complex factors and stakeholders; proper understanding of land market conditions; comprehensive property-monitoring systems; effective communication among fiscal and planning entities; and political resolve to realize the full potential of land-based financing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Failure" is recognised as being vital for success in many fields but is seldom embraced in primate conservation or conservation more generally. In this paper, we use examples from the literature, particularly around reintroduction, to reflect on failure and consider the contribution it can make to primate conservation success. Barriers to acknowledging failure are highlighted and include concerns regarding reputational damage that impact on communication with funders, publishing, and discussing our projects more widely. We also discuss the need for a broader and adaptive approach to include multiple steps of experimentation, reflection, and subsequent learning. This process, which necessarily includes failures and the results of unintended consequences, will require primatologists to use a collaborative, interdisciplinary, and reflective approach to effectively address factors that contribute to failure, including those external to the traditional focus of primatologists. The paper concludes with specific recommendations for progressing in this area, including (i) Funding—funders to incorporate greater flexibility in response to project change and to specifically ask grantees to consider risk, failure, and lessons learnt, and funders and grantees to improve dialogue; (ii) Publishing—journals to have a section that considers failure and lessons learnt and, along with societies, to further engage with researchers from the Global South about the best ways to support with publishing; and (iii) Communication—primate conservationists to lead by example and reflect/discuss failure openly and to create spaces that encourage sharing of these topics. Whilst not exhaustive, we hope that these recommendations will contribute to developing a culture of constructive discussion around failure in primate conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the Chinese vision of global governance and the implications that it poses for the established international economic order. This has been expressed through Chinese-led international initiatives such as the Belt and the Road Initiative (BRI) as well as the Chinese economic model of ‘Neo-Confucian state capitalism’ (Ho, 2008), which have created a paradigm for the developing world to follow. While the BRI had previously been perceived as a largely abstract concept, it has become an integral part of the Chinese vision of an interconnected world order, which has come at a time when China is seeking to redefine its’ global role. In addition, the paper will also explore how the Chinese vision for global governance has presented a notable challenge to the established international economic order by presenting the Chinese vision as an alternative to the established system as well as questioning many of the norms that have underpinned the liberal rules-based order. As a result, the Chinese vision for global order has become one of the most pressing questions for the established economic order as well as offering a window into China’s perception of its global role and identity, which it seeks to promote to a wider context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the growing importance of digital technologies for economic resilience, especially for vulnerable groups like older workers in the informal sector. However, barriers to access and digital literacy create challenges alongside potential opportunities, particularly in less developed countries such as Ghana. Using older adults over 50 years engaged in informal work in Kumasi’s Central Business District in Ghana as a case, this paper explores older informal workers’ use of digital technologies in Ghana during the pandemic. Findings suggest that older informal workers relied heavily on their mobile phones as the only critical technological tool to sustain their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the findings also reveal critical gaps in skills, training, and support, alongside resourcefulness in leveraging digital tools for business continuity. Key policy implications include expanding mobile-centric digital literacy programs, addressing infrastructure divides, and integrating capacity building into social protection. The paper contributes insights on strengthening lifelong learning and extending the working lives of older persons in the informal sector in the post-COVID era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of social media, interactive activities such as anthropomorphic communications are more accessible and popular. The country-of-origin(COO) stereotype is one of the most important factors which influences individuals' attitudes toward brands. This study aims to investigate the feasibility and validity of anthropomorphic communication via social media on COO stereotypes in international competitions. Experimental results indicate that the strategy of using anthropomorphic communication has positive effects for developing countries, but not the same for developed countries; the perceived social presence mediates the relationship between anthropomorphic communication and COO stereotypes of developing countries. However, the mediating effect is not obvious in developed countries, the influence of anthropomorphic communication is effective and feasible only when individuals' mindset is global. The theoretical model in this paper is a useful supplement to the existing achievements of anthropomorphism and COO stereotypes, it provides a reference for enterprises in developing countries to use anthropomorphic strategies accurately to reduce negative COO stereotypes and improve international competitiveness, it also gives suggestions for companies in developed countries to adopt anthropomorphic communication strategies cautiously. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is often assumed that social connections are good for female empowerment in developing countries. However, growing evidence suggests that empowered women may face backlash from their spouse. In this paper, we analyze how the number of friends that wives have in their village affects the wives' involvement in household decisions about their own health and their children's health. To do so, we use data from 700 couples in 30 villages in rural Tanzania. We estimate the effect of the number of friends on the wife's involvement in household decisions using a multinomial logit regression combined with a control function that deals with potential endogeneity bias. We find that wives with more friends are less likely to make decisions jointly with their husband, and are more likely to report that their husband makes decisions without their involvement. We further explore whether the effects depend on the "type" of friends, as defined by their gender and whether they are shared with the husband. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines implementation research across developed countries (North America, Europe), developing countries (Asia, Pacific) and Africa. It examines some key trends and directions of implementation research across regions. It revisits policy debate among scholars on approaches to implementation-top-down, bottom-up and mixed which characterised the developed world. Also, it adds some perspectives on the developing world including Africa. The paper has three contributions: it highlights trends in implementation research in developed and developing countries. It gives some directions on implementation research in Africa. It recommends that the policy design process should not be neglected, such neglect is inimical to implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tools established for managing information flow in supply chain management and logistics should match digital transformations. This issue is particularly salient for developing nations that hope to achieve sustainable development goals in a globalized era. Modern technologies are required to ensure a secure, transparent, and traceable path of information flow in global supply chains; however, it is not always straightforward for businesses in developing economies to adopt new digital technologies while sustaining productivity. One of the foundational technologies that can be used to create a basis for economic and social systems and to affect manufacturing supply chains in developing economies is blockchain. In this study, we analyze the barriers to blockchain technology adoption in manufacturing supply chains using the neutrosophic analytic hierarchy process (N-AHP). We propose an action plan framework for the validation of blockchain technology in a developing economy. The findings demonstrate that "transaction-level uncertainties" comprise the most critical barrier and have the highest weight in the final ranking followed by "usage in the underground economy", "managerial commitment", "challenges in scalability", and "privacy risks". This paper can assist industrial managers and experts in emerging economies to more clearly identify barriers to the implementation of blockchain technology and show them how to successfully employ blockchain technology in their supply chains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Employment is a key instrument to tackle poverty. However, working poverty continues to be a major issue and has caught significant attention especially in developed countries. This issue is of primary relevance also for middle-income developing countries such as Türkiye, but it has not yet been sufficiently investigated. This paper examines working poverty in Türkiye based on a dynamic analysis framework, using the 2007–2017 panel waves of the Survey of Income and Living Conditions. Specifically, it estimates the determinants of working poverty while controlling for state dependence and unobservable heterogeneity using the dynamic random effects probit model. Empirical findings show that the dynamic effects are both statistically and economically significant. This implies that working poverty is associated with a significant degree of state dependence in Türkiye. Hence, there is a need for direct policies to lift the working poor out of poverty. Among the individual, household and employment characteristics, education emerges as a key determinant of working poverty, supporting the predictions of the human capital theory. Additionally, in line with the predictions of the segmentation hypothesis, occupation, industry, firm size, and formal job status are all significantly associated with the probability of being working poor in Türkiye. With respect to household characteristics, the number of children in the household is positively related to the likelihood of working poverty, reflecting the burden on household needs. In contrast, having a retired person and increased work intensity at the household level help reduce the risk of being working poor, most likely through the income pooling effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes have some implications on land–atmosphere interactions, surface energy budget, and hydrological cycle. The understanding of LULC changes and their interactions with the environment provide better management of agriculture, forests, and water resources. LULC changes are frequently observed in developing countries such as Türkiye and much research has been conducted in this field. However, few studies investigated the countrywide LULC changes and their interactions with energy fluxes and precipitation. In this paper, LULC changes in Türkiye over the last two decades have been evaluated by utilizing an Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) derived from the Terra satellite. The latent and sensible heat fluxes were obtained from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) reanalysis datasets. Precipitation data were acquired from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. The results showed that EVI has an increasing trend over Türkiye between 2000 and 2021, while climate change–induced desertification, droughts, and forest fires have threatened the vegetative cover in some portions of the country. The latent heat flux has a rising trend due to increasing vegetative cover and irrigated areas. A slight reduction was observed in sensible heat flux, while a sharp increase was witnessed in specific humidity. EVI represented a high positive correlation (R = 0.84) with sensible heat flux and a moderate positive correlation (R = 0.69) with latent heat flux. No significant relation was determined between EVI and precipitation on a monthly basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several tools have been developed to assess executive function (EFs) and adaptive functioning, although in mainly Western populations. Information on tools for low-and-middle-income country children is scanty. A scoping review of such instruments was therefore undertaken. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis- Scoping Review extension (PRISMA-ScR) checklist (Tricco et al., in Annals of Internal Medicine 169(7), 467–473, 2018). A search was made for primary research papers of all study designs that focused on development or adaptation of EF or adaptive function tools in low-and-middle-income countries, published between 1st January 1894 to 15th September 2020. 14 bibliographic databases were searched, including several non-English databases and the data were independently charted by at least 2 reviewers. The search strategy identified 5675 eligible abstracts, which was pruned down to 570 full text articles. These full-text articles were then manually screened for eligibility with 51 being eligible. 41 unique tools coming in 49 versions were reviewed. Of these, the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functioning (BRIEF- multiple versions), Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Go/No-go and the Rey-Osterrieth complex figure (ROCF) had the most validations undertaken for EF tests. For adaptive functions, the tools with the most validation studies were the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (VABS- multiple versions) and the Child Function Impairment Rating Scale (CFIRS- first edition). There is a fair assortment of tests available that have either been developed or adapted for use among children in developing countries but with limited range of validation studies. However, their psychometric adequacy for this population was beyond the scope of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are concerns that responses to urban safety are gradually reinforcing socio-spatial inequalities, with suggestions emphasising community-institutional collaborations for promoting safer urban communities. Yet, the quotidian realities that underpin residents' lived experiences are scantly used in urban safety strategies, despite that official crime data are often unavailable and outdated for many urban communities of the global south. Based on in-depth interviews with residents and officials in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis, this paper explores residents' everyday urban safety perceptions and responses to unravel their safety realities and to offer insights for building safer communities. Findings show that safety perceptions and responses permeate residents' everyday urban life and are enmeshed within socio-economic inequalities and the ethos of city planning and security agencies. This paper argues that planning and other public authorities need a strategic shift that valorises the everyday as a crucial source of knowledge on the socio-economic and spatial conditions that undergird residents' everyday experiences of safety and as a basis for collaborative safety strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design of wind-photovoltaic stand-alone electrification projects that combine individual systems and microgrids is complex and requires from support tools. In this paper, a multicriteria procedure is presented in detail, which aims to assist project developers in such a design. More specifically, the procedure has been developed under a four-part structure, using support tools and expert consultations to enhance practicality into the rural context of developing countries. First, from a large amount of criteria, a reduced and easy to handle set is chosen, representing the main characteristics to be assessed in rural electrification projects. Second, two iterative processes, one based on the Analytical Hierarchy Process and one based on a typical 1–10 assessment, are tested to assign weights to the criteria, reflecting end-user preferences. Third, some indicators are proposed to evaluate the accomplishment of each solution regarding each criterion, in an objective manner. Fourth, considering the weights and evaluations, the solutions are ranked, using the compromise programming technique, thus selecting the best one/s. The whole procedure is illustrated by designing the electrification project of a real community in the Andean highlands. In short, this paper provides insights about the suitable decision-making process for the design of wind-PV electrification systems and, in addition, shows how different multicriteria techniques are applied to a very local context in rural, remote and very poor areas of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the efficiency of a low-cost and sustainable timber-based energy dissipation system with recentering ability, which can be used as a seismic isolation system or a tuned mass damper for the seismic protection of structures in developing or developed countries. The system, defined as Dovetail with SPrings (Dove-SP), utilizes the attractive properties of timber to store CO2, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the existing energy dissipation systems: It comprises two timber slabs that are designed to slide against each other in a motion that is restrained by a dovetail sliding joint. Two sliding interfaces that allow this sliding motion at an attractively low friction coefficient are experimentally investigated: A PVC sand-wich (PVC-s) sliding interface, comprising a thin layer of sand that is sand-wiched between two PVC layers and a timber sand-wich sliding interface consisting of a thin layer of sand encapsulated between two beech timber surfaces. A set of low-cost steel springs is designed and installed on both sides of the dovetail joint to recenter the structure back to its original position after the end of an earthquake ground motion excitation. A novel, low-cost and deformable wood material fabricated from delignified balsa wood is used to reduce the pounding effects before the activation of the steel springs. The seismic behavior and the recentering ability of the novel timber-based energy dissipation system subjected to an ensemble of recorded earthquake ground motion excitations was experimentally investigated through a large-scale shaking table investigation at ETH Zurich. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the survival and development of traditional villages in China have been serious challenges. Rural tourism is regarded as an important way to solve rural problems, and the combination of rural culture and tourism has become a new power point for rural development. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the spatial distribution structure between traditional villages and rural tourism. In this paper, rural tourism was represented by the rural tourism characteristic village (RTCV), and Henan Province, China, was taken as a study area to analyze the distribution pattern and spatial correlation of rural tourism and traditional village (TV) and discuss the relationship between the spatial correlation and regional natural environment and socioeconomic factors. The results show that the coupling of the spatial correlation between RTCVs and TVs in Henan was clear. They could be divided into 5 regions based on geographical factors. In addition, the research summarized 4 typical spatial structures between TVs and RTCVs in Henan based on the regional symbiosis theory, and the spatial pattern formation mechanism of TVs and RTCVs was discussed based on three driving mechanisms. The spatial structure of the two can provide reference value for other developing countries and regions to achieve sustainable rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seismic facies analysis which is aimed at identifying subsurface geological features from seismic data, has evolved due to the time-consuming and labor-intensive nature of its traditional approach. To address these challenges, numerical frameworks such as machine learning have been applied, yet attribute selection still comes with some challenges, particularly for inexperienced interpreters. Additionally, validating results in regions with limited well data poses significant challenges. This paper addresses these challenges through a comprehensive review of seismic facies workflows and a proposed workflow for a case study in the Gulf of Guinea. In this case study, seismic attribute selection is significantly based on the contribution (weights) of the individual attributes in a larger set of attributes. Also, we have introduced spectral decomposition for interpretation and initial validation of the workflow due to its independence on well data. Here, we applied an unsupervised vector quantizer to seismic attribute selection and facies analysis. Using a backward feature selection (BFS) approach for attribute selection based on computed weights assigned by our unsupervised vector quantizer (UVQ) network, we selected six seismic attributes for our facies analysis and tested five different attribute combinations of the attributes for facies analysis. This was followed by spectral decomposition colorblend of 5 Hz, 10 Hz, and 15 Hz frequencies. The facies generated using our seismic attributes varied with each combination due to the variations in the individual attributes. Correlating our seismic attributes and spectral decomposition to our facies, it was possible to identify lithological variations without solely relying on well data. Insights from this paper show the suitability of the automatic approach to seismic facies analysis in aiding the identification of new reserves which can bolster the economies of developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioethicists and philosophers dominate the on-going debate on human enhancement. They have debated the definition of human enhancement as well as the potential impacts of human enhancement technologies (such as pharmaceutical enhancements or pre-natal selection). These discussions have percolated, through bioethics bodies and bioethics recommendations, policy makers and have eventually been translated into policy. While some suggestions have been based largely in Western liberal democracies, others have deliberated the geopolitical consequences of human enhancement technologies. This paper argues that the present debate currently lacks perspectives from developing countries. It begins by introducing the current debate on human enhancement and recognizes Allen Buchanan's well-raised concerns on how these technologies may potentially cause new injustices for low- and middle-income countries ('developing countries'). It then provides two arguments calling for further research into human enhancement from the perspective of developing countries. First, this paper will argue that the current frames with which enhancement technologies are viewed are inherently neoliberal and require change. The second argument shows how the potential impacts of human enhancement technologies in developing countries have not been fully realized by analyzing how human enhancement technologies will impact Thailand, a developing country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Doctors in developing countries are too busy to write digital prescriptions. Ninety-seven percent of Bangladeshi doctors write handwritten prescriptions, the majority of which lack legibility. Prescriptions are harder to read as they contain multiple languages. This paper proposes a machine learning approach to recognize doctors' handwriting to create digital prescriptions. A 'Handwritten Medical Term Corpus' dataset is developed containing 17,431 samples of 480 medical terms. In order to improve the recognition efficiency, this paper introduces a data augmentation technique to widen the variety and increase the sample size. A sequence of line data is extracted from the augmented images of 1,591,100 samples and fed to a Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network. Data augmentation includes pattern Rotating, Shifting, and Stretching (RSS). Eight different combinations are applied to evaluate the strength of the proposed method. The result shows 93.0% average accuracy (max: 94.5%, min: 92.1%) using Bidirectional LSTM and RSS data augmentation. This accuracy is 19.6% higher than the recognition result with no data expansion. The proposed handwritten recognition technology can be installed in a smartpen for busy doctors which will recognize the writings and digitize them in real-time. It is expected that the smartpen will contribute to reduce medical errors, save medical costs and ensure healthy living in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financial inclusion is a policy priority in both developed and developing countries. Yet almost one in four people remain financially excluded around the globe, with the vast majority living in the developing world. In this paper, we argue that financial resilience: an individual's ability to function effectively in adverse financial situations, can better help us assist people to cope with financial adversity, develop effective policy and, ultimately, improve economic development. This paper builds on an existing financial resilience measurement framework and adapts it to develop a measure appropriate to the context of developing countries. Indonesia, where one in three people are financially excluded, is used as a case country from which to draw conclusions. We use the Indonesia Family Life Survey and put forward the country's first snapshot of financial resilience. Implications for research and policy are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban open-air markets are indispensable institutions in the global South. Yet they are most often confronted with formidable environmental problems such as improper solid waste management (SWM). Accordingly, when research is initiated into the complex world of urban market environmental management (UMEM), the focus tends to be on either SWM technological interventions or the performances of formal or informal SWM actors. Whereas city authorities have desired to understand how to regulate the burgeoning number of informal SWM actors, research priorities have been to advocate for the formalisation and integration of informal systems of SWM with formal systems. Consequently, attention is rarely paid to informal actors' perceptions of SWM integration and formalisation pathways. This paper presents insights into how the integration of informal SWM actors is being approached in Ghana, and how this process is being experienced by the informal actors in Accra's open-air markets. The informal actors' critiques generally related to the formalisation processes, enforcement of legitimate expectations, and limited SWM infrastructure. The biggest obstacle related to the narrow conception of integration as formalisation through public and private sector, as this was perceived by informal SWM workers as an exclusionary, exploitative, and restrictive measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban land change plays an essential role in the development of country's economy. Rapid and unplanned urban growth increases land surface temperature (LST) and reduces carbon storage (CS) by replacing the natural land use/land cover (LULC). This paper aims to monitor and predict the changes in urban growth patterns on LST and CS for the winter season in Guangzhou from 1989 to 2021. The integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model is used to assess the existing (1989-2021) scenario of CS. The Cellular Automata-Artificial Neural Network (CA-ANN) and Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) based Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) are used to predict the future LULC, CS and LST scenarios. The results indicate that an increase in urban areas by 63% causes an upsurge of high LST (≥34 °C) areas by 652 km2 and a decrease in carbon storage by 56,943.607 t from 1989 to 2021. In addition, the results demonstrate that 93% of lower temperature areas have higher CS capacity (65%), whereas 80% of higher temperature areas demonstrate a low CS capacity (89%). This study can provide effective mitigating measures for designing smart cities and valuable guidelines for ensuring environmental-friendly green cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Waste collection in developing nations faces multi-fold challenges, such as resource constraints and real-time changes in waste values, while finding the optimal routes. This paper attempts to address these challenges by modeling real-time waste values in smart bins and Collection Vehicles (CV). Further, waste value prioritized routes for coordinated CV, during various time intervals are modeled in a multi-agent environment for finding good routes. The CV, as agents, implement the formulated linear program to maximize the collected waste while minimizing the distance to the central depot. The city of Chandigarh, India, was divided into regions and the model was implemented to achieve significantly better performance in terms of waste collected in less distance and total bins covered when compared to the existing scenario. The stakeholders can use the outcomes to effectively plan the resources for better collection practices, which will have a positive impact on the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of university prestige stratification on scholars' career achievements. We focus on 766 STEM PhD graduates hired by Mexican universities between 1992 and 2016. We rank university according to their prestige based on the pairwise assessment of quality contained in the PhD hiring networks. Further, we use a quasi-experimental design matching pairs of individuals with the same characteristics, PhD training or first job experience. Our results challenge the positive association between prestige and academic performance as predicted by the 'Matthew effect'. Scholars hired internally sustain higher performance over their careers in comparison to those who move up or down the prestige hierarchy. Further, we find a positive (negative) relation between downward (upward) prestige mobility and performance that relates to the "big-fish-little-pond" effect (BFLPE). The evidence of a BFLPE-like effect has policy implications because hinders the knowledge flows throughout the science system and individual achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perspectives on the Environmental Implications of Sustainable Hydropower gathers scientific papers from three of the worlds most important hydropower producers to discuss aspects of sustainable hydropower and the means by which it can be studied and achieved. The papers examine the application and use of new technologies and protocols for studying hydropower, adaptive management and the implications and use of long-term data sets for minimizing hydropower impacts on fish populations. The papers include a cross section of biological and hydrological experts. The implicit among country comparisons highlight a number of common hydropower themes, particularly the need to expand from single species studies to include broader consideration of the ecosystem, the importance of maintaining habitat, trait and species diversity and the need for consistently collected long-term data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]